Medieval English Martinmesse : The Archaeology of a Forgotten Festival

Beginning with Elizabethan literary references to a carnivalesque celebration of Martinmas, the present article surveys the St Martin cult in England in order to isolate features of the medieval celebration of the Christian feast and determine the feast's relationship to seasonal activities of early November. Martinmas is seen as both the last harvest festival and a curtain raiser for the extended winter revelling season, in effect a "Carnival" in late autumn.     

The Bruce dynasty,Becket and Scottish pilgrimage to Canterbury, c.1178-c.1404

This paper seeks to question the assumption that the outbreak of prolonged Anglo-Scottish war in 1296 brought an abrupt decline in Scottish interest in St Thomas, his shrine at Canterbury and the great abbey dedicated to him in Scotland at Arbroath. A survey of Scottish devotion to Becket after 1296 reveals that in fact the interest of the monarchy and certain sections of Scottish society intensified. For the two Bruce kings, devotion to Becket developed a double importance although in very different political contexts. For Robert I (1306-29) St Thomas, Canterbury and Arbroath served as both a focus of personal faith and of strategic observances in the struggle against England. However, for David II (1329-71), captured in battle against England in 1346, such observances also became a central feature of attempts to persuade his subjects of the value of closer Anglo-Scottish relations: David's reign was marked by a surge in pilgrimage to Canterbury by Scottish royals, nobles, clerics and ordinary lay folk. Had David lived longer and/or produced a Bruce heir, continued Scottish devotion to Becket might have formed the basis of far more amicable Anglo-Scottish relations than would be the norm under Stewart kings of Scots after 1371.     

Swedish limestone paving in 17th-and 18th-century English buildings

Documents concerning buildings by Christopher Wren record the use of Swedish and Danish marble as a paving material. In order to establish the origin of these marbles, original pavings are examined at St Paul's Cathedral and elsewhere. Through analyses of samples and by means of other evidence both marbles are identified as Orthoceras Limestone from the Swedish island of Öland. The stone industry of Öland is described and the import of Swedish stone into England in the 17th and 18th centuries is traced through Scandinavian and English customs accounts.     

The Early Romanesque ‘Great West’ Towers of St Peter,Stambourne, Essex and St Nicholas,Leeds, Kent: ‘Clerical’ Towers for a Lay Lord?

Abstract

A small group of early Romanesque west towers in southern and eastern England are of unusually large size and are here termed ‘great west’ towers. The majority were commissioned by senior clergy, but there is evidence that those at Stambourne (Essex) and Leeds (Kent) were the work of Haimo II Dapifer, Sheriff of Kent. Haimo’s adoption of what is usually seen as a clerical form of monument is reflected by his position and associations in royal charters. The towers of St Peter, Stambourne and St Nicholas, Leeds have similarities with St Leonard’s Tower, West Malling (Kent) and the west gate of Lincoln castle respectively. Both illustrate the fluidity of forms that high-status buildings of the late 11th and early 12th centuries could take.     

INTERVIEW WITH ROGER ADELSON

Born in 1942 and reared in Kansas, Adelson received his B.A. degree from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.; his B.Litt. degree from Oxford University, Oxford, England; and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University, St. his, Missouri, where he was a Danforth Fellow. He held a post-doctoral research fellowship at St. Antony's College, Oxford, and taught briefly at Harvard before joining the history faculty at Arizona State University in 1974. Adelson's publications include Mark Sykes: Portrait of an Amateur and London and the Invention of the Middle East: Money, Power, and War, 1902–1922. While editing The Historian from 1990 to 1995, Adelson has interviewed numerous historians; many will be republished this fall in Speaking of History. As a consulting editor for The Historian, Adelson will continue doing interviews. This one was conducted by Peter Iverson, associate editor, and edited by Joy Margheim, editorial assistant, in December, 1995.     

Remarks on British and Roman Urns

The parish church of St Andrew at Irnham in Lincolnshire possesses a richly carved stone monument dating to around 1340 which bears the arms of Sir Geoffrey and Agnes Luttrell, associated with the celebrated Luttrell Psalter. The form, imagery and function of this monument are problematical and are discussed first in order to create a context for an unusual aspect of its architecture, namely that its inner vault is a miniature copy, unique in this part of England, of the main vault of the choir of Wells Cathedral, a so-called ‘net’ vault. Amongst the reasons for such an unusual citation may be the existence in Somerset, in the diocese of Wells, of one branch of the Luttrell family at the time this monument was raised.     

Two Exhumations and an Attempted Theft: The Posthumous Biography of St Cuthbert in the Nineteenth Century and its Historicist Narratives

The tomb, body and relics of the Anglo-Saxon St Cuthbert (d. AD 687) are best known for their miraculous preservation and migration across North East England in flight from Viking raiders throughout the period AD 795–995, before coming to rest at Durham Cathedral (Cramp 1980; Campbell 1991, 79). Their current display emphasizes their role as ‘Treasures’ of the Cathedral and as symbols of England's conversion and early Christianity. What are not mentioned are the modern interactions with the tomb that led to the creation of their modern display as a key attraction of the World Heritage Site. As this article will argue, post-medieval examinations and uses of the tomb have also been important in attempts to control and produce very particular meanings at the site of display. I offer an examination of nineteenth-century engagements with the tomb and body of St Cuthbert, showing how the saint's remains were a locus of conflicting claims of authenticity and ownership. Through antiquarian practices of exhumation and detailed publications of their findings, curator-custodians were engaged in a distinctively local struggle to produce an authoritative narrative for the saint.     

Mediæval Military Architecture in England

Recent survey of the late twelfth- to early thirteenth-century chancel of St Mary's church, New Shoreham (Grade I listed) has revealed traces of two consecutive medieval paint schemes on the architecture, dating from c. 1210. No previous research or publication has taken account of these remains, which indicate the original interior appearance of this large and historic parish church. Samples of the paint have been scientifically analysed, revealing the pigments used and their stratigraphic relationship across the survey area; the identification of carbon black on architectural features is particularly important. Comparison with other ecclesiastical buildings in England and on the Continent indicates that St Mary's chancel is a key example of a widespread decorative scheme of red-and-black architectural polychromy, reinforcing its significance as an exemplar of early Gothic style in medieval England.     

A Donkey (Equus asinus L.) Partial Skeleton from a Mid-Late Anglo-Saxon Alluvial Layer at Deans Yard Westminster,London SW1

Abstract

A domestic donkey (Equus asinus) partial skeleton has been recovered from a mid-late Anglo-Saxon alluvial deposit situated below the present Westminster School at Deans Yard, Westminster, London. The remains have been radiocarbon dated to the 8th-9th century AD and, therefore, pre-date both the abbey of Edward the Confessor and the earlier foundation of St Dunstan. The skeleton is of particular importance as it is the only well dated specimen of its species recovered thus far in England from the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval periods.     

汉刻重宝——建初买地摩崖

绍兴富盛跳山东汉建初买地摩崖是现存浙江境内有确切纪年的汉代摩崖,也是我国现存最早体积最大的买地券,被列为我国的汉刻重宝。通过追溯摩崖发现经过和结合相关史料,凸显此摩崖在金石学、社会政治经济学和书法艺术上的价值和地位。     

The making of a minor saint in Drogo of Saint‐Winnoc's Historia translationis s. Lewinnae

In 1058, the Flemish abbey of Saint‐Winnoc stole St Lewinna's relics from a minster in southern England. The community worked to establish her cult in Flanders. Although scholars have focused on the material gain Saint‐Winnoc probably hoped the cult would bring, this article argues that the development of the abbey's communal identity figured more prominently in its motives. The community saw Lewinna primarily as a means to help bolster its bid for independence from its mother house.     

King Stephen,the English church,and a female mystic: Christina of Markyate's Vita as a neglected source for the council of Winchester (August 1139) and its aftermath

One of the central reasons for the disintegration of royal authority (sometimes called ‘the Anarchy’) during the reign of King Stephen of England is generally thought to have been his troubled relationship with the English church. The king was summoned to appear before the legate in England, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester (who was also Stephen's brother), at a church council called for Winchester on 29 August 1139, in order to show cause for his conduct in arresting several prominent bishops and in confiscating their property. Several major chroniclers discuss the events leading up to and occurring at the council of Winchester, especially William of Malmesbury in his Historia novella and the anonymous Gesta Stephani. The versions of events contained in these sources are not entirely consistent. The present paper examines yet another recounting of the events of the council, seldom appreciated by historians of twelfth-century England, presented in the Vita of Christina of Markyate (c.1096/98–c.1155/66), composed by an anonymous monk of St Albans between 1140 and 1146. Christina was close to the abbot of St Albans, Geoffrey de Gorham, who was probably the patron of the Vita and who quite likely attended the Winchester council and apparently became involved in its aftermath. These events are recorded in some detail in the Vita, presenting us with a vivid recounting of the council and the immediate consequences thereof. The narrative of the Vita contains a somewhat different picture of the personalities and occurrences surrounding the Winchester council than we encounter in the chronicles. The current essay compares the Vita to the standard accounts. We argue that the Vita may be the earliest and possibly most reliable source for the events of the council. Moreover, if we privilege the report of the Vita, the council becomes an especially significant moment in the breakdown of relations between Stephen and the English church.     

King Stephen,the English church,and a female mystic: Christina of Markyate's Vita as a neglected source for the council of Winchester (August 1139) and its aftermath

One of the central reasons for the disintegration of royal authority (sometimes called ‘the Anarchy’) during the reign of King Stephen of England is generally thought to have been his troubled relationship with the English church. The king was summoned to appear before the legate in England, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester (who was also Stephen's brother), at a church council called for Winchester on 29 August 1139, in order to show cause for his conduct in arresting several prominent bishops and in confiscating their property. Several major chroniclers discuss the events leading up to and occurring at the council of Winchester, especially William of Malmesbury in his Historia novella and the anonymous Gesta Stephani. The versions of events contained in these sources are not entirely consistent. The present paper examines yet another recounting of the events of the council, seldom appreciated by historians of twelfth-century England, presented in the Vita of Christina of Markyate (c.1096/98–c.1155/66), composed by an anonymous monk of St Albans between 1140 and 1146. Christina was close to the abbot of St Albans, Geoffrey de Gorham, who was probably the patron of the Vita and who quite likely attended the Winchester council and apparently became involved in its aftermath. These events are recorded in some detail in the Vita, presenting us with a vivid recounting of the council and the immediate consequences thereof. The narrative of the Vita contains a somewhat different picture of the personalities and occurrences surrounding the Winchester council than we encounter in the chronicles. The current essay compares the Vita to the standard accounts. We argue that the Vita may be the earliest and possibly most reliable source for the events of the council. Moreover, if we privilege the report of the Vita, the council becomes an especially significant moment in the breakdown of relations between Stephen and the English church.     

The Merchant Adventurers of England: The Place of the Adventurers of York and the North in the Late Middle Ages

Abstract

The 1478 complaint of the northern adventurers over their alleged ill-treatment by the governor of the Londoners is the starting point for this investigation. The Merchant Adventurers of England was the popular name for the Merchants of the Nation of England trading to the Parties of Brabant, Flanders, Holland and Zeeland. Its religious fraternity was dedicated to St Thomas Becket. Its first grant of privileges was from Brabant in 1296, and its governor was made permanent and salaried in 1421. The wool merchants, including those of York, were prominent in the company until their transfer to Calais. With the decline of the wool trade and the rise of the English cloth industry, the dominant role passed to those merchants who exported cloth to the Low Countries. In York, the Mercers, the dry-goods merchants, benefited from this change, and became the leading mercantile guild of the city, incorporated in 1430. Northern adventurers suffered from considerable competition from those of London, who were numerically always able to control decisions made at the overseas meetings, and they in their turn were dominated by the Mercers of London. The complaints of 1478, nevertheless, greatly misrepresented the situation, and all branches of the company benefited from the increased privileges acquired for the English by the governor at this date in Antwerp and elsewhere. Trading conditions had again changed by the time the York Mercers were re-incorporated as the Society of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York in 1580.     

"历史碎片"啄探--江西民间契约文书考察

民间契约文书包括民间契约和其他民间文书,可大致分为三类:(一)民事交往及经济交易中所订立的各式契约;(二)与各式契约活动相关的、民间收执的各类票据书证之类;(三)族谱、诉讼状、碑铭和家书之类的各类民间私撰文书。民间契约文书细致地反映了历史上民间生活的真实面貌,是官修“正史”之外的珍贵的“民间正史”。20世纪中期以来,其价值日益受到国内外人文学界的重视。江西民间契约文书存世数量较大,文书种类齐全,内涵丰富,真实、细致地体现了江西的地域特色和历史特点,是一座丰厚的学术资源宝库,具有重要的发掘价值。     

An Early Prehistoric Shaft on Cranborne Chase

Continuing field work on Cranborne Chase has examined a unique shaft in Fir Tree Field, Down Farm in the parish of Gussage St Michael. Although shafts are known in prehistoric contexts elsewhere in England in the form of Neolithic flint mines, ritual shafts and even Bronze Age wells (Wilsford), the shaft reported here is particularly early and remains, at present, unexplained. Excavation and augering has revealed a shaft over 25 m deep containing evidence of Mesolithic to Beaker activity.     

Collected Essays

BARRON, CAROLINE and NIGEL SAUL, eds. England and the Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages. New York: St Martin's Press, 1995. Pp. vi, 186. $49.95 (US), cloth.     

The Politics of the Pew: Faith,Liberty, and Authority in a Sydney Church in 1828

This article examines the political implications of the dispute between E. S. Hall and Archdeacon Scott over a pew in St James’ Church in the late 1820s. Beyond the legal questions it raised about the established status of the Church of England in New South Wales, Hall's public protest, conducted every Sunday during the largest regular social gathering in Sydney, was a self‐conscious performance of his wider critique of colonial authority. This episode reveals the symbolic importance of church spaces and the role of religious ideas about authority and freedom in colonial political debate.