Our modern university is a direct descendant of the Medieval institution. Of the many differences between these early centers of education and our modern ones (eg, only dudes allowed), there are some significant similarities. You can see from this illuminated illustration from 1400 that the lecturer up at the podium to the left is not
Medieval University Students Read More »
The ruins of Suso Monastery in San Millán de la Cogolla look eerily beautiful in this image, evocative of a distant past whose details are lost to us now. Situated in northern Spain, they are some of the last surviving remains of the Visigothic Kingdom that ruled the Iberian peninsula from the late fifth century
Drought Conditions and the Collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom Read More »
Here is a teeny hat for a hawk to wear during a hunting expedition. Dating to about 1700 CE, it was made for somebody’s pet “bāz”, or falcon/hawk in Persia/modern Iran. The cover here is made of velvet and silver thread, but that’s not the only reason we know it was meant for this bāz
This enormous oil painting of Saint Michael the Archangel was completed in Peru (Cuzco) around 1700. Despite the picture’s large size (it was at least 5 feet tall), no artist’s name appears on it. And that’s because the Spanish conquerors had commissioned the piece as propaganda and couldn’t care less about the artist. At this
Michael the Archangel and the Conquering of Peru Read More »
This is a painting of Sor Juana Inéz de la Cruz, one of the most celebrated Latin American authors of the Colonial period (1651-1695). An essayist, playwright, and poet, Juana Inéz de la Cruz decided to join a convent at an early age because she thought it was the best way “to have no fixed
Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz Read More »
This painting is a super blunt image of a woman relieving herself. Painted in the early 1600s, it gets at a very different perspective (compared to modern USA) about human effluences in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Instead of pushing our human elimination as far away as possible, urban dwellers strove to use it. Historian
I am not particularly enamored by the story of the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912. To be sure, I think it was a grave tragedy: 1,517 passengers died after the boat hit an iceberg. Yet I never felt pulled by the Romance of the luxury ship, nor engaged with the minutiae about the
Charles Joughin and the Titanic Read More »
You’re looking at a recreation of a funerary site from ancient Ecuador, where these three levels of human remains were unearthed in 1980 as builders were getting ready to construct an airport at the capital city of Quito: a total of nine vertical burial tunnel-chambers were found. These bodies date from 680 CE, to a
Chicha and Ecuadorian Burials Read More »
This is Acoma Pueblo, aka “Sky City,” and one of the oldest continually inhabited places of north America. Located on a nearly 400-foot mesa, it dates back as early as 1100 CE and has been a home to the indigenous Acoma people of modern New Mexico ever since, preserving ancient customs and beliefs even as
In an article published in the premier science journal _Nature_ earlier this week, a team of scholars announced their analyses of the operations of the first-ever discovered mummification workshop, and what they found was fascinating! This picture shows the layout of the “mummy factory”, first unearthed at the Egyptian site of Saqqara, about 20 miles
The Knights of the Round Table, part of the adventurers of the Medieval Arthurian legends, included the nobleman featured here in this manuscript from about 1350. He was courageous, he helped his mother gain political power, and he was a bad-ass fighter. And also, Sir Morien was black. King Arthur et al were not real,
This is a pretty good artistic rendering of a tapestry so damaged that I didn’t bother posting a photo of it here. And although it’s hard to see, if you look just right you’ll make out a bunch of human dead (probably) bodies hanging from the branches. You can see their limbs dangling and their
Viking Human Sacrifices Read More »
“PetThe political intrigues and love affair of Mark Antony and Cleopatra have captured the imaginations of generations, even before the famous couple’s deaths in 30 BCE in their war against the future Emperor Augustus of Rome. This statue is the only known image of their twin children, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. At least, that’s
Cleopatra’s Twins by Mark Antony Identified Read More »
“Pets are humanizing,” wrote James Cromwell, “They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life.” Room 8, the cat featured here in this portrait next to the classroom after which he was named, exemplifies this beautifully. In 1952 this stray, gray-striped tabby strolled into the Elysian
A Cat Called Room 8 Read More »
These are the ruins of Hattusa, a capital city of the ancient Hittite Empire (1650-1200 BCE) located in modern Turkey. This week, archaeologists revealed that they had discovered a language that no one had even known existed. In our modern world, where languages are rapidly disappearing (linguists say that if things proceed at current levels,
Discovery of an Ancient Language among the Hittites in the Land of Kalasma Read More »
Valle de la Luna – the Valley of the Moon – is also called the Ischigualasto Provincial Park of Argentina, and there you can find fossils of the world’s oldest dinosaurs. They arose during the Late Triassic, as the planet healed from a mass extinction due to volcanic eruptions so severe that 90% of life
Valle de La Luna – Valley of the Moon Read More »
The Arthrashastra, an Ancient Indian text written in Sanskrit. Dating from as early as the 2nd century BCE, it is the first diplomatic text in India’s history. It has advice on things like taxation, governance, and warfare, and tells the reader that good governance is necessary to prevent society from following the “law of the
Slide from a lecture by Dr. Robert Miller from Catholic University, who spoke this evening at Shippensburg about his new book on dragons in Ancient Near Eastern history. The dragon was often symbolic of chaos, and associated with the sea – appropriate because many cultures adapting this myth were not seafaring, and to them oceans
Dr. Robert Miller Talk on Dragons Read More »
Anglo-saxon manuscripts, like the 8th century Vespasian Psalter pictured here, frequently used the color yellow. It was reminiscent of gold, but much less expensive than gold leaf. And gold was a favorite of these Early Medieval people. Anglo-Saxon writers liked to talk about the beauty of the way gold flickered and glimmered in the firelight.
The Verspasian Psalter Read More »
Cats hunting for mice in a medieval manuscript. Although most medieval written records about cats viewed them in purely functional terms, many nuns and monks kept small animals as pets that they felt affectionate for.
Medieval Cats Manuscript Read More »
