The National Geographic Channel has come up with a TV show that blends the medieval with the modern world by... having an American family build a castle to protect themselves against a worldwide catastrophe.
The family is headed by Brent, a former soldier who is worried that a zombie apocalypse electromagnet pulse will take the world back to the stone age (actually the nineteenth-century, which was obviously a time of chaos). To protect his family from the hordes of people who will come to pillage food and other essentials, Brent is building a castle in the hills of Carolina.
A film crew has captured all their exploits for our viewing pleasure (jokes going to be on us when the EMP blast shuts down our TVs). We see them building a castle, having family fun, and preparing to defend it against people that are starving.
Here are some clips from the show:
I hope they realize that many castles were actually captured by mining underneath them. The show began airing last month and I guess they have several episodes. You can learn more from their website and Facebook page.
As universities welcome a new batch of students this month, the media has shifted its attention to what kind of programs they should be learning. According to Robyn Urback, writing in the Canadian newspaper The National Post, you shouldn't want to attend university to learn about the Middle Ages, or anything else in the arts and humanities.
She calls on governments and universities to make it easier to get into skilled trades or nursing and at the same time scare high school students into avoiding programs like journalism, history and teaching by telling them about the high debt levels they will achieve and the dismal job prospects they will have after graduating.
Over the last several days several news pieces have come out pointing to problems with getting an education in the liberal arts. In the article Degrees of uncertainty: Is being a university graduate losing its value? from the Vancouver Providence those students "will find university impoverished them beyond anything they could have imagined. They will graduate with staggering debt loads and lurch between low-paying jobs as they fail to find work in their field. Finally, they’ll beat a retreat to college or a trade for more job-focused training. They will belatedly understand what they should have seen from the start: the treacherous disconnect between the job market’s needs and the output of degree-granting sausage factories."
Meanwhile, Michael Gettings, associate professor of philosophy at Hollins University, writing in The Roanoke Times, suggests "Students headed to college this fall should consider that a liberal arts education may very well be their best option for future employment, not only in the short-term, but over the course of their careers." In his article, The value of liberal arts: an education, not just a degree, Gettings adds "Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is an oft-cited example of this connection between the liberal arts and innovation. In his commencement address to Stanford University, Jobs credited his study of calligraphy at Reed College as the inspiration for the industry-changing font design on the Macintosh computer. As American students worry about their post-college jobs, Asian universities hope that they will produce the next Jobs."
If you still want to learn about the Middle Ages, please check out our section on Medieval Studies programs around the world.
* No post-secondary institution in Canada (and probably in the world) offers a degree on medieval feminist studies. Not even a minor.
From The View: Loughborough Universty Magazine (Spring/Summer 2013)
It is a discovery that has captivated the nation and been dubbed by some as the UK’s most important archaeological find ever. Had the remains of the last King of England to be slain in battle really been found buried under a council car park in the centre of Leicester?
Earlier this year the University of Leicester announced to the world’s media that the skeleton unearthed by its team of archaeologists was that of Richard III, whose final resting place had remained hidden for hundreds of years. In a unique project working with colleagues at Leicester, Loughborough University’s 3D printing experts are creating a replica of the King’s skeleton.
Although he only ruled for two years – from 1483 to 1485 – Richard III stands out among his peers as one of the most famous, or infamous, Kings of England.
On 22 August 1485 he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, bringing to an end both the Plantagenet dynasty and the Wars of the Roses. His body, stripped and despoiled, was brought to Leicester where he was buried in the church of the Franciscan Friary, known as the Grey Friars. Over time the exact whereabouts of the Grey Friars became lost.
Some recent news on what medieval items people are finding in England and Wales...
Archaeologists working in Norfolk have discovered the remains of a boat which could be as much as 600 years old. The boat was found along the River Chet near Loddon, with some of its wooden timbers, iron and copper alloy nails. The vessel would originally have been about six metres long and would have had a sail.
This is the first time that a medieval vessel has been discovered in Norfolk, according to site archaeologist Heather Wallis. She explains, "We think it dates between 1400 and 1600 AD and is very well preserved. It might have been used for carrying lighter good on the river."
A group of amateur archaeologists are working in Northampton, where they are doing digs to find remains of the town's medieval castle. John Duthie, one of the organizers of the dig, said in their last search, “We actually found a piece of the castle - a large piece of sandstone. We also found oyster shells and pieces of pottery which look to be medieval. They’re now being checked over by a professional archaeologist and we’re really delighted with the finds. For only a small dig, we found a great deal.”
The group of amateur archaeologists do digs of one-square metre around the site of the former castle, which was torn down in the 19th century so the land could be used for the town's railway station.
The next two articles are a little odd. First, when Ifor Edwards dropped his keys somewhere on his farm near the Welsh village of Bronington, he called in spme metal-detecting experts from the Wrexham Heritage Society to help find them.
Not only did they find the keys, but also 14 coins dating from the later Middle Ages. Mr. Edwards told the Shropshire Star, “It is a once in a lifetime thing. It is such a shock, you just can’t quite believe it. You realize those coins were there before they ever found America or anything. You just can’t believe you’re holding something that is 600 and something years old. We only bought the land three years ago and nothing like this has ever been found before.”
An even bigger discovery was made in a garage in Surrey - an auctioneer clearing out a house stumbled across a ninth-century gravestone. The 1,100-year-old stone is carved with Christian symbols, including an early Christian Celtic-form cross enclosed by a halo, with a panel of geometric carving below.
Guy Schwinge from the auctioneering house Duke's of Dorchester, told the Daily Mail, "Our valuer spotted the grave marker at the back of the garage, partially obscured by cardboard boxes and garden tools. To the untrained eye the gravestone appears insignificant, but closer examination of the carved decoration and detailed research has enabled experts to identify the object as an Anglo-Saxon grave marker, which probably dates from the time of Alfred the Great."
The gravestone has been sold at auction for £4,300. Click here to read more from the Daily Mail.
In a development that could have been very useful over six hundred years ago, scientists have discovered a simple and effective way of determining if someone has Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that is responsible for the Black Death. A team based out of the Max Planck Institute in Germany were able to create a sugar-protein that serves as biomarker when tested on the blood of individuals who carry the plague.
The Black Death, which swept through the medieval world in the mid-14th century, could infect and kill people within hours. “Early identification of an infection is of paramount importance for survival,“ explains Chakkumkal Anish, Leader of the Glycobiology Research Group at the Max Planck Institute. “So our work may have direct and positive consequences on patient survival rates.“
While the plague is not ravaging society as it once did, there have been sporadic outbreaks, including in India, China, Libya and New Mexico in recent years. The scientists also believe the process they used to develop this test will be useful with detecting other kinds of diseases.
The Smithsonian Institute blog Past Imperfect has a very interesting article on Islam’s Medieval Underworld. It focuses on the Banu Sasan, a loosely organized criminal network that operated throughout many Muslim lands during the Middle Ages. They were thieves, burglars, murderers and con artists, and their activities often got mentioned in Arabic literature.
Their exploits would include the "so-called prince of camel thieves, for instance — one Shaiban bin Shihab — developed the novel technique of releasing a container filled with voracious camel ticks on the edges of an encampment. When the panicked beasts of burden scattered, he would seize his chance and steal as many as he could. To immobilize any watchdogs in the area, other members of the Banu Sasan would “feed them a sticky mixture of oil-dregs and hair clippings” — the contemporary writer Damiri notes — ”which clogs their teeth and jams up their jaws.”
Archaeologists working in the imperial forum area of the city of Rome have uncovered the remains of an 8th-century workshop and a residential area dating to the 14th century. You can read more from ANSA.
In Birmingham, England, archaeologists are working outside of The Barley Mow pub. The pub owner believes they will find the remains of one of Richard III’s knights. However, a spokesman for the construction company behind the dig is less sure. “The archaeological investigation has found several 17th century post-medieval rubbish pits," he said.“There is no truth in the suggestion the team were looking for the remains of a follower of Richard III and nothing was found relating to the late medieval period.” You can read more from the Birmingham Mail.
A more promising find has occurred in Heslington, just outside of York. A Roman well, dating from the late fourth to early fifth centuries, has been uncovered, along with more than a 1000 pieces of Romano-British pottery, including two almost complete Huntcliff-type jars, and a similar number of animal bone fragments. Steve Roskams, Senior Lecturer at the University of York said, “It is striking that all of the material found in our well would have been familiar to those inhabiting this landscape. Its construction incorporates a finial which, we argue, probably came from the dismantling of a nearby, good-quality structure. The jars circulated here widely, the Huntcliff-type probably being connected directly to water usage. The other pottery and the animal bones also comprise well-understood 'mundane' elements that were available locally."
Finally, what is new on Youtube for medievalists? There is this video, entitled '5 Of The Most Gruesome Medieval Torture Devices' - please keep in mind that only one of the five torture devices mentioned here - the Rack - was actually used in the Middle Ages. Most of the others are first mentioned in the Early Modern period.
Two recent archaeological stories are getting some media attention. First, in southern Poland a graveyard was discovered that contained four skeletons that had their heads buried between their legs. Radio Poland explains that "according to folk beliefs, this prevented a possible vampire from finding his or her way back to the land of the living. There was no trace at the burial ground of any earthly possessions, such as jewellery, belts or buckles."
The graves were discovered during the construction of a roadway near the Polish town of Gliwice. Tests will be carried out to determine when the skeletons were buried, but the archaeologists believe they date back to the early modern period. You can read the full article from Radio Poland.
Meanwhile, archaeologists working in Somerset, England, were surprised to discover a large site of medieval buildings. No records of this site exist, but the archaeologists believe it might have been connected with nearby Glastonbury Abbey. Roof slates, glazed ceramic roof tiles and decorated floor tiles suggest that these were substantial buildings of high status.
Bob Davis, Senior Buildings Archaeologist for Wessex Archaeology explains, “This is a significant find and therefore very exciting, particularly as there are no documentary records that such a site ever existed here. Preliminary dating of pottery sherds found at Longforth Farm suggest that the buildings were occupied between the 12th and 14th centuries. At some stage however, the buildings were abandoned, the useable building materials were robbed out and recycled and the site was forgotten.”
American rap star JAY-Z has released a new album this month entitled Magna Carta Holy Grail. To promote the album, they have placed artwork of the album's cover next to one of the earliest copies of the Magna Carta in Salisbury Cathedral.
Dean of Salisbury the Very Reverend June Osborne told the Salisbury Journal, “We are delighted that Jay Z has chosen Salisbury Cathedral, home to the finest of the four surviving Magna Carta, as the location for the global premiere of his artwork. We know how important the Magna Carta, and all it represents, is to people across the globe. The ideals it embodies are still relevant today.
“Jay Z, through his album, is creating a huge awareness of this historic document and its modern significance to a huge audience in the run up to its 800th anniversary in 2015. We hope to welcome many of his fans here this summer to see the artwork in the Chapter House alongside our Magna Carta.”
Jay-Z was impressed with the ideals of justice and responsibility as written in the Magna Carta, and one song even includes the line "To no one will We Sell, to no one will We deny or delay, right or justice."
Another song, Holy Grail, features Justin Timberlake. You can listen to it below:
