Cunnan - User contributions [en]

Henry II

2011-03-27T15:57:39Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: /* A Contemporary Eye */

''This is the page for '''King Henry II of England''' .''<br>
''You may be looking for [[Henry II of Cyprus|King Henry II of Cyprus and Jerusalem]]''
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'''King Henry II''' (March 25, 1133 - July 6, 1189), was the first of the [[Angevin]] [[king]]s. He was a highly effective king who did not hesitate to break a few [[egg]]s if he wanted to make an omelette.

Henry came to the [[throne]] in a [[kingdom]] that was in anarchy after [[King Stephen]]'s [[reign]]. He got the [[Baron]]s into line with remarkable speed. The bulk of his lands were however in [[France]], having acquired [[Normandy]] and Anjou through inheritance and much of south-west France through marriage to [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]. It was because of these land holding that the [[English Monarchs|English Kings]] claimed the [[throne]] of France until the [[15th Century]].

Henry II received a lot of bad press due to the murder of [[Thomas Beckett]], but it was all a misunderstanding. Honest.

Henry's family was beyond dysfunctional. Eleanor spent most of her married life in [[prison]] and his sons were regularly at odds with him. [[Richard I|Richard]] even attacked Henry with the aid of [[Louis VII]] of France. Still, Henry managed to outlive two of his sons. Henry's legacy was squandered though when Richard lost his [[money]] [[crusade|crusading]] and getting captured, while [[John Lackland]] justified his father's lack of faith in him by losing his French posessions as well as the respect of the Barons.

On the other hand, his antecedents were impressive. His mother was a king's daughter, Augusta (also ''Maude'' and ''Matilda''), daughter of [[Henry I]] of England (son of the [[William the Conqueror|Conqueror]]) and Matilda of [[Scotland]] (herself daughter of the Scots king [[Malcolm III]]), and widow of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] before her re[[marriage]]. His father was Geoffrey [[Plantagenet]], [[Count]] of Anjou, son of Count Fulk (who had also been [[King]] of [[Jerusalem]]) and of Erembourg (or ''Ermentrude''), [[Countess]] of Maine. The (slight) blot on the [[escutcheon]] was, of course, the [[legend]] that, back in history, the counts of Anjou were descended, in some way, from the demi-demon ''Melusine''.

==== A Contemporary Eye ====

[[Gerald of Wales]] described King Henry as follows, in his 1188 [[book]] ''The Conquest of [[Ireland]]'': <br>
:... hair that was almost red in colour, grey eyes and a large round head. His eyes were bright, and in anger fierce, and flecked with red. He had a fiery complexion, his voice was husky, his neck bent forward a little from his shoulders, and he had a broad chest and powerful arms. His body was fleshy, and he had a very large belly, naturally so, and not due to the effects of gluttony

Gerald also noted that he used immense amounts of exercise both to mitigate his plumpness and to bring his body firmly under his mind's control.

<center>
<table border = 1>
<tr>
<td width = 30% align = center>
Preceded by:<br>[[King Stephen]]
</td>
<td width = 40% align = center>
[[English Monarchs]]
</td>
<td width = 30% align = center>
Succeeded by:<br>[[Richard I]]
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

== External Links ==
* http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England

[[Category:12th century]]
[[Category:Monarchs (medieval)]]
[[category:people (medieval)]]

Bliaut

2011-03-22T18:05:43Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: /* External Links */

Conventional usage of the word '''bliaut''' in the [[SCA]] refers to a garment known from the [[12th century]] (actually possibly dating back to about 1060, and forwards to about 1210 in remote areas). This [[clothing|garment]] differs from the [[t-tunic]] that precedes and accompanies it in several ways. It appears to have been a [[court]] garment, ie. used on special occasions by those who could afford special garments used on days when not doing any physical labour.
The body section of the garment (hips to underarms) was much tighter than the normal t-tunic, for the most fashionable kinds of bliauts, the sides of the garment were laced up with spiral lacing, to get a tighter fit.

Women wore a bliaut with moderately full ankle length or lower shirts. Men wore garments that came to just above the ankle, but had less fabric in the skirt and were slit up the side to nearly the hip to allow free movement. A wide range of sleeve types were worn with this dress, from tightly fitting sleeves, to sleeves that flare out into a dangling cascade from anywhere between the elbow and wrist. Such sleeves might be knotted if especially long. Women tended on average to have longer sleeves than the [[knight]]s and [[prince]]s depicted in this type of clothing.

A large variety of sub-styles existed within this broad definition, depending upon country, exact time period, rank and personal preference.

== Finding more Information ==
You will be able to find plenty of [[medieval]] pictures of this kind of garment if you look for books under the topic [[Romanesque]] art, but there are no excellent books on how to construct this kind of garment. Many costume books are based on the [[Victorian]] idea of this kind of garment and are of dubious value at best, downright confusing and wrong at worst (even some which are great for other periods).

== Meanings of the word "bliaut" ==
The word "bliaut" can be used to refer to many things:
*It can refer to this broad style of clothing, as above
*It can refer to a specific [[France|French]] sub-style of this clothing, as depicted in the statuary at Chartres cathedral
*In Medieval French texts, the word is possibly used to describe all outer garments ([[tunic]]s, [[dress]]es, not [[cloak]]s), despite whatever style they are cut in. This usage appears to last until the [[14th century]].

== External Links ==
Excellent sites on how to construct such a garment can be found at:
*http://bliautlady.50megs.com (Now closed down!)
*http://www.chateau-michel.org/bliaut_class.htm (No longer exists)

An excellent set of pictures from the period can be found at:
*http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/bliaut.html

The other site previously listed (jauncourt.i8.com) has been updated and moved to the first URL above.

And an email group for this kind of garment can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12thcenturygarb
[[category:clothing]]

Bliaut

2011-03-22T18:02:27Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: /* External Links */

Conventional usage of the word '''bliaut''' in the [[SCA]] refers to a garment known from the [[12th century]] (actually possibly dating back to about 1060, and forwards to about 1210 in remote areas). This [[clothing|garment]] differs from the [[t-tunic]] that precedes and accompanies it in several ways. It appears to have been a [[court]] garment, ie. used on special occasions by those who could afford special garments used on days when not doing any physical labour.
The body section of the garment (hips to underarms) was much tighter than the normal t-tunic, for the most fashionable kinds of bliauts, the sides of the garment were laced up with spiral lacing, to get a tighter fit.

Women wore a bliaut with moderately full ankle length or lower shirts. Men wore garments that came to just above the ankle, but had less fabric in the skirt and were slit up the side to nearly the hip to allow free movement. A wide range of sleeve types were worn with this dress, from tightly fitting sleeves, to sleeves that flare out into a dangling cascade from anywhere between the elbow and wrist. Such sleeves might be knotted if especially long. Women tended on average to have longer sleeves than the [[knight]]s and [[prince]]s depicted in this type of clothing.

A large variety of sub-styles existed within this broad definition, depending upon country, exact time period, rank and personal preference.

== Finding more Information ==
You will be able to find plenty of [[medieval]] pictures of this kind of garment if you look for books under the topic [[Romanesque]] art, but there are no excellent books on how to construct this kind of garment. Many costume books are based on the [[Victorian]] idea of this kind of garment and are of dubious value at best, downright confusing and wrong at worst (even some which are great for other periods).

== Meanings of the word "bliaut" ==
The word "bliaut" can be used to refer to many things:
*It can refer to this broad style of clothing, as above
*It can refer to a specific [[France|French]] sub-style of this clothing, as depicted in the statuary at Chartres cathedral
*In Medieval French texts, the word is possibly used to describe all outer garments ([[tunic]]s, [[dress]]es, not [[cloak]]s), despite whatever style they are cut in. This usage appears to last until the [[14th century]].

== External Links ==
Excellent sites on how to construct such a garment can be found at:
*http://bliautlady.50megs.com (Now closed down!)
*http://www.chateau-michel.org/bliaut_class.htm

An excellent set of pictures from the period can be found at:
*http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/bliaut.html

The other site previously listed (jauncourt.i8.com) has been updated and moved to the first URL above.

And an email group for this kind of garment can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12thcenturygarb
[[category:clothing]]

12th Century bathing

2011-03-22T17:57:04Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: /* Bathing and Health */

==Bathtubs==
There are many manuscript illustrations of wooden tubs, sometimes with fires underneath them (possibly the tubs with fires underneath aren't wooden). The tubs generally appear to be half barrels which are taller than they are wide, and are usually depicted as fairly narrow - just wide enough for a person to sit on a stool in, and tall enough to reach their
chest seated. Apparently such barrels in private homes of the nobility could serve as a base for a table in between uses. [http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952]

==River Bathing==

[http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952 Holmes] cites a romance with a girl who bathes in the household
[[vivarium]] (an artificial fish pond in courtyard or kitchen to store
fresh caught live fish until eating), wearing only her shirt, on hot
days. It was considered fairly shocking that she did so in front of
males.

In the lay [[Graelant]] a maiden is bathing naked (old French: ''Qui en la fontaine esoit nue.'' - Who was naked in the pool). Her chemise is noted as being in the pile of removed clothes. However there are elements that show this is a fairy maiden, so her behaviour is not necessarily that of a proper noble lady.

The [Wikipedia:Holy_Roman_Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor] [Wikipedia:Frederick_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor|Freidrick Barbarossa] drowning while stopping at a river to bathe on route to the [[Crusades]].[http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952] It is likely that men of all ranks would use natural water sources to clean themselves in warmer weather. Nobles may well have worn their shirt when doing so, indeed it may have been a good time to clean the [[underwear]] too.

==Sponge Baths==
It is possible to clean all of one's body quite well using a basin of warm water and a cloth, and preferably some soap. This is aided if during the day most of the body has been covered from dirt by clothing, for example veils of hats covering the head, long sleeves and long shirts or pants.

The advantage of such a wash is that it uses little water, and can be performed very quickly - a huge advantage in cold weather.

We have no evidence that such a method of cleaning was used in the 12th Century, but it seems likely given the limited frequency of full tub bathing.

==Washing Hands==
There is quite a ritual of washing the hands before a feast. Romances talk of the ritual for welcoming a knight, after travel or hunting. Before the feast begins he is presented a basin of water and a towel to wash his hands. [http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952 Holmes] suggests water might be poured from a pitcher, over the hands, into the basin and that soap might be offered as an occasional luxury, but
not everywhere.

There are also big wash basins in romanesque monastaries so the monks could perform this ritual washing before eating. [http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Zarnecki_1984]

Rather strict hygene rules that operate while eating or preparing food - not so much washing as not touching the nose or mouth, using the correct hand etc. Such rituals would make frequent hand washing less important.

==Public Bathhouses==
In 12th C towns such as London and Paris, bath keepers kept public baths, where the general public could bathe (in the barrels mentioned above), but this does not appear to be a daily ritual. [http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952]

==Ritual Bathing==

Bathing was required as part of a vigil prior to a knighting.

The season of bloodletting for monks was a season of bathing and relaxation.[http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952]

==Bathing and Health==
It was commonly believed that bathing natural mineral springs, such as those at [[Bath]] in [[England]] was beneficial for health. [http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/12th_Century_References#Holmes_1952]

[[Category:12th century]][[category:health]]

12th Century shops

2011-03-22T17:52:23Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: Based on research in Weobley, Herefordshire (www.weobley.org)

In 12th century market towns permanent shops stood around the almost triangular market square. Shops often had an open unglazed window, the shutter of which was hinged at the bottom and lowered in the morning on to supports. These were fixed to the lower window cill by mortis and tennon joints. On this shutter goods were displayed and the shop keeper served through the open window. At the end of the day, the goods were taken in and the shutter used to secure the premises at night.

Cunnan talk:Village pump

2010-06-13T17:51:18Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: /* ??? */

'''just testing'''

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== ??? ==

I want to make my own home made wine ,, were do I start ??? this will be my first time and I want to know how to start from being to end with fruits
gilpaulrod@yahoo.com

Try C.J. Berry's books available from any good wine making shop or online.

Would it be possible to merge the herb pages (e.g. borage) with their page of historical quotes (e.g. borage (Maplet))? I think having all those extra pages is superfluous especially seeing as most of the quote pages are only a few lines long. Could they be added to the end of the original herb page with a new heading instead?

12th Century purses

2010-06-13T17:47:26Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com:

If you take a look at [[12th century]] [[artwork]], you will see very few depictions of [[pouch]]es. Yet quite a few 12th century pouches still exist. The most likely explanation is that [[pouch]]es and [[purse]]s were only shown when they were significant to the artwork.

One context in which we do see a purse depicted is the [[seal]] of a 12th century [[taxman]]. The seal depicts a man holding out a purse and a couple of [[coin]]s dropping into it. The pouch suddenly becomes important as the occupational tool of the [[tax collector]].

[[Category:12th century|Purses]]

12th century underwear

2010-06-13T17:44:49Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com: /* Men */

==Men==
*[[Braes]] (loose [[linen]] underdraws) with a slit to allow urination. The slit was probably not [[lace]]d in our [[period]], just constructed in such a manner that it would stay overlapped unless pushed apart. A few [[13th Century]] illustrations show men pushing down their braes to defecate. It is likely that the majority of 12th C braes were similarly constructed.
The [[braes]] contain a lot of fabric at the top which is rolled over a belt to create a padded roll low on the waist. The padded roll is said to help support the weight of belts placed over outer layers of clothing.
*[[Hose]] stockings - generally [[wool]] and mostly long and tied at the waist. Some were only knee-high. Long hose were tied to the belt of the braes with points, short hose were held up with garters - either attached pieces of ribbon or separately tied or buckled with strips.
*[[Shirt]] - a [[linen]] [[tunic]], worn next to the skin. This absorbs the sweat from your body, protecting your tunic. It is generally [[white]] or natural linen coloured, as this [[clothing|garment]] was washed more often than the tunic, and linen could easily be bleached back to white.

==Women==
*Most evidence indicates no underpants were worn. See [[12th Century Female Hygiene]] for details of how menstruation could be managed without underpants. The saying "who wore the pants in the family" seems to date to this early, and some stories recite instances of men impersonating women (e.g. for [[military]] reasons) being caught because when they ran the braes under their [[skirt]]s were noticed.
*[[Hose]] - generally presumed to be knee-high, as braes are needed to tie longer hose to. We have little evidence for shape (no extant hose, above ankles not shown in pictures), but they are presumably the same as men's knee-high hose. The multiple layers of skirts ([[chemise]], tunic and in colder weather or outside possibly an extra tunic) would serve to keep the women's legs much warmer than the men with only one layer of fabric from a pair of hose, thus longer hose were not needed, and impractical when going to the toilet.
*A natural/white [[linen]] [[chemise]]/shift served the same function as the man's shirt, but was generally floor length.
*There are a few [[12th Century|12th C]] tests mentioning breast binding. The fashion was small firm breasts, and larger women who wished to be at the height of fashion wrapped their breasts with strips of linen to reduce their size.

==Less Active Men==
*Occasionally some [[monk]]s and [[scholar]]s might not wear the braes and long hose. The practical advantages of the hose are mostly for [[riding]] and manual work. Monks generally wore floor-length habits, so like for the women, long hose and braes become superfluous. They probably wore short hose (except asthetics who went barefoot) and no underpants.
*Clerical [[alb]]s are similar to the chemise and shirt - a linen undergarment, in this case often close to floor length.

{{stub}}
[[Category:12th century]]
[[category:clothing|Underwear]]

12th Century camp food

2010-06-13T17:31:51Z

Bcholley@btinternet.com:

*Venison pies - in a knights tents, freshly baked sitting on a bundle of rushes (on a table?), covered by a white cloth. They are of such a size that a very hungry lad can consume one and a half for lunch. Breaking open the pies is specifically mentioned, so we can assume the pies had a pastry lid. ([[Le_Roman_de_Perceval]]Chretien's section, Chapter II)

[[Category:12th century|camp food]]