On a Newly Recovered Runic Monument at Kirk Braddan,in the Isle of Man

The medieval wall-paintings formerly in the south aisle of St Andrew's Church, Headington, Oxford, have not hitherto been either comprehensively or accurately recorded. This paper seeks to remedy this, especially as one of the subjects, the legend of the Miraculous Cornfield on the Flight into Egypt, is otherwise unknown among surviving English medieval wall-paintings. Another of the subjects has never been satisfactorily identified, and it will be suggested that it represents one of the miracles of St Clement of Rome, another unique subject.     

Remarks on the Church of St. Mary the Virgin,Oxford

Traces of light graffiti recovered from the twelfth-century west wall and nave-piers of Rochester Cathedral represent the remaining evidence for an extensive programme of early medieval wall-paintings, although little of the original scheme can be reconstructed.     

Bumpit: The Painted House at Lynsted,Kent

Abstract

The extensive wall-paintings at Bumpit are an important example of decoration in a late-Elizabethan-period house. They date to the last part of the 16th century and formed part of a very extensive scheme of building and embellishment. The house and its paintings are described in detail to provide a record of this important ensemble, and the characteristics of the paintings discussed to enable them to be seen in a wider context.     

MEDIEVAL GLASS FROM ROCCA DI ASOLO (NORTHERN ITALY): AN ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY

An archaeometric study was performed on 33 medieval glass samples from Rocca di Asolo (northern Italy), in order to study the raw materials employed in their production, identify analogies with medieval glass from the Mediterranean area and possible relationships between chemical composition and type and/or production technique, contextualize the various phases of the site and extend data on Italian medieval glass. The samples are soda–lime–silica in composition, with natron as flux for early medieval glasses and soda ash for the high and late medieval ones. Compositional groups were identified, consistent with the major compositional groups identified in the western Mediterranean during the first millennium AD . In particular, Asolo natron glass is consistent with the HIMT group and recycled Roman glass; soda ash glass was produced with the same type of flux (Levantine ash) but a different silica source (siliceous pebbles, and more or less pure sand). Cobalt was the colouring agent used to obtain blue glass; analytical data indicate that at least two different sources of Co were exploited during the late medieval period. Some data, analytical and historical, suggest a Venetian provenance for the high/late medieval glass and a relationship between type of object (beaker or bottle) and chemical composition.     

Notice of Documents Preserved in the Record Office,at Malta

The recently found wall-paintings at North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire (a privately owned house, not open to the public), (TL 217042) are introduced, the history of the building and its relevant ownership is discussed, the paintings described, comparisons made, possible sources for the paintings considered, and date ranges suggested. An account of the subsequent conservation work is given.     

Medieval Ireland and the Shannon Hydro-Electric Scheme: reconstructing the past in independent Ireland

This essay considers the position of Irish medieval buildings in the early years of the twentieth century. Focusing on the treatment of the oratory of St. Lua at Killaloe, it examines the ways in which the ruins of the medieval past were used to signify a range of political, religious and cultural ideas and attitudes. The rising water levels following the Shannon Scheme works (begun in 1925) meant that this stone oratory was moved from its original position on Friar’s Island to the grounds of St. Flannan’s Roman Catholic Church in 1929. The resulting paper trail reflects the complex processes of decision-making within a civil service in transition as the new Irish Free State calibrated its position with regard to the past and the treatment of medieval ruins throughout the countryside. The case study of St. Lua’s oratory is considered here in the context of the nineteenth-century tradition of scholarship on medieval buildings, the development of the idea of a national Irish architecture during this period, and the impact of this tradition on subsequent engagement with the buildings of the medieval past.     

Painted birds at Pompeii

The wall-paintings in the houses at Pompeii and in other Campanian towns can provide evidence for the birds that were known in Italy in the first centuries BC and AD , because they are painted with remarkable accuracy. However, the paintings as total works of art must not be interpreted in too realistic a manner because the flora and fauna are often combined in an ideal setting. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE MEDIEVAL URBAN CHURCHYARD AS A MEETING PLACE: A CASE STUDY OF FUNCTION AND ORGANISATION OF THE CHURCHYARD OF ST. CLEMENS IN COPENHAGEN

The article presents the results of a study based on activity analysis of a medieval churchyard of St. Clemens in the urban setting of Copenhagen. The churchyard was in function from the 11^th to 16^th century revealing changes in layout and burial rites over time. A glimpse of the symbolic life of the medieval Copenhageners is also exposed and analysed. Moreover, the study of the churchyard reveals activities of a more secular nature and presents some of the activities that must have been part of everyday life in the medieval town. Thus, the churchyard has not only been an arena for meetings between the living and the dead but also a location for experiencing the urban life burgeoning outside the churchyard. For comparison, a recently discovered contemporaneous churchyard at Rådhuspladsen is also discussed.     

British library Harleian manuscript 433, 1. Register of grants for the reigns of Edward V and Richard III: Rosemary Horrox and P.W. Hammond. xlvii + 289 pages, 1 plate; £25 to non-members. Published by the Richard III Society, 1980. Orders to Thomas Thorp,Antiquarian Booksellers, 170, High Street,Guildford, Surrey,GU1 3HP

The purpose of this section of the Journal of medieval history is to include a brief notice of new books in medieval history, and to list new editions and reprints, appearing during the months immediately preceding the date of publication of each issue. The Journal will not carry reviews; it asks publishers to send, instead of copies of new books, brief notices about them of not more than 150 worss in length. To meet the cost of this exercise, the Journal is obliged to charge a fee of $10 (£5) for a brief announcement (max. 150 words) and $5 (£2.50) for listing a reprint or new edition. Texts of such announcements and details of reprints, together with remittance, should be sent to the Publisher, from whom futher details of the scheme may be had.     

On the Coins of Uriconium

Abstract

This paper investigates for the first time the imagery of the octagonal crossing-tower at Ely Cathedral, attempting a reconstruction of the original programme in the light of newly-discovered sculptural fragments and antiquarian drawings. The scheme is shown to have been extremely sophisticated, articulated through a variety of media, including wall-paintings, stained glass and sculpture in stone and wood. The relationship between Ely and Westminster is touched upon and the view of recent research that there was a much closer connexion between works executed at the Court and those in the provinces than had formerly been supposed is supported by the discovery of an Ely model for some of the wall-paintings in the palatine chapel of St Stephen, hitherto seen as rather isolated in mid fourteenth-century England. The iconography of the Octagon's imagery and its original place within the great architectural works then being undertaken at Ely is also analysed, and it is suggested that the man responsible for drawing up the Octagon's programme was the monastic sacrist, Alan of Walsingham.     

Introduction: people,places and possessions in late medieval England

ABSTRACT

This essay examines the rising interest in materiality and its impact on late medieval scholarship. Presenting an overview of the field, it considers how recent attention to physical spaces and objects has shed new light on the lives and experiences of late medieval men and women, and explores the sources and agendas driving new research. In particular, it evaluates the use of written evidence for accessing and investigating material culture, considering the types of documents informing material approaches, and the questions being asked of them. The analysis also reflects upon the distinct scholarly trajectories of building and landscape studies, and the disjuncture between medieval and early modern scholarship in this area. Providing an introduction to this special issue, it shows how the six contributors collectively address these lacunae to offer holistic readings of the relationships between people, places and possessions in late medieval England.     

Dental chipping: Contrasting patterns of microtrauma in inuit and European populations

While the study of dental wear has enjoyed wide popularity for over 100 years, dental chipping, or microfractures of the tooth crown, has received little attention. Observations on dental chipping in populations from the Arctic (St. Lawrence Island, Alaska) and Europe (medieval Norway and Spain) reveal patterns of microtrauma that provide insights into the dietary and tooth‐tool use behaviour of earlier populations. St. Lawrence Island Inuit, with an emphasis on consuming tough and frozen foods, in combination with extensive tooth‐tool use, exhibit a pattern of chipping that is characterised as ‘molar dominant’. The two European samples exhibit an ‘incisor‐dominant’ pattern but contrast markedly in frequencies, with medieval Norwegians showing significantly more chipping than medieval and post‐medieval Spanish. The systematic study of chipping promises to provide a new perspective on how populations used and/or abused their dentitions in earlier times. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Garden plants in medieval Iberia: the archaeobotanical evidence

Of all the plants that were used in early medieval times, many were grown in gardens and orchards and contributed to the subsistence of medieval communities. Archaeobotany provides direct evidence of the range of species used either for food or for other purposes. In this contribution, we explore the evidence of garden produce in early medieval Iberia focusing on archaeobotanical data. First, we will analyse the available data, taking into consideration different types of preservation. Second, we will examine the diversity of species, trying to establish the uses and purposes of the taxa identified. Finally, we will discuss results within the better‐known wider European context.     

Roman Pottery Research in Britain and North-West Europe: Papers Presented to Graham Webster. Edited by A.C. and A. S. Anderson

The Court House at East Meon was a country residence of the medieval bishops of Winchester. Of this residence, the great hall, a solar, and a garderobe block survive largely intact. The Court House is remarkable not only for its fine state of preservation but also because of the detailed record of its development to be found in the magnificent records of the bishopric of Winchester. Until recently, there had been disagreement as to the date of its construction but the discovery of the original building accounts has allowed this to be established with certainty. Unlike larger bishopric residences which could accommodate the entire episcopal household for long periods, it seems to have served partly as a retreat for a select number of the bishop's household or friends. Although the name ‘Court House’ is not recorded until 1647, it is used here to denote the medieval house. All places referred to in the text are in Hampshire, unless otherwise stated.     

Original DocumentsExtracts from the Pipe Roll of the Exchequer, 21 Edw. III. (A.D. 1353), Relating to the Early use of Guns and Gunpowder in the English Army

This report is concerned with a sampling excavation of Bronze Age, Roman and late Saxon/early medieval settlement traces near the church at Wraysbury, Berkshire. The most extensive evidence is for an agricultural settlement of the late ninth to twelfth centuries A. D. based on a series of ditched enclosures and trackways. The settlement moved location during the eleventh century. The environmental evidence is particularly important. A large faunal assemblage including extensive fish remains exists for the late Saxon and medieval phases as well as an unusual collection of charred plant remains. There are important groups of Late Bronze Age and Saxon pottery.     

The Archaeology of Al-Andalus: Past,Present and Future

Abstract

THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW of the archaeology of al-Andalus (the Arabic name for Islamic Spain and Portugal), from its beginnings in the late 1970s to the present day. Innovative approaches and challenging theoretical stances made the archaeology of al-Andalus the spearhead of medieval archaeology in Iberia between the 1980s and 1990s. A problematic, and often conflicting, relationship between archaeology and history has characterised medieval archaeology in Spain since its inception, however, and a new awareness of these problems is emerging. This paper reviews past and current attitudes to such challenges and reflects on the future needs of the discipline. It also reflects on the politics of archaeology and on the role of medieval archaeology in revealing social change, which has until now been underrated.     

The Wharram Research Project: Results to 1983

CONTINUING ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION of the church, manor house, parsonage and peasant homes of a deserted medieval village has widened into a multidisciplinary enquiry into the evolution of the total landscape of the two parishes bearing the name of Wharram which once contained six villages, now reduced to two. The microtopography of the medieval site is related to its antecedents, and the post-desertion settlement pattern to renewed arable farming on the Wolds without the re-creation of villages.     

Chronicles and historiography: the interrelationship of fact and fiction

Notwithstanding the great progress in medieval historiography during the last century, a conceptual and methodological basis in regard to the analysis of narrative sources is still missing. This paper indicates some of the challenges posed by fourteenth-century chronicles while focusing on contemporary testimonies about Clement V, pope between 1305 and 1314. Discussion of the different testimonies allows drawing some conclusions and paves the way for a new approach to medieval narrative sources.     

Sheepcotes: Evidence for Medieval Sheepfarming

SHEEPCOTES were late medieval buildings for the shelter of flocks and the storage of fodder, among other functions. They are visible as earthworks and are recorded in documents. This study uses mainly Gloucestershire examples to provide insights into medieval sheep husbandly, and changing patterns of land management.     

Forty-Third Annual Congress,Darlington and Bishop Auckland, 1886

Abstract

Although the wall-paintings in the three first floor bedrooms and the connecting passage at Ellys Manor House, Great Ponton (SK 927 304), have been known to exist for a considerable time and are amongst the most extensive and important of their period in the country, very little has been written about them and no attempt has been made to co-ordinate the information that is available.