The Newsletter for the Medieval History Site at the Mining Co. Vol. II, No.6 April 19, 1999

 

This Week's Feature

Eagles of the Balkans, part 1

Who are the "Ethnic Albanians"? An introduction to the history of the Albanian people.

 

 

New in the Bookstore

Visit the Medieval History Bookstore to check out the latest addition: Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance by Lisa Jardine. And be sure to click on to the page at Amazon to learn more about this fun and fascinating book.

New Pic

No, you aren't seeing things: That's a new picture of your Guide, sans tree branches growing out of her head. And she must really love this site &endash; she''s actually smiling!

 

 

Medieval Minutia

The gigantic cannon (the largest of many lesser cannons) that was so significant to the Ottoman attack on Constantinople was designed by a Hungarian engineer named Urban. Urban had originally offered to build this gun for the Byzantine Emperor, who had refused to finance the project for lack of funds and materials. The barrel of the cannon was 26 feet long, eight inches thick and 30 inches across. It took 60 oxen to drag it to Constantinople, while 200 men went ahead to prepare the road and 200 men marched beside it to keep the gun-carriage steady. Once in place, the massive gun could only be fired seven times a day, but each of those shots caused considerable damage to the legendary walls of Constantinople. On May 29, 1453, those walls at last fell, and with them, the Byzantine Empire.

Source: Worldy Goods: A New History of the Renaissance by Lisa Jardine

You can purchase Worldy Goods and other good books about medieval history and the Renaissance at our online bookstore (brought to you in association with Amazon.com).

You can find out more about Military History in our Index and learn about the Byzantine Empire from our Byzantine Studies page.

 

 

Site Update

Reorganization Continues

For your convenience, I'm grouping pages that are particularly useful for researching medieval history in one subdirectory. Our page of links on Timelines, Chronologies & Dynastic Tables has been broken into two files, and you can find them both in our new index of Reference Tools.

There you'll also find:

Glossaries (NEW)

Journals

Languages

Maps

Online Libraries

Our page of links on the Historical King Arthur can now be found through the Medieval Britain Index. And, as always, you can go directly to the page.

New Links

New links have been added to the following sites:

Castles

Catriona Fraser: The Castles of Scotland

Roads to Ruins

 

Daily Life

Clothing and Appearance of the Early Christian Anglo-Saxons…

(also added to Dark-Age Britain)

Medieval Sourcebook: Economic Life

Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century

(also added to Women: General)

 

Living History

Living History: General

Middelaldercentret (also added to Science & Technology)

Reenactment Aids

How to Wrap the Great Kilt

Sewing Central: Medieval and Renaissance Patterns

Viking Tunic Construction

 

Medieval Asia

Medieval Asia: General

Empress Wu Zetian (425-705 AD)

Queen Sondok

India

Status of Women in Medieval Karnataka

(also added to Women: General)

Tradition of Female Education in Karnataka

(also added to Women: General)

Japan

Heian Period (also added to Women: General)

Murasaki Shikibu

The Mongols

Mongolian Women

Sorghaghtani Beki: Mother of Great Khans

Women of the Mongol Court

(also added to Women: General)

 

Medieval Britain

Medieval Britain: General

Christian Kingship in Medieval Britain

(also added to General Christianity)

English Civil War (also added to Wars)

Guide to the Bayeux Tapestry (also added to Art)

Medieval Sourcebook: England

(also added to Dark-Age Britain )

Dark-Age Britain

Alfred the Great of England: 871-899

Ma?eliende (also added to Journals)

Medieval Ireland

Medieval Sourcebook: Celtic States

(also added to Scotland)

 

Medieval Europe

Medieval Europe: General

Medieval Sourcebook: Early Germanic States

Byzantine Studies

Anna Comnena (1083-1153)

Bozburun Byzantine Shipwreck Excavation (also added to Archaeology)

Gouden Hoorn (also added to Journals )

Medieval Sourcebook: Byzantium

Warfare in the Byzantine World

(also added to General Militaria)

Holy Women of Byzantium

(also added to Hagiography and Women: General)

France

Catholic Encyclopedia: The Franks

(also added to Europe: General)

The Frankish Empire (also added to Europe: General)

Medieval Sourcebook: France

Iberia

Medieval Sourcebook: Iberia

Italy

Medieval Sourcebook: Italy

Vikings and Scandinavian History

Vikings!

 

Military History

Battles

Hastings: What a Coincidence!

The Crusades

Melisende (1105-1160): Queen of Jerusalem

Shagrat al-Durr (also added to Medieval Africa)

Knighthood & Chivalry

To Cry a Joust: Abillement for the Joust

 

Reference Tools

Maps

Webmuseum: Map

 

Religion in the Middle Ages

General Religious Studies

Internet Islamic History Sourcebook

Judaism & Jewish History

Medieval Sourcebook: Medieval Jewish Life

The Papacy

Medieval Sourcebook: Empire and Papacy

The Reformation

Modern History Sourcebook: Reformation Europe

Renaissance and Reformation Chronology

(also added to Renaissance Studies and Timelines)

 

Renaissance Studies

Medieval Sourcebook: Renaissance

The Renaissance

 

Women of the Middle Ages

Women: General

Anglo-Saxon Women: More Than Just "Frithuwebbas"

Bibliography By and About Women Writers of the Middle Ages

 

 

 

Medieval History Chat Schedule

Now that Daylight Savings Time has ended in the southern hemisphere and begun in the northern, we've worked out a new chat schedule that seems to suit most of us. If there is a time you find more convenient for chat, please let me know and we'll try to coordinate another meeting time.

Our latest schedule is as follows:

Blues Chaser
So what if the week is still young? Let's talk about some really old stuff!

Eastern U.S. Time: Monday at 8:30 PM

Eastern Australia Time: Tuesday at 10:30 AM

Universal Time Coordinated (UTC): Tuesday at 12:30 AM

Midweek Break
Get through the middle of the week with a chat about the middle ages. We start early and stay longer than usual, so drop in any time!

Eastern U.S. Time: Wednesday at 5:00 PM

Eastern Australia Time: Thursday at 7:00 AM

Universal Time Coordinated (UTC): Wednesday at 9:00 PM

The Wizards of Oz
A special weekend chat for our friends in Australia.

Eastern U.S. Time: Friday at 9:30 PM

Eastern Australia Time: Saturday at 11:30 AM

Universal Time Coordinated (UTC): Saturday at 1:30 AM

Chat topics tend to wander quite a bit, as we see connections between a variety of times and historical events. So feel free to bring up the subjects that interest you!

The schedule is set for the next few months. Whenever a necessary change occurs, you can find the latest information at our log-in page.

 

 

New Quizlet

This week's question concerns artists of the Italian Renaissance. Come share your opinion at our Quizlet page.

Support Our Site

You can help your Guide keep the Medieval History site in full swing by visiting all the pages that interest you and by clicking on our advertising banners. Thanks!

 

  

Quote of the Knight In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds On half the nations, and with fear of change Perplexes monarchs. John Milton, Paradise Lost

 

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Knightly Newsletter. Have a good week, and thanks for visiting the Medieval History site!

Melissa Snell
Your Medieval History Guide at the Mining Co.

 

 

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

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Check out issue II.5 of the Knightly Newsletter.
Visit our index of previous issues.

 

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