Diplomatic and the Cid revisited: the seals and mandates of Alfonso VII

The royal chancery of the kingdom of León- Castile appears to have adopted the use of the seal towards the middle of the twelfth century. Examination of the surviving impressions from the reign of Alfonso VII (1126-57) suggests that he had at his disposal not one seal but two. They were sometimes used for the authentication of the solemn diplomas by which lands or privileges were granted; it is suggested that they were used also for sealing the short administrative orders called mandates. Documents of this latter sort, which have not hitherto been studied, appear to derive from the mandates used by Aragonese rulers of the early twelfth century, and they in their turn from the Capetian mandement and the Anglo-Norman writ. The use of sealed mandates in Alfonso VII's chancery is a further example of the play of foreign influences upon the kingdom of León-Castile at this period and may be of more than fugitive interest to historians of literature who are concerned to date the composition of Spain's most famous medieval epic, the Poema de Mio Cid.     

Multilingual literacy at the Lusignan court: the Cypriot royal chancery and its Byzantine heritage

Abstract

An important aspect of the social and administrative transformations resulting from the establishment of Western feudal lordships and colonial regimes in Byzantium and the Eastern Mediterranean was the emergence of a multilingual literacy in the contact zones between foreign elites and the native population. This article examines these phenomena with respect to the royal chancery of the Lusignan kingdom of Cyprus from the late twelfth until the beginning of the fourteenth century. It is argued that the Frankish ruling class of the island opted for a parallel use of Latin and Byzantine chancery practices without fusing them into hybrid mixtures. The Lusignan lords adopted Byzantine titles, symbols of authority and modes of expression for legal transactions with Greek subjects and the local tax system. Another area in which the heritage of the imperial chancery helped express new forms of hegemonial self-representation was the kingdom's diplomatic relations with non-Frankish rulers.     

The archaeology of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: a review of work 1947-97

The mid- to late tenth century has been seen as a period in which the kings of León saw their ability to project their power throughout their regnum challenged by the emergence of a magnate class increasingly disinclined to co-operate with public authority. This article aims to re-examine this premise via the following approach: first, a discussion of common problems and misconceptions related to notions of public power and government as these terms are used in an early medieval Spanish historiographical context; second, a case study which examines the roles of political actors in one relatively well-documented region of the kingdom. It argues that structures designed to deliver justice and maintain order in the region depended much more on the participation of local actors than they did on the king's official agents; the wider implications for our understanding of public authority are then considered anew.     

Maurofilia y maurofobia en el Libro del conde de Castilla

The Poema de Fernán González (or Libro del conde de Castilla) is not a crusade song, nor is it an epic poem or a historical account commemorating the foundation of San Pedro de Arlanza Monastery. It is rather a hybrid text that employs all the literary and historical resources available around the middle of the thirteenth century to an educated poet who was intent on transmitting to future generations the memory of the Count who made possible the independence of Castile. All episodes in the poem point to Castile's unique place in history, describing through the protagonist's bellicose deeds its hegemonic ascendency as the most important kingdom of the Iberian peninsula. Its destiny is determined by the hero's combative character against all enemies, whether Christians or Moors, and more specifically by confronting the powerful kings of neighboring states León and Navarre.     

Charles of Anjou,Pope Gregory X and the crown of Jerusalem

This article seeks to dispel the popular myth that Pope Gregory X (1271–6) wanted to change the government of the kingdom of Jerusalem by putting Charles of Anjou on its throne through the purchase of the claim of Maria of Antioch. A study of the Angevin chancery records – little used by crusade historians – demonstrates that Charles had an interest and influence in the kingdom before Gregory became pope. An examination of Gregory's papal registers shows that he consistently treated Hugh of Lusignan as king of Jerusalem and that the pope had no desire for anything to disrupt the peace in Christendom that he deemed necessary for his crusade.     

Education and asssociation: the bureaucrat in the reign of Henry VI

This study concentrates on the personnel of the chancery and the office of the privy seal during the reign of Henry VI of England (1422–1461). The educational achievements and involvements of these civil servants are examined to reveal how the qualities they bring to the job affect the level of bureaucratic service offered. Educational involvement afforded the king's clerks the opportunity both to make the contacts necessary to enter the king's service and to prepare for the king's service. At the various levels of the official hierarchy examples are found of bureaucrats who were involved in education as students, patrons, benefactors, collectors, men who made original contributions to learning and men who used their learning to contribute to the efficient functioning of the bureaucracy. Further, their associations with a multitude of educational enterprises and with their fellow clerks assisted in the development of a group mentality and loyalty which contributed to a well-run bureaucracy.     

Education and asssociation: the bureaucrat in the reign of Henry VI

This study concentrates on the personnel of the chancery and the office of the privy seal during the reign of Henry VI of England (1422–1461). The educational achievements and involvements of these civil servants are examined to reveal how the qualities they bring to the job affect the level of bureaucratic service offered. Educational involvement afforded the king's clerks the opportunity both to make the contacts necessary to enter the king's service and to prepare for the king's service. At the various levels of the official hierarchy examples are found of bureaucrats who were involved in education as students, patrons, benefactors, collectors, men who made original contributions to learning and men who used their learning to contribute to the efficient functioning of the bureaucracy. Further, their associations with a multitude of educational enterprises and with their fellow clerks assisted in the development of a group mentality and loyalty which contributed to a well-run bureaucracy.     

Norman crusaders in the Catalan reconquest: Robert Burdet and the principality of Tarragona, 1129-55

A Norman adventurer, Robert Burdet, while participating in the Reconquista, established a short-lived crusader principality at Tarragona. This Norman gained fame after 1114, first serving Alfonso I el Batallador (‘The Warrior’) of Aragón in the wars against the Banu Hūd of Zaragoza; thereafter he was contracted by Archbishop Oleguer Bonestruga of Tarragona, the primate of northeastern Spain after 1118 and a papal legate after 1123, to assume in 1129 the secular lordship of Tarragona which had been constituted by the comital house of Barcelona as a papal fief and ecclesiastical principality. After this prelate's death in 1137, the Norman held this frontier and attempted to found an autonomous crusader state, but in 1146 the new archbishop, Bernard Tort, began to re-impose ecclesiastical control over Tarragona. At the same time, the house of Barcelona inherited the royal title from Aragón, thus forming the crown of Aragón by merging the former kingdom with the Catalan counties and reviving the crusade against Muslim Lérida and Tortosa which fell in 1148 and 1149. The archbishop and count moved against the Normans to integrate their principality into the new Aragó-Catalan federation. Prince Robert lost much of his power before his death in 1155, and his heirs were reduced to vassalage to Barcelona and subservience to their ecclesiastical lord, the archbishop of Tarragona. Civil war broke out after 1155 and the expulsion of the Normans by 1177 brought their principality to an end.     

On the Constitution and Transformation of Philistine Identity

Recent discussion of the formation and alteration of Philistine identity in the Levantine Iron Age continues to reference primarily pottery styles and dietary practices. Such traditional narratives propose that the Philistines comprised one group of the ‘Sea Peoples’ and that the cultural boundary markers that distinguished their society in the Iron Age I (twelfth–eleventh century BC) diminished in importance and disappeared suddenly in the early Iron Age IIA (tenth century BC), with the ascendancy of the Judahite kingdom. Based on data from the Levant (especially Philistia), the Aegean and Cyprus, we argue for a more complex understanding of the Philistines who came to the region with an identity that drew on, and continued to engage with, a broad range of foreign artefact styles and cultural practices with non‐Levantine connections. Concurrently they incorporated local cultural attributes, at least until the late ninth century BC, a feature that we argue was unrelated to the supposed tenth century expansion of the Judahite kingdom.     

Der priesterkönig Johannes und sein Reich — Legende oder realität?

In the middle of the twelfth century rumours of a powerful Christian ruler beyond Islam, called Prester John, spread through Europe. In his vast kingdom, according to report, society was at peace and strange people, animals and plants, as well as valuable precious stones with miraculous powers, were to be found.At first this kingdom was sought for in India, then in the thirteenth century was transferred to Central Asia, and in the fourteenth to Ethiopia. Henry the Navigator and his captains tried to reach this powerful ruler in order to combine with him in attacking Islam in the rear. But it was only in 1517 that the Portuguese succeeded in contacting the Ethiopian ruler in person and helping him against his Islamic enemies. Through political ineptitude they made themselves unpopular, were persecuted, and finally in 1640 driven out of the country.Using an interdisciplinary approach based on history and ethnology, but also on geography, Germanistics and theology, an attempt is made here to decide if Prester John really existed and where his kingdom was, and, failing both possibilities, to ascertain who in the twelfth century had an interest in the ‘discovery’ of such a person, and to review the consequences of this ‘discovery’ in subsequent centuries.     

«Non urbe, non vico, non castris»: territorial control and the colonization and urbanization of Wales and Ireland under Anglo-Norman lordship

By playing on the Classical belief that urbanity is a sign of civility, urbanism has often been used by Europeans to characterize the «other» as uncivilized. In the twelfth century, contemporary chroniclers in England made much use of the myth that Wales and Ireland were unurbanized and therefore uncivilized. This conviction provided, in their view, a justification for colonizing lands in Wales and Ireland, at the western edge of the Anglo-Norman kingdom. Throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the process of this colonization was intimately linked with urbanization. This paper examines the spatial dimensions of this process and proposes two views of how urbanization facilitated colonization. First, English domination was extended geographically by the use of particular Anglo-Norman urban laws, and by the foundation of chartered towns. These laws spread English legal practices into Wales and Ireland, reinforcing the myth that these areas lacked urbanity before colonization, whilst at the same time placing them under the watchful eye of Anglo-Norman lordship. Secondly, in the creation of chartered «new» towns, Anglo-Norman lords used exclusionary devices to structure the internal spaces of towns, separating English townspeople from Welsh and Irish and in the process marking them as «outsiders» in a «colonial» society.     

Between two kings: Pope Honorius III and the seizure of the kingdom of Jerusalem by Frederick II in 1225

The consensus on Pope Honorius III (1216–27) is that he was a conciliatory politician who lacked the harder edge possessed by Innocent III, his immediate predecessor, and Gregory IX, his successor. Yet, using overlooked evidence regarding the role of Honorius in Frederick II's seizure of the kingdom of Jerusalem from John of Brienne in 1225, this article reveals that he was capable of acting in a ruthlessly pragmatic manner. It provides a rare case study of the duplicitous uses that could be made of the papal chancery by an early thirteenth-century pope while navigating a difficult diplomatic path between two kings.     

The Evolution of Pre‐Islamic South Arabian Coinage: A Metallurgical Analysis of Coins Excavated In Sumhuram (Khor‐Rori,Sultanate of Oman)

The present paper deals with compositional and microstructural features of 26 pre‐Islamic, South Arabian coins recently unearthed during archaeological excavations. Most of the investigated coins come from Sumhuram (Khor Rori, southern Oman), and were minted by the Hadramawt kingdom (fourth century bc to third century ad ); only a few of them belong to the Himyarite kingdom's coinage (first to fourth centuries ad ). In addition, some coins of both the Hadramawt and the Himyarite kingdoms found at Qani' (B'ir ‘Ali, Republic of Yemen) have been analysed for comparison. Our main focus was to provide new hints towards the comprehension of the chronological evolution in South Arabian coinage in terms of both metal composition and minting techniques. In addition, some melting crucibles found at Sumhuram have been examined in an attempt to make a comparison with the coins’ composition and to test the hypothesis that they were used for minting operations.     

Norman crusaders in the Catalan reconquest: Robert Burdet and the principality of Tarragona, 1129-55

A Norman adventurer, Robert Burdet, while participating in the Reconquista, established a short-lived crusader principality at Tarragona. This Norman gained fame after 1114, first serving Alfonso I el Batallador (‘The Warrior’) of Aragón in the wars against the Banu Hūd of Zaragoza; thereafter he was contracted by Archbishop Oleguer Bonestruga of Tarragona, the primate of northeastern Spain after 1118 and a papal legate after 1123, to assume in 1129 the secular lordship of Tarragona which had been constituted by the comital house of Barcelona as a papal fief and ecclesiastical principality. After this prelate's death in 1137, the Norman held this frontier and attempted to found an autonomous crusader state, but in 1146 the new archbishop, Bernard Tort, began to re-impose ecclesiastical control over Tarragona. At the same time, the house of Barcelona inherited the royal title from Aragón, thus forming the crown of Aragón by merging the former kingdom with the Catalan counties and reviving the crusade against Muslim Lérida and Tortosa which fell in 1148 and 1149. The archbishop and count moved against the Normans to integrate their principality into the new Aragó-Catalan federation. Prince Robert lost much of his power before his death in 1155, and his heirs were reduced to vassalage to Barcelona and subservience to their ecclesiastical lord, the archbishop of Tarragona. Civil war broke out after 1155 and the expulsion of the Normans by 1177 brought their principality to an end.     

The kingdom of Portugal,homage and papal ‘fiefdom’ in the second half of the twelfth Century

This paper examines the relationship between the newly formed kingdom of Portugal and the papacy in the second half of the twelfth century. The kings of Portugal sought a close alliance with the papacy and their relationship has been seen as that of ‘vassal’ and overlord. However, it seems likely that this alliance owed more to the tradition of monastic protection grants. The act of homage performed to the papal legate by King Afonso I is an example of a wider use of the homage ceremony. Homage was not only used to cement ‘feudal’ bonds, but also to make peace or to confirm pacts and agreements. The annual census paid by the kingdom to Rome was part of the same grant of protectio. The papal–Portuguese letters used the same language and terminology as ecclesiastical protectio, which was awarded by the papacy to monasteries, churches and eventually kingdoms and kings.     

Settlement and Demography in Seventh-Century Judah and the Extent and Intensity of Sennacherib's Campaign

Abstract

A detailed examination of data from dozens of excavated sites, urban and rural alike, reveals that most parts of Judah prospered in the seventh century BCE, and that this, and not the eighth century, represents the settlement peak in most parts of the kingdom. Systematic investigation of the data conducted both on the site level and on a regional basis allows us to identify patterns of continuity, prosperity and decline during the transition from the eighth to the seventh century BCE. The identified patterns are presented, and possible explanations for them are suggested. These patterns are then compared and contrasted with information from the various textual sources (both the biblical and the Assyrian sources) on Sennacherib's campaign to Judah in 701, in order to gain a better understanding of the campaign and its impact on the kingdom of Judah.     

The Boundaries of Women's Power: Gender and the Discourse of Political Friendship in Twelfth‐Century England

The discourse of friendship was an integral part of political language and interaction in twelfth‐century England. Because the qualities that made a good political friendship – loyalty, wise counsel and generosity, among others – corresponded so closely to the criteria for successful lordship, historians often used the quality of a king's friendship as a signifier for the quality of his rule. Yet their treatment of women's political friendship was markedly different. The discourse of friendship therefore provides a window into the larger struggle over the representation of gender and rulership in twelfth‐century historical writing in England, reflecting chroniclers’ anxiety about female sovereignty. Twelfth‐century historians depicted women's participation in political friendship as acceptable only within certain circumscribed boundaries that corresponded to the sanctioned political roles for women in general. Otherwise, chroniclers attempted to efface the existence of women's political friendship, sometimes describing the same situations in different language depending on whether the main participant was male or female. Chroniclers also represented women as arbiters of friendship, showing men how better to conduct their relationships either through direct instruction or counter‐example. In both cases women reinforced male friendship, either by being excluded from it, or by demonstrating the correct way to carry it out.     

The seal of Alaric,rex Gothorum

A sapphire ring stone in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna which bears the legend ALARICVS REX GOTHORVM fits well into a late fifth/early sixth‐century context. Forgery is highly unlikely. It was probably meant to seal letters and secure valuables, though chancery use is possible. Its composition, most probably modelled on imperial coinage, combines with an extremely high‐status medium to present a flattering picture of Alaric as a peaceful king. This paper suggests that Theoderic the Ostrogoth may have commissioned the intaglio in an effort to avert war between the Franks and Visigoths, and to enhance his own status.