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.     

Towards a Critical Anthology of Pre-Modern Bosom Serpent Folklore

We present a preview of our work for a critical anthology of medieval and pre-medieval fantastic folklore narratives about animals in the human body. These are generally referred to among English-speaking scholars as ‘bosom serpent’ legends. In particular, we provide here two of the most ancient texts from the section of the anthology on medieval Scandinavia. We also offer two little-known narratives, a medieval Latin saint’s life and one from the Byzantine Greek world.     

The Reuse of Prehistoric Standing Stones in Western Britain? A Critical Consideration of an Aspect of Early Medieval Monument Reuse

The superficial similarity in form of prehistoric standing stones and early medieval western British inscribed stones has sometimes led to the suggestion that the medieval stones were reusing the earlier monuments. In this paper this suggestion is critically assessed. It shows that the medieval stones are different in size from the prehistoric stones, and placed in different contexts. This lack of reuse of prehistoric standing stones is considered in the context of other examples of monument reuse known from western Britain.     

Die subjektive Objektivität der mittelalterlichen Medizin

The problem of ‘reality’ and ‘realism’ is rarely discussed in medieval medical texts, although medieval medicine is based on objectivity. There are three reasons why medieval physicians were so sure about their image of human nature: the convincing model of humoral pathology, the undoubted truth of tradition, and the suggestive similarities between worldly things and their presumed divine purpose. Thus, individual cases were only examples of the common theory of medicine and were by no means able to change it.     

Climatic anomalies,food systems,and subsistence crises in medieval Novgorod and Ladoga

Climatic factors have affected subsistence strategies throughout human history. In northern Europe and Russia, short-term climatic anomalies and weather extremes are commonly thought to underlie famines in the Middle Ages. However, medieval subsistence crises were not just natural disasters and medieval people were not passive victims of climatic anomalies. In addition, the capacity to cope with climatic anomalies has varied temporally and spatially throughout the Middle Ages. Yet only a few studies have explored the climatic impact on regional medieval food systems comprehensively. This article examines the significance of climate variability on subsistence crises in medieval Novgorod and Ladoga (Russia), focusing on the relationship between short-term climate anomalies and crop cultivation. In addition, this paper evaluates the impact of crop failures, frosts, and other weather phenomena on the food system. The materials are drawn from medieval sources, paleoclimatological reconstructions, and archaeological evidence. The results show that short-term climatic anomalies alone rarely lead to severe subsistence crises, and during every famine period there is evidence of other contributing factors, such as unfavourable weather phenomena, disease, or social unrest. The variety of cultivated crops and agricultural techniques is shown to increase the region’s resilience to climatic anomalies and to crop failures.     

Wild Birds of the Italian Middle Ages: Diet,Environment and Society

ABSTRACT

Wild birds are intrinsically associated with our perception of the Middle Ages. They often feature in heraldic designs, paintings, and books of hours; few human activities typify the medieval period better than falconry. Prominent in medieval iconography, wild birds feature less frequently in written sources (as they were rarely the subject of trade transactions or legal documents) but they can be abundant in archaeological sites. In this paper we highlight the nature of wild bird exploitation in Italian medieval societies, ranging from their role as food items to their status and symbolic importance. A survey of 13 Italian medieval sites corresponding to 19 ‘period sites’, dated from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries, reveals the occurrence of more than 100 species (certainly an under-estimate of the actual number). Anseriformes and Columbiformes played a prominent role in the mid- and late medieval Italian diet, though Passeriformes and wild Galliformes were also important. In the late Middle Ages, there is an increase in species diversity and in the role of hunting as an important marker of social status.     

Rhetoric and morale: a study of battle orations from the central middle ages

Courage and morale are often overlooked factors in medieval warfare. Nevertheless, they were as important in the middle ages as they are today. Although there is no psychological evidence of the type compiled in recent wars, the chroniclers of the central middle ages do provide a considerable amount of information about the different factors that stimulated the fighting spirit of medieval armies. They wrote hundreds of battle orations, harangues to the knights before or during combat, that show in detail the kinds of motive appeals the chroniclers believed would be most effective in building morale. This article analyzes battle orations as a rhetorical genre for the psychological insights they provide into the mentality of the medieval man at arms.     

A Study of the Folklore on the Coasts of Connacht,Ireland

During the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, it was commonplace among historians that the common people of medieval England had remained substantially pagan in their religious beliefs. Christianity, according to this view, was essentially the faith of the elite, with the populace embracing what was at best a dual allegiance to the new and old religions. This view has now disappeared, and the time seems right to take stock of medieval popular religion in England with a view to solving three problems: why did the concept of a pagan medieval populace develop, flourish for so long and then decline; what is the actual evidence for medieval popular belief; and what new perspectives can be taken on medieval English Christianity by employing comparisons with paganism?     

Where are the wolves? Investigating the scarcity of European grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) remains in medieval archaeological contexts and its implications

The wolf is thought to have been abundant in many parts of medieval Europe, but its remains are rarely identified in archaeological contexts. One of the potential reasons for this is the problem of distinguishing between the skeletal elements of wolves and dogs, accentuated by poor preservation and fragmentation. This paper reviews the extent of this problem, exploring the morphological relationships between wolves and dogs, as well as the issue of hybridisation, and goes on to suggest how the scarcity of wolf remains may in fact reflect infrequent hunting. This is illustrated with a comparative regional case study of wolf hunting and commercial exploitation in medieval England and southern Scandinavia, synthesising archaeological and written sources. The paper concludes with an optimistic appraisal of the value of wolf remains in medieval archaeological contexts for a broader understanding of relations between humans and wolves in the medieval period. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential osteoarchaeological evidence for riding and the military use of horses at Malbork Castle,Poland

The paper explores interpretations of two sets of pathological horse vertebrae identified during analyses of animal bones from recent excavations at the castle at Malbork in northern Poland (formerly Marienburg in Prussia). One specimen dates to the 18th century and the other to the medieval period. The castle was initially constructed by the Teutonic Order from the late 13th century and occupied by military institutions into the 19th century, and is one of the largest fortified structures in Europe. The pathological vertebrae are attributed to prolonged load‐bearing. The problematic interpretation of the remains from the medieval context as belonging to a warhorse is discussed. Warhorses are widely described in contemporary documentary sources which indicate that mares were typically kept in farms on the Order's estates in late‐medieval Prussia, while studs were separately stabled at castles. There is not enough data to confirm the medieval specimen as a warhorse, and both vertebrae may simply represent riding animals. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Arctic in the middle ages

The rather sparse and dubious data about Arctic regions known to Antiquity were taken over, mostly via Pliny, by the middle ages and reinforced and expanded in significant ways. This paper, which was delivered as an Inaugural Lecture at the University of Groningen in November 1982, reviews the activities and reports of medieval explorers, colonists and traders in or about the Arctic and considers the handful of medieval writers who display some real knowledge about Arctic regions. The generality of medieval writers on history and geography knew little or nothing. Even so, it is shown that here and there references are made to many of the features which are thought of as typically Arctic in the modern popular consciousness, with the exception of igloos and muskoxen. Commercial connections with the Arctic through Novgorod and Bergen are examined, and some account given of contacts with Iceland and the disappearance of the Norse settlement in Greenland. Polar bears and white falcons in western Europe, both of nearly indisputable Arctic origin, are discussed, attention is drawn to the very inadequate portrayal of the Arctic on medieval maps, and the paper closes with a glance at Olaus Magnus's account of northern peoples published in 1555.     

The Arctic in the middle ages

The rather sparse and dubious data about Arctic regions known to Antiquity were taken over, mostly via Pliny, by the middle ages and reinforced and expanded in significant ways. This paper, which was delivered as an Inaugural Lecture at the University of Groningen in November 1982, reviews the activities and reports of medieval explorers, colonists and traders in or about the Arctic and considers the handful of medieval writers who display some real knowledge about Arctic regions. The generality of medieval writers on history and geography knew little or nothing. Even so, it is shown that here and there references are made to many of the features which are thought of as typically Arctic in the modern popular consciousness, with the exception of igloos and muskoxen. Commercial connections with the Arctic through Novgorod and Bergen are examined, and some account given of contacts with Iceland and the disappearance of the Norse settlement in Greenland. Polar bears and white falcons in western Europe, both of nearly indisputable Arctic origin, are discussed, attention is drawn to the very inadequate portrayal of the Arctic on medieval maps, and the paper closes with a glance at Olaus Magnus's account of northern peoples published in 1555.     

5. WHAT DO MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS MEAN?

The aim of this article is to review and reconsider what scholars, including historians, archaeologists, and those in other disciplines, are trying to get at when they attempt a “social interpretation” of English late medieval domestic buildings. I focus on the definition and interpretation of “meaning,” and I examine critically a series of concepts routinely deployed in social interpretations in the past, including my own work, such as type, zeitgeist, and intention. I argue that some of these concepts and interpretive moves are problematic and rather than aiding in our understanding, raise further questions in their turn about how buildings were lived in and understood by their medieval inhabitants. I argue for a shift in language and jargon away from “planning” and “meaning” to that of “lived experience”. I explore such a possible shift with reference to different understandings of and debates over the late medieval castle of Bodiam in southeastern England. Such a shift from meaning to lived experience raises fresh challenges for the development and empirical evaluation of interdisciplinary research on medieval buildings, but it also raises fresh possibilities and insights.     

Fairy Beliefs and other Folklore Notes from County Leitrim

Recent writing on the medieval origins of the concept of the witches' sabbath have emphasized the importance of beliefs in nocturnal processions or cavalcades of spirits, known in modern times by the umbrella term of the ‘Wild Hunt’. This article suggests that the modern notion of the Hunt was created by Jacob Grimm, who conflated different medieval traditions with modern folklore. It further argues that a different approach to the study of medieval spirit processions, which confines itself to medieval and early modern sources and distinguishes between the types of procession described in them, results in different conclusions, with regard both to the character of the Hunt and to its relationship with the sabbath.     

The right to social welfare in early medieval Iceland

As a rule poor relief in medieval Europe was practised in the form of charity by Church, monasteries and rich people. They distributed their alms to the poor, who received them gratefully and humbly. From early medieval Iceland elaborate social laws have come down to us that are remarkable in their originality for the period. We shall describe these laws, and investigate their history, development and the reason of their existence.     

The right to social welfare in early medieval Iceland

As a rule poor relief in medieval Europe was practised in the form of charity by Church, monasteries and rich people. They distributed their alms to the poor, who received them gratefully and humbly. From early medieval Iceland elaborate social laws have come down to us that are remarkable in their originality for the period. We shall describe these laws, and investigate their history, development and the reason of their existence.     

Medieval Sermon Studies since The Sermon: A Deepening and Broadening Field

Abstract

Since the publication of The Sermon in 2000, the field of medieval sermon studies has matured into a well-established and growing interdisciplinary area of medieval studies. This article seeks to illustrate how we are doing our work and where our interests are taking us. Growing numbers of print and electronic resources facilitate locating, accessing, and interpreting texts and other historical sources pertinent to preaching. Via the preparation of carefully edited texts, the exploration of specific themes, and the illumination of particular preaching traditions, increased depth of understanding is being achieved. Sermonists use an expanding range of scholarly methodologies and pursue a broadening range of topics, here exemplified by memory and visual arts. Overarching much of our work is the desire to recover medieval experiences of what was fundamentally an oral and performative genre through its largely textual remains.     

A 12th‐Century Slavic Ship from Wolin,Poland

Wreck 10 found in Rec?aw, near Wolin, in 2003, is described in detail and the remains are examined to determine whether the vessel they represent was a river ferry, as has been suggested previously, or a medieval seagoing ship, built in the Slav tradition. The location of the wreck is also considered in relation to early medieval settlement in the area to investigate whether it was a harbour.     

The Fordwich Stone and its Legend

Abstract

The ubiquitous use of the Latin word ‘sedilia’ to refer to the ritual seats to the south of an altar for the use of the celebrant priest and his assistants has led to the notion that it is an authentic medieval term. This paper shows the results of a survey of documentary references to seats of all kinds in medieval England, and demonstrates that in the medieval period the word sedilia was of no especial distinction, meaning merely ‘bench’, only gaining its current meaning in the late 18th century. The word was used along with a variety of others to refer to now lost seating in medieval churches, including benches and individual chairs in the chancel as well as seating in the nave. This piece will make some suggestions for the distinctions made in the terminology in medieval documents regarding the different types of seating in churches. To avoid confusion, the word ‘sedilia’ is italicised when it refers to medieval use of the Latin word, but not when it refers to the modern definition.     

Bolton Castle and the Practice of Architecture in the Middle Ages

Abstract

It is suggested in this paper that our view of the medieval master mason's methodology, in respect of building design, tends to be a partial one; that it represents the ideal, and fails to take account of some medieval architects' inherent empiricism. A good deal is made of comparatively scarce documentary evidence, and of analyses of completed buildings chosen for their architectural coherence. For this reason, perhaps, our perception of the medieval master mason is sometimes too close to that of the modern architect. It is rare to examine a building's construction sequence in attempting to illuminate the subject: Bolton Castle is a building where it has been possible to reconstruct the process of design, and the conclusion drawn from it is that the design was not cut and dried prior to the commencement of building operations; rather it evolved as they progressed. It is shown that, in this, Bolton was by no means atypical and that such cases are a direct result of the medieval mason's craft based approach to his profession.