Slight Delay

I just wanted to get the word out real quick, this week's episode will be ready on either Thursday or Friday.  I had a request to do an episode on Machu Picchu and I am INCREDIBLY stubborn.  I only have one tiny piece of information on it in our library and tha bases around here didn't have anything to really help me, so I have nothing.  Yet I kept trying to find enough information.  So the episode is unable to happen until I get near a real library.  Also, it delayed me in preparing a full episode.  So I've been chastised for my stubbornness and am ready to move on to another idea for this week.

While this means there's a wretched delay in this week's episode, it will be less of a wait between this week's and next week's.

Also, it probably didn't help that I've been sleeping more this week.  Our son has been getting ready for the tumultuous threes and letting us know that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants and we just have to accept it.  Only, we don't accept it and let him know.  Basically, it's been a warzone at home.  I swear the neighbors can hear the yelling 3 blocks away sometimes.  So Paul and I stole away for a LONG hike in the hills to visit some sights.  We were sun-drenched and wiped and now we're still catching up on lost sleep.  The fact that it's 9:30pm and I'm still up, means I'm almost back to my old lack of sleep schedule.  Plus, in my few quiet, waking hours, I was busy helping a friend do a rush job on embroidery for our SCA group.  Doing a split stitch with very fine silk thread, is tiring and blinding.

So there's been a few factors these past two weeks.  But things are settling down and I'll be back up to date soon.  Also, we did get our new modem and so far it's been fine (knock on wood).  So, please forgive me and the new episode will be up later this week.  Thanks.

Episode 7 - Teutonic Knights
Now Playing: Ar ne kuth ich sorghe non on Briddes Roune by Lenten is come on Magnatune.com

This week’s episode is about the Teutonic Knights and was suggested by Mark, right up the road from me in Wiesbaden, Germany.  The Teutonic Knights are known in German as the Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Marien in Jerusalem.  They were formed in 1198, during the Third Crusade, to run a field hospital in Acre of Akka, in Israel.  Like their counterparts, the Knights Templar, the Teutonics had holdings all over Europe.  However, unlike the Templars, there was a much stronger ethnic identity with the Teutonics.  At the time of their establishment, there was already a strong French and English presence in the Holy Land.  With the coming of more German forces, the Teutonics were created to care for them.  The Teutonis combined the military elements of the Templars and the non-military elements of the Hospitallers, in taking care of charity.

 

The formation was a few years in the making and had the backing of three popes.  Pope Clement III approved the order in 1191.  Pope Celestine III granted the order more privileges in 1196 and Pope Innocent III made the Teutonics a full military order in 1198.

 

In 1226, their leader, Grand Master Hermann von Salza became the lord of Southern Prussia.  Part of the deal was that the Teutonics would then defend the Christian Polish areas against pagan Prussian tribes.  Eleven years later, in 1237 the order acquired Livonia, which is comprised of modern day Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.  In 1242, the Teutonics invaded Orthodox Christian Russia, but the Russian army, under the lead of Alexander Nevsky, pushed them back.  This battle helped show that the Teutonics were not just fighting to eliminate paganism and promote Christianity, but they had an underlying aim of conquering lands in general.  Granted, Russia followed a variation of Western European Christianity and this put Eastern Europe and Western Europe at odds with each other over hundreds of years.

 

The success of the Russians to push back the Teutonics has been a source of pride for centuries.  There is a film, made in 1938, called Alexander Nevsky, which depicts the battle and was directed by Sergei Eisenstein.  For those of you who follow old movies, Eisenstein is famous for the 1925 silent film, Battleship Potemkin.  Even today a friend of mine has seen the Russian dislike for the Teutonics continues.  My friend in the SCA portrays a Teutonic Knight and when he was dressed in his full outfit with the Teutonic Cross on his surcoat, he came across some Russians who were also in a Medieval recreation group.  In their eyes, he was scum of the earth for even dressing as he did.  This isn’t to say the average Russian youth on the streets hates Teutonics, but those who study the history and have a strong sense of Russian pride, don’t have good thoughts about the old German order.

 

Jumping back to 1231, “the Teutonic Knights crossed the Vistula and occupied the lands to the east in a series of campaigns extending over the next thirty years.  The pagan inhabitants were converted at the point of the sword or driven off the land and replaced by German settlers.” (Tierney 380)  The Vistula is the longest river in Poland, so this is when the Teutonics crossed through Poland and began their assault on the Baltic region.

 

In 1291, the Christian rule of Jerusalem ended, as the Muslims retook control.  The Teutonics then moved their base of operations from Acre, to Venice, Italy.  However, the Teutonics began to feel the same pressure the Templars did, by the Church and moved to safer grounds in Prussia, in 1309.  By the 1330s, the Teutonics began selling their possessions elsewhere in Europe, so they were focused in southern Germany.  They colonized Prussia and established thousands of towns. (Cantor 405)

 

After they moved out of the rest of Western Europe, the Teutonics put their sole interest in Eastern Europe with conquering and control.  They alienated their former ally, Poland and even when Lithuania converted to Christianity in 1386, they did not ease up on the Lithuanians.  Hostilities grew to the point, that the Lithuanian Grand Duke, Wladyslaw made an alliance with the Teutonics’ enemies.  In 1410, a combined force of Lithuanians, Poles, Hungarians, Cossacks, Tatars and a few other groups, crucshed the Teutonic Knights in battle.  They continued to hold on to Prussia until 1467, when they lost to Poland and only held Prussia as a vassal for Poland.

 

Their status changed again in 1525, when the Grand Master, Albrecht von Brandenburg converted to Lutheranism.  Now the Teutonics became a strictly secular order and temporarily served as Albrecht’s military when he was made the Duke of Prussia.

 

“After the nationalization of it’s remaining possessions in France following the French Revolution and its dissolution throughout the Napoleonic empire in 1809, it survived only in Austria, and there only covertly.” (Cantor 405)  In 1809, Napoleon officially abolished the order.

 

The order was officially reestablished in 1834, as the Order of the Teutonic Knights and served no military purpose what-so-ever. (Gies 135)  They were strictly a charitable organization.  They are still based in Austria, though there has been a branch in Germany, since 1929.

 

I’m not going to suggest a book this week, but a film instead.  Die Kreutzritter, or The Crusaders in English.

 

Ed. Cantor, Norman, The Pimlico Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. London: Pimlico, 1999.

Gies, Frances, The Knight in History. New York: Harper Perennial, 1984.

Tierney, Brian, Western Europe in the Middle Ages: 300-1475. Boston: McGraw-Hill College, 1999.

Maybe...
I might have figured out what is wrong with my uploading.  I don't think it's my service provider, but my modem.  So I should have a new one next week.  Unfortunately it will be after I need to upload the podcast, but this will be fixed.  I've just been hesitant, as we'll be leaving Germany in August and have to buy a new modem when we get to the States, as our European one won't transfer easily.  Hopefully this will fix the problem.

Episode 6 - Pompeii & Herculaneum
Now Playing: Empeza by Tim Raybourn on Quadim at Magnatune.com

This week’s episode was suggested by Mara from Galeta, California and is about Pompeii.  Most people, who have at least heard of Pompeii, can tell you it was a Roman city that was destroyed by the volcano, Mount Vesuvius.  They can possibly even tell you the year, 79AD.  It was rediscovered in the 1730s and became an archaeologists dream site in the 1860s.  Due to the volcano’s ash, the entire city was covered and everything preserved.  This is true as well for the nearby city of Herculaneum.

 

Pompeii didn’t fall under Roman rule until 80BC.  Before that, Greeks, Etruscans and Samnites all had a part in the city’s history and development.  All of these cultures ruled the region for a period of time.

 

The town is only five miles to the south of Mt. Vesuvius and was an average sized city with an estimated population of twenty thousand inhabitants.  A decent sized town by today’s standards.  Pompeii was a merchant and port town.  Located on the Sarno River, fish sauce and wine were its major exports.  In ancient times, much like today, graffiti was very popular and helps give an insight to what people thought.  In the case of business in Pompeii, an inscription found on a cloth merchant’s wall says “Salve Lucrum”, or “Hello Wealth”.  The Pompeiians liked to make money too.  Beachfront property was also popular.  If you lived in the middle of town, you were in the midst of hustle and bustle and it could get very hot and crowded.  On the coast you had the breeze and hopefully some extra room.

 

About 10 miles northwest of Pompeii, lay Herculaneum.  Herculaneum was a smaller town and the population is figured at about five thousand.  However, there was not the same level of commerce as in Pompeii and most of the citizens were fishermen, artisans and craftsmen.  Herculaneum had a small beach area and considered a more scenic retreat and attracted some more affluent citizens as well.

 

Politics were a big part of life and the graffiti reflects this.  Every March, the top officials, the duoviri and aediles were elected.  Throughout Pompeii, there are numerous writings urging the election of different candidates.  Guilds had their say, “The goldsmiths unanimously urge the election of Gaius Cuspius Pansa as aedile.”  Some people had what would equate to signs on your front lawn today, painted on the side of their house.  “If upright living is considered any recommendations, Lucretius Fronto is well worthy of the office.”  Even women had their say.  While women wer not allowed to run for office, they still gave their opinion, as wall on a wine shop said, “Caprasia along with Nymphius – her neighbors too – ask you to vote for Aulus Vettius Firmus for the aedileship; he is worthy of the office.”  Of course, like today’s political campaigns, there was mudslinging and snide comments, “Claudius’ little girl-friend is working for his election as duovir.”

 

Graffiti didn’t just cater to politics, but it also showed a bit of daily life.  There are instances were people figured accounts, advertised and available groceries.  This is much like advertising today, except the signs couldn’t just be replaced, but had to be repainted first.  In the case of listing accounts, a tavern could publicly record a patron’s running tab so that it could not be easily disputed later.  After all, if the whole town knows what you owe, the tavern owner can’t get a better witness.

 

There was a large amphitheater at Pompeii and saw much activity.  In 59AD, a riot broke out with fans from a neighboring community.  An advertisement from 79AD states the next program.  Basically it states, thirty pairs of gladiators will fight between April eighth and twelfth.  There would be standard fights as well as wild beast combats.

 

As a possible deterrent for thieves and as decoration, there is a famous mosaic at the entrance of one house that displays a dog and says, “Cave Canem” or “Beware of the Dog”.

 Around one o’clock, August twenty-fourth, 79AD, Mt. Vesuvius exploded.  A column of ash and pumice was sent about twelve miles into the sky.  There wasn’t any lava yet, but after half an hour, debris rained down and pumice and ash fell at a rate of about six inches per hour.  After eleven hours of this, the column of the volcano collapsed.  Herculaneum was spared the ash and pumice due to winds, so many may have remained, thinking conditions looked worse than they were.  Yet once the volcano’s cone collapsed, “surge clouds” of gases and debris, over two hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit, came down, along with the lava that was over seven hundred degrees Fahrenheit at speeds between sixty and one hundred and ninety miles per hour.  Herculaneum was only four miles from the volcano, so it was only a matter of minutes before the town was completely destroyed.  Herculaneum was buried sixty-five to one hundred feet below the volcano’s wrath.  An hour later, Pompeii was hit by a surge of lava and whatever remained there was completely obliterated.

There are two famous Romans, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger who were affected by Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption.  At this time, Pliny the Younger and his mother were living with her brother, Pliny the Elder, at Misenum, about twenty miles across the bay from Mt. Vesuvius.  Pliny the Elder is famous for his “Naturalis Historia” or Natural History, which delved into all aspects, such as botany, mineralogy and anthropology, among other subjects.  This word was written only two years before, in 77AD.  His nephew, Pliny the Younger is famous as an orator and statesman.  His letters survive in the “Epistulae”.

 

Pliny the Younger wrote to his friend Tacitus what happened on that fateful day.  His mother first saw the cloud erupting from Mt. Vesuvius and Pliny the Elder climbed to a point where he could see better.  Curious, the Elder called for a small ship so he could get closer to the action.  As he was leaving the house, he received a letter from a woman living at the foot of the mountain and realized all that was happening.  As commander of the local fleet, the Elder ordered the fleet to begin rescue operations and boarded one to join his men.  Meanwhile, the younger and his mother remained in Misenum and waited for the Elder.  After waiting through the night, they were finally encouraged by a friend to flee.  They made it just in time.  The Younger’s accounts have them running with the crowds to escape the ash and debris.  At one point, while they rested, “We had scarcely sat down to rest when darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a closed room.  You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices.  People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, and there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying.” (Kebric 156)

 

After a night away from home, the earthquakes and eruptions subsided and the Younger and his mother returned to Misenum to find the town buried under drifts of ash.  There they remained until they heard news of the Elder.

 

The Elder had gone to his friend’s house and calmed them, yet they did not immediately leave.  In the early morning hours, the Elder finally realized they should leave, but it was too late.  Again the Younger writes, “They debated whether to stay indoors or take their chances in the open, for the buildings were now shaking with violent shocks and seemed to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundation.  Outside on the other hand, there was the danger of falling pumice-stones, even though they were light and porous; however, after comparing the risks they chose the latter.  […]  As a protection against falling objects they put pillows on their heads tied down with cloths.

 

Elsewhere there was daylight by this time, but they were still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night, which they relieved by lighting torches and various kinds of lamp.  My uncle decided to go down to the shore and investigate on the spot the possibility of any escape by sea, but he found the waves still wild and dangerous.  A sheet was spread on the ground for him to lie down, and he repeatedly asked for cold water to drink.  Then the flames and smell of sulphur which gave warning of the approaching fire drove the others to take flight and roused him to stand up.  He stood leaning on two slaves and then suddenly collapsed, I imagine because the dense fumes choked his breathing by blocking his windpipe which was constitutionally weak and narrow and often inflamed.  When daylight returned on the 26^th – two days after the last day he had seen – his body was found intact and uninjured, still fully clothes and looking more like sleep than death.”  (Kebric 157)

 

Pliny the Younger’s account is a very vivid one and shows just how terrible the event was.  After the town was rediscovered and archaeology began in 1860, voids were found in the layer of ash, where bodies had fallen and eventually decomposed.  The archaeologist, Guiseppe Fiorelli, filled in these voids with plaster and once again, people viewed the horror and can see what Pliny the Younger began to describe.

 

Today, visitors can go to Pompeii and see the remains of the town.  Because of the layers of ash and lava, the town has been preserved, even down to the grains and breads.  There are still sections that aren’t fully excevated, but most of the town is and while not all of it is open to the public, visitors can see the “Cave Canem” mural, homes and businesses.

 

Kebric, Robert. Roman People, London: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997

Sorry...

I have been having a bit of trouble with my blog.  Every time I've tried to post the text of the show, it doesn't do anything.  nothing at all.  i finally figured out why.  It seems I cannot add too much new text at once.  If I paste a little bit of text and keep adding a little more through editing, I can finally get the whole text up.  So this delay shouldn't be an issue in the future.

As for the podcast's delay of availability on iTunes... I'm still working on that.  I think it's the time of night I'm uploading.  I think it's just too busy on the Internet at that hour, so this next week I will try to upload at an odd hour.  Hopefully that will fix the problem.  Again, sorry folks.

Episode 5 - Medieval Recipes 1

The music you heard is track number 17, When the Nichtegale Singes on the album Lenten is Come, by Briddes Roune.  And it is available at Magnatune.com

 

So what did people eat during the Middle Ages?  I have come across a few perceptions and they weren’t positive.  Some figured that gruel was the cuisine of the day.  Some more generous people thought the nobles had meat, but it was very plain and dull, not much better than the peasants’ gruel.  There are also some misconceptions about what foods were available in the Middle Ages.  Potatoes are strongly associated with the Irish thanks to the 19^th century potato famine.  Tomatoes are strongly associated with Italians for pasta and pizza.  Yet both of these ingredients are from the “New World” and would not have been available in the Middle Ages, to Europeans.  At the same time, some people I’ve asked thought oranges and honey are from the “New World” and would not have been available to Europeans.  In fact, these two ingredients were available.  Oranges were grown in Middle Eastern regions and here in Germany they still often import their oranges from Turkey, not Florida.  Honey was a staple ingredient instead of sugar.  Sugar was available after a while in the Middle Ages, though it was a different type and very expensive.  So honey was the sweetener of the day.  Also, honey was a little different than now.  First, our bees in America use the pollen from different weeds and flowers and they are a different breed.  The early European breed of bees produced less honey.  But for our purposes this week, it’s still honey.

 

So this week I’m trying something a little different for our listeners.  How would you like to try some food from the Middle Ages and decide for yourself if it was at a low status with gruel, or if it was somewhat tasty?  Now it isn’t possible for me to stop by everyone’s house and cook, nor am I about to make enough and send some to the over one thousand listeners.  The hours of work would be insane.  I just made candied orange rinds for about 90 people and that took a long time.  Instead, I am going to give you two Medieval recipes that are simple enough to make and taste really good for those with a bit of a sweet tooth.  So you don’t worry about transcribing the recipes and directions, they will be available on the blog, and hopefully a few pictures as well.

 

Here’s a quick background and advertisement for what I do in my spare time.  I’m a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism.  It’s a worldwide group that tries to recreate the Middle Ages.  People pick a time anywhere between 600 and 1600 and try to learn as much as possible about their “persona”.  We picked the early 800s, as we love to read about Charlemagne and his time.  So I’ve studied up on the clothes and sew up outfits for us.  I’m working on all sorts of needlework as well.  We are interested in learning to sword fight, though I’ve been doing it and not my husband at this point.  So we’ve researched armour and weaponry of the time as well.  I currently have a set of leather scale armour I made and fight in.  Or more I should say get pummeled in.  I’ve only been fighting for a year, against men who have been fighting for over ten years.

 

There are also events that are put together where people can dress up, show off their arts and sciences projects and have feasts.  Some feasts are set up by a few individuals and others are potluck, though you are supposed to bring Medieval dishes, not macaroni and cheese.  Thus I have embarked on a learning experience of food.  Since I love to bake and make sweets, that’s what I usually prepare, though I made a nice mushroom pie a few times.

 

For anyone who is interested in checking out the group, the webpage is www.sca.org.  Check it out and find your local kingdom.  It’s lots of fun.  So, that brings me to some recipes.

 

The first recipe is Nucato, or Spiced Honey Nut Crunch.  This is a very easy recipe and only takes a little bit of time.  The recipe I have is a rather large one, so I will scale it down for our listeners, so it’s good for a family snack.  You need…

 

1½ cups honey

1 pound shelled almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts

1 lemon for spreading the mixture

 

Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 pinch freshly ground pepper

1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 teaspoon ground cloves

 

Boil the honey and skim off any scum that rises up.  Coarsely chop the nuts and add them to the honey.  To the side, you should have the spice mixture and you need to add 1 teaspoon of it to the honey and nuts.  Cook over low heat and stir constantly for 30-45 minutes.  When the nuts make a slight popping sound from the honey, take the pan off the heat.  Make sure not to burn the nuts, or they will be bitter.  Now mix in the rest of the spice mixture.  Pour the nucato onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it with the cut half of a lemon.  Let it cool and then enjoy.

 

The original recipe says to spread the nuts with your bare hand, but this is NOT advised, as you will probably get burned and not enjoy the snack as much.  I’ve made the recipe with walnuts and made quite a lot of it.  It was for forty people and my husband swore I made too much of it.  It turns out many people in our SCA group LOVED nucato and the bowl was empty at the end of the night.

 

In this recipe you can also see what spices were commonly used.  Although cinnamon is a more eastern spice, it was traded commonly enough to be used in recipes.  This was an Italian recipe from the 14^th century and Italy was often the port of trading between the Western and Eastern world.  There is a good book about the spice trade routes and I will go through it for another episode.

 

The second recipe is a bit more time consuming, but I feel, even better than the nucato.  From a French manuscript, we get Candied Orange Rinds.  You need…

 

2 organically grown, pesticide free, thick skinned oranges, navel oranges are good.

1 ¾ cups honey

ground ginger

 

The recipe is simple, you just have to wait a while.  I cut the oranges into four parts, though the original recipe said five.  Keeping the quarters of the oranges intact, slowly peel off and if you need to, dig out the meat of the orange.  The part you normally eat.  Do whatever you like with that part, including eating it right there.  The part you need for the recipe is the rind.  Take a vegetable peeler and remove the pith, or the white part of the rind.  So you want to keep the orange part intact.  If you accidentally scrape through and make a hole in the orange peel, it’s fine.  Actually, I didn’t use the peeler in the normal way.  Looking at the peeler, it should make a “u” shape, with the sharp part on the curve.  I turned the peeler upside-down and used the two outside edges and scraped back and forth vigorously to get all the pith off.  This shouldn’t take too long for two oranges.  I actually did it with two sacks of oranges and spread the work out over the course of a week.  That was tiring to the arm.

 

The next part and long one, is you place the orange rinds in a small bowl of water and let them soak.  Then tomorrow you change the water and let them soak again.  Changing the water every day, you let them soak for a whole week or seven days.  This makes the rinds very tender.  Please make sure to change the water every day.  Even after just one day, the water gets a little cloudy and scummy looking.  I know it probably sounds like the oranges won’t be edible after a week like this, I was nervous about that, but they are fine.

 

After you patiently waited that week out, boil a quart of water.  Dump the rinds in and let the water come to a boil again.  Then immediately take the rinds out and dry them off with some paper towels.  Once they are dry, cut them into strips.  I just used my kitchen scissors and literally cut them, as opposed to slicing them with a knife.  Now place them in a saucepan and cover them with the honey.  The honey should completely cover the orange strips.  Bring it to a boil over medium-low heat and then put the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

 

The recipe says you should put the strips on a rack and let them dry for a few hours.  Unfortunately I didn’t have the time for that when I made them.  It didn’t affect the taste though, so it’s up to you.  Either after you let them dry, or if you can’t wait, sprinkle some ground ginger over the strips and enjoy.  The recipe suggests letting them sit in an air-tight container in a cool place for a month before eating.  Again, I didn’t have that kind of time.  It’s up to you if you wait.  The difference isn’t so much in the taste, but the texture.  Since I was in a bit of a rush for the event, my rinds were still a bit goopy.  If you dry them out and even wait a month, they should be more like a soft candy.  Even still, they taste just fine, goopy.

 

I will have a few photos up on the webpage in the next few hours.  For the most part, if you just read the instructions, it’s pretty simple.  The pictures are intended to show you what the final product looks like.

 

I’m curious to hear what people think about this episode.  It’s more “hands-on” and instructional, than historical.  Yet I tried to give a little background as well.  Plus, these are historical recipes.  If anyone tries these recipes, please tell me what you think. If I get some positive feedback on the episode, I’ll try to have a “hands-on” episode about every 6-8 weeks.  This will include simple clothing and accessories as well.  In the case of clothing, there would be more information on the fashion of the time period talked about with instructions for a simple article of clothing on the blog.  And it wouldn’t be just Medieval.  We have a handful of daily life resources for Ancient history as well, including a cookbook from about 60BC.

 

Ed. Kritzman, Lawrence D. Food: A Culinary History. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Redon, Odile, Sabban, Francoise & Serventi, Silvano. The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Episode 4 - Beowulf

Before I start this week’s episode, I must explain something about history.  While facts and figures are great, they don’t give us the personality of our ancestors.  They simply state when and where an event happened and possibly how many people were involved in it.  I feel that literature is very important to history.  While scholars, clergy and politicians wrote plenty of texts, these were usually written in a more restrained and proper tone.  Fiction took more liberties and was able to show what the common man was like, he, who was not able to normally record his ideas like an educated man.  Fiction could also show how people spoke.  Throughout the Middle Ages, Latin was usually used by the clergy to write.  Yet most people spoke some variation of English.  I look at Charles Dickens’ writings and I can almost hear the London street urchin as I pick through the cockney.  I read Chaucer and I can see the Wife of Bath in all her attitude.  Literature is very important to our history. (Soapbox)

 

This week’s episode deals with the Old English epic, Beowulf.  The tale is believed to have been written any time between the middle of the seventh century and the end of the tenth century.  Only one manuscript has survived, as far as scholars today are aware.  This was discovered in the eighteenth century after it barely survived a fire.  Even now, there a few pieces of the tale missing and the edge of some of the pages are charred.  Yet even though Beowulf is a fairly newly discovered text, it has become one of the most important standards for English scholars.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books was a professor of English language and is one of the many figures to translate and study Beowulf.  In fact, there are a few elements of Beowulf that probably influenced Tolkien when he wrote his novels, such as the wyrm Beowulf fought and the phrase “Middle-Earth”.

 

The tale is a great epic that contains many battles and heroic deeds.  There are feasts and rewards and feats of massive strength.  There are even stories within the story.  The main character, Beowulf, is a Geat from a northern Scandinavian country.  He hears of the plight of the Danes and sails to aid them.  For twelve years, the Danes have been attacked by the monster Grendel.  The king Hrothgar is worn and at his wits end when Beowulf arrives.  It’s not entirely clear what exactly Grendel is, but there is a line, “Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.” (Heaney 9)  This line actually tells the reader two things.  First, many scholars believe it implies Grendel was of Cain’s lineage.  Yes, the very same Cain from the Bible who slew his brother Abel.  It also shows there are strong Christian references in the tale.

 

Beowulf was certainly an oral tale long before it was written down.  There were also still fairly strong pagan beliefs among the Anglo-Saxons when the tale was created.  Some scholars believe the Christian elements that we read now, were not always present.  When the tale was finally recorded, Christian symbols were probably put in to give the epic some acceptance among the clergy.  If it strictly promoted paganism, it would never have been accepted and it may well have never survived the centuries, but destroyed as heathen literature.

 

Beowulf tells Hrothgar he will rid the Danes of the creature Grendel and one night, when Grendel attacks, the two fight to the death.  Of course, as befitting an epic, Beowulf is earlier described as “[…] the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful.” (Heaney 15)  Not only is he the strongest man in the world, but he’s also of good birth.  At this point, most characters in tales were not the common man, but the nobles.  Commoners could be loyal and aid a nobleman, but they were not the focus of the tale and certainly not the hero.

 

Just after Beowulf swears he will defeat Grendel, Unferth challenges him and tells of a swimming contest Beowulf once lost.  Beowulf turns around and explains that while he may not have crossed the sea before his opponent, Breca, he fought a greater battle.  When Beowulf swam against Breca, he was the stronger swimmer.  But after five nights of swimming while holding a sword and wearing chain-mail for protection, a sea monster came up and dragged him to the bottom of the sea.  While he was under the sea for a night, he proceeded to kill nine sea monsters and then drifted back to shore.

 

As you can see, Beowulf is not your ordinary human.  He was able to swim for five days, not float, but swim a race for those five days.  Then even after he exerted himself so much, he killed nine fierce sea monsters while completely under water for a night.  There’s not too many people that I know of, who can stay under water for more than a few minutes, without oxygen tanks, let alone hold their breath a whole night and exert themselves further.

 

Beowulf again demonstrates his amazing ability to hold his breath under water when he fights Grendel’s mother.  Counting on his mighty strength, Beowulf swears not to use his sword against Grendel, but fight him in hand-to-hand combat.  After their fight, Grendel was wounded and tried to get away, but Beowulf would not let go.  He held on so tightly, that Grendel’s arm ripped off at the shoulder.  Grendel escaped to die in his lair under the waters.

 

Grendel’s mother later comes to avenge her son and Beowulf follows her into her lair in the swamp.  His sword would not penetrate her flesh, so he eventually had to fight her hand-to-hand as he did her son.  When he came upon a strange sword in the lair, he found that would cut through Grendel’s mother and hurried to end the battle.  He then goes on to decapitate the monster and brought her head to Hrothgar as a trophy.  The whole battle under water lasted nine hours.  Again, an amazing example of breath-holding.

 

All of this is just the first half of the epic.  It is an action packed adventure that can capture the imagination of any child and adult.  The second half of the epic has Beowulf as the new king of the Geats and back in his homeland.  There he goes on to fight a wyrm, or dragon that is guarding a magnificent treasure.  It is also the last battle for this great man.  He is now old, but able to save his people in one final and amazing show of strength.

 

Aside from the wonderful battles and heroism, there are also a few lessons to be learned about honor.  The warrior Unferth, who challenged Beowulf’s boasts earlier, is quickly shown to be a dishonorable man.  Beowulf explains how Unferth only boasts, but never has the courage to fight with honor.  In fact, he killed some of his own kin and will be judged in the afterlife for it.  Later when Beowulf goes to fight the wyrm, the warriors that accompany him get scared and run off, leaving him on his own.  Only one person remains by his side.  A boy, who is not a great warrior, named Wiglaf.  For his loyalty and honor, Wiglaf is named Beowulf’s successor and goes on to be the next king of the Geats.  This is an example of how honor can pay off in the end.

 

At times throughout the tale, other tales are told.  When Beowulf and Hrothgar are feasting, a poet tells the tale of Sigemund and how he slew the dragon.  This is another heroic tale.  I am not too familiar with the Scandinavian version, but will use the Germanic version for this discussion.  Siegfried or Sigemund slew the dragon that guarded the Nibelungen hoard.  Beowulf is contrasted with King Hermod in this tale, who is a man past him prime and angry that others are mightier than him.  He is not a rock for his people like Sigemund and Beowulf are.

 

This sub-tale can also be used to foresee Beowulf’s future.  He, like Sigemund, goes on to defeat a dragon and return a great treasure to his people.  If you follow the story of Sigemund, you will learn that the treasure is actually cursed.  The same could be said for the treasure Beowulf uncovers.  It was originally found by a peasant and he stole a cup, which brought the dragon’s wrath down upon Beowulf’s people.  The treasure was a catalyst and the death of Beowulf was the outcome.

 

I am getting a little too into Sigemund’s tale, as that can easily be an episode in itself, so I will stop here.  But the point is, to the listener of Beowulf, seating in the feast hall back in the so called “Dark Ages”, he is hearing a new tale about this warrior Beowulf.  Yet he is also hearing an old tale of Sigemund.  The poet is connecting Beowulf with other great heroes in some of the lessons to be learned and also some of the feats he manages.

 

One of the reasons why Beowulf is a staple of early English studies, is for the language it brings.  This is pretty much the largest tale written in Old English.  While there are histories that are longer, this is the longest piece of fiction.  At over three thousand lines, it is an excellent resource for learning the language.  Even to the casual reader it can be an interesting etymological study.  I am not well versed in the language and thus will not attempt to slaughter it by reading a few lines.  But I have had professors who have read passages and it’s a very lyrical language.  It doesn’t flow as well as the Romance languages, such as French or Italian, but is a little more guttural like German.  Even still, it has a wonderful rhythm and can be a joy to listen to.

 

You can also see the beginnings of our modern language in some of the words.  I looked at my Old English grammar book and learned that the letters c g pronounced together made the “dg” sound.  Then I looked at the word, spelled “brycg”.  All of a sudden it clicked.  Using the pronunciation guide, I realized “brycg” was bridge.  Even after more than one thousand years, some of our words are the same, only spelled a little different.  There are also words that while they have changed in English, German uses the old English version, such as “bett”, which is “bed”.

 

I apologize, I cannot provide a traveler’s note for this episode, as I have not been able to travel to any place in Scandinavia.  But I can still suggest a book.  There are many translations of Beowulf, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s, as mentioned before.  Yet the one that many reviewers are praising right now is a newer version, translated by Seamus Heaney.  First published in 2000, Heaney uses a lyrical style based on Irish storytelling his family used to do.  The book itself is split.  On the left-hand pages, the Old English is written out, with the modern English translation on the right.  It’s a relatively easy read and quite enjoyable.  There is also a little family tree in the back of the book, which shows Beowulf and Hrothgar’s lineage.

  

Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000

Mitchell, Bruce. A Guide to Old English. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2003

HUMPH!

Well, it seems at this point in time, it is not possible to make an enhanced podcast for iTunes on a PC.  As I am not interested in any way shape of form of going out and purchasing a Mac, I am currently unable to make an enhanced podcast.  This rather stinks, as I've always been a hands-on person and would love to add some visuals for our listeners.  So, as I am currently unable to add them to the podcast, I will just have to add them to the transcripts.

I am looking at a few series that are more hands-on for the listener.  One will be a recipe series.  Every now and again, I'd like to talk about food from a certain period and include a recipe or two.  Many of the recipes in earlier history are actually quite tasty.  I just made candied orange rind with honey and they were good.  Time consuming, but very delicious.  I'm also looking at a series on Fashion.  Maybe one of these series episodes will occur once a month.  I'll have to see what everyone thinks.

Episode 3 - Hammurabi and His Code

This week, episode three will focus on Hammurabi.  You may have heard of the code of Hammurabi, whether in school or reading.  Even if you never heard the name Hammurabi, you may still have a vague idea of his code.  Yet not too much is known about the man.  I’ll tell you what little we do know of this ancient ruler and then move on to his code of laws.

 

“Mesopotamia, meaning “the land between the rivers,” owed its name to the Greeks.  The rivers in question here were the Euphrates and the Tigris, the two great inland waterways between the Nile and the Indus. […] The cultural area associated with Mesopotamia in fact extended well beyond the rivers themselves, forming a broad triangle with its base along the foothills of the northern mountains and its apex at the head of the Gulf.  To the east it was bounded by the Zagros mountain chain, while on the west the fertile land quickly gave way to the desert that separated the Crescent’s two arms.” (Woolf 60)

 

This is the long way of saying Mesopotamia covered what is now Modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and Southwest Iran.  Mesopotamia was not so much a country, but a region and was comprised of a number of people, including the Assyrians, Babylonians and Sumerians.

 

“Hammurabi was descended from an ancient line of nomadic desert sheiks and claimed that he could trace his ancestry back over 24 generation.” (Hunt 68)  Unlike the Greeks and the Romans, Hammurabi was lost to the world until the 1860s when information was first published about him.  At first it was thought that he came to power in 2342 BC, gradually moving up in date, until the year of accession finally settled at 1795 BC.

 

While originally only the king of Babylon, Hammurabi was an excellent military strategist and eventually conquered most of Mesopotamia.  At the start of his reign, Babylonia only covered about 55 miles of terrain, but at the end of his reign in 1750 BC, the Babylonians ruled over all of Sumer and most of Assyria.  While his conquest would only last for about another 200 years, at the time of his death, his nation was the most powerful of the area.

 

Hammurabi didn’t leave archaeological evidence of grand palaces and lavish artifacts, at least not that has been discovered up until now, but there is evidence of public works, such as the building of canals. (Hunt 68)  What Hammurabi is best known for, was his code of laws.

 

Discovered in 1901, “the stele containing the Code is an obelisk-like block of black diorite measuring […]” (Catholic Encyclopedia) just over seven feet tall and a little over six feet in circumference at the base.  “With the exception of a large carving in relief on the upper end, it was once entirely covered with forty-four columns (over 3800 lines) of text in old Babylonian wedge-writing.” (Catholic Encyclopedia)

 

The stele starts out with the following as message from Hammurabi to his people in way of explanation of his laws.  I apologize in advance for any mispronunciation.  My language skills are focused more on Western Europe, such as French, German and Latin, with a dabbling in Korean.  While I’d love to eventually study the truly ancient languages, I have yet to and thus have had no lessons in pronunciation.

 

“When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind.

When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to the land, I did right and righteousness in . . . , and brought about the well-being of the oppressed.” (King)

These laws were very strict and most crimes were punishable by death, with few exceptions.  Hammurabi’s Code also set the precedent for the Hebrew’s “eye for an eye” laws.  Rule 196 states that “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.”  Rule 197 states that “If a man break another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken.”  Rule 229 states that “If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then the builder shall be put to death.”  Rule 230 states that “If it kill the son of the owner, the son of that builder shall be put to death.”  This is a common theme throughout the code and very much promotes that what is lost to one by another’s hand, shall be also lost to the perpetrator.  While today’s human rights groups would never allow such laws in America, it is a very basic and fair set of rules.  There are a number of rather harsh rules though.  While crimes often have to be proven, there are a few exceptions.  Rule 127 states that “If the “finger is pointed” at a man’s wife about another man, but she is not caught sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river for her husband.”  This is very harsh, as it says the woman is guilty no matter what.  In this case, she wasn’t proven guilty, so she won’t be killed, instead it is her duty to kill herself.  In rules where the man and woman are found together, they are both killed in a variety of ways, depending on how they are found.

 

There are also rules that take in extenuating circumstances and are in the favor of the woman.  Rule 136 states that “If any one leave his house, run away, and then his wife go to another house, if then he return, and wishes to take his wife back: because he fled from his home and ran away, the wife of this runaway shall not return to her husband.”  Rule 144 states that “If a man take a wife and this woman giver her husband a maid-servant, and she bear him children, but this man wishes to take another wife, this shall not be permitted to him; he shall not take a second wife.”  Rule 148 states that “If a man take a wife, and she be seized by disease, if he then desire to take a second wife he shall not put his wife away, who has been attacked by disease, but he shall keep her in the house which he had built and support her so long as she lives.”

 

Now on to this week’s traveler’s note.  You can see the Code of Hammurabi in the Louvre in Paris.  While it is obviously worn with age, the inscriptions are in excellent condition and the carving of Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash is very clear.  Even though cannot read Old Babylonian, looking closely at the writing we merely appreciated it for its even hand and historical value.  The Code is very accessible, merely roped off in a small square area in a relatively large room.  Also, this area in usually lower in traffic, as everyone crowds and pushes to see the Mona Lisa, Nike and Venus de Milo.  It seems not too many people are interested in the truly ancient cultures like Mesopotamia.  When we visited the Louvre, I didn’t know the Code of Hammurabi was there, but when I looked over the floor plans, my heart skipped a beat and we made a beeline for the stele.

 

One nice book we have, that I used for this podcast, is the Historical Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia by Norman Bancroft Hunt.  It’s not a very hefty tome, weighing in only around 190 pages.  Yet it has some nice maps and gives a good overview of Mesopotamian for those who just want to peruse the history.  It also has quite a number of photos of artifacts that are fascinating in their own right.

  

Hunt, Norman Bancroft. Historical Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Thalamus Publishing, 2004.

Tr. King, L.W. Code of Hammurabi. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hamcode.html>

Ed. Woolf, Greg. Ancient Civilizations: The Illustrated Guide to Belief, Mythology, and Art. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2005

Catholic Encyclopedia Hammurabi <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07125a.htm>

 

Sorry, but WOW!

Well, it seems I cannot yet do "Tripping in the Middle Ages".  My library doesn't have enough information to make a full show, so it will have to wait.  I do have a friend checking her medical books for info though.  So hopefully soon I'll have something.  In the meantime, I'll do a few ancient history topics.  After all, this is the ANCIENT & Medieval History podcast.  Right now I'm compiling and recording Hammurabi and his code, for Monday's podcast.  Hope everyone enjoys.

Also, I just received my first response.  It contained very nice words and I was very encouraged.  I hope everyone else enjoys the show as well.

Also, I didn't think it possible for a while, but after a little more than a week, our show has passed the 200 mark for subscribers.  I am VERY surprised.  Especially since I looked yesterday and Feed Burner said 151 and today said 247.  That means in one day it jumped almost 100.  WOW!  Okay, so I need to lay off playing Neverwinter Nights 2 and make sure I keep a good quality show. :-)