On November 15, 1315, an Austrian army of at least a few thousand men marched along the shores of Lake Ägeri in central Switzerland. It was here that they were ambushed by over a thousand Swiss farmers.
Bras in the 15th Century? A Preliminary Report
November 14, 2015 By
Four linen textiles resemble modern time bras. The criterion for this classification is the presence of distinctly cut cups. The two more fragmented specimens appear to be a combination of a bra and a modern dirndl blouse.
Prostitution in the Medieval City
July 21, 2015 By
Prostitution was a vice that was was considered a necessary evil because of “men’s lust”. Ecclesiastics felt that if brothels weren’t available to men in cities, they would find other inappropriate outlets for their entertainment. In an effort to curb potential problems, civic officials permitted prostitution to function within the city walls so long as it was regulated and turned a profit.
Avalanches in the Middle Ages
July 6, 2015 By
One of the dangers a medieval traveller might face when crossing through mountainous terrain is the threat of avalanches.
Shadow of the Sword (The Headsman)
May 21, 2015 By
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gives us a sympathetic Headsman in Reformation Austria, in the ‘Shadow of the Sword (The Headsman)’.
Philippa Langley: The End of Richard III and the Beginning of Henry I
March 27, 2015 By
Amidst all the excitement, and the whirlwind that was Richard III’s reburial in Leicester, I managed to catch up with one of the world’s most famous Ricardians, ‘the Kingfinder’, Philippa Langley.
Castle Geiersberg in Austria for sale
March 11, 2015 By
Settled on top of a rocky outcrop among the beautiful mountains of southern Austria, Castle Geiersberg dates back to at least the 13th century. The castle once belonged to the archbishops of Salzburg, and then Austrian nobility.
The Kidnapped King: Richard I in Germany, 1192–1194
August 30, 2014 By
In 1193 the rulers of Germany and England met for the first time in history.
Pedlars and Alchemists in Friuli History of itinerant sellers in an alpine reality
August 25, 2014 By
This short review discusses about itinerant sellers in Friuli, who are Cramaro called (XI-XIX centuries). Attention is focused, in particular, on the question if some of theme were alchemists.
Coeur de Lion in Captivity
August 10, 2014 By
In December 1192 Richard I was seized near Vienna by Duke Leopold V of Austria.
Catharism and Heresy in Milan
May 13, 2014 By
Evidence suggests that heresy in Lombardy proliferated during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a period of upheaval in the structure and form of politics and society, especially in itscapital city. From 1117 Milan operated as a commune, securing independent jurisdiction at thePeace of Constance (1183).
Espionage in the 16th century Mediterranean: Secret Diplomacy, Mediterranean Go-betweens and the Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry
March 15, 2014 By
This dissertation compares both empires’ secret services and explains the differences between the two systems of information gathering based on these empires’ differing organizational structures.
Fortified Settlements of the 9th and 10th Centuries ad in Central Europe: Structure, Function and Symbolism
March 10, 2014 By
The structure, function(s) and symbolism of early medieval (9th–10th centuries ad) fortified settlements from central Europe, in particular today’s Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, are examined in this paper.
Voices from a Distant Land: Fragments of a Twelfth-Century Nuns’ Letter Collection
January 26, 2014 By
In these fragments echo women’s voices speaking of their intersecting spiritual, economic, and personal concerns, voices offering us a rare glimpse both of the lives of Admont’s twelfth-century nuns and of their continuing interaction with the world outside the cloister.
How to pleat a shirt in the 15th century
January 4, 2014 By
Based on the shirt fragments from the 15th century found at Lengberg Castle in East-Tyrol this paper describes the methods with which these shirts have been pleated, what type of stiches have been used for sewing and how the trimming strips were fashioned. Seventeen textile fragments could be identified as parts of shirts, fourteen of which feature either partially or totally pleated areas. Two sleeves with textile buttons and button holes, two sleeves with button holes, one sleeve with a textile button, one neckline and five fragments being either sleeve or collar are pleated on their entire width. One shirt each is pleated partially on the front, one of them with a preserved textile button. One sleeveless shirt is pleated at the shoulder.
The Early German Settlement of North Eastern Moravia: and What the Pied Piper of Hamelin Had to Do with It
December 29, 2013 By
Long ago, primordial forests, dark and impenetrable, surrounded the mountainous frontier, which today separates northeastern Bohemia from large parts of northern Moravia in the Czech Republic. This area was situated north of the sparsely populated flatlands of the March (Morava) River. The stillness of the forests remained largely undisturbed by man.
Henry Ill’s Plans for a German Marriage (1225) and their Context
November 24, 2013 By
In this paper I would like to investigate how these and other factors influenced the two major marriage projects pursued by Henry III in 1225: the king himself was to marry a daughter of the duke of Austria, and his sister Isabella the son and heir of Emperor Frederick I, Henry (VII).
Unusual Life, Unusual Death and the Fate of the Corpse: A Case Study from Dynastic Europe
April 23, 2013 By
This article explores how deviant behaviour in life, deviant circumstances of death, and young age at death affected mortuary treatment among historically documented individuals from Medieval and Post-Medieval European dynasties.
From Marvels of Nature to Inmates of Asylums: Imaginations of Natural Folly
April 1, 2013 By
Even human beings were collected when their physical or mental state did not fit the norms of men. According to an inventory in 1621, the portrait gallery of Ambras showed pictures of people who were perceived as giants, dwarfs, or so-called hirsute men.
Why There May Have Been Contacts between Slovenes and Jews before 1000 A.D.
March 16, 2013 By
The first documented evidence of a Jewish presence in Slovenia dates from the 13th century, when Yiddish- and Italian-speaking Jews migrated south from Austria to Maribor and Celje, and east from Italy into Ljubljana. This is a good three centuries after the first mention of Jews in the Austrian lands.
More on medieval bras – new details on 15th century find
July 20, 2012 By
The discovery of female undergarments from the 15th century is making international headlines. Now more details are being released by the University of Innsbruck.
Medieval lingerie? Discovery in Austria reveals what really was worn under those tunics
July 17, 2012 By
A recent discovery in an Austrian castle has revealed that bras existed back in the 15th century.
Medieval castle to be built in Austria
July 13, 2012 By
The Austrian town of Friesach will be home to a new medieval castle, to built using construction methods from the period.
Instruments and demonstrations in the astrological curriculum: evidence from the University of Vienna, 1500–1530
July 8, 2012 By
The University of Vienna presents something of a puzzle for his- torians of astronomy and astrology. During the fifteenth century the university was alma mater to Johannes de Gmunden, Georg von Peuerbach, and Johannes Regiomontanus, who were central to developments in astronomy and astrology throughout Europe. Yet there is little evidence of advanced instruction in astronomy or astrology by any of these masters.
Sex differences in mortality in Lower Austria and Vienna in the Early Medieval period
November 30, 2011 By
Based on five Early Medieval cemetery populations from different parts of Lower Austria and Vienna, this work analyses, by applying methods such as mortality profiling, macroscopic examination and stable isotope analysis, other possible contributing factors to these sex differences in life expectancy.
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