I've been getting a surge of new readers lately on this journal, so I thought I'd post a general welcome and slight explanation of my philosophy (and then future-date this so that it will be accessible).

Please feel welcome to add me to your Live Journal reading list (i.e., what LJ calls "friends list"). You don't need to ask permission first, you don't need to apologize or explain if you later drop me.

There is very little content that I place under lock on this journal. And given that I've moved most of my ephemeral everyday chit-chat over to Facebook, the things I post here are mostly intended to be public discussions, ruminations, research projects, and entertainments, although you will also regularly be treated to boring to-do lists and details of my household projects.

I may or may not add you to my own reading list -- please don't feel insulted or excluded if I don't. Factors that increase the likelihood that I will add you include:

* I know who you are (and since people's icons and user names aren't always very informative, this may require you to tell me who you are).

* You post regularly. I have this odd disinterest in adding people to my reading list who only post once a month or once every few months. I'll make exceptions for people that I know well on a day-to-day basis, but I can't get to know you based on a once a month post, and so those postings are the equivalent of overhearing someone else's cellphone conversation in a public place.

* You post content that actually says something about who you are and what you're doing. I have no interest whatsoever in endless cut-and-paste memes (although those seem to be dying down around LJ).

If your user information and posting or commenting history strongly suggests that you are a spambot, I will ban you as soon as I notice you. But if you're a spambot, I rather doubt you're bothering to read this in the first place.

Added 7/21/11: I've reluctantly stopped allowing comments by anonymous posters (i.e., ones without an LJ account) because it's been a very long time since I had any that weren't spam. If you don't have an account and want to comment, you can put it in e-mail.

On my Kalamazoo trip I also had the chance to experiment with using my iPhone as a GPS device ... courtesy of having forgotten to pack one connecting component of the regular GPS, which omission rendered it useless. (I had the GPS, I had the car-power cord, I forgot to include the bit that connects the power cord to the GPS.) Since I was just using the map app I couldn't get voice directions and there was a certain amount of having to reach over to pinch-expand/contract the display to change the detail. But given that I'm fairly familiar with the route between O'Hare and Kalamazoo and with the overall geography of Kalamazoo, the app was sufficient unto my purposes. Due to the ad hoc nature of the experiment, I didn't have a power cable that could connect the phone to the car outlet, but I had sufficient juice in external power packs to tide me over (and I'd thought to bring one of those "jelly" mats that you can put on your dash to provide a "sticky" surface for phones and whatnot.

I've been looking at the Navigon phone/pad app to provide the additional functions of a GPS, although I'm a bit put off that evidently a number of the functions I'd consider standard are provided instead as in-app add-on purchases (and the most common complaint in the iTunes store has to do with difficulty downloading the map files). I've been holding off on paying for a map update for my Garmin in order to look into switching to a mobile app instead, and this one looks like the best candidate so far. If anyone has experience with it, I'd be interested to hear.

Based on my Kalamazoo experience, I wouldn't care to use the iPhone version for most driving situations, due to the small screen size. (This is exacerbated by the fact that the glasses I use for driving don't focus well at dashboard distance.) So in addition to the app, I'd need to find an iPad holder that would place it in a safe and convention position for GPS functioning. The natural location would put it smack dab in front of the radio controls/display which is suboptimal. Ideally, something on an extensible arm so that it could be variably positioned would be nice, but I haven't seen anything suitable yet. (Alternately, I could try something with the case I got with the GorillaPod arms, but that would end up being rather jury-rigged.)

Just to clean up a few loose ends, here is a review of various techie aspects of this year's Kalamazoo experience.

The iPad Keyboard

I decided to try doing my live-blogging by iPad this year, in part to test its performance, in part because doing it on the laptop means risking running out of battery if I can't angle for a seat near an outlet (and when I can, it sometimes means creating a tripping hazard). The battery is good for a couple of sessions without recharging, but not for an entire day's worth. But while I'm happy using the screen keyboard on my commute (in fact, I prefer it, given that I regularly have to work standing up on the evening return), I knew I was unlikely to keep up with the necessary typing speed for note-taking unless I had an actual keyboard. So I went down to Fry's (yet another plus for living in Concord -- a local Fry's) and benefitted from their new policy of "salespeople get commissions for successful sales" which meant I not only got help in comparing keyboard cases, but I got enthusiastic help. I needed a combo keyboard-case that would hold a relatively rigid shape when balanced on a lap. So several candidates were immediately rejected because they needed to sit on a hard flat surface to support the screen properly. I ended up with a Kensington "KeyFolio" Bluetooth keyboard/folio case.

It worked very well for the job in question. I did have to get used to the precise limit of the angle of my lap at which the weight of the iPad would tip the whole thing forward (or, more usually, would overcome the velcro fastening of the lower edge of the pad-holder part to the keyboard part, letting the pad flop back away from me). Once the keyboard has been synced to the pad, it pairs up quickly and easily when turned on. The entire keyboard section of the case can be folded back behind the pad if you find yourself wanting to work one-handed without the keyboard. (You need to have the keyboard turned off in this mode, since the supporting hand will be pressing against the keys.) The case allows for use of both the front and back cameras and all controls are accessible. I quickly got used to using a combination of both keystrokes and gestures (e.g., while the keyboard has cursor keys, jumping to a new position in the text is still done much easier by tapping the screen). When the keyboard is on and paired, tapping the screen no longer brings up the screen-keyboard, so you get full-screen display at all times. The Kensington has excellent keyboard-feel: positive "click" action and home-spot bumps on the f & j keys as usual. While considerably smaller than a regular desktop keyboard, it's only minimally smaller than the keyboard on my MacBook, so that wasn't a problem for me.

As I note, I would use the keyboard in certain specific circumstances, not universally, but it functions very well in those circumstances. If you want to be able to keyboard in both landscape and portrait modes, then you'll need a different model. I suspect a portrait orientation wouldn't balance well on my lap, so the fact that mine won't rotate doesn't matter much. Overall: very successful at the job I bought it for.

iPad vs. Laptop as a Travel Device

I realized, at some point late in the conference, that I almost could have made it through the entire event without using my laptop at all. Not only the blogging, but e-mail, social media, and general web browsing were all very convenient and practical with the iPad + keyboard combination. The only things I actually needed the laptop for were retrieving and e-mailing several files that I wouldn't have known in advance I'd want access to. I also used it as a usb hub for recharging other devices. And Sunday evening when I was logging in my book purchases and composing the post about them, the ability of the laptop to have both files visible at the same time was convenient (although it wouldn't have been absolutely necessary). But I'm unlikely to leave the laptop home when attending events like this, simply because I never know when I might get a request for a copy of a class slideshow, or to look up a piece of data, or need to forward a draft of a paper for consideration for a future session ....

QuickOffice Pro

This is an iPad / iPhone app that can be used to create, open, and edit stripped-down versions of Microsoft Office products. "Stripped down" in that only minimal formatting can be performed and a lot of functions aren't accessible. (If you open a regular Office file to edit it, you don't lose any of the originally-included features, you just can't add or manipulate them via QuickOffice.) I've been using this extensively on the iPad when working on my novel(s) on BART and whatnot and I used it for drafting up my blog posts (rather than drafting them in the LJ interface) on the principle that I was less likely to lose work that way. Well, I was partially right.

One peculiarity of QuickOffice is that, while the program does interim saves as you're working, in order to do a "real" save, you need to exit the file and then re-open it. And when you re-open it, of course, you're back at the beginning of the file. Not a problem for small files, but annoying when one is working on a 100+ page document, both for the file-location issue and because the file size affects opening time. (One work-around I use for large text files is to use a unique non-alphabetic symbol as a "bookmark" so I can jump back to it easily using the search function.) Another peculiarity of the interim saves? They appear to be accessible only by the internal functions of the program and can't be used for recovery purposes. Evidently when you switch between apps you actually "close" the file when you leave it and re-open it from the interim save when you return to that app. But if the program crashes .... Well, let's just say I'm glad I learned that lesson on one of the least interesting sessions I was blogging, and not while composing new text on my novel.

I have been informed that my catalog of books purchased is a required conclusion to my Kalamazoo blogging. I promised to be very restrained this year, so I only bought eleven books (not counting presents for others, which won't be mentioned here). In no particular order:


Giffney, Noreen, Michelle M. Sauer, and Diane Watt eds. 2011. The Lesbian Premodern. New York, Palgrave. ISBN 978-0-230-61676-9

Collection of articles covering both historic studies and theory/historiography of studying lesbians in history. Acquired because ... duh! Lesbians!

Snyder, Janet E. 2011. Early Gothic Column-Figure Sculpture in France. Burlington, Ashgate Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-4094-0065-3

A study of the human figure sculptures from French sites such as Notre Dame from the 1130s to 1170s that specifically addresses questions of the garments that are represented, as well as the overall meaning and significance of the figures. The book includes an extensive photographic catalog of the sculptures including many detail shots. The garments in question include the one popularly identified with the label "bliaut" in the costuming community and I've been waiting to settle my own opinions on its construction until I had something like this resource available.

Okasha, Elisabeth. 2011. Women's Names in Old English. Burlington, Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-0010-3

Both a catalog of Anglo-Saxon women's given names and a discussion of their grammatical and semantic structure. I probably have books that cover all the data included here, but the presentation and analysis is nicely clear and easy to use.

Higham, Nicholas & Barri Jones. 1991. Peoples of Roman Britain; The Carvetii. Wolfeboro Falls, Alan Sutton Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-86299-088-2

This is a series on the tribes of Roman-era Britain with each volume covering a specific tribe and their territory. I actually already owned this volume in paperback but took the opportunity to pick up a hardback copy. (Someday I'd like to replace the two volumes that I've only been able to acquire in photocopy.) This book is part of my "some day I may get back to writing fiction set in Roman Britain" collection.

Lewis, Timothy. 1912. The Laws of Howel Dda -- A Facsimile Reprint of Llanstephan Ms. 116 in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. London, Henry Sotheran & Co.

Yes, I already own 5 different manuscript versions of the medieval Welsh laws. This makes the 6th. Is there a problem?

Beattie, Cordelia. 2007. Medieval Single Women: The Politics of Social Classification in Late Medieval England. Oxford, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928341-5

While covering similar ground as Judith Bennett et al.'s anthology Singlewomen in the European Past 1250-1800, this is a monograph focusing specifically on England and looking in depth at how singlewomen are identified and categorized in several documentary sources. I'm interested in works like this not only due to general interest in women's history, but also as source material for my (in progress) project on historic data and motifs useful for those creating plausible fictional historical lesbians for modern readers. Regardless of the sexuality of the women covered here, it's useful to explore the social and economic contexts in which women were able to pursue lives outside the structure of heterosexual partnerships.

Henken, Elissa R. 1996. National Redeemer: Owain Glyndwr in Welsh Tradition. Ithaca, Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3268-5

Owain Glyndwr in the context of the Welsh archetype of the redeeming hero (to which Arthur and Henry Tudor also belonged), both as historic figure and folk hero. It was on sale.

Chambers, R.W. 1962. A Fifteenth-Century Courtesy Book. London, Early English Text Society.

A very brief treatise (just 7 pages) in the same genre as the Babee's Book and other treatises on behavior and service.

Hieatt, Constance B. 2012. Cocatrice and Lampray Hay: Late Fifteenth-Century Recipes from Corpus Christi College Oxford. Totnes, Prospect Books. ISBN978-1-903018-84-2

As the title says, yet another historic cook book. One can never have enough.

Jennings, Anne. 2004. Medieval Gardens. London, English Heritage. ISBN 1-85074-903-5

This is a fairly lightweight book introducing the reader to medieval garden design, with little "how to" instructions for some of the features described. I have most of the information in better books already, but bought this one on the strength of the extensive list of botanic names for common medieval garden plants (plus the cheap price).

Medieval Clothing and Textiles #8

Not actually out yet, but I pre-ordered for later shipping.

And that concludes the conference blogging. After the usual DISTAFF post-conference luncheon, I killed some time by seeing The Avengers then went off to get dinner and finished up by entering the books in my spreadsheet and writing up this post. Now to bed and in the morning my only goal is to get myself and the rental car from Kalamazoo to Chicago O'Hare for a 3pm flight. I think I can manage.

Diet, Dining, and Everyday Life: The Uses of Ceramics in the Third- to Ninth-Century World

We get an overall introduction on the topic of interdisciplinary study of archaeology, sociology, and agriculture in this context.

And How Did They Eat: An Investigation of Food Storage, Processing, and Consumption Patterns in a Late Antique Household -- Andrea M. Achi, Institute of Fine Arts, New York Univ.

Importance of seemingly trivial details and choices regarding food and eating to construct a cultural "food identity". Paper studies Egyptian site of Dakla in late Roman period (4th c), focusing on one specific household site, known from both archaeological and written remains. Written sources include agricultural accounts, inentory lists (e.g., on ostraka). Texts mention: breads, cakes, porridges; fava beans, fenugreek, safflower, sesame, turnips, cumin, olive oil, wine, honey, butter, cheese; cows, chickens, pigs, pigeons, sheep. Botanical evidence: wheat, lentils, celery, coriander, peach, pomegranate, citrus, olives. Evidence of gardens. Animal remains include cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, gazelles; with evidence of roasting, likely done at the house. Extensive pottery remains, typically described only by shape and material. Rarely are there food remains to study. Pottery at site is mostly local, including amphoras, bottles, jars all for transport, also serving vessels including bowls of varous shapes. Basins and cooking pots represent processing equipment. Based on location, both a food preparation space, including a rather small hearth, and a dining space can be located in the house, as well as a storage space. Storage space had high floor with "cellar" uderneath and additional shelves. 102 small bowls were found in storage room most with diameter ca. 12-18 cm, most likely used for individual consumption of specific dishes. The lack of significant numbers of larger serving dishes suggest an "individual dining" pattern with personal dishes, rather than a "shared dining" pattern where larger servings are passed around from diner to diner. The dining area contains a central table surround for ca. 270 degrees with a wide curved bench, both being fixed structures. The use of pottery for cooking can be indicated by residual soot on the exterior. From this, cooking pots primarily had a diameter of 11 cm while cooking bowls had a greater range of sizes, 12-19 cm diameters. The available cooking facilities don't support home baking or the cooking of large pieces of meat. The prevalence of small individual bowls may indicate that other foods were purchased from external sources and only reheated and served at home.

Art and Artifact at the Late Antique Communal Meal -- Elizabeth de Ridder Raubolt, Univ. of Missouri–Columbia

Yay! Slide show! Examines the disparity between pictorial depications of luxury tablewares and archaeological remains that are predominantly plain pottery. Depictions of communal meals indicate formal social rituals and functions around dining, focusing on fellowship as well as food. "Feasts" as opposed to ordinary meals can be identified in art by the size, quality, and numbers of serving vessels and by associated prestige items. Mosaic representing the layout of a dining table with a sequence of dishes laid out around the table. The specific vessels depicted can be found (at other sites), supporting this as a realistic depiction. Dish one: eggs in egg-cups, a sauce, sliced vegetables (pickles?) werved with spoons; 2nd a whole fish on a rectangular dish; small round flat loaves are scattered by the side of these dishes. The formal, status-driven seating (reclining) arrangements contrast with the communal, unifying purpose of the group dining. The dishes would be served onto the central table and might be prepared (e.g., carved) in place. Examples of large, highly-decorated silver serving platters. These platters are of suitable size for the known size of tables in this type of dining room. The appearance in the archaeological record of large serving platters may signal a shift in dining patterns to include formal, hierarchical feasts of the type depicted in art. Among ceramics, platters of similar size are limited in production source (Italy and Africa) and date of appearance (mid 4th to early 5th century). (Flat "pie-pan" shaped dish with low lip, either convex or concave, and slight flat flare outside that. May sometimes have slight pedestal base.) Contrast depictions of the 3rd century and earlier which are more likely to feature multiple smaller serving dishes on the table at the same time.

Pots and Pantries: Correlating Cooking Ware with Dining Habits in Visigothic Spain -- Scott de Brestian, Central Michigan Univ.

Yay! More slides! Looking at changes in dining habits in Visigothic Spain and Gaul, ca. 5-8th c. Repertoire of cooking vessels: 3 general categories.

"Olla", cookign pot, globular pot with slight neck, taller than wide, may have handle(s). Used for long slow cooking.

Casserole: broad, round-bottomed pot (but flat base), wider than tall, with no neck, usually with lid. Used for more rapid cooking at higher heats.

Low caseroles/baking trays: flat-bottomed pans with sloping or nearly vertical walls, not very tall. Likely used for baking.

Presenter suggests differences in which meats would be cooking in which pots based on assumed cooking times, but I'm not certain of some of his thinking here (e.g., he assumes pork would require long cooking but that sheep and goats would always be consumed as young animals requiring shorter cooking.

Coastal areas have mixed assemblages with multiple types of pots. Casseroles less common in interior of region, primary cookpots are ollas. Certain specific interior sites do include casseroles, sites that also tend to include imported pottery. Baking traysfound in Cordoba and certain other interior sites.

Distribution of animal remains. Hard to find sites that extensively catalog both pots and animal remains. Inland sites: only one site is predominantly pigs, others are at least half sheep/goats and the remainder distributed among catle & pigs. Coastal sites have even higher prevalence of sheep/goats, mostly with a concommittant decrease in cattle, with pigs being about a quarter of animals consistently. But this is based on a per-animal basis, and if you correct for the amount of meat per animal, then cattle predominate everywhere and there's little difference between coastal and inland sites. So none of the expected correlation between cookpot type and predominant food animal. Looking at chronological shifts in pot usage, there is no corresponding shift in animal remains.

He returns to his thesis that pot type corresponds to food type and suggests the casseroles were used for seafood which rarely leaves clear archaeological remains. Using amphora production source as an index, over the studied time, the source shifts from multiple sources to primarily African-origin items. General decrease in African red slipware over the period, part of general overall decrease in imported pottery. During this period, the mortarium also gradually disappears. Suggests decrease in use of the spices and sauces this implement was used to create.

But these pottry changes don't correspond to changes in ingredients. In addition to aforesaid food animals, the staples remained bread, barley porridge, and wine. But decreasing wealth meant a loss of infrastructure for preparing elaborate dishes and meals. This may motivate the shift to the "one-pot meal" approach using the olla.

Technical failure. I had a write-up all done for Gardens and Social Space in Medieval Spain but QuickOffice crashed and I hadn't previously realized that all those temporary cache files it saves while you're working aren't actually accessible for restoration. Well, the "garden" theme was one of those "what can we seize on to tie these papers together" motifs and the actual garden content was minimal. More on technical lessons-learned later.

Feast and Famine: Abundance, Scarcity, and Power in the Medieval World

What Not to Eat: Excess and Moderation at the Medieval Catalan Table -- Donna M. Rogers, Dalhousie Univ.

Constraints on food based on health/medicine, religious ritual, etc. For Christian Europe, restrictions on consumption were regular and ritualized but in addition to notions of self-related reasons (piety, self-denial) the overt justification might also include societal reasons, e.g., restricting food consumption to be able to share with others. But underlying these ritualized restrictions, for much of the population the constraints were more practical based on practical limitations on both quantity and variety of what was available to eat. Major focus on grains and grain products in pre-plague Europe, but afterwards the lower population and greater labor needs of agriculture led to a higher proportion of animal content in the diet. Products and technologies introduced from the Arabic world, as in Iberia, could increase the variety and productivity of food products. Ingredients reflecting these influences include sugar, pomegrante, citron, chickpeas, saffron. Book of Saint Sovi & Libro del Coch include many recipes overtly associated with health, e.g., "for the sick". Treatise (missed the reference?) covering gluttony including drunkenness, and other health and behavior issues around consumption. Excerpt from a letter from a monk to a physician describing a patient's lavish diet requesting advice on consumption. (Includes useful information about meal structures.) The physician replies rather harshly, i.e., the virtuous choice is self-denial. The treatise goes on to courtesy and table manners. (There's a fair amount of reading excerpts for entertainment here.) Treatise conclude with advice for serving. (I think the treatise's author is something like "Eshemen"???)

The Manipulation of Feasting and Drinking Practices During the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England -- Kevin Lasko, Catholic Univ. of America

Begins by discussing "drinking culture", i.e., how cultures interact with and understand the consumption of alcohol. (We now get some illustrative examples of modern American drinking culture to loosen up the audience.) Thesis is that Christian missionaries adapted and manipulated AS drinking practices to establish and promote Christian culture among the AS nobility. For the context of pre-Christian AS drinking culture he's using Beowulf and Tacitus's Germania which doesn't seem to bode well for the depth of investigation. Emphasis on generous hospitality, offering food and drink to anyone who arrives. Drinking as a context for serious political, social, and economic negotiations. Evidence for beer-like drink made from barley and wheat, less commonly wine via trade. Examples of women as a mediator for ritual drink consumption. Discussion of the changing symbolism of the drinking horn, comparing mention of drinking horns in an episode from the Voyage of Saint Brendan (who has what to do with Anglo-Saxons?) where the voyagers are tempted to steal some treasures including drinking horns. But the presenter claims this contextualizes drinking horns as a symbol of negative power (rather than a symbol of tempting wealth). The comparison is to an episode in the life of St. Cuthbert who turns water into wine by drinking from it. I'm confused how these things are supposed to relate to each other. Drinking culture in early medieval penitentials, esp. concerning drunkenness. Drunkenness not a sin if it comes from what one has been commanded to drink by a supervisor by a (religious) superior, contrasted with drunkenness done against a lord's prohibition. This is presented as a Christian versus pre-Christian contrast in culpability but I see it as a recognition of the mitigation of obedience in wrongdoing. Now we're contrasting a law regarding the stealing of a swarm of bees with a later tax paid in wine. This is again presented as a contrast between earlier "Germanic" versus later "Christian" concerns (honey=mead >> wine) but ... but ... oh, never mind. Excerpts from Bede, one concerning an excommunication including a prohibition on food and drink, the other concerning a sick man healed when sent a drink of wine in a chalice by a bishop.

(Note: he mentioned at the beginning that this paper is condensed from his Master's thesis. It definitely strikes me as student work. The examples are too superficial and tenuous to convince me of much of anything in areas I'm not familiar with. In fact, in my opinion, the argument structure alternates between self-contradictory, irrelevant, and incoherent.)

Perspectives on the Catalan Famine of 1333: Food History as Urban History -- Marie A. Kelleher, California State Univ.–Long Beach

Extreme weather conditions cause significant agricultural failures in Catalonia in 1332-35, but especially 1333, resulting in famine and widespread sickness. As her research progressed, the focus became less about the famine itself and more on how food issues help understand urban history. Research into famine tends to focus on quantitative research, rather than qualitative issues of choice, status, or ritual. But just as qualitative research can sketch an understanding of cultural history, can it reveal the history of a city? Food geographers can shed light on this topic by looking at networks tying together city, region, government, etc. Looking at 3 case studies that shed light on the city of Barcelona via food issues.

City as urban unit: Tension between natural and man-made geologies of food. Ordinances passed against food hoarding and other supply problems. Official correspondence grows increasingly panicked regarding shortages and their social consequences. Rumors circulated that the city councilors were hoarding grain themselves resulting in attacks and ransacking. The actions and reactions suggested a view of the crisis as an internal matter for the city, not an external problem.

City as member of network of cities: Barcelona had insufficient associated agricultural land to support itself, therefore competition between cities for available supplies became critical in time of shortage. When grain shipments intended for Barcelona were hijacked by a town they passed through, the defense was that the shipper couldn't prove that the grain belonged to the city and not to a speculator. This didn't go over well.

City as center of Mediterranean network: Portuguese fleet bringing grain from Sicily to Lisbon are hijacked by pirates and brought to Barcelona. Conflict between the Portuguese merchants and the Barcelonan pirate crews. The merchants complained to the courts in Barcelona to no avail and the cargos were sold within the city.

This crisis highlights the impact of extra-official agents and and groups on the outcome of legal and social processes.

New Work by Young Celtic Studies Scholars

(Note: I confess it makes me wince to hear people giving papers on Welsh topics mangling Welsh names and terminology. )

Of Amobr and Amobrwyr -- Lizabeth Johnson, South Dakota State Univ.

(Amobr = payment due from a woman or her family to the lord or to her father's superior on marriage or non-marital sexual activity, or on pregnancy if neither of the prevous had applied.) While native laws discuss amobr, it is only post-conquest court records that give evidence of the practicalities and problems of assessment, collection, and payment. The amount of the amobr was dependent on social status. The amobr was originally only due once for each woman but there is later evidence that it might be assessed multiple times in cases of remarriage or adultery, thus showing a drift from the original purpose. Although a judge would assess the payment, there were designated officials "amobrwyr" (amobr-men) whose job was to collect it. There were various dodges to avoid paying it, including claiming English (rather than Welsh) status. Various records show that the collection was farmed out to amobrwyr who paid a fixed annual amount to the lord in exchange for the right to do the collection (and presumably keep the proceeds). (Note: This suggests to me a motive for finding reasons for re-assessments!) The differences in amobr amount based on social and ethnic status could result in conflicts over the amount owed, as when the widow of a freeman re-married a bondman, but he was assessed the higher amobr of a free woman on the charge that she retained that status rather than taking his. Similarly, a woman whose first husband had held land by Welsh tenure had subsequently acquired land held by English tenure and claimed exemption on that basis on her second marriage, but it was held that she still had Welsh status and therefore owed the amobr. Two cases provide examples of unmarried women assessed amobr, presumably for illicit sex, who handed over garments in lieu of payment as they had insufficient funds. Several records of amobrwyr being violently assaulted when they showed up to collect the assessment, with the attackers being assessed further fines for the violence that could exceed the original assessment. Interestingly, though amobr could be assessed for illicit sex or re-marriage, evidently it was not assessed for certain non-marital cohabitation arrangements, thus creating a pressure in some cases to avoid formal marriage, although later this loophole was omitted. Similarly, in an earlier period an explicit professional prostitute was exempt from the payment (as contrasted with casual fornication) but later this loophole was also dropped.

A Land Now Vacant: Northeastern Wales as a Frontier, 1066–1283 -- Alexis Miller, Univ. of Missouri–Columbia

Question arises from a reference in the context of a dispute over ecclesiastical jurisdiction, where the region between the jurisdictions of Chester and Bangor is refered to as "a land now vacant". Area largely dependent on pastoral economy which proved a disincentive for settlers from the east (English of whatever flavor) along with geographic barriers. Place and personal names indicate the region remained largely Welsh up until the Edwardian conquest, although religious institutions showed more Anglo-Norman penetration. Welsh land tenure based on distribution of commonly-held land among kin groups with dispersed settlements (due to the logistics of seasonal pasturage and minimal arable land) linked by extended family relationships. Only significant town was Rhuddlan (near the mouth of the Clwyd). During the early Norman period, while there was significant foreign migration to South Wales, the migration to the north tended to be relocation of Welsh populations from other regions. Population density extremely low in comparative terms. The Norman landholders in this area recorded in Domesday tended to have more extensive holdings elsewhere and likely paid little attention to the area. In addition to the actual population density issue, there was an external perception that pastoral society was viewed as uncivilized and lazy, affecting perceptions of the value of the land and region. The relatively small amount of good arable land meant that the English habit of attracting and rewarding English settlers for newly established towns with land created disruption as the existing Welsh inhabitants of this type of land were relocated (or converted to English tenure). Some Welsh legal aspects remained, as records show that fees for landholding were still sometimes paid by the kin-group as a whole, rather than by individuals. But overall, despite population increases and shifts, there seem to have been only minor changes to the overall social and legal structures, even with the establishemend of English towns.

Chwedlau Odo: Middle Welsh Beast Fables -- Carol Witt, St. Michael’s College, Univ. of Toronto

(Speaker scratched.)

The Usage of Models in Medieval Book Illumination (Ninth to Fifteenth Century)

Wall Painting in Central Italy and the Quest for a Unitary Model -- Alison Locke Perchuk, Occidental College

(I came in late due to getting into a conversation in the book-room, so I think I missed this entire talk.)

The Models of the Illuminators around 1200 -- Laurence Terrier, Univ. of Geneva

General discussion of transmission of classic models from late Roman work to new art produced ca. 13th c. in western Europe. Relationship of clothing (drapery treatments) between classic sculptural works and early medieval Christian manuscript art and sculpture. Comparison of specific sculptural models with manuscript and wall-paintings using similar human postures, facial/expression treatments, etc. Example: focus on classical and medieval sculpture in Sens, France that show closely parallel treatments, suggesting direct modeling on earlier works. Comparison of near contemporary "Christ in majesty" figure on enameled plaque and manuscript that are almost exact copies, both in posture and draperies. Suggestion that developing conventions of shading and highlightng in manuscript illumination is taken from light and shadow effects observed on sculpture. Comparison of "Horus Deliciarum" scene found in 3 different works, both manuscript and wall painting, in a 20-year span, that clearly were not direct copies of each other but could only have been worked from the same common model given the number of points of identity. Significant evidence that these common models may have included Byzantine manuscripts that were in circulation in the West.

Note: I was particularly interested in this session due to my interest in the usefulness of depictions of material culture in manuscript art for understanding actual contemporary artifacts. To the extent that illuminations are being created based on common archaic and foreign model-books, the specific provenance of a manuscript may be irrelevant to some (much?) of the incidental material culture reflected in its illuminations. This has a particular impact on the understanding of clothing materials, shapes, and methods of wearing, if the common depiction of apparently light-weight, voluminous, highly draped garments in 12-13th c. art are reflecting classical sculptures of up to a millennium earlier rather than being observational depictions of the artists' contemporaries, even in an idealized form. This isn't a new concern of mine, but it's interesting to see clear evidence of the problem illustrated by someone who has hunted down the comparisons.

A Model Community? Archetypes for Illumination in Thirteenth-Century Oxford -- Cynthia Johnston, Institute of English Studies, Univ. of London

Introduction to the book-making community in the immediate neighborhood of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on High Street; 18 illuminators lived in this neighborhood in the early part of the 13th c., many of them known by name from legal records. One of these, De Brailes, seems to have inserted himself (with small labels identifying himself) in several of his works and his output is known to have been prolific. (We now get a long catalog of all the manuscripts either known or strongly argued to have been the work of De Brailes.) Despite this enormous output, we have no direct evidence for a permanent, organized "workshop" producing them, as opposed to a loose association of collaborators. But repetition of highly similar motifs (e.g., specific illuminated capitals) suggests work from a common model, or who lent specific talents, e.g., certain works that regularly contain elaborate gilded pen flourishes, or a group that contain specific sets of blue-and-red decorated initials and associated flourishes. Certain groups of human figures contained in capitals show a clearly common original model while having sufficient differences in execution to suggest different hands at work. There is a "signature" dragon grotesque that appears reguarly through works associated with De Brailes that seems to serve almost as a "maker's mark".

Use and Adaption of Models by the Masters of Zweder van Culemborg -- Miranda Bloem, Univ. van Amsterdam

Contemporaries of the Limbourg brothers, predecessors (and possibly teachers) of the master of the Hours of Catharine of Cleves. Masterpiece was the Breviary of Arnold of Egmond (husband of Catharine of Cleves), ca. 1435-40. (The presenter suggests there may have been an element of rivalry in the later creation of Catharine's book.) Focus on one miniature: the stoning of St. Stephen (not part of the Breviary, but a separate leaf held at London). Comparison of the same scene from the Masters of Zweder, and one in one of the works by the Limbourg brothers, which show strong similarities in certain of the figures. But the London stoning is taken from entirely different models, showing figure simliarities with their depictions of the flagellation of Christ by the Limbourg brothers, which figure similarities also show up in some other manuscripts. These repeating figures include certain "crowd figures" in various other scenes of witnesses to events. The ways in which these repeating figures are re-combined in different scenes suggests a "menu" of models that could be used to create a consitent visual vocabulary without a sense of monotony. Infrared reflectometry images of the London stoning show that the Stephen figure was original posed slightly differently, and that original pose can be identified in certain other scenes. Similarly, this technique demonstrates that the background figure of a young Saul, claiming St. Stephen's clothing, was a later addition to the painting (this is also indicated by the disproportionate size of the figure and differences in the coloring). Another background figure stands out due to the unusual (in this work) use of lapis lazuli and gilding which suggests it may have been intended as the older Saul who was then superceded by the young figure for story-representing purposes. One of the "stoners" has been substituted in the composition where the original model (the flagellation scene) had the whipping post and this figure show the remnants of a sketsh with a slightly different pose that was altered during painting. The faces of this individual and the "young Saul" show similarities that set them apart from the other faces in the scene, suggesting the work of a different painter from the main scene made these later additions. Overall, the resulting work shows the combination not only of the use of models, but of pulling models both from other workshops (the Limbourg flagellation) and their own previous works, with the various sources being re-combined to form new scenes.

Dress and Textiles IV: From Field to Fabric: The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Flax-to-Linen Project

Flax and Linen as Subject and Content in Medieval Images -- Alison Gates, Univ. of Wisconsin–Green Bay

Looking at characteristic signs of particular types of fiber processing in art, e.g., wetting the spun thread in the mouth, which is part of the linen spinning process as opposed to wool. But when the techniques are backgrounded to the subject of the depiction, the technology or activities may be stylized or misunderstood. (We now get a parade of 19th c. images of "medieval" textile scenes that completely misinterpret the relevant technology or include serious technological anachronisms.) Working back to contexts where the artist was closer to the actual production, the representations become more accurate and conversely can be more reliably used to increase understanding (e.g., agricultural scenes from books of hours showing seasonal flax processing actvities). When the activities are clearly functional, then the equipment depicted is a better guide to reconstruction. Spinning is an extremely common activity to depict, associated with both the Virgin and with Eve in iconography. Distaffs also appear in the genre of "henpecked husband", used by a woman to beat a husband who is being forced to use (feminine) textile tools. Spinning animals are another genre for fiber equipment depictions.

Seeds, Scutches, and Retting Pits: Archaeological Sources for Medieval Fiber Production -- Heidi M. Sherman, Univ. of Wisconsin–Green Bay

Plant fiber remains don't survive as well as animal, which distorts the understanding of the relative importance of linen versus other textiles soures. Looking at other types of material finds confirms the equal importance of linen & hemp fiberst to that of wool in northern Europe. Preparation rquires several stages of preparation. Retting (soaking in water pits to break down the "glue" holding the fiber to the stalk) can be identified by the remains of retting pits, often located places with easy acces to water, but also identifiable by traces of characteristic bacteria in the pit location. Flax seeds are also a key sign, especially in areas used for braking (breaking up the core and physically separating it from the surrounding fibers) or drying in preparation for this. When wooden artifacts are preserved, mallets or specialized flax-brakes used for this process may be characteristic. The next step (scutching) uses a wooden knife-like tool to separate the broken cores from the fibers and may also point to processing areas. (Sometimes mis-identified as "toy swords" due to the shape.) Hackling uses a set of iron teeth or spikes set into a wooden base to finish removing the cores and tow and to straighten and alight the fibers.

Both the materials from which the tools were made and the heavy use they had make survival difficult (with mis-identification a separate problem). Corroborative evidence for forms and uses can come from traditional peasant practices on the assumption that these are relatively conservative even in the face of available newer technologies. For example, common and widespread Novgorod finds of semi-toothed knife-like objects have been identified as hackles (assumed to be used in the lap with the fibers drawn over the teeth), but there is no ethnographic basis for this particular interpretation. One test for theories of this type is attempts to reproduce the hypothesized techniques using reconstructed tools.

Ancient Fiber Crop Cultivation on a Twenty-First-Century College Campus -- Alicia Engstrom, Univ. of Wisconsin–Green Bay

Grew 2 crops, one on campus, one on private land. Intent was to do entire fiber production cycle with an eye to creating 'home-grown" art materials for students as well as to explore process understanding for historic research. Seed is sown thickly to prevent branching. (Plants on the edge of the plot will branch and produce inferior fiber.)As plant flowers, the stalk begins to yellow from the base up, indicating readiness for harvesting and the nature of the resulting fiber. The on-campus raised bed yielded a good crop by the other, conventional crop was a failure, with early seed-setting and fallen stalks. Plants were pulled up by the roots and bundled in handfuls then stacked upright in groups to dry. The plants are straw-colored at this point. Seed-bolls are removed by rippling through a metal comb. Then they are re-bundled for retting. Placed uner water (weighted) for ca. 7 days. Interestingly the color of the plastic kiddie pools used for retting affected the retting speed and microbial growth (possibly due to temperature differences?). Bundles are dried again then put through a flax brake and scutched against a board. Fibers are pulled through three sequential hackles of descending size. First will still take out a fair amount of core; second removes tow (short fibers), third separates fibers more finely. The distaff was dressed more like a "woolen" technique (with the fibers relatively chaotic) rather than in the traditional cone-shaped dressing. The fibers were used as weft to spin a tabby linen (with commercial warp. (The results were presnt for show-and-tell.)