leidenmedievalistsblog — page 16

Military History · Archaeology

Deciphering the Feudal Landscapes of Crusader Peloponnese

They have been described as castles, castle towns or simply fortified medieval villages. The hilltop settlements of the late-medieval Peloponnese dominate the landscape as relics of its feudal past. Yet, their identity, origin, purpose and chronology remain ambiguous.

Archaeology

Wine trade from the Holy Land

Palestinian wines were praised and consumed across western Europe. Transport containers found in Jerusalem, likely used to carry these wines, are stored in the depot at the Faculty of Archaeology. What can these amphorae tell us about connectivity across the Mediterranean in the early Middle Ages?

Archaeology

Flattery and Flans: Imitation in Islamic Numismatics

During the Early Islamic Period, a variety of coins emerged from the dying empires of Rome and Iran that helped the local Central Asian economies supply of silver for the next several hundred years. One of these coins was centred around one city that would rise from conquests and continue to thrive.

Archaeology

Can we name a corpse? Identifying royalty in the burial record

A number of splendorous and wealthy ‘princely tombs’ from early medieval Europe have been identified with royal figures known from written sources. Can we really be sure who were buried in these tombs?

A.E.I.O.U: Riddles in stone

In studying building inscriptions in the Netherlands, I came across some curious initialisms that are difficult to interpret and therefore intriguing. What to make of an inscription that says DOVK and nothing else, or a stone plaque showing a four-poster bed, the date 1591 and the letters IGDFC?

A conditioned scribe: The use of multiple interlinear glosses to the Lindisfarne Gospels

What happens when early medieval glossators provide multiple translations for one and the same Latin word and what can this tell us about language history?