XVth Century Research Articles

Rocandolfo al servicio de Carlos V: Wilhelm von Rogendorf, comendador de Otos (1481 -1541)

Rogendorf, whose family came from Styria and settled in Lower Austria in the middle of the XVth Century. Serving the Hapsburgs from chilhood, he was page to Phillip the Fair in the Low Countries and filled various offices under Emperors Maximilian I, and Charles V, to whom he was linked by a special relationship, and Ferdinand L Military and diplomatic missions took the Austrian nobleman all over Europe, defending the interests of the Hapsburgs against the Venetians, the French, the Valencian Moriscos and the Turks. Unpublished sources show that he stayed in Spain between 1522 and 1528, which enabled him to get to know the country very well. For this, he travelled to where the Emperor was. His stay at the fortress of Calatrava la Nueva to obtain the habit of the Order, granted by Charles V together with the Commandery of Otos, made him part of the institutions most representative of the mentality of the Crown of Castile. On his return to Central Europe, Wilhelm von Rogendorf formed —under Ferdinand I— the core of a native nobility which found, in the habits of the Spanish Military Orders, the outward expression of an ideological identity in the secular struggle against the Moslems taking place at that time on the Peninsula and against the Turks on the other extreme the Hapsburg empire, as well as in the struggle against the Protestants during the transition from the Mediaeval to the Modern world.

:The Vespasiano Memoirs: Lives of Illustrious Men of the XVth Century

Vespasiano da Bisticci (b. 1421) was a Florentine bookseller known as the most celebrated dealer of books and manuscripts of his generation. The renewed interest in Greek and Roman texts brought about by the rise of humanism inspired many wealthy individuals to seek codices of the best ancient and early Christian works. Vespasiano's bookshop became a meeting place for learned men, and he acquired patrons as illustrious as Cosimo de'Medici, Federigo da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino, Mathias Corvinus, the King of Hungary, and John Tiptoft, Earl of Worchester. The invention of the printing press proved to be too much competition for da Bisticci, and he retired to write his memoirs and biographical sketches of his friends and patrons. Vespasiano da Bisticci's memoirs are a valuable resource in the history of politics, warfare and intellectual history, written from the perspective of an intelligent man who was able to watch and comment on the events of his age from a privileged position.

The Emergence of Nautical Astronomy in Portugal in the XVth century

Of the great oceans of the world, the Atlantic, because of its violence, was the last to be mastered by man. The task in its entirety had to wait for the Portuguese sailors of the Renaissance. Isidore of Seville (c. 570–636), a Christian writer of the late Roman Empire, had written of the Atlantic that it was ‘incommensurable and uncrossable’. Although Pliny (a.d. 23–79) refers vaguely to the Canary Islands, all knowledge of them disappears in the Middle Ages until a Portuguese expedition under the command of the Italian Lanzarotto Malocello ‘re- discovered’ them in 1336. Italian charts of the XIVth century begin progressively to show the Canaries, Madeira, Porto Santo and the Azores, but all aligned along a N/S axis without any appreciation of the relative distances between them or how far they lay from the European shore. The first written evidence of the Portuguese ‘discovery’ of the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo appears in 1419–20 and of the Azores in 1427, about the same time as they began to be colonised under the aegis of Prince Henry of Portugal, called the ‘Navigator’. The difficulties of returning to them on regular voyages was to motivate the Portuguese to develop methods of measurement using the Pole Star as a navigational aid and this led, not only to a greater accuracy in placing the islands on the charts, but also to a greater precision in the charting of the west African coastline which they were progressively exploring during the second half of the XVth century.Claims that Portuguese nautical astronomy originated in Aragon and was transmitted from there to Portugal or was introduced into Portugal from Germany by Regiomontanus and Martin Behaim have long ago been shown to be baseless.

L'épave du caboteur de Culip VI (Catalogne, Espagne)

The Culip VI wreck, lying at less than 10 m. deep in the creek of Culip located close to the Creus cap (Catatonia, Spain) was excavated in 1990 under Javier Nieto generai responsability. The excavation ofthe remains ofthe hull and their study was our responsability. The Culip VI wreck, of which only 11m of the bottom of the hull is preserved, is dated (ceramics) at the beginning of the XlVh century. This wreck is that of a coaster (restored measurements : 16,35 m long from end to end, 4,11 m wide at the midship frante, 1,94 m of depth of hold; estimated tonnage at around 40 tons) whose structure has the architectural characteristics of Mediterranean skeleton tradition. The analysis of the surmarks and numerals engraved in the wood of the floor-timbers show that these «signs» reveal a controlied modification of the floor-timber moulds by reducing the length of the flat and increasing of the rising of the floor-timbers in relation to the so-called master mould and rising square method. The most ancient wntten sources on this method ο f design enabling a large part of the frames to be predetermined date back to the XVth century and refer only to the aera of Venice and its arsenal. The wreck ofthe Culip VI coaster, probably of Catalan origin, dated at the beginning of the XIVh century, enables a new historical reading ο f this design method of the bottom of ships in the Mediterranean region.

Els impostos sobre la renda a Catalunya: redelmes, onzens i similars

The author, as an specialist in the study of municipal taxes, analyzes a sui generis tax, which is called tax on income ( redelme, onze, and so on). These taxes must be considered as a third type of tax control and are different from other taxes much better known such as talles and imposicions. The author describes the characteristics of these new taxes that levied in the municipalities by the middle of XlVth century and, at the same time, endeavours to clarify certain questions, such as how did these taxes appear and extend to the whole of Catalonia during the XlVth and XVth centuries; if they were direct or indirect taxes, who had to pay them, where they were collected, on which products were they imposed, etc. All these aspects are studied in the article over a wide number of records from the archives of catalan towns. The work is illustrated by a map and some lists made on the basis of hitherto unknown local records.

La première intervention européenne dans l'exploitation du corail maghrébin: les Catalans et les Siciliens à Tabarka (1446-1448)

In 1446 Hafsid king Othman assigns the coral exploitation of north African coasts to a Catalan merchant living in Tunis, Rafael Vives. The fishing grounds lay off Tabarka island and the fishers, mostly of Catalan origin, come from Sicily and Sardinia. This two years exploitation is one of the last evidence of the Catalan vitality in north Africa, harmed by genoese expansion in the second part of the XVth century. In the Hafsid kingdom this Catalan company is the first of many European settlements (Catalan, Genoese, Provencal and French) involved in the exploitation of coral in Maghreb until the XlXth century, in spite of ancient local traditions.

El enfermo mental en el siglo XV en España. Conceptuación como enfermo distinto y curable: su cuidado

This article gives us the tendences that existed in the XVth century, about the ideas of sickness, because this was the epoch of transition between medieval and modern world. It shows us the importance of the historical evolution of the concept madness and the consideration of the mad-person as a psychic-sick-pacient in relation to the evolution of psychiatric cares.

Les salaires des ouvriers du bâtiment à Gérone au XVème siècle

During the XVth century in Girona there was a lot of building offering abundant documentation for a study of the building world. Thanks to the building accounts of the Cathedral and its fortifications, it is possible to study workers'wages and living standards. First of all, a typology of wages needs to be done. Most workers were paid on a daily basis. This kind of salary might vary according to season, activity or professional qualifications. Other workers were on a piece-work basis: for example, traginers, ferrers or argenters. The evolution of wages during the XVth century in Girona follows the general trend observed by J. Hamilton. The wages of best qualified workers remain stable, while those of less qualified vary with a tendency to increase. Then, there is a compression of the salaries. However, this rise is not enough to set off the XVth century's inflation. The living standards of the whole population of building paid workers tend to decrease. Between 1465 and 1490, a master stone cutter loses 42% of his real wage, and a worker 21%. A typical Budget underlines the fact that only a bachelor artisan had a relatively favourable standard of living. In these conditions, the upkeep of a family brought problems.

A study of the wall material in the alhambra (Granada, Spain)

In this paper, we present a chemical, mineralogical, petrographical and textural study of the wall material in the Muslim Alhambra (XI TH to XV THcenturies). Different types of concretes represent this material. The binder has been charaterized as very pure lime, and the aggregate is mostly composed of metamorphics rock fragments whit erosive morphology. The porosimetric nature of the wall material was charaterized by SEM and the Hg intrusion porosimetry. XRD data and Image Analysis studies have shown the differents proportions of binder, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate in the concretes. The construction technique consisted in putting material to form the wall (clay, aggregate and lime) between two parallel, vertical planks attached to each other by bars of wood. Each layer of material was packed in. One particular type of wall is the “calicostrado”, which is made of two materials: one rich in lime, in the outer part of he wall and a more clayey material in the middle. The schematic cross-section of a “calicostrado” wall and its weathering patterns is presented. The state of preservation of the material in the walls of the study areas is acceptable, despite some zones being macroscopically more eroded.

Erdi Aroko kanta ezezagunak Ibarguen-Cachopin kronikan (1570-1620). Butroeko Andrearen Eresiaren bertsio ezezaguna; Salinasko Kontearen Kantua; Errodrigo Zaratekoaren Kantu Epikoa

The lbarguen-Cachopin Chronicle has been a source of interesting materials for Basque linguistics and literature ( Canto de Lelo, escrituras de Andramendi, Cantares de la Quema de Mondragon , etc.). Nevertheless this Chronicle is still unpublished and its preserved condition is quite fragile. The author of the present paper has embarked in a complete reconstruction and transcription of the Chronicle, to which end he has devoted the last few years. As could be expected, numerous and diverse materials have sprung from the detailed transcription of the Chronicle. Amongst them, the heretofore unknown ballads presented in this article have surpassed all expectations. These ballads recount episodes of the band (bandos) wars which took place in the Basque area during the Middle Ages, specifically in the XVth century. The first poem, the Cantar de la Senora de Butron has two stanzas: in the first one, Gomez Gonzalez's widow moans the death of her husband as a result of treason from within his own band; in the second stanza, a Ganboino partisan reminds the widow that the village of Mondragon was fairly burnt to avenge the Asteasu deaths. The author of this paper proposes a new reading of the Cantar. Finally, the Cantar. is included, which tells of Rodrigo's escape from the Tower of Villa Real de Alava where he had been imprisoned by the Abendanos. This poem -previously unknown- stands out because of its very high narrative and lyrical richness as well as for its length.

Monachisme et Diffusion de la Foi dans la Russie Moscovite (14e-16e Siècle)

Dans un article publié en 1919, à une époque où, pour certains orthodoxes libéraux, la synthèse entre l'idéal monastique et le communisme paraît non seulement possible mais naturelle, le père Pavel Florenskij présente la célèbre abbaye de la Trinité-Saint-Serge comme une composante fondamentale de l'histoire, de la spiritualité, de « l'Idée russe ». Nous n'avons pas ici l'ambition de discuter cette notion dans son ensemble, jusqu'à l'époque de la Révolution russe, mais d'aborder sa genèse, entre 1360 et 1600. A cette époque, tandis que s'édifient en Russie un État national et une Église nationale, se forge une « Idée russe » où la foi orthodoxe occupe une place essentielle. Le véhicule principal de cette foi, incarnant, puis transcendant les particularismes des anciens pays russes, est le monachisme cénobitique, réformé par Serge de Radonež, le fondateur du monastère de la Trinité.

El manuscrito UCB 161 de la Bancroft library (Universidad de Berkeley, California): Un nuevo codice del Laberinto de Fortuna de Juan de Mena

In December 1994, the Bancroft Library of the University of California (Berkeley) bought from the New York antiquary H. P. Kraus a manuscript of El Laberinto de Fortuna, one of the most important texts of the Spanish literature of the XVth century, written by Juan de Mena (1411–1456). The text was copied in 1515, and, as the watermarks and some linguistic features show, in all probability in the South of France (Franche Comte?). A comparison between the text of this manuscript and that of the other manuscripts and editions of the Laberinto prior to 1515 demonstrates that the manuscript in question is a derivative of a copy of the Nunez edition of Seville, 1499.

Un libro de horas inédito: el Ms. 21547 de la Biblioteca Nacional de España y sus miniaturas

This article presents an unpublished book of hours with forty-nine miniatures kept in the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana (ms. 21547). It was illuminated in three french workshops in the XVth century: the Master of Lucon workshop, the Group Francois and the Master of the Monypenny Breviary workshop.

Deux réponses à une même question : histoire comparée des modèles constitutionnels britannique et français

Two answers to the same question : compared history of the British and French constitutionnal practices. After having followed much the same course as all other European countries in feudal times, France and England began to distinguish themselves from the rest of Europe and from each other in the XVth century. England has experienced a continuous and pragmatic evolution largely influenced by the direct and indirect consequences of the Protestant Reformation. Over the years, the source of political sovereignty and legitimacy has shifted from the Crown to Parliament, and then, Parliament has gradually founded its own legitimacy on universal suffrage. In the meantime, the situation in France has long been marked by the triumph of absolute monarchy. Sudden, radical change was brought by the French Revolution and the search for an ideal form of government embodied in the adoption of sixteen successive written constitutions since 1791.

"Cándida rosa", "única stella". Primera interpretación mariológica de dos expresiones de Dante

1. An examination is made of seven commentators on the Divina Comedia who apply the «candida rosa» of paradise to the Church triumphant and the «unica stella» to the divine essence. 2. In place of this double opinion, we learn for the first time of another interpretation which puts both figures in direct relation to Mary. 3. This new interpretation is documented on the basis of two groups of anonymous texts from the first decades of the XVth century: some rhythmi or Latin ballads and the first known castillian translation of the whole of the Divina Comedia (Madrid, BN, MS 10186). 4. The first anonymous commentary recently began to be attributed to the Salamanca theologian fray Diego Moxena de Valencia; the second has been adjudged for the last century as the work of the celebrated Enrique de Aragon or de Villena; given however the doctrinal and verbal identity between the two anonymous pieces, the Author finishes by suggesting that both could be attributed to the same author, in this case, to fray Diego Moxena.

Brief communication: skeletal evidence of operations on cadavers from Sens (Yonne, France) at the end of the XVth century.

Human remains giving direct evidence concerning the history of dissection practices are rare. Thirteen cranial fragments which bear evidence of having been purposely cut and sawn were discovered in a crypt during excavations undertaken in Sens (Yonne, France). Ceramics date these remains to the period from the end of the XIVth to the end of the XVIth centuries. Nine individuals are represented: one adolescent and eight adults of both sexes. The position of the cutmarks, which were produced by a long, sharp cutting tool, show that the scalp was completely removed from the skull. The sawing, which was done with a large-toothed saw, was both clockwise and counterclockwise in direction. The sawn surfaces reveal a deliberate attempt not to damage the brain. This procedure is compared to that of modern autopsies. The remains from Sens are also compared with several other sawn cranial fragments recently discovered in France and England. Three hypotheses are discussed: embalmment, autopsy, and anatomical studies. Analysis of these remains and historical documentation suggest embalmment and/or autopsy as the probable purpose of the opening of the skull.

Fouilles archéologiques du métro de Lille, III. La céramique de la Grand'Place de Roubaix.

Archaeological Survey of the Lille Underground. III. The Pottery Findings of the Grand'Place in Roubaix. The excavations carried out in the Grand'Place in Roubaix have delivered scarce and very fragmented pottery findings. The 1,500 fragments studied can be grouped in three main phases. The first stretches between the XIth and the XIIIth centuries. It is characterized by a grey pottery, with numerous "bandeau" necks and toothed-wheel patterns. One can note too a fragment akin to the Andenne productions. The following period covers the XIVth and the XVth centuries. It is represented by common forms like jugs, cooking pots and "teles", essentially in grey paste. The third phase spreads over the XVIth to XIXth centuries. Its productions are typical : stoneware imported from Rhineland or Wallonie, horn-decorated terra-cottas and decorated crokery. Given the absence of a definitive datation, this series was dated in comparison with the regional examples.

The Greeks of Crimea under Genoese Rule in the XIVth and XVth Centuries

The Greeks of Crimea under Genoese Rule in the XIVth and XVth Centuries

Virgil between the middle ages and the Renaissance

During the Middle Ages, Virgil is a literary character and his life a matter of fantastic adventures. In this regard Virgil becomes not only the companion of Dante in theInferno, but also the magician who frees the citizens of Naples from parasites and various kinds of danger, the councillor who advises the princes on good government, the sorcerer who comes to terms with the devil. This literary tradition continues throughout the Renaissance and concerns not only biography but also poetry, novels, short stories, and other literary genres. For the Humanists the main problem was that of differentiating history from Virgilian legend: this problem finds, in the XIVth and XVth centuries, at least four different solutions, exemplified respectively by the anonymous compiler of theDonatus auctus, by Petrarch, by Sicco Polenton and by Pomponio Leto.

Éléments pour une typologie de la céramique au XVIe siècle en Corse: Le bastion de Saint-Georges à Algajola (Haute-Corse)

On the north-western coast of Corsica, Algajola is a citadel founded by the Saint-Georges Bank in the mid XVth century. An excavation in order to preserve the Saint-Georges bastion, permitted to bring to light and ground level a circular tower, probably belonging to the original fortification. This intervention principally brought about the discovery of an homogeneous quantity of ceramics, consisting of local production and imports, essentially Italian, particularly interesting for providing knowledge of the crockery used in Corsica in the XVIth century.