scholarly journals Between Centre and Periphery: The Small Towns of Pomerelia during the Period of Hanse Domination

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Michał Starski
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
World Archaeological ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Insight Into

This article offers an overview of specific aspects of the material culture of Pomerelian minor towns in the late Middle Ages. Although small urban centres in Pomerelia (also known as Gdańsk Pomerania) were located off the main trade routes and in the hinterland of the Hanseatic world, archaeological excavations have revealed numerous remains related to the Hanseatic way of life. The analysis of buildings, pottery, glassware, and metalware reveal the Baltic towns’ participation in urban culture, providing an insight into the status of the smaller towns in relation to the main trade centres of the Baltic Sea.

Who Were the Scribes of Latin Manuscripts?

2020 ◽  
pp. 704-710
Author(s):  
Alison I. Beach
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
The Status ◽  
Written Word

This chapter discusses scribes from antiquity and the early Christian era through the late Middle Ages: their professions, class, gender, education, religion, age, etc. The status of scribes varied dramatically from period to period, reflecting changes in literacy and respect for the written word. The author discusses monastic attitudes towards writing, the influence of different monastic orders and reform movements on ideas about scribes, and the place of scribal activity in Universities and secular bureaucracies.

scholarly journals LATE MEDIEVAL MONUMENTS IN THE MATSUTA GLADE OF THE DIGOR GORGE

Kavkaz-forum ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 101-119
Author(s):  
Г.Н . Вольная (Керцева)
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Burial Ground ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Funeral Rite ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Project Construction ◽  
History Of

Материальная культура позднего средневековья Дигорского ущелья Северной Осетии недостаточно хорошо изучена по сравнению с другими периодами. В статье впервые представлен комплекс археологических памятников, расположенных на Поляне Мацута Дигорского ущелья: памятники, их расположение, история изучения. Цель исследования – рассмотреть Поляну Мацута как погребальный и культовый комплекс, где находятся позднесредневековые полуподземные склепы, каменные ящики, менгиры, цырты, «нартовский» ныхас, поселения кобанского и аланского периодов. Это памятники являются почитаемыми у местного населения, упоминаются в нартовском эпосе. В статье использовались полевые методы исследования, метод анализа и аналогий. В статье представлен авторский материал спасательных раскопок 2020 г. «Грунтового могильника Мацута I, средневековье» XVI-XVIII вв. в зоне реализации проекта «Строительство фельдшерско-акушерского пункта в с. Мацута». Могильник представляет собой погребения в каменных ящиках. Всего было раскопано 75 ящиков, в которых покойные лежали вытянуто на спине головой на запад с широтными отклонениями. Некоторые ранние погребения сопровождаются обрядом кремации. Погребальный обряд находит аналогии в горной Балкарии. Для погребального обряда характерно отсутствие керамической посуды в погребениях. Над ранними погребениями могильника была устроена тризна с кремацией и большим количеством фрагментированной керамики, скорее всего местного производства. Погребальный инвентарь достаточно беден и характерен для горнокавказской культуры позднего средневековья. Во взрослых погребениях найдены одежда, обувь, пояса, головные уборы, пояса; в женских – украшения; в мужских – ножи, оселки. В детских погребениях (в большинстве случаев) слева от головы обнаружены только куриные яйца, либо погребальный инвентарь совсем отсутствует. Отмечается высокая детская смертность. Детские погребения составляют почти 50% от всего числа раскопанных погребений. The material culture of the late middle ages of the Digor gorge in North Ossetia is not well studied in comparison with other periods. The article presents for the first time a complex of archaeological monuments located in The Matsuta Glade of the Digor gorge: monuments, their location, and history of study. The purpose of the study is to consider the Matsuta Glade as a funerary and cult complex, where there are late medieval semi-underground crypts, stone boxes, menhirs, tsyrts, "nartovsky" Nykhas, settlements of the Koban and Alan periods. These monuments are revered by the local population, mentioned in the Nart epic. The article uses field research methods, the method of analysis and analogies. The article presents the author's material of rescue excavations in 2020 of the "Ground burial ground of Matsuta I, middle ages" of the XVI-XVIII centuries in the area of the project "Construction of a paramedic and midwifery station in the village of Matsuta". The burial ground is a burial in stone boxes. In total, 75 boxes were excavated, in which the deceased lay stretched out on their backs with their heads facing West with latitude deviations. Some early burials are accompanied by a cremation ceremony. The funeral rite finds analogies in the mountainous Balkaria. The funeral rite is characterized by the absence of ceramic dishes in the burials. A funeral feast with cremation and a large amount of fragmented pottery, most likely of local production, was built over the early burials of the burial ground. The grave goods are rather poor and typical for mountain Caucasian culture of the late middle ages. In adult burials found clothes, shoes, belts, headwear, belts; women's jewelry; the men's knives, whetstones. In most children's burials, only chicken eggs are found to the left of the head, or there is no burial equipment at all. Children's funerals account for almost 50% of the total number of excavated graves.

scholarly journals «Шапка колмыцкая болшая» из собрания Музеев Московского Кремля

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1184-1217
Author(s):  
Leonid A. Bobrov ◽  
◽  
Sergei P. Orlenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Crown Shape ◽  
Initial Appearance ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Insight Into

Introduction. The article explores a helmet of the last quarter of the 17th century stored in the Moscow Kremlin Museums collection and mentioned in the Armory Chamber’s documents as ‘Kalmyk shapka bolshaya’ (Russ. ‘big Kalmyk cap’; current inventory no. OР-2059). Previously, the helmet attracted the attention of artists and historians but has never been investigated in an independent scholarly study. Goals. The work seeks to describe the construction and design of the helmet, clarify the dating and attribution, reconstruct its potential original appearance. Results. Analysis of the materials used classifies the helmet as an iron object, that of the design of the crown refers it to riveted ones, and the dome crown shape clusters the item with spherocylindrical helmets. The paper specifies that the helmet is integral to the Oirat spherocylindrical helmet group (‘jug-shaped’, ‘vase-shaped’) of the Late Middle Ages and early Modern Period. Supposedly, the craftsmen to have made such helmets were inspired by Buddhist stupas (Kalm. suburgan). The construction and design features (including Buddhist symbols on the crown), as well as the insight into official documents of the Kremlin Armory make it possible to suggest that the ‘Big Kalmyk Cap’ was forged by Oirat or Southern Siberian gunsmiths for a wealthy Oirat Buddhist warrior in the 1610s – early 1680s (the earlier date is included as one to mark the beginning of the wide spread of Buddhism among Oirats). The helmet was transferred to the Armory Chamber in the mid-to-late 17th century, however no later than 1682 when it was first mentioned in official Russian state papers. In 1683–1687, the helmet was equipped with a comforter and an aventail (presumably a Central Asian-type one). Subsequently, it became a subject of restoration. In the late 19th – early 20th century at the earliest, a ringed aventail was attached to it. The comprehensive analysis of the sources available made it possible to reconstruct the likely initial appearance of the helmet. Conclusions. The ‘Big Kalmyk Cap’ is a striking sample of 17th-century Oirat helmets. It can be used as a reference benchmark in the dating and attribution of Central Asian helmets of the specified period. Culturally, the ‘Big Kalmyk Cap’ can be clustered with the most important historical relics of the ethnos.

Pottery Complex of the Second Half 13th – First Half 15th Centuries from Excavations in Kamianets-Podilskyi

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (6) ◽  
pp. 136-179
Author(s):  
Pavlo Nechytaylo ◽  
◽  
Olena Onohda ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Culture Development

The paper analyses ceramics and buildings remains of the second half 13th – first half 15th centuries, coming from excavations in Kamianets-Podilskyi. It aims to introduce materials into scientific circulation, to compare the collection with synchronous objects from adjacent territories, to trace interactions in the material culture development in late medieval towns. Ceramics of the Golden Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania times began to be systematically researched relatively recently in Ukraine. Thus, the materials from Kamianets-Podilskyi contribute to deepening our knowledge of less-known periods in the history of Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Materials analyzed were obtained during rescue archaeological research on the Polish Market square in Kamianets. These were fragmented parts of underground and aboveground building structures, as well as a collection of various household items. Building materials were mostly local clays and loam, less often wood and stone were used. A set of clay ‘roll’ blocks set in one of the pits allows us to assume similarity with the Golden Horde building technologies. Finds of coins and Crimean polychrome bowls fragments also indicate the complex emerged during the Golden Horde period. However, certain groups of pottery and coins of European minting define the complex upper date within the first half 15th century. Diverse ceramic types range from the complex is an interesting local typological phenomenon. It reflects mutual influences of the pottery traditions development both in time and space. After processing artefacts collection, the main groups of pottery were identified according to technological features. Some of them are rooted in the local ancient Rus’ traditions, others were formed under the influence of Western trends, while samples of a ‘specific’ group were common for almost the entire territory of modern Ukraine during Late Middle Ages. Pots collection was preliminary systematized up to 5 most common types selection, based on rim profiles. Many of them have a wide range of analogies, locally from Kamianets, as well as from the Western Ukraine, in Poland, Moldova and Romania. In addition to pots, the collection includes other types of kitchen and tableware, such as makitras, lids, jars and other single samples of ceramics. The typological diversity correlates with the multi-layered processes which took place in Kamianets-Podilskyi life during the Golden Horde and the Lithuanian periods. Materials from the complex, as well as other finds from synchronous objects within the city, deepen our understanding of the city’s development large-scale picture, which, however, requires further research.

Londoners and London Mendicants in the Late Middle Ages

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Röhrkasten
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
The People ◽  
General Answer

Much attention has been paid to the role and functions of the mendicant orders in their urban environment. Among the topics discussed have been the friars' importance for urban development, their coexistence with other religious institutions, their economic practices and their relations with the secular authorities. As far as their spiritual and social significance is concerned their spectacular success and rapid development in the thirteenth century are generally accepted. There were some setbacks, particularly in towns where the Dominicans or Franciscans became involved in the suppression of heresy, but these had little impact on the rapid expansion of the orders. Members from all social groups, academics as well as aristocrats, merchants and artisans as well as the poor, felt the attraction of their sermons and way of life, some to such an extent that they decided to join one of the orders. But while the attraction of the mendicant ideal in the decades following the friars' arrival is undisputed, the problem of their importance for the religious life of the late medieval urban population is far more difficult to discuss. While there are assertions that the friars remained particularly popular, the orders' decline and their need of reform were already obvious in the fourteenth century and the various efforts to bring about a reinvigoration confirm this impression. In the fifteenth century famous mendicant preachers from Vincent Ferrer and Bernardino of Siena to Girolamo Savonarola attracted large crowds in many parts of Europe, but was this indicative of the population's general attitude towards the orders? Were the mendicants still perceived by the people as responding to their spiritual needs? How did the public react to signs of decadence, to disputes among the brothers? A general answer to such questions needs to be based on a large number of local studies and this is still a task for the future.

scholarly journals Zuiderzeestädte an der Ostsee

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 39-59
Author(s):  
Louis Sicking
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Regional Concentration ◽  
C 50 ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

Zuiderzee towns in the Baltic. ‘Vitten’ and ‘Vögte’ – Space and urban representatives in late-medieval ScaniaThe Scania peninsula in the southwest of present-day Sweden was one of the most important trading centres of medieval Northern Europe due to the seasonal presence of immense swarms of herring which attracted large numbers of fishermen and traders. Streching back from the beach of Scania were the so-called vitten, which the traders, grouped by region or city, held as their own, legally autonomous trade settlements, from the Danish King. Initially, these were seasonal trading colonies that were occupied only for the duration of the fair, which began in August and ended in November. In the late Middle Ages the vitten developed into miniature towns, modest off-shoots from the traders‘ mother city. The presence on a small peninsula (c 50 km2) of so many fishermen and merchants who did business together and came from different cities could easily have led to tensions and conflict. What was the relationship between the spatial arrangement of the vitten at Scania and the urban representatives of the vitten, the so-called vögte or governors? This question is addressed by focusing on the vitten of the Zuiderzee towns. Their vitten, among which were numbered those of eastern Zuiderzee cities like Kampen and Zutphen as well as those of western cities like Amsterdam, Brielle and Zierikzee, were part of the Hanse. However, the vitten of these cities have been virtually neglected in historiography. The territorial or local-topographical development of these vitten was characterized by regional concentration: the Zuiderzee vitten were located close or adjacent to one another. The new vitten of Zierikzee and Amsterdam bordered on that of Kampen. Traders from cities and towns without their own vitte were housed in a vitte of a neighboring city: those of Deventer and Zwolle, for instance, in the vitte of  Kampen, those of Enkhuizen and Wieringen in the Amsterdam vitte and those from Schouwen island in the vitte of Zierikzee. The vitten of the eastern Zuiderzee towns were founded at the beginning of the fourteenth century, that is on average half a century earlier than those of the western Zuiderzee towns. The count of Holland and Zealand initially appointed the Zierikzee vogt or governor for all his subjects. Later on, the cities in his counties then had their own governors, first appointed by the count, later by the city (with or without the count‘s approval). The development of the representation of Holland and Zeeland towns in Scania differs from what was characteristic of the eastern Zuiderzee towns. Neither the Count /Duke of Guelders nor the bishop of Utrecht (as overlord of the Oversticht) attempted to interfere with the individual towns‘ governors or the vitten. The trend towards territorialisation in Scania was unmistakable. Although foreign traders, by reason of their origins, were subject to the jurisdiction of their mother city (the personality principle), a fact reflected in the responsibility of the vogt for the citizens in question, they were also increasingly spatially limited in Scania. This was a consequence of the limited space available, of the pursuit of control over one’s own community, and of the goal of allowing different urban groups to live together peaceably, prevent conflicts and guarantee the conduct of international trade. In this way the vitten, in particular those of the Zuiderzee towns that were further away from their mother cities, can be understood as urban colonies overseas.

scholarly journals THE AGGLOMERATIONS OF THE ANNALISTIC OVRUCH VOLOST

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
A. P. Tomashevskyi
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Settlement Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Demographic Potential

The unique phenomenon of the chronicle Ovruch volost — agglomerations and agglomeration areas including the largest in the region and not directly related to fortified chronicle settlements is analyzed in the paper. The high degree of archaeological exploration of the Ovruch volost made it possible to identify and determine the seven largest and, correspondingly, the most inhabited settlements which can be considered the agglomerations in the course of studying and reconstructing the settlement system. Some of these powerful complexes of sites (Ovruch, Norinsk, Gorodets) have already been specially analyzed in some papers. This work presents the results of study of three largest distinguished agglomerations — Naogryany-Khluplyany-Pokalyov, Khotin and Orlov-Fosni-Biduny. The last two ones were discovered and examined just recently and are one of the most important discoveries of the Ovruch project which changed the views on the main features of the settlement system of the Ovruch volost and its unique features. The description of these complexes, their spatial and geographical structure, and paleonatural background are proposed. The internal planigraphic structure, area and configuration of the constituent parts of the agglomerations, their position and importance in the general and local settlement systems are analyzed. The features of material culture and the functional features of each of the studied agglomerations are determined separately. Indicators of the presence of the most important social and economic spheres of life of the agglomeration population are determined. Based on the synthetic analysis, the estimated sociopolitical and geo-strategic importance, economic and environmental specialization of these points and their likely demographic potential are determined. The totality of the ascertained characteristics of the agglomerations determines their place and importance in the Ovruch volost, and wider — within the borders of Rus. The brief discussion regarding the atypical nature of such a phenomenon in the Old Rus Middle Ages is presented, and effective approaches to its explanation are determined. The discovery of such agglomeration formations changes the existing views on the status and hierarchy of Old Rus settlements, the definition of Old Rus cities and their typology. The important role and importance of the application of geographical approaches and methods for the study and comprehension of socioeconomic and physical-geographical research of the phenomenon of Old Rus agglomerations is postulated. The urgent tasks of the special advanced study and preservation of agglomeration complexes as unique objects of historical and archaeological heritage are determined.

scholarly journals THE SLAVIC AGE IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION: THE ECONOMIC RISE OF THE SLAV-INHABITED BALTIC SEACOAST IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-28
Author(s):  
Olha Shchodra ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Oder River ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract Background. The article attempts to explore the reasons of the economic rise in the Slav-inhabited Baltic Sea region, including the role of geographical factors; the impact of international trade on the economic development of the Slavic region; the role of the coastal Slavs in developing the Baltic trade routes as well as the network of river and land communications in Central and Eastern Europe. The paper mainly focuses on the participation of the Slavs in the formation of transcontinental trade routes and the development of trade between Europe and the Arab East. Purpose. To explore medieval written sources, archaeological sources and historical literature on the economic development of the Baltic Slavs; identify the main factors of their economic rise, including the establishment of cities and the development of trade. Results. The following conclusions are made in the article: the first early medieval cities in the southern Baltic were founded by the Slavs; as early as in the VII century in the Oder river basin alone there were about a hundred settlements in the lands of lutych tribes. The cities founded by the Slavs on the southwest coast of the Baltic were large trade centers such as Veligrad (ger. Mecklenburg), Volyn (ger. Yumna), Staryhrad (ger. Oldenburg), Kolobreg, Shchetin, Arkona and others. According to the German chronicler Adam Bremensky the Slavic city of Volyn located on the island at the mouth of the Oder river, was one of the largest early medieval cities in Europe and a major international trading center. The emergence of early cities was stimulated by economic development in the Baltic Slavic region, including agriculture and crafts. However, trade was the main factor in the economic rise of the Slav-inhabited Baltic sea region. The favorable geographical location contributed to the formation in its territory of a network of waterways and landways, which were branches of international trade highways. Contrary to established views of the Slavs as exclusively agricultural people, sources indicate that the main occupation of the coastal Slavs was trade. They also engaged in the maritime piracy, the centers of which were the islands of Fembra (ger. Femarn) and Ruyan (ger. Rügen). The coastal Slavic tribes were pioneers in paving the first trade routes and in developing international trade in the Baltic region. Trade activities of the coastal Slavs to a large extent ensured the establishment of trade links between different regions of Europe and the development of transcontinental trade between Europe and the Arab East. The transcontinental water and land routes passed through the lands inhabited by the Slavs (Slavonia). An important role in its development in the early Middle Ages also belongs to the Danube Slavs (the state of Samo, Great Moravia) and Rus. Key words: early Medieval Age, Baltic Slavs, obodrytes, lutyches, ruyans, international trade routes, trade with the Arab East.

scholarly journals The Stone Vessels in the Cities of Russian North-West

2018 ◽  
pp. 361-371
Author(s):  
П. Е. Сорокин ◽  
В. И. Кильдюшевский ◽  
В. Н. Матвеев
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
North West ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Russian North ◽  
The Baltic

Сосуды из каменной массы, изготавливавшиеся в городах Северной Германии и получившие в литературе название рейнской керамики, были широко распространены в позднее Средневековье и Новое время в Северной Европе. В русских городах они встречаются значительно реже, причем в основном на Северо-Западе, вовлеченном в балтийскую торговлю. Значительно более широко они представлены в Восточной Прибалтике, Финляндии, а также в городах Выборг, Ниеншанц и Но-тебург, входивших в состав шведских владений. Поступление сосудов из каменной массы в прибалтийские страны отражает торговые и политические процессы в Балтийском регионе. The stone vessels, manufactured in the cities of Northern Germany and got the name of Rhenish ceramics in literature were widespread in the Late Middle Ages and Modern Time in Northern Europe. In Russian cities, they are met much rarer, mostly in the North-West involved in the Baltic trade. Much more commonly they are represented in the Eastern Baltic countries, Finland, and also in the cities of Vyborg, Nyenschantz and Noteburg, which once were part of the Swedish realm. The flow of stone vessels into the Baltic countries reflects trade and political processes in the Baltic region.

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