MEDIEVAL STUDIES MAGAZINE FROM MEDIEVALISTS.NET

MedievalVolume 2 Number 13 April 25, 2016

Æthelred the Unready Sicily at British Museum Monastic Gardens

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The

Places to See: A Guide to Medieval Valencia

Magazine

How to Look Medieval!A guide to creating your own

medieval costume

The Medieval Magazine April 25, 2016

Sicily's History on view in newBritish Museum exhibition

Danielle Trynoski offers great tips on howto look like your from the Middle Ages.

How to Create Your OwnMedieval Costume

Tiny Edens: Five Elements ofMonastic Gardens

Daniele Cybulskie looks at five things youwould find in your typical medievalmonastic garden.

Sandra Alvarez visits the Spanish city andlet's us know what you can see from theMiddle Ages.

A Guide to Medieval Valencia

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See what the British Museum is offeringvisitors now to showvcase the ancient andmedieval history of the Italian island.

THE MEDIEVAL MAGAZINE

Editor: Peter Konieczny Website: www.medievalists.net This digital magazine is published eachMonday. Cover Photo: An early 16th centurytapestry, created in southern France,which now hangs in the Musee de Cluny,in Paris, France. Photo by DanielleTrynsoki

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Æthelred the Unready, King of the English: 1,000 years of bad press Early Medieval Glassworks discovered in Israel Sicily's History on view in new British Museum exhibition Viking invaders struck deep into the west of England – and may have stuckaround Medieval Music: The Mystery of Women How to Create Your Own Medieval Costume Tiny Edens: Five Elements of Monastic Gardens Places to See: A Guide to Medieval Valencia Yolande de Dreux, Queen of Scots Tales of Bacon: A medieval comedy Book Excerpt: Medieval Mercenaries: The Business of War Book Excerpt: The Parish that Disappeared: A History of St John’s, Hereford

Table of Contents

A silver penny struck more than ten centuriesago (on display in the Fitzwilliam Museum)shows Æthelred, King of the English. Theobverse shows the king in profile and thereverse a Christian cross. Thousands ofsimilar coins have survived. Many are incollections in Copenhagen, Oslo andStockholm. This coinage is material evidenceof ‘Dane-geld’, money paid to England’senemies in attempts to forestall Vikinginvasions of England. Inevitably remembered as ‘the Unready’,Æthelred died exactly 1,000 years ago on 23April 1016 – 50 years before the NormanConquest. The same date in April is recordedas the day of the death of WilliamShakespeare (in 1616) and also celebratedeach year as St George’s Day. Born around 968, son of King Edgar andQueen Ælfthryth, Æthelred died in London,a place that had recently been established aspolitical and commercial centre of England.He was the first monarch to be buried in theold cathedral of St Paul which much laterbecame one of the most notable casualtiesof the great fire of London.

Æthelred’s nickname is a pun that may datefrom as early the 11th century. Æthelredmeans ‘noble-counsel’ while the noun unrædmeans ‘an ill-considered or treacherous plan.“The nickname degenerated from ‘Æthelredunræd’ into ‘Æthelred the Unready’, and‘Æthelred no-counsel’, giving rise to furtherstories about him,” says University ofCambridge Professor Simon Keynes. Keynes, a historian in the Department ofAnglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic, has workedextensively on the Anglo-Saxon period –especially the charters and coinage that offernew windows into a time of turmoil. He wasthe organiser and keynote speaker at aconference last week. Æthelred was just a boy aged around 12 yearswhen he became King of the English, and hislong rule was marred by repeated incursionsfrom the Danes. Far from keeping Englishshores safe from attack, the vast amounts ofmoney paid to the Danes (estimated at£250,000 – a huge sum at the time) simplywhetted their appetite for English riches.They took the money and continued theirraids. In 1016 England became, for some 50years, part of an empire of the North Sea.

Æthelred the Unready,King of the English:

1,000 years of bad pressHe was just a boy when he became King of the English andhis reign was marked by repeated attacks by the Danes.Æthelred, who died 1,000 years ago on 23 April 1016, isremembered as ‘the Unready’. But his nickname masks amore complex picture.

Medieval News

Silver penny from the reign of King Æthelred Credit: Fitzwilliam Museum Aethelred II, Helmet type, Cambridge, Cnit CM.33-

1935 From the 6th century onwards, England hadconverted to Christianity while the Danescontinued to worship Norse deities.Æthelred believed that this placed God onhis side – but prayer proved useless. So didreprisals on Danish settlers. Fruitlessattempts to bribe or defeat the Vikings sealedÆthelred’s reputation as a disastrous kingwho deserved to fail. Sellar and Yeatman’s1930s classic 1066 and All That echoes thissentiment: the “Wave of Danes” who overranthe country were “undoubtedly a GoodThing”. “Throughout history, Æthelred’s payment ofDane-geld has been used as a short hand fordrastic mismanagement and poor decisionmaking,” says Keynes. “But there is another,more complex, picture to be painted ofÆthelred’s reign, and the ways that he andhis councillors tackled the considerablechallenges that they faced as they sought toadminister a kingdom and protect theirrespective interests.” Much of what we know about Æthelred’sreign comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle- an account by an anonymous chronicler of

each year’s notable events. The Anglo-SaxonChronicle is far from impartial: its verses werecomposed by court poets, or skalds, whocelebrated the deeds of the leaders of theViking armies. “The story told in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and retold many timesthereafter, is very superficial. But there isplenty of other evidence for the period, andthe deeper one looks, the more complex andinteresting it all becomes,” says Keynes. Keynes says that no single body of evidenceis richer than the 130 charters that surviveÆthelred’s reign. More properly called ‘royaldiplomas’, these charters are documents thatrecord agreements made at assemblies heldfour or five times a year. Such meetings, whichtook place at major festivals, such as Easterand Pentecost, were an opportunity for bothceremony and business. The charters, writtenin Latin, were witnessed by prominentmembers of the church and key land-owners. “In comparison to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle,which is a wonderfully vivid narrative in thevernacular, the diplomas are dry andseemingly impenetrable documents – and

it’s true that individually they appear to yieldlittle. But considered collectively, they offeran opportunity to reach below the surface ofrecorded events,” says Keynes. The majority of the charters issued duringÆthelred’s reign represent grants of land.Others give detailed details of the forfeitureof land into the king’s hands or confirm theentitlement of a religious house to lands andprivileges which have been lost. “Royal diplomas were highly valuabledocuments in their own right. It was thepossession of the charter itself which gavean individual the right to the land describedeven if the individual in question was notnamed. Not surprisingly copies and forgerieswere made – which, for the historian, makespuzzling them out even harder,” says Keynes. “The diplomas also have long lists ofwitnesses which, when tabulated andanalysed, enable one to detect interestingchanges in the composition of the king’scouncillors over the course of Æthelred’slong reign – suggesting perhaps who wasgaining in power and who was declining.” Exeter Cathedral holds one of the mostbeautiful surviving charters, written in ink onparchment. Æthelred's diploma for BishopEaldred of Cornwall (994) confirms Ealdred'sstatus as bishop of Cornwall, at St Germans,and states that he is to have the same rightsas the other bishops have in their owndioceses. “This charter was probably theoutcome of a determination on the part ofArchbishop Sigeric to set things in order,”says Keynes. “The English were under severe Viking attack,and this was one way of makingarrangements more pleasing in the sight ofGod. The diploma was issued at a royalassembly, and was witnessed by a number ofbishops, ealdormen, abbots, and thegns - inother words by the great and good of theland.”

Coinage offers another window intoAethelred’s reign and management of moneyis likely to have been on the agenda at royalassemblies. In a collaboration with the lateMark Blackburn, Keeper of Coins and Medalsat the Fitzwilliam Museum, Keynes took akeen interest in the coinage of Æthelred’sreign. “Coinage was struck at as many as 80minting places across England. It wasproduced in huge quantities for export as partof the tribute money paid to Viking armiesand the army tax paid to a standing mercenaryforce,” he says. “Variations in coin designs over time suggestthat Æthelred and those working with himdeveloped and maintained a system ofstaggering complexity. To control theeconomy, the authorities recalled coins ofone type from circulation and exchangedthem for coins of a new type. The designs telltheir own stories. The earliest types featurethe hand of God issuing from a cloud, perhapsto signify divine approval. Later the emphasisshifted to the king’s portrait and he is showninitially bare-headed and later wearing ahelmet.” The rarest of the coins struck in Æthelred’stime is a short-lived Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)type. Worldwide, just 24 survive, one of whichis in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museumand displayed in the Rothschild Gallery. Whatmakes this coin so remarkable is the absenceof king’s portrait: the obverse features theLamb of God and the reverse a dove, symbolof the Holy Spirit. “The design represents adesperate appeal for peace, in periloustimes,” says Keynes. In portraying Æthelred’s reign as a time ofturmoil, historians have drawn on a sermongiven by one of the king’s most powerfuladvisors. Archbishop Wulfstan’s message tothe English people is full of gloom: “For it isclear and manifest in us all that we havepreviously transgressed more than we haveamended, and therefore much is assailing thispeople. Things have not gone well now

for a long time at home or abroad, but therehave been devastation and famine, burningand bloodshed in every district again andagain.” The forces ranged against Æthelred wereimpressive and implacable. In 994 a Vikingfleet of more than 90 ships came up theThames to London. In 1009 the Vikings cameagain. Almost ten centuries later, in the1920s, a group of battle axes and spearheads,dating from around 1000, was found in theriver close to old London Bridge. Vividreminders of the raiders who sailed up theestuary to strike at the heart of England, theyare on display at the Museum of London. The eight battle axes, with their fearsomecurving edges, also pose a question: howcould the king and his councillors overcomea threat of such a kind? In September 1666 the great fire of Londondestroyed St Paul’s cathedral, taking

Æthelred’s tomb with it. Today Æthelred isremembered in the cathedral coffee shopwhere a stone commemorates all the tombsknown to be lost. “It’s quite touching to seeÆthelred’s name close to the place where hewas buried in 1016 and where he lay for thenext 650 years,” says Keynes. “It’s highlyunlikely that he will never shake off thedamage done to him by his soubriquet – butit’s well worth continuing to challenge theaccepted versions of the history of afascinating period.” Coins from Æthelred’s reign are displayed atthe Fitzwilliam Museum in the RothschildGallery. Æthelred's charter for Bishop Ealdredof Cornwall (994) is available for consultationat Exeter Cathedral on request. This article is courtesy the University

of Cambridge

Æthelred's diploma for Bishop Ealdred of Cornwall (994) (Exeter Cathedral Archive).

Early MedievalGlassworks

discovered in IsraelAn extraordinary archaeological discovery was revealed inan excavation of the Israel Antiquities Authority prior to theconstruction of a road. During the excavation remains of theoldest kilns in Israel were discovered where commercialquantities of raw glass were produced. These kilns, c. 1,600years old (dating to the Late Roman/Early Medieval period),indicate that this area was one of the foremost centers forglass production in the ancient world.

According to Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curatorof the Israel Antiquities Authority GlassDepartment, “This is a very importantdiscovery with implications regarding thehistory of the glass industry both in Israel andin the entire ancient world. We know from

historical sources dating to the Roman periodthat the Valley of ‘Akko was renowned for theexcellent quality sand located there, whichwas highly suitable for the manufacture ofglass. Chemical analyses conducted on glassvessels from this period which were

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63J3glqFkg8

discovered until now at sites in Europe andin shipwrecks in the Mediterranean basinhave shown that the source of the glass isfrom our region. Now, for the first time, thekilns have been found where the raw materialwas manufactured that was used to producethis glassware”. The excavation of the kilns has caused greatexcitement in recent weeks among glassresearchers throughout the world, some ofwhom have come especially to Israel in orderto see this discovery first hand. According toProfessor Ian Freestone of the UniversityCollege London, who specializes inidentifying the chemical composition ofglass, "This is a sensational discovery and itis of great significance for understanding theentire system of the glass trade in antiquity.This is evidence that Israel constituted aproduction center on an international scale;hence its glassware was widely distributedthroughout the Mediterranean and Europe”. This enormously important site wasdiscovered by chance last summer byarchaeologist Abdel Al-Salam Sa‘id, aninspector with the Israel AntiquitiesAuthority. While overseeing infrastructurework being conducted on the new railwayline from Haifa to the east, he suddenlyobserved chunks of glass, a floor and an ashlayer inside a trench. He halted constructionwork at the site and began preparations foran archaeological excavation, the importantresults of which are now evident. According to Abdel Al-Salam Sa‘id, theexcavation direction, “We exposedfragments of floors, pieces of vitrified bricksfrom the walls and ceiling of the kilns, andclean raw glass chips. We were absolutelyoverwhelmed with excitement when weunderstood the great significance of thefinds”. The kilns that were revealed consisted of twobuilt compartments: a firebox where kindlingwas burnt to create a very high temperature,

and a melting chamber – in which the rawmaterials for the glass (clean beach sand andsalt) were inserted and melted together at atemperature of c. 1,200 C degrees. The glasswas thus heated for a week or two untilenormous chunks of raw glass were produced,some of which weighed in excess of ten tons.At the end of the manufacturing process thekilns were cooled; the large glass chunks thatwere manufactured were broken into smallerpieces and were sold to workshops wherethey were melted again in order to produceglassware. During the Early Roman period the use of glassgreatly expanded due to its characteristics:its transparency, beauty, the delicacy of thevessels and the speed with which they couldbe produced by blowing – an inexpensivetechnique adopted at the time that loweredproduction costs. Glass was used in almostevery household from the Roman periodonward, and it was also utilized in theconstruction of public buildings in the formof windows, mosaics and lighting fixtures.Consequently, large quantities of raw glasswere required which were prepared on anindustrial scale in specialized centers. Theinstallation that was discovered in theexcavation is an example of one of theseancient production facilities. According to a price edict circulated by theRoman emperor Diocletian in the early fourthcentury CE, there were two kinds of glass: thefirst was known as Judean glass (from the Landof Israel) and the second – Alexandrian glass(from Alexandria, Egypt). Judean glass was alight green color and less expensive thanEgyptian glass. The question was: Where werethe centers that manufactured this Judeanglass that was a branded product knownthroughout the Roman Empire and whoseprice was engraved on stone tablets so as toensure fair trade. The current discoverycompletes the missing link in the researchand indicates the location where the famousJudean glass was produced.

The exhibition, which runs until 14 August2016, sheds light on the remarkable artisticand architectural achievements of the islandthrough objects in the British Museum’s owncollection alongside outstanding loans fromSicily and around the world, including manyobjects coming to the United Kingdom for thevery first time. Sicily is the largest island in theMediterranean and across time it has beenshaped by the aspirations of many differentpeoples and cultures. Its perpetual allure layin its fertile soil, fed by the volcanic dynamicsof Mount Etna. Across time, people from asfar and wide as the eastern Mediterraneanand northern Europe settled on Sicily, forginga varied and sophisticated culture. Theexhibition will focus on two major eras: first,the arrival of the Greeks from the latter halfof the 7th century BC and their encounterswith earlier settlers and with the Phoenicians,and second the extraordinary period ofenlightenment under Norman rule, about AD

1100 – 1250. The exhibition will explore howan astonishingly rich material cultureflourished in both of these periods. Over 200 objects will be brought together toreveal the richness of the architectural,archaeological and artistic legacies of Sicily.When the Greeks made their first officialcolony at Naxos in around 735 BC, theybrought new ideas and forged cultural andtrading links with the earlier indigenoussettlers. Sicily’s undemocratically electedrulers, known as ‘Tyrants’, and civic governingbodies displayed their wealth and powerthrough the building of temples, sometimesof colossal dimensions, competing againstthe largest temples in Greece and the ancientGreek world. A rare and spectacularly well preserved,brightly painted terracotta altar, dating toabout 500 BC, is one of the highlights of the

Sicily's Historyon view in newBritish Museum

exhibitionThe British Museum has opened its new exhibition, Sicily:culture and conquest, which explores over 4000 years ofhistory on the Italian island, including its vibrant medievalpast.

14thCentury copy of a map of SicilyA double page map of Sicily from Al-Idrisi’s Treatise,Unknown, c.1300–1500AD © The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

loans coming from Sicily. It shows a scene ofan animal combat on the upper tier, whilebelow stand three striking fertilitygoddesses. The British Museum is alsoreceiving on loan a magnificent terracottaarchitectural sculpture of a Gorgon, thefamous Greek monster, that was onceperched on the highest point of a building atGela in south-east Sicily. Terracottaornaments were frequently used to decoratethe upper levels of buildings on Sicily andare amongst the finest that have survivedfrom the ancient world. Another importantSicilian loan is a rare and iconic marblesculpture of a warrior from ancient Akragas,modern Agrigento. Marble statues werelikely to have been commissioned, carvedand imported into Sicily from overseas ormade by local sculptors, trained in the Greektradition. Such rare statues decorated majortemples or were part of sculptural groups,most of which are long gone.

After a long series of wars involving GreekSicilians, Carthaginians, and Romans, theisland was eventually conquered by Rome.The exhibition will include a direct remnantof the final battle of that conquest which tookplace on 10 March 241 BC: a bronze batteringram that was fitted on the front of the Romanwarships to sink enemy ships, and which wasonly recently excavated from the watersaround the island. For Rome, Sicily’s primaryrole was to supply its population and itsarmies with grain; otherwise it cared little forthe province. Following Rome’s ‘fall’, Christian Byzantinesand Muslim Arabs competed for dominationover Sicily, each ruling the island for severalcenturies. At the end of the 11th century,however, Norman mercenaries who had beensettling and ruling in the south of Italy, in turnconquered the island, now inhabited byByzantine Greek, Muslim, Jewish and

Byzantine-style mosaicshowing theVirgin asAdvocate forthe HumanRace. Kept atMuseoDiocesano diPalermo,originallyfrom PalermoCathedral,c.1130-1180AD.Museo

Norman people. Under Kings Roger II, WilliamI and William II, Sicily once again became oneof the Mediterranean superpowers, easilyrivaling the Byzantine Empire in the East, theFatimid Caliphate of Egypt and the PapalStates around Rome. Through the coexistence of Norman, Islamicand Byzantine cultures on Sicily, Roger II

created a climate of multiculturalcollaboration. Unique forms of art andarchitecture emerged from the mixture ofinfluences. In 2015 nine buildings in the Arab-Norman style that emerged in Palermo andthe surrounding area were elected asUNESCO world heritage sites.

Coming on loan from several of thesebuildings are a twelfth-century Byzantine-style mosaic, and marble and woodenIslamic-influenced architectural decorationsthat will give visitors a sense of thisextraordinary architectural style thatemerged under Roger II. At the same time,the palace workshops produced beautifulobjects, from ceremonial glassware andivory, gold pendants and intricate enamelmosaics and cameos. Each objectdemonstrates the skills of the craftsmen andthe variety of cultural influences thatinspired their artistic production andexperimentation. Roger also welcomed scholars of all racesand faiths to his court and took a directinterest in scientific innovation. Theexhibition will display one of the oldestsurviving copies of a new world map thatRoger commissioned from al-Idrisi, an Arabcartographer, instructing him to base it onnew research. The interest in innovation andscientific experiment was continued byRoger II’s grandson, Frederick II, who as HolyRoman Emperor ruled a large part of Europe,but based his court in Palermo. His desire tofound a new Roman Empire was unfulfilledwhen he died heirless, and for the rest of itshistory, Sicily returned to being part of largerempires and states, rather than being its ownmaster.

The British Museum has worked closely withthe Sicilian Ministry of Culture since 2010 onseveral loans, both at the British Museum andin Sicily. This exhibition presents the nextcollaboration between curators of the BritishMuseum and Sicily. Objects of outstandingcultural significance have been carefullyselected through consultation with Sicilianspecialists from different museums acrossthe island. These objects will be displayedalongside loans from Italy, the US and the UK,as well as items from the British Museumcollection. The exhibition will also beaccompanied by an events program withcontributions by Sicilian lecturers and artists. Joanna Mackle, deputy director of the BritishMuseum said, “It gives me great pleasure toannounce the British Museum’s exhibition onthe rich cultural history of Sicily. We arehugely grateful to Julius Baer for their longterm partnership with the British Museum andtheir generous support of this exhibition. Weare also delighted to be working incollaboration with Sicilian colleagues tobring the fascinating story of this island tolife.”

To learn more about the exhibit,please visit

www.britishmuseum.org/sicily

Viking invadersstruck deep into the

west of England –and may have stuck

around

It’s well chronicled that wave after wave of Vikings fromScandinavia terrorised western Europe for 250 years fromthe end of the eighth century AD and wreaked particularhavoc across vast areas of northern England. There’s noshortage of evidence of Viking raids from the Churchhistorians of the time. But researchers are now uncoveringevidence that the Vikings conquered more of the BritishIsles than was previously thought.

By Derek Gore

At the time England consisted of fourindependent kingdoms: Wessex, to the southof the River Thames, and Mercia, East Angliaand Northumbria to the north of it. The latterthree were all conquered by Scandinavianarmies in the late ninth century and theirkings killed or deposed – which allowedexpansive Scandinavian settlement ineastern and northern England. However thekings of Wessex successfully defended theirterritory from the Viking intruders (andeventually went on to conquer the North,creating the unified kingdom of England). But precisely because Wessex remained

independent, there has never been muchexamination of Scandinavian influence inthat part of the United Kingdom. But we’rebeginning to get a different picture suggesting that Viking leaders such as Sveinand his son Knut were active as far south asDevon and Cornwall in the West Country. In 838AD, the Anglo-Saxon Chroniclerecorded a battle fought at Hingston Down in east Cornwall in which the local Britonsjoined forces with the Vikings against KingEgbert of Wessex and his attempts to expandhis kingdom. The fiercely independentCornish appear to have held out against West

Saxon control and presumably cast aroundfor a strong ally in their fight. But why wereViking leaders interested in aiding theCornish? Perhaps it was a political move,made in the hope of gaining a foothold in thepeninsula in order to use it as a strategic baseagainst Wessex. If so, it was thwarted, as theallied army was soundly defeated. There are also records of raids for plunder inthe West Country. A Viking fleet sailed up theriver Tamar in 997, attacked the abbey atTavistock and brought back treasure to theirships. There is further evidence indicatingScandinavians in the West Country in a closeexamination of stone sculptures in Devonand Cornwall which has revealedScandinavian art motifs and monumentforms. A Norwegian Borre ring chain

ornament decorates the cross in Cardinhamchurchyard in east Cornwall and a mountedwarrior is in one of the panels of theCopplestone Cross near Crediton, mid Devon.Both are matched by examples in northernEngland in the Viking Age, but seem out ofplace in the West. Late versions of the“hogback” memorial stones, which have apronounced ridge and look like a small stonelong house, are well known in Cornwall too –the best example is at Lanivet near Bodmin. These sort of memorials were popular withthe Norse settlers in Cumbria and Yorkshire and may be the work of itinerant sculptorsbringing new ideas into the West, or patronsordering forms and patterns which they hadseen elsewhere. However, the possibility thatthe patrons may have been Scandinaviansettlers cannot be excluded.

Cardinham churchyard.Photo by JonathanBillinger / WikimediaCommons

All in the name People with Scandinavian names such asCarla, Thurgod, Cytel, Scula, Wicing, Farmanare recorded as working in the mints in Exeterand at other Devon sites from the end of thetenth century – and, although such namesbecame popular in the general population,there is an unusual concentration in theseareas. Detectorists operating in the WestCountry are finding increasing numbers ofmetal objects from the period, many withScandinavian connections. Scandinaviandress-fittings, lead weights, coins and silveringots – and all manner of gear for horseshave been identified in the past few years. Awoman’s trefoil brooch, probably made inScandinavia, was discovered where it hadbeen dropped in Wiltshire. This is the onlyexample of the type yet found in Wessex,whereas 15 have been discovered in northernEngland. Like these Viking artefacts, place names withScandinavian links are well known innorthern England – but we would not havepreviously expected them in the WestCountry. Yet the islands in the BristolChannel: Lundy, Steepholm and Flatholmeare hybrid names with Old Norse and OldEnglish elements. Spaxton in Somerset wasSpacheston in the Domesday Book, that isSpakr’s tun another hybrid. Knowstone incentral Devon, recorded as Chenutdestana inDomesday Book, combines ScandinavianKnut with English stana to give Knut’s stone,perhaps named after the Danish king. Moreintriguing still are the 11 landholders in theDevon section of the Domesday Book withthe personal name wichin which means“viking”. These names are rare in England anddo not occur at all elsewhere in the WestCountry, so the cluster in Devon is significant. A combination of sculptural, archaeologicaland word usage evidence therefore points toa new appreciation of how far the Vikingstravelled within the UK – and the dramaticreach of their influence.

Derek Gore is a Teaching Fellow of Archaeology,

University of Exeter

This article was first published inThe Converstion

Medieval Music: TheMystery of Women

Lecture by Christopher Page Given at Gresham College, on February 18, 2016 During the last thirty years, the name of Hildegard of Bingen (d.1179) composer, abbess and naturalist, has been gradually rescuedfrom obscurity, notably by recordings of her works. The lecture willprovide an opportunity to hear some of Hildegard’s mostimpressive compositions but also to explore more widely thephenomenon of the medieval female composer. For whileHildegard was unique, she was not alone; the richness of themusical remains she has left eclipse every competitor, and yetthere were many other female mystics who created rhapsodicspiritual song whose works have not survived. Many of them arelittle known, but here they will step into the light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WECtyL3SzPE

Ever experience costume envy when you attend a re-enactment event? There are some beautiful costumekits available at these events and online, but you’llspend hundreds of dollars to get outfitted. Here aresome tips to create your own thrifty costume! Headout to your local second-hand stores or charity shopswith these suggestions (remember to cut off your tagsand labels!) and soon you’ll have your own “medieval”wardrobe!

How to CreateYour OwnMedievalCostume

By Danielle Trynoski

Aim for layers

Stack multiple garments and cinch with a belt (a.k.a. girdle) or tie atthe waistLong leather belts can be wrapped or tied around the natural waist orloosely buckled around the hipsUse solid color scarves for a waist sashSome medieval girdles were highly decorated like this 14th centuryexample in the Musée de Cluny in Paris, but I recommend you keepit simple

Nature or Nurture? Natural is best in this case!

Linen, wool, and rough cotton are better choices than polyester, gold-foil lamé, green sequins, or any overtly modern materialsSilks and velvets are acceptable, but not always the most comfortableto wearUse leather for accessories rather than garments

Not all the colors of the rainbow

Consider color based on your character goalsSubsistence farmers, a.k.a. serfs, need muted colors like browns, tans,greys, creams, and soft pinks (yes, pink; it’s dyed with onion skins)Use colors like cream or grey for a head covering or capNobility can “afford” brighter colors like purple, bright red, vibrantyellows, blue, and blackPlay with bright colored accessories like drawstring purses, hats, scarves,gloves, and jewelryClothing for merchants and tradesmen should be a mix of these paletteswith select accessories like brightly colored ribbons

Garters aren’t just for the bride

Garters or gartered stockings are easy to make. Buy a solid color flannelor cotton bedsheet. Cut two strips on the long axis, approximately 3 incheswide. These will be your garters. From the rest of the fabric, cut tworectangles. Ensure these rectangles are long enough to wrap your calf,covering the leg between ankle and knee. These stockings can cover yourlegs if you have short trousers or heavy leggings, and the garters willcriss-cross around your calf, tying at the base of the knee. These arecommon for men’s costumes and for lower class women.

Shoes in not so many shapes and forms

Unless you have a penchant for wooden clogs, then leather shoes arebest Simple flat shoes with a strap are good for men and women; you canget them for about $20 USD at shoe stores or online. Buy these in anatural color. Flat pull-on boots in brown or black leather or canvasare good options too.

A mantle for the cold days

A mantle is a cloak or outerwear garment to keep the primary outfit cleanand the wearer warm. Early medieval and lower class mantles are largepieces of fabric knotted or pinned at the shoulder. Mantles from the Highand Later Middle Ages are pinned at the neck or with a short chain acrossthe chest. The bedding and household section will likely have some optionsfor you here; look for flannel sheets or curtains in brown, yellow, or green.Thin coverlets with quilting and embroidery can serve as High and LaterMiddle Ages pieces. To keep it around your shoulders, look for sweaterchains used to keep ladies’ cardigans in place in the 1950-60’s, or makeyour own with vintage buttons and chains.

Dolling it up & decking it out

Use simple metal jewelry in bronze, pewter, and copper, but gold andsilver was only attainable by a small part of medieval society. Circularbrooches can be found second-hand, or you can glue pin clasps ontometallic buttons or necklace pendants.Focus on showing your character’s “wealth” through the use of brightcolor, lace, or silkPick out embroidery, lace, appliqués, and painted details rather thanprinted or dyed patternsButtons are appropriate for characters based in the 14th century andlater, otherwise brooches or lacing should be used for closures. Leathercord is available at most craft stores or online. Whatever you do, don’t doa Google Image search for Leather Thong…

Tips for Women

Peasant blouses and dresses with loose sleeves are your friend. Thesecan easily imitate a shift/ chainse/chemise.Use blouses or dresses larger than your normal size to allow for drapingLower and middle class characters wear a more fitted sleeve for function,upper class characters wear long, wide sleeves to show off expensivefabric and embroideries.After finding a long-sleeved shift, look for a solid color dress or robe withshort or half sleeves to be your bliaud, or over-dress. If your shift goes tothe floor, then your dress can be calf-length otherwise get a full-lengthdress. Nightgowns and 1970’s day dresses are good candidates for this.Buttons join the scene in the late 14th century; look for rows of smallbuttons à la 1980’s wedding dresses on the front or on sleevesUse a sleeveless dress or long vest as a surcoat, and layer over the shift,bliaud, and beltPick up sheer or solid color scarves and experiment with a wimple,draped veil, or head wrap using ribbon or a headband to keep it in placeThe less visible hair, the better. Tuck under a scarf or head covering, orbraid ribbons into one or two long plaits.

Tips for Men

Gents, some of your thrifty costume will likely consist of some women’sitems. Layers should consist of an undershirt or shift, then a long tunicor surcoat fastened at the waist by a belt. In general, shirts should beloosely fitting with large sleeves and trousers should be more tailored.You can alter modern seams by cutting along the top shoulder seamsof large loose garments and reconnecting the front and back with ties,leather cord lacing, or brooches.For trousers, look for sweatpants in a single dark color.For more generic leg coverings, buy close-fitting leggings to be yourhose and add garters (see above).Look for broad-brimmed hats in simple materials like wool, felt, velvet,or even straw. You can add feathers, grass, ribbons, or other decorations.

I hope you have fun putting together your medieval outfit. Whether youmake it yourself, buy it second-hand, or purchase it from a specialist,share a photo on Medievalists.net’s Facebook page or Twitter feed ofyour own medieval look!

Danielle Trynoski earned herMA in Medieval Archaeologyat the University of York inEngland. When she's notvisiting museums andhistorical sites, she's ridinghorses or reading aboutVikings. She currently lives insouthern California andmanages the website

CuratoryStory.com

References & Additional Resources Bayard, Tania, ed. A Medieval Home Companion: Housekeeping in the FourteenthCentury Perennial (1992)Heath, Ian and McBride, Angus. Elite Series: #9 Normans Osprey Publishing, Ltd. (1985)Museum of London. Shoes and Pattens (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London:2) HMSO (1988)Nicolle, David, and McBride, Angus. Elite Series: #3 The Vikings Osprey Publishing,Ltd. (1985)Owen-Crocker, Gale R. Dress in Anglo-Saxon England Manchester University Press(1986)Tierney, Tom. Medieval Fashions Coloring Book Dover Publications (1998)

Tiny Edens: Five Elements

of MonasticGardens

By Danièle Cybulskie

Spring is finally here, and with it that deep, human urge todig in the dirt. In the Middle Ages, gardening was an essentialpart of life, especially if you lived in a monastic community.Some monasteries, like Benedictine ones, were encouragedto be as self-sufficient as possible, which meant extensivegardens to satisfy all of the (internal and often external)community’s needs. Here are five garden elements you’dregularly find on a monastery’s grounds.

1. Fountains There were lots of places where monks couldget water for themselves and their plants,including ponds, lakes, streams, rain barrels,and wells, but fountains were somethingspecial. As Sylvia Landsberg notes in TheMedieval Garden, fountains meant more thanjust water: “The three states of water, namelythe bubbling, sparkling source or spout, theshallow, moving sheet, and the still, silentpool” represented the Holy Trinity (theywere also significant to Persian thought,

pp.59-61). A fountain would have been avisible and audible symbol of the monks’ andnuns’ purpose as they traveled back and forthto services several times a day. Landsbergmentions that fountains were most oftenplaced next to the church (p.36), making thema perfect spot to wash on the way in, or to sitin quiet contemplation of the trinity afterservices.

Monastery garden, by Heinrich Hoffmann (1824–1911)

2. Grass Also close to the church would be a flat lawnof just grass, according to Landsberg (p.36).Not only is grass easy to grow and kind tosandaled feet, but the colour of it is also kindto the eyes. According to Hugh of Fouilloy,green “refreshes encloistered eyes and theirdesire to return to study returns. It is trulythe nature of the color green that it nourishes

the eyes and preserves their vision”(Landsberg, p.36). For monks and nuns whohad been sitting within stone walls most ofthe day, depending on their tasks, a greenlawn would definitely have been a welcomechange for the eyes. Grass was also a cheapway to feed the horses of visiting guests inanother part of the grounds (p.40), and lovelyto sit on.

3. Medicinal Herbs Monastic communities needed to be able tocare for themselves medically, especially ifthe community was large. People in thegreater community also relied upon monksfor medical advice and treatment – after all,the monks had all the books. If you read (orwatch) any of the Brother Cadfael mysteriesby Ellis Peters, you get a sense of the manyneeds and various plants that could be foundon monastic grounds, including some all-purpose ones, like sage, and some nefariousones, like belladonna (deadly nightshade).Excess medicines could be sold outside themonastery for the good of the lay people, andto raise necessary funds for the monasticcommunity, as long as they didn’t charge toomuch. 4. Sacred Plants Although we may not immediately associateChristianity with plants nowadays, the

medieval world was full of plants withreligious symbolism. Certain plants becamea natural part of the religious calendar, theremnants of which still remain in moderntradition, especially in the form of Easter liliesand palm fronds. Each monastery would haveneeded someone – the sacrist – to be in chargeof making sure those plants were supplied.Landsberg writes, Plants would include bay, holly and ivy atChristmas, yew and catkined hazel to be carriedas ‘palm’ at Easter, birch boughs in May, redroses and sweet-woodruff for chaplets andgarlands at Corpus Christi in June, and whitelilies and red roses for the feasts of martyrs.(p.41) I think it’s easy to imagine medieval churchesas dour, grey buildings, but the integration ofsymbolic plants into church ceremoniesmeant that the sanctuary was often a riot ofcolour and fragrance.

Red Roses - from British Library MS Arundel 66 f. 187

5. Cemetery Orchards Like the sacred plants mentioned above,there were some trees that were planted forsymbolic purposes, like the mulberry, whichrepresented the crucifixion (Landsberg,p.41). Most trees that were planted, though,were for practical purposes, like fruit treesand nut trees. Apples, pears, and chestnutsfrequently appeared in orchards all overEurope, but monastic orchards were dual-purpose: they could also be cemeteries(another part of the domain of sacrists, p.37).This is very practical; there is no wastedspace, since the trees grow upward insteadof along the ground, and in the same space,plants like lilies and roses could grow overthe graves as both rich religious symbols forthe departed, and for use in ceremony. Butthe cemetery orchards were not alwaystreated as places of respect. As Landsbergnotes, the trees provided some of the fewspaces on the grounds where a monk or nunintent on mischief could hide, so cemeterieswere often locked up at night, in order toguard lilies of the more euphemistic variety(p.37-38). Even in monasteries, it’s hard tokeep romance out of a garden.

For more on medieval gardens of every kind,Sylvia Landsberg’s The Medieval Garden is areally worthwhile read. For more onmedicinal plants, check out Toni Mount’sDragon’s Blood and Willow Bark (also listedas Medieval Medicine: Its Mysteries andScience), and for a book in which pop cultureand medieval gardens meet, have a look atBrother Cadfael’s Herb Garden: An IllustratedCompanion to Medieval Plants and their Uses.

Danièle Cybulskie is a weeklycolumnist for Medievalists.net.You can follow her on Twitter

@5minmedievalist

A Guide toMedievalValencia

By Sandra Alvarez

My first foray into Spain was to sunny Valencia. As anintroduction to Spain and Spanish culture, it was an excellentplace to start. In terms of medieval "places to see”, this city,founded by the Romans in the 2nd century BC houses anincredible number of intact, medieval buildings. Everythingis nicely clustered in a central area, making it easy to visitsites if you’re short on time. We had a lot to see but not much time to see it all, so Istrategically chose a few key medieval places to visit in theCiutat Vella , the ‘Old City’. The great thing about Valencia,at least where we stayed, was that we were smack in thecentre of the old city, only minutes walking distance to allthe medieval sites on my list! No need to take the metro, noneed for cabs, no buses - we walked everywhere. This wasa great money saver and allowed us to enjoy the sites withouttime wasted waiting for transport.

Places to See

This ties into my next point about Valencia -it’s truly a fantastic walking city. It’spedestrianized in many places. Thearchitecture as you walk along is marvellous;the old city is filled with lovely colourfulbuildings with romantic miniature balconies,hidden courtyards, modern graffiti , palmtrees, and narrow streets, all mixed in withspectacular historic buildings. As someonewho loves walking, it’s a city that’s easy andfun to explore on foot - there is somethingto see in Valencia's Ciutat Vella around everycorner. Day 1 We landed Thursday evening so weunfortunately missed the famed WaterCourt, Tribunal de Las Aguas that takes placeevery Thursday at noon at the Plaza de laVirgen. The Water Court is an usual andextraordinary historic meeting that has beentaking place without interruption for close

to 1,000 years. The entire event is held inValencian, and is basically a meeting aboutthe city irrigation system presided over byeight farmers dressed in traditional garb Thefarmers meet briefly at the stroke of noon tomake rulings and hand down final decisions.I wish we could’ve seen it, the tradition isreminiscent of the Ceremony of the Keys atthe Tower of London, and it’s actually aUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritagepractice. If you are in the city on a Thursdaybefore noon, I would suggest you make it overto see something that’s been occurringregularly since the Middle Ages. From the airport, we took a metro ride toXátiva station and then walked for aboutfifteen minute walk to our Air BnB flat besidethe Lonja de Seda and a beautiful JesuitChurch. Sadly, the Jesuit church, which wecould see from our balcony, remained closedfor most of our visit until the last day whenit was briefly open for Church services.

The city centre of Valencia, a Spanish city of 1.5 million - photo by Sandra Alvarez

La Lonja de la Seda (Llotja de la Seda):The Silk Exchange We were fortunate to be located around thecorner from this magnificent building, and itwas the first stop on our trip. This beautifulplace is a UNESCO Heritage site, and it costonly €2 to get in, €3 if you opt for the audioguide. This might have been a good idea sincethere was no printed material available to takewith you to read so I had to do my researchabout the place separately. Built over a 50-year period (between1482-1533), La Lonja de la Seda was home toValencia’s booming silk trade. When you walk in, you will see an immaculateorange tree garden. Climb up a few steps tovisit a room called the Consulado del Mar (theTribunal of the Sea) where the Tribunal metto make important decisions relating tocommercial law and practice. Walk back downand head into the massive Sala deContratación (the Trading Hall) with it’sincredible spiralling pillars and gorgeousvaulted ceilings. This room saw a lot of actionin the Middle Ages; merchants met here totrade and make deals, and later this buildingbecame the silk exchange. Although the building is large and imposing,there is relatively little to see for an extendedperiod of time. There are no furnishings in theTribunal room or the Trading hall so it’s fairlyquick to get through. The garden is lovely,but again, not a place to sit explore for a longtime. It’s a great place to take plenty to photos. La Lonja de Seda open day between9:00-19:00, Monday to Friday. On Sundaysand public holidays, it’s open from9:00-15:00, and it’s also free. Valencia Cathedral: The Cathedral of theHoly Chalice Also centrally located and mere minutes fromLa Lonja, is Valencia Cathedral and its famousconnecting tower, the Miguelete. This was by

far the most expensive of all our admissioncosts at €10 per person, but it was well worthit. The building is magnificent, it has beenserving Valencia’s faithful since the 4thcentury. The current building was build overan earlier Visigothic structure, which becamea mosque, before being turned back into aChristian Church again in the 13th century. Itwas officially re-consecrated in 1238 AD.Valencia Cathedral is also the home of thefamed Holy Grail - yes, thee Holy Grail. Thechalice has been used by popes over thecenturies and dates to the 1st century AD.Some people have speculated that this couldvery well be the actual cup used during theLst Supper! Regardless of whether it is or not,the chapel where it is located is stunning. Art lovers take note: There are also twopaintings by Francesco Goya (1746-1828)located in the cathedral in the chapel of St.Francis Borgia (1510-1572). One depicts St.Francis Borgia saying goodbye to his familyand another, shows St. Francis Borgia with adying man. Although I’m usually not a fan of audio guidedtours, in this case, I would recommend it asthere is a lot to take in and for the cost, youcertainly don’t want to miss anything. HolyGrail, Two Goyas, incredible late medievalarchitecture. Be prepared to spend at least anhour and a half there. The cathedral is openfrom 8:00-20:00 daily. Inglesia de Santa Catalina Mártir: TheChurch and Tower of Saint Catalina theMartyr We trekked onto the next church, The Churchof Saint Catalina. This is another church builtover the site of a former mosque, attached toa tower. The church is lovely, but best part ofour trip there was getting to climb to the topof the tower (again, only €2) and get a fantasticview of the city. This tower is actually Baroque,but the church itself dates back to the 13thcentury.

Hall of Columns in the Silk Exchange (Lonja de la Seda) of Valencia

El Miguelete Tower attachedto the Cathedral of Valencia- photo by Sandra Alvarez

Day 2 Mercat Central Our first stop was the Mercat Central,supposedly in operation near, or on this spot,since the 14th century, making it one of theoldest markets in Europe. It’s currentlyhoused in a modern building but stillimpressive nonetheless. It’s filled withhundred of vendors selling delicious, freshproduce, meats, cheeses, and breads.Medieval site seeing is hard work - everymedievalists needs some fuel before settingoff so we bought some breakfast items thereand went on our merry way to the the Micalet.It’s open daily from 7:30-15:00 so make sureto get there early. El Miguelete: The Bell Tower Micalet We didn’t climb the tower the same day wewent to the Cathedral because we had justclimbed the tower at Santa Catalina so it wasenough climbing for one day. We tackled theMicalet Saturday right at noon and wererewarded with its enormous bell going offright in our ears when we reached the top ofthe steep 207 stair climb. Why is it called theMicalet? It’s affectionately named after thebell - “Miguel”, which has been in this towersince 1532. Again, it’s only €2 for admission and worthevery penny. Valencia has a multitude ofgreat viewpoints around the city. I was ableto look across Valencia three times duringour stay from various historic sites. Torres dels Serranos: Gates of theSerranos Known for being the largest Gothic gate inEurope, it is one of the twelve that formedthe Christian city walls in the Middle Ages.The structure, built initially as a fortification,was completed in the 14th century. The citywalls were pulled down in 1865 but the gatesremained. Over the years, it’s seen some

reconstruction and cleaning activity but forthe most part when you look at this gate,you’re looking back through time. It’s inimmaculate condition. What does Serranos mean? Locals say thegates were named after a powerful Valencianfamily who also happened to have a streetnamed after them. The gates were consideredthe main entrance to the city, and were usedfor official ceremonies to welcomedignitaries and royalty to Valencia. The gateswere also used as a prison for nobles. Torresdels Serranos is open daily from 9:30-19:00. Farewell... Sadly, there are many things I didn’t get thechance to see because I only had two days inthe city. I’d have love to visit the museums,the other towers, spent more time on thebeach, and visited a few more historic sitesbut, this is definitely not my last trip toValencia. If you’re looking for a medieval weekendaway while in Europe, without having to worryabout transportation, where you can eatdelicious food, enjoy plenty walking, andwarm weather - then Valencia is the place foryou. It’s a brilliant city and I would gladly goback in a heart beat.

Torres dels Serranos - photo by Sandra Alvarez

Lion statue outside the Cathredral of Valencia - photo by Sandra Alvarez

Yolande de Dreux,Queen of Scots

Alexander had Margaret declared his heir andthen went looking for a new bride. Hismother, the dowager Queen Marie de Coucy,had married Jean de Brienne, an officer ofFrance. Jean had a stepdaughter namedYolande de Dreux and Marie may haveconsidered her an eligible candidate to marryAlexander. In February of 1285, an embassywas sent from Scotland to France and theyreturned with Yolande who wasaccompanied by her brother John. Born c. 1267, Yolande was the daughter ofRobert IV, Comte de Dreux and his wifeBeatrix, the only child of count Jean deMontfort-l’Amaury and Jeanne deChâteaudun. They were a cadet family of theFrench monarchy and she was a descendantof King Louis VI. Dreux was located aboutforty miles west of Paris and the family wasinfluential, well-connected vassals of theFrench monarchy. Alexander and Yolandewere married on October 14, 1285 at

Jedburgh Abbey, attended by a great manynobles of France and Scotland. The marriagewas not destined to be long. Five months later, on March 19, Alexanderwas holding a council meeting in EdinburghCastle and was anxious to return to Yolandeat Kinghorn in Fife. It was late in the afternoonby the time he left with three esquiresaccompanying him and two local guides. Hemay have wanted to celebrate her birthdayand she may have been pregnant. Theferryman advised him not to cross the Forthas it was getting dark and a storm wasbrewing. At Inverkeithing, the bailieunsuccessfully argued with Alexander,asking him to stay the night in his house. Therewas only eight miles left and Alexanderinsisted on continuing. He rode off into thedark and soon became separated from hisfollowers. It was the last time he was seenalive.

Alexander III, King of Scots was married to Margaret of Englandfrom 1251 until her death in 1275. Alexander did not appear to bein a hurry to marry again. He had two sons and a daughter withMargaret so heirs were not an issue. But by the early 1280’s,everything changed. His younger son David died in June of 1281and within two more years, the other two children died. His daughterMargaret had married King Eric II of Norway and died after givingbirth to a daughter named Margaret, best known as the Maid ofNorway. At this point, Alexander’s granddaughter was his only heir.

By Susan Abernethy

The next day, Alexander’s body was found onthe foreshore of Pettycur, less than one milefrom Yolande at Kinghorn. He had beengalloping along the shore when his horsestumbled in the sand, throwing Alexander offand breaking his neck. Yolande andAlexander had been married for four monthsand fourteen days, one of the shortest royalmarriages on record. Yolande moved to Stirling Castle anddeclared she was pregnant. The nobles metto discuss the succession crisis on April 28and swore fealty to Alexander’sgranddaughter Margaret and vowed to ruleuntil she arrived. There was a caveat. Theyswore that if Yolande had a son, the thronewould go to him. Either Yolande miscarriedor the baby was stillborn or died shortly afterbirth. Tradition says the baby was buried atCambuskenneth. The council now madearrangements for Alexander’sgranddaughter Margaret to come to Scotland. After her recovery, Yolande lived in Scotlandwith revenues from her dower provisions.She may have lived in Stirling Castle, with anannual income of £200 from Berwick, estatesin the sheriffdom of Stirling and a horse studat Jedworth. In 1288, the Scottish exchequerwas still paying her revenues from herjointure lands. She eventually returned to

France. Eight years later, in May 1294 shemarried Arthur II, Duke of Brittany and earl ofRichmond, a wealthy and influential Frenchnobleman. He may have coveted the Montfortterritories Yolande inherited from hermother. Together they had at least sixchildren. She had a son John in 1294 and a daughterBeatrice in 1295. Her daughter Joan, born c.1296 married the son of the Count ofFlanders. Alice, born c. 1297 marriedBouchard VI of Vendôme. A daughter Blanchedied young and her youngest daughter Marieentered a convent. Yolande’s husband Arthur died in 1312. Hiseldest son by his first wife became John III,Duke of Brittany. Yolande’s country ofMontfort passed to her son John who wouldlater fight for his claim to his father’s duchyin the Breton War of Succession. Yolandecontinued to manage and maintain herScottish interests. In October of 1323, safeconduct was obtained for a French knight togo to Scotland to attend to business regardingYolande’s Scottish dower. There is mentionof her making arrangements for the supportof her daughter Marie in the convent. Afterthat, she disappears from the record.

Further reading:

Scottish Queens 1034-1714, by Rosalind K. Marshall British Kings and Queens, by Mike Ashley Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, by Janet Nelson

Susan Abernethy is The Freelance History Writer.

Follow Susan on Facebook at The Freelance History Writer, andat Medieval History Lovers.

Follow Susan on Twitter: @SusanAbernethy2

Monty Python meets Chaucer in a brand neworiginal medieval comedy web series,written and filmed in York. Young noblewoman, Elfrida Deverwyck,(Gemma Shelton) is on an adventure afterrunning away from home and following thepilgrim trails of medieval Northern England.She is accompanied by rascally Pardoner,Thaddeus Bacon, (Adam Elms) much to herannoyance but he does have his uses...

Set in 1380, the Plotting Films’ producedTales of Bacon series has many homages andin-jokes to the folk tales, songs, and historicalfigures of the period that have all helped tobuild an authentic world. Backgroundresearch for the series has been assisted byand conducted with the help of many Yorkacademics and museums.

Tales of Bacon Director Natalie Roe explains,“We added real historical characters to givethe show depth and to make it fun andinteresting. It's a soft way to give informationand it gives history fans a little extra to laughat! During the writing, we thought too manyshows don't add detail in case people don'tunderstand it, we wanted to do the opposite.We have Chaucer, a young Henry Bolingbrookand Henry le Despenser, The Fighting Bishopof Norwich included too!” The show is created by Plotting Films, a Yorkbased production company which ispassionate about community and creatingopportunity for people to try something newor improve their skills. For example, a

Tales of Bacon A medieval comedy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBPsQjflhGs

number of the actors appearing in Tales ofBacon have many years’ community theatreexperience but had never appeared oncamera until now. The showrunners believe they have createda quirky yet authentic medieval story. Roeadds that, “I had the idea of writing somethingfeaturing a Pardoner on a long car journeyone night. I thought that it was such aninteresting profession; they werefraudulently selling relics and pardons forpeople’s sins. They must have known theywere duping people, I feel they were themedieval equivalent of used-car salesmen!Once I had the character of Elfrida Deverwycktoo (‘Deverwyck’ meaning ‘Of Jorvik’ or ‘OfYork’) a story began to form.” The first three episodes of the six-episodeseries have been filmed, and they havelaunched a crowdfunding campaign to raise£1,500. Roe exxplains that fundraaising will"enable us to film the final three with the

production values and professionalism wefeel it deserves. We need budget fortransportation of cast and crew, insurance andof course, catering! The props, costumes, andlocation fees all add up too so we want tomake the series the best it possibly can be toshowcase everyone’s hard work. Our jokewith the budget has always been: ‘The WhiteQueen had £30 million; we had £3 to buypasties!’ ” Part of the money would got towards filmingat Wharram Percy, one of the largest and bestpreserved deserted medieval villages inEngland. Natalie reveals "Wharram Percywould be a great location because we wantsomewhere that looks like a run-down villageand it is just that! Another contender for thatscene is an abandoned church near Towton,literally the next field from the battle ground.It helps to have genuinely old sites in theseries since we have such a small budget. Itwas the architecture of York that inspired usto start writing. We're lucky to live in

Natalie Roe with Gemma Shelton and Adam ElmsPhoto: Plotting Films

Yorkshire and have easy access to bothlocations, it helps with production values tohave something so perfect right on ourdoorstep.

To help support the crowdfunding campaign, pleasego to:

www.indiegogo.com/projects/tales-of-bacon-a-medieval-comedy-fundraiser#/

Follow them on Twiter @PardonMyBacon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nswXdwhXNL4

Book Excerpt

MedievalMercenaries:

The Business of WarBy William Urban Pen and Sword Books, 2015ISBN: 9781848328549

The Middle Ages were a turbulent and violent time, when the fate ofnations was most often decided on the battlefield, and strength of armswas key to acquiring and maintaining power. Feudal oaths and localmilitias were more often than not incapable of providing the skilled anddisciplined warriors necessary to keep the enemy at bay. It was themercenary who stepped in to fill the ranks. A mercenary was a professional soldier who took employment withno concern for the morals or cause of the paymaster. But within theseconfines we discover a surprising array of men, from the lowest-bornfoot soldier to the wealthiest aristocrat the occasional clergyman,even. What united them all was a willingness, and often the desire, tofight for their supper. In this benchmark work, William Urban explores the vital importance ofthe mercenary to the medieval power-broker, from the ByzantineVarangian Guard to fifteenth-century soldiers of fortune in the Baltic.Through contemporary chronicles and the most up-to-date scholarship,he presents an in-depth portrait of the mercenary across the Middle Ages.

Read an excerpt: Preliminary Observations Mercenaries were needed because althoughmedieval societies tried to rely upon feudaloaths and local militias, these were ofteninsufficient. Also, neither knights norpeasants complained when strangers riskedtheir lives for them in moments of crisis.Inquiries about personal morals, respect forthe law, body odour and so forth tend to bekept short when survival is at stake. Whatemployers wanted were mercenary units,groups ready for combat from the momentthey arrived, not individual warriors ofquestionable background. Such units werethus a service commodity. Employers often

wanted to command the army, but not all hadthe talent or experience. Mercenary generalsoffered some hope of battlefield success.Hope at a price, of course. And at a risk. Noone could guarantee that the new employeewould perform as expected, or even that hewould not attempt to take over the business.Outsourcing has its risks. Mercenaries alsonegotiated like unions, picking the mostawkward moments to demand an increase inpay. As a student of mine once said of strikersin Paris who had shut down the entiretransportation system, ‘Don’t they know thatis inconvenient?’ Employers were also

beseeched by idealists to avoid armedconflicts, the argument being that war itselfwas questionable morally and in practice. Ifabandoning a disputed point was sufficientto make peace, giving way might be thecheaper and wiser course. Of course, hard-headed advisors would point out that ifneighbours concluded that a peaceable lordwas an easy mark, then bullying could beexpected. Fighting had some benefits, evenif the war was likely to be lost – the lord whofought back was at least likely to berespected, and therefore left alone. Theseaspects of medieval military practice tend tobe forgotten. But historical truth is whatpeople remember, as W.C. Sellar (1898–1951) and R. J.Yeatman (1897–1968) remindus. Their 1066 and All That; A MemorableHistory of England, comprising all the partsyou can remember, including 103 GoodThings, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates (1930) said that history is not what youthought it was, but what you remember. Whatyou can remember, for example, is the date1066. Not what it signified. Moreover, theysaid: The Norman Conquest was a Good Thing, asfrom this time onwards England stopped beingconquered and thus was able to become topnation. This parody of the Whig School of history isalso worth noting, because it is so much likemodern political correctness, whichdiscourages the writing or reading of militaryhistory. According to the Whig School, everyperson and every action is judged Good orBad according to whether the cause ofparliamentary democracy and the middleclass was advanced or retarded. PoliticalCorrectness makes similar judgments basedon a combination of excessive politeness andtender-heartedness. Thus it occasionallyseems that hurting people’s feelings is worsethan killing them. There is also a tendency tobelieve that if war is good for business, thatis sufficient reason in itself to hate war.

In this the adherents of political correctnessshare an important attitude with the medievalChurch – that making a profit from someoneelse’s need is immoral. Thus, the merchantwho rushed grain to a war-ravaged landsinned as much by making a profit as themercenaries who looted and burned it. Several decades later another humourist-historian gave us an additional insight intomercenaries. Richard Armour (1906–89), theauthor of It All Started with Stones and Clubs.Being a Short History of War and Weaponryfrom Earliest Times to the Present, noting theGratifying Progress made by Man since his FirstCrude, Small-Scale Efforts to Do Away withThose Who Disagreed with him (1967), wrote: The Vikings landed in the British Isles, sailedup the Seine to Paris, and traveled even as faras Russia and Constantinople. Whether theVikings fought simply for the love of fighting,as some historians contend, or were primarilyinterested in loot, is a matter of conjecture, butthere is no reason to believe that the tworeasons are mutually exclusive. The Vikingsproved that in war you can combine fun andprofit, with travel thrown in as a bonus. More seriously, the bottom line is this: in theMiddle Ages rulers generally recruitedprofessional warriors only for emergencies,did what they could to control them, andultimately dismissed them. The alternative tohiring mercenaries was to suffer defeat, anddefeat meant more than turning the cheek toreceive another slap. I have been asked manytimes, rhetorically, ‘What do wars reallysettle’? ‘Nothing’, I now respond, ‘except whoowns the land, who works it, what taxes andservices will be demanded, what languagesare spoken, what religions are followed.Other than that, perhaps not much’.

When important values are at stake – wholives, who dies, who flourishes, who suffers –one can understand hiring mercenaries.Some will do more for less justification. Mercenaries were more than a gang of toughs.Nobles were mercenaries, too. As MauriceKeen says in his authoritative work, Chivalry,‘In terms of motivation, calculation andconduct the line between gentlemen andmercenary was simply too difficult to drawwith precision’. Hence, this book will examinethe old contention that gentlemen, eventoday, are too grand to soil their hands withcommerce, especially with the business ofwar. As one who teaches in a small but goodliberal arts college in the American Midwest,I am aware of a widespread academictendency to pour scorn on programs whichprepare students for employment – studentsshould be educated, not trained. Oneextension of this argument is that ROTC(Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), whichtrains volunteer students to be officers,should be abolished. I occasionally ask,‘Where is a democratic nation to develop itsfuture officers?’ The response is usually ashrug – meaning ‘not here’ – but occasionallyI get an answer that suggests that armies areno more necessary than police.

I can live with that. But only in a conversationalsense, a willingness to humour overlyexcitable colleagues, not as agreeing thatmuggers will disappear as soon asgovernments do. This book will show thatevery society has individuals who will takeadvantage of disorder to indulge their worstinstincts. Also, if Sellar and Yeatman are correct insaying that history is not what you thought itwas, but what you remember, I hope thatreaders will look at modern fictional accountsof medieval history with new appreciationand all movies with scepticism. No one likes mercenaries. Yet everyone hasused them. Advancing the awareness of thiswidespread practice of the past and thepresent should be justification enough for abook on mercenaries and the business of war.

Learn more about Medieval Mercenaries: TheBusiness of War, from Pen and Sword Books, at:

www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Medieval-

Mercenaries-Paperback/p/11207 William Urban is a Professor Emeritus at Monmouth

College. Visit his website at:

http://department.monm.edu/history/urban.htm

Book Excerpt

The Parish thatDisappeared:

A History of St John's,Hereford

By Liz Pitman Logaston Press, 2016ISBN: 9781906663995From early in the 12th century until its final dissolution in 2012, the parishof St John’s was at the heart of Hereford. Its houses and shops clusteredaround the cathedral, but it also encompassed other locations: patches ofground along Widemarsh Street, at the foot of Aylestone Hill, alongWhitecross Road, and at Blackmarston and other places south of the Wye,with extensive tracts of land at Belmont and what is now Newton Farm. Inthe 1900s these ‘outliers’ were amalgamated with other parishes, but thecore around the cathedral remained until its very recent ‘disappearance’. St John’s history was closely intertwined with that of the cathedral, wherethe parish, without a church of its own, had its altar. As this book explains,the relationship between the cathedral and the parish varied between amityand tension. But the history of the parish is as much the story of its characters,both the clergy who served it and the parishioners who lived within its bounds.There are indications of the awful lives of paupers, and of the range ofhumanity that lived at one time in the parish, including old sailors, acomedian, actors, feltmakers, wool staplers, Italian apprentices and whores,a Jewish silversmith, a clairvoyant, a reclusive member of Hereford ‘gentry’,a hatter turned manure manufacturer, a Polish émigré who probablycommitted suicide, and his daughter, who worked as a governess in Polandfor many years. Body snatchers also make an appearance.

Read an excerpt: Chapter 1 The story of the early centuries of the parishand its ‘church’ within the cathedral is adifficult one to tell as records are scarce andit is easy to feel that the parish was, at leastuntil more detailed records begin, almostinvisible. As a result its early history,beginning about 900 years ago, has to bepartially fleshed out by a series of questionswith tentative answers rather than definitefacts. The first question to be asked is: ‘When wasthe parish founded’? Hereford had been adiocese with a cathedral since Anglo-Saxontimes. A stone church built by BishopAthelstan (c.1015 – 1056) was destroyedwhen, in 1055, Aelfgar, son of the earl ofMercia, who had been outlawed by Edward

the Confessor for treason, raised an army ofmercenaries against the new earl of Hereford,Ralph the Timid. The army sacked the city,burnt the cathedral and killed some of itscanons. At that time, the parish system wasstill evolving and the pre-Conquest minster,in the absence of parish churches, would havehad a significant pastoral responsibility forthe spiritual welfare of the laity of the town,including the rites of baptism, marriage andburial. By the time the Norman cathedral wasbuilt (between about 1107 and 1148)parishes, each with their own church andvicar, had become the norm, but in the centreof Hereford something unusual happened.What must have been a survival from itsearlier history occurred when a ‘designatedparochial altar seems to have arisen duringthe transformation of the old Saxon minster’.A parish was carved out

Learn more about The Parish that Disappeared fromLogaston Press at:

https://sites.google.com/site/logastonpress/

Home/new-books-spring-2016

of the area around the cathedral, making itone of the earliest parishes in the city, withonly St Peter’s, c.1080, and St Owen’s, c.1101,being earlier foundations. The new cathedral became the place of praiseand prayer in which the round of daily massesoccurred, with the parish altar serving thecathedral laity and other people livingnearby. However, from the inception of theparish, references to its vicar always refer tohim as serving at the ‘altar of St John’,suggesting that the dean and chapter wereat pains to emphasise that there was onlyever a parish altar in the cathedral and not aparish church. Given the dignity of cathedralworship and the more hurly-burly life of asocially mixed parish, it is not perhapssurprising that the history of the relationshipbetween, on the one hand, the parish vicarand his parishioners and, on the other hand,the dean and chapter seems, on manyoccasions, to have been marked by tensionsand disagreements. If the parish was created when the newcathedral was built, its first century of life isunrecorded, as there is no written orarchitectural evidence about it, but as soonas written evidence is found, the history ofthe parish, albeit still with many gaps, beginsto emerge. The earliest written reference tothe parish and its vicar occurs c.1201 when‘William of St John, and Hugh, chaplains’,witnessed a deed relating to a piece of landbeing granted as a dowry to Helisend, thedaughter of William Albus de Hereford. Thissame William, ‘canon and chaplain of St John’,

who was living in King’s Ditch [King Street],witnessed several other undated 13thcentury deeds relating to land transactions.In addition, the 13th cathedral statutes statedthat the cathedral treasurer must ‘providelight for all who celebrate at the cathedral,with the exception of those who arecelebrating at the altar of Saint John’.Certainly, by the time the TaxatioEcclesiastica was compiled in 1291, St John’swas treated as a parish. The main part of St John’s parish was closelylinked to the area known as the bishop’s fee,that part of the city under the jurisdiction ofthe bishop rather than the king. Within his feethe bishop had considerable privileges, withhis authority sometimes exceeding that of thecivil authorities. Although the boundary ofthe two fees was ill-defined, it is likely thatin Anglo-Saxon times the area within the citydefences marked out the bishop’s holding,and when the parish of St John was formed itfollowed this boundary line. By Norman timesthis area consisted of the cathedral Close, theeast-west roads of Castle Street, King Street,West Street, East Street and, running north tosouth, Church Street, Broad Street and St JohnStreet, with Gwynne Street and Wye BridgeStreet running down to the river. The castlewas also part of the parish but Castle Greenwas outside the city liberties. From the earlydays of the parish, there were canonicalhouses in Canon’s Row [the Close] for, by1321, they were already being described as‘old’. Other canonical houses could be foundin Caboche Lane [Church Street] and CastleStreet.

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