The Jew,the Blood and the Body in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe

The reality of the blood libel legend and accusations of ritual murder against Jews in medieval and early modern times has been widely discredited by scholars. They demonstrate instead the processes by which the exclusion of a perceived ethnical and religious enemy strengthened the communal identity of European society at that time. The aim of this paper is to look at the alleged bodily evidence of the libel—the blood—and at the controversial way in which it has been perceived by different groups of people over time. This approach illuminates the fears and beliefs that fed hatred of Jews beyond its original manifestation as a religious motif in relation to the crucifixion of Christ.     

试析中世纪晚期欧洲的伯格音运动

伯格音（Beguine）中世纪欧洲宗教史上惟一的由妇女发起,并以妇女为主体的宗教运动。本文介绍了伯格音运动的基本概况和特点,从宗教、社会和文化等三方面分析了该运动的起因,阐述了教俗两界对该运动的态度及其变化等。伯格音运动反映了妇女争取自由解放的要求,对当时的欧洲社会产生了很大的冲击和影响。     

Sugar Consumption,Dental Health and Foodways in Late Medieval Iin Hamina and Early Modern Oulu,Northern Finland

This article examines the modernization of northern Finnish food culture, especially in 17th- and 18th-century urban Oulu, by applying the methods of archaeology and history research. During the 17th century, the food culture was still quite conservative. Coffee, sugar, wheat flour, and fruit began entering the diet of affluent northern Finnish people from the 18th century onwards. The food culture of Oulu inhabitants is studied by comparing dental material retrieved from Oulu Cathedral graveyard to data obtained from historical document sources. A comparison point to the early modern bone material of Oulu is provided by late Middle Ages material from Ii, which lies north of Oulu on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. Carbohydrate consumption is related to many dental conditions, such as caries and calculus, which can be traced in archaeological human skeletal remains. The diets of males and females, as well as the diets of adults and children, are compared, in order to retrieve information on the emerging consumption of sugar in different groups, such as gender and age groups. The relationship between carbohydrate consumption and class identity in northern Finland is discussed.     

Against War! Regional Identity Across a National Border in Late Medieval and Early Modern Scandinavia

During every war between Denmark and Sweden from at least 1505 to 1676 popular peace treaties were concluded by common men on both sides of the national border. These treaties were negotiated in contrast to the aggressive policy of the political leaders and to the nationalistic discourse of the elite. The aim of this article is to use archaeology to give an economic, social, and mental background to these treaties, and to the regional identity across the border that they presuppose. Above all a specific building tradition seems to have given the peasants a mental affinity across the border.     

Study of stafne's defects in Late Neolithic,Late Roman,Medieval and Modern skeletal samples from Portugal

Lingual mandibular cortical defects (Stafne's defects) are relatively uncommon in recent as well as past populations, but while this condition is often discussed in clinical reports, they are rarely the subject of anthropological research. In this paper, the prevalence of Stafne's bone defects in skeletal samples from Late Neolithic, Late Roman, Medieval and Modern Portugal is investigated (N = 704 complete mandibles and 111 incomplete mandibles). The aims of this paper are threefold: (1) to present and analyse for the first time in Portuguese osteological record prevalence data on Stafne's bone defect, (2) to analyse variations in defect prevalence between skeletal samples from a wide temporal array and (3) to verify if more tenuous lesions in which resorption of the lingual cortex was not yet extensive had the classic radiographic appearance described by Stafne in order to validate the hypothesis that lesions are present clinically in many more cases than published figures indicate. In all cases, differential diagnosis against other conditions that mimic Stafne's defects, namely odontogenic lesions, cysts and neoplasms, was done. In all samples, the evidence of Stafne's defect occurred in 12 individuals (1.7%), and males (2.84%) were more frequently affected than females (0.61%). When incomplete mandibles were considered, only one left fragment (0.90%) exhibited Stafne's defect. Accurate identification of all examples of Stafne's bone defects in antiquity is thought to represent an important contribution to elucidate which factors may be responsible for this trait's cultural, ecological, temporal and geographical patterning. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

英国中世纪及近代早期的家产分配方案

在中世纪及近代早期的英国,家产继承主要依据普通法继承规则.在当时的生产关系下,这一规则主要是维护封建主阶层的整体利益,而较少顾及亲情.但人毕竟是有感情的,封建主在分配家产时常常综合考虑,以限嗣继承(Entail)、托管(Uses)、家产析分契约(Strict Settlement)等变通手段对普通法继承规则加以修正.这些变通手段反映了封建主在情感与理智之间摇摆不定的心态,地产继承制度也在这种摇摆中曲折发展.一部继承法变迁史表明,制度的变迁常常是人们心理冲突的外化形式.     

The Medieval and Early Modern Cornish Stamping Mill

Abstract

The exhaustion of the richest alluvial tin deposits led to development of lode tin. Stamping mills were developed to crush the ore and although considerable archaeological and documentary work had been carried out in neighbouring Devon, little research had been undertaken in Cornwall. The excavation of two mills at Colliford, the survey of further examples at Retallack and an extensive search of documentary evidence has allowed an appraisal of this aspect of the early Cornish tin industry. Much work still remains, but now it is possible to be much more positive about the character of the surviving field evidence, the potential for excavation and the need to develop a research strategy.     

欧洲中世纪后期的异端运动与妇女权利

在中世纪基督教异端研究中,妇女问题一直是西方史学家关注的重要问题。本文通过对贝居因派、古列尔迈派、卡特里派、韦尔多派和罗拉德派这五个10世纪以后欧洲比较重要的大众异端派别中女性权利的总结和分析,指出她们享有大致与男性相等的宗教权利和自由,即效仿基督贫穷的权利、完成部分圣礼的权利、接受平等宗教和文化教育的权利。虽然在实践中,由于传统性别观念的影响,她们的权利实践或多或少受到限制,但她们依然获得了比天主教妇女更大的权利和自由,打破了传统社会对女性的限制和禁忌,获得了一定的发言权。尤其是贝居因派和古列尔迈派的妇女表现出的强烈的女性意识,被认为是妇女争取平等权利的榜样,对后世女性主义的发展具有借鉴意义。     

Crafters of Kingship: Smiths,Elite Power,and Gender in Early Medieval Europe

IN THE EARLIEST CENTURIES of the Middle Ages, skilled metalsmiths were greatly valued by cult leaders who required impressive objects to maintain social links and the loyalty of their retainers. Despite their clear importance, smiths were peripheral characters operating on the fringes of elite communities. Such treatment may reflect an attempt to limit the influence of metalworkers, whose craft was seen as supernatural and who themselves were probably spiritual figureheads; archaeological evidence associates smiths and their tools in symbolic processes of creation and destruction, not only of objects but also of buildings and monuments. The Church clearly appropriated these indigenous practices, although conversion eventually saw the pre-eminence of the sacred smith and their practice wane. Anthropological study provides numerous comparators for skilled crafters acting as supernatural leaders, and also suggests that as part of their marginal identity, smiths may have been perceived as a distinct gender.