[Steppes] Period Week in Review Week of 09-10-2006 through 09-16-2006

[Mike]

Heilsa,

Hope the reader will enjoy this look at History
within Period - both from the past and the present
as it affects the history that is known today.

Week in Review 09-10 through 09-17:

September 10th:
Modern Day
England  Time Period Before 601  Romans in England
Dig clues point to Roman Murder
A crime that has remained undetected for 1,500 years has been
uncovered by an archaeological team working at the village of
Sedgeford, in Norfolk. A human skeleton was found hidden in
what would have been a Roman corn drier, and experts believe
the person was deliberately put inside. The six-week excavation
on the former Roman farm will end this week. The skeleton was
found by a team from Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological
Research Project (SHARP). On-site human remains expert
Zannah Baldry said the body appeared to have been pushed
into the oven and then set alight. The skeleton will be studied
by human remains specialists, who will attempt to establish the
person's age, sex and perhaps the cause of death. Bone
samples will be sent for radiocarbon dating.

Modern Day
Germany  Time Period Before 601  Romans in Germany
Roman Village Found Near Bonn, Germany
Archaeologists found the remains of a Roman village and baths,
near the government offices in the former West German capital,
Bonn. Archaeologist Nora Andrikopoulo-Strack said the site
was a "sort of single street village", roughly the size of two
football fields, that was home to about 2 000 people and was
built more than 2,000 years ago. It lies close to the former
German chancellery and the archaeologists had found the
remains of a "vicus", the Latin word for a path, that linked the
village to others in nearby Cologne and Koblenz. The team of
50 archaeologists who had been digging on the site since May
had found four horse skeletons, a comb made out of bone and
a cup with an erotic carving. The archaeological excavation was
financed by South Korean investor SMI Hyundai to the tune of
 $2m. It was planning to build a new hotel and congress centre
on the site and the archaeological work must be completed
before construction begins at the end of October.

September 11th:
Italy  1501 - 1600
On September 11th, 1522   Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian naturalist, born.
Ulisse Aldrovandi, the moving force behind Bologna's botanical
garden, one of the first in Europe. Carolus Linnaeus and the
comte de Buffon reckoned him the father of natural history studies.
He is usually referred to, especially in older literature, as
Aldrovandus. Aldrovandi's noble family sent him to apprentice with
merchants, but he found his vocation, after studying humanities and
law at the universities of Bologna and Padua and becoming a
notary. Successively his interests went out to philosophy and
logic which he combined with the study of medicine. Accused of
heresy in 1549 he was brought to Rome for judgement. While in
semi-captivity there he became more and more interested in
botanics, zoology and geology (apparently he can be credited for
the invention/first written record of this word). In the course of his
life he would assemble one of the most spectacular cabinets of
curiosities, his "theatre" illuminating natural history comprising
some 7000 specimens of the diversità di cose naturali, of which
he wrote a description in 1595. Between 1551 and 1554 he
organised several expeditions to collect plants for a herbarium,
among the first botanizing expeditions. Eventually his herbarium
contained about 4760 dried specimens on 4117 sheets in
sixteen volumes, preserved at the University of Bologna.


September 12th:
England  1301 - 1400
September 12th, 1369   Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of
Gaunt, died of plague at age 24. Blanche of Lancaster was an
English noblewoman, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of
Lancaster by his wife Isabel de Beaumont. Both she and her elder
sister Maud, Countess of Leicester were born at Bolingbroke
Castle in Lindsey. On May 19, 1359, Blanche was married to John
of Gaunt, a son of the reigning English king Edward III of England
and his Queen consort Philippa of Hainault. Through this marriage
John of Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Earl of
Lincoln and Earl of Leicester. The influence associated with the
titles would lead him to become Lord High Steward of England.
Blanche and John had eight children, only 5 reached the age of
consent.
    Bubonic plague struck the Kingdom of England for the third time
in 1369, and among the dead was Blanche Lancaster. Her
husband was at sea at the time of her death. He held annual
commemorations of her death for some years thereafter. For one
of these, Geoffrey Chaucer, then a young squire and mostly
unknown writer of court poetry, was commissioned to write what
became The Book of the Duchess, in her honor. Though
Chaucer's intentions can never be defined with absolute certainty,
many believe that at least one of the aims of The Book of
the Duchess was an attempt to make John of Gaunt see that
his grief for his late wife had become excessive and to prod him
subtly to move on. In 1374, five years after her death,
John of Gaunt ordered effigies made of himself and his wife.
Twenty-five years later, Gaunt was laid to rest next to Blanche,
the two buried in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.


September 13th:
Modern Day
Russia  Ukraine  Reports of Pyramid in Ukraine
On September 13th,   An archaeological team working in eastern
Ukraine claims to have found pyramids. The team has
uncovered "a huge religious complex" which may be the
"Ukrainian Stonehenge". The structures appear to be made of
clay and plaster, rather than stone like the pyramids of Egypt.

September 14th:
Modern Day
Medicine  Medieval Medical Images Library
On September 14th,   The University of California at Los Angeles
has published an Index of Medieval Medical Images which
includes period depictions of medical procedures up until the
year 1500. The collection includes images from medieval
manuscripts and is searchable.
http://digital.library.ucla.edu/immi/


September 15th:
Modern Day
New World  Florida  1501 - 1600
Search for Florida's First Settlement
On September 15th,   Don Tristan de Luna y Arellano is recognized
as the founder of the first European settlement in Florida which was
established near Pensacola in 1559. The settlement was destroyed
by a hurricane two years later. Now, with the 450th anniversary
approaching, archaeologists are searching for the site. All traces of
the site have disappeared from the land, but experts have
discovered the remains of a ship believed to be from the settlement
leading many professional and amateur archaeologists to descend
on the area. "We don't call them de Lunatics for nothing," joked
April Holmes, a University of West Florida archaeology
graduate student

September 15th:
Modern Day
Denmark  Viking Period of 1001 - 1100
Vikings Gather for Moot in Denmark
Reporting on September 15th,    Richard Boyd, a network engineer
living in Heidelberg, Germany, reported on a recent Viking Moot
which took place in Denmark where reenactors from eleven
countries met to cross swords and compare notes. The article
appeared in Stars and Stripes. The annual Viking Moot,
sponsored by the Moesgård Museum, took place the last week
of July, 2006 at Moesgård Manor, on the outskirts of Århus,
Denmark. The fighting consisted mainly of unchoreographed
melee combat, but the gathering also features craftsmen's
displays.
     A large raiding force of Vikings landed at the Moesgård Manor,
on the outskirts of Århus, Denmark, on the last weekend of July.
Their attempts to loot, pillage, plunder and commit brutal robbery
and slaughter were thwarted by the efforts of local defense forces.
After two days of intense combat and a series of battles, the
survivors returned to their longboats and made good their escape.
Among the Vikings were camp followers, the medieval support
troops. These are the people who make the early-morning coffee
and the meals; who bear the water to keep us from suffering heat
injuries; who act as field medics, patching us up so we can return
to the battle line; and who act as masseuses. Our armies could not
march without them. For the participants, the event starts on the
previous Monday. We arrive in almost every form of transportation
imaginable, from commercial aircraft to train, chartered bus and
private vehicle. At this point, the site looks like a cross between a
medieval military camp and a town carnival. Eventually, everyone
finds the right group, says hello to old friends, and is assigned a
camping site. Now the area resembles a proper medieval military
camp. The rest of the week is spent in individual and unit training for
the troops, and discussing battle plans for the commanders.
Evenings are spent socializing with old friends and making new
ones. With so many nationalities present, battlefield orders and
multinational campfire conversations are in English -- the only
language everyone has in common.
    The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, near Copenhagen, sent
over the Ottar, a reconstruction of the Skuldelev 1. This is one of the
reconstructions of Viking ships made by the museum. The Ottar is
their large Viking cargo ship of 1030. The museum provided a
medieval-style band for an evening. The social highlight during
the week was a wedding of a Danish couple from one of the
groups. It was an Ásatrú ceremony. Ásatrú is the old Nordic pagan
religion and is once again a legally recognized religion in all
Scandinavian countries.
     Finally, the time most of us have been waiting for all year arrives.
The military units have been assigned to the two opposing armies,
and the commanders have made their battle plans. The warriors
are armed and ready for action. Costumes and armor are
authentic and the weapons are blunt but they are steel. The armies
are as close to the look of real 10th century Viking armies as
possible. Saturday morning was the first battle. The order to
"fall in" is given and the armies march to the pre-battle assembly
area. Final troop dispositions are made, a pep talk is given to
the troops and the armies march onto the battlefield. The two armies
now face each other. The leaders step forward, exchange insults,
and the warriors beat their weapons against their shields and
begin their war cries. Finally, the two armies advance, and the
sound of steel against steel and the orders of their officers fill the
air as the armies clash. The battles are not choreographed.
Participants never know how they're going to turn out. The winner
is determined by the skill and training of the individual fighters,
units and commanders. When the fighting ends, the warriors take
a break. But not for long. There is an additional battle on Saturday
afternoon and two more on Sunday.
    Each year, the camp is open to the public on Saturday and
Sunday. Visitors find the camp interesting, with its blacksmiths,
glass-bead makers, weavers, wool spinners and those doing
other handicrafts, plus merchants and food vendors. But it's the
battles that are the main attraction. On average, the Moesgård
show attracts about 10,000 spectators daily. All too soon, the
gathering comes to an end and it is time to break camp. The
troops return to the training halls and the officers discuss lessons
learned. Good-byes are said and promises are made to meet
at future shows. Bruised bodies and, for those who lost, bruised
egos now have to return to our "other lives."


September 16th:
Modern day
England  Time Period  1401 - 1500
Skeletons Tell Bloody Story
Reporting on September 16th,   Skeletons bearing evidence of
terrible injuries have been discovered beneath the floor of a dining
hall in the North Yorkshire town of Towton, site of the longest and
bloodiest battle ever fought in England. The battle took place
March 29, 1461 during the War of the Roses between Henry VI
and Edward IV leaving 28,000 men dead after ten hours of
combat. The ongoing excavation is being funded by the Royal
Armouries, Leeds. The discovery was made as part of a ten-year
investigation into the archaeological evidence of the longest and
bloodiest battle ever fought in England.
    Taking place on Palm Sunday, March 29, 1461, the Lancastrian
army was handed an enormous blow with its leader, King Henry VI,
forced to flee. He was defeated by the self-proclaimed Edward IV.
After ten hours of combat at the battle, near Tadcaster, 28,000 men
lay dead. The latest find was instigated following the unearthing of a
mass grave at the hall in 1996, which contained 37 battle victims.
The Battle of Towton took place in a snowstorm, between the
villages of Towton and Saxton, about two miles south of Tadcaster.
    The Towton Battlefield Archaeological Survey, directed by Tim
Sutherland, of the University of Bradford, has reassessed evidence
of the battle through large-scale investigations across the
battlefield landscape and has re-evaluated the documents.
The project, the first multidisciplinary investigation of a medieval
battlefield in this country, has also discovered large numbers of
arrowheads and further mass graves, making it possible to
accurately locate the site of the battle. Further work in the area of
Towton Hall has also led to the unearthing of several single graves
of combatants. The most recent excavation, funded by the Royal
Armouries, Leeds, under the dining room of Towton Hall revealed
a further multiple grave containing soldiers with battle injuries. It is
possible these are the remains of high-ranking combatants
buried on what was later to become the site of King Richard III's
chantry chapel built to commemorate the conflict.



YIS,
 Lord Michael Kettering
  Combat Archer for the Condottieri
  King's Archer
  Steppes Deputy Knight Marshal
  Steppes Deputy Hospitaler