Medieval Europe Research Articles

Versammeln, besprechen, beschließen

Different forms of diets, councils and assemblies shaped the political landscape of late medieval and early modern Europe, and especially the Holy Roman Empire. Princes and clerics, the representatives of towns and of monasteries came together in various constellations to discuss problems, adopt decisions and perform rituals. It has been repeatedly suggested that it might be fruitful to compare these different forms of assemblies. The actual attempts to do so, however, often remain unsatisfactory even to their own authors. What is still required is a systematic comparison in the hope of creating a typology of assemblies. At a summer school held in Lübeck in 2019, some initial ideas were put forward on how to undertake such an staggering endeavor. A catalogue of criteria for comparing different forms of assemblies would need to include how often they were convened, who their participants were (both by number and status), what issues were discussed (their content and intended scope), what procedures were obtained for discussion and decision-making, how they interrelated with other types of assemblies, what the aim of the meeting was and how it was attained. These criteria can also help one to grasp how one type of assembly changed over time. An initial comparison led to the conclusion that the different forms of meetings may have assembled a different set of participants and discussed different issues, yet they employed strikingly similar procedures and underwent a similar process of institutionalization.

The exploitation of silver deposits in early medieval Europe: some documentary, economic and social problems

AbstractFocusing on Southern Europe, this article sheds light on the mining landscape of the early Middle Ages. Based on the current state of historical and archaeological knowledge, the article raises a number of questions that can be extended to other European regions. The documentary problem shows that the scarcity of sources is due to a less developed mining historiography of the early Middle Ages. The few references show that it was not a question of ignorance, nor of the terrain, nor of the potential, nor of the techniques, taking into account the work in Melle and in the Harz. The study of production from the angle of an economic problem forms the basis of a hypotheses for selective and centralized exploitation during the Carolingian period and of an unbridled mining boom from the early 11th century. Even with the current paucity of documentary evidence, it is reasonable to assume that early medieval societies did not choose to exploit all the resources available to them. Finally, there is the social question. Who was behind the work and trade in ingots? The model of elite dirigisme will be discussed and it will be suggested that the role of the elite be reduced in favour of other actors such as entrepreneurs. Finally, the article argues for the extension of archaeological research to production areas in order to date operations, establish reference systems for ores and read archaeological remains from a social perspective.

Ordinary Politics in Late Medieval Europe

Ordinary Politics in Late Medieval Europe

A figura do narrador como inspiração para a prática docente no ensino de sociologia na educação básica

The debate on Sociology in basic education in Brazil refers to the clash experienced by the figure of the narrator in medieval Europe by enabling individuals to become aware of a distant reality through the narrative whose content had meaning and distanced itself from common sense, but society Capitalist industrialism created an urban and increasingly individualized way of life in which facts became disposable when presented in the information format that made up the modern press. A similar situation finds Sociology in high school when faced with technological innovations that reiterate the immediacy of social relations in our daily lives.

The Conquest of Italy by the Ostrogoths in 488–493 ad as a Formal Restoration of the Power of the Eastern Roman Empire

The topic of Theodoric's campaign and its connection to the interests of Constantinople remains relevant and vital. Studying this topic helps provide a better understanding of geopolitical processes, the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire on the West, the political and legal aspects of the interaction between different regions of the empire, and the influence of "barbarian" peoples on the formation of medieval Europe. The focus is on studying the political, legal and geopolitical aspects of this transition period from antiquity to the Middle Ages. The paper academic deals with the legal characterisation of the Ostrogothic conquest of Italy at the end of the V century. The primary sources and different historiographical schools are analysed; the specifics of political and legal relations between the Roman Empire and the federate kings (commanders) are investigated. The personality of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Amal, who in 483 received the status of magister militum (commander-in-chief) and consul of the Roman Empire, is at the centre of attention

Greenland Norse walrus exploitation deep into the Arctic.

Walrus ivory was a prized commodity in medieval Europe and was supplied by Norse intermediaries who expanded across the North Atlantic, establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland. However, the precise sources of the traded ivory have long remained unclear, raising important questions about the sustainability of commercial walrus harvesting, the extent to which Greenland Norse were able to continue mounting their own long-range hunting expeditions, and the degree to which they relied on trading ivory with the various Arctic Indigenous peoples that they were starting to encounter. We use high-resolution genomic sourcing methods to track walrus artifacts back to specific hunting grounds, demonstrating that Greenland Norse obtained ivory from High Arctic waters, especially the North Water Polynya, and possibly from the interior Canadian Arctic. These results substantially expand the assumed range of Greenland Norse ivory harvesting activities and support intriguing archaeological evidence for substantive interactions with Thule Inuit, plus possible encounters with Tuniit (Late Dorset Pre-Inuit).

Мистика любви Хадевейх Брабантской и Мехтильды Магдебургской

The Christian worldview of the late Middle Ages was quite diverse, but at the same time extremely contradictory. Northern France, Flanders, and the German towns in the Rhine Valley were fi lled with various spiritual movements and beliefs that largely determined the spiritual climate of medieval Europe. One such spiritual current was the Beguine movement, which was condemned by the Catholic Church, as were many other religious sects during this period of European history. Nevertheless, the reasons for the persecution of the representatives of female semi-monastic communities are still not clear enough for us. On the one hand, we know that the condemnation of the Beguine’s is directly related to their social activities, because they created serious competition to the Catholic Church. But on the other hand, limiting ourselves exclusively to social reasons, we miss the fact that the Beguine movement was largely mystical and many representatives of women’s communities experienced extremely intense extraordinary experiences. Therefore, turning to the problem of the condemnation of the female mystics, we fi nd that the root of these persecutions lay in their reinterpretation of religious ecstasy, rather than their social activities. To substantiate this position, we examine in detail the representation of love-mystical cognition in two of the most infl uential beguines, Hadewijch of Brabant and Mechthild of Magdeburg. We observe that they not only express their extraordinary experience, but they also theorize it. The mystics abandon the notion of love-mystical cognition as a passive process of perceiving God. Instead, they turn to an active kind of love and justify a form of vita activa. This allows them to bridge the gulf between God and man, and to move independently beyond their own female bodies, burdened by medieval patriarchal norms. The female mystics, as we show, change the very relationship between woman and the world, thereby endowing her with greater autonomy in relation to medieval society and divine reality.

Dating and Interpreting Landscapes of Livestock Herding: Excavation of a Hut Site and Enclosure in Southwestern Ireland

ABSTRACT Grazing livestock in uplands was a widespread practice in late Medieval and early modern Europe, but there can be uncertainty about the date and function of archaeological sites associated with herding. This paper reviews fieldwork on such sites in northern and northwestern Europe and reports on the excavation of a hut and enclosure in the mountains of southwestern Ireland. The hut was found to have been built in the 16th or 17th centuries a.d. and was probably used to oversee dairy animals (likely cows). The enclosure was dated to the early 18th or early–mid-19th century a.d. and is more likely associated with goat milking. The excavations demonstrate that construction dates can be obtained for pastoral sites in uplands of northwestern Europe. Furthermore, with careful reading of features in the surrounding landscape and consideration of documentary and ethnographic evidence, fieldwork can help determine the nature of pastoral economies over time.

Stronghold of Letters: Late Medieval Durham as a Symbol of the Epistolarity.

In this article, we will explore how the consumption of ancient letter collections and the development of letter-writing practices, known as dictaminal culture, reflect the grandeur of Durham Cathedral Priory. Located near the Scottish border and in a place with a historical influx of Scandinavians, Durham Cathedral Priory was a distant Benedictine community which stood as one of the most significant examples against the idea of cultural and educational periphery. It had one of the most comprehensive and multidisciplinary libraries in Western Europe, of which a significant part is still available and heavily invested in primary and secondary education. In that context, Durham Cathedral Library was a beacon of erudition, social and political connectiveness and humane growth. Linked to all those advancements, we can find both the consumption of ancient letter collections, which we will present as a product of various techniques and genres and the development of letter-writing techniques, which were inherited from late Antiquity but were transformed into something utterly new in medieval Europe. Therefore, we intend to demonstrate how Durham Cathedral Priory was an epistolary stronghold in all senses, which allowed it to grow further than any other distant and small community in England.

DARI PENGUNGSIAN KE KEJAYAAN: DISKURSUS DINASTI UMAYYAH II DAN DAMPAK TRANSFORMASINYA DI ANDALUSIA PADA ABAD PERTENGAHAN

This article examines the journey of the Umayyad Dynasty II from exile in the Middle East to achieving glory in Andalusia, as well as the transformational impact they had on the region. The Umayyad II dynasty, led by Abd al-Rahman I, succeeded in turning Andalusia into an advanced center of political, economic and cultural power in medieval Europe. Through theoretical and historical analysis, this article explores the factors that supported the progress of Andalusia under the leadership of Umayyah II, using historical methods consisting of heuristics, criticism, interpretation and historiography. The results of this study can be seen, including visionary leadership, religious tolerance, cross-cultural cooperation, infrastructure development, scientific development, and investment in arts and education. The Umayyad II Dynasty's contribution to Andalusia included political, social and cultural transformation. They succeeded in creating an inclusive environment where Muslims, Christians and Jews could live side by side peacefully, and enriched the intellectual and cultural life of the region. This discourse also provides theoretical insight into political adaptation, social inclusiveness, and cultural investment in creating significant changes in the history of discourse of the Umayyad Dynasty II in Andalusia.

Ancient Greek laws of nature

The prevailing narrative in the history of science maintains that the ancient Greeks did not have a concept of a ‘law of nature’. This paper overturns that narrative and shows that some ancient Greek philosophers did have an idea of laws of nature and, moreover, they referred to them as ‘laws of nature’. This paper analyzes specific examples of laws of nature in texts by Plato, Aristotle, Philo of Alexandria, Nicomachus of Gerasa, and Galen. These examples emerged out of the closely intertwined Platonic and Pythagorean traditions, and these philosophers' texts make reference to laws of nature when describing arithmetical methods, arithmological doctrines, or medical theories. Nicomachus' laws of nature are especially noteworthy, because they have features that historians look for in the search for the origin of the modern concept of laws of nature. Nicomachus' laws of nature are mathematical, universal, and necessary. This paper raises the possibility that the ancient Platonic and Pythagorean traditions influenced the subsequent development of the idea of laws of nature in medieval and early modern Europe, including the conception of laws of nature deployed by Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton.

Buellens, Pieter, The Friar and the Philosopher: William of Moerbeke and the Rise of Aristotle's Science in Medieval Europe

Buellens, Pieter, The Friar and the Philosopher: William of Moerbeke and the Rise of Aristotle's Science in Medieval Europe

Ethnicity in Medieval Europe, 950–1250: Medicine, Power and Religion by Claire Weeda (review)

Ethnicity in Medieval Europe, 950–1250: Medicine, Power and Religion by Claire Weeda (review)

On the Edge of Eternity: The Antiquity of the Earth in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

On the Edge of Eternity: The Antiquity of the Earth in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

Introduction: Touching Troy

Abstract This introduction aims to briefly sketch the theoretical framework for the articles assembled in this special issue on touch within the transmission of the Troy story in western Europe. Starting with the analysis of an important scene involving reading and manuscript culture in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, this introduction provides a context for medieval instances of touching within contemporary thinking about materiality and relationality and within the transmission of the Troy story in late medieval and early modern Europe.

ANALYSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COUNTRIES' LEVEL OF FREEDOM AND THE NUMBER OF COVID-19 CASES

ABSTRACT Aim: Epidemic diseases have been encountered in many periods of history. Societies took precautions against the epidemic diseases they encountered, according to the science of their time. This study aims to reveal whether the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic vary according to the freedom status of countries. Materials and Methods: In this study, multiple methods were used with a phased approach to reveal the relationship between the freedom index of countries and Covid-19 cases. In the study, firstly, cluster analysis was performed on the countries. Then, One-Way Variance and Kruskal Wallis analyses were applied to test whether there were differences between Covid-19 cases according to the freedom index groups of the countries, and the analyses were performed with the SPSS 22 program. Finally, the effect of the state of freedom on Covid-19 cases was investigated using panel data analysis, which is an econometric method. The start of the data set is April 1, 2021. The end of the data set was chosen as April 2, 2022. Eviews 9.5 statistical program was used for panel data analysis. Result: The study concluded that vaccines generally have a reducing effect on the number of deaths from Covid 19. To conclude in more detail, while the number of vaccinations in non-free countries increased, the number of deaths decreased. While the number of vaccinations in free countries is less than in free countries, the decrease in deaths is less than in non-free countries. REFERENCES 1. Ayvaz Güven, E. T. & Ayvaz, Y. Y. (2016). The relationship between inflation and unemployment in Turkey: time series analysis. KSU Journal of Social Sciences,13(1), 241-262. 2. Balcı, A. (2020). The effects of epidemics on education in Covid-19. International Journal of Leadership Studies: Theory And Practice, 3(3), 75-85. 3. Baltagi, B.H. (2005) Econometric Analysis of Panel Data. 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York. 4. Çiçek, İ. , Tanhan, A., Tanrıverdi, S. (2020). Covid-19 and education. Journal of National Education, Education in Turkey and the World in the Pandemic Process, 49(1) 1091-1104. DOI: 10.37669/milliegitim.787736 5. Çiftci, F. (2009). The effects of capital flows towards developing countries on economic growth in the process of globalisation: The case of Turkey. (Unpublished Master's Thesis) Muğla University, Institute of Social Sciences, Muğla. 6. Daniel, S. J. (2020). La educación y la pandemia COVID-19. Perspectivas, 49, 91-96. 7. Freedom House Access Date: 17.05.2023 https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores 8. Genç, Ö. (2010). The black death: The plague of 1348 and its effects on medieval Europe. Journal of History School, X, 123-150 9. Greyling, T. & Rossouw, S. (2022). Positive attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines: A cross-country analysis. PloSone peaper, 17 (3), 10. Guliyev, H. (2020). Determining the spatial effects of COVID-19 using the spatial panel data model. Spatial statistics, 38)1-10 11. Güngörer, F. (2020). The Effect of Covid-19 on Social Institutions. Journal of Yüzüncü Yıl University Institute of Social Sciences, Special Issue on Epidemic Diseases , 393-328 12. Ince, U. & Sayın, F. (2022). Current practices in Covid-19 vaccine. Journal of Health Sciences, 31 (2) , 258-262. 13. Köse, E., Oturak, G., Ekerbiçer, H. Ç., Arsan, A., Özaygın, A., Nas, B., & Albishari, S. (2022). Examination of the descriptive characteristics of randomised controlled trials on COVID-19 vaccines. Van Medical Journal, 29(1), 76-83. 14. Lee, R.C.T. (1981). Clustering analysis and its applications. In: Tou, J.T. (eds) Advances in Information Systems Science. Boston, MA: Springer. 15. Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E., Roser, M., Hasell, J., Appel, C. & Rodés-Guirao, L. (2021). A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nature human behaviour, 5(7), 947-953. 16. Pradhan, D., Biswasroy, P., Naik, P.K., Ghosh, G. & Rath, G. (2020). A review of existing interventions to prevent COVID-19. Archives of Medical Research , 51 (5), 363-374) 17. Seetaram, N. & Petit, S. (2012). Panel data analysis. In L. Dwyer, A. Gill, & N. Seetaram (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in tourism: Quantitative and qualitative approaches 127-144. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. 18. Tarkar, P. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education system. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(9), 3812-3814. 19. Wang, Y.S. (2009). The impact of crisis events and macroeconomic activity on taiwan's international inbound tourism demand. Tourism Management, 30, 75-82. 20. WHO. (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): situation report, 198. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/333735 21. Dinno A. Nonparametric pairwise multiple comparisons in independent groups using Dunn's test. Stat J 2015; 15: 292-300

The Boundaries of Popular Control in Late Medieval English Towns

Abstract Scholarship on pre-modern popular politics often focuses on speech, identifying the ways in which people outside the elite could have a “voice” in government. Using examples from late medieval English towns, this article argues for the existence of a particular kind of popular politics that centered on seeing and hearing rather than speaking. This type of politics—labeled “popular control”—concerned the right of the urban political community at large to observe rituals of governance and to audit financial accounts. Through these acts of collective witnessing, lesser citizens and non-citizens exerted an indirect political power to restrict leaders’ freedom of action and to ensure that their performance of office abided by set rules. The unusually detailed Hall Rolls and Hall Books produced by the civic government of Lynn in 1412–13 and 1418–25 illustrate that “popular control,” far from being a vehicle for increasing the urban commons’ “voice” in municipal decision-making, often stood in opposition to principles of elected representation. After 1418, more people were being admitted to the inner sanctum of virtuous individuals deemed capable of offering rational counsel to mayors and jurats, but there were fewer opportunities for the wider public to witness performances of governance by this expanded group of decision-makers. The crux of debate in fifteenth-century English towns—and, perhaps, in the tumultuous world of late medieval Europe more generally—was often less about who should exercise political influence and more about how popular political power could be exercised most appropriately and effectively.

Time for a change? Investigating shifts in agricultural economies and food in southern-central Norway (11th -16th c. AD)

Cattle and, to a lesser extent, sheep/goat and pigs, were crucial components of Norway’s socio-cultural and economic dynamics in the Middle Ages. Zooarchaeological analyses of faunal samples from different urban sites reveal that changes in cattle husbandry practices occurred in Norway over the medieval period, and especially in its early phases. This is clearly demonstrated in the case of medieval Oslo, where an in-depth zooarchaeological study provides the first comprehensive review of cattle husbandry strategies. In the first centuries of the medieval period (11th -mid 12th c. AD), cattle were mainly raised for milk and meat production, while fewer young and more numerous older individuals, most of which probably oxen, were present from mid 12th -13th c. AD onwards. This hypothesis is supported by biometrical analyses of cattle postcranial bones, indicating changes in the sexual composition of cattle herds over time. Therefore, from ca. mid 12th -13th c. AD onward, cattle seem to have been more used for ploughing and, only once old, to have been culled for their meat. In turn, this evidence suggests that more arable lands had to be ploughed, especially in eastern and central Norway. Here, demographic growth and settlement expansion would have led to an increase in food demand; at the same time, more favourable climatic conditions might have contributed to an increase in the availability of arable fields. This article suggests that medieval Norwegian farming was not static as historically thought, but rather connected to wider-scale agricultural innovations characterising other parts of medieval Europe.

Keep or Break: The Biblical Basis for Tithing in Medieval Europe

The biblical teaching is that, on a practical level, tithing embodies an ideal division of labor with distinct responsibilities. By tithing to the Church, Christians provide the clergy with the necessities of life, enabling them to concentrate on the sacraments without having to worry about worldly matters, and at the same time, offer material support for the holy ministries of the Church, helping to improve the financial situation of the Church. On the level of faith, tithing is an expression of faith in God. The voluntary and full payment of the tithe is a great manifestation of one's faith in God. It maintains the harmonious relationship between God and man, which brings God's abundant blessings to man. The Church in Medieval Europe collected tithes based on the clear and strong scriptural basis of the Bible. However, in practice, the Church abused the tithe to enrich itself and ignored the poor lives of the people, which was destructive to God's good intention in the establishment of the tithe and was not in accordance with the teachings of the Bible.

Religious Orders' Impact on Medieval Europe: Origins, Influence, and Significance: A Literature Review

In summary, this literature review has offered a comprehensive exploration of the origins and evolution of medieval religious orders. We've traced the pioneering efforts of figures such as the Desert Fathers and Irish monks, who embarked on radical ascetic experiments. From these early efforts, coenobitic rules emerged, providing structured frameworks for religious life. Notably, the Rule of Benedict played a pivotal role in balancing prayer, labor, study, and moderation. The advent of mendicant orders marked a revival of religious fervor through their commitment to poverty, mobility, and dynamic preaching. The rapid expansion of religious orders was made possible by elite patronage, facilitating their spread across Europe. These orders left indelible marks on education, politics, and culture, shaping medieval life. Religious figures assumed prominent roles as counselors to rulers, influential doctrinal shapers, and builders of educational institutions. By synthesizing scholarship, this review illuminates the multifaceted journey of medieval religious orders, from their humble beginnings to their profound impact on European civilization. It underscores their significance and lays the groundwork for further research on their enduring roles.