Kate Middleton is clearly not the first woman to ever be pregnant: Take a look at maternity fashion from the last few hundred years...
In the high and late Middle Ages, attractive styles became more available to a new middle class. Clothing styles changed more quickly due to new technology, Eastern influences, and a better economy.
Medieval illumination from the De Lisle Psalter, c. 1310.
folia è il magazine di Franco Cosimo Panini Editore dedicato alla miniatura, ai libri antichi e alle storie che essi raccontano.
Saint Jerome (ca. 347-420 CE) was one of the four Latin Fathers of the Church (the others being Saint Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great) and renowned for his learning, distilled in his translation of the Bible into Latin. The image of the saint in his study was popular during the 1400s, especially with scholars and men of the Church. He is shown here at work on his translation in his austere cell at the monastery he founded in Bethlehem in the Holy Land, as Europeans then referenced what is now Palestine. His cell appears to consist of two rooms, separately by a doorway with a gracefully peaked arch, the recession articulated by two irregularly placed windows in the left wall and one on the rear wall of the further room. The floor tiles are laid in a zigzag pattern that was common in many parts of Italy then and indeed, now. Viewers are surely intended to feel that they are standing at the door of the cell, hoping to engage the saint's attention. The writing implements, scrolls, and manuscripts testify to Jerome's scholarly pursuits. The sandglass and dying candle allude to the passage of time and remind the viewer that life is short. According to legend, the saint removed a thorn from the paw of a wild lion, which became Jerome's companion, here shown as a household pet. Jerome was honored as if he were a cardinal of the Church (though in fact he was not), and a cardinal's red hat hangs prominently on the back wall. The artist's delight in realistic detail that attracts the eye to dart around the scene much as one would if actually entering such a space (and therefore replicate the experience of an actual encounter) shows that the artist was one of the first in Italy to be influenced by Netherlandish painting. Inscribed on the piece of paper seemingly tacked to the saint's desk: 1451, highlighting the date in a way that suggests it was particularly significant to the commission.. Inscribed on the original frame, lower center: ANTONIO De FABR[IAN]O; Inscribed on the saint's halo: SCVS. JERONIMUS
Museums and art galleries can become an overwhelming experience for the casual visitor. Luckily, some people untangle centuries-old ideas and dumb-down them into language us mortals can understand, too. Previously, we covered museum museum snapchats; now it's time for something else - an array of hilarious art memes. After diving into this list, you might just feel as a highbrow art critic yourself.
Podróż Głupca jest metaforą podróży przez życie. Każda z kart wielkich arkanów reprezentuje pewien etap tej podróży – doświadczenie, które dana osoba musi zintegrować we własne życie, aby móc osiągnąć jedność. Głupiec (0) Oto początek drogi, narodziny nowej duszy, bo tylko taka - prosta, niewinna i pełna naiwnej wiary – podejmie się tej pełnej bólu
Medicine is one of the cornerstones of modern civilization---so much so that we take it for granted. It wasn't always the case that you could just waltz into a doctor's office to have them cure what ailed you. In medieval times, for example, things were a lot more dangerous, and a lot stranger. 10 Boar
What was it like to be a physician in the Middle Ages? A poem by a 14th-century doctor sheds a little light on the challenges of practicing medicine in medieval times.
Bloody Mamas: How the Chasen Murder Chastened an Art Lover
Over at the excellent Lion & Cardinal there is an entry about today's traditional observance of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin.My emphases and comments:Dom Prosper Gueranger: This feast, which is now kept not only throughout the whole of Spain but in many other parts of the Catholic wor
It’s Xmas time! Christmas songs and carols everywhere! In this newest instalment of The Adventures of Medieval Killer Bunny we are going to look at what the medieval bunnies are planning for…
Ludlow Castle, Shropshire where Arthur and Katharine spent their married life The Marriage of Arthur Tudor and Katharine of Aragon On the 14th of November, 1501, Arthur and Katharine arrived at Old…
The weather is fine and it is time to shear. Much of medieval England's economy was based upon sheep and wool. Sheep are an extremely useful animal. They mature rapidly, can reproduce at around ten months, can have twins and triplets, produce wool, meat, milk, and hides. They can be kept economically over the winter months as compared to cattle and can forage efficiently. Many breeds of sheep depicted in medieval artwork appear small. Some of this is likely due to the artists interpretation. The sheep above are not much larger than house cats; very impractical. Popular belief is that they therefore were small primitive breeds like the Soay, Icelandic, and Shetland breeds. As there were no recorded breeds of sheep during much of the middle ages, rather "types" of sheep based on their wool quality, artwork and more reliably, the archaeological record are the places to go to determine the size and probable type of sheep breeds that existed. www.bahs.org.uk/32n1a2.pdf The modern Romney breed is considered to be a direct descendant of the Medieval Longwool. Bones of this stocky, medium sized sheep have been found in the midsection of England and are believed to have been introduced by the Romans. The Medieval Longwool was of a different type than the native British breeds. The native British breeds are fierce little animals, with dual coats - a more hairy outer coat and a downy soft woolly under coat - and impressive multiple horns. The Luttrell Psalter depicts some sturdy, mid-sized sheep with very curly fleeces, very similar to a modern Romney. Although there are two animals in the manuscript that sport curling horns and are presumably rams, modern Romneys are polled. Occasionally a ram with "scurs" or wimpy hornlike spurs does crop up, a reversion to their medieval ancestors. Although recently shorn, the curls are obvious in this Romney's fleece. This Romney has been sheared by the traditional method using a steel, bow-spring hand shears. Medieval illustrations of sheep shears are nearly identical to the modern version of the tool. The medieval versions most commonly have only one bow in the spring handle. The modern version used to shear the sheep in the photo has two bows in the handle. Medieval shears are depicted with both blunt and pointed ends. The blunt ended medieval examples are interesting because sharp, pointed shears are needed to slide into a fleece to facilitate a cut. Perhaps a different method is used when using a blunt sheep shears as opposed to a pointed shears? There is another theory for this. This woman's shears appear pointed. The shears in the Illustration at the top of the page show blunt ended shears. Although there are depictions of blunt ended shears by different artists, as with the cat-sized sheep, this may be an artists interpretation. Blunt ended shears were used in the wool fulling process. Woolen cloth was washed vigorously after it came off the loom to set and tighten the weave. Then the cloth was laid out and brushed or carded to raise the nap and sheared to make a uniform surface. Shearing cloth with pointy ended shears is inherently disaster ridden as it would be so very easy to pierce the piece of cloth and make a hole - something sure to get you fired. An artist during the middle ages did not necessarily spend his time in agrarian pursuits. He knew shears were used to remove fleeces but the shears he was familiar with may have been a very different kind. A modern seamstress would scoff at a depiction of someone cutting out fabric with a hair cutting scissors - or to use correct terminology - shears. Both sets of shears clearly show the single bow in the steel of the handle forming the spring. A sheep shears wants to stay open until you squeeze them shut. After the cut they spring open again. A bit of ingenious ancient technology that has not needed to be improved upon over thousands of years. Romney wool has a long staple, about five to eight inches long. It is of medium grade and is a strong wool. It is well suited to being combed rather than carded. Combed wool is spun into worsted yarn, a smooth, strong yarn that weaves into a tough smooth cloth, excellent for outerwear. It has a moderate amount of lanolin - the "grease" that coats the wool fibers. Shearers were known for their soft hands. Lanolin was extracted for ointments and unguents by boiling a greasy fleece and skimming off the thick, sticky oil after it had cooled. Pieces of greasy fleece are an excellent remedy for "hot spots" on feet generated by ill fitting footwear or other chaffing, as in armor and under horse harness. It is soft and cushiony and the lanolin assists in relieving friction. It is a remedy still used by hikers today to prevent blisters, a dangerous eventuality. You can purchase tubes of pure lanolin at your local pharmacy. It is wonderful stuff. (Caution: Some individuals are allergic to lanolin. Try a small dab before rubbing in generally.) This photo clearly shows excellent shearing technique. The edge of the shears are angled slightly up toward the shearer and small ridges in the newly shorn wool show the repeated pattern of this method. This ensures the sheep will not be sliced by the razor sharp shears. A sheep's skin is extremely tender and pulling at the wool lifts it where it can be easily caught in the cut. A shearer who slices a sheep the first time remembers the surprise and horror and diligently practices the correct technique! Sheep shears must be sharp or they do not work. A whet stone is in a shearers hand often. The shears are dangerous and a thrashing sheep causes the shears to be tossed safely away into the grass on more than one occasion. Assistants who help restrain a large, irritable ram need to remind the shearer to mind who they're stabbing and practice good self preservation techniques while keeping the animal from kicking the shearers and leaping up and dragging its half-shorn fleece all over the meadow. The next installment will go over preparing a fleece to spin.
Imagery across time and space: contrails, jets, clouds, butterflies, lichens, fog, bridges, Jerusalem, Renaissance and Medieval Crests, ducks. Bookstore Quality Photo Albums, Complete Digital Photo Services.
Unbalanced by Rage, A Royal Insubordinate, Old Testament Miniatures, France, Paris, 1240s, MS M.638 (fol. 24v)
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred in Constantinople during Late Antiquity and...
The army led in the First Crusade by Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lotharingia, set off on its journey to the Holy Land about the middle of August 1096
The limitlessly varied personalities of human beings have fascinated both scientists and fellow members of society throughout the existence of humankind. Of particular interest has been what happens when man’s mind turns against him, and what...
Daily life in the 15th century (in Europe) can be seen in this scene of the holy family from the Hours of Katherina van Kleef (Catherine of Cleves, c. 1440). This book is subject of an exhibition in Museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen, The Netherlands from 10 October 2009 to 3 January 2010. Within a domestic interior scattered with tools and utensils, the Virgin weaves, baby Jesus takes his first steps in a walker, and Joseph planes a board.
