Medieval Blogger

Stone is Way Cool in Canada

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:34:00 +0000

With the release of her new book, Terry Murray takes a look at an ancient subject and gives it a modern, entertaining spin (see review) in Faces on Places, A Grotesque Tour of Toronto.

Faces on Places also happens to be the inspiration for this post, which takes a look at other sites around the Net devoted to cities of stone in Toronto and throughout Canada.

Naturally, the first stop is Toronto - where a recent outcry helped save Old City Hall (and the subsequent renovation of its famous flying gargoyles) which Murray colorfully retells and photographs for Faces on Places. The recently published travel handbook also includes a guided tour, and an eyeful of the University of Toronto's gaggle of faces & grotesques, along with a chapter devoted exclusively to Other Things with Wings.

If you're in Quebec this summer, also be sure to check out the walled Old Quarter where the stone colossus Chateau Frontenac dominates the skyline, and don't miss Parliament Hill in Ottawa - a major draw for lovers of Gothic.

Gargoyle spotters have also put Montreal on the map for its easily accessible historic city center, where traditional French Canadian architecture abounds in such diverse places as Notre Dame Basilica and the Royal Bank.

No Place Like the BBC for Cathedrals

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 06:12:00 +0000

If you're not within watching-distance in the U.K., check out a version of the BBC TV special (now airing every Monday at 7PM) on their Web site for a virtual look at Cathedral chronicling the building's role as an icon of historic medieval drama.

Amid shots of the delicate stone tracery and bold Gothic arches at Canterbury Cathedral, there's the intrigue surrounding the famous demise of Thomas Becket at the hands of Henry II's henchmen together with a 360-degree tour from the heights of the tower. Also don't miss the story behind the rise of Lincoln Cathedral, and more promised in the weeks to come....on the flood that wrecked Winchester, the rebellion at St Giles, and the historic fire at York Minster.

Meanwhile, feast your eyes BBC archives that showcase cathedral stained glass, related interactive games and links to the official sites of the buildings they illustrate.

On a cold weekend in New York, it's a reason enough to spend a few hours indoors...

...And a Happy Medieval New Year

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:56:34 +0000

New Year's celebrations come and go.

But in the Middle Ages it represented days of debauchery in Germany and England, authorized rebellion against the Church in Paris, bonfires blazing for days during Scotland's Hogmanay and overall lunatic behavior throughout Europe.

Sure, some people refer to it as the Dark Ages. Why, then, did it seem like so much fun?

Happy New Year!

A Merry Medieval Christmas

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Thu, 23 Dec 2004 16:48:33 +0000

A good-sized encyclopedia might someday written to include all of the holiday traditions that originate with the Middle Ages....

For now, check out my abridged version of the "Medieval Christmas Encyclopedia," compiled from various sources around the Web. Happy reading, and best wishes for a Merry Christmas.

The Santa Claus Timeline

Medieval Nativity from the French National Library

Medieval Christmas Images - Koninklijke Bibliotheek and Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum

Christmas in Medieval England

German Christmas Museum

Ukranian Christmas

Medieval Imaginations: The Nativity

Medieval Tales of the Child Jesus

Tales of the Middle Ages - Christmas

A Medieval Christmas Feast

Medieval & Tudor Christmas Courts

On Christmas in the Middle Ages

Set in Stone

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 04:58:05 +0000

It's one of those stories an old stonemason might tell an unbelieving apprentice, but it really happened.

According to the BBC, a medieval stone carving that was used as a cat's headstone has recently sold for £200,000 at auction. The cat's owner, a stonemason, used the old piece of stone to honor his dead cat, but its worth was only discovered later after the stonemason himself died. According to the rest of the BBC report, the stonemason's widow planned to spend money raised from the sale "on her grandchildren and a new rocking chair."

While in other news, freemasonry is back in the news after figuring in the plot of National Treasure, the U.S. film hit now No. 1 at the box office for the third week in a row. So now the question remains: do stonemasons really rule the world in secret? If only...

And thanks to a list member from Stone.org for this epic 8-page story singing the praises of the cathedral builder, with lore and stories documenting the typical stone worker's day in words and photos...

Far Flung Medieval News

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 03:39:29 +0000

From all points on the globe this week, the medieval news ticker has been humming with word of museum openings, stage musicals and an artist star profile centuries in the making....

Not the sublime to the ridiculous, - but the ridiculous to the ridiculous - is happening in Chicago with the opening of Spamalot, (the stage musical billing itself as "ripped off from the motion picture 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,'") There's lots of good early buzz as it makes it way to New York, with actor Tim Curry leading the way as King Arthur. Read the report and watch the video here.

Largest exhibit on European Jewish medieval life opens ... reports the Jerusalem Post that surveys the opening of a rare exhibition of art and artifacts in Speyer, Germany including the Erfurt Treasure, excavated only a few years ago in Germany, which includes 3,000 coins from the 13th and 14th centuries. Check out more here.....and here

Meanwhile, in The Guardian, Jonathan Jones reports news of sorts - with an original take on the old chestnut that medieval artists were, by and large, anonymous tradesmen toiling in the service of God. Yet two centuries before Michelangelo, the artist Giotto was famous merely for being, well, famous. Read all about it in A Star is Born...

The Museum of... Truffles

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:56:33 +0000

Yes, indeed. This weekend marks the opening of Tuscany's first and only truffle museum, dedicated to the mushroom-like funghi with the earthy taste and a price that's usually out in the stratosphere. Housed in a 13th century castle, the museum is most proud of its high-tech "odorama" exhibition which will allow visitors a full sensate experience.

Check out more facts, trivia and history in a deep dig around the Net for more on the lowly truffle, known as an aphrodisiac since the days of ancient Rome...

The History of the Truffle - "Pope Gregory IV boosted his mettle with a meal of truffles before battling the Saracens. In the Middle Ages, tartufo was known as witches' fare..."

More Fun Facts on Truffles - Fungi through the ages, from ParisTempo.com

La Cour des Saveurs - An online shop specializing in medieval condiments and sauces. Check out their truffle flavored oils and tool around the rest of the site for more French medieval. In French only.

October 15, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 17:30:28 +0000

"It was a crucial but sometimes forgotten moment in the development of Western civilization: the revival of medieval European learning by a wholesale transfusion of scholarship from the Islamic world"...says the New York Review of Books this week as Moslems celebrate the month of Ramadan worldwide...

...while in other parts of the globe boys and ghouls are are gearing up for Halloween without a clue to Halloween's celtic and medieval roots or how the Church later accommodated the Christian holiday...

...and It's New! at New York Carver... Go on a virtual tour of the Middle Ages each day from December 1 to Christmas Eve with our interactive advent calendar with day-by-day links to tales, stories and images of a medieval Christmas...

October 9, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 21:41:31 +0000

This week, the news about Switzerland's last St. Bernard dogs swept across the Web and from network news stations around the globe. Modern helicopters and heat sensors have taken over the job of the traditional rescue dogs whose owners - an order of monks who have cared for and trained them for centuries - and can no longer afford them. Say goodbye to another bit of surviving medieval Swiss history...

...and if you think the Dark Ages lacked, shall we say toothy grins - or even brain surgeons - methinks you better have another look...

...Finally, for you avid gamers and 3D empire builders check out the new release Medieval Lords - Build, Defend, Expand!

September 30, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 17:56:39 +0000

This week, the fight continues for the ruins of Carrickmines Castle in south Dublin as protesters threaten to take the case to the Supreme Court as the M50 highway threatens to barrel through the area...

...while in Moscow the Information Age still hasn't taken the shine off medieval superstitions that still beat the pants off say, WebMD or Modern Psychology. Who can explain it? It's A Little Black Magic in Russian Everyday Life...

...and as the holiday season approaches remember the origins of that glass your holding as you drink a toast to everybody's good fortune. Check out A Brief History of the Wine Glass...

September 22

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Wed, 22 Sep 2004 15:51:44 +0000

This week, the hunt for a stonecarver is on to replace what is believed to be the only real, working gargoyle in the U.S. state of Maine after the stone beastie disintegrates upon a building inspection earlier in the year. Save the gargoyles...

And there's fun for the whole family in a wild, imaginary trip to garbage-strewn, disease-ridden London in Peter Ackroyd's new book, the Clerkenwell Tales, about a group of 13th century Christian terrorists who really insist the city be saved...

Meanwhile, the New York Post screams HAUNTED STATUES STOLEN when 'medieval doers' abscond with two 6-foot tall knights from a local inn located in upstate New York. Later, one of the knight's hands is found in the parking lot. He "apparently put up a valiant struggle..."

September 10, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:13:17 +0000

Mmm.. maybe the Dark Ages weren't that barbaric after all.

Yes, now it can be told: Study Suggests Bloodletting May Work. And click here for more information on the fine art of phlebotomy...

September 8, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 19:01:18 +0000

Breaking news this week as the first Viking burial ground in the U.K. is discovered in Cumwhitton. The 1,000-year old time capsule revealed the bodies of six Viking men and women buried alongside spears, swords, jewelry and riding equipment and described as "a find of a lifetime" by an amateur archeologist who made the first discovery. Today, a number of artifacts go on view at the nearby Tullie House Museum of Art...

Elsewhere on the Web:

'Amazing' Viking Cemetary Found

Viking Burial Site Unearthed in England

Viking burial ground dispels myth of longship marauders

September 3, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 00:52:41 +0000

As the summer begins to winds down in New York here's an opportunity to go
Gallivanting in Glasgow...

Then again, September also means New York's Renaissance Faire which is now on until the end of the month...

And for more info on autumn Renaissance and Medieval Faires in your area check out the Directorie...

August 28, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 19:51:08 +0000

Check out a great addition to local book store shelves this week in a rave review of THE LAST KNIGHT:The Twilight of the Middle Ages and the Birth of the Modern Era...

Meanwhile, a history-making conciliation took place between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church when the Vatican finally decided to returned the Virgin of Kazan icon to Russia this week. And so ends years of controversial wrangling - which all began with the original historic work dating to the 13th century...

And another Madonna is back in the news - with a new exercise regime that brings back the rack. Yes, the medieval rack...or what the company genteely calls the Gyrotonic Expansion System. But it sure looks painful...

August 22, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 14:50:49 +0000

This week, check out an amazing online tour at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California, and get the facts about China's pioneering work in astronomy and the tools they invented to document ancient outer space. A medieval water-powered mechanical clock, star charts and sun dials tell the story. Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China...

And in case you haven't been out to Grand Rapids, Michigan lately and missed the Public Museum's mounting of "Gratia Dei: A Journey Through the Middle Ages" you're in luck. For a good time, click http://www.grmuseum.org/exhibits/gratia_dei/index1.shtml...

Meanwhile, in Paris, the Museum of the Middle Ages catalogs Romanesque sculpture from the Boi Valley as described in this story from Art Museum Network News. You can also check out the mini-tour at the museum...

August 18, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 20:04:34 +0000

Modern meets medieval here in New York this week with the opening of Mankynde: The Postmodern Medieval Musical, a self-described "mix of Election 2004 and TV's Fear Factor, proving that the great moral issues facing the world half a millennia ago still deserve ridicule today..."

And everything medieval is new once again in the UK with the first court jester competition in modern times (see: Jester wanted, must be mirthful) hosted by English Heritage. The first such official hiring since the days of Oliver Cromwell, the new job description includes creating mirth at historic places throughout Britain - but only on summer weekends. The pay? Negotiable. Check out the lucky winner here...

And if you had any doubt that we're re-living in interesting times, click over to the National Public Radio special to read about all the trouble in : The Middle East and the West: The Crusades...

August 3, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Thu, 05 Aug 2004 01:56:32 +0000

If you interests run toward the medieval AND modern movie making (and whose doesn't?) check out the art and craft of visual effects over at BBC for a behind the scenes look at the making of King Arthur now in local movie theaters. Lore, legend and history mixed with a lesson in modern movie production including film clips and special effects in action....and while you're at it, click over to the official King Arthur movie site for more early Anglo Saxon thrills...and get a deep dig on the real legend here plus pay homage at the gravesite...

July 27, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Wed, 28 Jul 2004 03:03:44 +0000

If you think obese medieval monks had problems - pity the poor Viking's shortcomings .."and they weren't thinking of their swords or longboats"...

And if you missed it last week, here's a reprise on why Fat jolly monks had painful secrets...

Plus thanks to reader Margaret M. for this tidbit on the BBC: Medieval graffiti found in home...And here's more on medieval graffiti...and more.

July 23, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 00:30:43 +0000

Thanks to reader Myrrh Sagrada for this week's nominee for...Websites of the Damned. Can you dig it?...Pushin Daisies : Dark Video...

...and in the UK, the Archbishop's Palace beats out Severndroog Castle for a shot at refurbishment in the BBC's Restoration competition...

...while in France GUEDELON CASTLE GROWS in its 7th year of construction using only medieval techniques and materials. Check out photos of the mammoth project here at New York Carver courtesy of Ole Utke...

July 19, 2004

chiffj@urbancom.net (Joe Chiffriller) — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 19:39:23 +0000

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge recently battled it out with the JP Getty Museum in Los Angeles for possession of the The Macclesfield Psalter. Who won? :
Museums fight over £1.5m medieval manuscript ...

You heard it here first..."The full truth about one of Britain's favourite historical fatties has been tracked down by a three-year study of overweight medieval monks" as a Study reveals how medieval friars tucked in...

And, if you're a fan of The DaVinci Code you might recognize yourself in this story from the International Herald Tribune Scottish chapel lures fans of best-seller and if you haven't read the book click here to find out what all the fuss is about...