tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510779001132419822024-02-06T19:32:34.406-08:00The Vespers TrilogyFind out and talk about medieval history, Sicily and the Mediterranean during the Crusades, food and culture, what did medieval people eat and drink (our sleuth is a tavern owner, after all!!) and what about money and trade? Spices and what about the streets of a medieval town after dark?
And what about the women in medieval Sicily? What did they wear, eat, drink and how did they get married (or not)?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-61530971133052997032016-04-11T05:38:00.000-07:002016-04-11T05:38:24.768-07:00Women's sport<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FALCONRY WAS THE TITLE XI OF THE MIDDLE AGES.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From The Medievalists.net 3/30/16</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Medieval sports were,
for the most part, chances for men to practice their martial skills in less
dangerous ways and largely relegated women to the role of cheerleaders. There was one sport, however, that welcomed both men and
women to the field: falconry. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;">Rooted in the ancient
world, falconry was used for necessary hunting in the Middle Ages – such as
finding food and killing vermin – but it was also an extremely popular sport
for the nobility. Falcons and hawks were usually trained to hunt small prey,
like rabbits and other birds, as they do in the natural world, but their
training was sometimes expanded to include attacking larger prey, like deer, in
order to weaken and distract the animals so that hunters and their dogs could
finish them off. Unlike boar and stag hunting, falconry did
not involve a face-to-face encounter with a dangerous animal, so it
was a safer sport for respectable medieval ladies: less
physically demanding, less rushed, and less bloody.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was a wide range
of birds to train and use to hunt, including the gyrfalcon,
goshawk, and sparrowhawk. A common bird for ladies was
the peregrine falcon. Peregrines were often chosen by ladies because they are relatively small, lighter to hold on the fist, and especially graceful in the
air. Peregrines attack their prey by closing their talons into fists and
diving, breaking the bones of other birds and knocking them out of the sky. In order to accomplish this
backbreaking feat, peregrines execute spectacular dives in excess of 300 kmph –
they are the fastest creatures on the planet. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;">Because falconry
allowed for women and men to spend the day riding out into nature and
having picnic lunches in full view of </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">chaperons</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;">, it was the perfect
opportunity for them to flirt and get to know each other. Soon
enough, falconry became inextricably linked to romance. </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;">Medieval writers could not resist bringing love and falconry together. In one
version of Tristan and Isolde, Isolde is compared to a falcon on the hunt with
darting eyes (Clason, p.48); in Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowles, the raptors are
arguing over mates (Clason, p.47); and in the Middle English Sir Orfeo
(ll.303-308), it is an otherworldly party of women hunting with falcons that
leads Orfeo to his lost lady-love. Marie de France takes the hawking and love
theme one step further in Yonec, a lai in which a knight actually shapeshifts
into the body of a hawk to visit his lady for romantic liaisons, imprisoned, as
she is, in a tower. The beautiful illustrations in the fourteenth-century </span></span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;"><i>Codex
Manesse</i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;"> feature lots of falconry and romance, and I especially
love the famous page 69r, which features two snuggling lovers and a woman with
a grey bird (perhaps a peregrine) on her fist. Outside of the realm of books,
archaeologists have also found ladies hunting with falcons on both mirrors –
often a lover’s gift – and on the carved hilt of a knife (Gilchrist, p.110,
127).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you’d like to read
an authentic medieval manual on falconry (minus the romance), you can check out
a thirteenth-century book, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P8FUD4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000P8FUD4&linkCode=as2&tag=medievalistsn-20&linkId=UHHL6WK7JLZJC6GJ"><b><i><span style="color: #c62765; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Arte Venandi
cum Avibus</span></i></b></a></span><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=medievalistsn-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000P8FUD4" id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: .6pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: .6pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata o:title="ir?t=medievalistsn-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000P8FUD4" src="file:///C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.gif">
</v:imagedata></v:shape></span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, written by the Holy
Roman Emperor himself, Frederick II. For a much more modern and personal
account, I’d recommend the award-winning H is for Hawk by
Helen Macdonald. For a deliciously cheesy ‘80’s movie about love, birds, and
lovebirds, check out <b><i><span style="color: #c62765;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W81K9C8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00W81K9C8&linkCode=as2&tag=medievalistsn-20&linkId=EMGKAMXAHG3EOHPM">Ladyhawke</a>.</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-48500291658238389362016-03-28T06:32:00.001-07:002016-03-28T06:32:07.824-07:00Palmyra saved?The news this morning announced that Palmyra, the great archaeological treasure in Syria was retaken by the Syrian army from ISIS. If true, this is something to be celebrated. Some authorities speculate that the site could be restored in 5 years, but with continuing warfare and a massive refugee problem, that is probably not the top item on Syria's list. Still, as a history buff fascinated with this particular locale, I hope it remains safe from further destruction by fanatics of any stripe and can be opened again to the public.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-90861636976200942432016-03-14T07:05:00.002-07:002016-03-14T07:05:53.806-07:00Monastic orders<h2 style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is a very quick
guide to medieval monastic orders:</span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Early Christian monasticism</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– this practice started emerging in Egypt and Syria around the
third century, where men began to seek out solitary existences devoted to
prayer and meditation. St Anthony of Egypt (d.356) is considered to be the
father of monasticism, having spent 80 years living as a hermit. Soon these
individuals started to congregate into small communities for prayer and
instruction. The idea of monastic settlements would find acceptance into the
Christian world and slowly spread to Byzantium and Western Europe. Saint Basil
the Great (c. 330 – 379) created monastic rules that were generally followed
within the Byzantine Empire.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Celtic monasticism</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– as Christianity spread into Ireland and parts of Great Britain
during the late 4th and 5th centuries, monastic communities emerged in places
such as Iona, Lindisfarne and Kildare. Several early Irish monks were
noted for being missionaries, traveling into Great Britain and continental
Europe to convert non-Chrisitians.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Benedictines</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– members of an order
founded by St. Benedict in the sixth century, they were perhaps the most common
type of monastic community during the Middle Ages. Known as the Black Monks
because of their style of clothing, and were noted for their commitment to
writing. Several medieval Popes were originally Benedictine monks.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cluniacs</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– a reformed component
within the Benedictines, this order was centred around the monastery of Cluny
in France. Founded in 910, they believed that monastic rules had grown lax and
too involved in secular affairs. These monks would follow stricter practices
and spend more time in prayer. This movement spread out to other parts of
Europe, so by the 12th century one could find about 300 houses, all of which
were subordinate to the abbot of Cluny.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cistercians</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– starting with a
French abbey founded at Citeaux in 1098, they valued manual labour,
self-sufficiency and a return to a more literal adoption of the Benedictine
rules. Called the White Monks for wearing white cloaks, their most famous
member was Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153), a well known preacher who was
frequently involved in ecclesiastical and political issues. By the 15th
century, one could find over 750 Cistercian houses across Europe.</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 8.75pt; text-align: center;">Cistercians at work in a detail from the Life of St. Bernard of
Clairvaux, illustrated by Jörg Breu the Elder (1500)</span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carthusians</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– an order founded in
Germany in 1084, they were noted for their austerity, where members lived in
their own cells and spent several hours a day in prayer and meditation. By the
end of the Middle Ages, one could find about 200 houses spread across Europe.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Premonstratensians</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– Founded in France in 1120 by St Norbet of Xanten, this order
combined a contemplative life with an active role of teaching and preaching.
Also called the White Canons, this order was involved with converting pagan
peoples in Eastern Europe.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trinitarians</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– an order based in
Iberia, their main function was to help ransom Christian captives from Muslim
lands.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beguines</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– a lay order for
women that began around the 12th century, they were most popular in the
Netherlands and Germany. Focused on charity and prayer, some of the women
involved were known for their mysticism and for getting in trouble with
ecclesiastical authorities for their views.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beghards</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– a male lay order
that emerged from the Beguines, it was centred around the Low Countries and
France. Like the Beguines, men involved here did not take formal monastic
vows but were committed to prayer and social work.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-87622561531713072452016-02-29T06:58:00.000-08:002016-02-29T06:58:25.437-08:00Umberto EcoLet us join the world in paying tribute to Umberto Eco, medieval scholar and novelist, who died recently. He was 84.<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Born in Alessandria,
Italy, Eco studied medieval philosophy and literature at the University of
Turin, In 2008,
he was asked about his interest in the Middle Ages: "</span><i style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I would say that it’s because the period is exactly the opposite of the way
people imagine it. To me, they were not the Dark Ages. They were a luminous
time, the fertile soil out of which would spring the Renaissance. A period of
chaotic and effervescent transition—the birth of the modern city, of the
banking system, of the university, of our modern idea of Europe, with its
languages, nations, and cultures."</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eco continued his
academic career in Italy, and in 1959 published <i>Sviluppo dell’estetica
medievale</i> (translated into English in 1985 as <i>Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages</i>), which summarized his
views on medieval aesthetic ideas. His academic career flourished as he took on numerous other subjects, including media
studies, semiotics and anthropology. He also taught at Columbia
University and Harvard University, before retiring as professor emeritus
at the University of Bologna in 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eco once said,
“<i>I think of myself as a serious professor who, during the weekend, writes
novels.” </i>His novels, however, gained him worldwide fame, beginning with The
Name of the Rose, which was first published in Italian in 1980. Soon
translated into other languages, the work sold more than 14 million
copies and was made into a Hollywood film. Set in in Italian abbey during the
year 1327, it follows a monk named William of Baskerville as he tries to
deal with both heresy and murder at the monastery. As one reviewer
commented, “<i>although the work stands on its own as a murder mystery, it is more
accurately seen as a questioning of ‘truth’ from theological, philosophical,
scholarly, and historical perspectives.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-25191835736448243972016-02-22T06:01:00.001-08:002016-02-22T06:01:35.520-08:00Rosemary finalHere are the final 9 things that were found in a medieval manuscript as the uses for rosemary.<br />
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15. Likewise, take the
leaf of the rosemary, and boil it, and wash your head, and great weakness from
rage, or other causes, will fall away from you, and you will be well.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16. Likewise, take
rosemary and plant it in the earth at the head of your vineyard, and it will be
better than before.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17. Likewise, take the
leaf of the rosemary, and boil it with holy water and dilute some white wine
with this water, and make a sop, and it will restore your appetite for eating.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">18. Likewise, take the
leaf of the rosemary and boil it in strong vinegar and, while it is still hot,
put it on your body and know that it will draw diarrhea from your body.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">19. Likewise, take the
leaf of the rosemary and boil it in water and when it has cooled to lukewarm,
wash your feet with it and then take a cloth and wrap your legs, and all
inflammation of gout and other maladies will go from you, and it will heal.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">20. Likewise, take
great quantities of rosemary leaves and boil them in water, and bathe the man
who has become mad from illness, and he will be restored to sanity.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">21. Likewise, take
rosemary and make a fire of it and direct smoke into a hole where you know
there is a snake, and it will quickly come out.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">22. Likewise, take the
leaf of the rosemary and boil it, and when it cools drink it. It will quickly
chase away all thirst and you will be restored.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">23. Likewise, take the
flower of the rosemary and put it your trunk where you keep your cloth, or your
books, and you will not need fear the worms that can destroy them.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-29251575872967272822016-02-15T06:54:00.000-08:002016-02-15T06:54:18.822-08:00Rosemary 2Continuing with the uses of Rosemary listed in the 14th century...<br />
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. Likewise, take the
leaves of the rosemary and put it in your bed, and you will not have
nightmares.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9. Likewise, take the
rosemary and make a vapor from it, and it will prolong your youth and
strengthen your limbs.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. Likewise, take the
leaf of the rosemary and grind it up and put it on a crab, and it will cause it
to die immediately.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. Likewise, take
rosemary and its leaves and grind them up and make 6 spoonfuls of sauce, and
eat it with whatever you please, and it will make it good and wholesome.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. Likewise, take
rosemary and keep it in your house, and you will have nothing to fear from
serpents or scorpions.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13. Likewise, take a
leaf of rosemary and put it in wine, and it will give it a good, firm bouquet
and a good flavor, and it will be clean and clear.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14. Likewise, take the
wood of the rosemary, and put it into a barrel, or cask, and drink the wine
from it. It is good for every illness, and will drive away boils of the breast.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-81908801181671035712016-02-12T17:05:00.000-08:002016-02-12T17:05:06.546-08:00city lifeRight now I'm working on a new book set in 1896 New York city and some of my research begins with Lyndsey Faye's fabulous book, The Gods of Gotham I definitely recommend you read this fascinating historical novel beginning in 1845 when New York's first police force appears<br />
It struck me that while trains existed, even an elevated, most of the characters got around like our Vespers characters did - either on foot or carriage or horseback. Mostly on foot<br />
Also the picture drawn of sanitation, jobs, tenement living and the like were basically squalid<br />
No beautiful public baths so prevalent in medieval Mediterranean cities and not much municipal clean-up like 13th Palermo had. In fact one of our characters, Raynaldus Dr Rogerio, was a magistrate in his quarter of Palermo and one of his responsibilities was daily street clean-up, not to mention organizing the night watch.<br />
<br />
Just an interesting comparison ...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-25254583701175587022016-02-08T06:11:00.002-08:002016-02-08T06:11:34.004-08:00Versatile Plant<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 2.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">23 Medieval Uses for
Rosemary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the Middle Ages, Rosemary was considered a
wonder plant, which could be used to treat many illnesses and keep you healthy.
One 14th century writer found 23 uses for it, including keeping your hair
beautiful and preventing nightmares! </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This beautiful plant with its blue flowers is native to the
Mediterranean region and has a long history dating back to mythological
stories. The Greek goddess Aphrodite was said to be wrapped in rosemary
when she first emerged from the sea, while the name comes from a story
that the Virgin Mary had once spread a blue cloak over a white-blossomed
bush, which turned its flowers blue. Writers dating back to ancient times
praised the plant for its medical uses, and medieval brides would wear a
rosemary wreath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A list of its uses can
be found in the <i>Zibaldone da Canal</i>, an early fourteenth-century
book by a Venetian merchant. Although he says that there 25 uses for rosemary,
the text only includes 23, but they offer a fascinating look at what medieval
people believed were the beneficial aspects of plant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These are the virtues of
rosemary, which is very good for all illnesses; rosemary has 25 powers, and all
are good. </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. The first, take the
flower of the rosemary and bind it in a linen cloth, and boil it in water until
only half as much water remains, and use it against all illnesses within the
body, and drink this water.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Likewise, boil the
leaf of the rosemary in good unadulterated white wine, and wash your face in
it, and it will make your face white and beautiful, and the hair beautiful.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Likewise, take the
flower of the rosemary and make a powder of it and bind on your arm, and it
will be quick.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Likewise, take the
flower of the rosemary and make a paste of it and moisten a green cloth, and
brush your teeth, and it will kill worms, and protect you from all ills.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Likewise, take the
root of the rosemary and put it on hot coals, and breathe the smoke through
your nose, and it will cause all rheum to go away.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Likewise, take the
root of the rosemary and boil it in strong vinegar and wash your feet in it,
and it will make them firm and strong.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. Likewise, take the
flower of the rosemary in the morning and eat it with honey and rye bread, and
no blisters will rise on you.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be continued...</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-41308266077379876802016-02-01T06:57:00.003-08:002016-02-01T06:57:52.201-08:00Above the salt<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: 2.75pt; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">In the Vespers series, lovely Renata is the daughter of a salt merchant from Trapani. See what our friends at Medievalists.net have to say about salt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Using
Salt in the Middle Ages </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">By Danièle Cybulski</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12pt;">Salt was an integral
part of medieval life: not only is some salt a necessary part of a human diet,
but it’s also essential for preserving food such as meat, seafood, and dairy
products in the absence of refrigeration. Though salt wasn’t always cheap or
easy for everyone to get their hands on, it was ever present in the medieval
world. The amount of salt needed varied from place to place, and from purpose
to purpose. Naturally, salting food for long-term storage took more salt than
that used for everyday cooking. In </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12pt;"><a href="http://amzn.to/1JRzUJx" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #c62765; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Food
and Feast in Medieval England</span></i></b></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12pt;">,
P.W. Hammond writes, “In the thirteenth century the Bishop of Winchester kept
160 quarters (1,310 liters) at one of his manors.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For an island nation
like Sicily, salt wasn’t too hard to come by. Salt pans in Trapani and other
coastal cities were valuable and attracted the attention of the wealthiest
landowners. Given the large quantities of salt needed for curing and eating,
salt production would have been lucrative, indeed. Medieval salt was collected from
the evaporation of natural salty springs or seawater. None of it was mined. Since
this process would involve getting some dirt in the salt, it was frequently
purified by merchants before sale, or by households before use, by
redissolving, filtering and evaporating it again. Naturally, the closer to the
table, the better the salt: no one wanted dirt in the salt dish, but a little
dirt in a pickle barrel wasn’t as big a deal. Unethical salt merchants could –
and did – add bulk to their product by deliberately mixing in sand. Because not
everyone found salt easy to come by, it was used as a marker of social status.
Important people sat “above the salt”, with easy access to the salt cellar at
feasts, while unimportant people sat below the salt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-19837412462539048282016-01-25T10:02:00.000-08:002016-01-25T10:02:25.350-08:00Raynaldus as mathematician<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Hindu-Arabic
number system was invented in India around the year 500 AD, and during the
Early Middle Ages spread throughout Arabic-speaking world. It reached into
Western Europe by the end of the 10th century, and started getting more use in
the 13th century. In his article “Old-Fashioned versus Newfangled: Reading and
Writing Numbers, 1200-1500,” math historian John Crossley (Monash University,
Australia,<i> Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History</i>, Third Series,
Volume 10 2013) explains that even by the end of the Middle Ages many writers
had difficulty understanding how numbers worked, and preferred using Roman
numerals. With Roman numerals they would know that the various characters had a
fixed amount. If they saw a V it would be five, X would be ten, and M that
would mean one thousand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“With minor
exceptions, Roman numerals do not change their meanings when they change their
place, but Hindu-Arabic numerals do.. When we encounter 3 in 437 or in
3,145,872, it means two different things. The distinctive feature of
Hindu-Arabic numbers is their place notation, independent of the </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">form<i> of the numerals 0,1,…9. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The concept of place
notation, along with new forms/symbols for numbers, proved difficult for
medieval Europeans to understand, so changing over to the new system was slow. Crossley
examined manuscripts from 1200 to 1500 to determine use of the Hindu-Arabic
numerals, and found that in the 13th century, only 7% of manuscripts had the
new numbers, rising to 17% for the 14th century and 47% for the 15th century.
The impetus for changing to the Hindu-Arabic numbers in medieval Europe seems
to have come from businessmen. Progressive and successful merchants such as those in our novels would have had to learn a major new approach to numbers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Roman numerals were
used in universities that taught about abstract properties ( square numbers,
triangular numbers, etc.) and Hindu-Arabic numerals were used for commerce. They
were taught in so-called abacus schools where merchants were taught the new
Hindu-Arabic numerals. Such schools were prevalent in Italy. Since they were sometimes
involved with quite complicated calculations, the commercial used ultimately
led to the development of algebra. It was not until the 16th century that time
academia embraced the study of methods of calculation, in particular algebra,
while retaining its theoretical concern with abstract properties of numbers.”</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-12857172570117756532016-01-18T06:17:00.000-08:002016-01-18T06:17:03.467-08:00Christian medicine<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The influence of Christianity on medicine from Graeco-Roman
times up to the Renaissance</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Francois
Retief and Louise P. Cilliers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Acta Theologica</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, Vol.26:2 (2006)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this
overview of the effect of early Christianity on empirical medicine in Graeco-Roman
times, it is shown that the first two centuries represented peaceful
cooperation, since the Christians saw secular medicine as a legitimate form of
supernatural cure and not as magic. Christianity brought caring communities
with indiscriminate personalised care for the ill and aged. This ultimately led
to the creation of hospitals as we know them today. Monastic institutions
appeared which often had hospitals, and provided a degree of medical
scholarship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Christianity
became the state religion in the 4th century, the Church Fathers became
increasingly authoritarian regarding the practice of medicine which was to be
based on their interpretation of Galen. Progressive stagnation of scientific
development and medicine specifically, set in. However, during the 5th century
Nestorian Christians, fleeing from persecution by the Church, settled in Persia
where they initiated a blossoming of medical science during the Golden Age of
Islam (8th to 13th centuries), coexisting with the Dark Ages of Medieval
Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After this period
Jewish and Christian doctors reintroduced Arabic versions of the works of the
Greek masters from the teaching hospitals of Islam to the young European
medical schools at Palermo and Montpellier. The Church which had in the mean
time persisted with antiquated dogmas, resented the new teachings from heathen
Islam, and responded with reactionary measures against supposed heretics, inter
alia by instituting the Inquisition. But after the Reformation and Henry VIII
of England’s break with the Vatican, the hegemony of the Church had come apart
and Christianity and medicine gradually became realigned according to the
realities of the Age of Enlightenment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-40178473746141104722016-01-12T06:51:00.000-08:002016-01-12T06:51:09.469-08:00Treaty of Benevento<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.2pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 12.2pt;">After the Normans conquered Sicily, they had
a hard time holding on to it. In 1155,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Emperor" title="Byzantine Emperor"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Byzantine
Emperor</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_I_Komnenos" title="Manuel I Komnenos"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Manuel
Comnenus</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>reconquered
parts of the southern Italian mainland. For Pope Adrian IV (the only English
pope to date), having the<span class="apple-converted-space"> Byzantines on
its</span> southern border was preferable to the troublesome Normans. In an
alliance with Manuel, Adrian undertook to raise a body of mercenary troops to
war against the Normans. But just as the war seemed decided in the allies' favor,
things started to go wrong. The Greek commander, Michael Palaeologus, was
recalled to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople" title="Constantinople"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Constantinople</span></a>.
He was a brilliant general in the field, and his loss was a major blow to the
allied campaign. The turning point was the battle for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brindisi" title="Brindisi"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Brindisi</span></a>,
where the Sicilians launched a major counterattack by both land and sea. At the
approach of the enemy, the mercenaries deserted. Soon Adrian's Byzantine allies
were left hopelessly outnumbered. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">William and
his army landed on the peninsula and destroyed the Greek fleet (4 ships) and
army at Brindisi on May 28, 1156. </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 12.2pt;">The Sicilian army
approached Benevento where the pope was in residence, and the pope was forced
to make terms, signing the</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 12.2pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Benevento" style="line-height: 12.2pt;" title="Treaty of Benevento"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; text-decoration: none;">Treaty of Benevento</span></a><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 12.2pt;"> confirming William as king on June 18, 1156.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The kingship of William I of Sicily (William
the Bad, 4<sup>th</sup> son of Roger II) was recognized over all Sicily,
Apulia,</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabria" title="Calabria"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Calabria</span></a>, and</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campania" title="Campania"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Campania</span></a>, as well as</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capua" title="Capua"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Capua</span></a>,
the coastal cities of</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalfi" title="Amalfi"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Amalfi</span></a>,</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples" title="Naples"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Naples</span></a>, and</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaeta" title="Gaeta"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Gaeta</span></a>,
and the newly conquered territories of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marche" title="Marche"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Marche</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and the</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abruzzi" title="Abruzzi"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Abruzzi</span></a>. The pope had to resign much claimed
authority over the island. In the church of S. Marciano, William was invested
by the pope with first Sicily, then Apulia, and finally Capua. In return,
William paid tribute to the pope of 1000</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schifati" title="Schifati"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">schifati</span></a></span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (similar to
the Byzantine gold solidus).</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-67912592900204076732016-01-08T11:14:00.000-08:002016-01-08T11:14:04.403-08:00New Year's Eve in the medieval world<a href="http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/31/celebrating-the-new-year-medieval-style/" target="_blank">http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/31/celebrating-the-new-year-medieval-style/</a><br />
<br /><br />
Check out the new years celebrations in the medieval world at the above link. The New Year wasn't always January 1. In fact, in my notarial documents in Sicily, the official beginning of the year was March 1. There were also other kinds of dating, especially regnal years when kings began their reigns, which were put in notarial records as well.<br />
<br /><br />
In Book #3 - The Leopard Triumphant, we talk about people drinking watered wine, which theoretically prevented people from being too drunk as the wine was usually drunk within the first year. It was only in the next century that medieval people figured out how to age wine.<br />
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It's good to live in the 21st century, yes?!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-31185311415821781382016-01-04T06:35:00.001-08:002016-01-04T06:35:35.685-08:00February 4, 1169This date was the end for 15,000 to 25,000 people as a result of the earthquake in eastern Sicily and Calabria on the eve of the Feast of St. Agatha. Measuring 6.4 to 7.3 on various earthquake scales, this major temblor completely destroyed Catania, Lentini, and Modica, and was felt from Messina to Syracuse in Sicily and on the Calabrian peninsula. The quake triggered a tsunami on Sicily's eastern shore that moved large boulders and furthered the destruction. This large earthquake followed a period of increased seismic activity along the junction of the African plate and Eurasian plate. Fatefully, Sicily sits atop this junction. Some say the quake cause Mt. Etna to erupt, but more recent scholars say it didn't. Notably, the Cathedral in Catania collapsed, killing Bishop John of Ajello (Aiello) and 44 monks who had gathered for the feast day along with almost the entire population of the city. In the aftermath of the quake, officials feared that the exiled Tancred of Lecce and the Byzantines might capitalize on the situation with an invasion. Tancred, however, was allowed to return to Sicily and no invasion occurred. He went on to become king from 1189 to 1194. The poet Peter of Blois described the earthquake as Sicily's punishment from God for replacing his brother William of Blois as bishop of Aiello with John. John assumed the see in 1167 and died in the collapse of the cathedral.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-59871851422606231062015-12-31T07:10:00.000-08:002015-12-31T07:10:00.174-08:00Christmas and New Year's in Italy/SicilyWhen Bill and I were in Sicily over the holidays, we saw a lot of wonderful things that we don't do here in the States. One was an incredible million course meal every night of the 12 days of Christmas. Yowza. How did I lose 20 pounds there? And some interesting travel snafus as well.<br />
<br /><br />
For example, we decided to spend New Year's Eve in Siracusa with our friend Bruno. We had a wonderful time, then hopped on the hydrofoil to Malta and spent a few days there. When we returned to Sicily, we went to the train station, expecting to be able to hop a train or even a bus back to Palermo. No way. The date was January 6. Ring a bell?<br />
<br /><br />
I was pretty puzzled. Why would all transportation stop because of my oldest sister's birthday? Which brings me back to the first paragraph - they really celebrate the 12 days of Christmas in Sicily and Epiphany is January 6. As a defunct Methodist, that was news to me. So to make a long story endless, we ended up calling a friend who took us to an obscure corner we never would have found to catch the bus to Palermo as no trains ran that day. Not only were we grateful for his kindness, it turned out that we had to switch buses in Modica, but that bus would have left 10 minutes before we got there. Our bus driver called Modica, talked to that bus driver, who said absolutely he would not wait as his buses were always on time (wait, this is Italy - who is he kidding?!). But he got a surly "okay" and when our bus pulled into Modica, there was a busful of people for Palermo patiently waiting for us. Bill flew off to buy tickets and I tried to thank the entire busload in my lame Italian - they were so gracious and laughed and clapped. <br />
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I love the Sicilians.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-80345379461893363302015-12-28T06:16:00.000-08:002015-12-28T06:16:26.780-08:00Peace of Caltabellotta31 August, 1302, was the date on which the War of the Sicilian Vespers, begun in 1282, can be said to have ended. The Peace of Caltabellotta was the formal treaty ending the struggle between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for the control of Sicily and the Mezzogiorno (the southern portion of Italy's mainland). The treaty separated the island of Sicily from the mainland, which came to be known as the Kingdom of Naples, still under the rule of Charles of Anjou. Frederick III was ruling Sicily. He was the third son of Peter of Aragon and succeeded his brother James on the throne. In effect, this treaty formalized an uneasy status quo. The treaty stipulated that Sicily, now called the Kingdom of Trinacria, would pass to the Angevins upon Frederick's death. Charles was obligated to pay tribute of 100,000 ounces of gold to Frederick, unless Pope Boniface VIII allowed Frederick to conquer either Sardinia or Cyprus. Frederick released Charles's son Phillip, Prince of Taranto, from imprisonment, and he married Charles's daughter Eleanor. Five hundred years later in 1816 the Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Not until 1861 did Sicily become part of the Kingdom of Italy.<br />
Wishing the world, and all of you peace in 2016.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-72834610810217977012015-12-22T05:12:00.000-08:002015-12-22T05:12:50.896-08:00Admiral of the SeasRoger de Lauria (born in southern Italy c. 1245, d. 17 January 1305), Sicilian commander of the fleet for Peter III of Aragon in the War of the Vespers and the Aragonese Crusade, the most successful and talented naval tactician in the medieval period. As the Angevins took over Sicily, Roger's family fled to Barcelona. His mother was a nurse to Queen Constance. He was named admiral of the fleet in 1282 and went on to win six major naval battles from 1283 to 1300, defeating the Angevins in Sicily and the French in the Aragonese Crusade. He retained his admiralty during the reigns of two of Peter's successors, James II and Frederick III.<br />
After winning against the Angevins near Naples in 1287, Roger made a truce with the Neapolitans without authorization from his king. This may have deprived the Aragonese of victory on the mainland of Italy.<br />
Frederick III rewarded Roger with a castle and lands in Aci, but Roger's affections for the Angevins soured their friendship. Frederick besieged Roger's castles and arrested him. However, Roger escaped and fled into the service of Edward I of England to fight the French. He soon left the English and returned to Italy where, in 1299, he defeated the Sicilians, capturing 18 enemy galleys. In 1300 he defeated and captured King Frederick himself, but ultimately submitted to Frederick after the Peace of Caltabellotta. Frederick pardoned him. Roger then retired to Valencia where he died in 1305.<br />
So was Roger a patriot or greedy mercenary?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AeW6IEkjT0s/VnlLwOUJ1NI/AAAAAAAAAfY/eger-FBUf1c/s1600/220px-Roger_de_Ll%25C3%25BAria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AeW6IEkjT0s/VnlLwOUJ1NI/AAAAAAAAAfY/eger-FBUf1c/s320/220px-Roger_de_Ll%25C3%25BAria.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roger's statue in Barcelona</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-28776944719684631822015-12-21T07:25:00.002-08:002015-12-21T07:25:47.890-08:00true crime stories<a href="http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2015/12/guest-post-jeanne-recommends-some.html" target="_blank">http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2015/12/guest-post-jeanne-recommends-some.html</a><br />
<br /><br />
Some of us who like murder mysteries really gravitate towards true crime stories.<br />
<br /><br />
Above the a link for those of us who do - two of my personal favorites are on this list - Devil in the White City, which takes place during the Chicago Exposition of 1893 and Leopold and Loeb: Crime of the Century. Aside from the fact that they both take place in my favorite place after my Rocky Mountain paradise - Chicago - they're just eye-popping reads. You won't put them down.<br />
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What are your favorite true crime books?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-63483601989781204512015-12-14T06:37:00.000-08:002015-12-14T06:37:42.663-08:00Aragonese CrusadeAh, yes, all those saints! And the Church had to make the world safe for sainthood, so they set about to slay their enemies. Peter III of Aragon (yes, our King Peter in Sicily) was declared one of those enemies by Pope Martin IV. As part of the extension of the war after the Sicilian Vespers, Martin excommunicated Peter and deposed him as king of Aragon, all over a little island in the Mediterranean. You see, Peter's father (PeterII) had ceded Sicily to the Holy See. Martin then gave Sicily to Charles of Valois (the French/Angevin), Martin was unhappy when the Sicilians invited Peter to take over again.<br />
<br />
Then, to complicate matters, Peter's brother King James II of Majorca joined the French, thus creating a civil war. James also held the county of Rousillon on the mainland, and it stood between the dominions of the French and Aragonese monarchs. James welcomed the French army into Rousillon in 1284, but the populace rose up against them under the command of the Bastard of Rousillon. The French eventually won, burning the church and massacring the people. The French also took Girona the following year, but their fortunes were soon reversed by the intercession of Peter's Admiral, Roger de Lauria (yes, he's in the book too). A celebrated and feared naval commander, Roger defeated the French fleet at the Battle of Les Formigues. Following a camp epidemic of dysentery, the French army on land was then defeated at the Battle of the Col de Panissars. Historian HJ Chaytor said the Aragonese Crusade was "perhaps the most unjust, unnecessary and calamitous enterprise ever undertaken by the Capetian monarchy." It was to have far-reaching consequences for the history of Europe.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-39410646067489560272015-12-11T06:47:00.000-08:002015-12-11T06:47:16.940-08:00December Saints Days, Coffee and ChocolateSo I'm going through my usual morning routine - the cats (which they had in the 13th century) jump on my head, I get up and make coffee (which Sicily did not have in the 13th century) and I contemplate my espresso beans - a gift from my sweet friend Meredith - covered in chocolate (which they did not have in Sicily in the 13th century. My, those 13th century Sicilians were deprived! Well, they had cats. And lemons. And cane sugar. And leather. It's a start ...<br />
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And because one of my friends mentioned the Feast of the Immaculate Conception the other day (December 8) I thought I'd peruse the Book of Saints to see how many December saints there are. Holy Smokes! Check out the list below - there's a virtual plethora of them! Happy Feast Days! (it always comes back to food doesn't it?)<br />
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St. Francis Xavier<br />
St. John Damascene<br />
St. Nicholas (<br />
Santa Claus)<br />
St. Ambrose<br />
Mary's Immaculate Conception<br />
St. Damasus<br />
Our Lady of Guadalupe<br />
St. Jane Frances de Chantal<br />
St. John of the Cross<br />
St. Peter Canisius<br />
St. Lucy (Santa Lucia - my personal favorite)<br />
St. John of Kanti<br />
St. Stephen<br />
St. John the Apostle<br />
Holy Innocents<br />
St. Thomas Becket<br />
St. Sylvester<br />
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Now, as a defunct Methodist, most of these saints are not familiar to me. But Santa Lucia, not only a popular saint in Sicily/Italy, I met at a Lutheran Church in Chicago. I attended a Santa Lucia Day ceremony, with young girls coming down the aisle wearing tiaras with lighted candles on their heads. Very impressive. Santa Lucia is also Siracusa's patron saint and they have a beautiful procession, with Santa Lucia cakes.<br />
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And who doesn't know the story of Thomas Becket? "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest" in the famous words of Henry II. Arrivaderci, Thomas.<br />
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And that's my December saints blog!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-34116834292475522632015-12-09T05:33:00.000-08:002015-12-09T05:33:09.998-08:00Muslim expulsion from SicilyReading about Republican proposals to ban Muslims from immigrating to America recalls the various efforts in the Middle Ages to do the same thing in other lands. For over 400 years in the Early Middle Ages, Muslims controlled the Middle East, Jerusalem and Constantinople, destroying Christian shrines and temples and murdering pilgrims. Conflict reigned between the religious groups for centuries. In the 1090's the Seljuk Turks overran Arab Constantinople and in 1098, the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt conquered the Turks. By 1099, Pope Urban II was calling for the first Crusade to return the Holy Land to Christian control, and to unite the eastern and western branches of the church. In a series of 7 major Crusades over the next 200 years, Europeans streamed into the Holy Land to kill the "infidels", and in the process, be absolved of their sins and have a chance to acquire wealth and position. Crusaders breached the walls of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, killing the residents indiscriminately. Contemporary sources said the streets of the city ran with "blood up to the ankles".<br />
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Against the background of the Great Schism, the Pope sanctioned the Norman conquest of the Muslim Emirate of Sicily in 1066. For about 100 years thereafter, contrary to other kingdoms, Muslims were accepted on the island. Mulsims served in government posts and the army. However, vilification of Muslims gradually took hold in Sicily as well as in other parts of Europe, and their royal protection ended with the death of William the Good in 1189. Frederick II then enacted many repressive measures against the Muslims to please the Pope. Eventually there was a failed Muslim rebellion on the island, leading to formal expulsion in 1224 of 15-20,000 Muslims to Lucera, a town on the southern end of the mainland. There the Muslim population could be isolated and controlled, but also taxed. King Charles (the Angevin ruler in our mysteries) finally decimated the colony of Muslims in 1300 before his final defeat by Peter of Aragon.Those Muslims that weren't killed in his pogrom were exiled. Estimates are that about 10,000 of them were sold into slavery.<br />
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...And the beat goes on...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-70817672734898183852015-12-06T10:19:00.000-08:002015-12-06T10:19:27.542-08:00Greek temples, Hannibal, Segesta, AgrigentoI keep being dragged back to the impact the Greeks, and other ancient civilizations, had on Sicily, when I look at pictures of ancient Greek temples. Anyone remotely interested in that subject knows that the best extant examples are in Sicily - Segesta, Agrigento, around Siracusa.<br />
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On my trip this April with my friend Alison, we were lucky to be driving through Segesta and Agrigento and seeing these massive (and they are massive) buildings from the autostrada is incredible.<br />
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And since I just got back from soaking in a neighboring hot spring, I was also interested to learn that Segesta was famous as a medicinal soaking place. Its hot springs were sulphurous, its founders were reputed by Thucydides to be Trojans and Phocians, who pre-date the Greeks on the island. This is an old, old place.<br />
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Segesta kept changing alliances between the Carthaginians and the Athenians, not to her benefit. Eventually she became subject to Carthage, then came under a brutal attack by the Athenian Agathocles, who came to Sicily to war against the Carthaginians. Segesta welcomed him, but for some reason he turned against them and hurled men from catapults, or bound them in brass beds with recesses for their arms and legs, then roasted them alive. What happened to diplomacy?<br />
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And I always wondered what happened to Hannibal of Carthage. I always imagined he was trampled by one of his elephants, but of course that wasn't the case. He actually died in Sicily, besieging Agrigento somewhere around 414 B.C. For eight months the siege dragged on but when Agrigento's mercenaries deserted and the Carthaginians poured into the city, the prominent men of Agrigento sealed themselves into the Temple of Athena and set fire to it, preferring death by burning to capture by Carthaginians.<br />
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A reflection on war, torture and its ongoing, seemingly never-ending, appearances.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-61070664473710191012015-11-30T07:22:00.000-08:002015-11-30T07:22:29.076-08:00Great Schism and SicilyThe pilgrims featured in Murder at the Leopard are given a tour of some of the churches of Palermo as Sophia makes various offerings to God to assure her soon-to-be delivered infant is a boy. Two of those churches, La Matorana and San Cataldo, both built in the mid 12th century, lie across the courtyard from one another. In fact, these two churches were built for different communities within what we know as "the Church". La Matorana was a Greek Orthodox church completed in 1151, but San Cataldo was a Roman Orthodox church completed in 1160. As we look at Sicilian history, The Great Schism of 1054 (Pope Nicholas II) which separated the church into Roman and Greek branches, underlies the conquest of Sicily by the Normans.<br />
The Great Schism was a result of centuries of conflict and divisions between the East and the West, ultimately being traced back to the division of the Roman Empire into its Eastern and Western rulers. Sicily, long a prize for any ruling power, was controlled by the Arabs before the Norman invasion. Normans, and many other groups, had been present in Sicily as crusaders, merchants, and adventurers for years. But Pope Nicholas wanted the island to be under the rule of the Roman church rather than the Greek church, and he wanted the Arabs pushed out due to their friendly relations with Byzantium. Essentially, he made it known that the Normans could take as much of Sicily as they wanted if they wrested it from the Arabs and promised to affiliate with the Roman branch of the church. The stage was thus set for the Norman wars of conquest in Sicily, Roger de Hauteville conquered Messina in 1061 and finally gained Palermo in 1071. Although the golden age of Sicily under the Normans was a tolerant, multicultural society, the island and other parts of Europe gradually became more Latinized, and the Greek Orthodox churches were subsumed by the Roman Orthodoxy.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-35343568001321228952015-11-23T04:58:00.000-08:002015-11-23T04:58:47.210-08:00Austrian undies<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 14.65pt;">A 2008 discovery in an
Austria’s Castle Lengberg has revealed dozens of new textile artifacts including
a bra from the 15th century. A room in the castle was sealed off in the late
15th-century, and its dry conditions helped preserve organic material. Hundreds
of textiles were discovered. Among them were four nearly complete linen bras
and fragments of corselettes, some rather coarsely made others more elaborately
decorated with plaited borders and sprang worked parts. Also found was underwear
that looks remarkably like a string bikini. Radio-carbon dating has confirmed the
age of the find.“All other textiles from this find, like fragments of
dresses, shirts, trousers, laces etc., fit well to the 15th century. In
addition, the shoes being found together with the textiles in the same layer
are all of types in fashion from the end of the 14th to the first half of
the 15th century.” <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 19.5333px; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM JULY 17, 2012 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 19.5333px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 19.5333px; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/author/charlemagne/" style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 19.5333px;" title="Medievalists.net"><span style="color: #c62765; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; text-transform: uppercase;">MEDIEVALISTS.NET</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now the heroines of The Vespers Series lived in a very different climate about 200 years earlier than the dates of this clothing discovery, but it really makes you wonder if they also had something similar. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-651077900113241982.post-36999313650444919862015-11-16T05:36:00.000-08:002015-11-16T05:36:33.339-08:00Using the term "medieval" in politicsAs political races heat up in the US, we hear repeated references to one group or another being "medieval" in attitude or behavior, but is that accurate? Here are some comments from David M. Perry at The Guardian.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">No, Carly
Fiorina, a degree in medieval history doesn't qualify you to fight Isis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-transform: uppercase;">"C</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">arly
Fiorina received a BA from Stanford in medieval history and philosophy almost
40 years ago. The Republican presidential candidate </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/carly-fiorina-medieval-history-degree-helps-defeat-isis/story?id=34256597"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">claims that her degree prepared her to fight Isis</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, “because
what Isis wants to do is drive us back to the Middle Ages”. While the Middle
Ages do shape contemporary events, Fiorina almost always
gets the lessons of history wrong. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;">When we use the word “medieval” to
characterize something we don’t like,</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;"> we are trying to impose
chronological distance between ourselves and things we find unpleasant.
Thinking of these distasteful or evil aspects of the modern world as belonging
to the past makes it harder, not easier, to understand their root causes and
fight them. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;">That hasn’t stopped Fiorina from
incorporating her quip about Isis driving us back to the Middle Ages </span><a href="http://time.com/3758474/carly-fiorina-campaign-speeches/" style="line-height: 16pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">as a standard part
of her stump speech</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;">. Moreover, touting her
“medieval” credentials is a way for her to play to culture warriors who believe
Christianity is under attack.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a medievalist, I believe we need
to study the past in order to respond to the present, but we must learn the
right things. Isis is inspired by medieval and pre-medieval
Islamic ideas about power, purity and what they believe to be the “true nature
of Islam.” Medieval Islam, like all religions, contained many different ideas and practices. Some were comparatively tolerant and open to innovation
and differences; others were more restrictive. Looking into the history of any
religion finds examples of both the best and worst of humanity within it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s vital to recognize, though, </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2015/02/isis_isn_t_medieval_its_revisionist_history_only_claims_to_be_rooted_in.html"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">as John Terry writes
in Slate</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, that the viciousness of Isis
emerges from its modernity, </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/09/isis-jihadi-shaped-by-modern-western-philosophy"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">not its artificial
links to the past</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. “Isis is nostalgic
for a make-believe past, and those among them who know plenty about Islam’s
first decades have conveniently revised medieval history to fit modern
ideological needs.” Isis depends on modernity. Their growth was made possible
by modern wars – from the division of the Middle East post-World War I to the
most recent wars in Iraq and Syria. It’s only in this ultra-modern context that
a group like Isis could grow and flourish. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;">If </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/carly-fiorina" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Fiorina</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;"> really
wants to draw on the Middle Ages for inspiration, Perry </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16pt;">suggests: 1) support universities, scholars,
writers and artists, as their contributions outlive us all; 2) peasants,
oppressed for too long, always rebel; 3) don’t go to war in the Middle East
without a good exit plan."</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06544402347061763793noreply@blogger.com0