The standard method employed in characterization studies of amber, namely infrared spectrography, can discriminate roughly between Baltic amber and amber from other European sources…
Reflection of European Sarmatia in Early Cartography
August 23, 2012 By
While looking for the origins of the state of Lithuania, it is the study of old maps that helps solve a number of riddles, so far weighing on the history of our nation. Historical data, traced in maps and their images, unrestricted by any political, religious or pseudo- scientific taboos, allow us to cast a broad view on the dim and distant past of our state.
The Religious Orders of Knighthood in Medieval Scandinavia: Historical and Archaeological Approaches
August 5, 2012 By
Even if the various Orders of Knighthood reached Scandinavia somewhat later than most of the Christian civilization they soon became important religious institutions in Scandinavian societies in the same way as they already were in the rest of western Europe.
A defence installation of the developing Lithuanian state
August 5, 2012 By
This defence installation from the 12th and 13th centuries belongs to the most important fortified area of the newly developing Lithuanian state. It extended about 50 kilometres from east to west, and was built as a defence against the Polotsk-Pskov duchies and the Livonian Order.
The Turning Point in the Battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald/Žalgiris) in 1410
June 22, 2012 By
SVEN EKDAHL is Assistant Professor of History at Gothenburg University and Professor of Medieval History at the Polish-Scandinavian Research Institute in Copenhagen. He has published extensively on the history of the Teutonic Order in Prussia as well as treated Polish, Baltic, and Scandinavian themes.
The idea of Christian chivalry in the chronicles of the Teutonic Order
June 15, 2012 By
This thesis has as its subject matter the chronicles written by members of the Teutonic Order to describe and justify the crusades undertaken by the Order in Prussia and Lithuania in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Colonizing the Landscape: A Case Study of Medieval Livonia
June 10, 2012 By
There are several impulses which led me to the history of medieval landscape, and particularly that of Medieval Livonia. When discussing with Gerhard Jaritz the availability of medieval primary sources on the Eastern Baltic landscape, I was obliged to point out the extreme scarcity of medieval picture images, illuminated manuscripts or maps of Livonia.
Armed and expected: Traders and their Ways in Viking Times
June 3, 2012 By
The Baltic traders’ stimulation for trading with foreign countries was caused by the shortage of iron, the necessity to obtain good arms, salt, metals for bronze manufacturing, and silver.
Folk narratives and legends as sources of widespread idioms: Toward a Lexicon of Common Figurative Units
March 18, 2012 By
On the one hand, stories (particularly fables) have been de- rived from already existing proverbs, from antiquity up to early modern times. On the other hand, a story in its summarised form can live on in a proverb or an idiom, even if the knowledge of this story has been forgotten for a long time.
Maccabees on the Baltic: the Biblical apologia of the Teutonic Order
March 18, 2012 By
The Teutonic Order, came into being as the third and last of the great medieval crusading orders. The Order began its existence as a temporary hospital for German speaking crusaders during the siege of Acre in 1190.
The Colour of Money: Crusaders and Coins in the Thirteenth-Century Baltic Sea
November 21, 2011 By
Were coins actually perceived as coloured? Several studies have elucidated the idea that there are ways of perceiving, understanding and classifying colours other than in the modern western sense.
Frosts, Floods, and Famines – Climate in Relation to Hunger in North-East Europe A.D. 1100–1550
October 31, 2011 By
This Master’s thesis examines the relation between climatic conditions and hunger in Northeast Europe in A.D. 1100–1550.
The Perception and Interpretation of Hanseatic Material Culture in the North Atlantic: Problems and Suggestions
August 7, 2011 By
The Perception and Interpretation of Hanseatic Material Culture in the North Atlantic: Problems and Suggestions By Natascha Mehler Journal of the North Atlantic, Special Volume 1 (2009) Abstract: This paper takes the discussion on the concept of Hanseatic material culture from the Baltic and moves it west towards the North Atlantic islands and Norway, focusing […]
When did Laskaris Kananos travel in the Baltic lands?
August 4, 2011 By
The author describes how he visited Bergen, Stockholm, Riga, Danzig, Lübeck and Copenhagen before moving on to England and Iceland. His account is clearly the result of first hand observation, rather than classical mimesis, and it includes a number of verifiable details such as distances, climate and the diet of the locals.
Horses and Crossbows: Two Important Warfare Advantages of the Teutonic Order in Prussia
July 31, 2011 By
The combination of these two developments made it possible for the Order’s garrisons to withstand long sieges, provided they had sufficient supplies of food, weapons and crossbow bolts.
Pagans by Comparisons: Medieval Christian and Muslim Constructions of the Pagan “Other”
July 23, 2011 By
Pagans by Comparisons: Medieval Christian and Muslim Constructions of the Pagan “Other” Busalacchi, Philip Perspectives: A Journal of Historical Inquiry, Vol.37 (2010) Introduction: During the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries German and Danish clergymen and knights set off on a crusade to the lands of the eastern Baltic Sea into the modern day Latvia. Henricus […]
The Baltic – from European Sea of Troubles to Global Interface
July 23, 2011 By
What was historically new in medieval Europeanization wasn’t feudalism, trade or state formation, but rational, scientifically conducted disciplining (ethics and moral).
Mobilisation of the European Periphery against the Mongols
July 21, 2011 By
I related how, according to the Novgorod Chronicles, newly arrived crusaders, together with the Sword Brothers, allied themselves with the Russian-Orthodox Pskovites before they went on to their crushing defeat at the hands of the Lithuanians at Saule in September 1236.
The battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald) in 1410
July 15, 2011 By
The battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald) in 1410 By Dmetrius Dviochenko de Markov From Crecy to Mohacs: Warfare in the Late Middle Ages (1346-1526): 22nd Colloquium of the International Commission of Military History (Vienna, 1997) Introduction: In 1386, following the dynastic agreement of Krewo of 1385, the Grand Prince of Lithuania, Olgerd (Olgirdas), was succeeded by […]
Viking Age emporia around the Baltic Sea – a cul-de-sac of the European urbanization?
July 9, 2011 By
In northern Europe a new type of settlement appeared in the first millennium AD.
Medieval town wall of Tartu in the light of recent research
June 2, 2011 By
Medieval town wall of Tartu in the light of recent research By Rivo Bernotas Estonian Journal of Archaeology, Vol.15:1 (2011) Abstract: The present study of the town wall of Tartu will try to summarize the results obtained so far during the archaeological investigations and discuss the condition of the town wall, the date of construction […]
The Baltic Sea and the Sea of Japan: History of Cooperation
May 24, 2011 By
The Baltic Sea and the Sea of Japan: History of Cooperation By Yulia Lamasheva The journal of the study of modern society and culture, No.33 (2005) Introduction: From far away, the Baltic region looks perhaps as a rather homogeneous area. The Baltic Sea is situated in Europe, all bordering States are maritime States. However, in […]
Waiting for the Barbarians: the imagery, dynamics and functions of the Other in Northern German missionary chronicles, 11th-early 13th centuries
April 10, 2011 By
Waiting for the Barbarians: the imagery, dynamics and functions of the Other in Northern German missionary chronicles, 11th-early 13th centuries: the Gestae hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum of Adam of Bremen, Chronica Slavorum of Helmold of Bosau, Chronica Slavorum of Arnold of Lübeck, and Chronicon Livoniae of Henry of Livonia By Linda Kaljundi Master’s Thesis, University of […]
The origin, assortments and transport of Baltic timber
April 7, 2011 By
The first cases of long distance timber transportation in northern Europe, observed using dendrochronology, are from Dorestad in the Netherlands and Wolin in Poland.
Medieval Leather Footwear from Tallinn
March 13, 2011 By
Medieval Leather Footwear from Tallinn By Krista Sarv Archaeologia Baltica, Vol.6 (2006) Abstract: Finds of footwear in the excavations in Town Hall Square and Vene, Vaimu, Sauna and Roosikrantsi streets reflect the medieval footwear fashion of Tallinn as well as of the whole of northern and Central Europe. Strap shoes, low laced shoes and high […]
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