Amtgard brings fantasy alive in Rock Springs (74) Jun 12, 2008
Up to that point, the only role-playing group available was the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group more focused on the historical accuracy of combat and other skills used in Europe during the middle ages. Amtgard differs because it focuses more on fantasy than realism, allowing players to be spell casters and other archetypes from classical medieval fantasy. (Green River Star, WY)
The way to a chef's heart Jun 10, 2008
Dreadlocked, dressed in a chainmail vest, brandishing a knife bag full of blades he's forged himself in the bush near Hobart, he looks as if he's stepped straight from the Middle Ages. But he's very meek to talk to, an artisan who wields a cook's knife as well as he does a blacksmith's hammer. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Insiders give you the real Boston Jun 7, 2008
The Italian Renaissance courtyard, based on a 16th-century Tuscan facade, is surrounded by galleries that trace the arc of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present, including its own terrific collection of impressionist paintings, plus a number of Picassos. Special exhibitions are thoughtful, not crowd-pleasers, and often highlight contemporary art that far outshines that at the newer, buzzier Institute of Contemporary Art downtown. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Global cooling? Jun 6, 2008
Mike J wrote on Jun 5, 2008 8:40 AM:" Back in the middle ages the scientists knew the world was round, but the conservatives insisted it was flat. ". Mike wrote on Jun 5, 2008 8:38 AM:" It's all about us isn't it. Just because we don't have any issues at the moment doesn't mean the rest of the world isn't having problems. and now even the right wing has acknowledged the problem. ". (Sioux City Journal, IO)
Some rich UBS clients risk tax fraud exposure Jun 6, 2008
Under pressure from the authorities, UBS is considering whether to divulge the names of 20,000 of its well-heeled U.S. clients, according to people close to the probe, a step that would have once been unthinkable to Swiss bankers, whose practice of secrecy dates back to the Middle Ages. U.S. investigators believe some of these clients may have used offshore accounts at UBS to illegally hide as much as $20 billion from the Internal Revenue Service. (International Herald Tribune)
History and Culture of Dianthus Jun 5, 2008
The carnation was later considered a symbol of marital love, fertility, and fidelity and was found in many marriage paintings during the Middle Ages. In fact, there is a story about Maximilian of Austria who was told by the bishop of Treves to seek under his bride's dress for a carnation hidden there. (Suite101.com)
Paris' old Jewish quarter changing Jun 4, 2008
After 27 years, he has lost faith in his neighborhood, home to French Jews since the Middle Ages, and is shutting down, depriving the rue des Rosiers district of one of its remaining Old World-style kosher restaurants ... "We can't always stay in the Middle Ages.". (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Oxford, Edinburgh, York ... and Basildon? New town paves way for heritage trail Jun 2, 2008
The steel and glass belfry was only built for the millennium, beside the 1960s church, but it holds bells dating back to the middle ages, including one dated 1441 which is the first recorded bell cast by a woman, Joanne Hill. An exhibition of the childrens' photographs in the town library was a big success. (Guardian Unlimited -- Arts)
Lake Garda's Top Ten Sights May 29, 2008
But it is authentic, built by the , which ruled the region in the Middle Ages. Natural Wonder: In a land filled with scenic and geologic marvels, Cascata de Varone plunges through a corkscrew cavern, directly from a lake far overhead. (Suite101.com)
Conservative Books Just In Time For Summer May 26, 2008
Beginning with classical Greece and Rome and the Bible, making his way through the Middle Ages (less benighted than you may have thought) and the Enlightenment and American founding to the modern era, he tells the fabulous stories and introduces his reader to the world-changing ideas that have made Western civilization the greatest civilization, by far, that the world has seen. If you missed the classical education that ought to have been your birthright as a citizen of the West, and you want to... (Human Events Online)
The Medieval Imagination May 24, 2008
1259) provides an excellent point of comparison between the Middle Ages and today ... It is nearly impossible for us to understand how harsh and insecure life was for most people in the Middle Ages ... People of the Middle Ages saw life as permeated with miraculous but supernatural events. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Faculty members, lab scientists elected to two national research academies May 16, 2008
Her books include The Service Books of the Royal Abbey of St. Denis: Images of Ritual and Music in the Middle Ages, which earned the John Nicholas Brown Prize of the Medieval Academy of America, and Guillaume de Machaut and Reims: Context and Meaning in his Musical Works. Her honors include the Alfred Einstein Award of the American Musicological Society and the Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize of the Medieval Academy. (Univeristy of Chicago Chronicle, IL)
NYC Museum Exhibits: Summer 2008 May 12, 2008
(April 18-August 10) focuses on Le Livre de la chasse (1387-89) by Gaston Phoebus, the most popular treatise on hunting in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance ... Realms of Faith: Medieval Art from the Walters Art Museum (March 5-July 13) introduces the viewer to devotional ivory and metal objects, panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts from the Christian Middle Ages. (Suite101.com)
Victoria & Albert Museum Treasures May 10, 2008
During the Late Middle Ages, stained glass' subject matter included secular as well as religious themes. Attributed to Lukas Zeiner (act. (Suite101.com)
Florence City Guide: What to see May 7, 2008
Take a trip back to the middle ages by listening to San Miniato's Benedictine monks sing Gregorian chants during vespers at Florence's oldest church, which dates back to the 11th century (Via del Monte Alle Croci, near Piazza Michelangiolo; Vespers at 16. 30 summer and 17. (CNN -- Travel)
You call that pudding, Grandma? May 2, 2008
Without chocolate, custards date at least to the Middle Ages. Custards usually rely on eggs to thicken a liquid, typically milk or cream. (International Herald Tribune -- Travel)
Conference focuses on Christianity and art May 2, 2008
Historically, many of us would associate religious art with the Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment. Recently, however, a new style of religious art is becoming more popular in our 21st century culture. (Middlebury College -- The Campus, VT)
The great escape Apr 23, 2008
It's an essay about how people in the Middle Ages viewed the night sky, and it's about a mentality so totally removed from the campaign mentality that it's like a refreshing dip in a cool and cleansing pool ... It points out that while we moderns see space as a black, cold, mostly empty vastness, with planets and stars propelled by gravitational and other forces, Europeans in the Middle Ages saw a more intimate and magical place ... As many historians have written, Europeans in the Middle Ages... (International Herald Tribune)
Motivation vs Inspiration Apr 22, 2008
For it is a foundation based on ignorance, and unless we lighten up as a nation, we will find ourselves dragged back into the Middle Ages where women wore chastity belts and heretics were burned at the stake. The writer is a journalist based in Jakarta. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Editorial)
Illuminating the Medieval Hunt Apr 19, 2008
Together their images illustrate how the theme of hunting was variously interpreted by artists and writers of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance ... The hunt was also used metaphorically in secular and religious texts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. (Suite101.com)
In Oxford, with a pub crawl through the centuries Apr 15, 2008
In Oxford, which has some pubs like the Bear, on Blue Boar Lane, and the Mitre, on the High Street that date back to the 1200's, many of the names echo the Middle Ages ... After that, only in the public house did the Middle Ages continue to find shelter. (International Herald Tribune)
New Currier Museum of Art Opens Apr 11, 2008
The European collection, spanning from the late Middle Ages through the work of the Impressionists, shows works by Tiepolo, Constable and Monet in a gallery whose centerpiece is the 16th-century tapestry The Visit of the Gypsies. Major collections of decorative arts and sculpture include Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Daniel Chester French, Frederic Remington and Jacques Lipchitz. (Suite101.com)
Medieval calculator up for grabs Apr 3, 2008
The device is a brass astrolabe quadrant that opens a new window on the mathematical and astronomical literacy of the Middle Ages, experts say. It can tell the time from the position of the Sun, calculate the heights of tall objects, and work out the date of Easter. (Nature News Service)
Architecture Is a Team Sport Apr 2, 2008
This wasn't true in the Middle Ages, when there were real master builders, and it isn't true today. The modern architect works with scores of specialists, first and foremost structural engineers, without whom most architects today would be lost. (Slate)
A Shropshire sojourn Mar 30, 2008
Although picturesque, many of Chester's black and white facades are faux, dating not from the Middle Ages but a Victorian building boom three centuries later. But our sunny moods faded when we returned to the car and discovered the $100 parking ticket on the front window. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Sotheby's to Sell Works by Beuys, Klein That Spent 40 Years in Krefeld Mar 29, 2008
The has more than 12,000 artworks dating back to the Middle Ages, said Martin Hentschel, the museum's director. The museum was last renovated in the 1970s and is ``not up to the latest technical standards,'' Hentschel said. (Bloomberg -- Germany)
Erotica, rifles, torture and toilets the world's most bizarre museums Mar 27, 2008
Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments: Prague, Czech RepublicAh, the Middle Ages, when a slip of the tongue could spiral hilariously into the accused being slowly disemboweled in the public square. Prague's Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments is dedicated to depicting the means by which confessions were extracted from alleged heretics. (MSNBC -- Travel)
All About Monogramming Mar 25, 2008
In the Middle Ages, artists and artisans adapted the monogram as a way to sign and identify their work. During the Victorian Period, high-class folks used monograms liberally as a way to symbolize their place in society. (Suite101.com)
The Shroud of Turin debate continues Mar 23, 2008
Shroud of Turin still a puzzle Questions arise over carbon-dating that traced it to Middle Ages Sunday, March 23, 2008 By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ... It has been 20 years since radiocarbon tests concluded that the Shroud of Turin, which bears a mysterious image of a crucified man, was woven in the Middle Ages and thus couldn't be the burial cloth of Jesus, as many believed ... What keeps the debate alive today is not just the hope of some faithful that the ancient cloth may be a... (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Youths take spring break trip to medieval times Mar 22, 2008
Instructor Penny Azbill said the children were taking on the role of stone masons, who cut rock into blocks during the Middle Ages to build castles and churches. Later in the day, she said, they would be completing the castle by using flexible sheets of tin to connect together the turrets. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
What's Ahead Mar 20, 2008
The society is a nonprofit group that re-enacts the Renaissance and Middle Ages time period pre-1601 A.D. Participants can come dressed-up or in regular clothes. Membership is not required to participate, and families are welcome. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
Old bookstore has new Open Mic Night Mar 15, 2008
She also said she would love it for people in their middle ages to participate. Rohler's father, Lloyd Rohler, is another owner as well as a professor of communication studies at UNCW.. (The Seahawk, NC)
Putin's "Hands-Off" Solution To Corruption Mar 15, 2008
"Of course it would be good to chop off that paw, like in the Middle Ages," Putin said in televised remarks. "That would probably be the best solution of all.". (CBS News -- World)
Earth tremors shake the business of mining under a German town Mar 5, 2008
Mining started here in the Middle Ages and ran through generations in many families. Some 50,000 Saar miners worked in the sector during its heyday. (International Herald Tribune -- Money Report)
Cross-border love knows no bounds Mar 4, 2008
It may be hard for us today to imagine glaciers growing but European glaciers advanced and retreated several times during the "Little Ice Age" from the end of the late Middle Ages (1300 1500) to the late nineteenth century. "The whole Little Ice Age was a glacier-friendly period with cold summers and winters with lots of snow," Nussbaumer explained. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Newsweek: Vatican reveals secrets of the Inquisition Mar 1, 2008
Back in the Middle Ages, the Inquisition was a byword for fear and terror in. Its tribunals, set up by the to ensure that "heretics" did not undermine the authority of the increasingly powerful Roman Catholic Church, burned and tortured witches, blasphemers and members of other faiths. (MSNBC -- International)
Encompassing the Globe... A Review Mar 1, 2008
While the general reader may be impressed by the book's handsome appearance, specialists of the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance will be left expecting more in terms of its content. Source. (Suite101.com)
Like a virgin? Feb 29, 2008
During the early Middle Ages, Christians were taught that while sex in marriage was not a sin, it was not as holy a state as complete abstinence from sex. (This is still the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. (MSNBC -- Health)
From Visigoths to vivid shots Feb 24, 2008
This mammoth exhibition looks at how the centuries-long interaction between the Roman Empire and waves of barbarian invaders (Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks) gave rise to what we now know as the Middle Ages. Some 1,700 items, mostly barbarian but also some Roman, are on display. (Boston Globe)
Home schooling with a twist Feb 22, 2008
In Medieval Times, the students make a lap book of historical facts and activities from the Middle Ages. Activities include learning about cathedrals, making a stained glass window, playing authentic games, making a jewel-encrusted crown, creating ink and feather manuscripts, making a coat of arms, creating chain mail, and making a catapult. (Amesbury News, MA)
The star of home decor Feb 16, 2008
Fooks says that in the Middle Ages, a small star by the door represented a free man and landowner in some regions of Germany, and the star figured in colorful decorations on furniture, trunks and textiles. But the barn star was an indigenous American folk art, he says, adding that he and others were trying to preserve the tradition with an endowment fund to help local farmers with the $1,200 to $1,800 cost of painting new stars on their barns. (Racine Journal Times, WI)
Bush agenda for next week is Africa Feb 15, 2008
"Just a few years ago, there were fears that HIV/AIDS could wipe out much of the continent's population, with death rates that would rival the Black Plague of the Middle Ages," Bush said Thursday. When he first visited Africa in 2003, about 50,000 people were being treated. (USA Today -- News)
Campus calendar Feb 13, 2008
MONDAY Paradise found Boston College's McMullen Museum of Art hosts an opening celebration for "Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire." The traveling exhibit from the Brooklyn museum includes a reconstruction of floor tiles from a synagogue in Tunisia and Tirez textiles that illustrate the role of Islam in North Africa during the Middle Ages. Opening Mon. (Boston Globe)
Monk Idol - band of brothers sought by major record label Feb 10, 2008
Gregorian chant, which had a run of chart success in the mid-1990s with Enigma, dates back to the early Middle Ages. The adverts, running from Sunday onwards, read: "Attention: plainchant singers from all religious orders. World's leading record company seeking monks, men of the cloth and sacred singers for a unique recording contract.". (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Silver Lake Middle School kids bake bread Feb 8, 2008
In the middle ages, towns people carried their dough to the town oven for baking, marking the tops with unique slashes to identify the loaves owners. Today, bread making is still the foundation of every pizza, roll and pastry recipe. (Kingston Mariner, MA)
Library’s acquisition reunites two manuscripts once bound together Feb 8, 2008
Le Roman de la Rose is arguably the single-most influential vernacular text of the late French Middle Ages ... I am excited to make it a focal point of several courses, including classes examining the commercial book trade in Paris, the politics of luxury in the Middle Ages and the history of medieval illuminated manuscripts. (Univeristy of Chicago Chronicle, IL)
Read Article » Feb 8, 2008
The 14-ton bass bell in the south tower was cast in 1680 and is supported by a vast wooden cage that dates to the Middle Ages. Six small bells were installed in the 19th century in and below the spire above the church's transept. (International Herald Tribune)
Hot Winter Travel Deals in Baltimore Feb 4, 2008
Visitors will view some of the world's greatest cartographic treasures, from maps created by the great cartographers of the Middle Ages and the age of exploration, to rarely viewed artifacts from around the world. The exhibit opens March 16. (Canton Daily Ledger, IL)
In footsteps of his father Feb 1, 2008
"Every story in the strip was specific, so you had to do research on armour and the politics of the middle ages. A great deal of research went into the strip." Notwithstanding his contribution, Murphy believes it was the quality of the drawings that gave Prince Valiant its longevity. "It was beautifully drawn. An entire side of a newspaper broadsheet I think it was the beauty of the illustrations that did it.,". (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Judge Bans Holocaust Float in Brazil Feb 1, 2008
"The only problem is we're not in the Middle Ages anymore. It doesn't work in a modern society," DaMatta said. Past carnival groups have had to change floats because of the Roman Catholic Church, which doesn't want depictions of the Virgin Mary or Christ. (Newsmax)
Daily Digest Wednesday Jan 30, 2008
The society is a nonprofit group that re-enacts the Renaissance and Middle Ages time period pre-1601 A.D. Participants can come dressed-up or in regular clothes. For more information, those interested can call Marlene Sena at 572-1083, e-mail her at or visit. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
Books: Book Review: All Shall Be Well; and All Shall Be Well; and All Manner of Things Shall Jan 28, 2008
Wodicka might have delivered little more than an extended cheap shot if he merely lampooned the desperation with which his main character, Burt Hecker, aka Eckbert Attquiet, craves the escapism of the Middle Ages. Certainly there is much humor in Burt and his quaint affectations, since he uses them so absurdly as a barrier between himself and the modern world. (International Herald Tribune)
UNESCO Listed Sites in Belgium Jan 26, 2008
During the Middle Ages, Bruges (Brugge in Dutch) was a major commercial and cultural capital. Changes in trade routes meant the town became too poor to rebuild in more modern styles and now is an excellent example of medieval town architecture. (Suite101.com)
St Maurice of the Theban Legion Jan 23, 2008
Saint Maurice was one of the most well known of the soldier saints celebrated in the middle Ages ... They both are classic and date from the middle ages and thus could not be Maurice's actual weapon. (Suite101.com)
Fishermen seek elusive bluefin tuna Jan 23, 2008
Armies of the middle ages were sustained on dried bluefin. Yet for all its power and magnificence, the species is in peril, officially classified as overfished. (Scripps Howard News Wire)
New Covenant Trust sponsoring Speed exhibit Jan 17, 2008
"Medieval and Renaissance Treasures" is a collection of 35 pieces created principally for the church in the Middle Ages and for wealthy collectors during the Renaissance. Artists represented in the collection include Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Veit Stoss and Giovanni Pisano, according to a news release. (Louisville Business First, KY)
Another museum that's a work of art Jan 13, 2008
What our blizzard of museums reminds you of is the Middle Ages in Western Europe, when every city and town seemed to be erecting a cathedral. And indeed, it can be argued that the art museum, too, is a place where we gather with our neighbors to engage in something rather like worship. (Boston Globe)
The best and worst of fashion in 2007 Jan 2, 2008
Find out about the intriguing history of lager, from the initial brews created by Benedictine monks in the Middle Ages to today's beer sommeliers. QUICKLINKS. (Yahoo News -- Fashion and Modeling)
New Year's rituals mark annual transition Dec 31, 2007
Once celebrated as a spring festival of renewal in March, New Year's was moved to Jan. 1 by the Romans in 153 B.C., set there by the Julian calendar in 46 B.C., wiped out in the Middle Ages in a rebuke of perceived paganism and finally re-established by Pope Gregory XIII, to align it with Christmas, in 1582. But the Jan. 1 date was not adopted in some places, including England and the United States, until the middle of the 18th century (1752). (San Francisco Chronicle)
Tracey Albainy, was curator at Museum of Fine Arts; 45 Dec 23, 2007
"She was, above all, extraordinarily informed about a range of the decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the modern era, and more than any other curator I have ever known, she had an intelligent opinion about anything from 1300 or 1930," Shackelford said. Ms. Albainy also had a knack for gracefully getting things from people in a somewhat indirect manner - especially financing for an exhibit. (Boston Globe)
Lakeland Village students go medieval Dec 17, 2007
I was more interested in the ladies than the lords," said Isabel Moreno, 13.Isabel said she's glad she lives in a time of equality for women, unlike the Middle Ages, when women had second-class status."I'm proud women have their rights nowadays and are equal to the guys," Isabel said.Isabel said the hardest part of the project was coming up with her theme."The rest was pretty easy," she said.Marlon Rodriguez, 12, said it took a lot of trial and error before he found the right material for his... (North County Times)
Review: The Dirt on Clean Dec 15, 2007
" From the Renaissance until the Industrial Revolution, Ashenburg notes, the middle and upper classes generally feared water and washed as little as the poor, with monarchs perhaps being dirtiest of all. Only once the comfortable classes saw how quickly disease spread in urban tenements did they take to bathing more regularly. The Romans spent hours at their elaborate bathhouse complexes, but not everyone equated cleanliness with virtue: Seneca rebuked shvitz lovers for not smelling "of the... (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Eat, drink and be merry with the Greenville-Weston High School Choir Dec 13, 2007
GREENVILLE Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in the middle ages what the language, the food, the dress style were like ... It is set in the Middle Ages and is generally comedic in nature. (Greenville Delta Democrat Times, MS)
Illuminating works of art Dec 12, 2007
Among the Melikian pieces is the Khabouris Codex, one of only two Assyrian New Testament manuscripts, written in Aramaic in the late Middle Ages, owned in the Western Hemisphere. "To hold in your hand something written 300, 500 or a thousand years ago is very humbling to me," Melikian says. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Spamalot resurrects laughs in jokes of yore Dec 3, 2007
Jason Langley gets plenty of laughs as the camp, cowardly Sir Robin and Stephen Hall's Sir Lancelot turns in a memorable Middle Ages disco routine. Monty Python was a boys' club - the female characters, awful shrews in headscarves and overcoats, were played by men. (Sydney Morning Herald)
