Augustine vs Wodan

The mendicant orders, particularly the Franciscans and Dominicans, have received enormous scholarly attention, virtually from their inception in 1210 and 1216, respectively, regarding a wide range of topics, but particularly their activities as preachers, teachers, advisors, and missionaries.1 Somewhat less attention has been paid to the role of the mendicants as confessors, particularly confessors to non-aristocratic or royal lay people.2 This lacuna in scholarship regarding the mendicant orders is particularly evident in the consideration of Franciscan and Dominican friars as military chaplains. This study sheds light on an important yet insufficiently appreciated aspect of mendicant pastoral activity during the first century of the Franciscan and Dominican orders.3 Background Military pastoral care, that is, the religious support provided to soldiers by priests, played an exceptionally important role in the conduct of warfare in both Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, particularly for the maintenance of morale and discipline.4 In the late Roman Empire and its western successor states, pastoral duties largely fell to bishops and a small cadre of priests who celebrated Mass, carried relics, interceded with God on behalf of the army, and preached to the troops.5 By the mid-eighth century, however, new religious practices in the West imposed on military commanders the need to recruit far larger numbers of priests to serve as chaplains in their armies. The old rite of penance, which permitted Christians to confess their sins only once in a lifetime, gradually was superseded by the practice of repeatable confession. This development in church teaching, which can be traced over a three-century period, culminated in the wide acceptance of repeatable confession as an acceptable rite.6 The establishment of this new institutionalized interpretation of confession is marked first in the British Isles and then on the continent during the late seventh and early eighth century by the extensive production and diffusion of penitential manuals, sometimes described by scholars as tariff books. These handbooks for priests, many of which were produced expressly for parish clergy, set out long lists of sins and appropriate penances for each, thereby emphasizing the renewable nature of the rite.7 It was now possible for soldiers to confess their sins before every battle and thereby face the enemy with a clear conscience and a clean soul.8 But this new military pastoral responsibility brought with it the need to recruit far larger numbers of priests to serve in the army than had been the case previously. A bishop and a few priests were sufficient in the armies of the Late Empire and early Middle Ages to celebrate Mass, preach, and even pray. To hear the confessions of thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers, however, was far beyond the capabilities of the few clerics attached to the armies of the fourth through the early eighth century. The necessity of recruiting far larger numbers of priests to serve as military chaplains was enunciated clearly in 742 by Carloman, the Carolingian Mayor of the Palace. At a synodal assembly, called the Concilium Germanum by scholars, Carloman, acting in concert with Boniface, the papal legate to the Frankish court, instituted the requirement that every unit commander in the army have on staff a capellanus capable of hearing confessions and assigning penances.9 From this point onward, including up the present, armies in the Christian West have recruited large numbers of priests to serve as military chaplains.10 It is one of the noteworthy aspects of medieval religious history that Carloman's leading role in the establishment of requirements for the provision of pastoral care was recapitulated throughout the early and high Middle Ages by secular rather than ecclesiastical figures. Even in periods of papal strength, the bishops of Rome remained largely silent about the need to provide soldiers with pastoral care, even in the context of the crusades. …

Gothic <i>leiþu</i>, “strong drink; fruit wine?” and its Cognates in the Germanic Languages

The history of Rome in the early Middle Ages is best understood as a continuous evolution from Rome of the Caesars to Rome of the popes, with the latter taking on many of the roles of their imperial predecessors. A critical moment occurs in the seventh and early eighth centuries, when the physical ‘landscape’ of the city is ‘re-invented’, essentially transformed from pagan to Christian through an appropriation of the material vestiges of the ancient city, as well as aspects of ritual behavior such as the development of the stational liturgy. This landscape was imbued with memories and meaning, transmitters of the city’s identity and history; and these understandings were ‘Christianized’, fulfilling the city’s manifest destiny.

Reviewed by: Les “apologies” de l’Ordo Missae de la Liturgie Romaine: Sources—Histoire—Théologie by Alain-Pierre Yao Uwe Michael Lang Alain-Pierre Yao Les “apologies” de l’Ordo Missae de la Liturgie Romaine: Sources—Histoire—Théologie Ecclesia orans. Studi e Ricerche 3 Naples: Editrice Domenicana Italiana, 2019 393 pages. Hardbound. €45.00. The Frankish adoption and adaptation of the Roman Rite of Mass in the early medieval period included a shift towards a more personal and emotive approach to the liturgy. This is exemplified in the incorporation of specific prayers in the first person singular or plural, to be said in a low voice by the celebrant at different moments of the Mass. These prayers, known as “apologies” (apologiae), express sorrowful recognition of the priest’s (or bishop’s) personal sinfulness as well as joyful trust in God’s mercy and calling to offer the acceptable sacrifice for the salvation of souls. Liturgical scholarship in the first half of the twentieth century tended to see in the dramatic style of these texts an infelicitous departure from the sober character of the Roman Rite. Consequently, the priest’s personal prayers were considerably reduced [End Page 311] in the post-conciliar liturgical reform. This study by Father Alain-Pierre Yao, a priest of the archdiocese of Bouaké (Ivory Coast), based on his doctoral dissertation at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, shows that we are now in a better position to appreciate the historical development, theological significance and spiritual benefit of these prayers in the Mass. Above all, Yao argues that, despite its general acceptance, the term “apologies” is misleading, because many of these texts do not have the character of confession or self-accusation. This insight provides him with a hermeneutical key to review the historical evidence. The first chapter (33–122) offers a lucid and instructive presentation of the origins and historical development of “apologies.” Of particular interest is the author’s discussion of the Byzantine tradition, where the introduction of the prayer “No one is worthy” (Οὐδεὶς ἄξιος) into the Divine Liturgy may date from the early eighth century. While Yao briefly reviews non-Roman Western traditions, the major part of this chapter is dedicated to the Roman Rite and concludes with the Tridentine missal of 1570. The main sources for “apology” prayers are the collections of the recurring parts of the Eucharistic celebration that developed into a distinct liturgical genre, the Ordo Missae. Although much progress has been made in this field since the seminal contribution of Bonifaas Luykx, still more work remains to be done. In the first place, not all of the known texts are available in a critical edition. Moreover, the prayers of the Ordo Missae are not always organized in a distinct section but may be dispersed throughout a liturgical manuscript. Such prayers can be found not only in sacramentaries or missals, but also in handbooks for priests or collections of prayers (libelli precum). Hence more examples of the Ordo Missae are likely to be discovered and require a revision of Luykx’s widely-accepted typology. In this context, Yao points to the Cluniac Ordo Missae, which is distinguished from other ordines, both diocesan and monastic, by its sobriety and restraint (44). While this book cannot attempt a comprehensive and systematic study of the Ordo Missae, it presents the reader with the current research on this important chapter in liturgical history. Following Adrien Nocent, the inclusion of “apologies” in the celebration of Mass is often seen in connection with the development [End Page 312] of tariff penance. In the Carolingian period, it became possible to commute an imposed penance into a specific number of “penitential” Masses to be offered. The priest was seen to identify with penitents both living and deceased and this would explain the strongly penitential character of his private prayers. Yao, however, argues that “apologies” resulted from an increasing preoccupation with ritual purity. There is certainly evidence in support of this argument, but the difficulty with Yao’s proposal is its reliance on the overstated theory of Arnold Angenendt about the importance of “cultic purity” (kultische Reinheit) in the early Middle Ages. The substantial second chapter...

One of the most significant prophetic sources that widely circulated in Eastern Christian countries in the early Middle Ages was the Apocalypse attributed to Methodius of Olympus, bishop of Lycia. Though the Apocalypse of Ps.-Methodius was preceded by another well known prophecy already containing some of the main features and characters of the Byzantine apocalyptic tradition, namely the Latin Tiburtine Sibyl , Ps.-Methodius established a more elaborated model, which became a source of borrowing and imitation for subsequent authors. The supposition that the Armenian version appeared soon after the Greek translation can also be corroborated by the fact. This chapter discusses writing found in Armenian manuscripts: a very different recension of Ps.-Methodius. There existed an Armenian text of the Apocalypse of Ps.-Methodius, possibly complete and translated from the oldest Greek version in the late seventh or early eighth century. Keywords: Apocalypse of Ps.-Methodius ; Armenian manuscripts; Greek translation

With the end of the Visigothic Kingdom in the early eighth century, the territory of Gallecia, located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, entered a period initially characterized by the absence of major supra-local powers. Although nineteenth-century ideas of demographic abandonment have been surpassed, the different powers controlling this territory struggled to impose their agency. Only during the ninth century was this territory gradually integrated into the kingdom articulated from its political hub in Asturias. In this process, a fortified landscape in which castles were a fundamental part of the sociopolitical organization of the territory emerged. These types of sites have been significantly underestimated by archaeologists, with an increased interest in their study developing only in recent years. In this text, we examine several fortified elements located in Gallecia and analyze the relationship of these archaeological sites to the power dynamics and territorial control of the kingdom (ninth-tenth centuries).

Suicide and other suicidal behaviours are markedly (though differently) patterned by gender. The increase in young male suicide rates in many countries has heightened interest in whether suicidal behaviours and ideation (thoughts) are related to masculinity. Relatively little research has explored the relationship between gender role attitudes and orientation and suicidal behaviours and ideation. Most research in this area has been conducted with young people. We investigated whether gender role orientation (masculinity and femininity scores) and gender role attitudes were related to the reporting of serious suicidal thoughts in three generations (early adulthood, and early and late middle age) in a community sample. Subjects (653 men and women aged around 23 years, 754 aged around 43 years, 722 aged around 63 years) completed home interviews with nurses as part of an ongoing longitudinal community-based study of social factors and health. These included measures of suicidal ideation (thoughts), attitudes to traditional gender roles, and a validated measure of gender role orientation (masculinity and femininity scores). The prevalence of serious suicidal thoughts was higher in early adulthood (10% men, 15% women) than in early (4% men, 8% women) and late (6% men, 5% women) middle age. In early adulthood only sex was significantly related to suicidal thoughts, with women at higher risk (adjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.01-3.00). In early middle age masculinity scores were negatively related to suicidal thoughts (adjusted OR for each unit increase in score 0.65: 95% CI 0.46-0.93), and more traditional views on gender roles were positively associated with suicidal thoughts (adjusted OR 1.48: 95% CI 1.07-2.04). In late middle age trends were in the same direction as in early middle age, but were not statistically significant. Femininity scores were unrelated to serious suicidal thoughts at any age. The high rates of suicidal thoughts amongst men and women in early adulthood point to the importance of understanding mental health problems at this age. The results raise a number of questions and suggest that suicide researchers should pay more attention to gender roles and attitudes in older adults.

Clerics in the Early Middle Ages Hierarchy and Image. By Roger E. Reynolds. [Variorum Collected Studies Series.] (Brookfield, Vermont: Variorum, Ashgate. 1999. Pp. x, 334. $110.95.) Clerical Orders in the Early Middle Ages- Duties and Ordination. By Roger E. Reynolds. [Variorum Collected Studies Series. I (Brookfield,Vermont: Variorum,Ashgate. 1999. PP. x, 334,$106.95.) The last thirty or so years have witnessed a growing fascination on the part of medievalists and social historians with lay and religious movements in the Middle Ages. Popes, cardinals, bishops, and monks, on the other hand, have all enjoyed a perennial appeal among scholars. Amazingly little research, however, has focused on priests and on the clerical grades preceding ordination to the priesthood. This is particularly ironic in view of the vast number of men and boys who were tonsured and admitted to various degrees of clerical status throughout the medieval period and beyond. These companion volumes bring together some twenty-three articles of varying length on clerics and clerical orders as reflected in patristic and medieval texts. Roger Reynolds draws upon a wide spectrum of sources, including letters, sermons, treatises, liturgical commentaries, ordination instructions, and canon law materials from the fifth to the twelfth centuries. Most of the articles have appeared elsewhere over the past three decades and hence Ashgate/Variorum has maintained their original pagination wherever possible, assigning to each a Roman numeral in order of appearance, as listed in the table of contents. Some articles have been so thoroughly revised or else now appear in much lengthier, unabridged form that any attempt to retain their original pagination would have proven impossible. Clerics in the Early Middle Ages: Hierarchy and Image contains four studies which appear for the first time; one of the articles in Clerical Orders in the Early Middle Ages: Duties and Ordination is likewise a first publication. Reynolds begins the first volume by mapping out as it were the clerical landscape of the early Middle Ages, describing the clerical grades and their functions in the various western European systems: Roman, Spanish, Irish, and Gallo-Frankish. Another study, entitled Christ as Cleric: The Ordinals of examines the widespread phenomenon of identifying Christ, through his words or actions, with each of the clerical grades. In an essay on the mathematics of sacred orders, the author shows that the 'traditional' seven ecclesiastical grades were by no means as fixed or as consistent in the patristic and early medieval periods as later scholastic theologians would have preferred. Several medieval systems of sacred orders in fact ran as low as six and as high as eight or nine clerical grades. A fourth article discusses the status of the subdiaconate as a sacred or `major' order. Patristic Presbyterianism explores the relationship of the priesthood to the episcopate in the writings of theologians from Jerome and Ambrosiaster to the Master of the Sentences, Peter Lombard. The highest of the ecclesiastical orders, Peter maintained, is the priesthood. Indeed, Lombard cited Isidore of Seville to the effect that, according to ancient authorities, bishops and presbyters were originally the same. This equation of the priesthood with the order of bishop naturally would give rise to 'presbyterian' consequences in the Reformation period. In discussing the origins, duties, conferral, and arrangement of sacred orders, Reynolds does a good job of linking text with image, as in the case of the Raganaldus Sacramentary, the Landulf Pontifical Roll, and the Drogo Sacramentary. These studies feature clear, attractive black and white reproductions of the manuscript sources. Again juxtaposing medieval accounts and a generous selection of artistic depictions of clerics arrayed in attendance at church councils, Reynolds analyzes rites and signs of conciliar decisions in the Middle Ages. …

TamdrupRoyal residence and memorial church in a new light&#x0D; Tamdrup has been shrouded in a degree of mystery in recent times. The solitary church located on a moraine hill west of Horsens is visible from afar and has attracted attention for centuries. On the face of it, it resembles an ordinary parish church, but on closer examination it is found to be unusually large, and on entering one discovers that hidden beneath one roof is a three-aisled construction, which originally was a Romanesque basilica. Why was such a large church built in this particular place? What were the prevailing circumstances in the Early Middle Ages when the foundation stone was laid?&#x0D; The mystery of Tamdrup has been addressed and discussed before. In the 1980s and 1990s, archaeological excavations were carried out which revealed traces of a magnate’s farm or a royal residence from the Late Viking Age or Early Middle Ages located on the field to the west of the church (fig. 4), and in 1991, the book Tamdrup – Kirke og gård was published.&#x0D; Now, by way of metal-detector finds, new information has been added. These new finds provide several answers, but also give rise to several new questions and problems. In recent years, a considerable number of metal finds recovered by metal detector at Tamdrup have been submitted to Horsens Museum. Since 2012, 207 artefacts have been recorded, primarily coins, brooches, weights and fittings from such as harness, dating from the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. Further to these, a coin hoard dating from the time of Svein Estridson was excavated in 2013.&#x0D; The museum has processed the submitted finds, which have been recorded and passed on for treasure trove evaluation. As resources were not available for a more detailed assessment of the artefacts, in 2014 the museum formulated a research project that received funding from the Danish Agency for Culture, enabling the finds to be examined in greater depth.&#x0D; The aim of the research project was to study the metal-detector finds and the excavation findings, partly through an analysis of the total finds assemblage, partly by digitalisation of the earlier excavation plans so these could be compared with each other and with the new excavation data. This was intended to lead on to a new analysis, new interpretations and a new, overall evaluation of Tamdrup’s function, role and significance in the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages.Old excavations – new interpretationsIn 1983, on the eastern part of the field, a trial excavation trench was laid out running north-south (d). This resulted in two trenches (a, b) and a further three trial trenches being opened up in 1984 (fig. 6). In the northern trench, a longhouse, a fence and a pit-house were discovered (fig. 8). The interpretation of the longhouse (fig. 4) still stands, in so far as we are dealing with a longhouse with curved walls. The western end of the house appears unequivocal, but there could be some doubt about its eastern end. An alternative interpretation is a 17.5 m long building (fig. 8), from which the easternmost set of roof-bearing posts are excluded. Instead, another posthole is included as the northernmost post in the gable to the east. This gives a house with regularly curved walls, though with the eastern gable (4.3 m) narrower than the western (5.3 m).&#x0D; North of the trench (a) containing the longhouse, a trial trench (c) was also laid out, revealing a number of features. Similarly, there were also several features in the northern part of the middle trial trench (e). A pit in trial trench c was found to contain both a fragment of a bit branch and a bronze key. There was neither time nor resources to permit the excavation of these areas in 1984, but it seems very likely that there are traces of one or more houses here (fig. 9). Here we have a potential site for a possible main dwelling house or hall.&#x0D; In August 1990, on the basis of an evaluation, an excavation trench (h) was opened up to the west of the 1984 excavation (fig. 7). Here, traces were found of two buildings, which lay parallel to each other, oriented east-west. These were interpreted as small auxiliary buildings associated with the same magnate’s farm as the longhouse found in the 1984 excavation. The northern building was 4 m wide and the southern building was 5.5 m. Both buildings were considered to be c. 7 m long and with an open eastern gable. The southern building had one set of internal roof-bearing posts.&#x0D; The excavation of the two buildings in 1990 represented the art of the possible, as no great resources were available. Aerial photos from the time show that the trial trench from the evaluation was back-filled when the excavation was completed. Today, we have a comprehensive understanding of the trial trenches and excavation trenches thanks to the digitalised plans. Here, it becomes apparent that some postholes recorded during the evaluation belong to the southernmost of the two buildings, but these were unfortunately not relocated during the actual excavation. As these postholes, accordingly, did not form part of the interpretation, it was assumed that the building was 7 m in length (fig. 10). When these postholes from the evaluation are included, a ground plan emerges that can be interpreted as the remains of a Trelleborg house (fig. 11). The original 7 m long building constitutes the western end of this characteristic house, while the remainder of the south wall was found in the trial trench. Part of the north wall is apparently missing, but the rest of the building appears so convincing that the missing postholes must be attributed to poor conditions for preservation and observation. The northeastern part of the house has not been uncovered, which means that it is not possible to say with certainty whether the house was 19 or 25 m in length, minus its buttress posts.&#x0D; On the basis of the excavations undertaken in 1984 and 1990, it was assumed that the site represented a magnate’s farm from the Late Viking Age. It was presumed that the excavated buildings stood furthest to the north on the toft and that the farm’s main dwelling – in the best-case scenario the royal residence – should be sought in the area to the south between the excavated buildings. Six north-south-oriented trial trenches were therefore laid out in this area (figs. 6, 7 and 13 – trial trenches o, p, q, r, s and t). The results were, according to the excavation report, disappointing: No trace was found of Harold Bluetooth’s hall. It was concluded that there were no structures and features that could be linked together to give a larger entity such as the presumed magnate’s farm.&#x0D; After digitalisation of the excavation plans from 1991, we now have an overview of the trial trenches to a degree that was not possible previously (fig. 13). It is clear that there is a remarkable concentration of structures in the central and northern parts of the two middle trial trenches (q, r) and in part also in the second (p) and fourth (s) trial trenches from the west, as well as in the northern parts of the two easternmost trial trenches (s, t). An actual archaeological excavation would definitely be recommended here if a corresponding intensity of structures were to be encountered in an evaluation today (anno 2016).&#x0D; Now that all the plans have been digitalised, it is obvious to look at the trial trenches from 1990 and 1991 together. Although some account has to be taken of uncertainties in the digitalisation, this nevertheless confirms the picture of a high density of structures, especially in the middle of the 1991 trial trenches. The collective interpretation from the 1990 and 1991 investigations is that there are strong indications of settlement in the area of the middle 1991 trial trenches. It is also definitely a possibility that these represent the remains of a longhouse, which could constitute the main dwelling house. It can therefore be concluded that it is apparently possible to confirm the interpretation of the site as a potential royal residence, even though this is still subject to some uncertainty in the absence of new excavations. The archaeologists were disappointed following the evaluation undertaken in 1991, but the overview which modern technology is able to provide means that the interpretation is now rather more encouraging. There are strong indications of the presence of a royal residence.&#x0D; FindsThe perception of the area by Tamdrup church gained a completely new dimension when the first metal finds recovered by metal detector arrived at Horsens Museum in the autumn of 2011. With time, as the finds were submitted, considerations of the significance and function of the locality in the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages were subjected to revision. The interpretation as a magnate’s farm was, of course, common knowledge, but at Horsens Museum there was an awareness that this interpretation was in some doubt following the results of the 1991 investigations. The many new finds removed any trace of this doubt while, at the same time, giving cause to attribute yet further functions to the site. Was it also a trading place or a central place in conjunction with the farm? And was it active earlier than previously assumed?&#x0D; The 207 metal finds comprise 52 coins (whole, hack and fragments), 34 fittings (harness, belt fittings etc.), 28 brooches (enamelled disc brooches, Urnes fibulas and bird brooches), 21 weights, 15 pieces of silver (bars, hack and casting dead heads), 12 figures (pendants, small horses), nine distaff whorls, eight bronze keys, four lead amulets, three bronze bars, two fragments of folding scales and a number of other artefacts, the most spectacular of which included a gold ring and a bronze seal ring. In dating terms, most of the finds can be assigned to the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages.&#x0D; The largest artefact group consists of the coins, of which

We aimed to investigate the association of self-reported leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over a 45-years from adolescence to late middle age mediated by LTPA in early middle age. We also explored whether LTPA in adolescence and early middle age was associated with change in LTPA during the COVID-19 pandemic. We constructed a path model employing questionnaire data from three LTPA measurements (1976, 2001, 2021) including duplicated assessment for pre- and during COVID-19 in 2021. The direct and indirect associations between LTPA in adolescence, early middle and late middle age were investigated, as well as the impact of previous LTPA on change in late middle age LTPA due to the pandemic. The number of participants per assessment was: n = 2083; n = 1468 (71% of the original); n = 878 (42%) and n = 867 (42%), respectively. However, the number varied depending on the path examined. LTPA in adolescence was associated with LTPA in late middle age, although the association was not strong. LTPA decreased significantly during the pandemic. Earlier LTPA was associated with change in LTPA between before and during COVID-19 among males. This study is the first to demonstrate an association between adolescent and late middle age LTPA. However, the association across the 45-years was low.

Although research indicates that low fitness in youth is associated with a higher risk of chronic disability in men, the association of fitness in adolescence with work ability in working men and women remains unknown. To examine the associations of adolescent health-related physical fitness with future work ability. This 45-year observational cohort study, conducted in Finland, examined the direct and indirect longitudinal associations of objectively measured health-related fitness in adolescence (in 1976) with self-reported work ability and sickness absence in early middle age (in 2001) and the Work Ability Index in late middle age (in 2021). A countrywide stratified random baseline sample included fitness measurements for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) (running 1.5 km for girls and 2 km for boys), musculoskeletal fitness (MF; standing broad jump and sit-ups for both sexes, pull-ups for boys, and flexed-arm hang for girls), and height and weight, from which body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Structural equation modeling-based path analysis, adjusted for age and sex at baseline and for educational level, work-related physical strain, and leisure-time physical activity in late middle age, was conducted. Data analysis was performed from January to July 2023. Self-reported work ability was measured with structured questions in early middle age and with the validated Work Ability Index in late middle age. The final sample from longitudinal analyses (1207 individuals; 579 [48%] male individuals) consisted of participants with fitness measurement from age 12 to 19 years, and work ability assessment from age 37 to 44 years and/or age 57 to 64 years. Higher adolescent CRF was associated with higher work ability (839 participants; β = 0.12; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.22; P = .03) and lower sickness absence (834 participants; β = -0.07; 95% CI, -0.12 to -0.02; P = .004) in early middle age and, indirectly, mediated by work ability in early middle age, with a higher work ability at the end of working age (603 participants; β = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.001 to 0.08; P = .04). The results remained consistent in both sexes and after adjustment for the confounders. Neither MF nor BMI was associated with work ability (MF, 1192 participants; β = -0.07; 95% CI, -0.17 to 0.03; BMI, 1207 participants, β = 0.09; 95% CI, -0.004 to 0.19) or sickness absence (MF, 1185 participants, β = 0.02; 95% CI, -0.03 to 0.06; BMI, 1202 participants, β = -0.03; 95% CI, -0.09 to 0.03) in early middle age or with late middle age work ability, mediated by work ability in early middle age (MF, 603 participants, β = -0.02; 95% CI, -0.06 to 0.01; BMI, 603 participants, β = 0.03; 95% CI, -0.004 to 0.07). These findings suggest that low CRF in youth is associated with poor work ability at the middle and end of working life, which highlights the informative and prognostic value of CRF assessment early in youth. Enhancing CRF in the first decades of life might contribute to better work capacity and productivity in the labor force, which would have implications for health, quality of life, society, and the economy.

In 1927, A.E. van Giffen excavated a largely levelled burial mound near the village of Drouwen in the Dutch province of Drenthe. A few years later, Van Giffen published a summary report on the excavation, in which he concentrated on the lavish inventory of the central Sögel warrior burial. In 1985-1989, J.N. Lanting carried out further research at the site of the mound and revealed a large number of soil features from the Bronze Age and early Middle Ages. This second excavation has never been published before. The present article discusses both excavations. After an evaluation of all the excavation data the author zooms in on the warrior: what was his cultural context, and how can we interpret his social status in the region? The article concludes with an analysis of the spatial pattern of which this burial mound is a part. To do so, the author looks at all the prehistoric and protohistoric burial monuments in the area between the villages of Drouwen and Borger.Van Giffen’s profile drawings of the mound section he investigated suggest two construction phases. The oldest structure, a central mound of grey sand (c. 8 m across by c. 0.80 m high), was raised over the remains of a pyre. This first mound probably dates to the Early or early Middle Bronze Age. In the 16th century BC the warrior grave was dug into this mound; posts around the grave suggest the presence of a mortuary house or fence. The mound that was associated with this grave was c. 1.60 m high, possibly elongated (26 by 15 m or less) and surrounded by an oval ditch up to 1.6 m wide, with to the north a c. 3.40-m-wide opening. Whether there were any secondary burials is unknown.In the early Middle Ages, when the surrounding ditch had long since been filled in, the mound and its immediate vicinity became the location of a cemetery with graves arranged in rows (rijengrafveld). Only a small section of this cemetery was excavated (61 graves) so that the full period it was used is uncertain. Most graves were oriented east-west. Of the investigated graves, the majority were fully excavated, and several contained traces of a coffin. The buried individuals were mostly adults. Many did not produce any grave goods, and those items that were found were - in Van Giffen’s words - ‘armelijk’, rather poor. They are mostly iron knives and ‘prikkels’ (‘goads’, iron points, of unknown function, originally attached to a rod), bronze needle cases, keys, and one brooch. Of particular interest are three strings of beads and one isolated bead. To the extent they can be dated, all grave goods are comparatively late and could well be 8th and 9th-century, indicating that the cemetery ended at some point in the 9th century. The only human remains come from a small sub-recent pit close to Grave 29 (GrM-28439: 1244 ± 21 BP, i.e. 680-876 cal AD (2σ)).It is highly unlikely that the ‘Drouwen Warrior’ was anything more than a ‘big man’ whose network extended into northern Germany and possibly even Scandinavia. Whether he actually was a warrior in life is still an open question. When he was buried, at some point in the 16th century BC, several (very) ancient burial monuments already existed nearby. The mound of the warrior may have been part of an old linear alignment of these features. Why this particular mound was chosen in the early medieval period to situate a cemetery will probably always remain a mystery, although it is tempting to think that stories about the dead man buried there 2200 years earlier were still being told in the 7th or 8th century AD. That would tie in with the current archaeological narrative of the Bronze Age warrior as a person who strove after a heroic status after death, a form of immortality, created by the stories, passed on in each generation, of his martial, cosmopolitan and adventurous life.

Reviewed by: Geschichte der deutschsprachigen Dialektliteratur seit der Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts: Ein literaturhistorischer Überblick mit Textbeispielen in 6 Büchern by Peter Pabisch Albrecht Classen Peter Pabisch. Geschichte der deutschsprachigen Dialektliteratur seit der Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts: Ein literaturhistorischer Überblick mit Textbeispielen in 6 Büchern. Germanistische Lehrbuchsammlung, 20.I-VI. Berlin: Weidler Buchverlag, 2019. Vol. 1, 483 p. There are many more dialects in this world than so-called standard languages (ca. 26,000 vs. ca. 7100). Dialects represent a linguistic dimension, which is hard to evaluate, especially regarding their social status, their rank within literary discourse, their communicative function and effectiveness, and their emotive value. They represent a linguistic minority, despite their much larger number all over the world, probably because all human societies have tried hard throughout time to establish a universal language—spoken, written, and understood by most people within one "nation"—while every region, province, or territory (even every village or city) maintained, willy-nilly, its own version. Dialect, however, has much to do with local culture and identity, and it still assumes a significant role in Europe and other parts of the world, whereas the situation in the United States (or Russia?) seems to be rather different, especially in light of the mass media since the early twentieth century, which contributed significantly to the elimination of dialects. However, even in the New World, a native speaker of New York might not be easily understood by someone from New Orleans, for instance, and vice versa. Peter Pabisch, Professor Emeritus of the University of New Mexico, explores the history of dialects in German literature since the time of Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) until the recent past. His magisterial, six-volume treatment of this topic deserves our respect for its erudition, the author's enormous energy in collecting a vast range of relevant texts, and the sensibility regarding the many efforts across the German-speaking world to preserve and practice dialects, especially in literary texts. The reviewer received only volume one, which is the most important one for the entire project because it outlines the historical framework of dialect literature, analyzes its evolution and function in the wider context and in specific works, and weighs and [End Page 73] balances the significance of dialects in the history of German culture since around 1800. Volume 2 contains the critical apparatus, the bibliography, appendices, and illustrations; volumes 3-6 present copies or excerpts of the relevant texts. Since the early Middle Ages, there was a constant effort throughout German-speaking lands to negotiate the relationship between regional and standard language. This first led to the emergence of Old High German, then Middle High German, and finally Early New High German, with Martin Luther having been one of the most influential catalysts (not the creator!) in the development of the new standard language. Nevertheless, dialects are rather conservative, and they have survived until today, both in spoken and written German (and this actually in many parts of the world, including the USA); hence, the existence of dialect literature, although its function and relevance have always been questioned, debated, and fought about. Pabisch traces these ongoing negotiations in theoretical and practical terms, mostly beginning with central contributions by Herder, to whose insights he returns repeatedly. Much previous scholarship is reviewed at length, which might exhaust some readers since it amounts to a kind of bibliography within the text (not in the notes). However, the author is right to overview the vast field of research focused on dialects and especially on literature composed in dialect. The discussion then turns to the many writers of dialect literature, tracing the tradition from mid-eighteenth century to the recent past by offering brief biographical sketches and critical comments. Might it not have been better to place that information directly in front of the respective text editions in the subsequent volumes? We observe with great interest that there was obviously never any hiatus in the use of non-standard language, but very often a rather deliberate decision by literary historians simply to ignore those texts written in dialect as unwelcome competition. However, the use of dialect made it possible for many writers to preserve...

Reviews 219 my own sense that A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century ofFilm and Television is a publishing 'event' ofgreat significance - thefinalseal of academic approval for a new discipline within Shakespeare studies. R. S. White Department ofEnglish The University of Western Australia Squatriti, Paolo, Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998; cloth; pp. xii, 195; R R P AUS$99.00; ISBN 0521621925. I once thought of focussing an introductory early medieval history course o theme of the environment. With this book I could have taught that course. Its footnotes provide many useful references to studies, often recent, which range from the Italian early medieval environment to that of all of Europe and the whole ofthe Middle Ages and beyond. Water as 'part of nature as well as of society' is identified as one of the major themes of the book, the other two being 'the patrimonialization of aqueous resources that became increasingly prominent after 700' and 'the endurance of Roman cultural patterns after the "fall" of Rome' (pp. 16-64, at the end of the Conclusion). Back at the beginning, a well written and sensible Introduction makes clear what will and will not be considered in the study, which is not concerned with water in trade and transportation orritual.Rather, it considers water supply (aqueducts, wells, cisterns, springs) and domestic demand in the first chapter, which includes an interesting section on how early medieval Italians defined water purity. The lack of enthusiasm for drinking water in the sources (for an exception see below) seems to be not because of any poor quality but rather because of its humble associations (which monks did not embrace to the extent one might have thought). Yet it emerges that early medieval cooking used a lot ofwater, with much more boiling than roasting and plenty of soup. While the evidence for doing the washing-up and laundry considered in Chapter 1 is indeed limited, that for bathing in Chapter 2 is extensive (the reason being that the latter allowed the elite to show off in more ways than one!) and very interesting. Here the big change was from collective to private bathing, with a de-emphasis on the recreational aspects. 'Hence', the author concludes, 'the 220 Reviews epithet "the thousand years without a bath" and the scorn heaped on the filthy Dark Ages by obsessively scrubbed modern people is misplaced' (p. 65). Chapter 3 on water in agriculture considers both drainage and irrigation. Qualifying the former, it is shown that the early medieval 'humanised landscape' included wetlands, akin to the more balanced exploitation of saltus and ager, which mitigated floods. In Chapter 4 onfishing,the major trends are the demand for fresh- rather than salt-water fish (note the important ecclesiastical input to demand: 'The eighth century was the time when fish attained the fateful status of not-meat' [p. 106]) and impact of the privatisation of water. The Roman notion of water as a public resource was certainly a casualty of the early Middle Ages (although I was left unclear about whether water had been part of the imperial fisc), a perennial theme of the book discussed under irrigation in the previous chapter and returned to in the next chapter on milling in regard to water supply. It is good to see more evidence that Marc Bloch placed the spread of watermills too late (and this cannot be relegated to precocious Italian development: cf. Fergus Kelly, Early Irish Farming, pp. 482-85). Finally, the Conclusion includes an examination of how the water cycle was understood in early medieval sources to operate by evaporation (right!) and underground circulation (wrong!). Now, on the whole these chapters are densely packed with evidence, meticulously documented. This relativerichnessof early medieval Italian sources will surprise no one familiar with Bryan Ward-Perkins' From Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages: Urban Public Building in Northern and Central Italy, AD 300-850. Some pieces of evidence are so striking that even in isolation they pose a challenge to our understanding of the period. The chapter on fishing opens with the Honorantie Civitatis Papie, a document detailing an association of fishers their...

<i>Undoing Babel: The Tower of Babel in Anglo-Saxon Literature</i>. Tristan Major. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018. Pp. xiii+289.