Jacques de Molay, Templar, died on this day in 1314

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismjrBQ1Q0Re2EpXr8EDPZJSUz7MYbm-xgzgo09Ce5ou94p7SXg-DJ2QSaFMWJ6pnmGWMujkCm0amJx_9Wn3mG-6dDS1oK0hHejFJRmHTQga1y7dwmjdglBu1F8gYEPcXse0KAr1Lz35s/s1600/Jacques+de+Molay+burning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismjrBQ1Q0Re2EpXr8EDPZJSUz7MYbm-xgzgo09Ce5ou94p7SXg-DJ2QSaFMWJ6pnmGWMujkCm0amJx_9Wn3mG-6dDS1oK0hHejFJRmHTQga1y7dwmjdglBu1F8gYEPcXse0KAr1Lz35s/s1600/Jacques+de+Molay+burning.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>Today marks the 700th anniversary of the execution of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar. For many historians this day marks the unofficial end of the Templars, the military monastic order that for about two hundred years defended Jerusalem and the Holy Land for Roman Catholics.  <br /><br /><b><a href="https://twitter.com/DominicSelwood">Dominic Selwood</a></b>, the resident historian at <i>The Telegraph,</i> has penned a good account of the story of the fall of the Grand Master and his brethren. He writes:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>To draw down the final curtain, on the 18th of March 1314 the four most senior living Templars were hauled to Paris. On a rostrum erected on the parvis before the great cathedral of Notre-Dame, they were publicly condemned to perpetual imprisonment. Hugues de Pairaud and Geoffroi de Gonneville accepted the sentences in silence. But Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney stunned the crowd by talking over the cardinals and professing their innocence and that of the Temple.<br /><br />The electrifying news was rushed across the city to King Philip at the Louvre. Desperate to crush this dangerous new defiance, he abandoned all legal procedures and ordered the two old Templars to be burned without delay.</i></blockquote><b><a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/dominicselwood/100263362/a-stain-on-history-the-burning-of-jacques-de-molay-grand-master-of-the-mysterious-knights-templar-700-years-ago-today/">Click here to read his full article</a></b><br /><br />While the Knights Templar was destroyed in the fourteenth-century, their notoriety and story would continue on to the present day. In his article, <b><a href="http://www.theawl.com/2014/03/george-bush-beyonce-knights-templar-illuminati-freemasons-usa-usa">Your Conspiracy Theories Began 700 Years Ago Today</a></b>, Paul Fain notes that their mantle would be taken up by many others. For example:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>The early Freemasons claimed ties to the Templars, despite a gap of a few hundred years between their creation and de Molay’s death. A dubious link to the old-school warriors apparently gave them some street cred.</i></blockquote>He adds:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>The Templars also made an appearance in the news last week. Mexican police killed Nazario Moreno, the leader of a drug cartel that used the name Knights Templar. According to Time, Moreno’s followers wore white robes and kept statues of him wearing medieval armor. It’s unclear where he hid the Holy Grail. </i></blockquote>You can find a lot of information on the Templars - books, video games, even cheesy documentaries like this one:<br /><br /><object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/thJ4Lw4KivE?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/thJ4Lw4KivE?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />You can find some <b><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/tag/templars/">articles about the Knights Templar</a></b> on Medievalists.net. Check out also these <b><a href="http://deremilitari.org/2014/01/the-founding-of-the-templars/">accounts about the founding of Templars</a></b> from De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History.

Jacques de Molay, Templar, died on this day in 1314

Today marks the 700th anniversary of the execution of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar. For many historians this day ma...

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Crusader Feces, Bat Feces, Latin swear words, and building a village - medieval news roundup

Here are some news stories from the medievalverse, and a few from beyond it...<br /><h4>Crusader Feces</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiKZevXpf84c-xYR7E3l-lCHpbNph4c19nQDKJ-o-cSVBPw8mAqBUjZT_FkPOIEXIuftSPHtmhlUMh3aLZ6afdc3XfuZUvo9q7-wM0cCeQ05M5L5QprzEvrL2wFkJ2ZwzWR0eIga8BIA/s313/godfreybouillon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiKZevXpf84c-xYR7E3l-lCHpbNph4c19nQDKJ-o-cSVBPw8mAqBUjZT_FkPOIEXIuftSPHtmhlUMh3aLZ6afdc3XfuZUvo9q7-wM0cCeQ05M5L5QprzEvrL2wFkJ2ZwzWR0eIga8BIA/s200/godfreybouillon.gif" width="200" /></a></div>An article in the <i>International Journal of Paleopathology</i> shows that many Crusaders would have been suffering from worms or other diseases. Test done by two researchers from the University of Cambridge at Saranda Kolones castle in Cyrpus showed that two species of parasite, the roundworm and the whipworm, were prevalent among the crusaders. The castle was built after the Third Crusade and abandoned in 1222.<br /><br />Evilena Anastasiou and Piers D. Mitchell write that "the discovery of these parasites highlights how medieval crusaders may have been at risk of malnutrition at times of siege and famine, as these worms competed with them for nutrients." <br /><br /><b><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/medieval-feces-shows-crusaders-struggled-worms-hygiene-141534352.html">You can read more about this story from Reuters</a></b>. <br /><br />The article 'Human intestinal parasites from a latrine in the 12th century Frankish castle of Saranda Kolones in Cyprus' is <b><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879981713000405">available here</a></b>. <br /><br /><h4>One stone at a time</h4>While we have reported on groups in <b><a href="http://medievalnews.blogspot.ca/2012/05/france-medieval-castle-in-making.html">France</a></b> and <strike><b><a href="http://medievalnews.blogspot.ca/2012/01/ozark-medieval-fortress-closed-this.html">Arkansas</a></b></strike> that are building medieval castles, we now have a team of 25 workers in Germany who have just started constructing a replica of a ninth century monastic settlement and town. Bert Geuten is leading the effort to build the medieval site near the southern German town of Meßkirch in Baden-Württemberg. Because they are using authentic historical tools and techniques, it will take over 40 years before the project is complete, which will include a 2,000 seat cathedral.<br /><br />They began last weekend by starting construction on a small church. “In the ninth century the monks would have built a small church first – they didn't want to wait until the cathedral was ready to be able to pray. So we're doing the same,” Geuten explained. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.thelocal.de/society/20130625-50493.html">Click here to read the full article from The Local.</a></b><br /><br /><h4>Bat Feces</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7XQ-zFE9ziybiee_fWYOVEhhVKAXD_F4MSQgKbksGkpsBPQHFghJP-k8ieZoUYohCkKxE-I2uEkzVfns19cIenxL9CYImrTc7eRhy5QUvtqrf7F_slV6zdrs5ykB7RXQHHnUQasOlHg/s576/RoedelCT0w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7XQ-zFE9ziybiee_fWYOVEhhVKAXD_F4MSQgKbksGkpsBPQHFghJP-k8ieZoUYohCkKxE-I2uEkzVfns19cIenxL9CYImrTc7eRhy5QUvtqrf7F_slV6zdrs5ykB7RXQHHnUQasOlHg/s320/RoedelCT0w.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Churches in England are again facing danger, but not from thieves <b><a href="http://medievalnews.blogspot.ca/2012/07/stealing-history-nothing-is-sacred-to.html?q=theft">stealing their metal</a></b> or <b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22426144">declining attendance</a></b>. Instead, bats are the new threat, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. An environmental directive from the European Union prohibits building owners from killing bats or destroying their roosts, and this is apparently leading to church interiors being contaminated with bat droppings.<br /><br />Tony Baldry, a Member of Parliament who officially speaks for the Church of England, said, "the church of St Peter ad Vincula at South Newington in my own constituency has some very fine, almost unique, medieval wall paintings which seem to have been spared Thomas Cromwell's men. But having survived the ravages of the Reformation they are now threatened by bat urine. And these are irreplaceable parts of our natural heritage." <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10142058/Bats-in-the-belfry-bigger-threat-to-medieval-churches-than-reformation-warns-CofE.html">Click here to read the article from Daily Telegraph</a></b><br /><br /><br /><h4>How to Swear like a Roman</h4>One of my daily reads <i>The Atlantic</i> magazine occasionally has articles related to history. Last month, they looked at ancient cursing with <i>Futuo! How the Romans Swore</i>. It focuses on the new book, Holy Sh*t! A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr, and explains the meaning behind Latin words such as futuo, landica, cinaedus, mingo, cacare and verecundum. <b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/-em-futuo-em-how-the-romans-swore/276397/">You can read that article here</a></b>. <br /><br /><h4>What it takes to run the IMC</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-I9V-lQ52uMTy6lZBelFsdnZZ6wDH4rUsq4eczBDVJ5HPOn5N9bBB6_iueqjolKT_8bj6Bq0IEyxyNB_oDjFlBDucPJN4tCeXf461n5dHqJ-WXQ-80gVtMDtatd1M1aqGN-DE2QelwQ/s188/21.06.13.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-I9V-lQ52uMTy6lZBelFsdnZZ6wDH4rUsq4eczBDVJ5HPOn5N9bBB6_iueqjolKT_8bj6Bq0IEyxyNB_oDjFlBDucPJN4tCeXf461n5dHqJ-WXQ-80gVtMDtatd1M1aqGN-DE2QelwQ/s188/21.06.13.13.jpg" /></a></div>The International Medieval Congress is taking place at the University of Leeds from June 30th to July 4th. Over 2000 people will be attending (I wish I was there too). Anthony Lowe, event manager for MeetInLeeds is in charge of making sure everything goes smoothly “This has been three years in the planning as it is the largest conference we have hosted on the campus,” he explains to ConferenceNews. “It’s been great working with all the different departments to create a medieval campus, with special exhibitions in the university art gallery, library and academic meeting rooms, as well as themed menus and medieval street food."<br /><br />He adds, “It’s going to be incredibly busy but we’re extremely well-prepared for it and will be working hard to ensure that everyone has a fabulous experience and remembers their medieval experience for many years to come. Leeds is a very attractive campus and we are looking forward to showing it at its very best.”<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.conference-news.co.uk/news/2013/06/18/International-Medieval-Congress-to-descend-upon-University-of-Leeds/5836">Click here to read the full article from ConferenceNews</a></b><br /><br /><h4>Social Networking in the 1600s </h4>Tom Standage is the author of the forthcoming book, <i>Writing on the Wall: Social Media — The First 2,000 Years</i>. In this article from the New York Times, he writes about how the coffeehouse was the social-networking site of the 17th century. He explains:<br /><br /><i>People went to coffeehouses not just to drink coffee, but to read and discuss the latest pamphlets and news-sheets and to catch up on rumor and gossip. Coffeehouses were also used as post offices. Patrons would visit their favorite coffeehouses several times a day to check for new mail, catch up on the news and talk to other coffee drinkers, both friends and strangers. Some coffeehouses specialized in discussion of particular topics, like science, politics, literature or shipping. As customers moved from one to the other, information circulated with them.</i><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/social-networking-in-the-1600s.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&">You can read the article here</a></b>. <br /><br /><h4>The Rise of the Novel</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVlvfd9HnvwogOVik1Xpyd1Kx46qMJPzSVf16Uec8x7mQWdu8pXDbZGXuNiT3bB9eAban9uoWO5kL69cCE_dUv_tzLf9auRTqyFIkmI-uKSEtZlBgnajUjl1mLekZAEwBd_aJ___BrFo/s992/LEAHORR-03--.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVlvfd9HnvwogOVik1Xpyd1Kx46qMJPzSVf16Uec8x7mQWdu8pXDbZGXuNiT3bB9eAban9uoWO5kL69cCE_dUv_tzLf9auRTqyFIkmI-uKSEtZlBgnajUjl1mLekZAEwBd_aJ___BrFo/s200/LEAHORR-03--.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Staying in Early Modern England, Penn State News has an interesting profile of Leah Orr, a specialist in 18th-century literature. She just completed her PhD on <i>Did the Novel Rise? Fiction and Print Culture in England, 1690-1730</i>, which "rebuts the longstanding notion that the novel as we now know it became a recognized form and rose to prominence during that time period. That conception of early fiction, she argues, is based on close readings of a few famous texts by major authors, such as Daniel Defoe and Aphra Behn, and neglects the broader literary context in which those texts were written and first read."<br /><br /><b><a href="http://news.psu.edu/story/279747/2013/06/19/research/strange-and-surprising-adventures-fiction">Click here to read more from Penn State</a></b>.<br /><br /><h4>Other news bits:</h4><b><a href="http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/medieval-herb-garden-unveiled-northumberland-4702886">Medieval herb garden unveiled at Northumberland Park</a></b><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.downnews.co.uk/medieval-polish-treasures-revealed-at-down-museum-exhibition/">Medieval Polish Treasures Revealed at Down Museum Exhibition</a></b><br /><br /><b><a href="http://history.news.yorku.ca/2013/06/congratulations-to-our-history-colleague-rachel-koopmans-for-winning-the-margaret-wade-labarge-prize-2012/">Rachel Koopmans wins Margaret Wade Labarge Prize for Books in Medieval Studies </a></b><br /><br />Video: Students studying Archaeology at Queen's University take part in an excavation which discovers a Medieval Lime Kiln, which may have been used during the construction of Dundrum Castle.<br /><br /><object height="420" width="560"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/nz2ljtFhkek?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/nz2ljtFhkek?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="420" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Crusader Feces, Bat Feces, Latin swear words, and building a village - medieval news roundup

Here are some news stories from the medievalverse, and a few from beyond it... Crusader Feces An article in the International Journal of Pal...

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State of War: Syria’s Crusader Castles and Medieval Fortresses

The conflict in Syria is the product of very modern forces — a legacy of dictatorship and regional geo-politicking — but it’s taking place over a terrain with a rich and deep history. Syria’s deserts, river valleys and mountain passes bear the traces of some of the world’s oldest civilizations; its major cities, especially Damascus and Aleppo, are among the longest continually inhabited on the planet and have endured both the scourges of man (invasions, massacres) and the ravages of nature (earthquakes, plagues). As the rebellion against President Bashar Assad’s rule rages on, concern mounts over the state of the country’s antiquities. Veteran British correspondent Robert Fisk warned of “Syria’s pulverized past,” with precious artifacts disappearing from unattended museums and storehouses, all the while as the daily toll of war imperils some of Syria’s venerable monuments themselves.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LBfCcmE1CKqPkpf8yUWxUQ1rp2mym4YJcN6rsksFfdT8Kl4zp5id2nKlMdswQSOPE_6a0IOhZDx_fE5EoXxBnKvI5mwREZsYhsAZYcNxLdmw2DVOQjQeQy1XbVZraKrVm1cpV-Sl7OQ/s1600/Krak_des_Chevaliers_landscape_%2528cropped%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LBfCcmE1CKqPkpf8yUWxUQ1rp2mym4YJcN6rsksFfdT8Kl4zp5id2nKlMdswQSOPE_6a0IOhZDx_fE5EoXxBnKvI5mwREZsYhsAZYcNxLdmw2DVOQjQeQy1XbVZraKrVm1cpV-Sl7OQ/s400/Krak_des_Chevaliers_landscape_%2528cropped%2529.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /> Syria has been the site of bitter conflict before. Some nine hundred years ago, a motley band of Frankish, German and Italian soldiers and mercenaries turned up on Levantine soil under the Papal banner of the First Crusade. Seizing a number of important cities — Jerusalem, Tripoli (in today’s Lebanon), Antioch (modern day Antakya, Turkey) — they attempted to entrench themselves in the Holy Land permanently. This international coalition of the willing would ultimately be driven out, but not before leaving behind a host of beautiful fortresses, many of which, while astonishing testaments to medieval engineering and construction, bear the intractable scars of newer conflicts. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://world.time.com/2012/08/08/state-of-war-syrias-crusader-castles-and-medieval-fortresses/#introduction-war-in-an-ancient-land" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Time magazine</a></b>

State of War: Syria’s Crusader Castles and Medieval Fortresses

The conflict in Syria is the product of very modern forces — a legacy of dictatorship and regional geo-politicking — but it’s taking place o...

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How did medieval Europeans deal with Greek debt? They sacked their capital city

Historians of the Fourth Crusade (1202-04) have been seeking explanations why the crusaders decided to sail to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople instead of Egypt. Some believe that the crusaders were tricked into doing it by the Doge of Venice or some other conspirator, while others argue that the decision to go to Constantinople was almost an accident, where unforeseen events led to the crusader army.<br /><br />But Savvas Neocleous, writing in the latest issue of the Journal of Medieval History, states ”the real reason for the diversion to Constantinople in 1203 by the Venetians and the crusaders, and for their subsequent attack on the imperial capital in 1204, was a simpler and, in their minds, increasingly pressing concern: the payment of outstanding debts.”<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/2012/05/18/how-did-medieval-europeans-deal-with-greek-debt-they-stormed-their-capital-city/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net</a></b>

How did medieval Europeans deal with Greek debt? They sacked their capital city

Historians of the Fourth Crusade (1202-04) have been seeking explanations why the crusaders decided to sail to the Byzantine capital of Cons...

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Book Review: The First Crusade: The Call From the East, by Peter Frankopan

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNX9aFM7w8dM1ol5CZYsxlNS24XGx3uX4Wjl6gjQUJHx37nR8AGWd9wdqfr2yBlTjrbsmWOZjCTsjkOeXCb0EfGskWPlb_oJCskiBWvXChvthh8pDNym4nSDRlEdSNjVYomHJzx1AFac/s1600/books0503dirda.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNX9aFM7w8dM1ol5CZYsxlNS24XGx3uX4Wjl6gjQUJHx37nR8AGWd9wdqfr2yBlTjrbsmWOZjCTsjkOeXCb0EfGskWPlb_oJCskiBWvXChvthh8pDNym4nSDRlEdSNjVYomHJzx1AFac/s320/books0503dirda.jpeg" width="210" /></a></div>“Deus vult!” — God wills it! — was the battle cry of the First Crusade, in which armies of Europe, at the very end of the 11th century, marched off to liberate the holy city of Jerusalem and conquer the infidel Turks, who were then sweeping all before them in Asia Minor.<br /><br /> Whatever God’s actual intentions in the matter, and He is known to move in mysterious ways, His representatives on earth, Pope Urban II in Rome and the Emperor Alexios in Constantinople, quite clearly fostered this great martial enterprise for political purposes of their own. The emperor, assailed by enemies on his frontiers and by rivals within his family, was desperate for military aid, just as the pope was comparably eager for a galvanizing cause that would confirm his primacy as the leader of the Christian world.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-first-crusade-the-call-from-the-east-by-peter-frankopan/2012/05/02/gIQAefYjxT_story.html" target="_blank">Click here to read this review from the Washington Post</a></b> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0674059948&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Book Review: The First Crusade: The Call From the East, by Peter Frankopan

“Deus vult!” — God wills it! — was the battle cry of the First Crusade, in which armies of Europe, at the very end of the 11th century, marc...

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