The Golden Anointing Spoon

The spoon is one of the oldest of all eating utensils. From the beginning men have used rocks and carved pieces of bone or wood to scoop food and liquids. At this time forks were mostly only used in Italy and were commonly considered rude, while knives were generally expected to be brought to the table by guests and were not generally provided by the host. During the middle ages the spoon was the most important and widely used of all eating utensils. During the middle ages most commoners ate with spoons carved out of wood, while nobles ate with spoons made of bronze or silver.

 

The Golden Anointing Spoon

 

The spoon became not only an eating utensil but a symbol of status. The fancier and higher quality a noble's spoon was became a subtle way of showing off his wealth and power. The oldest known spoon from England is the golden Anointing Spoon of King Edward I. This spoon is from around 1259 and currently resides in the British Crown Jewels, where it is the oldest artifact in the collection. This special golden spoon was not used to eat, but to anoint the Sovereign with holy oil during ceremonies.

The British Crown Jewels

Sources:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/the%20royal%20collection%20and%20other%20collections/thecrownjewels/overview.aspx  

http://www.eatingutensils.net/history-of-cutlery/spoon-history/

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/10/history-spoons-forks-knives/ 

Salt Cellars: The Fancy Salt Shaker

Saltcellars (or salt cellars) were popular on dining tables during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Since salt was a rare commodity from the Middle Ages to the 16th century, saltcellars exemplified wealth. Made with metal or glass, they made the centrepieces of Medieval and Renaissance dining tables. A treatise from 1466 on table manners explains how one is to use this article of tableware:

"First uncover your salt. Then take your brode Knyfe in your right hande, and with the pynt therof take up one Trencher, and laye it on your Napkyn's ende in your lefte hande. Then with your brode Knyfe take a little Salt, and plane it on your Trencher, tyll it be even. Then with your brode Knyfe cut your Salt quadrant."

the gold saltcellar is located at the centre of the table in this Medieval feast illustration

Saltcellars were made of different shapes and sizes. Some of them are quite elaborate! The most famous one is the figural type by Italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. His saltcellar was made for King François 1 in 1543 and is currently located at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Made of gold, ebony, and enamel, the salt cellar is composed of allegorical Earth and Sea figures. The female is the goddess of Earth, while the male is Neptune, god of the Seas. Below them are carved personifications of the time of the days and the four winds. In addition carved horses and sea creatures surround the artwork. The temple is for pepper, while Neptune's boat carries salt.

Here are other examples of salt cellars:

Parisian artwork, 1527-8

France, 1400

England, 1662

Sources:

"Saltcellar." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/technology/saltcellar .

"Salt Cellar by Benvenuto Cellini." Web Gallery of Art, 2015. http://www.wga.hu/html_m/c/cellini/1/index.html. 

"Quick History: Salt Cellars." Apartment Therapy, 2015. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/quick-history-salt-cellarsretr-132395 . 

Medieval Subtweeting?

While reading through the calamities of Peter Abelard’s life I was struck with a modern day practice found in the public letters of Abelard. Subtweeting. I noticed the comparison between the concept of public letter writing and the idea of Twitter. Both are public and both involve calling someone out. In The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, Abelard talks of his enemies, one being Bernard of Clairvaux, but he never calls him by name.

               “My former rivals could do nothing by themselves, and therefore stirred up against me some new apostles in whom the world had great faith…They went up and down the country, slandering me shamelessly in their preaching as much as they could, and for a while brought me into considerable disrepute in the eyes of the ecclesiastical as well as of the secular authorities; and they spread such evil reports of my faith and of my way of life that they also turned some of my chief friends against me…” (p. 32-33).

To the modern historian as well as many of those times it is apparent that one of his rivals was Bernard of Clairvaux and the lack of mentioning him reminds me of the ever present trend among the social media world we live in today.

According to the Oxford online dictionary, subtweet can be defined as “a post that refers to a particular user without directly mentioning them, typically as a form of furtive mockery or criticism”

Subtweeting is not only popular with the youth of today, but also with the elite of society. Musical artist Chris Brown is famous for his subtweeting ways.

Just like Abelard’s lack of the mentioning oh his specific rivals, Brown fails to mention the direct enemy in these tweets. Yet at the time it was most likely clear to all his followers just whom he was attacking. 

For centuries people have been finding ways to subtly throw a punch at their enemy, a practice I feel will not disappear in the near future.

Sources:

Abelard, Peter, Peter Abelard, Héloïse, Peter Abelard, Peter Abelard, and Betty Radice. The Letters of 

Abelard and Heloise. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974. Print.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/subtweet

http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/the-subtle-art-of-the-subtweet/

The Tomb of Abelard and Heloise: Forever Together in Death

 The tomb of Abelard and Helose is located in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery. The latter is located north-east of Paris between the former towns of Belleville and Ménilmontant (today, they form the current 19th and 20th districts). It opened in the park of Folie Régnault, property of Régnault de Vendôme, wealthy merchant of spices. Popular people whose ashes are in the cemetery include Balzac, Chopin, Jean-Bapiste Clement, Géricault, and Editch Piaf. In addition, the tombs of the Hugo family, La Fontaine, Oscar Wilde, Molière, Proust, and Rossin are located in the cemetery.
    Abelard and Heloise were the cemetery's first guests. Their bodies were transferred from the Paraclete in 1817. The tomb was created in the 19th century in the High Gothic style, also known as the Rayonnant style. The latter was the second phase of the Gothic style and was characterized by the creation of rich visual effects through decoration, as well as the application of elaborate geometrical designs to the already established structural forms. Most of this virtuosity was seen in private tombs and monuments. Abelard and Heloise's tomb's architect was Albert Alexandre Lenoir and Louis Pierre Desseine was the sculptor. It is composed of pointed arches, quatrefoils containing three lobes instead of four, columns, different sculptural ornamentations, and the sculptures of Abelard and Heloise.

"The remains of Heloise and Abelard are reunited in this tomb"

Sources

"Père Lachaise Cemetary- Abelard and Heloise." Travel France online, 2015. http://www.travelfranceonline.com/pere-lachaise-cemetery-eloise-and-abelard/ .

"Gothic art." Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-art . 

L'Abbaye de Clairvaux: Gone But Not Forgotten

  Clairvaux abbey, whose mother house was the Cîteaux Abbey, was a Cisterian monastery originally founded in 1115 by St-Bernard of Clairvaux. Located in Ville-sous-la-Ferté in Northeastern France, the building is a good example of the general layout a Cisterian monastery. It consisted strong walls and was equipped with watchtowers and other defences at different intervals. Furthermore, there was both an inner and outer yard. The church had a vast nave of 11 bays, a wide transept, and a short apsidal choir. To the east of the transepts were two square chapels, while nine circular ones surrounded the apse. The four eastern bays of the nave were dedicated to the monks' stalls, while the western bays were for the lay brothers. Essentially, half of the monastery was for the literate monks (writing of manuscripts and reading), while the other half was dedicated to manual work done by the lay brothers. The cloister was at the South side in order to let the most sunshine in. Burials at the Abbey include Philip I, Count of Flanders, St-Malachy, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Theresa of Portugal, Countess of Flanders.
     Unfortunately, the powerful abbey was confiscated during the Revolution and sold to an Industrialist. Today, the grounds are now occupied by the high-security prison of Clairvaux.

Plan of the Clairvaux Abbey 

Clairvaux Abbey 1140

Here is a link to a video of the 3D reconstruction of the Abbey (my apologies, it is in French) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUcxOvQO5JE&feature=youtu.be 

Sources:

"Abbaye de Clairvaux". Accueil- Site de l'Abbaye de Clairvaux, 2015. http://www.abbayedeclairvaux.com

"Clairvaux Abbey". Wikipedia, 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clairvaux_Abbey

Racing to the Past: The Palio

Siena, the best Gothic experience Italy can offer, holds more than just the architecture. This city is set up in the traditional medieval style. The town center revolves around the town hall. While Florence offers the more commercialized experience, Siena offers the soul an experience, and ties in massive amounts of historical background. If one visits Siena on either July 2 or August 14, they would be able to watch one of the oldest horse races: the Palio.

The Palio is a competition between 10 of the 17 neighborhoods chosen at random. This race

Palio Horse Race

was a yearly occurrence dating as far back as 15th century. The race though has deeper meaning. It was ran in honor of the patroness and advocate of Siena, Madonna dell’Assunta. She protected the Sienese military at the battle of Monteapeti on September 4, 1260. After the victory over the Florentines, Siena broke itself into Contradas, or districts. The Palio started out as a horse race between the 59 districts. Now though, there are only 17, and the race rotates between 10 of them. This race brings together all 17 neighborhoods in a friendly competition between the cities in which the winner earns a year of bragging rights. The race itself is not medieval, but the city and the reason the race came into being is.

Sources:

"Palio Di Siena - Siena's Palio Horse Race  All about the Palio." Palio Di Siena - Siena's Palio Horse Race All about the Palio. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. http://www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm

Steves, Rick. "Siena and Its Crazy Horse Race." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places |             Smithsonian. Smithsonian, 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ricksteves/siena-and-its-crazy-horse-race-20432031/?all