Friday, March 07, 2008
Bodleian Library
Oxford University's Bodleian Library is to put its world famous collection of books, manuscripts and artefacts on public display for the first time. Click on the link to view a BBC video report on this story.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
The Last Templar to become a TV miniseries
Global Television's original miniseries "The Last Templar" to be simulcast on NBC
4 March 2008
Canada NewsWire
Canwest Broadcasting announced today that Global's new Canadian miniseries "The Last Templar" from Muse Entertainment Enterprises has been picked-up by U.S. network NBC and will be simulcast with Global this December. The romantic adventure stars Oscarwinner Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite") and Canadian Victor Garber ("Alias").
The four-hour-long exotic miniseries, based on Raymond Khoury's best-selling novel, is being revised for the screen by multiple award-winning Canadian writer and producer Suzette Couture ("Million Dollar Babies", "Road to Avonlea") - her first production for Canwest. Shooting will begin on location in Montreal and Morocco next month.
"Global is thrilled to bring this incredible story to Canadian audiences - and delighted that Americans will also have the chance to see it on NBC," said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice President, Content, Canwest Broadcasting. "This partnership with Muse Entertainment underscores Canwest's commitment to work with the Canadian independent production community and create exciting, high quality and popular original programming for our audiences."
Today's announcement follows an exceptional year of successful original productions for Canwest. Global's homegrown version of the hit international game show, "Deal or No Deal Canada" (Insight Productions) was seen by over 2 million viewers last winter - making it the most-watched Canadian series on any network in 2007. Since the fall, Canwest has also had tremendous ratings success with original series, "The Guard" (Halifax Film Company and Brightlight Pictures), "'da Kink in my Hair" (Barna Alper Productions), and the wildly popular "Are You Smarter Than A Canadian Fifth Grader?" (Insight Productions).
In "The Last Templar", Mira Sorvino stars as Tess Chaykin, a Manhattan archaeologist who is drawn into a fast-paced mystery concerning the lost secrets of the medieval Templar Knights. Victor Garber co-stars as the Monsignor De Angelis.
"The Last Templar" opens with the fall of the Latin Kingdom's reign in the Holy Land in Acre in 1291. As the burning city falls to the Sultan's forces, a lone galley escapes out to sea, carrying a young Templar knight, Martin of Carmaux, his mentor Aimard of Villiers, and a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. But the ship never reaches its destination.
Later, in present-day New York, Chaykin (Sorvino) witnesses four masked horsemen, dressed as Templar Knights, who storm into the Metropolitan Museum, scattering Manhattan society gathered for the gala opening night of an exhibition of Vatican treasures. She watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one piece in particular - a strange-geared device that he grabs as he disappears into Central Park.
As the horsemen's dead bodies start turning up - and the importance of the stolen device becomes more apparent - Tess and FBI Agent Sean Reilly are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, and of the last surviving Templars' fateful journey from Acre. The pair is propelled into a treacherous adventure that takes them through the sewers of Manhattan, across continents to desolate Turkish highlands to a violent storm on the Mediterranean that shipwrecks them onto a remote Greek island - and into the very heart of an incredible Vatican secret.
4 March 2008
Canada NewsWire
Canwest Broadcasting announced today that Global's new Canadian miniseries "The Last Templar" from Muse Entertainment Enterprises has been picked-up by U.S. network NBC and will be simulcast with Global this December. The romantic adventure stars Oscarwinner Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite") and Canadian Victor Garber ("Alias").
The four-hour-long exotic miniseries, based on Raymond Khoury's best-selling novel, is being revised for the screen by multiple award-winning Canadian writer and producer Suzette Couture ("Million Dollar Babies", "Road to Avonlea") - her first production for Canwest. Shooting will begin on location in Montreal and Morocco next month.
"Global is thrilled to bring this incredible story to Canadian audiences - and delighted that Americans will also have the chance to see it on NBC," said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice President, Content, Canwest Broadcasting. "This partnership with Muse Entertainment underscores Canwest's commitment to work with the Canadian independent production community and create exciting, high quality and popular original programming for our audiences."
Today's announcement follows an exceptional year of successful original productions for Canwest. Global's homegrown version of the hit international game show, "Deal or No Deal Canada" (Insight Productions) was seen by over 2 million viewers last winter - making it the most-watched Canadian series on any network in 2007. Since the fall, Canwest has also had tremendous ratings success with original series, "The Guard" (Halifax Film Company and Brightlight Pictures), "'da Kink in my Hair" (Barna Alper Productions), and the wildly popular "Are You Smarter Than A Canadian Fifth Grader?" (Insight Productions).
In "The Last Templar", Mira Sorvino stars as Tess Chaykin, a Manhattan archaeologist who is drawn into a fast-paced mystery concerning the lost secrets of the medieval Templar Knights. Victor Garber co-stars as the Monsignor De Angelis.
"The Last Templar" opens with the fall of the Latin Kingdom's reign in the Holy Land in Acre in 1291. As the burning city falls to the Sultan's forces, a lone galley escapes out to sea, carrying a young Templar knight, Martin of Carmaux, his mentor Aimard of Villiers, and a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. But the ship never reaches its destination.
Later, in present-day New York, Chaykin (Sorvino) witnesses four masked horsemen, dressed as Templar Knights, who storm into the Metropolitan Museum, scattering Manhattan society gathered for the gala opening night of an exhibition of Vatican treasures. She watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one piece in particular - a strange-geared device that he grabs as he disappears into Central Park.
As the horsemen's dead bodies start turning up - and the importance of the stolen device becomes more apparent - Tess and FBI Agent Sean Reilly are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, and of the last surviving Templars' fateful journey from Acre. The pair is propelled into a treacherous adventure that takes them through the sewers of Manhattan, across continents to desolate Turkish highlands to a violent storm on the Mediterranean that shipwrecks them onto a remote Greek island - and into the very heart of an incredible Vatican secret.
Copy of the Magna Carta bought for $21.3 million
To Magna Excitement, Magna Carta Returns; After Seven Centuries, the Words of Liberty Still Look Good
Michael E. Ruane
4 March 2008
The Washington Post
The 710-year-old handwriting is small and neat, but the brown ink clings so precariously to the hard surface of the animal skin that some of the phrases have been washed away by water. Still legible are the Latin words for "liberties," "granted" and "in perpetuity," and still evident is the majesty of the document as a cornerstone of democracy.
Yesterday, as a security guard stood by, delighted officials at the National Archives gently pulled back a black velvet cloth to reveal the copy of the Magna Carta they almost lost on the auction block last year. As a throng of reporters and photographers crowded around a table to see the "Great Charter," Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein praised Washington businessman David M. Rubenstein, who saved for the government the only copy of the document existing in the United States.
The Magna Carta, essentially an early Bill of Rights bestowed in 1215 and reaffirmed by a series of 13th-century English monarchs, is considered by historians to be a guidepost for the American founding fathers 500 years later. "Today we celebrate the return to the National Archives of one of the most important documents in history," Weinstein said during an afternoon ceremony at the archives headquarters building downtown. "Magna Carta has proved ageless. The principles embodied in it have endured through the centuries."
Rubenstein, who grew up in a blue-collar family in Baltimore, said he was honored to be able to give something back to the country where he has prospered. He said the document is on permanent loan. Rubenstein is the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that manages $75 billion in assets around the world. He was a domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter.
The archives' Magna Carta is one of four copies of the version granted in 1297 by Edward I, the archives said. There are 13 other known versions, dating back to the original that was extracted by English barons from King John. The archives' version was owned for centuries by a family of English earls. In 1984, it was purchased for $1.5 million by a foundation run by Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot and lent to the archives, officials said.
The document was displayed downtown for 20 years. Last year, Perot decided to put it up for auction, and in September it was taken in its stainless steel and Plexiglas case to Sotheby's auction house in New York. Marvin Pinkert, executive director of the archives' Center for the National Archives Experience, did not think it would be back. The auction was held in late December. Rubenstein said yesterday that he learned about the auction the day before it was to happen. Fearing the document would be taken out of the country, he bought it for $21.3 million and vowed to return it to the archives. "The only place that's appropriate for that in the United States is the National Archives," he said.
"I come from a relatively modest background," Rubenstein said. He said his business success "made me really feel that I owed a lot to our country, and I wanted to repay it in a modest way."
He and Weinstein pulled the cover off the case, setting off a volley of camera clicks. The heavy case is designed to moderate humidity and keep out as much oxygen as possible, said conservator Terry Boone. Oxygen causes deterioration, she said.
"It is in incredibly great condition, especially for its age," Boone said. "In the almost 25 years that we've had it here at the National Archives, we haven't seen any change at all."
The 15-inch-by-17-inch document is written in a vegetable-based ink on what is probably calf skin, Boone said. The ink is not absorbed, as happens with paper, but actually sits on the surface. "The ink doesn't bite in," she said, "so it's more likely to move."
Pinkert said the document's importance is simple. It acknowledges, he said, that "the king, too, has to obey the law."
Michael E. Ruane
4 March 2008
The Washington Post
The 710-year-old handwriting is small and neat, but the brown ink clings so precariously to the hard surface of the animal skin that some of the phrases have been washed away by water. Still legible are the Latin words for "liberties," "granted" and "in perpetuity," and still evident is the majesty of the document as a cornerstone of democracy.
Yesterday, as a security guard stood by, delighted officials at the National Archives gently pulled back a black velvet cloth to reveal the copy of the Magna Carta they almost lost on the auction block last year. As a throng of reporters and photographers crowded around a table to see the "Great Charter," Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein praised Washington businessman David M. Rubenstein, who saved for the government the only copy of the document existing in the United States.
The Magna Carta, essentially an early Bill of Rights bestowed in 1215 and reaffirmed by a series of 13th-century English monarchs, is considered by historians to be a guidepost for the American founding fathers 500 years later. "Today we celebrate the return to the National Archives of one of the most important documents in history," Weinstein said during an afternoon ceremony at the archives headquarters building downtown. "Magna Carta has proved ageless. The principles embodied in it have endured through the centuries."
Rubenstein, who grew up in a blue-collar family in Baltimore, said he was honored to be able to give something back to the country where he has prospered. He said the document is on permanent loan. Rubenstein is the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that manages $75 billion in assets around the world. He was a domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter.
The archives' Magna Carta is one of four copies of the version granted in 1297 by Edward I, the archives said. There are 13 other known versions, dating back to the original that was extracted by English barons from King John. The archives' version was owned for centuries by a family of English earls. In 1984, it was purchased for $1.5 million by a foundation run by Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot and lent to the archives, officials said.
The document was displayed downtown for 20 years. Last year, Perot decided to put it up for auction, and in September it was taken in its stainless steel and Plexiglas case to Sotheby's auction house in New York. Marvin Pinkert, executive director of the archives' Center for the National Archives Experience, did not think it would be back. The auction was held in late December. Rubenstein said yesterday that he learned about the auction the day before it was to happen. Fearing the document would be taken out of the country, he bought it for $21.3 million and vowed to return it to the archives. "The only place that's appropriate for that in the United States is the National Archives," he said.
"I come from a relatively modest background," Rubenstein said. He said his business success "made me really feel that I owed a lot to our country, and I wanted to repay it in a modest way."
He and Weinstein pulled the cover off the case, setting off a volley of camera clicks. The heavy case is designed to moderate humidity and keep out as much oxygen as possible, said conservator Terry Boone. Oxygen causes deterioration, she said.
"It is in incredibly great condition, especially for its age," Boone said. "In the almost 25 years that we've had it here at the National Archives, we haven't seen any change at all."
The 15-inch-by-17-inch document is written in a vegetable-based ink on what is probably calf skin, Boone said. The ink is not absorbed, as happens with paper, but actually sits on the surface. "The ink doesn't bite in," she said, "so it's more likely to move."
Pinkert said the document's importance is simple. It acknowledges, he said, that "the king, too, has to obey the law."
Celebrate Mother's Day with Bede
Mum's the word at Bede
Jule Wilson
3 March 2008
The Newcastle Chronicle & Journal
A SOUTH Tyneside tourist attraction had a bumper weekend after offering free entry for Mothers' Day. Bede's World in Jarrow held craft fairs on both Saturday and Sunday, with local produce on offer from producers such as the Northumberland Cheese Company and Cake Root, who bake using root vegetables as their main ingredients.
Craftsmen and women such as local silversmith Les Howe were also on hand to demonstrate their skills, while children could make an extra special Mothers' Day gift with help from Bede's World staff. Marketing officer Sharon Thompson said: "It's been really busy throughout the weekend and with visitors ranging from grandparents to babies, has proven to be a great way to spend a family day out. It's been a really nice, successful event."
Bags of feed were available to help give the animals on the attraction's farm their lunch, and several more similar events are planned throughout 2008. Ms Thompson added: "In May we have our Medieval craft fair, followed in September by our farmers' market, and we round off the year with a Christmas market in December."
For more information about Bede's World call (0191) 489-2106.
Jule Wilson
3 March 2008
The Newcastle Chronicle & Journal
A SOUTH Tyneside tourist attraction had a bumper weekend after offering free entry for Mothers' Day. Bede's World in Jarrow held craft fairs on both Saturday and Sunday, with local produce on offer from producers such as the Northumberland Cheese Company and Cake Root, who bake using root vegetables as their main ingredients.
Craftsmen and women such as local silversmith Les Howe were also on hand to demonstrate their skills, while children could make an extra special Mothers' Day gift with help from Bede's World staff. Marketing officer Sharon Thompson said: "It's been really busy throughout the weekend and with visitors ranging from grandparents to babies, has proven to be a great way to spend a family day out. It's been a really nice, successful event."
Bags of feed were available to help give the animals on the attraction's farm their lunch, and several more similar events are planned throughout 2008. Ms Thompson added: "In May we have our Medieval craft fair, followed in September by our farmers' market, and we round off the year with a Christmas market in December."
For more information about Bede's World call (0191) 489-2106.
Anglo-Saxon graves found at Peterborough Cathedral
Ancient grave markers found at the cathedral
3 March 2008
Peterborough Evening Telegraph
EIGHT Anglo-Saxon grave markers belonging to ordinary folk have been uncovered in Peterborough Cathedral's grounds during restoration work. Workers at the site, who are repairing ancient stone walls in the precincts, alerted the cathedral's archaeologist to the find, which was discovered in the same wall as a medieval fireplace.
Archaeologist Dr Jackie Hall analysed the pieces, and discovered they were 11th century grave markings which are believed to have come from a monks' cemetery. Dr Hall said: "It was an incredible find, and very exciting to see such a large collection of grave markers in one small area. They are particularly important because we don't have anything else like this in Peterborough. There are other grave markers of a similar date in the cathedral, but they are ornate and not visible to the public. Although these pieces are not as high class or as special, they are still an extraordinary find."
The markings could have belonged to monks, but are more likely to have belonged townsfolk who wanted to be commemorated at the abbey. Although some were not immediately recognised as they have been damaged, some can be seen with crosses on them and others are slightly more ornate with gridded markers.
The work, part of a major 10-year maintenance project to restore the cathedral, was taking place between the Prior Gate and the cathedral office when the small markers were found. Peterborough City Council archaeologist Ben Robinson said there is a lot of spectacular heritage and history and extremely interesting and important remains in the precincts. He said: "The cathedral precincts are a treasure house of history. And as you continue beyond the cathedral and into the town there is a seamless area of heritage. The grave markers are incredibly rare. All of our parish churches in Peterborough date back to medieval times, but you won't find anything like this, as they have been reused over and over again. Occasionally you may find tombs of the rich and the wealthy inside the church with nice monuments, but to find the grave markers of the ordinary folk is remarkable. It gives us a glimpse of how these early cemeteries looked."
Once the markers have been cleaned up, they will be put in a temporary display in the cathedral.
3 March 2008
Peterborough Evening Telegraph
EIGHT Anglo-Saxon grave markers belonging to ordinary folk have been uncovered in Peterborough Cathedral's grounds during restoration work. Workers at the site, who are repairing ancient stone walls in the precincts, alerted the cathedral's archaeologist to the find, which was discovered in the same wall as a medieval fireplace.
Archaeologist Dr Jackie Hall analysed the pieces, and discovered they were 11th century grave markings which are believed to have come from a monks' cemetery. Dr Hall said: "It was an incredible find, and very exciting to see such a large collection of grave markers in one small area. They are particularly important because we don't have anything else like this in Peterborough. There are other grave markers of a similar date in the cathedral, but they are ornate and not visible to the public. Although these pieces are not as high class or as special, they are still an extraordinary find."
The markings could have belonged to monks, but are more likely to have belonged townsfolk who wanted to be commemorated at the abbey. Although some were not immediately recognised as they have been damaged, some can be seen with crosses on them and others are slightly more ornate with gridded markers.
The work, part of a major 10-year maintenance project to restore the cathedral, was taking place between the Prior Gate and the cathedral office when the small markers were found. Peterborough City Council archaeologist Ben Robinson said there is a lot of spectacular heritage and history and extremely interesting and important remains in the precincts. He said: "The cathedral precincts are a treasure house of history. And as you continue beyond the cathedral and into the town there is a seamless area of heritage. The grave markers are incredibly rare. All of our parish churches in Peterborough date back to medieval times, but you won't find anything like this, as they have been reused over and over again. Occasionally you may find tombs of the rich and the wealthy inside the church with nice monuments, but to find the grave markers of the ordinary folk is remarkable. It gives us a glimpse of how these early cemeteries looked."
Once the markers have been cleaned up, they will be put in a temporary display in the cathedral.
Looking Beyond: Visions, Dreams and Insights in Medieval Art and History
CONFERENCE EXPLORES MEDIEVAL ART AND HISTORY
4 March 2008
US Fed News
Princeton University issued the following news release:
Some of the most eminent historians of religion, art and medieval culture from both sides of the Atlantic will gather for a conference titled "Looking Beyond: Visions, Dreams and Insights in Medieval Art and History" Friday and Saturday, March 14-15, in McCormick Hall. The event is sponsored by the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University and the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California. More information is available online.
http://ica.princeton.edu/conferences/index.html
4 March 2008
US Fed News
Princeton University issued the following news release:
Some of the most eminent historians of religion, art and medieval culture from both sides of the Atlantic will gather for a conference titled "Looking Beyond: Visions, Dreams and Insights in Medieval Art and History" Friday and Saturday, March 14-15, in McCormick Hall. The event is sponsored by the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University and the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California. More information is available online.
http://ica.princeton.edu/conferences/index.html
Rimini Antiphonal of 1328 discovered in Australia
Medieval chants brought to life by WWI diggers
Steve Meacham
3 March 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald
IN their black robes and red cinctures, members of the St Laurence Gregorian Schola look like they have stepped from the set of the Sean Connery movie The Name of the Rose.
They are to perform Gregorian chants which have not been heard for up to 600 years - music that has been unlocked from the pages of a medieval manuscript, a recently discovered treasure of the State Library of NSW.
The story behind the two concerts at the library's Mitchell Vestibule, this and next Friday, begins in the fields of Dorset, England, during World War I.
An army camp for diggers about to go to the Western Front was set up on land belonging to Nelson Moore Richardson, a wealthy English collector of bible and other antiquities.
"He got to know the Australian soldier and was very impressed about how they had come forward to help Britain in the war," said Meredith Lawn, the library's curator of music.
Richardson bequeathed his entire collection to Australia. In 1917 he wrote to the Australian Museum saying: "It would show in a small way our appreciation of the Australians, and of the noble way in which they have come forward to help us in this war, and of all the sacrifices they have made, if we were to arrange that these Bibles should eventually find a home in Australia."
The Australian Museum referred him to the State Library. After he died in 1928 his collection arrived - including the Rimini Antiphonal of 1328, a 155-page collection of exquisitely illustrated chants.
For many years, not much attention was paid to the antiphonal, partly because it was believed the illustrations were not by Neri da Rimini - a celebrated artist in the world of illustrated manuscripts - but by one of his pupils.
However in 1995, Sydney's antiphonal was loaned to Italy for a major retrospective of da Rimini's work. There, scholars quickly established two things. Firstly, the illustrations were undoubtedly by da Rimini. Secondly, ultraviolet testing revealed the manuscript had been completed in 1328, making it da Rimini's last known work.
Even then, interest focused on its artistic qualities until Neil McEwan, a lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and one of Australia's leading experts in Gregorian chants, volunteered to transcribe the manuscript so it could be performed again.
It took him around 150 hours to transcribe 10 minutes of chant onto his computer. The problem, Dr McEwan said, is that by the 14th century the cost of vellum had obliged monks to develop a kind of musical shorthand to save space. Also monks had a 10-year apprenticeship to learn the chants. They knew them so well instructions were no longer included on the manuscript.
Dr McEwan, who will direct the singers, went back to 10th century manuscripts. "So what you're getting now is pretty close to how it would have sounded in the 14th century," he said.
The man who recommended Richardson donate his collection to Australia was Reginald Pitt-Owen, an Australian army chaplain. His great great-grand-daughter, Julia Pitt-Owen, will be in the choir performing with the Gregorian Schola.
Steve Meacham
3 March 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald
IN their black robes and red cinctures, members of the St Laurence Gregorian Schola look like they have stepped from the set of the Sean Connery movie The Name of the Rose.
They are to perform Gregorian chants which have not been heard for up to 600 years - music that has been unlocked from the pages of a medieval manuscript, a recently discovered treasure of the State Library of NSW.
The story behind the two concerts at the library's Mitchell Vestibule, this and next Friday, begins in the fields of Dorset, England, during World War I.
An army camp for diggers about to go to the Western Front was set up on land belonging to Nelson Moore Richardson, a wealthy English collector of bible and other antiquities.
"He got to know the Australian soldier and was very impressed about how they had come forward to help Britain in the war," said Meredith Lawn, the library's curator of music.
Richardson bequeathed his entire collection to Australia. In 1917 he wrote to the Australian Museum saying: "It would show in a small way our appreciation of the Australians, and of the noble way in which they have come forward to help us in this war, and of all the sacrifices they have made, if we were to arrange that these Bibles should eventually find a home in Australia."
The Australian Museum referred him to the State Library. After he died in 1928 his collection arrived - including the Rimini Antiphonal of 1328, a 155-page collection of exquisitely illustrated chants.
For many years, not much attention was paid to the antiphonal, partly because it was believed the illustrations were not by Neri da Rimini - a celebrated artist in the world of illustrated manuscripts - but by one of his pupils.
However in 1995, Sydney's antiphonal was loaned to Italy for a major retrospective of da Rimini's work. There, scholars quickly established two things. Firstly, the illustrations were undoubtedly by da Rimini. Secondly, ultraviolet testing revealed the manuscript had been completed in 1328, making it da Rimini's last known work.
Even then, interest focused on its artistic qualities until Neil McEwan, a lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and one of Australia's leading experts in Gregorian chants, volunteered to transcribe the manuscript so it could be performed again.
It took him around 150 hours to transcribe 10 minutes of chant onto his computer. The problem, Dr McEwan said, is that by the 14th century the cost of vellum had obliged monks to develop a kind of musical shorthand to save space. Also monks had a 10-year apprenticeship to learn the chants. They knew them so well instructions were no longer included on the manuscript.
Dr McEwan, who will direct the singers, went back to 10th century manuscripts. "So what you're getting now is pretty close to how it would have sounded in the 14th century," he said.
The man who recommended Richardson donate his collection to Australia was Reginald Pitt-Owen, an Australian army chaplain. His great great-grand-daughter, Julia Pitt-Owen, will be in the choir performing with the Gregorian Schola.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Medievalists.net site restart coming soon
The main part of the Medievalists.net website is now being posted online. Please check back at www.medievalists.net over the next few weeks as we get all of our sections up and running.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Anatomy of the cranial nerves in medieval Persian literature: Esmail Jorjani (AD 1042-1137) and the treasure of the Khwarazm Shah
Research on anatomy discussed by scientists at University of Alabama
5 March 2008
Biotech Week
"ESMAIL JORJANI WAS an influential Persian physician and anatomist of the 12th century who did most of his writing after his seventh decade of life (see also Anatomy). Jorjani's comprehensive textbook of medicine, Zakhirey-e Khwarazmshahi (The Treasure of the Khwarazm Shah) was written in approximately AD 1112 and is considered to be the oldest medical encyclopedia written in Persian," investigators in the United States report.
"This was an essential textbook for those studying medicine during this time. We describe the life and times of Jorjani and provide a translation and interpretations of his detailed descriptions of the cranial nerves, which were written almost a millennium ago. Medieval Persian and Muslim scholars have contributed to our current knowledge of the cranial nerves," wrote M.M. Shoja and colleagues, University of Alabama.
The researchers concluded: "Some of these descriptions, such as the eloquent ones provided by Jorjani, were original and have gone mostly unknown to post-Vesalian European scholars.'."
Shoja and colleagues published their study in Neurosurgery (Anatomy of the cranial nerves in medieval Persian literature: Esmail Jorjani (AD 1042-1137) and the treasure of the Khwarazm Shah. Neurosurgery, 2007;61(6):1325-1330).
For additional information, contact R.S. Tubbs, University of Alabama, Columbus Children's Hospital, Sect Pediatrics Neurosurgery, 1600 7th Avenue S, ACC 400, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.
5 March 2008
Biotech Week
"ESMAIL JORJANI WAS an influential Persian physician and anatomist of the 12th century who did most of his writing after his seventh decade of life (see also Anatomy). Jorjani's comprehensive textbook of medicine, Zakhirey-e Khwarazmshahi (The Treasure of the Khwarazm Shah) was written in approximately AD 1112 and is considered to be the oldest medical encyclopedia written in Persian," investigators in the United States report.
"This was an essential textbook for those studying medicine during this time. We describe the life and times of Jorjani and provide a translation and interpretations of his detailed descriptions of the cranial nerves, which were written almost a millennium ago. Medieval Persian and Muslim scholars have contributed to our current knowledge of the cranial nerves," wrote M.M. Shoja and colleagues, University of Alabama.
The researchers concluded: "Some of these descriptions, such as the eloquent ones provided by Jorjani, were original and have gone mostly unknown to post-Vesalian European scholars.'."
Shoja and colleagues published their study in Neurosurgery (Anatomy of the cranial nerves in medieval Persian literature: Esmail Jorjani (AD 1042-1137) and the treasure of the Khwarazm Shah. Neurosurgery, 2007;61(6):1325-1330).
For additional information, contact R.S. Tubbs, University of Alabama, Columbus Children's Hospital, Sect Pediatrics Neurosurgery, 1600 7th Avenue S, ACC 400, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.
Medieval painting discovered in a 13th century Stuston church
Fragments of an ancient wall painting dating back to medieval times have been...
28 February 2008
Eastern Daily Press
Fragments of an ancient wall painting dating back to medieval times have been discovered during restoration work at 13th century Stuston church.
Last year villagers rallied to the cause when it emerged that £185,000 was needed for urgent repairs to make the nave, porch and vestry roofs watertight.
English Heritage and other funding bodies promised £165,000 towards the project - on condition that the small community of 140 souls met a December 2007 deadline to prove their commitment to making up the shortfall.
Had they failed to do so, there was the risk the church would have been declared redundant because it had fallen into disrepair - but residents rose to the challenge, organising fund-raising events including the first village fete for 25 years.
The main restoration to the church building is due to start on Monday and includes repairs to the tower and improving the underground drainage system. Work, costing about £18,000, is also taking place to restore a 1727 marble wall monument to local worthy Sir John Castleton and his family, who lived at Stuston Hall. When the memorial was dismantled, it was found to conceal a centuries old mural which may be of significant archaeological and historic value. The painted border is believed to date from the late 1500s to early 1600s and there are traces of earlier medieval painting, especially on the lower left hand side.
Roger Lay, project manager, said: "It is just like a frieze or a border to the Lord's Prayer, which has since disappeared, and it was covered by this memorial which is really distinctive."
A specialist wall painting conservator from Cambridge University will be visiting the church to examine and make a record of the mural, and stabilise the surface. It is planned to rebuild the monument in the same place, leaving a gap between the marble and painted plaster.
Stuston church will be closed during the repairs which should be completed by July 18. Regular Sunday services will be held at nearby Thrandeston, and special services may be held at other churches in the benefice.
28 February 2008
Eastern Daily Press
Fragments of an ancient wall painting dating back to medieval times have been discovered during restoration work at 13th century Stuston church.
Last year villagers rallied to the cause when it emerged that £185,000 was needed for urgent repairs to make the nave, porch and vestry roofs watertight.
English Heritage and other funding bodies promised £165,000 towards the project - on condition that the small community of 140 souls met a December 2007 deadline to prove their commitment to making up the shortfall.
Had they failed to do so, there was the risk the church would have been declared redundant because it had fallen into disrepair - but residents rose to the challenge, organising fund-raising events including the first village fete for 25 years.
The main restoration to the church building is due to start on Monday and includes repairs to the tower and improving the underground drainage system. Work, costing about £18,000, is also taking place to restore a 1727 marble wall monument to local worthy Sir John Castleton and his family, who lived at Stuston Hall. When the memorial was dismantled, it was found to conceal a centuries old mural which may be of significant archaeological and historic value. The painted border is believed to date from the late 1500s to early 1600s and there are traces of earlier medieval painting, especially on the lower left hand side.
Roger Lay, project manager, said: "It is just like a frieze or a border to the Lord's Prayer, which has since disappeared, and it was covered by this memorial which is really distinctive."
A specialist wall painting conservator from Cambridge University will be visiting the church to examine and make a record of the mural, and stabilise the surface. It is planned to rebuild the monument in the same place, leaving a gap between the marble and painted plaster.
Stuston church will be closed during the repairs which should be completed by July 18. Regular Sunday services will be held at nearby Thrandeston, and special services may be held at other churches in the benefice.
Medieval graveyard found in Chester
Excavation brings medieval past to light
By Paul Mannion
29 February 2008
Chester Chronicle
A MEDIEVAL graveyard with more than a hundred skeletons has been unearthed on the multi-million pound Police HQ site. The "fascinating" and "important" discoveries have "transformed" experts' views of ancient Chester.
City archaeologist Mike Morris said: "This was the largest excavation to have taken place in Chester in more than 30 years. It will transform our view of the Roman town and the medieval nunnery."
The mass burial site was part of the 850-year-old Benedictine Nunnery of St Mary's.
A site worker said: "I know that there were definitely more than 100 graves. The graveyard was part of the nunnery. The complete number and sexes of the skeletons are decided during the post-excavation work. Skeletons are difficult to work with when they are in varying states of degradation and you don't always get a complete set. Sometimes there are spare parts indicating the possibility of more than one person in a grave."
Parts of a Roman mosaic floor, the first one found in the city for 99 years, and a 700-year-old gold ring were among the finds.
Mike Morris added: "It is to the credit of all concerned that so much fascinating information about the site was recovered."
The dig, which was done before construction on the luxury hotel with signature restaurants, apartments and penthouses was started, was the most thorough excavation in the history of the site. Previous excavations were hampered by time and resource limitations and only established the main wall lines of the ancient church and cloister building.
Development director of Liberty Properties, Paul Norman, said: "Work started in May and more remains were found than had been anticipated. These included a Roman road or track leading down towards the river, with buildings on either side. The foundations for at least one large Roman town house were discovered. Within one of these buildings was part of an undisturbed mosaic floor - the first one to be found in Chester since 1909. This find, along with pieces of painted wall plaster, suggests this was a high status building, the home of a wealthy merchant or Roman official. Traces of the medieval Benedictine nunnery and cemetery were also revealed. This was the earliest of the religious houses to be founded in Chester in the 12 Century. A beautiful gold ring dating from the time of the nunnery was also found. The finds are being analysed and dated, and a report will be produced. It is anticipated some of the finds will be displayed within the new development."
By Paul Mannion
29 February 2008
Chester Chronicle
A MEDIEVAL graveyard with more than a hundred skeletons has been unearthed on the multi-million pound Police HQ site. The "fascinating" and "important" discoveries have "transformed" experts' views of ancient Chester.
City archaeologist Mike Morris said: "This was the largest excavation to have taken place in Chester in more than 30 years. It will transform our view of the Roman town and the medieval nunnery."
The mass burial site was part of the 850-year-old Benedictine Nunnery of St Mary's.
A site worker said: "I know that there were definitely more than 100 graves. The graveyard was part of the nunnery. The complete number and sexes of the skeletons are decided during the post-excavation work. Skeletons are difficult to work with when they are in varying states of degradation and you don't always get a complete set. Sometimes there are spare parts indicating the possibility of more than one person in a grave."
Parts of a Roman mosaic floor, the first one found in the city for 99 years, and a 700-year-old gold ring were among the finds.
Mike Morris added: "It is to the credit of all concerned that so much fascinating information about the site was recovered."
The dig, which was done before construction on the luxury hotel with signature restaurants, apartments and penthouses was started, was the most thorough excavation in the history of the site. Previous excavations were hampered by time and resource limitations and only established the main wall lines of the ancient church and cloister building.
Development director of Liberty Properties, Paul Norman, said: "Work started in May and more remains were found than had been anticipated. These included a Roman road or track leading down towards the river, with buildings on either side. The foundations for at least one large Roman town house were discovered. Within one of these buildings was part of an undisturbed mosaic floor - the first one to be found in Chester since 1909. This find, along with pieces of painted wall plaster, suggests this was a high status building, the home of a wealthy merchant or Roman official. Traces of the medieval Benedictine nunnery and cemetery were also revealed. This was the earliest of the religious houses to be founded in Chester in the 12 Century. A beautiful gold ring dating from the time of the nunnery was also found. The finds are being analysed and dated, and a report will be produced. It is anticipated some of the finds will be displayed within the new development."
The Real Knights of the Round Table: A Time Team Special
Digging up a piece of history
25 February 2008
The Newcastle Chronicle & Journal
The regular series of Time Team delights lovers of history with every episode, but occasionally something so marvellous comes to light it requires a spin-off programme.
The Real Knights of the Round Table: A Time Team Special is just such a show, and will have devoted fans jumping for joy.
In 2006, the team undertook one of their most ambitious live projects ever - a series of digs at three royal palaces, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Holyrood Palace. The event was timed to coincide with the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations, but no one could have guessed what fabulous gifts were waiting to be discovered.
At Windsor, the oldest inhabited royal residence in the world, the experts went in search of a fabled lost building - Edward III's Round Table.
As we discovered at the time, thanks to boffin Richard Barber, such buildings were places where entertainment took place, from jousting to music.
Steve Platt said: "Only the foundation trench of the Round Table building survives, but we can deduce what it was like from the detailed building accounts in the National Archives. We also have archaeological evidence the building was 200 feet in diameter - bigger than the Pantheon in Rome."
As if that wasn't staggering enough, the assembled experts firmly believed they had uncovered the remains of one of England's earliest theatres, constructed hundreds of years before Shakespeare and The Globe were even twinkles in history's eye.
Tony Robinson was disappointed not to have been on the lawn at Windsor as the evidence of the Round Table building's existence slowly emerged, but here, he has his chance to get up close and personal with the enigmatic structure.
He and the cameras are back to pick up the story and the questions are stacking up. How did Edward build it? Why did it only stand for 50 years? And what's it got to do with King Arthur?
In his quest to find answers to these and other riddles, Robinson investigates the Middle Ages, that much-romanticised era, where chivalry was king.
Edward III used that to his advantage, ensuring he had his knights' support by weaving together well-loved myths with his own culture.
He took the legend of Arthur and created his own order of men, who also sat at the fabled round table. He selected 300 soldiers, who were due to meet in 1344, but by that time, the English monarch was caught up in affairs with old enemy France.
After putting down that challenge, Edward abandoned plans for the massive table - but kept faith with the ideals behind it, and created the Order of the Garter, an elite group that still exists to this day.
Looking at the few piles of stone left behind in the ground, it all seems a bit far-fetched. But Edward's ambitions for this grand building went far beyond a simple place to gather.
The Time Team experts set out to recreate the atmosphere the place would have generated, as more than 300 people gathered to watch entertaining spectacles.
25 February 2008
The Newcastle Chronicle & Journal
The regular series of Time Team delights lovers of history with every episode, but occasionally something so marvellous comes to light it requires a spin-off programme.
The Real Knights of the Round Table: A Time Team Special is just such a show, and will have devoted fans jumping for joy.
In 2006, the team undertook one of their most ambitious live projects ever - a series of digs at three royal palaces, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Holyrood Palace. The event was timed to coincide with the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations, but no one could have guessed what fabulous gifts were waiting to be discovered.
At Windsor, the oldest inhabited royal residence in the world, the experts went in search of a fabled lost building - Edward III's Round Table.
As we discovered at the time, thanks to boffin Richard Barber, such buildings were places where entertainment took place, from jousting to music.
Steve Platt said: "Only the foundation trench of the Round Table building survives, but we can deduce what it was like from the detailed building accounts in the National Archives. We also have archaeological evidence the building was 200 feet in diameter - bigger than the Pantheon in Rome."
As if that wasn't staggering enough, the assembled experts firmly believed they had uncovered the remains of one of England's earliest theatres, constructed hundreds of years before Shakespeare and The Globe were even twinkles in history's eye.
Tony Robinson was disappointed not to have been on the lawn at Windsor as the evidence of the Round Table building's existence slowly emerged, but here, he has his chance to get up close and personal with the enigmatic structure.
He and the cameras are back to pick up the story and the questions are stacking up. How did Edward build it? Why did it only stand for 50 years? And what's it got to do with King Arthur?
In his quest to find answers to these and other riddles, Robinson investigates the Middle Ages, that much-romanticised era, where chivalry was king.
Edward III used that to his advantage, ensuring he had his knights' support by weaving together well-loved myths with his own culture.
He took the legend of Arthur and created his own order of men, who also sat at the fabled round table. He selected 300 soldiers, who were due to meet in 1344, but by that time, the English monarch was caught up in affairs with old enemy France.
After putting down that challenge, Edward abandoned plans for the massive table - but kept faith with the ideals behind it, and created the Order of the Garter, an elite group that still exists to this day.
Looking at the few piles of stone left behind in the ground, it all seems a bit far-fetched. But Edward's ambitions for this grand building went far beyond a simple place to gather.
The Time Team experts set out to recreate the atmosphere the place would have generated, as more than 300 people gathered to watch entertaining spectacles.
Numismatic collection at Princeton University
Princeton curator coining a phase of history
Chris Newmarker
25 February 2008
Charleston Gazette
Alan Stahl has a lot of change on his hands - and not the kind you can cash in at any bank. The curator of Princeton University's numismatic collection is in charge of protecting and displaying tens of thousands of coins, tokens, medals and pieces of paper money. "The funny thing is, I've never owned a personal coin collection," said Stahl, 60.
The 150-year-old collection started as an assemblage of plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman coins. Stahl estimates it now contains about 80,000 items. New acquisitions in the past year have made the collection even more diverse: a donation of 2,000 ancient Chinese coins and the purchase of more than 800 medieval Greek coins, bought for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
About a dozen university students each spend a few hours a week cataloging the coins. So far, the collection's online system has more than 3,000 coins listed, about 1,000 coins entered in each year. "At this rate, we'll be done in 50 years," Stahl said.
For the students, cataloging the coins is an education in itself. As a junior majoring in classics, 21-year-old Joe Codega has read a great deal about the ancient Romans, but he felt a greater connection with the subject he loves last week as he held a brass coin with the image of the big-chinned Roman Emperor Nero on the front. The back showed Rome's temple of Janus with its doors closed - a symbol that the empire was at peace. "It's neat to be able to hold something that an ancient person held," Codega said.
Some of the collection's coins are on display at Princeton's Firestone Library, where the collection is housed. Any member of the public can also ask to see a tray with some coins, though Stahl will keep close watch to make sure coins don't go missing. Stahl still cringes when he recalls a theft at the American Numismatic Society when he was there in the late 1980s. "I'm pleased to say I wasn't the person handing him the trays," Stahl said.
Half of the collection, about 30,000 coins, comes from Princeton University archaeological work in Antioch, in what is now Turkey, during the late 1930s. The dig turned up a trove of ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic coins. Stahl still handles envelopes with the handwriting of the lead archaeologist's wife, who catalogued the money. "Sometimes I can see where she scraped just a little to bring up a mark for identification. We wouldn't do that today, but I can see her rationale. I do feel a certain kinship to her," Stahl said.
The collection includes Byzantine coins that are bent, almost in cup shapes. Some of the ancient Chinese coins are shaped like knives and keys. For the most part, though, the coins are round and flat - a feature Stahl guesses might be because of its functionality. "The knife coins would sure punch a hole in your pocket or purse. I guess a square coin would be bad," Stahl said.
Stahl first became interested in coins in the early 1970s while studying for his doctoral degree in medieval history at the University of Pennsylvania. Kingdoms and empires, Stahl said, usually have rulers on the front of their coins, though the Byzantine Empire also used Jesus. Republics in history have avoided living people and instead concentrated on symbols of what is valued by the state. Particularly in the past, most average people didn't see their country's capital and its public buildings, or the nation's important documents. But they did see coins.
Chris Newmarker
25 February 2008
Charleston Gazette
Alan Stahl has a lot of change on his hands - and not the kind you can cash in at any bank. The curator of Princeton University's numismatic collection is in charge of protecting and displaying tens of thousands of coins, tokens, medals and pieces of paper money. "The funny thing is, I've never owned a personal coin collection," said Stahl, 60.
The 150-year-old collection started as an assemblage of plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman coins. Stahl estimates it now contains about 80,000 items. New acquisitions in the past year have made the collection even more diverse: a donation of 2,000 ancient Chinese coins and the purchase of more than 800 medieval Greek coins, bought for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
About a dozen university students each spend a few hours a week cataloging the coins. So far, the collection's online system has more than 3,000 coins listed, about 1,000 coins entered in each year. "At this rate, we'll be done in 50 years," Stahl said.
For the students, cataloging the coins is an education in itself. As a junior majoring in classics, 21-year-old Joe Codega has read a great deal about the ancient Romans, but he felt a greater connection with the subject he loves last week as he held a brass coin with the image of the big-chinned Roman Emperor Nero on the front. The back showed Rome's temple of Janus with its doors closed - a symbol that the empire was at peace. "It's neat to be able to hold something that an ancient person held," Codega said.
Some of the collection's coins are on display at Princeton's Firestone Library, where the collection is housed. Any member of the public can also ask to see a tray with some coins, though Stahl will keep close watch to make sure coins don't go missing. Stahl still cringes when he recalls a theft at the American Numismatic Society when he was there in the late 1980s. "I'm pleased to say I wasn't the person handing him the trays," Stahl said.
Half of the collection, about 30,000 coins, comes from Princeton University archaeological work in Antioch, in what is now Turkey, during the late 1930s. The dig turned up a trove of ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic coins. Stahl still handles envelopes with the handwriting of the lead archaeologist's wife, who catalogued the money. "Sometimes I can see where she scraped just a little to bring up a mark for identification. We wouldn't do that today, but I can see her rationale. I do feel a certain kinship to her," Stahl said.
The collection includes Byzantine coins that are bent, almost in cup shapes. Some of the ancient Chinese coins are shaped like knives and keys. For the most part, though, the coins are round and flat - a feature Stahl guesses might be because of its functionality. "The knife coins would sure punch a hole in your pocket or purse. I guess a square coin would be bad," Stahl said.
Stahl first became interested in coins in the early 1970s while studying for his doctoral degree in medieval history at the University of Pennsylvania. Kingdoms and empires, Stahl said, usually have rulers on the front of their coins, though the Byzantine Empire also used Jesus. Republics in history have avoided living people and instead concentrated on symbols of what is valued by the state. Particularly in the past, most average people didn't see their country's capital and its public buildings, or the nation's important documents. But they did see coins.
Viking era fashions were colourful and revealing
Researcher: Viking era fashions were colourful and revealing
27 February 2008
Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)
Viking men often dressed in strong colours and silk while women wore revealing clothing, a Uppsala University researcher said Wednesday.
Archaeolgist Annika Larsson has studied fashion during the Viking Age from 750-1050 based on textiles found in graves in the Lake Malaren region, ranging from Stockholm to Uppsala.
Trade routes often influenced styles, Larsson said, noting how oriental features disappeared with the arrival of Christianity and the Vikings started to trade with the Christian Byzantine and Western Europe.
Last year she presented a dissertation on Viking fashion, and has continued her research in the field.
"Textile research can tell us more about the state of society than research into traditions. Old rituals can live on long after society has changed, but when trade routes are cut off, there is an immediate impact on clothing fashions," Larsson said in a release from the university.
Her theory about how Viking women dressed in the pre-Christian era was based on a new find in Pskov, near Novgorod in Russia.
The find suggested that women's skirts consisted of a single piece of fabric that was open in front. Suspenders held up the train and functioned as a harness that was fastened to the breasts with clasps.
"It is easy to imagine that the Christian church had certain reservations about clothing that accentuated the breasts in this way," Larsson said, saying that a ban by the church might explain why the style disappeared during the Christian era.
27 February 2008
Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)
Viking men often dressed in strong colours and silk while women wore revealing clothing, a Uppsala University researcher said Wednesday.
Archaeolgist Annika Larsson has studied fashion during the Viking Age from 750-1050 based on textiles found in graves in the Lake Malaren region, ranging from Stockholm to Uppsala.
Trade routes often influenced styles, Larsson said, noting how oriental features disappeared with the arrival of Christianity and the Vikings started to trade with the Christian Byzantine and Western Europe.
Last year she presented a dissertation on Viking fashion, and has continued her research in the field.
"Textile research can tell us more about the state of society than research into traditions. Old rituals can live on long after society has changed, but when trade routes are cut off, there is an immediate impact on clothing fashions," Larsson said in a release from the university.
Her theory about how Viking women dressed in the pre-Christian era was based on a new find in Pskov, near Novgorod in Russia.
The find suggested that women's skirts consisted of a single piece of fabric that was open in front. Suspenders held up the train and functioned as a harness that was fastened to the breasts with clasps.
"It is easy to imagine that the Christian church had certain reservations about clothing that accentuated the breasts in this way," Larsson said, saying that a ban by the church might explain why the style disappeared during the Christian era.
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