Archaeology and Sigillography in Northern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-238
Author(s):  
Michael Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Northern Europe ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Seal Impressions

Medieval seals, traditionally considered from the perspective of their documentary function, may also be studied as archaeological artefacts. Pilgrim badges were seal-shaped, and seal matrices and seal impressions can be found on church bells, in altars, and in burial sites. The context in which matrices are excavated provides valuable information on the practices of sealing and on the values attached to seals. This article also reveals a hitherto undescribed late medieval practice whereby papal and Scandinavian royal correspondents exchanged seal matrices.

Kopieergedrag

2014 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Wubs-Mrozewicz
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Letter Exchange

Abstract Copy that. The forms and functions of copies in the late medieval letter exchange of Hanseatic towns This article argues that copies distributed as part of the political communication in northern Europe were more than a substitute for the originals or simply an efficient way of spreading information. The case of the Hanseatic towns shows that copies could be refined instruments of diplomacy: they could be a way to express inclusion, support, or openness and impartiality, to give a favour, or show willingness to resolve a conflict. Equally, a copy could exclude, put under pressure, obscure, or manipulate, and even lead to serious conflicts. Circulating copies ‐ or deciding not to circulate them ‐ was a conscious, complex choice made by town councils, individuals, and also rulers. In this analysis a distinction is made between diachronic and synchronic copies, since there were differences in their form and intended functions.

“Kenning be Kenning and Course be Course”: Maritime Jurimetrics in Scotland and Northern Europe 1400—1600

1998 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
ADM Forte
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Maritime Law ◽  
Visible Points ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Texts ◽  
Coastal Topography

This article explores thejurimetric significance ofa phrase orformula, “kenning be kenning and course be course”, used in maritime law texts and disputes in late medieval and early modern Scotland and England. On open sea voyages, knowing one's position and using that knowledge to plot the next stage of the trip depended, not only on topographical knowledge ofcoasts and theirfeatures, but also on knowledge ofthe “kennings” (sightings, or the distances between two visible points of coastal topography) encountered on coastal voyages or at the end ofa sea-going passage, as well as knowledge ofthe “courses” to be sailed in the latter case. Knowing howfar a vessel had travelled was also crucial in actionsfor payment offreight pro rata itineris orfor payment of wages. The several versions of the Judgments of the Sea used in northern Europe stated what the law was in such disputes, but the remedies given were dependent on a calculation ofdistance in either kennings or courses. The Scottish contextfor this practice is explored in detail.

scholarly journals Christian Calendars in Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 236-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Stern
Keyword(s):  
Northern Europe ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Religious Knowledge ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Medieval Hebrew

The phenomenon of Christian calendars in Hebrew has largely been ignored in modern scholarship; yet it points to an important dimension of Jewish-Christian relations, and more specifically Jewish attitudes towards Christianity, in late medieval northern Europe. It is also evidence of transfer of religious knowledge between Christians and Jews, because the Hebrew texts closely replicate, in contents as well as in layout and presentation, the Latin liturgical calendars, which in many cases the Hebrew scribes must have used directly as base texts. Knowledge of the Christian calendar was essential to Jews for dating documents, especially (but not exclusively) those intended for Christians, for understanding dates in documents, for scheduling business or other meetings with Christians, and in short, for effectively coordinating their socio-economic activities with the rhythms and structure of Christian medieval life.

Devoted Holiness in the Lay World

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneke Mulder-Bakker
Keyword(s):  
Religious Culture ◽  
Personal Networks ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Intellectual Work ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Private Households ◽  
The World ◽  
Holy Women

The growing cities of late medieval northern Europe offered religiously gifted laypeople contexts in which to devote themselves fully to religion without having to leave the world or to take vows. Countless women, and a few men, lived as lay recluses and anchorites, secluded in the midst of cities; others pursued holiness in the private households of beguines, adherents of the Modern Devotion, or ascetic widows. These holy women and men were the innovative pioneers of a new lay spirituality. By studying about twenty spiritual biographies written by or about holy laywomen, this essay seeks to determine their involvement in religious culture and in the shared spirituality of the holy women (mulieres religiosae) and the faithful at large. It focuses on ascetic, devotional households; personal networks and confraternities; women's intellectual work; and the claiming, by some women, of religious authority.

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