The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

A century ago, a medieval manuscript containing unreadable script never seen before, turned up a  small bookstore. Inside were beautifully illustrated diagrams and drawings of plants, animals, astrology signs, and women.

The alphabet used is unknown. The plants are not recognized. Its origins are unknown. And no one has been able to decode the script to find out what it all means.

Carbon dating has dated the manuscript to the early 15th century but what it all means is still not known even though hundreds of theories have been postulated. There is even a You-Tube video putting forth one theory presented by a team in Alberta Canada.

Continue reading this fascinating story The Voynich manuscript: Will this medieval mystery ever be solved?

Archaelogists FInd Meieval Coffin Birth Skeleton

Archaeology is fascinating. It can also be sad and poignant. Finding a skeleton can lead to more details on how, why or when a person died than we sometimes find comfortable. Such was the discovery and story written about by  Kristina Killgrove.

"An early Medieval grave near Bologna, Italy, was revealed to contain an injured pregnant woman with a fetus between her legs. Based on the positioning of the tiny bones, researchers concluded this was a coffin birth, when a baby is forcibly expelled from its mother's body after her death. The pregnancy and the woman's head trauma may also be related."

Just reading that first paragraph made me feel sad for this poor Italian woman. But I read on and it is a very informative story you might want to read. 

Continue reading this story at This Pregnant Medieval Woman With Head Wound 'Gave Birth' In Her Grave

Medieval Cave and the Knights Templar

A medieval cave has recently been discovered beneath a farmer's field in Shropshire. Apparently the cave was used by a religious order that fought in the Crusades. The Knights Templar would have used this cave and walked its labrynthe of corridors in the 13th Century.


Continue reading this fascinating story Stunning 700-year-old giant cave used by Knights Templar found behind a rabbit hole in the British countryside

One of my ancestors, the Dutchman Jan Damen,  was part of the Crusades and he is in a painting by Jan van Scorel circa 1541.

Jan Damen, far right, one of five members of the Utrecht Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims

Medieval Book Curses

Most Genealogists love books. Many of my Facebook friends drool over shared photos of amazing floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and rooms completely devoted to books.

In Medieval times, books were hand-printed and drawn by scribes. They worked long difficult hours, often bent in excruciating postures. Hands cramped. Backs and necks went into painful muscle spasms. Books were a treasure - expensive and often one of a kind. So it is not surprising that scribes and book owners devised methods of protecting their work.

They came up with an ingenious way - writing curses at the beginning and end of a book. The curses included "excommunication from the church and a horrible, painful death. Steal a book, and you might be cleft by a demon sword, forced to sacrifice your hands, have your eyes gouged out, or end in the fires of hell and brimstone.” [Sarah Laskow November 09, 2016]

An example of one of these Medieval curses is

This book belongs to none but me
For there’s my name inside to see
To steal this book, if you should try
It’s by the throat that you’ll hang high.
And ravens then will gather ‘bout
To find your eyes and pull them out.
And when you’re screaming, "oh, oh, oh!"
Remember you deserve this woe.

The curses were meant to stop readers from ripping out a page, stealing the book, or scribbling within the book. This practice was so wide-spread that a book has been written about these Medieval curses.  Anathema! Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses. by Marc Drogin available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Read this fascinating story at Protect Your Library the Medieval Way, With Horrifying Book Curses

Medieval Graffiti

Graffiti from the Middle Ages found in St. Margaret's Church in Cley-Next-the-Sea, on the north coast of Norfolk in eastern England, provides insight into personal expressions of faith in medieval England.

Matthew Champion, project director of the Norfolk and Suffolk Medieval Graffiti Surveys, explains that the ornate octagonal font that dominates one end of the nave of the church has  carved stone panels depicting religious scenes, including a baptism and the ordination of a priest. Tiny fragments of paint in the crevices confirm that the font was brightly decorated in medieval times.

On what looks like bare stone, flashlights reveal patterns: a series of perfect circles, filled with six-petaled flower patterns, scratched into the stone.

Read the description and conclusions about what this medieval graffiti meant at  Writing on the Church Wall

FIngerprints From The Past

Sometimes ancient fingerprints are preserved in artifacts later found by  archaeologists. Some very intriguing fingerprints have been found and studied to determine age, gender and ethnicity of the last person to handle the object. Many were created thousands of years ago!

Here is a list of the 10 fingerprints discussed (with images) in the fascinating story What 10 sets of ancient fingerprints tell us about the people who made them

1.   Leonardo Da Vinci’s Middle Eastern ancestry – 525 years ago
2.   Medieval Europeans prayed mostly for themselves – 600 years ago
3.   Fashion conscious women of Roman Britain get the pale look – 1,900 years ago
4.   Division of labour in an Italian pottery workshop – 2,400 years ago
5.   Data management in Europe’s oldest city – 3,300 years ago
6.   Ancient Egyptian bakers pack bread for the trip to the afterlife – 3,300 years ago
7.   Youth employment in Stone Age Sweden – 5,000 years ago
8.   First farmers – 10,000 years ago

9.   The child who picked up a figurine – 26,000 years ago
10.   The Neanderthal weapon maker – 80,000 years ago
        

Medieval Burials and Facial Reconstructions

I love history and archaeology. Eerie reconstructions show faces and diets of medieval men and women in Edinburgh graveyard is a fascinating glimpse into 3 individuals buried in medieval times. One man, one woman and a teenage boy have been reconstructed and images of their faces are online. 

Mind you, I doubt these people looked so clean and fresh-complexioned in real life! I also suspect their hair would have been much more unkempt, longer and quite dirty.