Don’t let the charming name fool you: The pandemic that swept through Europe in the mid 14th century was nothing to shake a stick at. According to historian Philip Daileader:

“The trend of recent research is pointing to a figure more like 45% to 50% of the European population dying during a four-year period. There is a fair amount of geographic variation. In Mediterranean Europe and Italy, the South of France and Spain, where [the] plague ran for about four years consecutively, it was probably closer to 75% to 80% of the population. In Germany and England … it was probably closer to 20%.“

To put things in perspective, imagine if half the population of the United States were wiped out in the length of a presidential term in office.

Most people now believe that the Black Death was spread by diseased fleas that clung to the backs of rats, which made their ways around the popular ports of Europe.

The most common plague in the period of the Black Death was the Bubonic Plague. Symptoms of it included fever over 100°F, headache, painful joints, vomiting, and overall “ickyness.” If you started noticing these symptoms, you had a 20% chance of survival (or an 80% chance that you’d be dead within a week).  There was also the Septicemic Plague, which if you caught the symptoms of high fever and purple skin patches, there was no chance of survival. The last popular plague of the Black Death was the Pneumonic Plague. The symptoms were fever, cough, and blood in your phlegm. If you caught the Pneumonic Plague, your chances were better then the Septicemic plague by 10%; I’ll let you do the math on that one.

It took Europe almost 150 years to recover its population and cultural losses after the Black Death.

Sources:

Philip Daileader, The Late Middle Ages, audio/video course produced by The Teaching Company (2007), ISBN 978-1-59803-345-8.

“BBC News | HEALTH | De-coding the Black Death.” News.bbc.co.uk. Wednesday, 3 October 2001, 21:51 GMT 22:51 UK.

“Plague, Plague Information, Black Death Facts, News, Photos – National Geographic.” Science.nationalgeographic.com.

Henry VI

When we left off in War Of the Roses: Part 2, Henry VI’s uncle John, Duke of Bedford, had passed away, leaving Henry impressionable and alone. His new advisers would be blamed for giving young Henry poor council, which allowed the Hundred Years’ War to continue with staggering losses. With the Duke of Bedford gone, Henry succeeded in losing most of the French lands that his father, Henry V, had won.

It probably didn’t help that two of his advisers (Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Gloucester) opposed each other. The two of them struggling for power over the king, in addition to the death of the Regent of France (Henry’s aforementioned uncle, the Duke of Bedford) led to the collapse of English rule in Northern France. The loss of French lands at this time were partially attributed to bad leadership; however, the victories of Joan of Arc played a vital role as well, but we will talk more about her later.

Having lost the French lands his father had won, Henry was now partial to a peaceable policy in France despite the protests of Richard, Duke of York, and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Through the works of Cardinal Beaufort and the Earl of Suffolk, they convinced the King that the only way to achieve peace with France would be to marry Margaret of Anjou, the niece of King Charles VII’s wife. Henry had heard of her great beauty, so he was all in! During the negotiations, it was decided that Charles would not provide a dowry; in fact, it was further determined that England would return the lands of Maine and Anjou to France. This was very unorthodox at the time, so much so that it was stipulated that the terms of this treaty (the Treaty of Tours) were to be kept a secret from English Parliament. The two were married in 1445.

This is where it all starts getting good, but I’ll have to leave you with a cliffhanger until I have more time to write. Just know that insanity, betrayal, war, and kidnapping are all coming up!

Sources:

Pollard, A.J., The Wars of the Roses. Basingstoke: Macmillan Education (1988).

Wagner, John A., Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses. ABC-Clio (2001).

The Official Website of the British Monarchy, “Henry VI (r.1422-1461 and 1470-1471),” The Royal Household (2008/2009).

I have just finished The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer. As far as history books go on this topic, this book is nothing short of amazing. Mortimer pieces together historical evidence to paint a unique picture of the 14th century not seen before. The book goes into many facets of history that are commonly left out.

What did it smell like outside and inside a town? How did parents treat their children? What was the price of bread? What happened to thieves when the idea of a police force didn’t come into play until the 18th century? Mortimer tackles justice, humor, literature, architecture, travel, combat, and economics of the time. And all the while it is through the eyes of a 21st century visitor. He bids the reader to be careful and well prepared if traveling and gives such advice as to not stay out past curfew, be polite to innkeepers, and never ever wear a sword inside.

Mortimer has a real knack for giving the reader a lot of solid information and keeping it interesting and even comedic. Some parts that I did not personally find interesting were still entertaining to read, as it was less like a historical text, and more like a friend telling me about a foreign country I hadn’t visited.

If you are a fan of medieval history, I highly recommend this book. You can find it here.

Giotto di Bondone was born circa 1267 and died in 1337. An architect and painter who flourished in Florence during the late Middle Ages, he is considered to be one of the first of many gifted artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance. The Peruzzi Chapel was significantly renowned during the Renaissance and was a favorite of Michelangelo.

“The researchers stumbled on the ultraviolet technique by accident, after spending four months mapping the frescoes as preparation for a possible future restoration. In the course of the project, they found that by shining ultraviolet light on the paintings they were able to see much more than was visible to the naked eye.”

Viewed under ultraviolet light, we are actually able to see what these paintings originally looked like. Unfortunately for us, exposing the paintings to too much ultraviolet light will cause additional harm to the already badly damaged paintings. I guess that’s what happens when, as in the 19th century, whitewash and wool scrubbers are used to “restore” 700-year-old paintings.

Original Article.

The painting currently on exhibit at the National Gallery depicts the scene of her execution. In the painting she is being lead to the execution block by Sir John Brydges. She is blindfolded and reaching out with her hands towards the execution block. The executioner standing tall and placid can been seen looking off into the distance.

The piece painted by Paul Delaroche was first shown in 1834, and it was a huge hit. However, critics soon scoffed at the historical fiction of the painting, and even Van Gogh singled Delaroche out and called him one of the “very bad history painters.” It wasn’t until recently (1974) that the painting caught a whole new era of attention. Telegraph.co.uk reports, “Then something extraordinary happened. A work still regarded by mainstream art historians as a bit of a hoot quickly established itself as one of the most popular pictures at Trafalgar Square, attracting so many viewers that even today the wooden floor directly in front of it must be polished far more often than any other spot in the gallery.”

The slowly deteriorating portrait has revealed a faint outline of a coiled snake in the hand of the Queen. The snake, which was once covered up and replaced with roses, is now visible. The image of a serpent has been known to symbolize prudence, judgment, and wisdom. However, given the religious fervor of the times, it could also easily have been seen to represent Original Sin, or the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Telegraph.co.uk reports, “The portrait was created by an unknown artist in the 1580s or early 1590s. The image has not been on display at the London gallery since 1921 but it will form part of an exhibition titled Concealed and Revealed: The Changing Faces of Elizabeth I, from March 13 to Sept. 26.”

Another interesting thing about the painting is that, upon further investigation, researchers also found the face of another woman. “X-ray photography showed a female head facing in the opposite direction and in a higher position than the queen. The eyes and nose of the first face are visible where paint has been lost from Elizabeth’s forehead. The gallery believes the unfinished portrait was by a different painter, showing how 16th century panels were sometimes recycled by artists.”

Artists impression of how a serpent may have looked in the painting.

Original article here.

37 small mourner statues from Dijon, France, have left their home and are now being showcased at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“The 15th century alabaster statues — considered treasures of Medieval Europe — have never before left the city of Dijon, where they march perpetually around the base of the tomb of John the Fearless and his wife Margaret of Bavaria.”

John the Fearless, also known as John II, Duke of Burgundy, or John of Valois, was the Duke of Burgundy from 1404-1419. He fought in the battle of Nicopolis (Sept. 25, 1396) with such enthusiasm and bravery that he was given the nickname of Fearless (Sans-Peur).

These small mourner statues have been kept in France since their creation by Jean de la Huerta and Antoine le Moiturier. Many people are excited about being able to see more than just photographs and illustrations of these statues, which took over 25 years to carve.

According to the article, the interesting thing about them is the breakdown in the seriousness/officialism of the mourners as one goes deeper into the procession. The first few mourners are very stern looking, taking the business quite seriously. It is argued that these mourners are the heads of the local church, or well respected members of the community. These leaders are seen wiping their eyes, heads covered in mourning, or reading from the Bible. As the procession continues, however, some interesting things start to happen as “the mood becomes more uneven. One monk pulls at his apparently over-tight belt. Another blows his nose. One pulls back his cowl to see better.”(AFP)

Just like in grade school, the kids in the back of the line are not as interested in what is happening as those in the front. These statues give us a neat glimpse into medieval life, art, and, in this case, death. They will be on tour for the next two years, at which point they will return home once again to where they have mourned for the last few hundred years.

Wikipedia Article on John the Fearless.

Original Statue Article.

Sometimes comments get lost, so I decided to add this one to the post. Thank you Leonard Steinbach for the great information!

Those interested in the mourner statues might enjoy visiting the websites http://www.framemuseums.org and http://www.themourners.org. Both sites, from FRAME (French Regional and American Museum Exchange), under whose auspices the statues are making the journey to seven American museums, provide very fine, 360-degree, zoomable and 3D (yes, get out those glasses) images of each sculpture. The photos were taken just between the time when they were removed from the tomb, and prepared for shipment.

Telegraph.co.uk ran an interesting article about 16th-century “platform shoes” that I enjoyed. These shoes, called chopines, were a fashion accessory rarely seen, but nevertheless a status symbol of extreme wealth since the wearer was able to afford lengthier gowns to cover them up.

“Excessively high chopines in Italy offered the opportunity for more fabric to be displayed, but it also offered the opportunity for servants to be displayed,” said Elizabeth Semmelhack, the museum’s senior curator.

The article continues to explain that these high-class ladies required servants to assist them with walking while wearing the shoes. Having servants for no other reason than to help her get around displayed to the entire world the woman’s wealth and stature. Interestingly enough, the act of a man offering a woman his arm dates back to men assisting their ladies in the same fashion.

“While the Italian chopines were relatively plain, their Spanish equivalents were gaudier,” Miss Semmelhack said. “Spanish chopines tend to be excessively decorated, very visible, very flashy – much more equivalent to a pair of Manolo Blahniks today.”

The fashion came about for men for a short period of time in the 17th century, but never stuck.  *Phew*!!

Original article here

Working in the game industry, I have had my eye on this title for a while. At first, I scoffed at the idea and was very sad at the prospect of seeing one of my favorite pieces of medieval literature be transformed into a hack-and-slash God of War clone. I finally had a chance to play the demo and watch a lot of the “making of” videos, and I must say, as a true Dante fan, I am definitely excited about the game! Here are a few things EA did to put me at ease:

Dante Tries to Get to Beatrice

They have the right spirit of the story here, if not the actual facts. I am okay with that. EA’s Dante is trying to rescue Beatrice, who appears to have been kidnapped / dragged into Hell.

Actual Sins of Dante’s Inferno Present in the Game

They didn’t make up levels of hell, they didn’t add to story to make it more interesting, they just did it right. Each circle of Hell is accounted for in the game, along with the proper punishment as per the Divine Comedy. The art direction of the game did a fantastic job with some of the creatures and rivers of blood. The kicker, and what sold me on it: The last level of Hell was properly incased in ice! This made me very, very happy!

They Give Props to the Book

Each time you die in EA’s Dante’s Inferno, you receive a quote straight from the text of Inferno. This, too, made me a very happy person!

The Character Dante (the Pilgrim)

This would probably be the sorest spot for anyone comparing the video game to the book. However, it being a video game, I am comfortable giving EA some slack here. Truth be told, a muscle-bound, slightly demented bad ass knight is a far more interesting character than the intellectual and spiritually confused Dante from the Divine Comedy.

Don’t Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here

All in all, I found myself liking the game and am surprised to be as excited for its release as I am. I usually do not like the God Of War hack-and-slash gameplay, but to go through a crazy world that was made as close as possible to Dante’s Inferno is definitely worth it.

As much as I hate to say it: Good job, EA!