Interior view from the exhibition 2023 at Hetel de Marine

Medieval Treasures from the Victoria & Albert Museum in Paris

This autumn, a fine collection of Medieval Art can be seen at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris telling the artistic story of the period “When the English Spoke French…”

Wilder Europe

Capercaillie. Source: Wikipedia/sighmanb

Is the Capercaille Next on the Extinction List in Europe?

Since 1985 the number of European Capercailles in Middle Bavarian Alps have been reduced with more than 60%. This has happened despite a general hunting prohibition since 1973 and a reform of the administration of the Bavarian forests in 2005. New research points to the influence of climate changes, but also the impact of outdoor tourism

 

Fjallabak Nature Reserve in Iceland.© Krystina Henkeova/Dreamstime 161110920

Wilderness in Iceland?

Iceland is covered with vast stretches of wilderness – plains, rugged hills, mountains and glaciers. The question is, how is this treasure best protected?…

Dehesas in Adalusia. © Daniel Garcia Mendoza/ Dreamstime.com/228949009

Rewilding or Landscape Conservation in Andalusia?

In Andalusia, the dehesa landscape dominates. Situated in the interface between the rural and the natural, the question is whether the protection of the dehesas serves to protect the cultural heritage or the biodiversity

 

Aurochs in Lejre (Heck's Cattle) 2016 © Schousboe CCBYSA
Is Rewilding just Another Form of Domination of Nature?

What the heck, does Heck Cattle have to do with environmentalism? Or rewilding? And is it amoral to resurrect such animals?

Taurus set free in the Coa Valley © Rewilding Portugal and Claudio NoyReturn of the Mighty Beast, the Aurochs

Backbred Aurochs have been released into the Greater Côa Valley for the first time. The herd will play a vital role in restoring grassland and woodland habitats in the rewilded landscape in Northern Portugal…

Chilligham Cattle. © Chillingham cattle 209413597 Jamesahanlon/Dreamstime.com
Wild Cattle in Britain – Descendants of Viking Cattle?

Also known as the Chillingham Cattle, Britain is home to four flocks of White Cattle living in the wild since the 12th century. Earlier on, such herds were a common feature in the British landscape, probably kept for their ornamental and symbolic value. Known in the 12th century as Tauri Sylvestres, they have apparently always been considered a wild sub-species

In September 2023, UNESCO holds its 45th session of the World Heritage Committee In Riyadh. On the agenda is the Jewish Heritage in Erfurt. Hopefully, this unique assembly of buildings together with the important history of the Jews and their fate will receive the prestigious inscription.

Topf & Söhne were "Technicians of the Holocaust" delivering mateiral for the "Endlösing". Foto: © Stadtverwaltung Erfurt

Were the Roots of the Holocaust Medieval?

21/08/2023

How persistent are cultural traits? Studies of Nazi voting in 1933 show that the roots of Nazi antisemitism and the events from 1928-45 – and later – mirror the pogroms carried out in the mid-14th century Read more

Jesish Wedding. From the Second Nüremberg Haggadah. © David Sofer Collection CCBYSA

The Jews in Erfurt – Ethnicity and Heritage

19/08/2023

The Jews in Germany emerged as a distinctive ethno-religious cultural group in 10th century Rhineland, from where they migrated to Eastern Europe, reaching Erfurt in the 11th century (at the latest). Here, they later encountered an influx of Jews from the Middle East. Read more

Thuringian Synagogue west facade © Thuringia Tourism Board/Florian Trykowski CCBYSA 4.0

Erfurt: A Testament to Jewish Heritage

19/08/2023

Erfurt boasts a handful of buildings from the Middle Ages, bearing witness to the city’s Jewish heritage. Additionally, a remarkable treasure from 1349 narrates the tale of Erfurt’s first Jewish inhabitants, a story paralleled by the Jewish Manuscripts housed in Berlin. Read more

Burning the jews Alive. From Gilles le Muisit: Annales

Erfurt in Germany was Home to a Vibrant Jewish Community Annihilated in 1349

19/08/2023

Since the Middle Ages, Erfurt in Germany was home to several well-documented Jewish communities. Each wiped out by pogroms followed by the holocaust, the city tells a horrifying history. Read more

Two Medieval Jewish Wedding rings. Collage with rings from Colmar and Erfurt

Why were Medieval Jewish Wedding Rings Embellished with Miniature Architecture?

16/08/2023

One of the exiting finds in the hidden Jewish treasure trove discovered in Erfurt in 1998 was a precious wedding ring featuring an elaborate piece of medieval architecture. What was the symbolic meaning of this? Read more

Seder. From the Lombard Haggadah, fol. 4v © © Les Enluminures

The Lombard Haggadah from the 14th Century

14/04/2019

The Lombard Haggadah has been preserved in a private collection for more than hundred years. Recently put up for sale, there is this upcoming week a unique possibility for New Yorkers to enjoy the Gothic manuscript. Read more

Best exhibition this summer is in Bonn in Germany –  afterwards, the trip goes to Xanten and Bislich

The Exhibition at LWR LandesMuseum 2023. Bodi

The Life of Bodi – Mighty Frankish Warrior from c. 600

Fifty years ago, archaeologists discovered Bodi’s burial near the river Rhine. This summer, we are invited to explore his life at an exhibition in Bonn

Bieslicher Insel. © Dreamstime/Waeske 224837458

The Land of Bodi and the Nature Reserve at Bislicher Insel

Bislich, where the grave of Bodi was discovered more than fifty years ago, lies in the middle of a protected river landscape well worth visiting

 

Vikings at the River Rhine. © Alte Schule e.V. https://www.alteschule-ev.de

When Vikings Attacked Xanten in AD 864, the Saxons Saved the Day

In the middle of the 9th century, Vikings sailed up the major European sacking and robbing monasteries. One such raid went up the river Rhine and reaching Xanten in 864

Xanten © Niederrehein Tourismus

Xanten and the Roman Archaeological Park

SPONSORED: Xanten, a pleasant small town bordering the River Rhine, is primarily visited for the remains of its excavated Roman garrison….

The River Aulne in the autumn© Brittany Flyfishing
Brittany in the 6th century – Abandoned, Wet, Cold and Covered in Forests

New research reveals a marked shift in the landscape of Northwestern France in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

Sélune. Source: Hpotheses. SeluneThe River Sélune – Restoration of an ancient landscape?

The remains of the last of the two hydroelectric dams at the River Selune were finally dismantled in 2022, leaving the landscape to recover. But unfortunately, the restoration is hampered by multiple interests and no clear agenda

Semi feral cattle at Røsnæs in Denmark. 2022 © Schousboe CCBYSA03Rewilding – the Natural Climate Solution

Rewilding can’t alleviate all the climate challenges we face. However, it does offer a precious contribution, namely a decisive upgrade of carbon sequestration in forests, grassland and tundras. With biodiversity as an added bonus

Visents or European Bison in Bornholm. Wikipedia/ThomasLendt ccbysa4.0

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Medieval News

Katrinenheerd Church at Ejdersted © Die Eiderstedter Schutzengel

Impressive Medieval Church found at Sunken Rungholt

The medieval town of Rungholt drowned in a storm surge in 1362. Today, it lies submerged in shallow waters outside the Westcoast of Northern Germany. Recent surveys have led to the location of the large and impressive church, which was swept aside in the storm

Wadden See. The Geomagnetic team at work on the tidal flats near Hallig Hooge. © Ruth Blankenfeldt

Life in the Medieval town of Rungholt in 1362

In AD 1362, a terrible storm broke through the dykes in the Wadden Sea, protecting medieval people living in the marshy foreland. Later called the Grote Mandrenke – The Great Drowning of Men – a whole town, Rungholt, together with 42 parishes, disappeared. New research explores the layout of the town

Sheeps seeking shelter. © Mathias Königschulte (by kind permission)

The Grote Mandrenke and Medieval Flooding

Huge storms and devastating floods are not something new. Medieval history shows that human overexploitation and not the climate may be behind many tragedies

Rewilding near lake Pape in Latvia. © Valeters Peins/ Dremastime.com/213469090

Rewilding is the Best Future for Europe’s Abandoned Farmland

23/08/2023

What is best when considering Europe’s abandoned farmland? Should it be returned to more extensive – traditional and even Medieval – ways of sylvo-pastoral forms of cultivation? Or should it be rewilded with large grazers? Or left to its own devices? Read more

Giber River in a summer evening. By Janus la Cour 1892. Aarhus City Hall. Source: Wikipedia

What was the landscape like in Medieval Denmark?

10/08/2023

New method overlaying old and modern maps reveals what the medieval landscape in Denmark might have looked like Read more

Hunterian psalter : Glasgow University CCBYSA

Landscapes and Environments of the Middle Ages

20/06/2023

In this new book some of the foremost ‘real’ and imaginary landscapes of the Middle Ages that could be found both in the tangible world and in the pages of manuscripts are examined. Read more

Sélune. Source: Hypotheses. Selune

The River Sélune – Restoration of an Ancient Landscape?

03/06/2023

The remains of the last of the two hydroelectric dams at the River Selune were finally dismantled in 2022, leaving the landscape to recover. But unfortunately, the restoration is hampered by multiple interests and no clear agenda.  Read more

New Research

Small garden and house in Spanish Open Air Museum ©Schousboe

Light on the Medieval Green Revolution from an Ecosystem Perspective

25/08/2023

Following the footsteps of the Arabs in the 7th century Mediterranean, a Green Revolution took place, introducing new crops, irrigation techniques, and an innovative agrarian system. A new research project aims to broaden the perspective and explore the agrarian consequences from a broader ecosystemic viewpoint. Read more

Two Medieval Jewish Wedding rings. Collage with rings from Colmar and Erfurt

Why were Medieval Jewish Wedding Rings Embellished with Miniature Architecture?

16/08/2023

One of the exiting finds in the hidden Jewish treasure trove discovered in Erfurt in 1998 was a precious wedding ring featuring an elaborate piece of medieval architecture. What was the symbolic meaning of this? Read more

Giber River in a summer evening. By Janus la Cour 1892. Aarhus City Hall. Source: Wikipedia

What was the landscape like in Medieval Denmark?

10/08/2023

New method overlaying old and modern maps reveals what the medieval landscape in Denmark might have looked like Read more

Wildfires in Tenth-Century Spain

09/08/2023

This summer, 2023, wildfires have once again laid waste large areas of Southern Europe. A tenth-century conflagration provides a fascinating comparison between medieval and present times. Read more

Minor News

Cain and Abel at Mîmes Cathedral. Source: Wikipedia/Finoskov

Adam and Eve in Nîmes is being studied in detail

23/08/2023

The Frieze on the Cathedral in Nîmes is currently undergoing study by a team of archaeologists and art historians, uncovering new insights about this significant Romanesque monument. Read more

Jewish Quater in York. © Street Life in York

Jewish Community in York Recreated

23/08/2023

Unearthing new documents and evidence, historians and archaeologists at York University are shedding light on the medieval Jewish population of York. The research indicates a thriving community where the leading Jewish citizens of the city were also among the most significant figures in England. Read more

Viking Warrior Mwentality - Nordsforsk project

How to Make a Viking Warrior?

24/06/2023

Making a Warrior: the Social Implications of Viking Age Martial Ideologies” is the title of a new research project, which was recently granted substantial funding from Nordforsk. Read more

Bayeux Tapestry Scene by Scene

06/08/2022

NEWS: Discover the entire Bayeux Tapestry scene by scene and follow online the 70 meter-long embroidered canvas which tells the story of the conquest of England in 1066. Read more

New Books

Helmet matrices from Torslunde. Collage with bear and wolf. Source: wikipedia

The European Bear in the Past, Present and Future

04/10/2023

New books tell the exciting stories about the European bears and their past, present and future. Read more

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