Medieval Living

One of the many things I enjoy about my participation in the Society of Creative Anachronism is attending “bardics” – gatherings where storytellers (bards) share wonderful tales and songs of days gone by. In fact, for the past two years, my humble tent (ok, its a 25′ diameter yurt) has been the site of several bardic events at a gathering referred to as Grand Outlandish. Not only do I get to enjoy the performances, but I also have the privilege of entertaining a variety of people as they gather under the protection of my roof. A nice warm fire glows softly in the center, providing a delightful ambiance as backdrop to the storytellers and singers.

So how do these Bards get to know all of these stories and songs? Well I think I’ve found one source . . . Cariadoc’s Miscellany. I ‘m sure there are more. contains a wealth of Medieval folk stories, from The Breton Lais to the Songs of Roland, Canterbury Tales to The Golden Asse. A very handy collection for the Bard in all of us.

Apparently there was a problem with my link to Cariadoc’s Miscellany – the problem has been fixed.

It’s been a few days since I was on here last. Frankly, I’ve been too busy! After all, I do have a full time teaching position, a non-profit to operate, a grandson to watch over, a mother-in-law who believes I exist for the sole purpose of repairing everything that needs repaired (even when it really doesn’t need repaired), and a wife who of course needs and deserves my undivided attention. Blogging? When? Thank goodness my daughter is going to do my taxes this year (her college degree in business administration is finally paying off!)

I’ve been in touch with another member of the homeschool community here – sounds like there is some interest brewing regarding some of our classes here at Medieval Living. I also am hoping to build some simple inkle looms for one of the special education teachers at school. I think it will be fun to teach his students some basic weaving – looking forward to that! My daughter is wanting to send me to classes for Irish fiddle playing. So, I’ve dusted off the violin, bought some new rosin and am seeing if there is any prayer of playing anything on key – then I will “consider” learning some reels and jigs and hornpipes. I can play them on the tin whistle, but it’s been several years since the violin came out of its case – wish me luck!

Well, I’m going to throw something together for lunch, then its out to the freezing cold workshop to see if I can put some projects on the “completed” list. As I said . . . “Blogging? Who has time?”

Cheers!

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I’ve seen quite a few articles on Medieval clothing, such as hats and tunics and funny pointed shoes . . . but I admit I have not come upon much discussion on the ornamentation of Medieval clothing. Meet Jen Segrest, a Medieval recreationist who has studied the art of embroidery using glass beads. Apparently this was a common practice in Medieval Germany. She provides some interesting history of German beadmaking throughout the Middle Ages. I will let Ms. Segrest describe this German beadwork to you . . . from her site, MedievalBeads.com . . .

Medieval German Beadwork

“Medieval German beadwork is characterized by beads couched with linen thread to animal hide parchment. No other culture doing beadwork seems to have executed it this exact way, yet for the Germans it was standard operating procedure. The Beaded parchment pieces are then appliqued to a ground cloth of red silk. The beadwork often contains natural red coral, pearls, gold, and at least one shade of blue glass seed beads. Bezants, thin gold-foil plaques stamped with myriad delicate designs, were sewn into the unadorned areas of the ground cloth or incorporated into the beadwork itself.”

The image here is an example of the level of ornamentation achieved through embroidery with glass beads. Jen’s website include numerous examples of beadwork and includes a discussion forum and some tutorials. Anyone interested in Medieval beadwork? Here’s your online resource! I encourage you visit Jen’s site and see what information she has to offer.

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I’ve spent some time searching for interesting tidbits about Medieval drama . . . unfortunately, most of what I find is the same things again and again: Everyman, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, and Ralph Royster Doyster. I did find a few webpages from TheatreHistory.com that at least discuss a more varied selection of Medieval dramas, such as those performed by the Basochians and the Enfants sans Souci. Still . . . I was hoping for more. A site from somewhere in Leeds in the UK at first offers some nice links, such as the collection of Townly plays and York plays; however, most of the other links are broken . . . it appears that this site hasn’t been updated since 1997 – *sighs*. The Medieval Drama site from Washington State University has a few nice links . . . but again, it hasn’t been updated or maintained since 2007.

Perhaps I’m just looking in all the wrong places on this topic. I can hardly believe that everyone has lost interest . . . or, I don’t want to believe that everyone has lost interest. I will keep looking, but I truly hoped to find some current research and relevant discussions. If you know of a few online references, please leave a comment so that we can share with others.

Ah . . . the good folk from Good Search called today to verify Medieval Living’s non-profit status. Our little badge in the right side bar is now active. So . . . if you want to donate to “the cause” without actually giving from your own pocket, just click on the badge and it will take you to the Good Search search engine. You can also add a Good Search tool bar to your browser . . . every time you conduct a search, Medieval Living gets a “hit” which converts to money. Also, if you buy things online, Good Search also offers discounts and various coupons from various merchants. You get the benefit of the discount, and Medieval Living gets some percentage of your sale. And Good Search gets advertising dollars . . . can you say, “win-win-win” ?

So if you frequent my blog and benefit from some of the resources I’ve cited, would you please take the opportunity to say “thank you” by using the services provided by Good Search? Thank you!

Well . . . it didn’t snow yesterday – at least not here in the city. So that meant that my students were stuck with me again for another long day of school . . . I have to admit that all of us were watching the sky to see if there was a glimmer of a shortened day. Instead, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. Darn! So much for getting work done at home!

Still, yesterday was not a bad day. Steven Till stopped by my blog to comment on the Medieval Archaeology documents that I had posted the day before – you’re welcome Steven . . . actually, that’s the main reason I am on here – to find interesting and meaningful web information regarding Medieval life, and then to share it with anyone who is interested. While I don’t get many comments, I do see through the magic of blog statistics the number of people who visit my blog and the types of information they are searching for. It is encouraging and rewarding when I see someone search for a topic and then they find it on my little blog! How cool! Sure, I wish that they would add a comment or two, but honestly, I’m pleased to know that others are benefiting from my efforts.

My arm was twisted at school to teach a course on Financial Literacy this year . . . now I will agree that our kiddos need as much advice about personal money management as they can get . . . especially in light of the current economic situation. And frankly, it was debt that put all of us in this situation, so having the chance to educate people about the pitfalls of going into debt is a good thing. Just not sure why I was given the honor of teaching the class. Hmmmm.

Anyway . . . speaking of money . . . *clears throat* . . . I stumbled upon an add for an organization called “Good Search”. Now it is my understanding that Good Search has been around for a while . . . I just didnt know about it. It is a search engine (tied to Yahoo!) that donates 50% of its advertising revenue to non-profit organizations. Unlike donation style buttons, Good Search simply asks which organization you support, and then when you use the Good Search search box, your chosen non-profit gets a click . . . and in time, some profit. While I would love people to send donations via PayPal, the Good Search approach is quite agreeable.

Since Medieval Living is a fledgling non-profit, and because it has a small but growing web presence, I thought it prudent to sign up. And . . . I did. Now it will be a few days before the registration process is complete, but I have added an ad box in my sidebar, above the PayPal box. I will place here in this article as well, just in case you missed it in the sidebar. *cough cough*.

Oh . . . time to get back to the kitchen . . . no Medieval food today . . . today it’s Vietnamese . . . banh cuon, canh chua ca, and xoi nep! Pork in rice wrappers, hot and sour fish soup, and steamed sticky rice. OMG is that stuff good! And I’m losing weight! Ha! Thanks for the soup recipe Ms. Tran Sau!

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While I was digging around the internet on my previous post, Medieval Fishing, I took a closer look at the online source of the original research. Now this is a little more academic then I tend to get on my posts, but for those who are interested and don’t know about this, I found that the ArchSearch website has volumes 1 through 50 of Medieval Archaeology available online in PDF format. Funded by the Society for Medieval Archaeological, there are additional documents, such as Medieval Britain and Ireland (from 1956 to 2006) also in PDF format.

Like I said, this stuff isn’t found on my usual reading list, but for anyone doing some serious research, the sources may be of value.

It’s supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow . . . if there’s enough to cancel school, I’ll spend part of the day researching some new blogs, as well as working on the monk’s benches for my daughter, my newest nine-men morris board, and the rigid heddle for my tapestry loom. I won’t lie . . . hope it snows like Hell!

I took a few days off from the blog, as I was feeling just a little frustrated by the lack of a new topic. Yeah, I could have rehashed costumes and weapons and battles and such. . . but my goodness aren’t there literally hundreds of websites devoted to those topics already? Surely there is something out there of interest that hasn’t been over worked! Found it! Well, at least I think I did. Now I have to be the first to tell you . . . I despise watching those fishing shows on television. Ugghh! What a snooze! And I confess, I haven’t been fishing in quite a few years, although in days gone by I was quite the avid angler, tying flies and fussing about the quality of bait types. But what about the Medieval angler? What was his or her equipment like? Yes, the could just jump in the water and catch one . . . that’s the simplest way to go. But we all know its probably one of the least desirable ways to fish and also not the most productive. Well a group of archeologists from York have been digging up the shores of England and finding a treasure trove of Medieval fishing items: hooks, weights, “reels” and more. The University of York have put together a nice little research article with excellent drawings and written details in a PDF file. Entitled “The Archeology of Medieval Fishing Tackle,” the article describes the known history of Medieval fishing. Not an exciting read, but if you’re into fishing, or just curious about what these fine folk have dug up, it might be worth a look.

If I were living in the UK now, my plans on constructing a Medieval era living history museum would not make much sense – another museum? Redundant . . . that’s what it would be. They already have some very nice living history museums, using actual historic buildings, not reconstructions. Yesterday I came upon a website for a very nice reclaimed timber frame structure in York, England – being used as a living history museum. Today, another site, Weald and Downland Museum, an open air museum. Using relocated timber frame structures, it seems that they have created a delightful living history museum with activities for all interest levels and ages. One of the items I noted in particular . . . they are teaching timber frame construction, where those serious about learning the trade can build some full size timber frames . . . and then the museum sells the frames to other interested parties. Hmmmmmm – I like that idea! I wonder how many New Mexicans would be interested in that? Oh wait . . . I already know of four or five guys who are chomping at the bit to build a timber frame structure!!! And I think selling them would be easy too. Yeah, I like that idea. Another item on the to-do list! Some of the other activities (there are alot!!!) included leather carving, tile making, pole lathe turning, weaving rush and cane seating, and . . . keeping pigs.

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When I was a historian with the U.S. Air Force at RAF Alconbury, England, my family lived in a large village to the north of the base. My children were enrolled in the village C of E school, which was actually a very decent school inspite of some cultural differences. One of the things I enjoyed most about the school’s approach to learning was its hands-on curriculum. One of the many activities that my children were able to participate in was a week long stay at the Jorvik Viking Center in York. During their stay, which involved tours of the museum and dig, they learned about daily Viking life and had the opportunity to experience it – living and working in a mock-up of a Viking village! Very cool! I also had the chance to visit the museum and dig – worth visiting if you find yourself in York, England.

Not far from the Jorvik facility, a new “find” was being explored . . . a 14/15th century timber framed house, complete with a courtyard, great hall, “great chamber” and more – Barley Hall. Unfortunately for me, the refurbishment of this building, which had been hid behind an office building facade, would not be complete until several years after my return to the states. I hope some day that I can visit again. Here is a description of the struture, “borrowed” from the Barley Hall website:

The building has now been lovingly restored to its original splendour with stunning high ceilings, beautiful exposed timber frames, and possibly the only horn window in England. It has been decorated to replicate what it would have looked like as the Snawsell home around 1483 and boasts a magnificent Great Hall. Visitors to Barley Hall can make themselves at home and sit on the chairs and handle the objects and experience what it would have been like to live in Medieval England.

Oh my – as we develop our plans here at Medieval Living for a living history museum, I can picture having such a building in which to hold classes and perhaps allow students to experience a little of Medieval life.

My daughter, Melissa, and her family are planning a trip to England this summer – I have put Barley Hall on their “must see” list – and expect brochures, photos, notes and sketches!!! Wish I could sneak into one of her suitcases!

Unfortunately, I don’t have alot of time for reading fiction. I have far too many activities – teacher, carpenter, Medieval recreationist, musician (ah, you should hear the neighborhood cats yeowl in agony when me fiddle comes out of the case!), blogger, webmaster . . . father, husband, grandfather, and son-in-law (for two very needy in-laws). And my son and daughter decided that I need a Wii so they purchased one as a present for Christmas . . . now I have to spend 30 minutes per day on that thing, or else get chastised by a Wii voice for not keeping up my exercise routine!!!

Enough of reality and back to fiction . . . I do browse the web in search of interesting fiction, and also query some of my nerdier students regarding their reading preferences. A couple of stories came to light – Veil of Lies and Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson. The stories revolve around a Medievalish detective by name of Crispin Guest. She presents some nice stories – and her blog also includes recipes and some light hearted poking at college students. I enjoyed reading of Crispin (with his own facebook and myspace page) and of articles of Medieval interest. I suggest you pay her a visit . . . she might even like it if you buy one of her books!