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The Newsletter for the Medieval History Site at About.com Vol. II, No.23 December 15, 1999   •Conquest, Part III •Really Old Wine •Safety in the Marital Bed

 

Our Latest Feature

Conquest, Part III: Blood and Steel

Three men would lay claim to the English throne; three men would go to war to have it. Only one could be victorious...

  

 

In the News

Museum of London opens 17th-century bottle of wine

A bottle of Madeira that had been excavated from a cellar filled with rubble since 1682 was opened and tasted at the Museum of London Friday. Experts pronounced it fit to drink and even "lively and well-balanced." For more information see the article by Robin Young at the Times UK.

Da Vinci landscape background pinpointed

Leonardo da Vinci frequently used a particular landscape as a backdrop for some of his works, including the Mona Lisa. Now a researcher claims to have discovered the geographical location near Arezzo. For more information, see the article by Rossella Lorenzi at Discovery Online.

  

 

Medieval Minutia

Tn the early days of the European castle, the lord and lady and their family slept in the great hall with everyone else; but as castles evolved into more complex structures, they achieved increasingly more privacy. First their accomodations were separated by a curtain or makeshift wall, then chambers were built for them on a second or third floor. Eventually the wealthiest families could afford individual chambers for everyone, and the lord and lady might each have a room for him- or herself.

In one instance, however, marital companionship had its advantages. In 1238, according to Matthew Paris, an assassin climbed into the bedchamber of King Henry III of England. His attempt was thwarted, however, for Henry was sleeping with the Queen.

A wakeful maid saw the intruder and alerted the household.

 

Source: Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph and Frances Gies

You can purchase Life in a Medieval Castle and other good books about the Middle Ages at our online bookstore.

For more about life in medieval times, visit our daily life net links and our castles subdirectory.

 

 

Site Update

Directory Reorganization

Our page of net links for France has been removed from the Europe subdirectory and turned into a subdirectory of its own. You can find it from our main net link index. Among the new pages are People of Medieval France and Places in Medieval France.

Arthurian Studies has been removed from the Drama, Literature & Poetry subdirectory. The extensive page has been turned into the Arthuriana subdirectory, available through our main net link index. Arthuriana also includes pages on the Holy Grail, Gawain, and the Historical King Arthur.

There were so many links for Charlemagne in our Carolingians net link page that he now has his own page.

The Castles of Britain was also growing large, so a separate page has been created for the many Scottish Castle sites.

New Net Links

General Art

Art History (from About.com)

 

General Art Collections

CGFA: Carol Gerten's Fine Art - A Virtual Museum

 

Gawain

Gawain at the Camelot Project

Gawain at the Quest

 

Medieval Japan

Ancient Japan

Major Events in Japanese History

 

People of Medieval Britain

Oliver Cromwell

 

Castles in Britain

UK Castles Discussion List (also added to Email Discussion Lists)

 

Castles in Scotland

Castles of Scotland

 

General Religious Studies

Shinto

 

Women of the Middle Ages: General Sites

Women and Women's Communities in Ancient Japan

 

Timelines of Peoples and Places, I to R

Timeline of Ancient Japan

 

 

Reminder

Webmasters: join the About.com affiliate program and earn money by linking to About.com sites. Join now and become a Millennium Affiliate! You'll earn 6 cents per click-through in December, and 4 cents per click-through in the year 2000.

 

 

Chat

Join me in the Solar today, Wednesday, at 2 pm Eastern time (7 pm UTC) for a chat about your favorite medieval topics!

Elsewhere at About.com

Time is running out for those holiday gifts, and the crowds at the mall are appalling. So why not do your shopping online? Frank Fiore has the links and tips you need at the About.com Online Shopping site.

 

  

Quote of the Knight Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle. Michelangelo

 

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Knightly Newsletter. Thank you for visiting the Medieval History site, and see you in chat!

Melissa Snell
Your Medieval History Guide at About.com

 

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The Knightly Newsletter is copyrighted © 1999 by Melissa Snell and About.com. All graphics used on this page were created by your guide.

Check out issue II.22 of the Knightly Newsletter.
Visit our index of previous issues.

 

 

 

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