Oculus ecclesiae or the eyes of the people. Church and society in medieval Frisia

Medieval Frisia, also known as the ‘Seven Frisian Sea Lands’, consisted of clearly distinguishable parts: West Friesland (now part of the Dutch province of Holland), West-Lauwers Friesland (the present-day Dutch Province of Friesland), the Lands between the Lauwers and the Eems (the present-day province of Groningen) also called East Friesland, together with German East Friesland (Fig. 1). This study is concerned with the Lands between the Lauwers and the Eems; its main emphasis is on the lands (terrae) of Fivelgo and Hunsingo (Fig. 2).The history of medieval Friesland is not considered here in terms of modern political theory; instead, emphasis is on the forms of society and administration as they really existed, and on actual family and communal relationships. Viewed in this light the peace and truces inspired by the Church are seen to have played an important role.     

Revisiting Kalundu Mound,Zambia: Implications for the Timing of Social and Subsistence Transitions in Iron Age Southern Africa

African Archaeological Review - Novel trajectories of food production, urbanism, and inter-regional trade fueled the emergence of numerous complex Iron Age polities in central and southern Africa....     

The Metamorphosis of Woman: Transmission of Knowledge and the Problems of Gender

This study investigates the perceived inequality of male and female education, focusing geographically on the lands of Loire and Rhine and distinguishing between: (a) the way knowledge was acquired; (b) the media in which it was set down; (c) the content of the knowledge; and (d) the way it was transmitted to others. Starting with Guibert of Nogent's characterisation of both his (lay) mother's and his (lay) uncle's religious formation as well as his own training as a cleric and an abbot (c. 1125), developments in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are inventoried and the findings are tested on an example from the late middle ages, Christine de Pizan.     

The Dahomean Feast: Royal Women,Private Politics,and Culinary Practices in Atlantic West Africa

Feasting is a central component of elite power strategies in complex societies worldwide. In the precolonial Kingdom of Dahomey, located in the Republic of Bénin, public feasts were a critical component of royal strategies to attract and bind political subjects over the course of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, a period of dramatic political transformation on the Bight of Benin. Archaeological excavations within the domestic quarters of a series of Dahomean royal palace sites have yielded diverse faunal and ceramic assemblages that represent clear examples of (1) ritualized food consumption and (2) everyday culinary practices. In this paper, faunal and ceramic evidence from two excavated contexts is marshaled to distinguish the archaeological signatures of feasting in Dahomey, highlighting the importance of private feasts in attempts to build political influence in the domestic zones of Dahomean royal palaces. In particular, this analysis foregrounds how royal women jockeyed for power and influence during a period of political uncertainty.     

Beyond perception: Spatial analysis of detached ADU potential on residential lots in Windsor,Ontario

This paper analyzes the spatial potential of detached additional dwelling units (ADUs) in Windsor, Ontario. A new GIS model, which integrates various geoprocessing commands in ArcGIS 10.8.1, is developed to calculate whether the minimum allowable size of a detached ADU can fit within the total buildable area of a residential property, based on the setbacks, the lot coverage requirements, and other factors (such as parking and flood plain areas). The model uses publicly sourced data that were obtained from the City of Windsor's Open Data Portal. More specifically, individual residential parcels and associated building footprints along with street centerlines are used as inputs to the model. The outputs are then categorized into three types (suitable, potentially suitable, and not suitable) to demonstrate where detached ADUs can be built in compliance with the local zoning bylaws, on both an individual lot basis and at an aggregate level. The conducted analysis reveals the potential of existing residential neighbourhoods in a mid-size city, and has many implications for homeowners, policymakers, and researchers with respect to increasing housing supply within current Canadian municipalities.