A leprous skeleton of the 7th century from Eccles,Kent, and the present evidence of leprosy in early Britain

A male skeleton of 7th century date from the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Eccles, Kent, is described. Certain skeletal changes associated with leprosy are manifest. The disease is discussed in its palaeopathological context and this case in relation to the few other cases of the disease hitherto diagnosed in Great Britain.     

«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.     

Characterizations of palace lantern tassels preserved in The Palace Museum,Beijing, by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF

Palace lanterns were important and highly visible decorations in the imperial palace in Beijing, China, during the Qing dynasty (1636–1912). Most lanterns had colourful tassels made of fibres. The study performed a comprehensive investigation of the materials and dyes used for palace lantern tassels preserved in The Palace Museum, Beijing. Eight samples with different colours, including yellow, green and red, from five palace lanterns were analysed. By using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the compositions of the dyes were identified quickly, and thus the dyes' origins were explored. A X-ray fluorescence spectrometer assisted in the detection of whether a mordant was used during the dyeing process. As a result, the tassels were all made of silk, discovered through the use of microscopic observation and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis. Different dyeing techniques were found in these tassels: yellow tassels were dyed by cork tree or turmeric by a direct dyeing method; greens were dyed by pagoda bud with an iron mordant, or by the combination of cork tree and indigo using multi-dyeing method; and red tassels were coloured with different acid red industrial dyes. These results provide valuable data for the conservation of ancient textile tassels and contribute to the investigation of other hanging tags.     

Faith in war: the religious experience of Scottish soldiery, c.1100–c.1500

This paper examines the comparatively patchy evidence for the pastoral provision and personal faith of late medieval Scottish combatants below the rank of knight. By examining such sources as papal supplications, royal financial accounts, parliamentary rolls, chronicles, poetry and the cartularies of Scottish monastic houses and burgh collegiate churches, it is possible to identify elite and parish provision of churchmen serving the needs of Scottish troops as they mustered, trained and prepared for battle. In addition, this evidence also highlights a number of cults and relics popular with the social ranks of the ordinary Scottish soldiery, including those of SS Ninian, Leonard, Thomas Becket, Columba, the Blessed Virgin Mary and — often cast as the nemesis of Scottish troops — Cuthbert. However, this survey also points to some tensions between the spiritual interests of Scottish servicemen and their ruling elites.