The Devil, Herman's Hermits, and Herman the Recluse

What do Herman's Hermits have in common with Herman the Recluse?  Jezebel and the devil.

Herman's Hermits singing Jezebel (1966)

"If ever a devil was born

Without a pair of horns

It was you, Jezebel, it was you!

If ever a pair of eyes

Promised paradise

It was you, Jezebel, it was you!

If ever a devil's plan

Was made to torment man

Decieving me

Grieving me

Leaving me blue

Jezebel, it was you!"

Gigas Codex, 13th Century

Herman the Recluse, an apocryphal Benedictine monk at the 13th century monastery of Podlažice, is the putative author of the Gigas Codex.  The giant tome, hand crafted from 160 baby cows (or maybe donkeys), contains the Vulgate, the Chronicle of Prague, and a large drawing of the devil.  Thus, the manuscript is lovingly known as "The Devil's Bible," leading many a wayward soul to study this book in search of necromancy, only to find another dusty transcription of the Bible in latin.

  

Jezebel of course makes her appearance in the Third Book of Kings, 16:31.  

Frankie Laine, the composer of Jezebel, often wrote of the devilish femme fatal: Swamp Girl, Satan Wears a Satin Gown.  Although Frankie Laine's Satan wore a satin dress, Herman the Recluse's Satan wore polka-dot undies, more akin to Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss' "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." 

Punishment Reform: Shame Masks

Verboten in modern schools, use of a Schandmaske (shame mask) was a common form of behavior modification in Medieval Europe.  The theme of the mask often metaphorically represented the reproachful behavior.  For those ill-mannered, expect to wear of metal pig head.  For those who talk out of turn or gossip, expect a mask with a giant tongue.  Scotland and England employed a scold's bridle or "brank" as a similar form of punishment.  The brank included a bit that was forced into the mouth of the wayward woman who had cursed, practiced witchcraft, or nagged.

Chaucer and the U.S. Supreme Court: I know it when I hear it

George Carlin - 1978 - 7 Filthy Words

As one can guess, all references to Chaucer by the United States Supreme Court have concerned the issue of obscenity.

United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Super 8MM. Film, 413 US 123 (1973) - In this case, the Court considered the issue of whether a person could import obscene material for personal use.  The dissent makes reference to the ribald character of the Canterbury Tales.  The dissent explains that it is impossible to define "obscenity" because it is ever shifting and highly subjective.  For example, Chaucer was morally offensive to Victorian England, now it is required reading in US high schools... just don't let them read the "Miller's Tale."

FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 US 726 (1978) -  This is the landmark case addressing George Carlin's "7 Filthy Words" monologue that was aired in 1973. The dissent cites to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as an example of literature that could not be read, un-edited, on the radio under the current FCC rules concerning obscenity.

FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 129 S. Ct. 1800 (2009) - The case discusses the FCC fines for cussing on a live television broadcast.
"This case concerns utterances in two live broadcasts aired by Fox Television Stations, Inc., and its affiliates prior to the Commission's Golden Globes Order. The first occurred during the 2002 Billboard Music Awards, when the singer Cher exclaimed, "I've also had critics for the last 40 years saying that I was on my way out every year. Right. So f* * * `em." Brief for Petitioners 9. The second involved a segment of the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, during the presentation of an award by Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton, principals in a Fox television series called "The Simple Life." Ms. Hilton began their interchange by reminding Ms. Richie to "watch the bad language," but Ms. Richie proceeded to ask the audience, "Why do they even call it `The Simple Life?' Have you ever tried to get cow s* * * out of a Prada purse? It's not so f* * *ing simple." Id., at 9-10. Following each of these broadcasts, the Commission received numerous complaints from parents whose children were exposed to the language."
The Court goes on to explain that a case by case analysis is appropriate.  For example, what and when an expletive is said makes a difference.  Children would not be watching a live production of the Miller's Tale, and if they did, they would be cussing their parents for control of the remote control.  [Note: this my be an inaccurate interpretation of the opinion.]

Commercial Freedom Abounds in Svalbard

Longyearbyen Valley

Thanks to the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920, citizens of the US, along with all of the signatories, may enjoy free access to the Northern paradise of Svalbard.  Svalbard, home to the Northern most town in the world, was first discovered in the 11th century by the Norse.   The Medieval Icelandic book Landnamabok (The Book of Settlment) makes the first mention of "Cold Shores," Svalbard.  Curiously, the prologue to the Landnamabok begins with a reference to the De Temporum Ratione by Venerable Bede in which an island where the sun does not set in the summer is identified as Tili (Iceland). 

Landnamabok

Since the first discovery of Svalbard,  no one has wanted to claim the islands as their own.  The Spitsbergen Treaty gave full ownership of the island to Norway, but allowed any signatory of the treaty the right to become a resident and reap the commercial bounty of the archipelago.  Before moving there, you should become acquainted with Norwegian law which governs criminal, civil and commercial disputes. 

Although over 500 miles from the nearest city, Longyearbyen has modest accommodations for the arctic adventure tourist.  There is a nightclub, a cinema, and a variety of restaurants.  If you decide to explore the surrounding countryside, make sure that you are armed, it is the law.  Whenever leaving the settlement, you must carry a firearm.  Don't worry if you left your Browning at home, the local bakery rents guns. Why must you carry a weapon?  Polar bears.  You will need a gun to protect yourself from polar bears wandering the valley.  But, keep in mind that it is illegal to shoot a polar bear.  Happy Travels!

Consumer Protection, Medieval Style

Cuck Stool aka "Baker's Baptism"

Apparently, Medieval bakers were real scoundrels.  Numerous Medieval communities adopted strict ordinances regulating the size and quality of bread produced by the local baker.  If caught violating the ordinance, the baker could expect anything from a fine to a plunge into the river on a "cuck stool."

In England, The Coventry Leet Book sets pricing and quality regulations for retail baked goods. Overcharging or not using the "best quality flour" could results in a series of punishments.  The city ordinance imposed a fine of 13 shillings for the first offense.   After the third offense, the baker was sent to the pillory; a fourth offense and the baker was banished for 1 year.

In Germany, the punishment for a baker who overcharged was a "baker's baptism."  The baker would be strapped to a "cuck stool" and plunged into the river.  The number of "baptisms" depended on the amount overcharged.  

The Saxon Mirror Illuminated

I owe thanks to the German Medievalist (Dr. Ann McGlashan) who introduced me to a book on the history of Germanic Law, in particular the Heidelberg Illuminated Manuscript of the Sachsenspiegel.  Sachsenspiegel  means "the Saxon Mirror."  The Sachsenspiegel is an important and interesting text written around 1225 by Eike von Repgow.  Eike was tasked with compiling into a single German book the current Saxon common law, feudal law, and legal procedure.  Although the Sachsenspiegel was meant for private use, Eike inadvertently created statutory law for the Germanic region.  The text was copied and widely distributed as the authoritative compilation of the law of the king or emperor.

The Heidelberg Illumination of the Sachsenspiegel (c. 1330), marks an intriguing intersection between law and art.  As an aid to those how cannot read (or, perhaps, following the principal that a picture is worth a 1000 words) the "statutes" are illustrated.

The illustration below is for the lawyers and judges at the Edge.  The illumination depicts the Statute of Limitations.  A case is barred after the expiration of one year and a day from the ensuing event.  This illustration shows the judge dismissing the case without testimony from the defendant.  The plaintiff waited one year (LII) and six weeks (VI) to bring is claim to his brother's(?) estate.  As a result, the pregnant woman does not have to relinquish possession of the marital home to the heir of her deceased husband.

Comedy in a time of sorrow

When I was first introduced to the Decameron, my mother warned me that the stories are bawdy and inappropriate for a teenager to read.  Of course, I immediately reshelved the book and waited for another decade when I could handle "the truth."   Some zillion years later, The Spanish Medievalist and I are now teaching Boccaccio to teenagers.  The Medievalist tells the Freshman BICers the same thing.  "These stories involve adult situations, inappropriate for a young audience.  Read the few stories we have screened, but DO NOT read anything else in the book."  

Sex overshadows the story... the META-story.  And, I guess that is the point.  The interlocutors tell stories to each other to forget about the fact that friends and family have died from an unprecedented out-break of the Plague.  There was not only the sorrow of death, but a tremendous fear... no one knew why or how people were dying.  This is how Boccaccio begins the Decameron:

I say, then, that in the year 1348 after the Son of God's fruitful incarnation, into the distinguished city of Florence, that most beautiful of Italian cities, there entered a deadly pestilence. Whether one believes that it came through the influence of the heavenly bodies or that God, justly angered by our iniquities, sent it for our correction, in any case it had begun several years earlier in the east and killed an innumerable mass of people, spreading steadily from place to place and growing as it moved west.  No human wisdom or provision was of any help.

So, in light of this (and the suffering in Japan and Libya today), I ask you why do we seek out humor and comedy in times of great suffering?

Ravenna and Bone Transport

We visited the churches and mausoleums in Ravenna, including the burial place of Dante.  One colleague asked how bodies were transported from one city to another to be buried.  Another colleague who specializes in the history of anatomical illustrations and feminism explained that the bodies were boiled to remove skin and flesh and then the bones were transported.  The practice of bone-boiling was outlawed in the Renaissance.

Basilica di Sant'Appolinare in Classe

Interior of San Vitale, Ravenna

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna

San Vitale, Ravenna

St. Francis and St. Clair

Assisi is beautiful, but very hilly town.  My legs are beginning to protest.  The Upper Basilica of San Francesco his one of the most beautiful churches I have visited.  The interior walls are frescos painted by Giotto depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi.  A group of 60 high school kids entered the church.  The guard about had a stroke.  He kept announcing over the speaker system "SILENCIO."  He scolded the group leader and then scolded the students saying, "There is only one voice in this church; It is the voice of God."

Arno and Ponte Vecchio

Santa Croce

Florence

San Francesco at Assisi

Construction Contracts, Medieval Style

1340 Contract for reconstruction of
the Sansedoni Palace in Siena.

This Friday will be my first time to lecture on Romanesque and Gothic architecture after completing a degree in law.  Reviewing my lecture from a couple of years ago, I thought it would be interesting to research what a medieval construction contract looks like.  The oldest contract I have found concerns the a Gothic renovation of the Sansedoni Palace in Siena.  The contract is dated 1340.  The most intriguing aspect of the contract is that over half of the .5m x 1.2m document is an illustration of the proposed façade.  The text of the contract is not dissimilar from modern contracts.  The first paragraph identifies the parties and purpose of the contract.  The second paragraph describes what will be constructed.  The following paragraphs address the financial terms and period for construction.  The contract includes a description of the funds placed in escrow and is signed by the parties and third party sureties.  

Sansedoni Palace today.

For more information, see Toker, Franklin, "Gothic Architecture by Remote Control: An Illustrated Building Contract of 1340.  The Art Bulletin.  Vol. 67, No. 1 (March 1985).  pp 67-95.