Jesuit Sanctity: Hypothesizing the Continuity of a Hagiographic Narrative of the Modern Age

The introduction to this special issue provides some considerations on early modern sanctity as a historical object. It firstly presents the major shifts in the developing idea of sanctity between the late medieval period and the nineteenth century, passing through the early modern construction of sanctity and its cultural, social, and political implications. Secondly, it provides an overview of the main sources that allow historians to retrace early modern sanctity, especially canonization records and hagiographies. Thirdly, it offers an overview of the ingenious role of the Society of Jesus in the construction of early modern sanctity, by highlighting its ability to employ, create, and play with hagiographical models. The main Jesuit models of sanctity are then presented (i.e., the theologian, the missionary, the martyr, the living saint), and an important reflection is reserved for the specific martyrial character of Jesuit sanctity. The introduction assesses the continuity of the Jesuit hagiographical discourse throughout the long history of the order, from the origins to the suppression and restoration.

Mitochondrial DNA Footprints from Western Eurasia in Modern Mongolia

Mongolia is located in a strategic position at the eastern edge of the Eurasian Steppe. Nomadic populations moved across this wide area for millennia before developing more sedentary communities, extended empires, and complex trading networks, which connected western Eurasia and eastern Asia until the late Medieval period. We provided a fine-grained portrait of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation observed in present-day Mongolians and capable of revealing gene flows and other demographic processes that took place in Inner Asia, as well as in western Eurasia. The analyses of a novel dataset (N = 2,420) of mtDNAs highlighted a clear matrilineal differentiation within the country due to a mixture of haplotypes with eastern Asian (EAs) and western Eurasian (WEu) origins, which were differentially lost and preserved. In a wider genetic context, the prevalent EAs contribution, larger in eastern and central Mongolian regions, revealed continuous connections with neighboring Asian populations until recent times, as attested by the geographically restricted haplotype-sharing likely facilitated by the Genghis Khan’s so-called Pax Mongolica. The genetic history beyond the WEu haplogroups, notably detectable on both sides of Mongolia, was more difficult to explain. For this reason, we moved to the analysis of entire mitogenomes (N = 147). Although it was not completely possible to identify specific lineages that evolved in situ, two major changes in the effective (female) population size were reconstructed. The more recent one, which began during the late Pleistocene glacial period and became steeper in the early Holocene, was probably the outcome of demographic events connected to western Eurasia. The Neolithic growth could be easily explained by the diffusion of dairy pastoralism, as already proposed, while the late glacial increase indicates, for the first time, a genetic connection with western Eurasian refuges, as supported by the unusual high frequency and internal sub-structure in Mongolia of haplogroup H1, a well-known post-glacial marker in Europe. Bronze Age events, without a significant demographic impact, might explain the age of some mtDNA haplogroups. Finally, a diachronic comparison with available ancient mtDNAs made it possible to link six mitochondrial lineages of present-day Mongolians to the timeframe and geographic path of the Silk Route.

Writing on Death: Plague Narratives. A Review Essay

This essay discusses several books, ancient and recent, on plagues to ask the question: Can we face death without turning away from it through historical narration? Can we write about death, which only afflicts individuals, without stripping death of its individuality? After briefly addressing these questions, I discuss five books, one from the ancient period (Thucydides’s Peloponnesian War), one from the late medieval period (Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron), one from the early modern period (Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year), and two from the modern period (Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, and Frank Snowden’s Epidemics and Society). These books not only come from different eras but also reflect different written responses to death—ancient history, story/fable, reportage, futuristic novel, and contemporary history. The essay concludes by considering a counterargument to its focus on death, an argument developed by Baruch Spinoza which claims that humans should think nothing less than of death.

Pilegrimsspor fra Tynset: En detektorfunnet blymedaljong med kristne motiver

In 2016, a metal detectorist found a circular lead medallion with iconography on both sides in Tynset in the Østerdalen valley. This article studies the medallion’s shape, function and symbolical content. The object is interpreted as a pendant comparable with pilgrim badges from the late medieval period. The motifs are identified as Christian, representing the apocalyptical Mary with Christ on one side, and a passion and resurrection scene on the other. In this article, the medallion is compared to Norwegian and other European pilgrim badges and amulets with the same motifs, suggesting its origin most likely to be Aachen in Germany. Aachen was one of the most visited holy places for pilgrimage in Europe. The motifs can be connected to the Marian cathedral in Aachen, at the same time as expressing religious content regularly transmitted in the late medieval church. By comparing the motifs with Old Norse texts and images, the article demonstrates how the amulet’s religious messages potentially could influence the bearer – possibly a Norwegian pilgrim.

A global inventory of historical documentary evidence related to climate since the 15th century

Climatic variations have impacted societies since the very beginning of human history. In order to keep track of climatic changes over time, humans have thus often closely monitored the weather as well as natural phenomena influencing everyday life. Resulting documentary evidence from archives of societies enables invaluable insights into the past climate beyond the timescale of instrumental and early instrumental measurements. This information complements other proxies from archives of nature such as tree rings in climate reconstructions, as documentary evidence often covers seasons (e.g., winter) and regions (e.g., Africa, Western Russia, and Siberia, China) that are not well covered with natural proxies. While a mature body of research on detecting climate signals from historical documents exists, the large majority of studies is confined to a local or regional scale and thus lacks a global perspective. Moreover, many studies from before the 1980s have not made the transition into the digital age and, hence, are essentially forgotten. Here, I attempt to compile the first-ever systematic global inventory of documentary evidence related to climate extending back to the Late Medieval Period. It combines information on past climate from all around the world, retrieved from many studies on historical documentary sources. Historical evidence range from personal diaries, chronicles, administrative/ clerical documents to ship logbooks and newspaper articles. They include records of many sorts, e.g., tithes records, rogation ceremonies, extreme events like droughts and floods, as well as weather and phenological observations. The inventory, published as an electronic supplement, comprises detailed event chronologies, time series, proxy indices, and calibrated reconstructions, with the majority of the documentary records providing indications on past temperature and precipitation anomalies. The overall focus is on document-based time series with significant potential for climate reconstruction. For each included record series, extensive meta information and directions to the data (if available) are given. To highlight the potential of documentary data for climate science three case studies are presented and evaluated with different global reanalysis products. This comprehensive inventory promotes the first-ever global perspective on historical documentary climate records and, thus, lies the foundation for incorporating historical documentary evidence into climate reconstruction on a global scale, complementing early instrumental measurements as well as natural climate proxies.

Beekeeping in late medieval Europe: A survey of its ecological settings and social impacts

In the middle ages bees held significant economic, social and cultural importance. Constant demand for wax was driven by Christian religious practice among many other uses, while honey provided the only widely accessible sweetener in an era before large-scale sugar imports. Consequently, beekeeping was a notable part of the rural economy, drawing on the participation of numerous groups across Europe, from peasants with only a few hives for small-scale production to specialized beekeepers producing for a thriving international trade. Analysis of a wide variety of documents from northern and southern Europe, shows the importance of beekeeping in the late medieval period, and the ways in which different environments and types of economic and social organization consequently gave rise to different forms of beekeeping. This paper demonstrates that beekeeping was not an isolated activity, but rather one which competed and conflicted with, and conflicted with, many other types of resource use from a variety of actors. As such, beekeeping provides a lens through which to consider human intervention in the natural environment, demonstrating the extent to which the medieval landscape was regulated, managed, mediated and anthropized.

Chronological observations and the origin of the appearance of red slip coating on Árpád Age cauldron fragments in the light of the excavations at Végegyháza, Zsibrik-domb site

Between 2003 and 2008 a research excavation was undertaken at the site of Végegyháza, Zsibrik-domb, also known as Kaszaper Templom-domb (medieval Pereg). The present paper describes the analysis results of the Árpád Age and the late medieval period features and the artefacts within. The pottery assemblage retrieved from the investigations offers new insights into the ceramic traditions of the Árpád Age within the area, whilst the recovery of baking bell fragments of the same date constitutes some of the best evidence for its use extending into the Árpád Age within Southeast Hungary. Analysis of painted cauldron fragments recovered from the features suggests the tradition originated in the Balkans and was brought to the area by a Slav community towards the end of 12th and beginning of 13th century. Textual evidence suggests that the area was inhabited again by a South Slav community in the 17th century. The recovery of fragments of a different type of baking bell from the late medieval archaeological assemblage corroborates these few written sources. The faunal remains analysis shows that the economy practices of the studied settlement based on animal husbandry and were similar to those of other Árpád Age rural settlements within Southeast Hungary.

Authority and Competition: Shingon Buddhist Monastic Communities in Medieval Japanese Regional Society

In medieval Japan, the development of Shingon Buddhist monastic communities in regional society greatly depended on communication and religious support from centrally located Shingon monasteries such as Daigoji. However, little is known about associations or competitions among regional Shingon temples. This article focuses on Shingon Buddhist temples in Echizen Province, an important area in which Daigoji monks, such as Ryūgen and Genga, were active in transmitting the minutia of ritual practices. By analyzing documents and sacred teachings related to Takidanji, a Shingon Buddhist temple located in Mikuni Port, its disciple temples, and other Shingon Buddhist temples in the region, this article clarifies the interplay of these institutions in the late medieval period. The article argues that the features of Shingon Buddhist monastic communities in medieval Echizen were multipolar, consisting of Takidanji, Shōkaiji, and Sōjiji. The connection with Daigoji monks, in fact, brought about rivalry among these regional temples.

Mathura

Mathura is one of the most important ancient settlements and one among the seven most sacred cities in India along with Ayodhya, Haridwar (Maya), Kasi, Kanchi, Ujjain (Avantika), and Dvarka. The city is situated about eighty-seven miles south of Delhi and thirty-one miles north of Agra on National Highway No. 2 and once served as the junction of the Western, Northern, Central, and Northeastern Railways, making it the biggest junction point of the Indian Railways until restructuring in 2003. The city is also the district headquarter, and the area of the modern Mathura district is 2075 square miles with a population of over 2.5 million people as per the 2011 census. Mathura is most famous for being considered the birthplace of Krishna, the most popular incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The surrounding area of Mathura forms part of Vraja kshetra (popularly known as Braj), considered sacred as being the location of Krishna’s childhood activities. Historically and archaeologically, the town was one of the most important trade centers of ancient India and the epicenter of the famous school of sculptural art known in popular parlance as the Mathura school, which gave form to many Brahmanical, Jaina, and Buddhist deities including the earliest imagery of the buddha. Prior to becoming a great center of art, Mathura was one of the biggest settlements during the Painted Grey Ware period, generally dated between 1200 and 500 bce, and one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Northern Black Polished Ware period, c. 6th to 4th centuries bce. The archaeological evidence for the early periods at Mathura is limited due to a lack of large-scale excavations but with the increasing evidence of epigraphical and sculptural activities dating from 200 bce and later, the archaeology and culture of the area is better understood. Key factors that led to the evolution of Mathura as an important city and cultural center are its strategic location on trade routes and the religious/sectarian environment where most early Indian sects and cults developed. Buddhism and Jainism along with the prevalent local and Brahmanical cults gained popularity in the Mathura region from the early historical period of c. 3rd century bce, if not earlier. Most of the early religious art related to these sects first evolved in the environs of Mathura during the Sunga-Kushan periods. There is enough good evidence for the popularity of the cult of Vasudeva-Krishna at Mathura during the Kushan period, but the popular Krishna cult for which Mathura is renowned became more prevalent and visible during the late medieval period only, particularly with the development of the Vallabhite and Gaudiya sects. The role of Mathura in the intermediary period between the Gupta and late medieval periods is not well known due to lack of information and archaeological evidence, but it seems that the Mathura region lost its political importance during this period and yet the religious importance somehow survived until its revival as the greatest center of Krishna bhakti in late medieval or premodern times.

The origins and evolution of Cypriot glazed ware productions during the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries CE

This paper challenges the conventional characterisation of glazed ware productions in the eastern Mediterranean, especially the ones which did not feature the use of opaque or tin-glazed technology, as technologically stagnant and unsusceptible to broader socio-economic developments from the late medieval period onwards. Focusing on the Cypriot example, we devise a new approach that combines scientific analyses (thin-section petrography and SEM-EDS) and a full consideration of the chaîne opératoire in context to highlight the changes in technology and craft organisation of glazed ware productions concentrating in the Paphos, Famagusta and Lapithos region during the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries CE. Our results indicate that the Paphos production was short-lived, lasting from the establishment of Frankish rule in Cyprus in the thirteenth century to the aftermath of the fall of the Crusader campaigns in the fourteenth century. However, glazed ware production continued in Famagusta and Lapithos from the late thirteenth/fourteenth centuries through to the seventeenth century, using technical practices that were evidently different from the Paphos production. It is possible that these productions were set up to serve the new, local demands deriving from an intensification of commercial activities on the island. Further changes occurred to the technical practices of the Famagusta and Lapithos productions around the 16th/17th centuries, coinciding with the displacement of populations and socio-political organisation brought by the Ottoman rule.