Categories: 14th Century

21 May 2010, Comments (4)

The Man Who Believed He Was King of France: A True Medieval Tale

Author: Ann Scott

Synopsis
A story replete with shady merchants, scoundrels, hungry mercenaries, scheming nobles, and maneuvering cardinals, The Man Who Believed He Was King of France proves the adage that truth is often stranger than fiction—or at least as entertaining. The setting of this improbable but beguiling tale is 1354 and the Hundred Years’ War being waged for control of France.

Seeing an opportunity for political and material gain, the demagogic dictator of Rome tells Giannino di Guccio that he is in fact the lost heir to Louis X, allegedly switched at birth with the son of a Tuscan merchant. Once convinced of his birthright, Giannino claims for himself the name Jean I, king of France, and sets out on a brave—if ultimately ruinous—quest that leads him across Europe to prove his identity.

With the skill of a crime scene detective, Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri digs up evidence in the historical record to follow the story of a life so incredible that it was long considered a literary invention of the Italian Renaissance. From Italy to Hungry, then through Germany and France, the would-be king’s unique combination of guile and earnestness seems to command the aid of lords and soldiers, the indulgence of inn-keepers and merchants, and the collusion of priests and rogues along the way.

The apparent absurdity of the tale allows Carpegna Falconieri to analyze late-medieval society, exploring questions of essence and appearance, being and belief, at a time when the divine right of kings confronted the rise of mercantile culture. Giannino’s life represents a moment in which truth, lies, history, and memory combine to make us wonder where reality leaves off and fiction begins.

15 May 2010, Comments (0)

The Middle English Literary Tradition

Author: Ann Scott


By the fourteenth century, England remained culturally deferential to France and spiritually dependent on Rome. Since the Norman invasion, most non-Latin texts available in England were in either Old French or Anglo-Norman. Since literature written in Middle English was a relatively new development, there were far fewer vernacular books available in England than common French books in France. Accordingly, the contributions of English authors writing in their native tongue became significant not only to their readers but also for the national pride of the country itself, as England gave birth to its own literary tradition.

- Ann Scott -

25 Apr 2010, Comments (2)

Medieval English Woodlands

Author: Ann Scott

Oak - 800 Years Old - Sherwood Forest

If you live in British Isles or have visited, you may think you have a general idea of what kind of foliage you would have seen above your head in medieval England. Some of the trees you notice in the present day include red oaks, pine, larch, holm oaks, redwoods, spruce, cedar, Turkey oaks, cypress, fir and horse chestnut. You would have found none of these in the medieval English countryside, as none of these species had yet been introduced from continental Europe and from even farther abroad.

What you would see in Medieval England were trees introduced during the Bronze Age and the Roman conquests, in addition to some native species. You would find elm, willow, walnut, aspen, sweet chestnut, beech, hornbeam, whitebeam, poplars, rowan, silver birch, field maple, beech, alder, ash, hazel, and perhaps most surprisingly, lime trees. There were almost no evergreens. The only species you might see would be juniper, scotch pine, yew, and evergreen holly—if you choose to classify the large variety of holly as a tree.

- Ann Scott -

See references to these and other flora and fauna in Ian Mortimer’s The Time Travelers Guide to Medieval England.

30 Jan 2010, Comments (1)

Fourteenth Century English Literature: An Introduction

Author: Ann Scott

By the fourteenth century, England remained culturally deferential to France and spiritually dependent on Rome. Since the Norman invasion, most non-Latin texts available in England were in either Old French or Anglo-Norman. Since literature written in Middle English was a relatively new development, there were far fewer vernacular books available in England than common French books in France. Accordingly, the contributions of English authors writing in their native tongue became significant not only to their readers but also for the national pride of the country itself, as England gave birth to its own literary tradition.

- Ann Scott -

Tags

14th Century 1300s Augustine's City of God Benedict's Rule Benedictine Monasticism Cenobitic Monasticism Christian Philosophy Constantine I Daily Life in the Middle Ages English LIterature Fall of the Roman Empire Medieval England Medieval Sounds polytheism Saint Augustine's Confessions Saint Benedict’s Rule St. Augustine's City of God Theodosius I