Emblems and enigmas: Revisiting the ‘sword’ belt of Fernando de la Cerda

The belt of Fernando de la Cerda is on permanent display in the Museo de Telas Ricas, Burgos. Presently, scholars believe the belt dates from 1252–75, is of Hispano-Islamic work and was worn as a baldric. This article suggests that the belt is English, that it was commissioned by King Henry III and was worn around the waist. Henry gave the belt to the count of Champagne, Thibault II, during his first diplomatic visit to France. In turn, Thibault probably gave the belt to Fernando de la Cerda, the infante of Castile, in 1269, at Fernando's wedding. The belt's burial with the Castilian infante provides important evidence of the close familial and political relationships that linked the ruling dynasties of north-west Europe during the thirteenth century. Commissioned as a gift and richly decorated, the belt should be seen as an example of the aesthetic accomplishment of Henry III, his use of propaganda and political aspirations.     

Tracing the ‘chemyn de Portyngale’: English service and servicemen in fourteenth-century Portugal

Three Anglo-Portuguese campaigns took English servicemen into Portugal in the 1380s. Two were largely guided by Plantagenet interests, in 1381–2 and 1386–7, respectively under the earl of Cambridge and the duke of Lancaster. The other, which began in 1384 under the regent João of Avis (later João I), involved entirely volunteer English forces. While the Lancastrian-led expeditions were largely political and military failures, servicemen recruited by the Portuguese in England achieved greater success, including victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota. This article compares these expeditions for the first time. It looks at their political, diplomatic, military, social and economic contexts, exploring motivations for English service in Portugal in particular, from that of the common soldier to that of the governments. By looking at the itineraries in Portugal of English soldiers, their presence is mapped and their continuance debated. The Anglo-Portuguese examples demonstrate how foreign military intervention and mercenary activity might be a driving force in social and economic relations between regions of Europe during the Hundred Years War.     

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.     

A Palaeodietary Study of Stable Isotope Analysis from a High‐status Burial in the Copper Age: The Montelirio Megalithic Structure at Valencina de la Concepción–Castilleja de Guzmán,Spain

This palaeodietary study presents carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from human and faunal skeletal remains from the Copper Age settlement of Valencina de la Concepción–Castilleja de Guzmán, located in Seville, Spain. Montelirio, the only Valencina–Castilleja human group from which we have obtained reliable palaeodietary results, had a diet based on C₃ terrestrial resources, including both plants and animals. The protein component of the diet consisted mainly of meat, milk and dairy products from livestock as well as C₃ plant protein from cereals and pulses. This study compares data from Montelirio, the Copper Age group from Valencina–Castilleja, with the published data from other Iberian Late Neolithic–Copper Age (LN‐CA) societies. This comparison reveals a homogeneous diet with some exceptions. Overall, the LN‐CA diet in the Iberian Peninsula consisted mainly of animal proteins from meat, milk and dairy products from livestock as well as C₃ plant sources from the characteristic agriculture of the societies of these periods. This study also demonstrates the minor use of aquatic resources from the Neolithic to the Copper Age period in the Iberian Peninsula. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Allochthonous red pigments used in burial practices at the Copper Age site of Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla,Spain): characterisation and social dimension

The use of red pigments linked to burial practices is widely documented in the Iberian prehistoric record and very often it has been traditionally interpreted as a ritual practice entailing the utilisation of local raw materials (iron oxides). Some research works, nevertheless, have also detected the use of red pigments which can only be interpreted as allochthonous. The red pigments spread over a single inhumation in a monumental Megalithic tomb surrounding Valencina de la Concepción Copper Age settlement was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray microfluorescence, micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. This approach allowed characterising the red pigments as cinnabar, mixed with tiny amounts of iron oxides. The presence of cinnabar, a product that was necessarily imported, in a context of an exceptional set of grave goods, suggests that the use of cinnabar was linked not only to ritual but also to practices related to the display of social status.     

Direct radiocarbon (AMS) dating of split-based points from the (Proto)Aurignacian of Trou de la Mère Clochette,Northeastern France. Implications for the characterization of the Aurignacian and the timing of technical innovations in Europe

Radiocarbon (AMS) dates on two split-based point wings and a hominin molar from the site of Trou de la Mère Clochette in the French Jura are presented in this paper. Dating split-based points has very rarely been undertaken. This is unfortunate given that these artefacts are critical to our definition and characterization of Early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplexes, as they are considered to be the type fossil of the Classic Aurignacian.     

Matilda,Leonor and Joanna: the Plantagenet sisters and the display of dynastic connections through material culture

The material culture related to Duchess Matilda of Saxony, Queen Leonor of Castile and Countess Joanna of Toulouse (and former Queen of Sicily) offers a rich resource that allows us to understand how, when and why they connected themselves to their father, Henry II of England. The objects studied in this article prompt significant questions regarding the relation between material culture and royal women, which allow us to explore the formative phases in women’s lives as well as their roles in the promotion and construction of a dynastic consciousness. Even though the sisters probably acted separately, they did so with a shared awareness of their positions as royal daughters and the need to communicate this collectively. By centring on the three sisters’ objects, this article proposes that the study of material culture is crucial for a better understanding of the co-operation between siblings and can contribute to a more nuanced interpretation of power.     

The ivory workshop of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville,Spain) and the identification of ivory from Asian elephant on the Iberian Peninsula in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC

During excavations in the huge ditched enclosure of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), the main centre from the first hierarchical framework-settlement in the Guadalquivir Valley, a pit with remains of a context for producing ivory artefacts, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, was discovered in the large metallurgical nucleate workshops. Scientific (Optical Microscopy, FIRT and Raman Spectroscopy, C/N Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) analyses revealed that the ivory belonged to Asian elephants and the archaeological study, which was made in a specialized workshop context. In this paper we present the archaeological context, the study of the ivory artefacts and the state of research on ivory in the Lower Guadalquivir Basin during the 3rd millennium BC. In a parallel way, this paper discusses the significance of this workshop context in the configuration and function of the long distance circulation of raw material and the specialized craft areas in the first political centres.     

Arnau de Vilanova at the summit of Oloron (1287): a major inflection point in the life of a medieval physician

In July 1287, during mediation by Edward I for the release of Charles, prince of Salerno, the kings of England and Aragon met with Charles' representatives at a large assembly at Oloron in Béarn, on the edge of the Pyrenees west of Bayonne. An English document deriving from this meeting reveals the presence there of the famous physician Arnau de Vilanova, a member of the Aragonese party, and recipient of a gift from the king of England. This article demonstrates how this document and other recent discoveries, properly contextualised, can illuminate an obscure period in Arnau's life in which he turned towards a new pattern of existence.     

Kingship and good lordship in practice in late medieval England: Henry VII,the earl of Oxford and the case of John Hale, 1487

This article opens up a neglected source-base for the study of late medieval England: royal writs under the privy seal to the chief justice of the King’s Bench ordering a halt to legal proceedings. These writs gave the king a greater degree of flexibility than simply pardoning someone, including allowing him the option of reopening cases. This article demonstrates the value of this neglected instrument of royal power by placing one example in a broader context. The case study focuses on a writ sent by Henry VII to his chief justice halting the case against John Hale, a yeoman, who was in the contingent of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, in the lead up to the Battle of Stoke. It illuminates the nature of kingship and good lordship in late medieval England, showing how the two ideas could interact for the benefit of king, lord and servant.     

Characterization and origin of black and red Magdalenian pigments from Grottes de la Garenne (Vallée moyenne de la Creuse-France): a mineralogical and geochemical approach of the study of prehistorical paintings

Pigments sampled from wall paintings and from crayons taken on the floor, at the Grottes de la Garenne (Saint-Marcel – Indre, France) have been analyzed and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, Raman micro-spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ICP/MS and analytical TEM. The red pigment used for the wall paintings is mainly composed by hematite, clays, carbon matter and carbonates. Results on the red pigments show that the compositions of the paintings are similar to that of some crayons. Regarding these analyses, their origin is compatible with local siderolithic facieses. Analysis of black pigments shows that they are made of cryptomelane, pyrolusite, clays, carbonates and carbon matter. It shows also that paintings and some crayons compositions are compatible. On the contrary of red pigments, the origin of black pigments is probably allochtonous. Indeed, the traces of thallium detected in cryptomelane, the cerium anomaly and the absence of iron are not compatible with local facieses or other sites from the French Massif Central.     

“An opportunity to hope and dream”: Disaster Politics and the Emergence of Possibility through Community‐Led Recovery

Recent awareness of the role of neoliberalism in fostering tactics of de‐politicisation has cultivated recognition of a narrowing of democratic possibilities. Disaster, as a time of disruption can provoke a heightened awareness of dynamics of power and contestation. This provides a fertile ground to understand the possibility for de‐politicisation alongside that of resistance and hope. This paper weaves together and contextualises these ideas within a case study of community‐led disaster recovery in the city of ōtautahi Christchurch in Aotearoa New Zealand following a series of devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. In exploring the entangled relationship between crisis and hope I discuss how forms of de‐politicisation can emerge in the disaster context as well as the resistance that also emerges at the grassroots and everyday scale. I emphasise the need to see post politics as present‐yet‐incomplete alongside the potential for participatory and radical forms of social change at the grassroots scale.     

Town and countryside in northeastern Catalonia, 1267–c. 1450: the sobreposats de la horta of Perpignan

The study of the relationship between town and countryside in medieval Catalonia is still in an early stage. This article examines how Perpignan, the second most populous Catalonian town by the second half of the fourteenth century, extended its influence over the countryside of northeastern Catalonia through the sobreposats de la horta. Although they were the heads of the guild of Perpignan's agricultural labourers, the sobreposats de la horta acquired a broad jurisdiction over cases involving damage to property, and thus became responsible for protecting the rural interests of Perpignan's citizens more generally. First mentioned in 1339, the sobreposats de la horta continually encountered seigniorial and other opposition, but their powers steadily increased between their initial appearance and the 1380s, as did the control of Perpignan's consuls over them. However, the very success of the sobreposats de la horta necessitated a series of reforms, largely the work of Perpignan's consuls, from the 1380s onwards. These reforms attempted to restore the earlier efficiency of the sobreposats de la horta, to eliminate abuses of office, and even to limit the power of the sobreposats de la horta, whose growth the consuls had done so much to foster previously.