End Of 12th Century Research Articles

Evolution of the account of Duke Godfrey’s deed of hewing the enemy through the middle with a single blow during the siege of Antioch by the First Crusade. A source study

The article contains research on the narratives describing the battle of the Bridge Gate (March 6, 1098), which took place during the siege of Antioch by the Crusaders. It focuses on the scene which is the climax of the above-mentioned tale, when the duke Godfrey of Bouillon hews the Turkish warrior through the middle with a single stroke of the sword in a duel on the bridge in front of the city. The study is divided into three parts. The first one includes views of historians regarding the accounts of hewing the foe through the middle by Godfrey as well as an analysis of the earliest stage of shaping the literary tradition of the studied scene, which in the opinion of the author of the article consists of descriptions created by Crusade participants: Raymond of Aguilers, Peter Tudebode and that included in the chronicle of Albert of Aachen. The second part focuses on the modifications and transformations of the earliest accounts introduced by chroniclers from Capetian France in the first two decades of the 12th century. The last part is devoted to an analysis of the later versions of the scene and their connection with earlier accounts. Research showed that the most popular and vivid version of the tale was created by Robert the Monk, yet there are clear connections with the earlier versions of the account even in the case of authors writing at the end of 12th century and later.

Kształtowanie się przekazu o przecięciu jednym ciosem przeciwnika przez Gotfryda Lotaryńskiego w czasie oblężenia Antiochii przez pierwszą krucjatę. Studium źródłoznawcze

W artykule prezentuję badania nad opowieściami kronikarskimi o bitwie pod Bramą Mostową, która odbyła się 6 marca 1098 r., w czasie oblężenia Antiochii przez wojska pierwszej krucjaty. Skupiam się na kulminacyjnym momencie tych opowieści – scenie, w której książę Gotfryd Lotaryński w starciu na moście prowadzącym do Bramy Mostowej jednym ciosem przepołowił muzułmańskiego adwersarza. Swój wywód podzieliłem na trzy części – w pierwszej pokazuję, jakie stanowisko zajmują historycy wobec przekazów o przepołowieniu przeciwnika przez Gotfryda, a także analizuję najwcześniejszy etap kształtowania się przekazu, za który uważam opisy stworzone przez uczestników krucjaty: Rajmunda z Aguilers, Piotra Tudeboda oraz ten zamieszczony w kronice Alberta z Akwizgranu. W drugiej części analizuję modyfikacje i przekształcenia, jakim poddawali omawianą scenę kronikarze z północnej Francji tworzący w pierwszych dwóch dziesięcioleciach XII w. W ostatniej części zajmuję się późniejszymi wersjami tej samej sceny, wnioskując na temat ich związku z wcześniejszymi przekazami. W toku badań okazało się, że najpopularniejszą i najsilniej oddziałującą wersję stworzył kronikarz Robert Mnich, natomiast dostrzegalne są wyraźne związki z najwcześniejszymi wersjami nawet u autorów piszących pod koniec XII w. i później.

Determining the construction sequence of the Preah Vihear monument in Cambodia from its sandstone block characteristics

The Preah Vihear monument in Cambodia, located close to the border with Thailand, was one of the Khmer temples registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a Cultural Property in 2008. It consists of masonry buildings constructed of siliceous sandstone blocks. In this study, the construction sequence of its buildings was inferred from the chemical composition, magnetic susceptibility, and size of the sandstone blocks, along with pediment end style, and the presence or absence of reliefs on the tympana of adjacent buildings. Five construction stages were identified. We revealed that the Western Annex Hall (N2) is the oldest edifice in the Preah Vihear monument. We also reconfirmed that the Preah Vihear monument was constructed over a range of years, spanning the Bakheng style period to the Angkor Wat style period (the end of the 9th century to the end of 12th century). It was clarified that during the construction of Preah Vihear, the style of pediment ends changed from pediments ending in scrolls made from one block, to pediments ending in scrolls made from two blocks, and finally to pediments ending in five-headed nagas. Over the same time span, the size of the sandstone blocks used in construction increased markedly.

Images Of Heroes In The Poem "Word On The Igoresh Cell" And Their Traction In The School Textbooks Of The 20th Century

The article is based on an analysis of the poem «Slovo o polky Igorevim» and some school textbooks of the 20th century. The characteristic of images was made as well as clarified their interpretation in the history of literary education of that period. The author found out that characters of the poem were caused by reality of life at the end of 12th century and reflected the philosophical ideas of personality at that period, and symbolized the ideas of patriotism, national freedom, honor, unity, and desire to create national identity of the Ukrainian people. It was concluded that poem «Slovo o polky Igorevim» in school textbooks of the 20th century was treated as the apotheosis of war valor, loyalty to the Motherland, courage and bravery. The best Ukrainian knight virtues, that was shown in the images of the heroic poem, served as the aims of Soviet ideology, because all that was used for formation the Soviet patriotism and internationalism, understanding the disastrous of strife for the welfare of «the masses».

Badstuer i middelalderen

Bath-houses in medieval Denmark – a cultural historyThe subject of this article is bath-houses in medieval Denmark. The text is based on all available written sources from Denmark, but in order to obtain a fuller perspective on some aspects of the history of bath-houses it has also been necessary to use German sources as a supplement.Based on the scant historical records dealing with the course of actual bathing activity, it is argued that the most common bath was the sweat bath (similar to a ­modern sauna) rather than tub baths. A stove covered with granite boulders was heated and the bathers would produce sweat using either the direct heat of the stove or from steam produced by pouring cold water onto the hot stones. Sweating was further stimulated by beating the body with bundles of birch twigs and the bath culminated with rinsing in cold water (figs. 2-4). It is argued that, similar to the situation in both Germany and Sweden, bath-house staff would offer haircuts, bleeding and the treatment of wounds in addition to an actual bath (figs. 5-6). ­Referring to specific medieval illustrations, some argue that men and women bathed together in the public bath-houses, leading to sexual excesses. However, the relevant illustrations often depict brothels and not public baths (fig. 1).It is evident from historical records that members of all social classes frequented the public bath-houses – even royalty. From the early 14th century onwards we have historical evidence of so-called soul baths i.e. sums of money bequeathed by wealthy people to the poor to enable the latter to take a bath, often accompanied by a meal. Such bequests were common in the late 15th century but disappeared abruptly with the Reformation. According to medieval records, the use of bath-­houses was also considered important in order to maintain health.The earliest indications in historical records of the existence of bath-houses in Denmark are found in Saxo’s Chronicles from the end of 12th century. From the 1260s onward specific bath-houses in towns appear in the historical records. Judging from the number of bath-houses mentioned in Danish towns it is argued that public bath-houses were a common feature in the urban landscape of medieval Denmark.The number of public bath-houses in towns declined at the beginning of the 16th century and even though a few existed in the major cities up until the 18th century the popularity of these institutions declined. The reasons for this are epidemics of syphilis occurring from the 1490s onward, the phasing out of soul baths and possibly a change in attitudes towards ­nudity and personal hygiene that resulted in a decline in general cleanliness in post-­medieval times.Mikael Manøe BjerregaardVejle Museum

The research of durative characteristics of dry/wet series of China during the past 1000 years

Using dry/wet index series of China during the past 531 years and 1041 years, by defining the dry (wet) grade and making running calculation of the appearance times of each dry (wet) grade in the original index series, it was shown that there is a exponential distribution P(x)=A*e-γx of the appearance times of each grade with respect to the window size. We defined 1/γ as the scale factor to characterize the dry (wet) durative and used it to analyze the dry (wet) durative of north China and the area between Yangtze and Huai rivers. Results show that the dry factor has the semi-belt wave distribution from north to south, the dry durative in north China is somewhat longer than that between Yangtze and Huai rivers, the average dry factors of area A, B and C are 1.87, 1.62 and 1.82, respectively. The dry (wet) durative is rather obvious in those intervals in which dry or wet are comparatively concentrated, so the large spatial scale and synchronized extreme dry accidents are easier to happen during the end of 12th century, the beginning of 13th century, the beginning of 17th century and the end of 20th century, which verifies the existence of cluster phenomena in the dry/wet index. The influence to dry durative in north China caused by the dry/wet index during 1260—1280 (the climate back ground being the end of the middle ages warm) was much lavger than that caused by the index during 1980—2000 (the climate background being the global warming). Furthermore, the number of dry years during 1260—1280 was also larger than that of 1980—2000. Obviously, serious, larger spatial scale and synchronized extreme dry accidents are easy to happen in warm periods, and the drought since 1970s in north China might be caused by co-operation of human and natural factors, in which the natural factor might have played the more important role.

La „couronne latine”

Summary The expression corona latina concerning the upper part of the Holy Crown is used for a fictitious object. In this paper a dating from the late 12th century is accepted for the enamelled images on the curved bands, and they are considered as products of a historicizing tendency quoting models of the Ottonian period in the time of King Bela III. The crossed bands may have formed originally a reliquary of the head of Saint Stephen in Szekesfehervar, similar to the Stockholm reliquary of Saint Elizabeth. This type is reflected by the late gothic reconstruction of the reliquary of Saint Ladislas, which is perhaps an imitation based on the first, made at the end of 12th century.