Famous medieval bridge in Belgium under threat from canal project
The Pont des Trous, a 13th century bridge in the city of Tournais, could be torn down and replaced as part of large project to create a canal that would link France with the Low Countries.
Learning by doing or expert knowledge? Technological innovations in dike-building in coastal Flanders (13th-18th centuries AD)
Dike construction apparently uses simple technology, with slow and gradual change; not the kind of technology that reshaped the material conditions of living, comparable to the spread of electricity or sanitation in the 19th century ‘networked’ city (and linked to the disciplining of society and the rise of domesticity and the modern self-reflexive individual) (often inspired by Latour and Foucault).
New Insights from the Metal Detected Brooches of Early Medieval Frisia
My research undertook the bulk analysis of over 600 copper alloy brooches by hhXRF and onsite morphological analysis at repositories in the north of Holland.
Into the frontier: medieval land reclamation and the creation of new societies. Comparing Holland and the Po Valley, 800-1500
In the paper it is shown that medieval land reclamation led to the emergence of two very divergent societies, characterised by a number of different configurations; (a) power and property structure, (b) modes of exploitation, (c) economic portfolios, and (d) commodity markets.
Medieval Books of Hours in the Public Library of Bruges
A documentary created by the Public Library of Bruges about their collection
The God of History: The Concept of God in the Works of Galbert of Bruges and Walter of Thérouanne
Charles the Good, count of Flanders, was surrounded by assassins and killed by a sword blow to the forehead while praying in an upper chapel of his castral church of Saint Donation in Bruges on March 2, 1127.
Female brewers in Holland and England
I also want to know why women worked in those professions, what the background of these women was and if changes occurred over time.
The Hidden Masters of the Middle Ages: the Limbourg Brothers
Their best known work is the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, which is called the ‘most valuable book in the world.’
Urban Space and Political Conflict in Late Medieval Flanders
This essay investigates political claims over space in Ghent, urban Flanders’ largest city during the late Middle Ages.
The Assassination of Godfrey the Hunchback
One of the earliest reports comes from Lambert of Hersfeld. Around 1078, he wrote a rather extensive account of the assassination, with several details: the assault took place in the city of Antwerp, in the night, when the duke had retired ‘because of a natural need’.
Handspinners of the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance
The Handspinners of Paris, France: In 1270, a royal judge, Etienne Boileau, compiled “Le Livre de Metiers” (The Book of Trades) which contained the ordinances of 100 Parisian craft guilds. By consulting the surviving tax rolls of 1292, 1300, and 1313, it is possible to determine the extent to which these crafts were practiced.
Tournament Culture in the Low Countries and England
In England and the Low Countries towards the end of the thirteenth century, a common chivalric culture had emerged which permitted exchanges and mutual participation in tournaments on both sides of the Channel.
Tolling the Rhine in 1254: Complementary Monopoly Revisited
Given a demand for Rhine travel, an Emperor faced a classic complementary monopoly problem: how many toll stations to have, where to site them, and what toll to charge at each.
Shifting Experiences: The Changing Roles of Women in the Italian, Lowland, and German Regions of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period
Specifically, the thesis compares and analyzes the changing roles that women could employ economically, politically, socially, and religiously.
One World under the Sun: Cosmography and Cartography in the Liber Floridus
To a modern cartographer a map should represent geographic reality by means of coordinates such as latitude and longitude. Not one of the cartographic images in the Liber Floridus corresponds to this definition, yet not a single work on historical cartography omits the early-twelfth-century encyclopaedia
Guinea Pigs were popular pets during the Renaissance, study finds
The guinea pig was introduced to Europe during the 16th century by Spanish conquistadors. A Belgian archaeozoologist has found new evidence which suggests that the guinea pig was kept as pets by the wealthier middle class.
The Legal Framework of Divorce ‘a mensa et thoro’ and the Administration of Justice within the Low Countries
This paper discussed the divorce procedures in the Low Countries during the late middle ages and early modern period.
Working women and guildsmen in the Flemish textile industries: Gender, labor and the European Marriage Pattern in an era of economic change
Traditionally the European marriage pattern(EMP) is considered as one of the key elements in the demographic history of Early Modern Europe, preparing Europe for the transition towards the Industrial Era. But recently, mediaevalists have also tried to claim its origins…
The Elusive Netherlands. The question of national identity in the Early Modern Low Countries on the Eve of the Revolt
The identity of the Low Countries was also muddied by contemporary debates about the correspondence between ‘Gallia’ and France and between ‘Germania’ and ‘Deutschland’.
Looking a medieval gift horse in the mouth. The role of the giving of gift objects in the definition and maintenance of the power networks of Philip the Bold
Guenée dubbed the late fourteenth century le temps des alliances’, pointing to the effect on politics and administration in France of visible, recognised networks. These might be based on kinship, marriage and godparenting, where the obligations were well understood, but not necessarily written down
For a Long Century of Burgundy. The Court, Female Power and Ideology
The field of Burgundian studies has witnessed a shift in emphasis over the past generation from overviews which were biographical and dynastic in emphasis, such as Richard Vaughan’s volumes on the four Valois dukes, to studies of the Burgundian ‘state’ and the regions it ruled over, exemplified in the work of Walter Prevenier, Wim Blockmans and, more recently, Bertrand Schnerb.1
The Medieval Origins of Capitalism in the Netherlands
One of the fiercest and most productive historical debates – and one of the most ideology-laden – has been that on the transition from feudalism to capitalism.1 Although interest in this specific debate and its ideological implications seems to be waning now, the importance of reconstructing and explaining long-term changes in economy and society is still clear.
Diplomatic aspects of Charles the Bold’s relations with the Holy See
Both Paul II and Sixtus IV, the two popes whose pontificates spanned the reign of Charles the Bold, made great efforts to bring about peace among the rulers of Christendom.
Modernization of the Government: the Advent of Philip the Good in Holland
As I have shown elsewhere, the county of Holland underwent a structural change in the second half of the fourteenth century, when economically the emphasis shifted from agriculture to trade and industry and demographically from the country to the towns. The institutions however did not change.
John Crabbe: Flemish Pirate, Merchant, and Adventurer
The decades before the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War were notoriously fruitful in commercial violence.