Fuck Aye History!

smellsandbells: Annunciation depicted on a mitre, c. 1400

anglophilelizz — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:30:20 -0400

Annunciation depicted on a mitre, c. 1400

erikkwakkel: Medieval advertisement for a bookstore In medieval...

anglophilelizz — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:30:38 -0400

Medieval advertisement for a bookstore

In medieval times, books were not just made by monks. By the thirteenth century commercial scribes had become the go-to people for a book. To attract clients, the professionals running these “bookstores” made advertisement sheets, like this one. They were usually put on display outside the shop’s entrance: clients looked at the samples and choose a letter type for the book they were about to order. This one is from the shop of Herman Strepel in Münster, Germany, and dates from c. 1447. Herman did an excellent marketing job because he wrote the names of the letter types in gold next to the samples.

Pic: The Hague, Koninklijke Biblliotheek, 76 D 45. More about commercial book production in medieval times in this blog.

blackpaint20: The Thame Hoard is made up of five medieval gold...

anglophilelizz — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:27:41 -0400

blackpaint20:

The Thame Hoard is made up of five medieval gold rings and ten silver groats (c.1351 – c.1457). It was found on the edge of the River Thame in 1940. Reliquary ring, ca.

archaicwonder: Cessford Castle Cessford was built c. 1450 by...

anglophilelizz — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:25:29 -0400

archaicwonder:

Cessford Castle

Cessford was built c. 1450 by Andrew Ker, ancestor of Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe, and ancestor of the Dukes of Roxburghe. It is from this place that the Duke takes his subsidiary titles: Baron Ker of Cessford, and Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford. It is possible that the castle incorporates parts of an earlier structure.

The Castle is caput of the Barony of Cessford, and the principal stronghold of the Kers/Kerrs, notorious Border Reivers, many of whom served as Wardens of the Middle March.

The castle is equidistant between the Royal Burgh of Jedburgh, and the Burghs of Kelso and Kirk Yetholm, in the historic county of Roxburghshire, now a division of the Scottish Borders.

by kevin 76

mytickingheart: Rock of Cashel (by Patrick...

anglophilelizz — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:30:28 -0400

mytickingheart:

Rock of Cashel (by Patrick Theiner)

“The Rock of Cashel (Irish: Carraig Phádraig), also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick’s Rock, is a historic site in Ireland’s province of Munster, located at Cashel, South Tipperary.

The Rock of Cashel was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. Few remnants of the early structures survive; the majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century. The picturesque complex has a character of its own and is one of the most remarkable collections of Celtic art and medieval architecture to be found anywhere in Europe. According to local mythology, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil’s Bit, a mountain 20 miles(30 km) north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock’s landing in Cashel.”

isgandar: Sarmatian gold diadem with garnet, glass, almandine,...

anglophilelizz — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:16 -0400

isgandar:

Sarmatian gold diadem with garnet, glass, almandine, pearls, and turquoise; from the Khokhlach burial mound (1st century AD, Hermitage Museum)

The diadem consists of three hinged parts, the whole surface inlaid with garnet and glass. In the center is an amethyst bust of a woman wearing a tunic and crowned with a gold wreath inlaid with almandine. The upper edge of the diadem is decorated with a figurative frieze representing a ritual scene of sacred animals processing towards the Tree of Life. The lower edge is decorated with pendants bearing rosettes rimmed with gold beads, pearls and small plaques.

This diadem is a typical example of the eclectic art which combed both Classical features and elements of Sarmatian art. It was intended for ritual use and was associated with the cult of fertility.

obitoftheday: Obit of the Day: End the Beguines* When Marcella...

anglophilelizz — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:30:24 -0400

obitoftheday:

Obit of the Day: End the Beguines*

When Marcella Pattyn died on April 14, 2013 she took 800 years of history with her. Ms. Pattyn was a Beguine. A creation of the Middle Ages, beguines were lay women who formed communities that allowed them independence, both socially and economically.

During the Medieval period women of the upper class were given two choices for their adult lives: marriage or religious life. They were to either be under the rule of their husband or the rule of God, serving as a nun. (Women of the lower classes could sometimes live alone and run a business but usually only as widows.)

In the 12th century in Flanders (a region that now is part of Belgium and The Netherlands) lay communities sprang up in cities where widows of the Crusades would congregate but without the rules of a convent or giving up their freedom. They could travel freely on their own. They could marry at any time. Some even lived in homes with servants.

At their peak Beguines were found across northern Europe and could have thousands of members. They would provide services for the poor and needy as well as sell handmade textiles.

To no one’s surprise, the group was quickly considered a threat. Independent women who were without strict supervision? It must be heresy. And in 1311 Pope Clement V banned the movement. (Less than a century earlier in 1233 Pope Gregory IX had given papal backing to the Beguines.)

In order to maintain their existence some of the Beguine orders partnered with monastic orders in order to continue their work with some level of “supervision.” (Random note: There were male communities similar to the Beguines called the Beghards who were also considered heretics but less for their service than for their theology which bordered on anarchism.)

Although the orders persisted for centuries in France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium their numbers dwindled. Belgium at one time had 94 Beguine communities. In 1856 they were down to 20.

In 1941 when Marcella Pattyn, a partially blind 21-year-old, was sent to the beguinage in Ghent there were two. Unable to join convents because of her disability, a wealthy aunt sponsored her entrance into the Beguines. This last small group of Beguines moved to the town of Courtrai and in 1960 there were nine left.

By 2008 Marcella Pattyn was the last of her order. The town of Courtrai celebrated her with chocolates and champagne and had a bronze statue made in her likeness to stand outside the beguinage.

Ms. Pattyn died at the age of 92, taking with her a glimpse into medieval life.

Sources: The Economist, The Telegraph, The Catholic Encyclopedia, The Economist (on the Beguines), and a 1992 paper by Elizabeth Knuth

(Image of Marcella Pattyn and her statue is courtesy of FOCUS-WTV in Belgium.)

* The title of the post is a play on the Cole Porter song, “Begin the Beguine,” written in 1935. The two words are unrelated. There is no known etymology for the order, although the community in Lieges, Belgium was founded by Lambert de Begue. By the time of the Porter song the term “beguine” was commonly used to mean a “close couples’ dance” in the Caribbean. - Wikipedia

more like Continental Europe—they didn’t really exist in England

derwiduhudar: Baltic Viking Penannular Brooch, circa 10th...

anglophilelizz — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:33:21 -0400

derwiduhudar:

Baltic Viking Penannular Brooch, circa 10th century

Photo

anglophilelizz — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:30:21 -0400

archaicwonder: Kildonan Castle was built in the 13th century by...

anglophilelizz — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:33:38 -0400

archaicwonder:

Kildonan Castle was built in the 13th century by the MacDonalds, the Lords of the Isles. The castle stands on the cliffs, overlooking the island of Pladda and the entrance to the Firth of Clyde. It was built to defend against enemies attacking through the Firth.

It was used as a hunting lodge by the Kings of Scotland, including Robert III, when the island belonged to the crown. The castle became the property of the Earls of Arran in 1544.

The castle is in the small village of Kildonan on the southern coast of the Isle of Arran in Scotland.

by P 1

archaicwonder: Helmsdale Castle and Shakespear’s “Hamlet” The...

anglophilelizz — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:33:09 -0400

archaicwonder:

Helmsdale Castle and Shakespear’s “Hamlet”

The castle had its beginnings in the 1460s. It was repaired and enlarged around 1600, but it was in 1567 that the famous tragedy that is said to have inspired the plot of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” happened

Isobel Sinclair, in a diabolical attempt to divert the line of succession to her own son, arranged to poison her visitors, the 11th Earl of Sutherland, his wife and their son, while they were having dinner at the castle. But the plan backfired and the Earl’s son did not drink the poisoned wine, while Isobel’s own son did, as well as the Earl and Countess.

The original castle was square in shape and had been the hunting seat of the Sutherland family. Helmsdale is a village on the east coast of Sutherland, in the Highland council area of Scotland.

by Helmsdale.org

myimaginarybrooklyn: worldofmythology: “Icelandic magical...

anglophilelizz — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:42 -0400

myimaginarybrooklyn:

worldofmythology:

“Icelandic magical staves”

(Source)

mediumaevum: This Waterford Kite Brooch is one of Ireland’s...

anglophilelizz — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:45:34 -0400

mediumaevum:

This Waterford Kite Brooch is one of Ireland’s finest pieces of late eleventh to early twelfth century. It is one of fourteen kite-shaped brooches found to date in Ireland.

The kite brooch is made of a hollow cast silver box and decorated with sumptuous gold filigree, impressed gold foil and amethyst-coloured cabochon (polished without being cut into facets) glass studs and niello (a black compound used in gold and silver work).

dantmccarthy: stained glass in medieval times

anglophilelizz — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:30:21 -0400

dantmccarthy:

stained glass in medieval times

aramathea: In Egypt the early gnostic christians associate John...

anglophilelizz — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:37:24 -0400

aramathea:

In Egypt the early gnostic christians associate John the Baptist with the Chaldean Oannes who periodically appeared in the Persian Gulf as Odacon the Merman, his object to bring a new revelation to a new age.

aubade: Sword & scabbard, ca. 60 B.C. Celtic. Iron blade,...

anglophilelizz — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:30:21 -0400

aubade:

Sword & scabbard, ca. 60 B.C. Celtic. Iron blade, copper alloy hilt, and scabbard.

(via The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

medievalistsnet: A paper on Florentine chivalric violence given...

anglophilelizz — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:14:03 -0400

“It is worth more than life itself…For the chivalric elite, shame was a fate worse than death”

“To a Florentine, life without honour is a living death…on the field of honour, might is right”

medievalistsnet:

A paper on Florentine chivalric violence given at KZOO.

http://www.medievalists.net/2013/05/13/chivalry-and-public-disorder-in-thirteenth-century-florence/

Bust of the Virgin, made in Bohemia, c.1390-95 (source).

anglophilelizz — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:30:39 -0400

Bust of the Virgin, made in Bohemia, c.1390-95 (source).

onceandfuturething: An Ostrogothic belt buckle from the 6th...

anglophilelizz — Sun, 12 May 2013 15:30:31 -0400

onceandfuturething:

An Ostrogothic belt buckle from the 6th century. This would have been worn by a woman of high status who was probably dressing in more of a Mediterranean fashion. The large central garnet is surrounded by cloisonné garnets and green glass in a mosaic pattern. I think we should bring cloisonné back in style.

onceandfuturething: The Fuller Brooch, from 9th century...

anglophilelizz — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:30:33 -0400

onceandfuturething:

The Fuller Brooch, from 9th century England. The brooch is the earliest known personification of the 5 senses. Sight, which was thought to be the most important of the senses, is in the center, surrounded by the other 4. Each sense can be identified by their actions. Taste has his hand in his mouth, Hearing´s hand is by his ear, Touch is rubbing his hands together, and Smell has his hands behind his back and is standing between two plants. The brooch is in such good condition that it was once though to be a fake.