Any medievalists out there?
Count me in...
Great! I knew I couldn't be the only one! First discussion: This image, I am not certain it is an actual image from the Vendel era or not, but it seems possible. The only places I could find it referenced are in svenska so I am not literate enough to know much more about the image other than what I can pick out. I think these are early Norse who had contact with celts and romans, they appear to be wearing ring mail by direct interpretation of the depiction, but it could be a representations of chain mail. The helmets are like Cetlic adaptations of earlier roman head gear stylized in Nordic fashion with the boar on top. Clearly Viking/Vendel era helmets. They carry a short spear or javelin and short sword that seems to be of the straight variety more like a gladius straight or celtic sword than a later viking long sword, perhaps a early Nordic straight blade. They seem to be in formation and pledging with the sword as would be done by one swearing allegiance to a king. It is no doubt they are noble warriors of some sort.
Here's a great site featuring the digital reconstruction of Nova Roma better known as Constantinople. http://www.byzantium1200.com/contents.html
I am not sure the date or origin of this medieval painting. My guess is it was made in the high middle ages possibly 11-14th Century. I say that based on the it's artistic style and from the tapered shields and on one of which we see a cross? Additionally one knight is wearing spurs. Any ideas?
On the not so serious side here's a nice artistic play on saints Patron Saints of Graphic Design http://www.lynnster.com/saints.html
That picture is from the 12th century, maybe early 13th century. I have seen it a lot of times but I donno its source...certainly a french chronicle or an english one.
Found it. Corpus christi Chronica, showing William Marshall.
Cool I had no source just found it somewhere on the net, thanks!
Lots of folks like to discuss & debate the Catholic church history especially since Davinci code movie came around. Here is some reading on the councils (or synods as they were called) that clarified doctrine and formed church history. All Catholic Church Ecumenical Councils - All the Decrees ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Synod "A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. An ecumenical council is so named because it is a synod of the whole church (or, more accurately, of what those who call it consider to be the whole church.)" "The word comes from the Greek συνοδος meaning "assembly" or "meeting", and it is synonymous with the Latin word concilium — "council". Originally synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Sometimes the phrase general synod or general council refers to an ecumenical council. The word synod also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. Similarly, the day to day governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches in entrusted to a permanent synod." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synod
For those of you who love music, here is a great group of medieval polyphonists and musicians Ensemble Sarband SARBAND means connection - just as the name, which stems from Oriental music theory and denotes to an improvised linking of two compositions within a musical suite. Musical director Dr. Vladimir Ivanoff, who founded SARBAND in 1986, both as a scholar and a musician, connects cultures, people and epochs: His programmes unite musicians from the most different cultures and backgrounds and mediate between past and present, Early Music and living traditions.
Hi guys, I'm creating a little library of mediaeval sources that can be found on web, I found some interresting stuff in Project Guttenberg and Mediaeval sourcebook, I'm specialy interrested in Byzantine chronics so if you know some links for Byzantine sources please post it. Thanks in advance
Project Guttenbeg is good. I need to spend more time there in the future. I don't have any web sources, but I can discuss two books I'm reading on Roman history which I highly recommend. The Alexiad by Anna Comnena E. R. A. Sewter (Introduction, Translator) Penguin Classics Series From the back of the book: 'The shining light of the world, the great Alexius' Anna Commena (1083-1153) wrote the Alexid as an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I. It is also an important source of information on the Byzantine war with the Normans, and on the First Crusade, in which Alexius participated. While the Byzantines were Allied to the Crusaders, they were none the less critical of the behavior and Anna's book offers a startlingly different perspective from that of Western Historians. Maurice's Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy Translated by: George T. Dennis From the back of the book: As a veteran campaigner, the Byzantine emperor Maurice (582-602) compiled a unique and influential handbook intended for the field commander. In this first complete English translation, the Strategikon is an invaluable source not only for early Byzantine history but for the general history of the art of war. Describing in detail weaponry and armor, daily life on the march or in camp, clothing, food, medical care, military law, and titles of the Byzantine army of the seventh century, the Strategikon offers insights into the Byzantine military ethos. In language contemporary, down-to-earth, and practical, the text also provides important data for the historian, and even the ethnologist, on peoples at the frontier of the Empire, including eyewitness accounts of the Persians, Slavs, Lombards, and Avars at the frontier of the Empire.
Both of the books are first rate sources for Byzantine history and they provide facts about early Slavic imigration on Balkan and early Serbian history, I wish a could lay my hands on it, we have a wery limited choice of sources in Serbia, especialy I would like to read Strategicon altough I believe it wasn't wrote by emperor Maurice himself. I will survey the web and try to find web edition.
Hi there Seems this group for ppl with an interest in medieval history. Thought I'd drop by.
About the slavs: Bavarian geographer gives a good info about 10th century slavic tribes and their location. Al-dajhani and some syrian followers of him (hmm if i could recall the name) wrote interesting reports about them.
What Bavarian geographer, wait don't tell me-Anonimus
Anonymus was a funny fellow. I've recently read historians discredit his info about the seven magyar leaders. So we might have learned their names in vain... I know its just wiki, but... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_geographer I've had parts of the text and he was a serious guy..like obroviti x castrum, liutici y castrum...
Where can I find integral text, or excerpts?
I will look after it because I think I saw the latin text somewhere.... But otherwise I 've had it in a hungarian edition. Now I just saw that after Usama Inb Mundqiz, Ibn Fadlan's Bulgarian travels were published here too! Good tendency!
