Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

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

The Siege of Chateau-Gaillard in 1204…

Richard the Lion Hearted’s crowning masterpiece is often thought to be the castle at Chateau-Gaillard. It was a magnificent castle built in a short period of time between 1196 and 1198 and it is the prototypical castle. When we think castles and medieval things this castle, with its round towers and three concentric walls of defense exactly define what we think.

It also defines the romantic thoughts of castle in the times of the knights of the round table and Robin Hood. Richard saw it’s completion but died shortly afterward and never saw it fall. It was only a few short years (1203-1204) later that Philip, the King of France successfully took it.

It was referred to as the cheeky castle because, being built on the Seine river, on an overlook of France it was considered to be an insulting gesture to the French.

The castle had three major walls of defense and in the period of siege Philip of France methodically broke through each of these defense. In 1203 he camped his soldiers outside the castle and built ditches for cover. He then dug a mine under the first wall of defense which brought it down. The second line of defense posed a difficult problem but a flaw in the design of the castle caused its fall. There was an unguarded toilet chute that lead into a chapel inside this second line of defense. French troops entered the chute and tool control of the inner bailey.

The third line of defense, or innermost wall, was surrounded by a moat that was crossed by a natural rock bridge. The French used the rock bridge as cover to work and mine a tunnel under the wall and the final defense was broken.

The castle, with its remaining 20 knights and 120 men-at-arms surrendered to King Philip on March 8, 1204. The whole siege lasted approximately 8 months.

The whole siege encompassed many techniques that we are familiar with today and the castle, being situated on a river was assaulted both by land and by water. An interesting tactic the French used was that they built siege towers right on top of warships and then sailed these up against the castle to make assaults.

The Siege of Chateau Gaillard is one of the most famous sieges in history. It had everything that we think of when we think middle ages combat and castle sieges. Although the castle isn’t a functioning castle anymore much of it still remains and you can actually take tours of the site.

If you are interested in learning more about combat in the middle ages this siege and this castle would be a great place to start your research.