Medieval Individuals Research Articles

Writing Medieval Biography, 750-1250: Essays in Honour of Frank Barlow

This is the fruit of a conference held at Exeter in 2003, in honour of Frank Barlow; as the editors say, a volume on the writing of medieval biography is a most suitable choice for such a notable exponent of the genre. A general introduction sets the papers in context, discussing both the development of biographical techniques from the late antique period to the high middle ages, and the stratagems adopted by successive modern scholars faced with the problems of composing lives of medieval people. In the papers themselves, there is some inevitable overlap, as the authors discuss the well-known difficulties of understanding medieval individuals; the scanty sources, the identification of topoi, the use by medieval writers of material lifted from earlier authors when their own knowledge failed, and above all, the struggle to see any traits of character and personality beneath the formal literary conventions, and the even more formulaic documentary records. Such problems remain constant whether the subject is Charlemagne (Janet Nelson), Alfred (Richard Abels), Æthelred ‘the unready’ (Simon Keynes), William I (David Bates), Bernard of Clairvaux (Christopher Holdsworth), Geoffrey of Chartres (Lindy Grant), the Empress Matilda (Marjorie Chibnall), Stephen (Edmund King), Roger of Howden (John Gillingham), or William the Marshall (David Crouch). It is greatly to the credit of all concerned that they make us aware of the special circumstances affecting each individual person as well as the more general problems of historiography.

Harris lines of the tibia across centuries: a comparison of two populations, medieval and contemporary in Central Europe

To determine the incidence of Harris lines in two medieval populations which inhabited the Canton of Berne, in Central Switzerland, and to compare the results with those of a contemporary population living in the same geographical area. A simplified method is described for measuring the age of the individual at the time of formation of Harris lines, with possible future applications. Radiographs of 112 well-preserved tibiae of skeletons of two medieval populations from the eighth to fifteenth centuries were reviewed for the incidence of Harris lines. The results were compared with those of 138 current patients living in the same geographic location in Central Switzerland. Age and gender of the medieval individual were determined using known anthropological methods. Age of bone at the time of formation of Harris lines was estimated according to the method of Maat. Harris lines were found in 88 of 112 (80%) of the examined medieval skeletons and in 28 of 138 (20%) of the living individuals. Higher incidences of Harris lines were found at the age of 2 years and at ages between 8 and 12 years in both populations. No gender difference was found regarding the incidence of Harris lines. In both populations the occurrence of Harris lines was associated with certain diseases such as degenerative bone disease, trauma, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, peripheral vascular diseases, rickets and bony deformities. A high incidence of Harris lines was found in the medieval population, perhaps reflecting difficult living and hygienic conditions, but also the poor care and neglect of the children population. Measuring the age of the individual at the time of formation of Harris lines is simple and may have future clinical applications in the paediatric population for medico-legal purposes. The application of Harris lines as a marker in follow-up of osteoporosis may need further evaluation.

Human lead exposure in England from approximately 5500 bp to the 16th century ad

Lead concentration and isotope ratio data are presented for the tooth enamel of 77 individuals buried in England and spanning approximately 5000 years from the Neolithic until the 16th century ad. Whereas other tissues may be affected by diagenesis in the burial environment, the Pb concentration of tooth enamel is directly related to childhood exposure. This record is preserved post-mortem and over archaeological time. Tooth enamel Pb concentrations in the prehistoric period appear to be variable within the range 0.04 to ∼0.4 ppm, with occasional higher levels. The Romano-British and medieval periods show a marked increase in Pb exposures with enamel concentrations reaching up to approximately 40 ppm. These exposures would today be associated with industrial pollution. Exposures appear to be highly variable compared with modern people, however, with many medieval individuals having very low enamel Pb concentrations comparable with prehistoric people. Lead isotope data refine this picture. We distinguish between the diverse isotopic ratios we believe to be characteristic of ‘natural’ exposure to Pb—from geological sources via the diet—and the much narrower isotopic range characteristic of exposure to technological Pb from ore sources. Taken together the data suggest that the maximum concentrations associated with ‘non-technological’ exposure at any period are ∼0.5–1.0 ppm, similar to that reported for modern people in England.

Mycolic acids and ancient DNA confirm an osteological diagnosis of tuberculosis

Setting: The underlying trends in the past epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) are obscure, requiring recourse to the archaeological record. It would therefore be of value to develop methods for reliable TB diagnosis in ancient populations.Objective: To test the capability of two biomarkers, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex mycolic acids and a DNA target (IS 6110), for confirming an osteological diagnosis of TB in medieval individuals, based on the presence of Pott's disease and/or rib lesions.Design: Osteological examination of three archaeological individuals (Medieval: ∼1000 years old) revealed a Pott's disease case, one with no changes consistent with TB and one with rib lesions. Rib samples from these individuals were examined for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex mycolic acids and mycobacterial DNA.Results:Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex mycolic acids and the DNA target were detected in the Pott's disease case, whilst mycolic acids (insufficient for confirmation) alone were detected in the rib lesion case.Conclusions: Biomarkers provide a sensitive tool to detect ancient TB. Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA is not distributed homogeneously, making multiple sampling essential. Mycolic acids seem more reliable for ancient TB diagnosis than IS 6110. The demonstrated stability of mycolic acids show that they may be of value in tracing the palaeoepidemiology of tuberculosis back into antiquity.

The diet of the Neanderthal Child Gibraltar 2 (Devil's Tower) through the study of the vestibular striation pattern

The vestibular surfaces of the first and second deciduous molars of the Neanderthal Child Gibraltar 2 (Iberian Peninsula) have been studied by SEM. The striation pattern of this fossil, defined as the number, length and orientation of striations in 1 mm2 of enamel, was compared to that observed in modern hunter-gatherer groups and to that of a sample of subadult individuals from a medieval site in Castile (Spain). Results show that Gibraltar 2 had a more abrasive diet than the medieval individuals of the same dental age, thus resulting in a high number of striations. Considering the proportion of horizontal to vertical striations, Gibraltar 2 displays a pattern close to that observed in Eskimos and Fueguians. This suggests that Gibraltar 2 could have been mainly carnivorous.

Politicizing Ulysses

Read with the appropriate discernment, the history of autobiography reveals how the structural features of an age are reflected in the modes of representation which persons or selves are identified. For example, in the middle ages the individual was type-cast and not, as in today's autobiographies, represented through the organizational center of his own individual inner life.' This medieval self was situated in a spiritual Odyssey with stereotypes the writer drew from the morality of the day. And, in general, the medieval individual was represented in ways that valorized the then-dominant institutions, the nobility and church. Although in every age some writers have employed textual practices subversive of the approved or authorized models of the self (Rabelais is exemplary here)2, for the most part the various genres of writing participated within the discursive economies which lent capital to prevailing institutions. Consider the reworking of classic stories, what Michel Foucault calls the commentary and Hans Blumenberg refers to as on myth, a genre of writing that has persisted since antiquity.3 Although Foucault places the various retellings of epics such as The Odyssey in the context of the procedures which discourse aids and abets power, and Blumenberg takes a more benign view, emphasizing work on myth as humanity's attempt to exact a greater measure of control over nature, both encourage us to read each reworking of a classic story as an