So, in sum, this is a walk which explores London in the Middle Ages. We begin at Aldgate, and follow Chaucer from his home to his place of work at the Customs House, and then to St Thomas Chapel on London Bridge, and across the River to where the Canterbury Tales start – at the...
I take it to mean something along the lines of, “There are real problems in Medieval Studies. The scholars are overwhelmingly of solely European descent (in other words, “white”, but that’s something I will unpack later, in this post or a subsequent one — there will be a lot of ...
famed in England but also performed in medieval continental Europe, was strongly mimetic and had dramatic elements in its use of the fool or clown character. It can also be linked with ancient trance dances in its occasional use of the hobbyhorse. The various forms ofsword dancefound in Europ...
Interestingly, the word “textile” (from the Latin “texere”) and the word “technology” (from Greek “tekhne”) both share the same PIE root: *teks-. 16/ Brief Gilgamesh digression: Utnapishtim is in the section of Gilgamesh where the big G is searching for the key to immortality aft...
English secularSumer is icumen inand the Latin devotionalPerspice Christicolamade an uneasy pair.The version ofSumerrecorded for this article restores the originally-written pitches, with the effect of reinstating the cascading cuckoo call, a central musical effect erased in the amended notes usually...
Europeanastronomy regained the level of the ancient Greeks only with the publication in 1496 ofEpytoma in Almagestum Ptolemaei(“Epitome of Ptolemy’sAlmagest”) begun by mathematician and astronomerGeorg von Peuerbachand completed by his studentRegiomontanus(the Latin name ofJohannes Müllervon Köni...
In the formal Latin tradition of that day, he was called Jacobus Brittaniae Rex. From this name crewel became known as “Jacobean Embroidery.” Most of the 17th century was lavished with crewel embroidery. It remained popular even after the uprisings failed as it was a beautiful technique. ...
Latin copy into Anglo-Norman by the poet Philippe de Thaon (or Thaün) in 1121, and it includes the notion that the two parts of the onocentaur symbolise the hypocrite who talks as a man of good deeds but lives as an ass by evil deeds. It is entirely in keeping, then, that the ...
Most of medieval art was Christian, and questions have been raised as to whether these were merely depictions of what Jews really wore or whether they were antisemitic caricatures. The Judenhat ("Jewish hat") can be traced back to medieval Europe. You can even find it in the Bird’s Hea...
These chronicles were found in theRecueil des historiens des croisades, edited and published in the nineteenth century. Most sources consulted were composed by monks or clerics and, to a lesser extent, by urban laymen. Nearly all were composed in Latin, although the vernacular was occasionally ...