Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

I have been researching some new medieval stuff (reading through some books) for my latest series of articles and I have run across some interesting and fun facts about medieval life. Thought I would share them with you. Some of this stuff is really amazing. it is really something to peek into the actual lives of people during the Middle Ages.

Medieval Crafts

You have probably well familiar with some of the medieval crafts of the middle ages like the StoneMason, Blacksmith, Armorer, Miller etc but I have turned up some very interesting lesser known, but no less interesting, crafts. here is a list of some of them:

• A Cooper - This is the profession of Barrel Maker
• A Cartwright - Cart Maker
• Hayward or HedgeWarder - HIs duty was to inspect the fences and hedges around the meadows or gardens. And, A blast from teh Haywards horn signals the beginning of mowing or reaping.
• Bailiff - Was hired by the lord to be his general overseer
• Reeve - Was elected by the Peasants to be their representative
• Brewer - Would make various alcoholic beverages, He would hang a green branch over his door which would signify that the brew was ready.  I read an interesting anecdote about a brewer who made a bad batch of brew and was punished for it. They made him drink some of his brew and they poured the rest over his head. This is an official case. I wonder if the bailiff was involved in that.

Some very interesting books:

• Treatise on Manners and Domestic Economy  For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School (Project Gutenburg has this work for free download)
• The Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry: Compiled for the Instruction of His Daughters (1370)
• Ordinances of Chivalry written by the Knight Hugh de Tabarie in the 12th Century
• Medieval People by Eileen Power ( Medieval people by Eileen Power )
• Life on the English Manor: A study of Peasants Conditions  by HS Bennett ( Life on the English Manor: A Study of Peasant Conditions 1150-1400 (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Series)   )
• The Art of War in the Middle Ages AD 378 to 1515 by CWC Omen ( The Art of War in the Middle Ages, A.d. 378-1515   )

There was a total solar eclipse yesterday. It was of course visible from only certain parts of the world but because of modern technology it was available to everyone via NASA and their television program and webcasting. You can view the eclipse here Total Eclipse on NASA Webcast

SO what is this blogpost really about? Well, it’s about the wisdom and the mystery of the past.

In today’s world we tend to take the mystery out of everything - as soon as we explain something with science it becomes less special. But how could something as spectacular as a solar eclipse be less special than it is?

Here is a (roughly) modern interpretation of a solar eclipse: “Due to a coincidence of nature the sun is about 400 times further away from the Earth than the moon is. This causes the two at certain places in their orbit to be the same size - which is what makes an eclipse so remarkable in that the moon totally covers the sun - in a really nice fit.”

Ok, so maybe it is a coincidence that the apparent size of the two celestial objects (Sun and Moon) are the same size - but then again maybe it isn’t. Where is the wonder in the universe and the pondering of the mystery?

I guess what I am trying to say is that when we analyze things and know all the facts we lose something. There is a mystery here. The whole darn ball of wax is a mystery! And the more we know, it seems to me, the less we actually know. Sure we know all the facts about the moon, sun, eclipses, orbits etc. and we can predict the next thousand eclipses over eons but knowing all this we really are overlooking the sheer mystery of. And it makes me think:

Is it really a coincidence that the distance to the sun is exactly so that the two heavenly bodies mesh so perfectly during an eclipse? Therein lies the mystery that we sometimes lose sight of.

Here are some interesting little anecdotes and quotes from the Middle ages about eclipses:

AD 733: (“Ecclesiastical History of the English People”)  “almost the whole of the Sun’s disk seemed to be like a black and horrid shield.”

AD 968: “At the winter solstice there was an eclipse of the sun such as has never happened before.  Darkness fell upon the Earth and all the brighter stars revealed themselves. Everyone could see the disk of the Sun without brightness, deprived of light, and a certain dull and feeble glow, like a narrow headband, shining round the extreme parts of the edge of the disk. However, the Sun gradually going past the Moon (for this appeared covering it directly) sent out its original rays, and light filled the Earth again”. 

AD 1084: ”On the sixth day of the month of February between the sixth and ninth hours the Sun was obscured for the space of three hours; it was so great that any people who were working indoors could only continue if in the meantime they lit lamps. Indeed some people went from house to house to get lanterns or torches. Many were terrified”. 

An Eclipse in Homer’s Odyssey: There was a prophecy that upon the failing of the old moon and the retuning of the new moon Odysseus would return to his home to exact vengeance. “the Sun vanished out of heaven and an evil gloom covered all things about the hour of the midday meal, during the celebration of the new moon”. A total eclipse of the Sun was visible from the Greek island of Ithaca on April 16, 1178 BC. This would be six years after the end of the Trojan War.  

The History Channel Special “The Lost Book of Nostradamus” was the number one show on cable television Sunday night. It topped the ratings! If you saw the show you no doubt was shocked by some of the stuff. If you didn’t see the show you still have a chance to see it again. The History Channel will be showing it again on Nov 3 at 5pm. Hop on over to the History Channel to learn more

I have written some in-depth coverage of the show here on my blog. Here is the link to read my post on The Lost Book

Medieval Music is a bit misunderstood. Often times people think of classical music as Medieval music - which isn’t true. Classical Music has its roots in the Renaissance and for the most part our tradition of classical music is no more than 300 years old.

Medieval music very much comes from the real medieval period which started around when Rome fell (shortly before 500 AD), and ended around 1400 when the Renaissance began. This beginning of the Renaissance period marks the ending of the Medieval Period and so it does with the music too.

And regrettably we don’t have a real lot of musical materials from the Medieval period because writing, copying, and creating manuscripts was extraordinarily expensive and time consuming. The church is the only solid source of the materials that we have and of course the music is all religous in its intent.

What we do know of the music of the period was that there were two major types of music: the music of the commoner (secular) or what we might consider minstrel music and the music of the church. The secular music was often in the form of poems sung to the accompaniment of an instrument such as the flute, pan flute or lute. And the music of the church was often in the form of a prayer, chant, or meditation and often just solo or multiple voices. The most popular of these musical forms is probably the Gregorian Chant which is still observed and used in monasteries to this day. It has even found a measure of popular acclaim and Chant cd’s sell quite well.

If you want to know a bit more about Medieval Music or want to try listening to some cd’s I have put together some information about it on my medieval website. You can listen to a Gregorian Chant I have selected for you and it includes music to play at a medieval feast, and a cd by the brilliant Hildegard von Bingen who was a genius that was hundreds of years ahead of her time.

 Medieval Music is hundreds of years old but there is something about it that still strikes a chord. Medieval Music on the Medieval website  

Medieval Music is a bit misunderstood. Often times people think of classical music as Medieval music - which isn’t true. Classical Music has its roots in the Renaissance and for the most part our tradition of classical music is no more than 300 years old.

Medieval music very much comes from the real medieval period which started around when rome fell (shortly before 500 AD) and around 1400 when the Renaissance began. This beginning of the Renaissance period marks the ending of the Medieval Period and so it does with the music too.

And regrettably we don’t have a real lot of musical materials from the Medieval period because writing, copying, and creating manuscripts was extraordinarily expensive and time consuming. The church is the only solid source of the materials that we have and of course the music is all religous in its intent.

What we do know of the music of the period was that there were two major types of music: the music of the commoner (secular) or what we might consider minstrel music and the music of the church.

The secular music was often in the form of poems sung to the accompaniment of an instrument such as the flute, pan flute or lute. And the music of the church was often in the form of a prayer, chant, or meditation and often just solo or multiple voices. The most popular of these musical forms is probably the Gregorian Chant which is still observed and used in monasteries to this day. It has even found a measure of popular acclaim and Chant cd’s sell quite well.

If you want to know a bit more about Medieval Music or want to try listening to some cd’s I have put together some information about it on my medieval website. It includes music to play at a medieval feast and a cd by the brilliant Hildegard von Bingen who was a genius that was hundreds of years ahead of her time.

Medieval Music is hundreds of years old but there is something about it that still strikes a chord.

Medieval Music on the Medieval website