Medieval Artifacts Research Articles

Tracing the road of elephant ivory at the end of Late Antiquity – Archaeometric analysis of ivory artefacts from the 6th–7th-century Carpathian Basin

AbstractElephant ivory, a prestigious and valuable raw material in the post-Roman West and Byzantium between the 5th and 7th centuries AD, may originate from various sources. While both written and art historical evidence suggests that in the case of early medieval artefacts, African provenance is more likely than Asian, no data at hand is conclusive. The present paper investigates, with the help of FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, carbon and nitrogen concentration and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) analyses, the material resources of elephant ivory artefacts discovered in 6th- and 7th-century AD archaeological context in the Carpathian Basin to contribute to our understanding of late antique long-distance trade networks and economic relations.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF UNPUBLISHED CHAGATAI-PERSIAN DICTIONARIES OF THE 16th–18th CENTURIES: LEXICOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOCULTURAL ASPECTS

The investigation delves into Chagatai-Persian dictionaries from the 16th to the 18th centuries, preserved in the Central Library of Punjab University. The article aims to study the structural features of these dictionaries in the context of their sociocultural significance and influence on the further development of Turkic languages. These invaluable medieval artifacts underwent detailed scrutiny using multiple methods, encompassing structural, lexical, codicological, lexicographic and sociocultural analyses. Within a single manuscript cover, there exist six treatises on the Turkic-Persian lexicon alongside a textbook elucidating Turkic language grammar. These are inscribed in the Perso-Arabic script, a writing system employed for the Chagatai language. The chief lexicographic design integrates headwords and their explanations in couplets, avoiding any typographic or grammatical demarcation. The artful use of rhyme schemes is evident in the systematic arrangement of headwords. A thorough scrutiny of these medieval Chagatai-Persian dictionaries brings to light their distinct lexicographical framework, crafted meticulously to support linguistic conservation. These works capture a wide spectrum of vocabulary from different Turkic territories, underlining the endeavor to encapsulate a broad cultural legacy. Elements such as rhyming masnavi-inspired explanatory sentences, thematic clusters, and dedicated segments on commands and equine terminology are observed. Notably, the integration of Persian elements, especially in the form of auxiliary verbs, symbolizes a fusion of languages. The dictionaries showcase an emphasis on practical vocabulary acquisition through the harmonious pairing of headwords with poetic contexts, devoid of typographic or grammatical deviations. Despite the headword’s seamless integration, there is meticulous attention to maintaining rhyming continuity. The rarity of prefaces is counterbalanced by the richness of colophons, which offer vital details about the manuscript. Though the Chagatai language receded over time, the indelible mark left by these dictionaries endures, with remnants identifiable in modern Turkic vocabularies. A more exhaustive comparative exploration of these works could further deepen insights into Chagatai linguistics and lexicographic practices during the medieval period. This study also triggers broader reflections on the pivotal role of bilingual lexicons in safeguarding vulnerable linguistic treasures. By methodically presenting and analyzing these linguistic gems, the investigation facilitates their appreciation within scholarly circles, underscoring the Turkic cultural legacy. This also solidifies their recognition as prime examples of the mutual literary interplay between Turkic and Persian traditions, a relationship rooted in the medieval timeframe.

Hildegard von Bingen’s Scivias in Weimar Germany: Media Theory by Hand

Abstract Between 1929 and 1930 a feud over the legitimacy of reproductions of works of art erupted in the pages of the culture periodical Der Kreis. Later dubbed the Hamburg Facsimile Debate, the dispute involved many of the day’s most eminent curators and academics in art and art history and became a focal point for emerging ideas about authenticity and the educative impact of the replica in the Weimar Republic. Even as the intelligentsia were publicly quarreling over the epistemological stakes of the facsimile, four nuns at Eibingen Abbey were meticulously hand-copying the most renowned illuminated twelfth-century manuscript of Hildegard von Bingen’s visionary summa, Scivias. This essay pits the Facsimile Debate against the facsimile craft of the Eibingen nuns, situating both within the context of new reproductive technologies devised specifically for representing medieval artifacts. It argues for a historicizing approach to the notion of authenticity, which bears on how we think about mediation and the surrogate in our research and teaching today.

Sensory Reflections: Traces of Experience in Medieval Artifacts. Edited by Fiona Griffiths and Kathryn Starkey. De Gruyter, 2019. xiii + 269 pages + 35 b/w and color images. $22.99 paperback, $92.99 hardcover or e-book.

Sensory Reflections: Traces of Experience in Medieval Artifacts. <i>Edited by Fiona Griffiths and Kathryn Starkey. De Gruyter, 2019. xiii + 269 pages + 35 b/w and color images. $22.99 paperback, $92.99 hardcover or e-book</i>.

Tracking the source of lead of medieval glazed pottery of the Meuse valley (Belgium) through lead isotope analyses

Lead isotope analyses (by MC-ICP-MS) have been performed on lead-glazed pottery artefacts from several production and consumption sites in the Meuse basin (Belgium) spanning a long-time period from the 9th to the 16th century CE. Comparison of the lead isotope data of the glazes from three Mosan workshops with those of galenas from Palaeozoic (Variscan) Pb-Zn deposits from both Belgium and Western Germany points to a common Pb source that we identify as the regional Pb deposits hosted in Dinantian limestones of the Ardenno-Rhenish Massif, more specifically in the Namur and Verviers synclines in Belgium and in the Aachen-Stolberg mining district in Germany. The overall similarity of isotopic compositions between the medieval artefacts and the Variscan galenas implies that the Mosan medieval potters used accessible local Pb-Zn ores mined between Namur and Huy. On the consumption sites of Dinant, the slightly different isotopic compositions of some potteries suggest that other regional Pb sources were used to produce the glazes. A comparison with Roman lead objects discovered in north-western Europe (Northern Gaul) shows the very good correspondence of the Pb isotopic compositions with those of the Medieval artefacts which indicates a very long continuity of regional lead supply and consequently of lead ore mining.

Dva „vikinské“ náramky z Nového Knína, okr. Příbram. Jejich původ, prvkové složení a technologie výroby / Two “Viking” bracelets from Nový Knín in Central Bohemia. Their origin, chemical composition and production technology

The subject of the investigation is a pair of bracelets from Nový Knín in the Příbram district, the first of which appeared in 1965, the second in 2014. In the past, the first bracelet was characterised as silver, with analogies in Scandinavian ring ornaments of the 10th–11th century AD. But when this bracelet was subjected to an elemental analysis XRF in 2008, it was found to be composed of an alloy of brass with an admixture of silver. Following the surprising discovery of the second bracelet, a series of scientific and archaeological-culturally anthropological analyses were conducted, the results of which led to a chronological and material re-evaluation of previously published data, including their ‘find’ contexts. The analyses indicate that the two ornaments are virtually identical and also reveal that they cannot be regarded as early medieval artefacts but rather as Modern to recent products that were likely made outside of Europe (Africa?), probably of a tourist souvenir.

Hradiště u Mařína (okr. Svitavy) a jeho širší zázemí ve světle kovových artefaktů z 6.–10. století / Hillfort near Mařín (East Bohemia) and its broad hinterland in light of metal artefacts from the 6th to 10th century AD

The article evaluates the results of systematic metal detector surveys from the borderland between east Bohemia and northwest Moravia over the past fifteen years, supplemented with a geophysical survey of early medieval hillfort near Mařín (Svitavy district). The conducted surveys have produced imports of Byzantine and Carolingian origin (strap ends, loops, spear tip) from the 7th to 9th century, with cast ornaments of the Late Avar type from the 8th century occurring in the greatest numbers. The spatial distribution of early medieval artefacts outside the traditional settlement territory shows ties to defunct roads preserved in the form of sunken lanes.

The Kelmscott Chaucer: The Book-Object, its Facsimiles, and Labor

ABSTRACT William Morris’s Kelmscott Chaucer was an attempt to reproduce an “authentic” medieval artifact, albeit as a printed book rather than as a handwritten manuscript. The Kelmscott invites us to theorize about the medieval book; the medievalized book; the reproduction or facsimile of the medieval book; and the reproduction or facsimile of the medievalized book. The Kelmscott also urges us to consider practice; that is, the labor that went into all of the iterations of the Kelmscott, whether a copy was made on Morris’s press or later mass-produced as a facsimile. Moreover, Morris’s book can be approached as what I call a recalcitrant object. Its recalcitrance is mainly lodged in its aesthetic qualities — the extremes of ornamentation that are not additive, but inherent. One way to think about Morris’s project is as a metonymy for the non-cooperation, as it were, of the European Middle Ages itself. The apparent withdrawal of the Middle Ages from our understanding opens up a space for endless efforts to reproduce things medieval — cathedrals, feasts, gardens, music, poetry. As such, the Kelmscott interrogates the divide that we endeavor to maintain between the premodern and the modern: as a printed book masquerading as a medieval manuscript, it embraces both periods.

New Books across the Disciplines

New Books across the Disciplines

Þingeyrar Abbey in Northern Iceland: A Benedictine Powerhouse of Cultural Heritage

Þingeyrar Abbey was founded in 1133 and dissolved in the wake of the Lutheran Reformation (1550), to virtually disappear with time from the face of the earth. Although highly promising archeological excavations are under way, our material points of access to this important monastic foundation are still only a handful of medieval artifacts. However, throughout its medieval existence Þingeyrar Abbey was an inordinately large producer of Latin and Icelandic literature. We have the names of monastic authors, poets, translators, compilators, and scribes, who engaged creatively with such diverse subjects as Christian hagiography, contemporary history, and Norse mythology, skillfully amalgamating all of this into a coherent, imaginative whole. Thus, Þingeyrar Abbey has a prominent place in the creation and preservation of the Icelandic Eddas and Sagas that have shaped the Northern European cultural memory. Despite the dissolution of monastic libraries and wholesale destruction of Icelandic-Latin manuscripts through a mixture of Protestant zealotry and parchment reuse, philologists have been able to trace a number of surviving codices and fragments back to Þingeyrar Abbey. Ultimately, however, our primary points of access to the fascinating world of this remote Benedictine community remain immaterial, a vast corpus of medieval texts edited on the basis of manuscript copies at unknown degrees of separation from the lost originals.

Lead Isotopic Characteristics and Metal Sources for the Jewelry in the Medieval Rural Settlements from the Suzdal Region (Kievan Rus’)

The article considers the results of the study of lead isotope composition of 38 non-ferrous artifacts discovered at medieval rural sites of the Suzdal Region (Kievan Rus’). The copper-alloy, silver and pewter artifacts were compared with reference data from geographically and temporally diverse medieval artifacts and ore deposits and revealed differing source regions and supply networks within and between metal types. The identification in some cases was difficult due to the conformity of the lead isotopic composition of deposits of some regions. The copper-alloys, represented mostly by crosses made of high-tin bronze, show close isotopic parallels to contemporary copper alloys from Southern Scandinavia, Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Since the copper alloys contain significant quantities of lead, this lead may have entered the metal by alloying with lead-tin alloys, by smelting mixed copper-lead ore, or through haphazard alloying with lead. The lead isotope ratios for nearly all copper alloys are consistent with deposits in Cornwall and Devon and remobilized ore from the Rhenish Massif. For silver and lead-tin alloy objects, lead isotope analyses point to wide ranging sources. Most silver objects are consistent with mid-to-late 10th century silver stocks circulating in the Baltic area and 10th century Volga-Bulgar silver dirham imitations probably representing mixtures of 9th-10th century Islamic silver. The silver shows a heavy reliance on 10th century mixed stocks and there are little indications of Central and Western European silver, which was common in the 11th century Baltic region. The pewter and lead, however, indicate other sources. Lead isotope ratios are consistent with sources connected to Mediterranean and Baltic networks, some being consistent with sources in England, but it is possible that the lead found in some pewter objects could come from the Olkusz lead district in southern Poland.

Fiona Griffiths and Kathryn Starkey, eds. Sensory Reflections: Traces of Experience in Medieval Artifacts

Review of Fiona Griffiths and Kathryn Starkey, eds. Sensory Reflections: Traces of Experience in Medieval Artifacts by Martina Bagnoli

The Karácsonkő Castle: an Outpost on the Eastern Side of the Carpathians

The concept of an “outpost garrison” is hardly to be found in medieval written sources or among the terms used by medieval historians and archaeologists, but the title – borrowed from a novel by Jenő Rejtő – is not a mere catchphrase but conveys a substantial message, as we will see in this paper. Since their discovery half a century ago, the medieval artefacts, mainly weapons, of the Karácsonkő Castle have not received sufficient attention in Hungarian archaeological research. They are alien to the context, as the fortification is located on the Moldavian side of the Eastern Carpathians, beyond the historical borders of the Kingdom of Hungary, which have become fixed by the early modern and modern period. The main topics of my analysis are the relationship of the fortification with the contemporary Hungarian castle organisation, the evaluation of its role in border defence and politics, and its destruction.

Artefact collecting: creating or destroying the archaeological record?

This paper examines some of the arguments used by archaeologists in favour of collaborating useful for archaeological research and is a form of public engagement with archaeology. It takes as a case study records of 48 600 medieval artefacts removed from archaeological contexts by artefact hunters and recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme in England and Wales. The past and potential uses of these records as an archaeological source are objectively reviewed, together with an assessment of the degree to which they provide mitigation of the damage caused to the otherwise unthreatened archaeological record. It is concluded that, although information can be obtained by studying records of findspots of addressed artefacts such as coins, in general the claims made in support of professional archaeological collaboration with this kind of activity prove to be false.

Settlement and Social and Economic Patterns at Old Basing, Hampshire: The Results of a Community Archaeology Project

A community archaeology project (Dig Basing) was carried out by the Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society within the village of Old Basing, Hampshire during 2014–17 to discover more about settlement and social and economic patterns pre-1900 and to simultaneously engage the local community with archaeology. A total of 48 test pits of 1 × 1m were excavated across the village and over 16,000 artefacts recovered. The project provided a wealth of information that adds to and amplifies existing data, particularly medieval and later. Evidence for prehistoric and Roman occupation was slight but it implied a late Mesolithic/early Neolithic focus along the River Loddon. A lack of early medieval artefacts meant that it was not until the 11th century that the archaeological record became increasingly visible. Post- Norman conquest settlement was initially focussed along The Street, where settlement at the northern junction of Milkingpen Lane appeared largely discrete from that further south in the vicinity of St Mary's Church, before later expansion joined the two areas. Important evidence for post-Conquest metalworking, probably smelting, was found to the south-west of Oliver's Battery. A decline in amounts of medieval pottery, mid-period, may be attributable to the ravages of the Black Death, but from c. 1550 the situation had reversed, coinciding with increased occupation at Basing House. Subsequent rebuilding of village properties after the destructions of the Civil War saw Tudor brick robbed from the ruins of Basing House. Thereafter new pottery types and other goods reflected the new opportunities that arrived with the construction of the canal through the village in the 18th century and the railway in the 19th century. Artefacts recovered suggest a low to middling status, with infrequent indicators for greater wealth despite the existence of, at various times, the Norman ringwork, Basing House and the hunting lodge at the Grange.

How the Swords Get Broken: Medieval Artifact in the 20th Century French Literature

How the Swords Get Broken: Medieval Artifact in the 20th Century French Literature

THE OLDEST RULERS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL BOHEMIA AND RADIOCARBON DATA

ABSTRACTGiven the nature of medieval artifacts and resulting research requirements, a precise temporal classification is essential. It is especially important for the purposes of medieval archaeology in interpreting archaeological finds/finding situations and identifying them with a historical events or figures, for example, to identify skeletal remains of a known historical figure or to establish a chronological sequence of various cultural and architectural changes within an area. Due to the fact that the uncertainties of radiocarbon (14C) analyses have been decreasing in recent years, the applicability of 14C dating for such purposes is now growing. In this work, we aim to demonstrate the current possibilities of the use of AMS 14C analyses on specific cases and confront the results with other available data. 14C data from skeletal remains of members of the oldest Czech ruling dynasty of the Přemyslids (about 880–1306 AD) were obtained in recent years. Archaeological research conducted in the three oldest churches in the Prague Castle discovered skeletal remains of three members of the second, two members of the fourth and two members of the fifth generation. This case study of the application of 14C data has three parts: i) identification of excavated individuals; ii) demonstration of the application using current AMS-based analysis of 14C on medieval osteological material and tests of our preparation method; iii) contributing to discussion and consulting with other problematical 14C age alteration influenced by diet, age of bone collagen or seasonal variation of 14C activity. The obtained results and the issues arising from them clearly highlight the necessity of a multidisciplinary cooperation in this type of study.

Pottery from the Vak-Kur cemetery of the Yudina Culture (based on materials from excavations 3–6)

Researchers associate the medieval archeological artifacts of the Middle Trans-Urals, whose pottery bears cord impressions, with the Chiyalik, Molchanvo and Yudina Cultures. Despite the large number of artifacts that have been studied, many questions remain open. These include the status, chronology, and interaction of the Molchanovo and Yudina antiquities, as well as the evolution and specifics of their pottery complexes. Publication and analysis of the ceramic collections from Vak-Kur, the largest burial ground of the Yudina Culture, contribute to addressing some problems related to «the Corded Ware cultures». The Vak-Kur burial ground is dated to the 10th–11th centuries based on the assemblage of the associated goods. It is located in the south-eastern part of the Yudina Culture areal, on the right shore of the Tobol River. For all the time of excavations in the area of the ne-cropolis, 220 burials have been studied. The dead were buried in shallow pits according to the ritual of inhuma-tion, on their backs. A specific feature of the funeral ritual is breaking of a part of the accompanying equipment and use of funerary masks. Decorative and morphological features of 143 Yudina vessels have been examined. The tableware has been categorized according to four topographic groups after excavations 3 to 6. It has been noted that, despite the similar shapes of pots, and ornamental proportions and patterns, the pottery from excava-tions 3 to 6 demonstrates a different frequency in use of such elements in the décor as the cord and figured stamps. The biggest differences were detected between the ceramic artifacts found in excavations 4 and 6. It was suggested that the differences in décor between pottery from different excavations are determined not by their asynchronous nature, but by the existence of several tribal sites in the area of the Yudina necropolis. The com-parison of ceramic collections from the Vak-Kur burial ground with those from the medieval burial and settlement sites of the Yudina Culture showed that the pottery from the necropolis is most closely related to collections from the Plamya Sibiri 6 and 7, and Antonovo 1 settlements located in the Tura River basin. These sites were dated by their investigator to the earlier period (6th to 9th centuries) and attributed to the Molchanovo Culture. Based on the significant similarity between the pottery of the named sites and the dishware of the 10th to 11th centuries from excavation 4 of the Vak-Kur burial ground, a revision of the chronology and cultural attribution of these sites has been proposed.

Modern Stagings of the Medieval at the Schnütgen-Museum in Cologne (1910–1939)

When the Schnütgen-Museum in Cologne opened as an autonomous institution in 1932, it became the first collection of medieval artifacts presented in a quasi-”white-cube” display. Despite growing scholarly interest in the rise of modernist museum design in Germany and the museumification of medieval heritage, the radically modern mise-en-scène by the museum’s first director, Fritz Witte, has received little attention from architectural historians. The Schnütgen’s early participation in these dramatic changes reveals how curators and art critics viewed the role of modern architecture and museum curation in demonstrating the relevance of medieval religious art for modern society and culture.

Journey, Geography, and Time in Felix Fabri’s Sionpilger

In his essay, »Of Other Spaces,« Michel Foucault contrasts a medieval sense of time and place with that of the modern, and he characterizes the modern concept of space and time as a network. However, this essay suggests that careful attention to medieval artefacts of cultural history reveals that Foucault’s supposed transition from a sense of medieval »emplacement« to a sense of modern »network« is not quite accurate. Analysis of the Sionpilger, a fifteenth-century guide for »imagined« pilgrimage written by the Dominican Felix Fabri, reveals that far from being a modern concept, an idea of space and time connected as a network was very much a medieval phenomenon. In the Sionpilger, the concept of geography is imbricated with the concepts of journey and time; all three of these concepts then serve to create a local, southern-German landscape of religious reform that is connected across space and time to Jerusalem and the events of sacred history.