Artificial Intelligence used to learn who penned medieval manuscripts
Project will make use of artificial intelligence to identify copyists of manuscripts from the 12th century in the library of Klosterneuburg Monastery.
Records reveal how a medieval cathedral was protected against fire
Schedl was able to examine hundreds of years of the church’s income and expenditure accounts, which were maintained by the Kirchmeister or church treasurer, which offered fascinating new insights into how the medieval cathedral was maintained.
Prostitution in Urban Brothels in Late Medieval Austria
Municipal authorities officially established urban brothels in late medieval Austria as a necessary evil in order to control the lust of unmarried men and thus protect women from sexual abuse
How the borders of Austria and Switzerland changed in the Middle Ages
The history of both Austria and Switzerland date back to the medieval period. Here are some videos looking back at how these states developed.
The 700th Anniversary of the Battle of Morgarten
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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
In December 1192 Richard I was seized near Vienna by Duke Leopold V of Austria.
Espionage in the 16th century Mediterranean: Secret Diplomacy, Mediterranean Go-betweens and the Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
A recent discovery in an Austrian castle has revealed that bras existed back in the 15th century.