Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 4 - 2022 i Medieval World Culture & Conflict Magazine

Towns and communities required constant protection in the Middle Ages. External threats and internal unrests regularly disturbed day-to-day activities and the safety of local populations. This issue explores the individuals and groups that defended and took up arms for their towns and communities, ranging from urban armies and the night watch, to martial clerics, guilds, and armed companies. The activities of these people in arms demonstrate the level of organization in matters of defense, but also the collaborations and conflicts that ensued between larger towns and smaller communities. In this regard, the French Jacquerie – a massive peasant revolt that began in 1358 – is a prime example of how different groups organized, interacted, and clashed in efforts to protect their own. In addition to the theme-related content, this issue…

The cover features a stained glass of ca. 1500 that was once part of the armorial panels in the council chamber at Baden, executed by Lukas Zeiner. Displayed in a public setting, such panels were intended to convey political unity. This example shows two shield bearers on either side of a central scheme consisting of the coat of arms of Zug, the Holy Roman Empire, and then the German crown at the top. Above that, the Zug banners complement the coat of arms; one bears an image of the local patron saint, Oswald.…

Animals were popular choices. King Edward III used the golden lion from the arms of England as one of his badges, while his grandson Richard II used a white hart. Suns, stars, and flowers were all popular choices for badges, as were more abstract images. By the 1470s, the powerful de Stafford family were known to use an image of a knot, which now features on the flag of Staffordshire. Several of these emblems were often adopted at the same time. The de Stafford family used up to eighteen different badges. Each badge could be used to symbolize an aspect of their power and influence. Other badges could be more personal, such as Edward II's golden castle badge, which was taken from the arms of his mother, Eleanor of Castile.…

400 800 1200 SWITZERLAND: ca. 1400 - 1600 1600THEME: Defending the community Urban armies also took part in aggressive ventures, and some of them did so with marked success – most famously so in the Swiss lands, where communal troops precede the mercenary armies that would command the battlefields of Europe after 1500. What were these urban armies of the late Middle Ages? Forming an urban army Authorities of medieval towns were pragmatic. When putting together an army, they had to balance the needs of their city's inhabitants for food, goods, and services and the need to assign hundreds of men (and occasionally women) to a military engagement that might last several weeks or even months. Local commerce had to continue running, but it was also strategically necessary not to…

400 800 1200 Friborg, SWITZERLAND: ca. 1400 - 1600 1600 THEME: Defending the community The town of Fribourg was founded in 1157 by the dukes of Zähringen. The city and its territory grew continuously between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries as the citizens and the municipal authorities bought the surrounding lands from the nobility. The first phase of this expansion resulted in the formation of what was later called Anciennes Terres (Ancient Territories), an area of ca.30 kilometres diameter around the city, distributed among two dozen parishes. In 1404, the parishes and the city's districts within the walls were grouped into four new administrative entities, the so-called banners. Each banner (Bourg, Auge, Hôpitaux, and Neuveville) was comprised of one city district and several parishes in the countryside. They were managed…

MYTHS & LEGENDS The sword is one of the most famous objects of the Middle Ages. Museum exhibitions on medieval topics and depictions of the Middle Ages that appear on television screens today almost always include swords. Modern audiences seem to love learning about the deadly objects used before the rise of guns and watching skilled fighters wield these dangerous weapons. A great deal of import is also often ascribed to swords in modern medieval narratives: important, named swords appear all the time in everything from pseudo-medieval fantasy to historical narratives. Swords held the same appeal in the Middle Ages. Some of the most popular medieval stories featured heroes with remarkable fighting abilities who often brandished wondrous swords. Some of those swords were named and developed almost as much fame…

The Jacquerie of 1358: A French Peasants' Revolt By Justine Firnhaber-Baker Oxford University Press, 2021 ISBN: 978-0198856412 Medieval Mercenaries: The Great Companies By Kenneth Fowler Wiley-Blackwell, 2000 ISBN: 978-0631158868 Military Cultures and Martial Enterprises in the Middle Ages Edited by John D. Hosler and Steven Isaac Boydel Press, 2020 ISBN: 978-1783275335 Bloodied Banners: Martial Display on the Medieval Battlefield By Robert W Jones Boydell Press, 2010 ISBN: 978-1843835615 The Routledge History Handbook of Medieval Revolt Edited by Justine Firnhaber-Baker and Dirk Schoenaers Routledge, 2019 ISBN: 978-0367143763 Special Operations in the Age of Chivalry, 1100-1550 By Yuval Noah Harari Boydell Press, 2009 ISBN: 978-1843834526 Martial Culture in European Towns: An Anthology By Edited by Daniel Jaquet, Iason-Eleftherios Tzouriadis, and Regula Schmid Slatkine, 2023 ISBN: 978-3796547133 A Companion to the Swiss Reformation…

MARGINALIA A gold coin dating back to the fifteenth century has been discovered on Newfoundland's south coast. It is the oldest-known English coin found in an archaeological context in Canada. The coin was found during the summer of 2022 by Edward Hynes, who reported it to the provincial government. Consultation with Paul Berry, former curator of the Bank of Canada's Currency Museum, indicates the coin is a Henry VI quarter noble, minted in London between 1422 and 1427. The coin would have been a sizeable amount of money in the 1400s, valued at 1 shilling 8 pence. Exactly how the gold quarter noble coin made its way to Newfoundland and Labrador is a mystery; however, Mr. Berry says the coin was probably not in circulation when it was lost. Research…

The Greek astronomer Hipparchus wrote a star catalogue between the years 170 and 120 BC; however, the astronomical text has been lost for centuries. This has now changed, as a team of researchers has uncovered the partially erased text in a medieval manuscript. Researchers from the CNRS, Sorbonne University, and Tyndale House were able to make the discovery during their examination of the Codex Climaci Rescriptus — a book made up of parchments that were erased and then rewritten on, also known as a palimpsest. The original writings in the Codex date from the fifth century AD, but these were then erased and written over in the ninth or tenth century. Researchers and students at Tyndale House, which is affiliated with Cambridge University, began examining the manuscript in 2012, trying…

400 800 ENGLAND: 1154 - 1216 1200 1600 CASTLES Forty years of studying castles has led me to attempt a brief survey of what is actually recorded in the Pipe Rolls and what relevance this has to castle building. The study led to a list of 61 castles where ‘works’ were mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of King Henry II, 44 for King Richard I (1189-1199), and 76 for King John (1199-1216). The Pipe Rolls The criteria for inclusion in this list have been the use of the Latin word oper (‘work’) and its derivatives. This has specifically excluded all references to repairs and amendments to existing structures, although this does not rule out some of the works being repairs or amendments; for example, the works at Eye in 1173…

400 800 THE LEVANT: ca. 1000 - 1200 1200 1600 SPECIAL Studying contacts between besieged and besiegers illuminates relations among enemies and the norms of war during the first century of the crusades. Contact could be either official or unofficial: this article focuses on unofficial relations between enemies, from the siege of Antioch by crusaders in 1097 to the death of Saladin in 1193. Verbal and physical abuse Most known interactions were hostile and consisted of verbal and physical abuse, as well as religious humiliations. This is evident during the sieges of Antioch in 1097-1098, Jerusalem in 1099, Acre in 1189-1191, and many other moments of conflict. The sieges of Aleppo in 1123 and 1124-1125 are particularly revealing: religious humiliations – such as mocking the holy figures and sacred books…

400 800 1200 ITALY: ca. 1400 - 1600 1600 MEDIEVAL COOKING During medieval banquets, the host regularly impressed his guests with intriguing dishes. Big meat, fish, and poultry pies were common showpieces. These could be exuberantly decorated with pastry figures. Even more challenging was a decoration with the stuffed head, tail, and wings of the bird pinned on top of it. Cooks used wooden or iron pins to keep the head and wings straight up, and to create an impression that the bird looked alive. Swans, cranes, pheasants, partridges, and peacocks were used for such displays. Alive and spitting fire It was also popular to carefully strip these beautiful birds of their skin and feathers, cook the meat on a spit, and then put the roasted meat back into the…

The exhibition's materials originate from six continents and date as early as 6000 BC, lending remarkable range to the content. There is no medium left unexplored: feminine power is manifest in sculptures that are worshipped, in coinage, and in costume and dress items donned for ritual and mundane purposes. The exhibition opens with a trio of screens that play videos of contemporary women who share their general reflections on the show's subject matter. Their insights on works of art and cultural practices are visibly integrated into each section of the exhibition, grounding the historical with contemporary commentary. Alongside the introductory content of this gallery is a display of figurines from the ancient Mediterranean. One figurine depicts a seated female with a highly curvaceous lower body, small breasts, and elongated eyes…

The ‘omantic’ conception of the men roaming the town in the night has its roots in the late Iighteenth century. It led to paintings, novels Sfor example, Bonaventura' Nachtwachen of 1805), and collections and reimaginations of the traditional songs and calls of the watchmen (for example, Josef Wichner'S Stundenrufe und Lieder der deutschen Nachtwächter, Regensburg 1897). The so-called Stundenrufe (calls of the hours) are evocative of the tradition of the night watchmen calling out the passing of the time. The watchmen were by no means always portrayed in a flattering light. Like Spitzweg' napping guard they were depicted as sleepy, lightly or even seriously drunk on duty, and therefore more useless then helpful. Also popular were stories of watchmen as the targets of pranks played by young men, not least…

A noteworthy archival document of unknown origin is a contract that lists a monk's different skills. It might have been cut or copied from a promotional letter sent by the monk himself to the city council, which is mentioned in the contract. This list of martial skills include: • How to bring harm to the enemies in the city or in the field • Where to best set up a camp • How to protect the city (walls) and supply for damaged parts • How to best use caltrops (small metal spikes designed to injure the feet) • How to best use striking weapons and banners • How to show the truth to the important people about military matters in the city and on the walls. Of course, the monk adds…

I am guessing that you do not have a swan, peacock, partridge, or pheasant at hand easily. Maybe you can get a goose, a duck, or a couple of doves instead. Otherwise use chicken for this recipe. The swan on the pie shown here comes from the Natural History Museum in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. I work with local museums to create historical pies, and then lend these out to them for educational purposes. This recipe is from a sixteenth-century Italian cookbook. The sweet and savoury flavour combination is typical for this period. You will be pleasantly surprised by the taste. Pastry » 250 g flour » 1 tsp salt » 125 g cold butter » 1 tsp rose water » a bit of cold water Filling » 1 cleaned bird…