Thirteenth Century Research Articles

Missae per titulos: the emergence of the “titular” liturgies during the triduum in the Old Hispanic Rite

ABSTRACT The Old Hispanic Rite contains two liturgies for “titular” churches on Holy Thursday and Saturday in addition to the expected liturgies of the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper and the Easter Vigil. The identity of these “titular” churches and the emergence of masses specifically for these churches during the Triduum has been the subject of limited scholarly analysis. The traditional scholarly narrative is that the titular mass on Holy Thursday, at least, duplicated the main mass on that day for those who could not celebrate the liturgy in the cathedral. It is thought to have developed around the seventh century in Toledo. However, the relationship between the readings, prayers, and chants in the various sources, suggests that the emergence of these masses is much more complex and may have occurred sometime between the seventh and eleventh centuries with further developments possibly as late as the thirteenth century. Their establishment indicates that significant changes were being made to the Triduum in the Old Hispanic Rite in this period, something that also occurred during the late patristic and early medieval period throughout the other liturgical Rites of the East and West.

Between Modesty and Modernity: The Transformations of the Architecture of the Franciscan Church in Zagan Between the Second Half of the Thirteenth Century and the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century

The aim of this article is to present the main phases of transformation of the Franciscan church in Zagan. This church is one of the best-preserved mendicant order churches in Central Europe and Silesia. Until now, it has not been the subject of detailed research. Based on the findings, it was possible to identify the oldest church as a model example of the principles described in the Narbonne Constitutions. The late Gothic vaulting introduced during the reconstruction represents avant-garde solutions from the late 15th century. The evolution of the church interior’s forms in Zagan is presented against the backdrop of other churches in Central Europe and Poland. Special attention is given to the uniqueness of the church, which stands out among other conventual churches with its use of diamond and net vaults in the chancel and nave.

Establishing Communication Patterns in a Frontier Zone: The Jewish Communities in the Early Kingdom of Valencia

ABSTRACT The conquest of eastern al-Andalus and its transformation into the Kingdom of Valencia in the first half of the thirteenth century mark a turning point in the history of the Crown of Aragon. Into a region inhabited almost exclusively by Muslims now poured a steady influx of immigrants from the north, among them many Jews settling in their own newly-formed communities. In the fluid environment of a shifting frontier zone where the overarching administrative system was still being reorganised, these communities likewise had to establish patterns of communication with the outside world. On the basis of representative examples from the conquest period and subsequent decades, this article gives an overview over the variety of patterns utilised in processes of communication between institutions and individuals on different levels. The complexity of these processes, it is argued, can only be grasped very rudimentarily through the limited perspectives of the surviving documentation.

Views of the Baltic German Press on the Traditions of Other Nationalities in Riga’s Music Life in the 1870s–1880s: The Influence of the Political Context

Abstract The history of German presence in the territory of Latvia began in the thirteenth century, when Germans arrived here as crusaders. From that time until the nineteenth century, they played the dominant role in the economic and political life of the region. In the second half of the nineteenth century, however, the situation changed. After the abolition of serfdom (1817–1819), Latvians greatly improved their economic and educational status, and the new Latvian intelligentsia expressed its opposition to German dominance in the region. The Latvian national revival of that period was supported by the Russian authorities with a somewhat selfish interest. The aim of this paper is to answer the question: how did these processes affect the descriptions of music life in the press, or, more precisely, one aspect of press commentaries – the Baltic Germans’ views on the traditions of other nationalities? It has been found that many reviews confirm the Baltic Germans’ interest and openness towards other national traditions. At least some of the German music critics do not deserve to be criticised for ignoring the music life of ethnic Latvians as described in Latvian periodicals. The political context, however, comes to the fore when discussing not the music itself, but the press publications or speeches that include some ‘provocative’ elements – be it claims to the premises of the Rigaer Stadttheater voiced in a Russian newspaper, or efforts to deny the inspiring role of Germans in Latvian cultural history.

Two hundred barrels of manure: Fertilisation, environmental stewardship, and short-term leasehold in Cambrésis, 1330–1400

Abstract From its spread in the thirteenth century onwards, short-term leasehold became one of the most common and powerful institutions of land management in Western Europe. Its rise is often strongly connected to the commercialisation of agriculture and short-term profit-seeking, with overexploitation of the soil as a consequence. However, when looking closely at short-term lease contracts of the fourteenth century, these extensive documents often contain a multitude of clauses on the upkeep of the soil, water management, and care for the present fauna and flora. This paper aims to investigate how the management of the soil was regulated through a leasehold in Cambrésis, currently in the north of France, through an in-depth study of the clauses on fertilisation by manure and care for the soil, as recorded in two rather unique fourteenth-century lease ledgers. What can these contracts reveal about contemporary agricultural practices, such as fertilisation? How did the administrators of the Saint-Julien hospital and the collegial chapter of Saint-Géry in Cambrai safeguard the long-term health and value of their leased-out properties in a period of severe crises and rising commercial pressure? Through this research, this paper proposes that short-term leasehold could, in certain conditions, stimulate forms of environmental stewardship.

The Role of Frontier Territories in Geopolitics

More than two-thirds of all the world’s states are involved in at least one territorial dispute. Overall, there are approximately 175 disputes involving competing claims to more than 100 distinct territories. If maritime boundaries are included, the number of disputes multiplies more than two-fold. Since at least the thirteenth century, frontier buffer zones with length and breadth have been an important mechanism in managing territorial disputes along contested borders. These historical examples have much to teach us about containing contemporary territorial disputes.

What Rights for Criminals Condemned to Death? Jurisdictional Dialogue and Clash Between Religious and Secular Authorities, c.1250–1320

ABSTRACT Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a variety of legal actors became involved in disputes regarding the right of criminals condemned to death to access religious comforts such as sacraments, Christian burial, and the possibility to make bequests pro anima. These debates centred around important questions such as: which authorities held the right to grant or deny spiritual assistance to executed criminals? What normative bases could be invoked to support these claims? This paper argues that, in the period c.1250–1320, lay and religious authorities reiterated norms deriving from a multiplicity of pre-existing systems (canon law, Roman law, theological principles) to answer these questions. The underlying agenda of these debates, however, was a struggle for power regarding whose ultimate authority it was to decide who could be considered a member of the community and to what extent. In time, this struggle contributed to a gradual separation between the political community and a previously all-encompassing Ecclesia.

Political parties and the eclipse of the Scottish Privy Council

ABSTRACT In 1708 the executive arm of Scottish pre-modern government, the Scottish Privy Council, was abolished, in a decision that disregarded the national interest. The competencies of this body were very wide. It engaged in policy formation and delivery, sometimes following decisions by the legislature, the Scottish Parliament, over a range of social, economic, religious, political, judicial and security concerns and did so, we must assume, back at least to the thirteenth century. There is little consideration of the circumstances of the abolition in the existing historiography, even though the Scottish Privy Council has something of a unique position. Given the more common arrangements found in European composite monarchies, such as in Catalonia where a viceroy located in Barcelona was kept separate from the decision-making council in Madrid, or the option of an independent provincial governor as in the French model, it is remarkable that the Scottish Privy Council was maintained in Edinburgh after the monarch moved to London in 1603. This article seeks to explain the successful campaign to eliminate the Council in the light of progressive moves in the early modern period towards a political culture dominated by party.

The Bishop’s Jurisdictional Boundaries: Proceedings, Legal Actors and Strategies from a Local Church Court (Pistoia, 1287–1301)

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the records of an Italian Church court from the late thirteenth century. This material allows us to know not only the daily working of a pre-modern Church court but also the nature of the litigants' legal skills and strategies. The first part of the article examines the pre-existing boundaries of this Church court jurisdiction and the matters with which it was dealing. Whereas the Church claimed jurisdiction over various ‘spiritual' matters, such as marriage, priests' offences and ecclesiastical benefices, its jurisdiction sometimes overlapped with the competencies of secular courts. In the second part, the article focuses on the judicial proceedings themselves and thus on the interactions between judges, plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses. As with many other courts at that time, this court systematically sought witnesses’ own definitions of the offences or accusations they testified about and the relevant fama. In sum, by drawing on three different caseloads, this article explains why fama played such a key role in ecclesiastical trials and how; therefore, norms other than strictly legal ones were key to the functioning of ecclesiastical courts, and should, therefore, be understood as key in the appeal to ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

DNA and spores from coprolites reveal that colourful truffle-like fungi endemic to New Zealand were consumed by extinct moa (Dinornithiformes).

Mycovores (animals that consume fungi) are important for fungal spore dispersal, including ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi symbiotic with forest-forming trees. As such, fungi and their symbionts may be impacted by mycovore extinction. New Zealand (NZ) has a diversity of unusual, colourful, endemic sequestrate (truffle-like) fungi, most of which are ECM. As NZ lacks native land mammals (except bats), and sequestrate fungi are typically drab and mammal-dispersed, NZ's sequestrate fungi are hypothesized to be adapted for bird dispersal. However, there is little direct evidence for this hypothesis, as 41% of NZ's native land bird species became extinct since initial human settlement in the thirteenth century. Here, we report ancient DNA and spores from the inside of two coprolites of NZ's extinct, endemic upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) that reveal consumption and likely dispersal of ECM fungi, including at least one colourful sequestrate species. Contemporary data from NZ show that birds rarely consume fungi and that the introduced mammals preferentially consume exotic fungi. NZ's endemic sequestrate fungi could therefore be dispersal limited compared with fungi that co-evolved with mammalian dispersers. NZ's fungal communities may thus be undergoing a gradual species turnover following avian mycovore extinction and the establishment of mammalian mycovores, potentially affecting forest resilience and facilitating invasion by exotic tree taxa.

The Role of the Beguine Movement in the Commemoration of the Dead in Douai, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

Commemoration and caritas were deeply intertwined and in Douai, this relationship was evident in the strategies that testators employed between 1228 and 1362. During this period, Douaisiens’ commemorative strategies brought together existing and new religious institutions and intercessors responsible for the salvation of the parish community. At a time when the penitential movement in the town was flourishing, testators considered beguines as among those efficacious in interceding for their souls. Testators requested pittances, simple prayers, and funerary services. The women performed these services alongside many other intercessors, including the parish church and its personnel, the mendicant orders, and the common poor. Thus, this period in Douai involved the formation of a network of commemoration in which intercessors, including beguines, contributed to the salvation of parishioners.

The Oldest Middle Dutch Translation of the Psalms (c. 1275–1400). Context of Origin, Functions, and Nachleben

This article presents a new perspective on the oldest Middle Dutch translation of the Psalter. The region of origin of this influential translation has remained uncertain for a long time, but current assumptions suggest that it likely originated in the western part of the medieval county of Flanders, probably in the last decades of the thirteenth century. A recent and noteworthy discovery, discussed here for the first time, comprises a bifolio from a Latin psalter dating from the late thirteenth century, featuring an interlinear version of the oldest Psalter translation added in the late fourteenth century. This introduces a new use for the West Flemish Psalter translation, in addition to those already known and briefly discussed in this article. Furthermore, this finding sheds light on the likely end of the textual tradition associated with this specific Psalter translation. By the first decades of the fifteenth century, newer or hybrid versions emerged, suggesting a decline in the influence of the West Flemish Psalter translation during that period.

THE COEXISTENCE OF WRITING MEDIA IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. THE STORY OF A LEGACY

China offered humanity a cheap and highly durable material that, after six hundred years of adaptation through the Silk Road, would reach Europe via the Iberian Peninsula in the hands of the Arabs. Hispano-Arabic paper, as the paper produced in the peninsula was called in the Middle Ages, would soon replace the papyrus and parchment, with which it had coexisted in the beginning. The historical context of each kingdom, as well as the devastation caused by the Black Death and the opening of trade with Italy after the expansion of the Crown of Aragon, would determine the origins and techniques used in the manufacturing of Hispanic paper. Three types of paper coexisted in the peninsula: Hispano-Arabic paper, a new type of paper imported from Italy and a third type with mixed characteristics. The codices and the various documents preserved reflect not only the artistic trend of the place where they were produced, but also the technique of paper production, which was subject to the tradition inherited from the Hispano-Arab papermakers and improved from the thirteenth century onwards by the craftsmen of Fabriano, with great value as witnesses of a historical context.

Zum Alltagsleben in den Ritterorden der Kreuzfahrerstaaten

On everyday life in the military orders of the Crusader states While everyday life in the military orders was supposed to be regulated (i.e., in compliance with rules and other normative texts), geographical location was a determining factor in how individual members experienced their environment and human interaction, and there appear to have been significant variations in this regard between East and West. Focusing on select examples pertaining to Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights in the Crusader states of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and drawing from letters, charters, inventories, narrative sources, and archaeological evidence, this article considers three particular aspects to illustrate this observation, namely, (1) materialized culture, (2) the need for translators, and (3) bathhouses. While all three had their respective equivalents in northern and western Europe, it is noteworthy that ‒ in the Near East ‒ materialized culture (e.g., in the form of weapons and textiles) was more diverse and luxurious; the need for translation was more frequent and complex (e.g., resulting in the outsourcing of such tasks to Oriental Christians with a knowledge of Arabic); and the bathhouses were more sophisticated and numerous, which confounded western clergymen who considered military prowess rather incompatible with a visit to the Hammam (i.e., an Oriental bathhouse).

Ansanus “the Baptizer” and the Problem of Siena’s Non-Existent Early Episcopacy (c. 1100–1600)

Medieval writers designated Siena as a “new city”. Seemingly confirming this assessment, the Sienese Church possessed no hagiographic tradition of early bishops that would prove that their urban settlement was a true civitas in late antiquity. As part of their effort to verify that their city had not only Roman but also early Christian origins, the Sienese, primarily spearheaded by lay officials, refashioned the image of their martyr-saint, Ansanus (d. 296). By the thirteenth century, the implication that the lay martyr had baptized the citizens was added to his second Latin passion narrative. Yet, only beginning in the fifteenth century do vernacular passions and images of Ansanus baptizing the Sienese appear, revealing that the baptismal event emerged as a defining point in the sacred history of the city and was communicated to citizens both textually and visually. These were produced at the behest of lay institutions, such as the Opera del Duomo and the communal government. By performing the sacrament of baptism, Ansanus fulfilled a crucial function of a proto-bishop, namely the transformation of the pagan Sienese into a true community of the baptized. Though some Sienese humanists sought to identify the earliest bishops, no episcopal cult was ever established. Considering that the default for other major cities in Italy was to identify and venerate their early bishops, Ansanus’s transformation into “the Baptizer” presents a case study of how saints could be adapted in unconventional ways to fix a problematic civic past.

Tormented and Glorified Body – The Example of St. Adalbert and St. Stanislaus

The two medieval patron saints of Poland, St. Adalbert and St. Stanislaus, both suffered martyrdom. The tradition of the life and the martyrdom of St. Adalbert developed from the end of the tenth century until the late Middle Ages. On the contrary, the tradition of St. Stanislaus’s martyrdom arose at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and had a fully developed form. Information about the details of the martyrdom of both saints are contained in various types of sources: hagiographical, historical and liturgical poetry. In the accounts of martyrdom there are mentions of gestures made by three subjects: the martyr, the killers and God. As a result of these acts, the body is martyred and destroyed, but the soul of the martyr is glorified. Numerous marks on the martyr’s body visible during martyrdom confirm the glory achieved by his soul.

The government of Agnès of France, daughter of Saint Louis and duchess of Burgundy (c. 1260–1325)

Abstract Agnès de France (1260–1325), who was the youngest daughter of Saint Louis and Marguerite de Provence, is a little-known princess. She was, however, a remarkable political figure, whose role in government in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries demonstrates the vital influence of Capetian royal women. After marrying Robert II of Burgundy (duke from 1272–1306) in 1273, Agnès became duchess of Burgundy and was involved in the administration of this duchy for over half a century. Her influence was especially significant during the rule of her sons, the dukes Hugues V (1306–15) and Eudes IV (1315–49). In light of this, it is important to try to understand how she obtained power and to delineate the characteristics of female government in this period, above all during her widowhood. The aims of this article are thus to shed new light on Agnès’ career and to explore the foundations of her power, that were interlinked with her various positions as a woman: daughter of King Louis XI, wife of Duke Robert II and mother of the dukes Hugues V and Eudes IV.

A Turkic script in the Carpathian Basin: The identity-marking functions of the Székely script

AbstractThis paper discusses variations and changes in the identity-marking function of a writing of Turkic origin, the Székely script, from the thirteenth century to the present day. The script's peculiarity lies in the fact that during its known history, it had only an identity-marking function; no significant knowledge-communicating function can be found in any of its monuments.

Nadbałtyckie, połabskie i pomorskie uzupełnienia do prac o jeniectwie w średniowieczu (część pierwsza)

Polish historical literature has recently seen a renewed interest in the fate of prisoners of war who fell into captivity in the numerous battles fought during the Middle Ages. Due to the availability of historical sources, particular attention has been paid to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, although, of course, relatively few examples of captives from the earlier period have been discussed. In this respect, chronicles illustrating armed conflicts between the Polish or Polish­ Lithuanian state and the Teutonic Order have been particularly useful. What came as an important point of reference for historians were also cases of prisoners of war described in Western European sources. So far, there has been no broader study of medieval captives which would focus on the Slavia. This term first referred to the territories inhabited by the Polabian Slavs, from Holstein to the borders of Western Pomerania. At the end of the twelfth and in the thirteenth century, it came to be used for medieval Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania. From the perspective of the Kingdom of Denmark, it was still a much wider area. The present study attempts to trace and discuss cases of captivity in the geographical area in question. The work covers mainly the years 1177–1320, from the conflict over the Saxon inheritance after the death of Henry the Lion, in which not only German, but also Mecklenburg and Pomeranian rulers took part, to the extinction of the Brandenburg margraves from the Ascanian dynasty. War or conflict was an important tool of the policy of members of this dynasty, particularly experienced by other feudal lords from the area under study. Considering that the source material is quite extensive, for editorial reasons the study has been divided into parts. The first part covers the period until the end of the twelfth century.

Religion, Spirituality, Well-Being and Praying the Rosary: Results of a Cross-Sectional Study from Germany.

Rosary prayer is a popular Catholic meditative prayer practice and has been used since the thirteenth century. The aim of this study is to describe characteristics, prayer practice, religiosity and piety of those practicing the prayer and to investigate whether and how religion/spirituality (R/S) and well-being are related in this specific population. An online cross-sectional survey was performed between June and September 2022 which included items on sociodemographic data, prayer practice, well-being, religiosity and spirituality, transpersonal trust and spiritual meaning. Results were described descriptively, and a possible relationship between R/S and well-being was examined using correlational and moderator analyses. In total, 164 participants who pray the Rosary completed the online questionnaire. A total of 92% of the participants belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 61% of the sample were women. A majority of participants reported to be very religious/spiritual (36%) or quite religious/spiritual (47%). Most participants experienced the prayer as a calming and relaxing practice, which slows down the breathing and the awareness in the prayer being focused on the prayer beads. Most of the participants expressed a high-to-very high transpersonal trust. All R/S measures used in this study are highly intercorrelated (r between 0.64 and 0.91) and show similar small-size associations (r between 0.10 and 0.20) with well-being. Moderator analysis shows that the connection between R/S and well-being was stronger among those with more positive prayer experiences. Subjectively perceived positive prayer experiences may act as an amplifier or emotional affirmation of the "rightness" or "effectiveness" of one's faith and this very amplification may have a strengthening effect on the relationship between R/S and well-being. The interaction of R/S and well-being in Rosary praying and other meditative techniques should be a major topic of future research.