England

Book Preview: The Map Book

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MB front

The Map Book is a fascinating chronological journey throughout the history of maps. It begins in 1500BC with fossilised prayers.

MB BC It concludes with modern satellite images from 2005.

MB 2005

This book has many gems all of which are worth a look, but I’m going to focus on a handful of my favourites.

I will begin in the middle of the chronological line and work backwards.

The first map I wanted to talk about is the 1521 map of the City of Augsburg.

MB 1521 MB 1521 fullThis map is the earliest printed north European measured town plan. It appears to be a purely pictorial view as every house is depicted, which is what I like about it. It is surprisingly accurate though because it’s the product of a survey by Jorg Seld. Seld was a goldsmith from Augsburg who was also a military engineer.  The map was cut into wood blocks and then printed, though only two copies survive. If you look closely you can see the citizens of Augsburg out and about in the city. As well as being accurate it’s also a map of praise to the Holy Roman Empire. You can see the arms of Emperor Charles V below the double headed imperial eagle in the top left hand corner.

The next map moves further back in time and illustrates just how important maps can be as a demonstration of power.

MB 1360The map dates from 1360 and is one of the earliest detailed maps of England and Wales. This is a departure from earlier medieval maps because it’s actually recognisable as a map, where as earlier maps tended to be more allegorical than geographically accurate. It depicts castles, towns, abbeys, churches and the roads which linked them all. Above all though, it is emblematic of Edward I’s England and his reign. This is how he imposed royal authority on the country. The castles he built in the newly conquered Wales were essential to bringing it under his control.  This map stood as the template for future maps until the mid 16th century.

The next map I want to consider is probably my favourite. The Hereford Mappa Mundi.

MB HerfordThe picture above is from The Map Book, however I am including the below picture so that you can see some more of the detail.

mappa2This map dates from 1300 and is a wonderful depiction of the medieval world and how it saw itself. It is a map of the world, but as a map for navigation it’s completely useless. It is much more about medieval identity, history and religion than it is about geographical accuracy. Jerusalem sits at the centre with the rest of the world radiating out. It includes people from antiquity such as the Alexander the Great and it has the travel of the apostles and pilgrimage routes. There are also some real world geographic features such as Lincoln Cathedral, Hereford and the River Wye in England and Paris and Rome in Europe, amongst other cities. It roughly maps the world as it was known then, essentially Europe, Asia and North Africa. The Mappa Mundi is many layered in meaning and extremely detailed in reality. It contains over 500 drawings, depicting 420 cities and towns, 15 Biblical events, 33 plants, animals, birds and strange creatures, 32 images of the peoples of the world and eight pictures from classical mythology.

Some years ago Hereford Cathedral, where the map now resides, gave permission for the map to be scanned. The scan has been turned into an in depth exploration of the map online. It is well worth a look because the detail that can be seen is incredible.

For more information on the Mappa Mundi and to have a better look at the second photograph go to http://www.herefordcathedral.org/visit-us/mappa-mundi-1

The Map Book is a wonderful exploration of cartography through the ages and well worth a look.

The Map Book

Author: Peter Barber

ISBN: 9780802714749

Study finds how Richard III died

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Just a short post.

You’ve probably seen this, it has certainly been all over my newsfeeds and other blogs, but I still thought it was worth mentioning. Largely because it is really interesting.

Studies done by Leicester University and published in The Lancet have found that Richard received nine blows to the head as well as a blow to the pelvis.  Not all of these wounds were inflicted before he died. Although the pelvic wound would have been fatal the study showed that it was inflicted from underneath, so it’s more likely that he received it after death when  contemporary accounts say his body was slung over a horse and paraded.

This video from The Lancet explains it beautifully.

For more information see The Medievalists.

Or read the study from The Lancet

 

Book Preview: The Kings and Their Hawks, Falconry in Medieval England.

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flacon

 

This is a fascinating book about medieval English kings and the noble, but largely forgotten sport of falconry. It is a surprisingly good read and has beautiful depictions of falconry from breviaries, illuminated manuscripts and tapestries.

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Falconry was an important part of life for medieval nobles. Admittedly I have mainly read the chapters regarding falconry from the reign of William I to  the reign of Henry II as these were the parts I required for my novel. During Henry II’s reign he was often described as travelling with his hawks and was hawking at key moments in his life. For example when Thomas Becket was summoned to Henry’s court to answer a charge of contempt Becket had to wait because Henry had stopped to hawk along the river banks.

Hawks also played a role in William I’s life. He is depicted in the Bayeaux tapestry as carrying a hawk that had possibly been brought by Harold Godwinson as a gift.

flacon bayeaux. JPG

Eyries of hawks were also listed as assets in the Domesday Book, which was written under the orders of William I.

Hawking and falconry in general was very much part of the life of the nobility. Different birds were seen as having different characteristics, for example goshawks were generally flown at ducks, pheasant and partridge. Goshawks were seen as the lower bird, often used for hunting for food rather than just for sport. Whereas Sparrowhawks were seen as a more noble bird and were often used to hunt prey like teal.

Falcons like the gyrfalcon would come from places like Iceland and could take down cranes and herons. The gyrfalcon was the most highly valued bird by the English Kings and King Haakon IV of Norway sent Henry III three white and ten grey gyrfalcons in 1225 as a gift.

These falcons could also be very productive. In c. 1212 King John’s falcons bagged seven cranes in one day and nine in another.

This book gives a truly interesting insight into medieval falconry, both the birds themselves and the men who flew them.

Title: The Kings and Their Hawks

Author: Robin S Oggins

ISBN: 9780300100587

A Very Historical Door.

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doorThis door is to be found in Chepstow Castle in Chepstow (called Striguil in the 12th century) in Wales. The door dates from the 12th century. While this in itself makes the door interesting, how it was discovered and what it meant adds even greater significance. This door hung in the doorway of the main gatehouse of the castle.

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The building of the gatehouse can be dated with reasonable certainty to  the rule of William Marshal. Marshal gained the castle in 1189 through  marriage to Isabel de Clare. This can be surmised for three main  reasons.

1. A Short Cross Silver penny of Henry II  was found in the foundations of the gatehouse. These pennies weren’t minted until the mid 1180’s.

2. The wood of the doors was dated using dendrochronology to an estimated felling date of between 1159 and 1189.

3. Pre 1189 the castle was in the hands of the crown as part of a wardship, held by Henry II, until its heiress Isabel de Clare married. Thus Henry II had no incentive to build a huge gatehouse at a castle which he was going to have to hand over to Isabel’s husband.

This is where it gets interesting. Marshal most likely built the gatehouse shortly after he became Lord of Striguil. There is no way he should have had the funds for such an impressive construction, because prior to his marriage he only had a very small landed estate. So where did the money come from?  Marshal was known as the most successful tourney knight of his age, but the fact that he had the resources to at least begin the construction of the gatehouse show he must have been truly spectacular.

Information sourced from

Richard Avent & Dan Miles, “The Main Gatehouse” in Rick Turner & Andy Johnson, (eds) Chepstow Castle, Its History and Buildings, Logaston: Logaston Press, 2006, pp. 51-62, pp. 52-53.