scholarly journals Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Medieval Warhorse

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-119
Author(s):  
Carly Ameen ◽  
Gary Paul Baker ◽  
Helene Benkert ◽  
Camille Vo Van Qui ◽  
Robert Webley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
Landscape Survey ◽  
Material Evidence

The warhorse is arguably the most characteristic animal of the English Middle Ages. But while the development and military uses of warhorses have been intensively studied by historians, the archaeological evidence is too often dispersed, overlooked or undervalued. Instead, we argue that to fully understand the cultural significance and functional role of the medieval warhorse, a systematic study of the full range of archaeological evidence for warhorses (and horses more generally) from medieval England is necessary. This requires engagement with material evidence at a wide variety of scales — from individual artefacts through to excavated assemblages and landscape-wide distributions — dating between the late Saxon and Tudor period (c. AD 800–1600). We present here a case study of our interdisciplinary engaged research design focusing upon an important English royal stud site at Odiham in Hampshire. This brings together several fields of study, including (zoo)archaeology, history, landscape survey, and material culture studies to produce new understandings about a beast that was an unmistakable symbol of social status and a decisive weapon on the battlefield.

scholarly journals Adaptations in traditional courtyard houses in Baghdad, Iraq

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rand H.M. Agha ◽  
John M. Kamara
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Physical Spaces ◽  
Adaptation Model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adaptations that have been made to traditional courtyard houses (TCHs) in Baghdad, Iraq. The aim is to develop an understanding of various factors in the adaptation of these buildings to suit contemporary lifestyles, which will contribute to the wider field of building adaptability. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence was collected through case studies of 12 TCHs in the Al-Kadhimiya area of Baghdad, which involved a physical survey of buildings and semi-structured interviews with 24 occupants. Findings Case study analysis show that building adaptability involves both a change to physical spaces and also to lifestyles; with the latter being more likely when there are limitations in how much change can be made to the physical structure. Research limitations/implications The focus of this research is mainly on users’ adaptation of spaces and therefore does not consider the full range of stakeholders involved in the adaptation process. The findings also only apply to the cases considered and may not be applicable to other house types or locations. Originality/value Studies on building adaptability mostly focus on the ease of change to the building fabric, although the role of users is acknowledged. This study provides insights into the complexity and variety of changes that users can make, which are influenced by lifestyles and driven by the need for comfort. These insights are represented in an adaptation model, which can serve as a basis for further research.

The Sacrality of Things: An Inquiry into Divine Materiality in the Christian Middle Ages

2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Walker Bynum
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Comparative Religion ◽  
Material Objects ◽  
Important Material ◽  
Art Historians ◽  
Western European

Students of comparative religion, cognitive scientists, art historians, and historians sometimes use paradigms from non-western religions to raise questions about the role of material objects in Christianity. Recently, such discussion has focused on images and controversies about them. This article argues that the most important material manifestation of the holy in the western European Middle Ages was the Eucharist and suggests both that understanding it is enhanced by the use of comparative material and that considering it as a case study of divine materiality leads to a more sophisticated formulation of comparative paradigms.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver H. Creighton ◽  
Duncan W. Wright ◽  
Michael Fradley ◽  
Steven Trick
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Documentary History ◽  
Siege Warfare ◽  
Material Evidence ◽  
The Church

This introductory chapter outlines the historiography of the reign of King Stephen (1135–54), highlighting how study has been dominated by documentary history while archaeological and other material evidence has played a marginal role. It identifies landmark studies of the period, summarises the principal chroniclers that cover Stephen’s reign and discusses charters as another cornerstone of the evidence base. A major debate has centred on whether or not the period should continue to be styled as ‘the Anarchy’, with scholars taking maximalist and minimalist views of the violence and disturbances of the period. The final part of the chapter explains the approach and structure of the volume: after a chronological outline of the civil war (Chapter 2), the book covers conflict landscapes and siege warfare (Chapter 3), castles (Chapter 4), artefacts and material culture (Chapter 5), weaponry and armour (Chapter 6), the church (Chapter 7), settlements and landscape (Chapter 8), and a detailed case study of the fenland campaigns (Chapter 9), while Chapter 10 presents a self-contained concluding essay that reflects on what the material evidence can and cannot us about the conflict and its consequences.

Memorialising Anson, the fighting explorer: a case study in eighteenth-century naval commemoration and material culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 133-150
Author(s):  
Katherine Parker
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
British Culture

An informative example of the conscious act of naval hero-making are the commemorative medals struck in 1768 by the brother of George Anson. Anson had died in 1762, so these medals were not only a memorial to his life, but also a deliberate attempt to control his legacy. What the medals include, and omit, offers a fascinating opportunity to examine what some thought worthy of commemoration in eighteenth-century British culture. This chapter uses the medals as a prism through which to examine the interconnections between naval careers, material culture, and the process of commemoration. In addition, the paper offers a revaluation of the historiographical role of exploration in the eighteenth century and re-positions exploration as an explicitly naval activity in the British context.

scholarly journals CULTURAL POLICY AND THE RISE OF MULTICULTURALISM STUDY OF FINE ARTS EXHIBITION IN THE 2000s, THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF INDONESIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Citra Smara Dewi
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
National Gallery ◽  
Art Exhibition ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
Cultural Policies ◽  
Method Approach

This study focuses on the role of cultural policy in the rise of multiculturalism with a case study of the Indonesian Art Exhibition, Pameran Seni Rupa Nusantara (PSRN) 2000s, which was initiated by a cultural institution, the National Gallery of Indonesia (GNI). PSRN exhibition is one of the important programs of GNI because it gives space to the artists of the archipelago - not just Java and Bali - to present works of modern-contemporary art rooted in local wisdom. As a nation that has the characteristics of pluralism, the spirit of multiculturalism in art has become very significant, especially in the middle of the Disruption era which is "full of uncertainty". This article uses qualitative research with a historical method approach: heuristics, verification, interpretation and historiography, namely the process of writing history based on proven facts. Material Culture analysis approach, shows how history may be read and interpreted through objects/ artefacts/findings used by artists in their works. The results show that the Cultural Policy implemented by GNI is a combination of cultural policies that are authoritarian with the cultural policies of the Command, with an emphasis on the strength of the Potential Localization owned by the Indonesian people.

scholarly journals The 4.2. ka event and the of the Maltese ‘Temple Period’

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw Groucutt ◽  
William Christopher Carleton
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
The Temple

The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the ‘Temple Period’ in Malta began ~5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ~4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful ‘priesthood’. Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. We explore archaeological and environmental data from the Maltese islands to elucidate the end of the Temple Period. The Maltese example offers a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event may have played a role in the end of the Temple Period, but that other factors seemingly played a large, and possibly predominant, role. As well as our chronological modelling indicating the decline of Temple Period society in the centuries before the 4.2 ka event, we highlight the possible significance of other factors such as a plague epidemic.

scholarly journals When Culture Materializes: Societal Dynamics in Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems in the Case of Conch Management on Abaco, The Bahamas

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Bomhauer-Beins ◽  
Corinna de Guttry ◽  
Beate Ratter
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Scientific Discussion ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Resilience Process ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Societal Dynamics

The concept of resilience has greatly contributed to the scientific discussion on human–nature interactions by analysing the dynamics, relationships and feedbacks between society and the natural environment at different levels. In this paper, we analyse how culture and societal dynamics influence those connections and, at the same time, have the potential to eventually hinder or foster social-ecological resilience. In order to do so, we take the example of a natural element which is also a cultural icon: the Conch (pronounced ‘konk’). Conch is a marine mollusc with significant social and cultural value for the islands’ society of The Bahamas. In the last decade, a decline in several Conch stocks has been documented, calling for an urgent sustainable management strategy. Nevertheless, only little efforts are happening. This case study offers an innovative understanding of resilience by introducing an aspect which is too often overseen: the role of culture in shaping social-ecological resilience. In this case study, the role of culture proved to be crucial as the cultural significance and embeddedness of Conch has made the management process challenging. But at the same time, culture can be used as a positive impulse towards adaptive management and as a starting point for sustainability. When culture materializes, it affects not only societal dynamics but also the vulnerability and the resilience process of the entire social-ecological system.

The 4.2 ka event and the end of the ‘Temple Period’ in Malta

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw S. Groucutt
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
Compact Size ◽  
Variable Precipitation ◽  
Disease Epidemics ◽  
The Temple

<p>The compact size of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago and its relatively challenging environmental conditions, with limited soil cover and variable precipitation averaging around 600 mm a year, mean that the area offers an important case study of human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the ‘Temple Period’ in Malta began from around 5.8 ka and within a few hundred years the spectacular ‘temples’ which characterize the period and are among the oldest buildings in the world began to be constructed. After over a thousand years this long-lived culture came to a seemingly abrupt end at ca. 4.4 to 4.2 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture, funerary behaviour, and architecture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful ‘priesthood’. Here, the idea that the end of the Temple Period was caused by aridity induced by the 4.2 ka event is tested. The 4.2 ka event is a classic example of an abrupt climate episode, and while it has been linked with several examples of significant societal change, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, its details and relevance have been debated. To evaluate the Maltese example, archaeological data is fused with an understanding of the geology and palaeoenvironment of Malta, as well as consideration of the wider regional situation at this time in terms of demography and material culture, as well as the possible role of factors such as disease epidemics. The Maltese example forms a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event played a significant role in the end of the Temple Period, but this has to be understood within the specific geological and societal circumstances of the Maltese islands.</p>

scholarly journals Engaging in design activism and communicating cultural significance through contemporary heritage storytelling

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Wilson ◽  
Cheryl Desha
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Built Heritage ◽  
Action Research Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of contemporary storytelling in preserving built heritage, as a mechanism for extending the useful life of buildings. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted a qualitative action research approach to consider the role of storytelling. A creative, multi-method approach (i.e. a “Brisbane Art Deco” publication and associated marketing campaign) was used as a case study to explore the contours of such an approach and its efficacy in engaging the community. Findings This paper highlights the potential of contemporary approaches to heritage storytelling, including utilising digital technologies, to engage a diverse range of people that may not have otherwise participated. The authors propose the value of taking a creative and whole-of-society approach – such as that used in this case study – to heritage storytelling. Research limitations/implications The case study discussed provides a phenomenological insight into one version of “contemporary heritage storytelling”. The findings have immediate implications for prioritising research into storytelling for the preservation of built heritage. Practical implications The case study demonstrates opportunities for community engagement through storytelling and highlights potential strategies to effectively contribute to a greater societal value of cultural heritage. Originality/value This research contributes to theory and practice around the management of cultural heritage, and highlights the usefulness of employing such a strategy to reach and engage a broader audience.

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