Medieval History
BoingBoing has just posted an article Shedding light on the Black Death, which offers a good overview of recent research on the plague that struck the medieval world in the 14th century. It includes an interview with Sharon DeWitte of the University of South Carolina, who is one of the leading researchers in the field. She raises some of the important questions still being asked about the Black Death, such as why it was destructive. ?The Black Death killed between 30 and 50 percent of the affected population,? she notes. ?Modern plague, at most, kills between 2 and 3 percent, and that?s even in areas without access to modern medicine.?
They also note that the recent find of a possible Black Death cemetery in London might be very helpful in this area of research.
The Northampton Chronicle and Echo reports that archaeologists have discovered one of the buildings that was part of Northampton Castle in the 12th century. One archaeologist comments that "we?ve had an awful lot of animal bones, including a dog?s jaw, which could have been a hunting dog from the castle, or maybe a domestic animal.?
Here is a video about the dig:
For those looking to donate some money to worthy history-related causes, please check out a couple of items on Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Tania Picard-Braun emailed us to let us know about her fundraising drive Help Me Go To Graduate School. She is hoping to raise $1000 to help her go to the University of Manchester where she will study for a Master's degree in Medieval Studies. Tania wrote "I've known I've wanted to be a historian since I was a little kid and that the Middle Ages was my favorite historical period since I was in High School. While still an Undergraduate, I presented my first academic paper at Plymouth St. University's Medieval and Renaissance Forum titled ?The Middle Ages in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Images and Symbols".
Meanwhile, at Kickstarter you can find Ian Crowe looking to raise $9000 to create an art book featuring the 100+ stories of Ovid's masterpiece, Metamorphoses. He writes, "The fact is, despite being so pivotal, Metamorphoses is not as widely read as you'd think. Not anymore, anyway. Maybe it's the length of the book that turns people off. Maybe it's the lack of pretty pictures. Either way, I intend to do something about it."
Speaking of worthy causes, we could always use your support too! :)
- Archaeological Dig Uncovers Castle Walls In Northampton
Remains of the walls of Northampton Castle have been discovered at an archeological dig ahead of the £20 million redevelopment of Northampton railway station. Preparations for the development start at the end of the week, and the dig is taking...
- Anthropologist Compares Medieval Lives, Pre- And Post-black Death
Each time Sharon DeWitte takes a 3-foot by 1-foot archival box off the shelf at the Museum of London she hopes it will be heavy. ?Heavy means you know you have a relatively complete skeleton,? said DeWitte, an anthropologist at the University of South...
- Hunting For A Mass Killer In Medieval Graveyards
Beneath the Royal Mint Court, diagonally across the street from the Tower of London, lie 1,800 mute witnesses to the foresight of the city fathers in the year 1348. Recognizing that the Black Death then scourging Europe would inevitably reach London,...
- Black Death Study Lets Rats Off The Hook
Rats weren't the carriers of the plague after all. A study by an archaeologist looking at the ravages of the Black Death in London, in late 1348 and 1349, has exonerated the most famous animal villains in history. "The evidence just isn't there...
- Plague And Famine: An Interdisciplinary View
Plague and Famine: An Interdisciplinary View I am organizing a session for the 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held from May 13-16, 2010 at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo on the relationship between plague and famine. Famines...
Medieval History
Black Death, Northampton Castle find, and history-related crowd-funding projects
BoingBoing has just posted an article Shedding light on the Black Death, which offers a good overview of recent research on the plague that struck the medieval world in the 14th century. It includes an interview with Sharon DeWitte of the University of South Carolina, who is one of the leading researchers in the field. She raises some of the important questions still being asked about the Black Death, such as why it was destructive. ?The Black Death killed between 30 and 50 percent of the affected population,? she notes. ?Modern plague, at most, kills between 2 and 3 percent, and that?s even in areas without access to modern medicine.?
They also note that the recent find of a possible Black Death cemetery in London might be very helpful in this area of research.
The Northampton Chronicle and Echo reports that archaeologists have discovered one of the buildings that was part of Northampton Castle in the 12th century. One archaeologist comments that "we?ve had an awful lot of animal bones, including a dog?s jaw, which could have been a hunting dog from the castle, or maybe a domestic animal.?
Here is a video about the dig:
For those looking to donate some money to worthy history-related causes, please check out a couple of items on Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Tania Picard-Braun emailed us to let us know about her fundraising drive Help Me Go To Graduate School. She is hoping to raise $1000 to help her go to the University of Manchester where she will study for a Master's degree in Medieval Studies. Tania wrote "I've known I've wanted to be a historian since I was a little kid and that the Middle Ages was my favorite historical period since I was in High School. While still an Undergraduate, I presented my first academic paper at Plymouth St. University's Medieval and Renaissance Forum titled ?The Middle Ages in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Images and Symbols".
Meanwhile, at Kickstarter you can find Ian Crowe looking to raise $9000 to create an art book featuring the 100+ stories of Ovid's masterpiece, Metamorphoses. He writes, "The fact is, despite being so pivotal, Metamorphoses is not as widely read as you'd think. Not anymore, anyway. Maybe it's the length of the book that turns people off. Maybe it's the lack of pretty pictures. Either way, I intend to do something about it."
Speaking of worthy causes, we could always use your support too! :)
- Archaeological Dig Uncovers Castle Walls In Northampton
Remains of the walls of Northampton Castle have been discovered at an archeological dig ahead of the £20 million redevelopment of Northampton railway station. Preparations for the development start at the end of the week, and the dig is taking...
- Anthropologist Compares Medieval Lives, Pre- And Post-black Death
Each time Sharon DeWitte takes a 3-foot by 1-foot archival box off the shelf at the Museum of London she hopes it will be heavy. ?Heavy means you know you have a relatively complete skeleton,? said DeWitte, an anthropologist at the University of South...
- Hunting For A Mass Killer In Medieval Graveyards
Beneath the Royal Mint Court, diagonally across the street from the Tower of London, lie 1,800 mute witnesses to the foresight of the city fathers in the year 1348. Recognizing that the Black Death then scourging Europe would inevitably reach London,...
- Black Death Study Lets Rats Off The Hook
Rats weren't the carriers of the plague after all. A study by an archaeologist looking at the ravages of the Black Death in London, in late 1348 and 1349, has exonerated the most famous animal villains in history. "The evidence just isn't there...
- Plague And Famine: An Interdisciplinary View
Plague and Famine: An Interdisciplinary View I am organizing a session for the 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held from May 13-16, 2010 at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo on the relationship between plague and famine. Famines...