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The Newsletter for the Medieval History Site at About.comVol. II, No.13
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Our Latest Feature
What do you know about the 14th-century poet and his work?
In the News
Stolen masterpieces recovered
A raid on a Danish villa has yielded a Rembrandt and a Bellini, stolen from an art gallery six months ago. For more, including a list of Interpol's most wanted works, see the story at the Times by Christopher Follett and Dalya Alberge.
8th-century marketplace unearthed under
London's Royal Opera House
A bustling community of 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants thrived in Anglo-Saxon Lundenwic in the eighth and ninth centuries, until Viking activity triggered a move to Londinium (now London). Recent archaological excavations have uncovered portions of the trading center of town, including a tanning pit and jewelry shop.
For more about what was found and the clues to Anglo-Saxon life the artifacts provide, see the article by Jennifer Viegas at ABC News. Be sure to check out their slide show, and don't miss the RealAudio sample of Old English.
New technology helps solve mystery at
Seaham
For more than 100 years, skeletal remains have been turning up outside Seaham Hall. Now underground probes lead archaeologists to the possibility that the area was a monastic community dating to the 7th century. For more information see the article at the Evening Chronicle by Charles Westberg.
Modern Roman Spectacle
The Colosseum in Rome is slated to be used in the upcoming millennial celebrations. Part of the festivities will be a medieval passion play. Find out more in the article at the Times by John Phillips.
Medieval Minutia
Weddings for peasant couples often lacked ceremony. Clandestine marriages occasionally took place in secret places, a source of irritation for the Church and occasional legal difficulties for the couple. All that was required by the Church for a marriage to be considered legal were promises of commitment, consummation, and mutual consent. The Fourth Lateran Council decreed in 1215 that the vows must be public and the bride must receive a dowry, but it did not provide for witnesses or even Church participation.
However, many couples gladly held their weddings in public. Usually, they exchanged vows on the steps of the local church, where the groom would announce what dower he was to provide for his wife and give her a ring as well as a small sum of money to be distributed to the poor. Next they went inside the church for a nuptual mass, which was followed by a feast in a private house or tavern. These familiar traditions were just as familiar in medieval England.
Source: Life in a Medieval Village by Frances and Joseph Gies
You can find out more about weddings in the Middle Ages and other
facets of everyday life in our index of Daily
Life net links.
Site Update
Reorganization
Our NetLink pages on science-related topics have been combined in one directory, Science & Medicine. There you'll find
I've also created a directory for Notable Individuals. Currently it leads to NetLink pages on:
New NetLink Pages
Pages have been added to our Arts & Literature section for:
New Links
Links have been added to the following NetLink pages:
Arts & Literature- Church Architecture
- Canterbury Cathedral (also added to Archaeology)
- Canterbury Cathedral
- Drama
- Restoration Drama Homepage
- General Literature
- The Elizabethan Review (also added to Journals)
- Arthurian Studies
- Arthuriana Pedagogy Page
- William Shakespeare
- William Shakespeare's Poetical Works
- Castles
- Castles in Europe
- The Castles of Tuscany (also added to Italy)
- Email Discussion Lists
- Heraldry-studies (also added to Heraldry)
- Medieval Britain
- Dark-Age Britain
- Seafarer: A Voyage through the Worlds of Anglo-Saxon England
- Medieval Europe
- Medieval Europe: General
- The End of Europe's Middle Ages
- France
- Labyrinth Library: French Literature
- Iberia
- Labyrinth Library: Iberian Texts
- Vikings and Scandinavian History
- Forn Fraedi
- Religion in the Middle Ages
- Heresy & the Inquisition
- The Arian Controversy
- The Reformation
- The Life of Martin Luther
- Science & Medicine
- Science & Technology
- A Treatise on the Astrolabe
Chat About Medieval History
Find other chatters and help them find you! Fill in a chat profile and tell us the best times to find you chatting and what topics you most enjoy talking about. Come see the profiles at our profile page and submit your own profile at our form.
Join us tonight for a casual chat about your favorite medieval topics!
New in the VideoStore
Shakespeare in Love is out on video (and DVD!) and Bigstar's got it! Come check it out in our VideoStore. And if you haven't already, have a look at your Guide's review of this Oscar-winning film.
New in the Bookstore
Three books by Joseph & Frances Gies -- Life in a Medieval Castle, Life in a Medieval City, and Life in a Medieval Village-- have all been combined in one beautiful hardback large-size edition, with full-color photos and illustrations. You can buy Daily Life in Medieval Times now at Borders.com!
Plus, the extraordinary novel The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco has been added to the fiction portion of our bookstore. Come see why, and give it and other titles that interest you a click.
Quizlet
What do you know about the Venerable Bede? Test your knowledge at our latest quizlet.
Elsewhere at About.com
Does Chaucer only whet your appetite for more great literature old and new? Are you always ready to discover the giants of our literary past? Does the art of the English language leave you breathless? Join About.com Guide Leigh Anne Jones for the latest and greatest works in English Literature.
Coming Soon to the Medieval History
Site
Quote of the Knight
- And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meeke as is a mayde;
He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde
In al his lyf unto no maner wight;
He was a verray parfit gentil knyght.
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- Geoffrey Chaucer,
the Knight's Portrait fromThe Canterbury
Tales
Quote of the Knight
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Thank you for reading this edition of the Knightly Newsletter. Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope to see you in chat !
Melissa Snell
Your Medieval History Guide at About.com
The Knightly Newsletter is copyrighted © 1999 by Melissa Snell and About.com. All graphics used on this page were created by your guide.
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