Crime in the Middle Ages

The law was extremely harsh in England in the Middle Ages. Those in charge of the law did believe that the people could only learn how to behave if they were afraid of what would happen if they went against the law. Even the “smallest” crimes had severe punishments. The higher-classed people feared the poor because there were a lot more poor people than there were rich people. Any revolt could hurt the nobles. The Peasants Revolt of 1381 proved that much.

The law in England improved because Henry II sent out judges from London to deal with cases throughout England. Each person who’d been accused of a crime had to go through something called an ordeal. There were three of them:

-Ordeal by fire:

The person who had been accused would hold a hot iron bar and would walk three paces. After, their hand was all bandaged up and was to be left alone for exactly three days. If the wound was healing after three days, you were considered innocent. If not, you were “proven” guilty.

-Ordeal by water:

The person would be tied up and thrown into a body of water, like a lake or something. If that person would float you were guilty. If you sank, you were innocent. Sometimes they would tie a rope around the person’s waist so if you were innocent, you could be pulled out if you started to sink.

-Ordeal by combat:

This ordeal was mostly used by nobles that had been accused of a crime. They would fight with the person who accused them of whatever crime they were accused of. Whoever won the fight was the right one. Whoever lost usually died at the end of the fight.

In the year of 1215, the Pope said that priests in England couldn’t help out with ordeals. Ordeals were then replaced by trials by juries. The people didn’t like this because they felt like their neighbours could use a trial to get revenge on them if they had a grudge against them. After the year of 1275, a new law was introduced. It was that people were allowed to be tortured if they said they would not to go to trial that had a jury.

If you were found guilty of the crime you were accused of, you would be facing severe punishment. Thieves would have had their hands cut off for punishment. Women who murdered were strangled, then burnt. People who hunted illegally in royal areas had their ears cut clean off, and treason was punishable by being hung and other forms of execution. There weren’t many prisons because they cost money and local communities would not pay for them to be maintained. It was always cheaper to execute a guilty person for their crimes. It was also cheaper to just mutilate them, and then let them go.

Most towns had place to hang people just outside of them. When people were hung, their bodies were left to rot over the weeks and served as a warning to others to not commit crime. 

By Kerigan Geerts

Music of the Medieval Era

Music was important to the people of the Medieval era, especially in the royal courts. This was the time of the knights. It was important for a knight to be able to fight, play a musical instrument, and to dance. Minstrels and Troubadours also played musical instruments. Of course, not everyone had to know how to play an instrument if they wanted to make music. They could always use their voice if they wanted to! Hymns and secular songs were especially popular because of the spread of Christianity. The first church organ dates back to the 8th century! Many of the Medieval instruments influenced the type of instruments we use today. So, if you play an instrument, remember that it was probably fathered by a medieval instrument!

They had different types of instruments that fell under different categories and fit into different families, just like ours do today! They included:

• Wind Musical Instruments
• Stringed Musical Instruments
• Percussion Musical Instruments

String instruments were played by using a bow or they could be plucked.

• The Harp - The harp was used mostly by the troubadours and minstrels.
• The Fiddle - The fiddle was the most popular street instrument because it was so portable. It was could be played with either a bow, or could be plucked.
• The Rebec - The rebec had a pear shaped body and looked like an early violin.
• The Psaltery - The psaltery looked like a mix between a harp and guitar.
• The Dulcimer - The dulcimer was played by hitting the strings with a small hammer, kind of like a piano does today on its inside!
• The Hurdy-gurdy - Being introduced in the 1100’s, the bow was replaced by strings that were attached to a wheel, which was then cranked by a handle.
• The Viol - The viol was played with a bow and usually sat between the legs or was held on the lap.

Wind instruments which were blown into.

• The Flute - The flute was similar to modern-day flutes.
• The Trumpet - The trumpet was a long instrument and it was made out of metal. It was often in four parts, and often associated with fanfares and pageants.
• The Pipe - The pipe was a very basic instrument. It only had three melody holes.
• The Shawn - The shawn was a reed instrument that had vent holes.
• Recorder - The recorder was another a super basic instrument with melody holes, and is still around today, often used in elementary Music Class.
• The Bagpipe - The Bagpipe was an ancient instrument and was used by the poor. It was usually made of goat or sheep skin, and a reed pipe.
• The Crumhorn - The crumhorm (Curved Horn) was introduced in the 15th century as a double reed instrument.
• The Gemshorn - The gemshorn, made out of an ox horn, was played like a flute-like instrument.
• The Lizard - The lizard was an S-shaped horn.

Percussion instruments were made up of different kinds of drums and bells, much like they are today, of course.

• The Drum - Drums were made of hollow tree trunks, clay, or metal. They were covered by skins of water animals.
• The Cymbal - Cymbals were round, thin, metal plates.
• The Triangle - The triangle was introduced in the 1300’s.
• The Tambourine - The tambourine was usually only used by women.

As you can see, there were many different types of instruments, and music was a huge part of Medieval life.

By Kerigan Geerts

Reign

"Reign is an American historical fiction television series following the early years of Mary, Queen Of Scots, in 1557 France. The series, created by Stephanie SenGupta and Laurie McCarthy, airs on The CW as part of the 2013-14 American TV Show. The leading roles are played by a combination of Australian, Canadian and English actors.
On February 13, 2014, The CW renewed the series for a second season." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_%282013_TV_series%29

The Tudors

"The Tudors is an Irish-Canadian historical fiction television series set primarily in sixteenth-century England, created by Michael Hurst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series, although named after the Tudor dynasty as a whole, is based specifically upon the reign of King Henry VIII of England." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tudors

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Oblivion is the fourth game in the Elder Scrolls series. It is a Fantasy game, but is extremely medieval-based. It'll take you right back in time, bringing along a bit of magic!

Ghost Of A Rose (Album by Blackmore's Night)

Blackmore's Night is a band that fulls under the genre of Medieval Rock, Celtic Rock, and Folk.

This album, Ghost of a Rose, features the songs:

1 Way To Mandalay

2 Three Black Crows
3 Diamonds and Rust
4 Cartouche
5 Queen for a Day, Pt. 1
6 Queen for a Day, Pt. 2
7 Ivory Tower
8 Nur Eine Minute
9 Ghost of a Rose
10 Mr. Peagram's Morris and Sword
11 Loreley
12 Where Are We Going From Here
13 Rainbow Blues
14 All For One
15 Dandelion Wine


Cartouche: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkHmOvc6_k

Queen for a Day, Pt. 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx543gsIPTs

Nur Eine Minute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-n3ICWAV30

Loreley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6GTq96eDRU

Diets of the Medieval People

People of the Middle Ages, especially nobles, had very bad nutritional dieting habits. Nobles rarely ate fruits and vegetables. Fruit was only eaten in pies or preserved in honey. Vegetables were only eaten in the form of a stew, soup, or pottage, and were mainly eaten by the poor. Only onions, garlic, and leeks (and such as) were eaten by nobles. Dairy products, excluding cheese, were also only consumed by the poor or lower classes.

Nobles/Upper Classes :

Highly spiced foods. Spices included pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, saffron, cardamon (now cardamom), coriander, cumin, garlic, turmeric, mace, anise, caraway, and mustard.

Diet:

• Manchet bread

• Vast variety of meat and game - venison, beef, pork, goat, lamb, rabbit, hare, mutton, swans, herons, and poultry

• Fish - fresh & salt water. Range of fish (such as) - herring, salmon, eel, whiting, plaice, cod, trout, and pike

• Shell fish - crab, oysters, mussels, etc.

• Spices (above)

• Cheese

• Fruits

• Limited number of vegetables

Poor/Lower Classes:

Very home grown. Only lords and nobles were allowed to hunt deer, boar, hares, and rabbits. The punishment for poaching could be having one's hands cut off or death.

Diet:

• Rye or barley bread

• Pottage ( a type of stew )

• Dairy products such as milk and cheese products

• Meat such as beef, pork, and lamb

• Fish - if there is access to freshwater rivers or the sea

• Homegrown vegetables and herbs

• Fruit from local trees and bushes

• Nuts

• Honey

By Carlie Throndson

Note-passing, texting, and... "runesticking?"

 "Sigríðr of Hváll gave this staff for mercy towards the souls of Arnþórr and herself" 

(Arnþórr was presumably her husband, and Hváll is the farm Kvåle near the church.)

 "Kiss me"

"Now there is a great fuss here" Someone wrote on a rib bone, probably from their meal.

"Gyda says you should go home"

These were found in Norway. They're called runesticks and what they are, are just sticks with little carvings of runes. This was before the Latin alphabet, and before paper had reached Europe. It seems like people back then had a need for "texting" too.

Cats have always done this!

 

Here we have a picture of a cat jumping onto a manuscript from the Middle Ages. It seems like they had problems with their cats jumping onto their work, just like people today have problems with our cats jumping onto our homework, keyboards, etc! 

"These days, if a government document was disfigured by an animal it would probably be destroyed and replaced - but back then writing was such an elaborate and expensive exercise that the book could not be wasted.
This week, Mr Filipovic went online to give his own interpretation of the image's success.
'You can almost picture the writer shooing the cat in a panicky fashion while trying to remove it from his desk,' he wrote."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289563/Fed-cat-climbing-keyboard-Amazing-photo-medieval-manuscript-covered-pawprints-shows-new.html#ixzz2tuykKIUM
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Medieval Architecture

Art in the Middle Ages was unseparated from religion. It was made with spiritual symbolism and meaning. The purpose was to awe the spectator with the grandeur of God. It also showed what people believed.

“Painting can do for the illiterate what writing does for those who read.” -Pope Gregory

Church Sculptures

The mission of a sculptor was to educate as well as decorate. He usually put Biblical tales and moral lessons into the stone. Not always religious. Pre-christian as well; animals, everyday life, and the pagan “Green Man” peering from wrought leaves and vines of stone. Sculpture was also glorious in the Romanesque period.

Romanesque Period

Beginning of the Norman era, the style of architecture that was vogue was known as Romanesque, because it copied patterns and proportion of the Roman Empire. Chief characteristics - barrel vaults, round arches, thick piers, and few windows. Easiest thing to spot - the rounded arches, in the tops of doors and windows. Romanesque churches were heavy and solid; the air filled with solemnity and gloom. Not always though. In their heyday, the church walls were hung with tapestries or painted richly. Service books were inlaid with gold, jewels, and ivory.

The Gothic Style

Beginning in 12th century France. At the time, it was simply called “The French Style”, but later Renaissance critics, who thought it was an abandonment of classic lines and proportion, called it “Gothic”. It was a reference to the imagined lack of culture of the barbaric tribes, including the Goths, which had ransacked Rome. Gothic architecture is light, spacious, and graceful. Advances in architecture from the Arab during the Crusades led to innovations such as - the pointed arches, ribbed vault, and the buttress. Heavy Romanesque piers were replaced with rows of slender columns. Window sizes were enlarged greatly. Sculpture became free standing. The windows were filled with stained glass. The easiest thing to spot were the pointed arches, again in the doors and windows. Later Gothic churches had elaborate decor such as “tracery” - stonework supporting the stain glass windows. 

Article by Carlie Throndson

Medieval Clothing

Materials Available For Clothing

Wool, silk, linen, hemp, cotton, leather, and fur.

Others:

Taffeta, velvet, and damask were made from things such as silk, cotton, and linen using specific weaving techniques. These others were more expensive and not as widely available.

Dyes:

Some were more expensive, but even the poor could have moderately colorful clothing.

Plants, roots, lichen, tree bark, nuts, crushed insects, mollusks, and iron oxide were used to dye. Dyed things would generally fade quickly if not mixed with mordant, and brighter and/or bolder shades took longer to dye or more expensive dye. Therefore, the brighter clothes were worn by nobles and upper classes that could afford such clothing. 

Article by Carlie Throndson

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin Trilogy #2) by Robin LaFevers

Vengeance is divine.


When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.
But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...


***

This is a historical fiction book set in the 1400s in Rennes and Nantes in Brittany (now France). The religion from the story, and some characters are purely fictional, but some characters (like Anne of Brittany, duchess) once lived and breathed. 

Dark Triumph is the second book in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy by Robin LaFevers. The first book is Grave Mercy and the third book is Mortal Heart. 

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9943270-dark-triumph?from_search=true

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn

Witchcraft in the Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages the wisdom of the witches, also known as "wise women" or "cunning folk" were seen as helpful people in their communities, due to their knowledge of healing herbs. They could help the ones in need. There were White Witches and Black Witches. The White Witches focused on healing and helping, while the Black Witches practiced Black Magic. Black Magic was focused more on harming people than helping people, bringing sicknesses, injury, and death. Black Magic was seen as a work of the devil. The terms White Witches and Black Witches were lost, though, in the hysteria of the Renaissance when the witch hunts began.

The reason those witch hunts began were because of a book. In 1486 Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for The Hammer of Witches) was published and vividly described the satanic and sexual abominations of witches and witchcraft. The medieval era had experienced horrible wars, terrible famines, and extremely deadly diseases. The people were looking for a reason for all of that misfortune, and directed their anger towards the witches, blaming them all.

Then  the church gave permission to be rid of them, starting witch hunts. Witches were blamed when people died from disease (or just in general), when animals died, when there was a bad harvest, when fires were started, or even when food would go bad! The usual people accused of witchcraft were women, since the Medieval era was a time when men were in control. Many of the women accused were also poor and lonely.

 Anyone with knowledge of herbs or healing was defined as a witch. The church included in it's definition of witchcraft that "those who used herbs for cures did so only through a pact with the Devil, either explicit or implicit." In Europe, if anyone had possession of any kind of healing herbs, many of which had a psychedelic effect, it would result in that person burning as execution. Because witches were so looked down upon, and many killed for witchcraft, the majority of medical knowledge was lost. The use of herbs and plants such as mandrake, monkshood, cannabis, belladonna, and hemlock were common ingredients in brews and ointments for medical purposes.

There is no doubt that this hectic time still effects us today, shaping the public's view of witches and witchcraft just like it did so long ago.

Article by Kerigan Geerts

Anne Boleyn

This is a painted copy of an original picture of Queen Anne Boleyn. The original was painted in 1534.

About Anne:

Reign: 28 May 1533 – 17 May 1536

Spouse: King Henry VIII of England

House: House of Tudor

Date of Birth: 1501/1507 (Her year of birth is disputed.)

Date of Death: 19 May 1536 (aged 28/35), Tower of London, London, by execution (she was beheaded).

Anne's Signature:

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin Trilogy #1) by Robin LaFevers

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

***

This is a historical fiction book set in the 1400s in Rennes and Nantes in Brittany (now France). The religion from the story, and some characters are purely fictional, but some characters (like Anne of Brittany, duchess) once lived and breathed. 

Grave Mercy is the first book in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy by Robin LaFevers. The second book is Dark Triumph and the third book is Mortal Heart.

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9565548-grave-mercy?from_search=true

DukTalks 2013 — How to Tweet from Another Century

Bubonic Plague

The Bubonic Plague, or Black Death, swept through Europe in the 1400s, killing estimately 25 million people. If not treated, the Bubonic Plague kills within 4 days of infection. Because the plague killed so many workers, wages rose and some historians believe this to be a turning point in European economic development. After being transmitted by the bite of an infected flea the bacteria become localized in an inflamed lymph nodes where they colonize and multiply. Toes, fingers, lips, and tips of noses usually turn black when one has it, hence the name Black Death. Chills, muscle cramps, heavy breathing, nonstop vomiting of blood, seizures, and smooth, painful lymph gland swelling called a bubo, commonly found in the groin, armpits, or neck, most often at the site of the bite or scratch. Pain may occur in the area before the swelling appears and skin colour changes to a pinkish colour in some extreme cases. In the Late Middle Ages (1340–1400) Europe had the worst outbreak in history when the Black Death hit Europe in 1347, killing a third of the human population. It’s believed that society became more violent as the and thus increased warfare, crime, revolts, and persecution. The Black Death originated in China and spread to Italy and then throughout the rest of Europe. There were many beliefs on how to prevent, or avoid getting, the Black Death. One of the most popular ideas was to walk around with flowers in or near their noses so they could “ward off the stench and perhaps the evil that afflicted them.” Since they didn't have the knowledge to understand the plague, people believed the plague was a punishment from God and that the only way to get rid of the plague was to be forgiven by Him. One method they used was to carve a cross on the front door of their house with the words “Lord have mercy on us.” Pistoia, Italy, went as far as making rules for the city and its people to keep it safe from the Black Death. The rules were that no one was allowed to visit any plagued area and if they did they were not allowed to come back. Other rules were that no linen or goods made of wool were to be brought into the city and no corpses could be buried in the city. However, despite the strict enforcement of the rules, the city did become infected. People who were not infected, gathered in groups and stayed away from the sick people. They ate/drank with limited food and water and weren't allowed to talk because it would increase the chance of passing on the disease. And they obviously didn’t want to do that! Even today, all around the world, the Bubonic Plague continues to take the lives of people, but it is not nearly as bad as it was in medieval Europe.

Article by Kerigan Geerts