2015 September - No

Medieval HistoriesMedieval 2015 September - No. 18

The Synagogues in Toledo The Golden Panel from Lüneburg NEW BOOKS: On Medieval Urban Identity, Manresa, Avig- non... New Look for Richard III Quote of the Week...

“Our bags are not packed,” says Alin Bardavit Arslan, the wife of Yusuf Arslan, a Jewish real-estate developer in Istanbul. “But these days the suitcases are waiting under the bed to be filled — at a moment’s no- tice.” - ly reporting harassment from the Turkish ing to Europe, there are no Jews. In 1992 people and its government. So far, howev- atAmong the beginning the Syrian on refugees the Passover currently Holiday flee er, only 100 Turkish Jews have applied to the 4,000 remaining Jews were permitted Portugal (which passed the law in 2013). under the government of Hafez al-Assad to It is not known how many will apply to leave Syria provided they did not emigrate Spain, when the law will go into effect in to Israel. In 2011 there were still about October. 50 Jews living in Damascus. Now, none are presumably left where Jews have lived Hopefully some will return to Toledo and since the mythical days of King David. reclaim the Jewish heritage there. And be able to have Santa Maria la Blanca re- Many of these Jews are descendants of turned to its former glory as a living Syna- the Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in gogue. 1492. Some have speculated about whe- ther they would take up the possibility of Read about the Jewish Heritage in Toledo moving back to Europe to Spain after the in this issue of Medieval Histories. law was passed in June 2015, which allows proven descendants of the Sephardic Jews Shanah Tovah 5776! to gain a Spanish (that is: a European Pass- port). SOURCE:

Another group, however, which is perhaps Turkish Jews not leaving yet, but eyeing more interested in the offer might be the exit amid Erdogan’s hostile rhetoric. By 20.000 Jews in Turkey, who are increasing- Cnaan Liphshiz

Medieval Histories Medieval Histories Aps © Photo (frontpage): - read about new exhibitions, Paradisstien 5 Inner wing from the Golden books, research and much more DK2840 Holte Panel. Feastday view © Landesmu- Denmark seum Hannover Editor-in-chief: Karen Schous- Photos are to the best of our boe www.medievalhistories.com ability either published by 2015: September No. 17 [email protected] permission or under the Cretive ISBN 978-87-92858-25-2 +45 24 23 36 10 Commons License 2 MEDIEVAL TRAVELS: Synagogue of El Transito Reopened

The Sinagoga del Tránsito in Toledo was and tortured, while the king seized his built between 1355 and 1357 for Samuel wealth. His whole family was executed together with him. treasurer to the Castilian King, Pedro I (the Cruel),ha-Levi until Abulafia 1356. (c.1320 – 1362), who was Their palace may still be seen. Although rebuilt and converted into a Museum for In spite of vehement opposition from the El Greco it still gives an impression of a Catholic chuch, Samuel Levi was granted luxurious medieval Jewish palace. permission to build the synagogue, be- cause the Jews in Toledo had kept faith Two years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the synagogue was brother, Henry (later Henry II of Castile converted into a church, . The synag ogue to the king during his conflict with his was dedicated to the death and transition his assent to the building of the synagogue of Mary, hence the name . Later it was used to(1368 compensate – 1379). theKing Jews Pedro of Toledoprobably for gave the as a soldiers-barracks. However, in 1877 it destruction that had occurred in 1348, was declared a national monument. during anti-Jewish riots that accompanied the arrival of the Black Death in Toledo. The building, which is in a good state of However, in 1360 Samuel was imprisoned conservation for its age, is currently a mu-

3 Source: Wikipedia/ Windwhistler

seum for the Sephardic Jews - Museo Na- The decoration is located at the top of the cional de Arte Hispanojudío. room and especially at the Eastern wall. The plasterwork is polychrome and in- The Building cludes a frieze with quotations from the Psalms plus a lush decoration with sty- The original building was rectangular - (23 x 9 x 17 m) and recalls the great 14th tom of each strip is a foundation plaque lized leaves, cones and flowers. At the bot century Castilian palaces. Some is of the with inscriptions in Hebraic and the arms opinion that the synagogue was designed of the Kingdom of Castille and Léon. At the by the same architects, who worked on bottom of the central panel of the eastern the palace in Tordesillas (later Convent of wall is the opening which leeds into the Santa Clara), which was decorated by Mu- Hejal. déjar artists. The roof is made of conifer and richly The exterior is quite austere in contrast to painted. the decorative richness of the prayer hall with its plasterwork painted in red, green, SOURCE: black, blue and white. Sinagoga del Tránsito in Toledo 4

Other Jewish Sights in Toledo: Santa Maria la Blanca and Casa del Judío

Even though the Sephardic Jews in Iberia were constantly persecuted from the 6th century and onwards, significant communities continued to set their mark on society until the final expulsion in 1496. Nowhere more than in Toledo.

Madinat al-Yahud

There have been a Jewish community in Toledo in Roman, Visigothic and Muslim Iberia.

However in 1135, when the Almohads ar- rived in Al-Ándalus, Toledo (now governed by the Castilian King) welcomed a huge group of immigrants: poets, gramma- rians, philosophers, scientists, doctors and other learned men, some of which became members of the Toledo School of transla- tors, famous for its rescue and translation

classical Arabic, classical Greek, and an- cientof philosophical Hebrew. and scientific works from

Although persecuted here as well as elsewhere, the Jewish quarter in Toledo came

walled city. There were probably at least tento flourish synagogues and cover at that around time. Mentioned10% of the in 1391 are nine synagogues: the main synagogue (probably the current Santa Maria la Blanca), the old synagogue, the new Santa Maria la Blanca. Source: Wikipedia synagogue, the synagogue belonging to Shemuel Levi (the Transito) the synagogue However, in the 14th century the quarter of the Cordobians, of the Benzizás, the ben was attacked twice, in 1355 and again in Abidarham (currently found in the Escuela 1391. Later in the 15th century attacks de Artes), Suloquia and Algiada. Recently and harassment became steadily more se- the remains of the synagogue named Sofer was archaeologically excavated. in 1492. rious until the final expulsion was decreed 6 Santa Maria la Blanca The original building is irregular, measur- Moorish architects built this synagogue in ing c 26/28 m x 19/23 m. It has survived the 12th century in the Médujar tradition. is turbulent history nearly intact, although It was completed in 1203. In the early 15th the plastered wall-paintings have almost century, the synagogue was stormed by a disappeared. Recently, though, traces were Christian mob led by the Dominican Vin- found of paintings on the West wall on ei- cent Ferrer and converted into a church. ther side of the front door, which probably In later centuries it was alternatingly used belonged to an earlier building phase. as a carpenter’s workshop, store, soldier’s barracks and a refuge for former prosti- The main attraction is the interior, which tutes. beautiful white horseshoe arches, seven It is believed the synagogue (probably inis dividedeach row. into The five capitals aisles byare four carved rows with of built on top of a former) was sponsored by vegetal decorations inspired by Islamic

minister to Alfonso VIII of Castille. At his covered with decorative tiles. deathJoseph in ben 1205 Meir it isShoshan, recorded who that was he financehad and Byzantine tradition. The red floor is rebuilt the synagogue after an uprising The focus of the building is the clam- against the Jews in Toledo. Another candi- shaped topped arch at the centre, beneath date is Abraham ibn Alfache, who served which was the Torah Ark. the king as councillor and ambassador.

Casa del Judio. Source: Wikipedia

7 The building notably lacks a women’s gal- lation passed in summer 2015, it may be lery and the overall effect is much more pertinent to return the Synagogue to Jew- that of a mosque than a synagogue. It is ish stewardship. believed the women would stand on a wooden platform at the foot of the nave. Travesía de la Juderia The building is surrounded by a courtyard to which were attached the residence of a the Travesia de la Juderia represents a Rabbi, a ritual bath and a study hall com- typicalThe House Jewish of the home Jew from – Casa the del 15th Judío cen -- in plete the compound. The synagogue func- tury. The courtyard conserves a multitude tioned as the main of Mudejar plastered latticework while the basement held a mikve. Today the synagogue functions as a museum, run by the Catholic Church. How- ever, in 2013 a request was made to the READ MORE: church to return the building to the La Judería de Toledo y su Legado. Jewish community. If the Sephardic Jews Paralel text In Spanish and English return to Toledo following the new legis-

Other Medieval Synagogues in Iberia

Synagogue in To- Synagogue in Sego- mar in Portugal via from the 14th from the 15th cen- century tury

Synagogue in Bar- Synagogue in Ube- celona from the da from the 13th 13th century? century

Synagogue in Cor- Bebimbre, San Pe- doba from 1315 dro

8 Dr. Bastian Eclercy from Hannover with a historical model of the Golden Panel © Landesmuseum Han- nover Golden Panel from Lüneburg One of the highlights of Hannover Landesmuseum is the remains of the so-called “Goldene Tafel” which once decorated the high altar of the Benedictine Abbey S. Michaelis in Lüneburg

The Golden Panel was originally a Ro- on one side and the Brazen Serpent on manesque golden antepedium. Later, this the other. The insides of the outer wings became enclosed in a retable consisting of and the insides of the inner wings depict two sets of double wings, painted by the 36 scenes from the Life of the Virgin and “Master of the Golden Panel in Lüneburg” the Passion of Christ. On the inside of the inner wings were twenty carved and guil- panel a number of golden reliquaries were placed.around1431 Together – 5. Aroundwith the the antepedium Romanesque most part these have also disappeared; these were destroyed in 1698 by robbers, althoughded figures one of cropped saints and up prophets. in the art Formarket the who melted it all down. Only a few reli- in 2007 and was acquired by the Museum. quaries are preserved in the Museum Au- gust Kestner in Hannover. Since 2012 the Golden Panel has been the object of an interdisciplinary research However, the wings still exist and are project, sponsored by the Volkswagen Stif- housed in the Landesmuseum Hannover. tung (€ 540.000), the Klosterkammer Han- The panels each measure 2.31 m x 1.84 m. nover and the FAMA-Kunststiftung. In col- laboration with the Gemäldegalerie of the

9 The closed wings shows the Crucifixion The aim of the project has been to re- store the preserved parts of the retable, publicizing the results of the studies un- dertaken, mount a new exhibition of this precious piece of art plus organize and interdisciplinary and international conference. Recently the this conference was an- nounced.

Bernadett Freysoldt examines some of the statues Golden Panel in Context © Landesmuseum Hanover The aim of the conference is to present the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Goethe- Universität Frankfurt and the Hochschule a wider context. The organisers therefore für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst inviteresearch papers team’s as findingswell as posters and place that these present in Hildesheim, conservators, art historians related research projects and monographic and historians have analyzed the altar- investigations on comparable objects. Espe- piece. As well as subjecting the retable to a cially welcome are contributions, which fo- full technical examination, the project has - also explored its origin, history, style and nical examination and papers addressing use. thecus questionon recent of advances how to display in the field and ofexhibit tech similar works in the 21st century.

The crucifixion from the Golden Panel. Workday Scenes from the life of Christ. Sunday version. version. From the Golden Panel © Landesmuseum Hannover © Landesmuseum Hannover

10 Suggested Sessions • - eval retable in the museum environ- Ways of Seeing – Presenting the medi • Monumental architecture as princely ment commemoration? The construction of St. Michael’s Abbey in Lüneburg, its fur- Proposals for 30-minute papers or nishings and its functions 5-minute poster presentations should • Commemoration and Representation: be forwarded to antje-fee.koellermann@ Charting the commemorative culture of landesmuseum-hannover.de until the 30th the Welf dynasty of September. Requested are the title and a • Inclusion and representation. Relics brief summary (max. 2000 characters) in and the purpose of “spoils” in altar- German, English or French.

centuries Lectures and posters are intended for pub- • Evidencespieces of the of fourteenthmanufacture: and tool fifteenth marks, lication as part of the Niederdeutsche Be- under-drawings, transfer of motifs and iträge zur Kunstgeschichte. forms of ornamentation. What might the results of the technical examination The Goldene Tafel from Lüneburg in tell us about the production of major context carved and painted retables? Investigations on technology, shape and • North German, Central German, West - - rope around 1400. ducing and disseminating sculpted and significance of altarpieces in northern Eu German or Low Lands? Defining, pro century. Hanover 07.04.2016 – 09.04.2016 painted retables during the fifteenth Niederdeutsche Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte

The prestigious annual series of "Nieder- deutsche Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte" is from 2014 jointly published by the Landesmuseum Hannover, the Herzog An- ton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig and the State Museum of Art and Cultural His- tory Oldenburg. The richly illustrated vol- umes are dedicated to each year present a major work of the Lower Saxon art history was lauched last year with a publication of the Das Göttinger Barfüßerretabel von 1424. Next issue: The Golden Panel.

Das Göttinger Barfüßerretabel von 1424 Neue Folge, Band 1 Edited by Cornelia Aman and Babette Hartwieg Michael Imhof-verlag 2014 11 St. Michael's in Lüneburg. Source: Wikipedia/derHexer St. Michael’s in Lüneburg St. Michael’s in Lüneburg is a prime example of the red-brick hall churches of Northern Germany

St. Michael’s is one of the main churches family in Saxony), which was located on a in Lüneburg. In AD 956 the Holy-Roman emperor, Otto I, presented the Benedictine the family abbey and members of the Bil- Abbey (to which the church belonged) lungershill in Lüneburg were buried – the there. “Kalkberg”. This was with the income from customs deriving from the extraction of the salt, which later made Lüneburg both famous and extreme- the magnates and the city of Lüneburg ly wealthy. overHowever, the income in 1371 from the conflictsthe trade between with salt turned into an open rebellion and the peo- St. Michael’s was at that time part of the ple from the city attacked the castle and castle of the Billunger (the reigning ducal tore it down. The Abbey was later relocat-

12 Hans Bornemann (c. 1420 - 1474). He painted the Lamberti-Altar in the Church of St. Nicolas’ in Lüne- burg with the oldest vista of Lüneburg. To the left is the Kalberg, benaeth is the church of St. Michael’s and next to it the walled saline. Source: Wikipedia/ The Yorck Project ed from the “Kalkberg” and rebuilt inside examples of this traditional form of con- the town itself. This was part of the mag- struction in the area. It is a prime example nates effort to regain the power in the city. of the so-called “Halle Kirchen” in North- In connection with this the remains of the ern Germany and a prominent stop on the ducal families of the Billungs and the Welfs European Route of Brick Gothic. (who had talen over) were transferred to the new church. of the wealthy towns in the Hanseatic The building of the church was com- As befitted an important church in one exquisite pieces of art. One of these was measures 53 m long, 26 m wide and 20 theLeague, famous it was Golden fitted Panel with (Goldenea number Tafel), of mmenced high. The in 1376 tower and raises finished 79 m in high 1412. into It which served both as a retable and house the air. The church was built in red-brick for reliquaries on the main altar. and stands as one of the more prominent

14 The Stecknitz Canal from 1398. At Witzeeze © Tage der Industriekultur Medieval Salt in Lüneburg

Smoking, salting and drying each had their truly proto-industrial salt mine. From the role to play in the medieval conservation 12th century and onwards salt mining was of foodstuff. However, during the Middle the dominant feature of the economy in Ages salt came to play an increasing pro- Lüneburg. The saline (salt spring) was lo- minent role, as it was a necessary prere- cated between the Sülzwiese and the Kalk- quisite for conserving the masses of her- berg with the main entrance at the Lam- rings, which were caught in the Baltic and berti platz. Surrounding the salt spring along the shores of Denmark and exported were 54 boiling huts which each held four boiling pans. These were channelled with business was the mainstay of the Hanse- brine via an intricate set of canals. aticto a Legue.“fish-hungry” Catholic Europe. This The salt dome itself was located beneath the Kalkberg, where the Dukes of Billun- Salt was sourced from a number of sites, gen built their main castle in the 9th cen- for instance salt-pans on the extensive tury. From here they governed the Princi- coasts of the Frisian and Danish marshes. pality of Lüneburg-Brunswick

However, at Lüneburg, a salt spring early In the 12th century the so-called salt- on created the possibility of building a gentry were primarily a mixture of nobles 15 and ecclesiastical institutions, who leased - the salt-pans to the craftsmen. The lease port along the new waterway. In the 15th amounted to app. half the revenue from centuryarrived init isLübeck estimated after 3000a five-week barges trans were the selling of the salt. However, between shipped from Lüneburg to Lübeck with - more than 30.000 tons of salt. When the chants became salt-pan owners. In 1370 it barges returned, they were carrying lum- is1250 estimated – 1320 halfan increasing the salt-gentry number were of commer- ber felled in the large forests in Eastern moners from the city. In 1371 a rebellion Europe. At that time Lüneburg had long broke out in the city resulting in the demo- since exhausted its own reserves of wood lition of the castle and abbey of St. Michael and was surrounded by the heath (Lüner- (see above). burger Heide)

Traditionally the salt was shipped from Today the Stecknitzkanal is a favoured Lüneburg via land to Lübeck and further route for backpacking and bicycling.

Deutsches Salzmuseum 1398to the -autumn after the herring hostilities –markets had ceased held - a Sülfmeisterstr shallowalong the canal shores was of dug the betweenBaltic. In Lübeck 1392 – 1 21335 Lüneburg to Lauenburg near the Elbe, the so-called Germany

Stecknitzkanal. In 1398 the first barges

Salt Barge Maria Magdalena - Reconstruction from ca. 1500 © Stecknitz Region

16 NEW AND UPCOMING BOOKS ON MEDIEVAL URBAN HISTORY: Medieval Urban Identity. Health, Economy and Regulation

Medieval Urban Identity. Health, Econo- organisation. This book brings together my and Regulation contributions from a wide range of schol- Ed. by Flocel Sabaté ars who adopt a new approach to medieval ISBN-13: 978-1-4438-7785-5 urban life, using health, the economy, and ISBN-10: 1-4438-7785-9 regulations and laws as frames of refer- Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2015 ence for gaining a greater understanding of this historical period. Through these ABSTRACT vectors, interesting insights are provided into medieval housing, cures for diseases, The increasing prominence of urban life the work of artisans and merchants, and during the Middle Ages is undoubtedly the relationship between the town and the one of the more transcendental and multi- wider region in which it was located. faceted aspects of this era, having an effect on rules and laws, hygiene, and economic TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Medieval urban identity coverMedieval Urban Identity: Health, Economy and Regulation. By Flocel Sabaté • “The smell of rotting corpses infected the air”: Notes on Sanitation, Pollution and Urban Ecology in Al-Andalus. By Ieva Reklaitye • Inventory of Arab Objects Documented in Catalan Medieval Houses (Late 13th Century—Late 15th Century). By Lluïsa Amenós • Ecclesiastical Freedom to Crenellate: Urban Disputes and Rivalries in 13th and 14th Century England. By Audrey Thorstad • Tuscan Merchants in Catalonia and Catalan Merchants in Tuscany: A New Double-Perspective Approach to Mer- cantile Relations in the Medieval Medi- terranean. By Maria Elisa Soldani • Surgeons in Late Medieval Sicily: Edu- cation, Activities, Regulation. By Dan- iela Santoro 17 • nal Polities in Urban Castile in the 15th Crown of Aragon. By Carles Vela Century. By José Antonio Jara • BarbersDefining in “Apothecary” the Process inof theMedicaliza Mediaeval- tion in the Crown of Aragon during the • Late Middle Ages . By Carmel Ferragud Late Middle Ages: The Notaries in Bur- • Hec sunt consuetudines, privilegia ac The Control of the Council Offices in the ordinationes civitatis Balagarii: The Le- Inés Montero gal Background of Lleida as a Base for • Betweengos. A Conflict the Council of Authority. and the By King: Alicia The the Local Law of the City of Balaguer Negotiation of the Encabezamiento of (13th-15th centuries). A Linguistic Ap- the Alcabalas of Talavera de la Reina proach. By Cuellas Campodarbe at the End of the Middle Ages By Alicia • A Frontier Cartulary: The Lorca Council Lozano Cartulary in the Years 1463 and 1464 as a Source for Studying the Frontier ABOUT THE EDITOR Relationships between Murcia and Granada’s Kingdoms. By Diego Antonio Flocel Sabaté is Professor of Medieval His- Reinaldos tory at the University of Lleida, Catalonia, • Urban Political Identity in the Late Spain. -

Middle Ages: A Reflection on Commu Manresa in the Later Middle Ages, 1250-1500

The Rise and Decline of an Iberian Bourgeoisie: Manresa in the Later Mid- dle Ages, 1250-1500 Series: Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series by Jeff Fynn-Paul Cambridge University Press October 2015

The Rise and Decline of an Iberian Bour- - ies in English of an Iberian town during thegeoisie late ismedieval one of the crisis. first Focusing long-term on stud the Catalonian city of Manresa, Jeff Fynn-Paul expertly integrates Iberian historiography with European narratives to place the city's social, political and economic development within the broader context of late medieval urban decline. The author surveys the economic strategies of both elites and non-elites to a level previously unknown for any medieval town outside of Tuscany and Ghent.

18 Avignon and its Papacy, 1309-1417: Popes, Institutions, and Society As the author reconsiders the Avignon papacy (1309-1378) and the Great West- ern Schism (1378-1417) within the social setting of late medieval Avignon, she also recovers the city's urban texture, the stamp of its streets, the noise of its crowds and celebrations, and its people's joys and pains.

Each chapter focuses on the popes, their rules, the crises they faced, and their administration but also on the history of the city, considering the recent historiography to link the life of the administration with that of the city and its people. The story of Avignon and its inhabitants is crucial for our understanding of the institutional history of the papacy in the later Middle Ages. The author argues that the Avignon papacy and the Schism encouraged fun- damental institutional changes in the governance of early modern Europe-effective - cient bureaucratic governance, court soci- etycentralization (societe de linked cour), toand fiscal conciliarism. policy, effi With the arrival of Clement V in 1309, seven popes ruled the Western Church from This fascinating history of a misunder- Avignon until 1378. Joelle Rollo-Koster stood era will bring to life what it was like traces the compelling story of the trans- to live in the fourteenth-century capital of planted papacy in Avignon, the city the Christianity. popes transformed into their capital.

Through an engaging blend of political and ABOUT THE AUTHOR: social history, she argues that we should think more positively about the Avignon Joelle Rollo-Koster is professor of medieval papacy, with its effective governance, in- history at the University of Rhode Island tellectual creativity, and dynamism. It is a remarkable tale of an institution growing Avignon and its Papacy, 1309-1417: and defending its prerogatives, of people Popes, Institutions, and Society both high and low who produced and by Joelle Rollo-Koster served its needs, and of the city they built together. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2015 19 Single Life and the City 1200-1900

Today, singleness is often represented as a new and increasingly popular lifestyle, particularly in the city. However, single people crowded European towns from the late middle ages onward. This book discusses the living conditions of women and men living without a spouse in cities - ences and similarities in the past. in western Europe, and reflects on differ

comparisons of single men and women andThe shedscollection light provides on new groupssome of of the single first women, such as beguines, prostitutes and heads of households.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Working Alone? Single Women in the Urban Economy of Late Medieval Flan- ders (Thirteenth-Early Fifteenth Centu- ries); Peter Stabel • Why did she not live with her husband • Creating a Space for Themselves on and how was she able to support her- the Urban Market. Survival Strategies self?’ Grass Widow Prostitutes in Eigh- and Economic Opportunities for Single teenth-Century Bruges; Maja Mechant Women in French Provincial Towns • Single Life in Fifteenth-Century Bru- (Seventeenth-Eighteenth Centuries); ges. Living Arrangements and Material Anne Montenach Culture at the Fringes of Urban Society; • Maids, Noblewomen, Journeymen, State Inneke Baatsen, Julie De Groot and Isis Sturtewagen • Single People and the Material Culture DagOfficials, Lindström and Others. Unmarried Adults of the English Urban Home in the Long • Destitutein Four Swedish in December. Towns, Unmarried 1750–1855; Scots Eighteenth Century; David Hussey and Navigating Poverty in Paisley, 1861; Margaret Ponsonby Wendy M. Gordon • Rich, Male and Single. The Consump- • Desperately Seeking the Single Man in tion Practices of Edward Leigh, 1742- Later Medieval England; P.J.P. Goldberg 1786; Jon Stobart • To Be or not to Be a Beguine in an Early Modern Town: Piety or Pragmatism? Single Life and the City 1200-1900 The Great Beguinage of St. Catherine in by Julie de Groot, Isabelle Devos, and Ari- Sixteenth-Century Mechelen; Kim Over- adne Schmidt (Eds.) laet Palgrave Macmillan 2015

20 Jews in the Medieval Town.

The present volume shows the Jewish Register. By Roman Zaoral communities in Central European towns • Ein Fund von Brakteaten mit hebräisch- from multiple points of view. We learn er Umschrift aus der Nähe von Anenský about the progress of their settlement, vrch bei Mikulov (Südmährische Re- their relations to the sovereign, how they resettled in the places from where they • The Jewish Garden in the New Town of - Prague.gion, Bez. New Břeclav) lessons By learned petr Schneider from the cial business, but also about their culture, archaeological investigations under- rabbinichad been literature, expelled and everyday about life,their language, finan taken by the National Heritage Institute burials and their relations to the Christian in the Capital City of Prague. By Toma majority population. Daniel Polakovi CONTENTS Szcymbalak, Veronika Staňková and Juden in der mittelalterlichen Stadt. Der städtische Raum im Mittelalter - • Apostatrix gens: The First Crusade and Criticism of the Reversions of Jews in Ort des Zusammenlebens und des Kon- Cosmas’s Chronica Boëmorum (Chron- flikts / Jews in the medieval town. Ur- icle of the Bohemians) By Daniel Sou- ban space in the Middle Ages – a place kup of coexistence and conflicts • Die böhmischen Könige und die erneute Ansiedlung der Juden in den böhmisch- ed. Eva Doležalová et al. (Nakladatelství en Ländern nach den Pogromen des 14. v.v.i, August 2015) Historický ústav, Historický ústav AV ČR • The Jewish Credit Trade in the Late Jahrhunderts By Eva Doležalova

• JudenMiddle und Ages: Christen Kroměříž in der and Prager Olomouc Alt- stadt(1353–1417) während By des Lenka Mittelalters. Blechova Koex- istenz oder Konfrontation? By Martin

• Uff daz dieselbe stat user den schulden desterbusMusílek komen moge. Zur Wiederan- siedlung von Juden in der Reichsstadt Wetzlar in der zweiten Hälfte des 14. Jahrhunderts By Davis Schnur • Rabbinic Sources about Jews in Medi- eval Moravia By Tamás Vsi • Towards the Everyday Life of Jews and Christians as Presented in the so-called

• Financial Conditions in Early 15th-Cen- turyKenaanic Olomouc Glosses in the By LightLenka of Uličná the Jewish

21 NEW BOOK: Viking Graves and Grave-Goods in Ireland

Viking Graves and Grave-Goods in Ire- land By Stephen J. Harrison and Raghnall O Floinn National Museum of Ireland 2015 ISBN: 9780901777997

ABSTRACT

catalogue and detailed discussion of over 400This artefactsvolume is from the firstmore comprehensive than a hundred furnished Viking graves in Ireland, many

published for the first time. study of the archives of the Museum of the RoyalThe volume Irish Academy includes andthe firstof the detailed Irish Antiq - uities Division of the National Museum of Ireland, key resources for those interested in the history of museums in Ireland and in 19th and 20th century collectors and col- lecting. While much of the text is given over to the The grave-goods (both Insular and Scandi- Kilmainham-Islandbridge burial complex navian) are the subject of detailed exami- - nation, with separate sections devoted to etery of its type in the Viking west - the - now confirmed as by far the largest cem weapons, dress ornaments and jewellery, monograph also includes details of the Vi- tools, equestrian equipment and miscella- king graves from elsewhere in Dublin, and neous artefacts. The volume also contains from the rest of Ireland. a discussion of grave distribution, form, orientation, ritual and contents.

22 Medievalism Galore! - films, games, books and other medieval fun

New Look for Richard III

Richard III has changed his look three times in the last three years. In the latest version he is sporting unkempt mouse-coloured hair. Is that plausible?

The last bit is probably totally non-medi- Richard III he has changed looks several eval. Chances are that Richard III owned times.Since the First first he reconstructionwas presented ofwith the brown face of several highly valuable combs and that he eyes and dark hair. Later, after DNA-analy- used them on a daily basis. For medieval sis had shown that his eyes were blue and men and woman combs were essential to his hair blond, he had a serious “make- dress the hair, as well as to rid it of lice, over”. Last week however, he went to the hair-salon once more. Now he is presented show him with unkempt or unruly hair. with a mouse-coloured look and rather un- Further,fleas and boxwood nits; and ornone Ivory of thecombs portraits with kempt hair. elaborate carved and pierced decorations 23 Lovers in a Garden, France ca 1500 - 1520. Comb made of Ivory. © V&A

were also fashionable accessories for both In the 11th century Trotula de Ruggiero women and men from about 1400. It is from Salerno wrote a treatise “De Ornatu almost certain that many were made in Mulierum” (also know as Trotula Minor). France but they were probably produced In it she wrote about how to stay unwrin- much more widely. Many were decorated with short love inscriptions (in French) remove unwanted hair from the body, or love imagery such as pierced hearts, lightenkled, remove the skin, puffiness hide blemishes from face and and freck eyes,- indicating that they were intended as ap- les, wash teeth and take away bad breath. propriate gifts from a lover. Others were embellished with delicately carved courtly She also wrote of hair-dying and from her scenes. Some were according to V&A origi- we know that Agrimonia sp and Buxus sp nally protected in a leather case that could (boxwood) could be used to colour hair also be decorated with a love theme. blond, while Black Henbane or Sage was used for colouring hair black. This or a Dying Hair more golden colour might also be achieved by using burnt grapevine ash, crocuses, But did he also colour his hair? This we dragontree, dwarf elderberry, greater celandine, madder, myrtle berry, oat and of a Ricardian shopping list documenting saffron. Extracts from these plants were thisshall is probably highly unlikely). never know However, (a chance we do find often mixed up with liquorice and used know that medieval people knew of reci- as shampoo. Other plants were used as pes for hair-colouring and also that they remedies to lengthen hair or making it soft probably used them. and curly (olive oil). Many of these recipes were handed down through the centuries

24 in later cosmetic handbooks, of which we with a more funky hair-do in lilac as pho- know of several from the 15th century. It toshopped here (to the right). appears there were lots of medieval hair colors around SOURCES:

Many of these plants are still used in mod- The first cosmetic treatise of history. A ern herbal remedies, which may be bought female point of view at any Boots. By M. C. Proto Cavallo, C. Pruno, A. del Sor- bo and M. Bifulco Men In: International Journal of Cosmetic Sci- ence We don’t really know if medieval men coloured their hair. But we do know women 2008 were known to colour their hair on a vast Volume 30, Issue 2, pages 79–86, April scale, since male moralists loved to scorn Ambiguous Locks. An Iconology of hair them for it. Later, during the reign of Eliza- in Medieval Art and Literature. beth I, high-ranking men dyed their hair By Roberta Milken. and beards auburn to signal their loyalty McFarland & Co. 2012 to the queen. This might be achieved with a mixture of saffron and sulphur powder. Encyclopedia of Hair. A Cultural History. By Victoria Sherrow Perhaps, next year Richard III will be ex- Greenwood Publishing Group 2006 hibited once more as "The Golden Boy". Or

Comb of boxwood inlaid with bone and decorated with red and green silk from 15th–16th century france (?) © The Met: The Cloisters Collection, 1982/ 1982.357