MEDIEVAL STUDIES MAGAZINE FROM MEDIEVALISTS.NET

MedievalVolume 2 Number 16 May 16, 2016

Medieval and RomanArchaeological Mystery

The Mayor of London The Bishop Cat

4 27 38

The

Reports from the International Congress on Medieval Studies

Magazine

What Lies BeneathThe Medieval View

The Medieval Magazine May 16, 2016

Investigating a Medieval andRoman Archaeological Mystery

Daniele Cybulskie reports from theInternational Congress on MedievalStudies.

Erik Kwakkel on How and Whyto Be an Online Medievalist

What Lies Beneath: TheMedieval View

Peter Konieczny reports on the Kzoo2016paper by Scott Bruce on 'ImaginingSubterranean People and Places in theMiddle Ages'.

Susan Abernethy examines the post-lifeof a late-medieval Queen.

The Funeral of Anne of Brittany

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Examing the use of gravestones from aSpanish town.

THE MEDIEVAL MAGAZINE

Editor: Peter Konieczny Website: www.medievalists.net This digital magazine is published eachMonday. Cover Photo: Macrobius, a world mapdating from the 9th century. BritishLibrary Harl.MS 2772, fol. 70v.

4 7 9 11 15 18 21 24 27 33 38

Investigating a Medieval and Roman Archaeological Mystery 1,600-year-old treasures discover off coast of Israel History Meets Legend at Tintagel Castle Magic mountains and sea serpents: the secrets of early Arctic maps The real-life origins of the legendary Kraken How did medieval people dance? Following the Leader: Erik Kwakkel on How and Why to Be an Online Medievalist What Lies Beneath: The Medieval View The Mayor of London: The First, The Cursed, and the Worst Mayor in London’sHistory The Funeral of Anne of Brittany The Bishop Cat: A Fable from Marie de France

Table of Contents

Investigating aMedieval and

RomanArchaeological

Mystery

Beneath the soil in Nájera — a small town in northernSpain — sits an untouched Jewish Quarter left in ruinsafter the Jews were expelled in 1492. And, just a coupleof valleys west in the modern village of San Vicente,stands a church with walls containing Roman andmedieval gravestones.

Medieval News

By Rachel Esterline Perkins

These are two mysteries studied by CentralMichigan University assistant professor of artand design Scott de Brestian and his team. De Brestian is co-director of the NajerillaValley Research Project , an internationalmultidisciplinary endeavor investigating themedieval and Roman era mysteries of the city

of Nájera. The project, sponsored by CMU, isa collaboration between de Brestian andVictor Martinez of Arkansas State University.“We are trying to deconstruct the inner lifeof the city over time,” de Brestian said. “TheJewish Quarter, located along the NajerillaRiver, was one of the biggest and wealthiestJewish communities in Spain.”

San Vicente church - photo courtesy Central Michigan University

To create a digital, three-dimensional modelof the terrain and the cultural remains of theregion, de Brestian uses photogrammetry,drawings and historic maps — including amap from 1763 showing churches no longerin existence. Photogrammetry usesphotography in surveying and mapping tomeasure distances between objects. The Jewish Quarter has never been studiedand its size adds to the city's political andreligious significance, de Brestian said.Nájera is located on the Catholic pilgrimageroad to Santiago de Compostela and home ofthe Santa María la Real, an influentialmonastery founded by the kings of Navarrewhere it is believed that the Qur’an was firsttranslated into a western language. De Brestian describes the San Vicente churchbuilt with gravestones as a time capsuleinvolving various stages of the community’spast. For many years, the town’s residentsthought it was only a few hundred years old— a common sight in Spain. But, after it caughtfire, a mystery was uncovered beneath thecracked plaster.

Within the walls are about 100 gravestones,dating from the first to 13th centuries. Thenearest known Roman site is about eightmiles away, which was a great distance at thetime for moving large stone blocks acrossvalleys without modern equipment. De Brestian said it is common to find Romangravestones used in churches throughoutSpain because of their rectangularconstruction. But, the use of medievalgravestones is unusual. “Part of what we are trying to do is reconstructhistory,” he said. “We can look at how theywere reusing gravestones over time. The big,architectural blocks were used in the earlierphases. Then they used the rectangulargravestones. Later on, they used the medievalgravestones.” About 80 medieval gravestones were used tobuild a room in the church after its originalconstruction. De Brestian said they must havebeen desperate for building materialsbecause the medieval gravestones have around top and a long bottom, making themmore difficult to use in building.

This summer, de Brestian and his team willcontinue to create a picture of the regionacross a 1,500-year period in history usingmodern techniques includingphotogrammetry, reflectancetransformation imaging and possibly dronephotography. Reflectance transformationimaging enables the viewer to displayobjects under varying lighting conditions. “We’re introducing and expanding the

techniques into a medieval city where theyhaven’t been used before,” he said.ldren,Brittany went to her direct heirs.

Our thanks to Central MichiganUniversity for this article

The medievalgravestones have a

round top and a longbottom, making

them more difficultto use in building.

Photo courtesyCentral Michigan

1,600-year-oldtreasures

discover offcoast of Israel

A fortuitous discovery by two divers in theancient port of Caesarea in the CaesareaNational Park in Israel has led to the exposureof a large, spectacular and beautiful marinecargo of a merchant ship that sank 1,600years ago. As soon as they emerged from the waterdivers Ran Feinstein and Ofer Ra‘anan of Ra‘anana contacted the Israel AntiquitiesAuthority and reported the discovery andremoval of several ancient items from the

sea. A joint dive at the site together with IAAarchaeologists revealed that an extensiveportion of the seabed had been cleared ofsand and the remains of a ship were leftuncovered on the sea bottom: iron anchors,remains of wooden anchors and items thatwere used in the construction and running ofthe sailing vessel. An underwater salvagesurvey conducted in recent weeks with theassistance of many divers from the Israel

Antiquities Authority and volunteers usingadvanced equipment discovered numerousitems that were part of the ship’s cargo. Many of the artifacts are bronze and in anextraordinary state of preservation: a bronzelamp depicting the image of the sun god Sol,a figurine of the moon goddess Luna, a lampin the image of the head of an African slave,fragments of three life-size bronze caststatues, objects fashioned in the shape ofanimals such as a whale, a bronze faucet inthe form of a wild boar with a swan on itshead, etc. In addition, fragments of large jarswere found that were used for carryingdrinking water for the crew in the ship andfor transportation at sea. One of the biggestsurprises in particular was the discovery oftwo metallic lumps composed of thousandsof coins weighing about 20 kilograms whichwas in the form of the pottery vessel in whichthey were transported. This discovery comes a year after theexposure of a treasure of gold Fatimid coinsby divers and the Israel Antiquities Authority,which is currently on display for the publicin the “Time Travel” presentations in theCaesarea harbor. According to Jacob Sharvit, director of theMarine Archaeology Unit of the IsraelAntiquities Authority and Dror Planer, deputydirector of the unit, “These are extremelyexciting finds, which apart from theirextraordinary beauty, are of historicalsignificance. The location and distribution ofthe ancient finds on the seabed indicate thata large merchant ship was carrying a cargoof metal slated recycling, which apparentlyencountered a storm at the entrance to theharbor and drifted until it smashed into theseawall and the rocks”. A preliminary study of the iron anchorssuggests there was an attempt to stop thedrifting vessel before it reached shore bycasting anchors into the sea; however, thesebroke – evidence of the power of the waves

and the wind which the ship was caught upin”. Sharvit and Planer stress, “A marineassemblage such as this has not been foundin Israel in the past thirty years. Metal statuesare rare archaeological finds because theywere always melted down and recycled inantiquity. When we find bronze artifacts itusually occurs at sea. Because these statueswere wrecked together with the ship, theysank in the water and were thus ‘saved’ fromthe recycling process”. Sharvit and Planer added, “In the many marineexcavations that have been carried out inCaesarea only very small number of bronzestatues have been found, whereas in thecurrent cargo a wealth of spectacular statueswere found that were in the city and wereremoved from it by way of sea. The sandprotected the statues; consequently they arein an amazing state of preservation – asthough they were cast yesterday rather than1,600 years ago”. The coins that were discovered bear theimage of the emperor Constantine who ruledthe Western Roman Empire (312–324 CE) andwas later known as Constantine the Great,ruler of the Roman Empire (324–337 CE), andof Licinius, an emperor who ruled the easternpart of the Roman Empire and was a rival ofConstantine, until his downfall in a battle thatwas waged between the two rulers According Sharvit and Planer, "The range offinds recovered from the sea reflects the largevolume of trade and the status of Caesarea’sharbor during this time, which was known asperiod of economic and commercial stabilityin the wake of the stability of the RomanEmpire. The crew of the shipwreck lived in afascinating time in history that greatlyinfluenced humanity – the period whenChristianity was on its way to becoming theofficial religion of the Roman Empire."

The new visitor interpretation at TintagelCastle, which opened last month, exploresthe history of the Cornish castle and the rolelegends have played in shaping the sitevisitors see today. The new outdoor interpretation is designedto complement the castle's indoor exhibition,

which opened last summer, to explore therich history of Tintagel. Jeremy Ashbee, English Heritage's HeadCurator, said: “With our exhibition and withthis new interpretation, visitors to Tintagelcan now get a complete overview of its history- from the artefacts discovered there

History MeetsLegend at

Tintagel CastleA bronze sculpture inspired by the legend of King Arthurand Tintagel's royal past is the centrepiece of newinterpretation which explores the history of the Cornishcastle.

to the legends associated with it. “You cannot understand Tintagel's historywithout understanding how the legendsshaped it. Our new interpretation explainsthis and places these legends within thecontext of Tintagel's overall history andsignificance.” A series of panels around the 18 acre siteexplore 1,500 years of Tintagel's history -from royal stronghold, to thriving tradingport, to a castle of romantic legend. Tintagel is also a place which has inspiredstories and legends for centuries, and theproject has sought to represent this side ofthe castle's history too. A highlight of the newinterpretation is Gallos (meaning 'power' inCornish), an eight foot bronze sculptureinspired by the legend of King Arthur andTintagel's royal past, created by artist RubinEynon. Elsewhere, a stone compass points to placesconnected with the legend of King Arthur(popularised by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the12th-century). Engraved stepping stonesaround the island garden tell the tragic lovestory of Tristan and Iseult, a medieval tale setat Tintagel. On the beach, close to Merlin'sCave, a carved face represents Merlin, whohas been associated with the site since the12th century and immortalised by the poetry

of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Believed to have been the seat of earlyCornish kings, by the 5th century Tintagel wasan important royal stronghold of the kingdomof Dumnonia. Several thousand pieces ofMediterranean pottery have been found atTintagel, which suggests it was one of the mostimportant economic settlements in Britain,importing luxury goods from North Africa andthe Mediterranean. This settlement may have inspired the earlylegends about the site. It became known asthe location for the love story of Tristan andIseult, and for Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century description of the conception of KingArthur. These legends in turn led Richard, Earlof Cornwall to choose this location as the siteof his medieval castle in the 1230s. Much later,after a revival of interest in Arthurian storiesduring the Victorian period, writers, artistsand tourists were inspired to visit the dramaticruins.

Click here to visit theTintagel Castle

website

Photo courtesy English Heritage

This is not the case. That came much later, inthe 18th century, when myths and hearsayhad been overridden by the rigour ofscientific investigation. In fact, when theArctic first begins to be shown in detail onmaps in the 16th century, it’s teeming withlife and activity. Let’s start at the beginning. The earliestappearance of the Arctic in maps is as a frigidnorthern region in the climatic maps ofMacrobius from the fifth century.“Inhabitabilis” it is labelled, in common withits southern counterpart. Not only was theArctic unknown in the Middle Ages, it was feltby scholars to be unknowable.

In medieval world maps the extreme north,as with the south, became the area wherelegends could be placed. You might see on alate medieval mappamundi, for example, thegiants Gog and Magog from the AlexanderLegend at the northern area of modernSiberia. You might see deformed creatureswith big feet or faces in their chestspopulating the southern rim of the world. Youwould certainly see mythical islands andplaces that do not exist next to places that do. But to the people who made and looked atthese maps the places were real, whether theyexisted or not. This is the great power of maps,a power that has not diminished over

By Tom Harper

Magic mountainsand sea serpents:

the secrets ofearly Arctic maps

What comes to mind when you think of the Arctic? Ice,I imagine, polar bears, a barren cold landscape. Andmost would assume that these associations haveremained the same for a pretty long time, given thatit’s only relatively recently that the Arctic was explored.It is generally believed that the earliest maps reflectedthis ignorance, showing a vast blank expanse waitingto be filled with geographical content by explorers.

time. The island of Frisland, for example,appears like a second mini-Iceland, and evenoccasionally part of the southern tip ofGreenland. Frisland originated with theGreeks and had a mystical allure – a sort ofnorthern Eldorado. A similar allure comes tocharacterise that “mariner’s philosopher’sstone”, the Northwest Passage. As the geography of the north became betterdefined from the end of the 15th century,features quickly populated it on maps.

Reindeers, polar bears and other creatureslitter the Olaus Magnus map of Scandinavia. One of the most interesting Arctic featuresfirst appeared in Martin Behaim’s globe of1492. This is an extraordinary North Pole withfour rivers running symmetrically from thepole. This feature was repeated in variousmaps for decades after, including GerardMercator’s famous world map of 1569 and

Macrobius, a world map dating from the 9th century. British Library Harl.MS2772, fol. 70v.

atlas map of 1595. Another bizarre feature added to early mapswas the appearance of a vast magneticmountain at the top of the world – mythsoften hold a grain of truth! Early sailors foundthat their mariner’s compasses began toshow bizarre readings in northern climes andthis certainly may have had something to dowith this addition to the maps. The legendmore directly derived from a journal of anArctic voyage supposedly made by aDutchman named Jacobus Cnoyen, whowitnessed these and other peculiarities. Anysources, spurious or not, were treatedseriously by European states looking toexpand their gaze and their empires. For Britain in the 16th century, the promiseof a northern shortcut to the Pacific Oceanand the riches of China meant thatconsiderable thought and resource would be

poured into the Arctic, to explore geographiesreal or otherwise. Geographical featuresappeared and disappeared on maps,mountains rose and fell, channels and straits,based on seemingly unimpeachable sources,were cut through North America. The tale of the search for the NorthwestPassage is a compelling one – and one whichillustrates how tangible things can be whenthere is the will to believe them, and whenthey are shown on maps.

Carta Marina, drawn by Olaus Magnus in 1527-39

Tom Harper is Curator ofAntiquarian Mapping, British

Library

This aritcle was first publishedin The Conversation

Septentrionalium Terrarum Descriptio Gerard Mercator / Jodocus Hondius, 1595(1606)

Of course, to be worth its salt, a monster needsto have a taste for human flesh. Legends saythat the Kraken could devour a ship’s entirecrew at once. But despite its fearsomereputation, the monster could also bringbenefits: it swam accompanied by hugeschools of fish that cascaded down its backwhen it emerged from the water. Bravefishermen could thus risk going near thebeast to secure a bounteous catch. The history of the Kraken goes back to anaccount written in 1180 by King Sverre ofNorway. As with many legends, the Krakenstarted with something real, based onsightings of a real animal, the giant squid. Forthe ancient navigators, the sea wastreacherous and dangerous, hiding a hordeof monsters in its inconceivable depths. Anyencounter with an unknown animal could

gain a mythological edge from sailors' stories.After all, the tale grows in the telling. The strength of the myth became so strongthat the Kraken could still be found in Europe’sfirst modern scientific surveys of the naturalworld in the 18th century. Not even CarlLinnaeus – father of modern biologicalclassification – could avoid it and he includedthe Kraken among the cephalopod mollusksin the first edition of his groundbreakingSystema Naturae (1735). But when, in 1853, a giant cephalopod wasfound stranded on a Danish beach, Norwegiannaturalist Japetus Steenstrup recovered theanimal’s beak and used it to scientificallydescribe the giant squid,

The real-life originsof the legendary

Kraken

The Kraken is perhaps the largest monster everimagined by mankind. In Nordic folklore, it was said tohaunt the seas from Norway through Iceland and allthe way to Greenland. The Kraken had a knack forharassing ships and many pseudoscientific reports(including official naval ones) said it would attackvessels with its strong arms. If this strategy failed, thebeast would start swimming in circles around the ship,creating a fierce maelstrom to drag the vessel down.

By Rodrigo Brincalepe Salvador

Colossal Octopus drawing by malacologist Pierre Dénys de Montfort, 1801

Architeuthis dux. And so what had becomelegend officially entered the annals ofscience, returning our image of the Kraken tothe animal that originated the myths. After 150 years of research into the giantsquid that inhabits all the world’s oceans,there is still much debate as to whether theyrepresent a single species or as many as 20.The largest Architeuthis recorded reaches 18metres in length, including the very long pairof tentacles, but the vast majority ofspecimens are much smaller. The giantsquid’s eyes are the largest in the animalkingdom and are crucial in the dark depths itinhabits (up to 1,100 metres deep, perhapsreaching 2,000 metres). Like some other squid species, Architeuthis has pockets in its muscles containing anammonium solution that is less dense thansea water. This allows the animal to floatunderwater, meaning that it can keep itselfsteady without actively swimming. Thepresence of unpalatable ammonium in theirmuscles is also probably the reason why giantsquid have not yet been fished to nearextinction. Hunter or prey? For many years, scientists debated whetherthe giant squid was a swift and agile hunterlike the powerful predator of legends or anambush hunter. After decades of discussion,a welcome answer came in 2005 with theunprecedented film footage from Japaneseresearchers T. Kubodera and K. Mori . Theyfilmed a live Architeuthis in its natural habitat,900m deep in the North Pacific, showing thatit is in fact a fast and powerful swimmer, usingits tentacles to capture prey. Despite its size and speed, Architeuthis has apredator: the sperm whale. The battlesbetween these titans must be frequent, sinceit is common to find scars on whales’ skinsleft by the squids’ tentacles and arms, whichhave suckers lined with sharp chitinous

tooth-like structures. But Architeuthis doesn’thave the muscles in its tentacles to use themto constrict prey and it can never overcomea sperm whale in a “duel”. Its only option isto flee, covering its escape with the usualcephalopod ink cloud. Although we now know it is not just a legend,the giant squid remains perhaps the mostelusive large animal in the world, which hasgreatly contributed to its aura of mystery.Many people today are still surprised inlearning that it really exists. After all, evenafter so much scientific research, the Krakenis still alive in popular imagination thanks tofilms, books and computer games, even if itsometimes turns up in the wrong mythology,such as the 1981 (and 2010) ancient Greekepic Clash of the Titans. These representationshave come to define it in the public mind: abeast lurking in sunken ships waiting forreckless divers.

Rodrigo Brincalepe Salvador isa PhD student in Paleontology,

University of Tübingen

This article was first publishedin The Conversation

How didmedieval

peopledance?

When trying to understand the Middle Ages it is sometimesthe aspects of daily life that are most difficult to research.Few writers from the period left detailed descriptions of thegames they played or what they did to entertain themselves.For example, historians have known that medieval people enjoyed dancing, but theydid not know exactly how they danced. A recent book by Robert Mullally is answeringa part of this question, detailing one of the most popular dances of the Middle Ages. In his book, The Carole: A Study of a Medieval Dance, Mullally pieces together a widevariety of literary sources that mention the Carole, one of the main dances of WesternEurope in the 12th and 14th centuries. He reveals that it was a relatively simple dancedone by men and women together: to do the carole, a group of people, usually aneven number of both men and women, would form a circle, sometimes around anobject like a tree. They would each hold hands (sometimes they would hold eachother by their fingers) in this circle and move to the left (in a clockwise direction). Bymoving sideways to the left, the dancers would start their step with their left foot,and then join the right foot to the left. The sources often describe it as the right footstriking against the other. It was considered an elegant and graceful manoeuvre. Thevarious sources never mention any other kind of moves with the Carole. Mullallyadds, “the very simplicity of the dance explains why no written choreography ordance manual was required.” The music of the Carole would be sung by the dancers themselves. Usually it wouldbe one of the dancers, or a small group of them, who would begin the singing. After

Dancing in the 14th century - British Library MS Royal 20 A XVII

a few songs, they would give way to another dancer, who would then sing while thegroup continued their dance, and so on. Some sources talk about those dancing thecarole would be able to go on for hours (one imagines that some people would leaveor join the circle as the dance went on). There were many different songs that could be sung for the carole, but we only havea few examples of their lyrics. They include: 1) “You do not go the way I do, nor would you go that way.” (Vous n’a les mie tout ensi que je fais. Ne vous, ne vous n’i saries aler, Ne vous, ne vous n’i saries aler.) 2) “Love me, my sweet blonde, love me, and I shall not love anyone but you.” (Amezmoi, blondete amez / Et je n’amerai se vos non!) 3) “If I have great joy in my heart, do not ask whence it comes! Galyenne, my sweetsister, if I have joy in my heart, I do not want anyone at all to know about it! That Ilove with all my heart, you know full well. If I have joy in my heart, [do not ask whenceit comes!]

Se j’ai grant joie enz enz mon cuerNe demandez dont elle vient!Gallyennne, tres douce suer,Se j’ai grant joie ens enz mon cuer

Ne veul que nuls en sache fuer!Que j’iang du cuer vous saves bien.Se j’ai grant joie enz enz mon cuer[Ne demandez dont elle vient!]

While a few descriptions of a carole also involved an instrument accompanying themusic, such as a drum or horn, for the most part instrumental music would be usedwith other types of dances, such as the hove danse. For about three centuries the carole remained a popular dance with all segments ofsociety, from nobility to the peasants. Not everyone was happy with this dance,however, as a few religious moralists bitterly complained about it (their writings alsooffer some of the best descriptions of these dances). Jacques de Vitry, a Frenchtheologian from the 13th century, said that the dance “is a circle whose centre is theDevil, and in it all turn to the left, because all are heading towards everlasting death.When foot is pressed to foot or the hand of the woman is touched by the hand of aman, there the fire of the Devil is kindled.” Meanwhile, the author of the Mireour dumonde found that “all those men and women who carole sin in every member of theirbodies by turning elegantly and by moving and shaking their arms, by singing, andby speaking dishonourably.” The Carole: A Study of a Medieval Dance was published by Ashgate in 2011.

Following theLeader:

Erik Kwakkel onHow and Why to

Be an OnlineMedievalist

By Danièle Cybulskie

One of the best presentations I saw at the InternationalCongress on Medieval Studies this year was by Erik Kwakkelfrom Leiden University. Chances are, you may already haveencountered Kwakkel’s work on medieval manuscripts viahis popular blog, his interviews in the media, his academicscholarship, or his lessons at the Khan Academy. He was atthe ICMS this year to speak on the topic of how to bringmedieval digital manuscripts to the people, how to keepthem interested, and (most importantly) why it’s vital to do so.

Kzoo2016

Erik Kwakkel speaking at the International Congress on Medieval Studies

Kwakkel started his work as an onlinemedievalist as an experiment on that verytheme: how do we take scholarly researchand make it accessible and interesting forpeople outside of academia? With a grant,some graduate students, and an open mind,Kwakkel started a multi-year project to sharefascinating bits of information aboutmedieval manuscripts across manyplatforms, including a blog, Twitter, andTumblr. Not every post was an instantsuccess, not every idea worked out, but inthat space of experimentation, Kwakkel’sknowledge grew, as did his following. The focus of his talk, though, was not on hispersonal or collective successes. Instead,Kwakkel was there to encourage and helpother academics to make the same leap. Hispersonal mission is to show the world howsmart, how pretty, and how modern medievalmanuscripts are because that’s where hispassion lies. Any academic, he insists, can dothe same with their own field of interest. All

that being a public medievalist really requiresis the courage to get started. To draw a wide and consistent audience toyour online scholarship, according toKwakkel, requires many of the same thingswhich (I would argue) make any website, oreven classroom presentation, attractive: lotsof visuals, solid scholarship, and your ownpersonal voice. (For Kwakkel, this means asense of humour.) It also requires a bit ofplanning as to who your target audienceshould be, and how much time you want todevote to your online work. This shouldn’t bedaunting, though, because it should be anatural extension of your own personality –being yourself is a critical component of beingsuccessful online. As Kwakkel says, beingyourself means people who like the samethings will be attracted to your onlinepresence, while people who don’t, won’t. Italso means that it’s easier to create consistentcontent, especially across multipleplatforms.

There were a couple of points which Kwakkelmade that were more specific to theacademic crowd, especially graduatestudents just starting out: don’t engage thetrolls, and don’t post your work online beforeyou publish it. Following these two rules willkeep academics from tarnishing theirprofessional reputations in heatedexchanges, and will protect theirunpublished work from being hijacked byunethical scholars. These two small caveatsleave a wide open field for engaging fruitfullyand positively with an interested public,though (as well as online colleagues fromacross the world), and for sharing peripheralresearch that is really interesting, but notenough to build an article or book around. All this is important, solid information whichwill lead to online success, but the mostbrilliant part of Kwakkel’s talk (and his work)comes down to his personal philosophyaround scholarship and the public. ForKwakkel, the scholar has a duty to bring his/her work to the people, to give theminformation that they can learn, use, andspread widely for everyone’s benefit. Nomore hiding in libraries: scholars need to hitthe Internet to share the information theylove with the people who are clamouring forit because knowledge is fundamentallymeant to be shared. Kwakkel doesn’t justpreach this; he lives it. And he believesanyone else can – and should – do the same.For those who don’t know where to start, he’smore than happy to show the way.As you might imagine, Erik Kwakkel and I are

in complete agreement when it comes tobringing medieval scholarship to a widerpublic. It’s important, it’s easy (with somepractice and an open mind), and everyoneshould give it a try in the way that suits thembest. To see, learn from, and be inspired byKwakkel’s example, check out his blog, orfollow him on Twitter or Tumblr.

Danièle Cybulskie is a weeklycolumnist for Medievalists.net.You can follow her on Twitter

@5minmedievalist

What LiesBeneath

The Medieval View

One of the most interesting papers I heard at last week’sInternational Congress on Medieval Studies was given byScott Bruce from the University of Colorado, Boulder. In‘Imagining Subterranean People and Places in the MiddleAges’ he examines some fascinating stories of whatmedieval people thought might exist beneath the Earth.

Most readers will know of Jules Verne’s 1864novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, wherethe main characters descend through avolcano and find themselves enteringunderground civilizations. But the idea thatthe earth might be hollow and habitableexisted at least two centuries earlier, and asBruce points, even in the Middle Ages therewas some speculation over this notion. The most important way medieval peopleviewed the underground was that it was thehome of the dead - in particular hell. AncientGreek writers often placed the land of Hadesas being somewhere underground, which

could be entered through by caves. The OldTestament noted Jewish beliefs of Sheol, thepermanent place of the dead, which was saidto exist underground. These ideas continuedon in Christianity, with scholars such asAugustine believing that hell was under theground. Moreover, the Gospel of Nicodemus, the most widely read apocryphal text of theMiddle Ages, includes a section where JesusChrist descends into hell. Meanwhile, medieval sources also suggestthat some people believed that livingindividuals also could dwell under the earth,and provided two examples from the 12th

By Peter Konieczny

Kzoo2016

century. One is the story of the GreenChildren of Woolpit, reported on by twoEnglish chroniclers. In their accounts, twochildren were found in the forest outside ofthe village of Woolpit in Suffolk - they werea brother and a sister who were in green in

colour and could not speak the local language.While the boy died soon after, the girl livedon and even married. According to William ofNewburgh, this is how they described wherethey had come from:

15th century depiction of a hellmouth coming from out of the grround. Imagefrom MS WLB Stuttgart, Cod. brev. 12, fol. 70v

after they had acquired our language, on beingasked who and whence they were, they are saidto have replied, ‘We are inhabitants of the landof St Martin, who is regarded with peculiarveneration in the country which gave us birth.’ Being further asked where that land was, andhow they came thence hither, they answered,‘We are ignorant of both those circumstances;we only remember this, that on a certain day,when we were feeding our father’s flocks inthe fields, we heard a great sound, such as weare now accustomed to hear at St Edmund’s,when the bells are chiming; and whilstlistening to the sound in admiration, webecame on a sudden, as it were, entranced, andfound ourselves among you in the fields whereyou were reaping.’ Being questioned whetherin that land they believed in Christ, or whetherthe sun arose, they replied that the countrywas Christian, and possessed churches; butsaid they, ‘ The sun does not rise upon ourcountrymen; our land is little cheered by itsbeams; we are contented with that twilight,which, among you, precedes the sun-rise, orfollows the sun-set. Moreover, a certainluminous country is seen, not far distant fromours, and divided from it by a very considerableriver.’ These, and many other matters, toonumerous to particularize, they are said tohave recounted to curious inquirers. While this story has been much discussed

among scholars, Bruce notes that it shows thatpeople of this time could conceive of anunderground civilization which waspopulated by Christians. Bruce also found a reference to peopledwelling underground in the Life of Bernardof Thiron, an 11th/12th century hermit whofounded Tiron Abbey and the TironensianOrder. One of the anecdotes in his Vitaexplains that he and his monks were soshabby in appearance that when localvillagers saw them they believed these wereSaracens that had come up through caves tospy on them. This idea might have originatedin the stories related to the kidnapping ofSaint Majolus of Cluny in the 10th century.He was captured by Muslim raiders in themountainous regions of southern France, andaccounts of this episode often feature theMuslims making use of a network of caves astheir bases for attacking Christians. Bruce believes there are probably morestories from medieval writers in which peopleor other creatures dwelled under the Earth.You can read more of his works on hisAcademia.edu page.

Scott Bruce speaking at the International Congress on Medieval Studies

The Mayor ofLondon: The First,The Cursed, and

the Worst Mayor inLondon’s History

London is an old city, with over 2,000 years of history underits belt. When did London have its first mayor? Who weresome of Londons best loved, most reviled, and scandalousmayors from days gone by? The role of mayor has a longand rich history going back over 800 years to the reign ofRichard the Lionheart (1157-1199). We’re hoping back in timeto take a look at three of London’s more memorable mayors.

By Sandra Alvarez

A Little Background… This month, Londoners went to the polls andvoted to elect their next mayor. On Friday,May 6th, Labour incumbent, Sadiq Khan, wonthat coveted title. One week later, we’retaking a look at the history behind the Mayorsof London. First off, it’s important to know that theposition Sadiq Khan won last Friday wasn’t“Lord Mayor of London”, he won Mayor ofLondon. Sound a bit strange? It can be a bitconfusing, but it’s an important distinction.London technically has two mayors:

1.) The Mayor of London: a publicly electedofficial with a political affiliation, whooversees the day-today working of theGreater London Area., i.e., Mr. Khan. 2.) The Lord Mayor of London: apolitical,appointed at Common Hall on Michaelmas(September 29th), beginning the job on theFriday before the second Saturday inNovember. It is now considered a mainlyceremonial post that consists of meeting withdignitaries and promoting the city tostimulate business. The Lord Mayor also hostsfun historic events like the annual LordMayor’s Show held in early November thatdisplays the pageantry, pomp and history of

of the role. The current Lord Mayor of Londonis Jeffrey Richard de Corban Evans, 4th BaronMountevans.The role of the Mayor of London, as a freely

elected official, didn’t actually exist until areferendum was held by the Greater London

Statue of Henry Fitz-Aillwin de Londonestone, first mayor of London. TheHolborn Viaduct. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Authority in 1998. In 2000, London finallyhad its first officially elected Mayor. So whatcame before that? The Lord Mayor of Londondid, and to make it more confusing, before1300, they were just styled as mayors. Thenin the fourteenth century, the title revertedto Lord Mayor once again. Many of these mencame from mercantile families, and hadformer positions as Drapers, Goldsmiths,Fishmongers, Grocers, and Mercers(merchants who dealt in the trade ofluxurious goods like silk, velvet andexpensive wool). During the Middle Ages, theLord Mayor wasn’t just a ceremonial role; itwas once the most coveted job in the city. The Good: The First Mayor of London So who was the first mayor of London?London’s first mayor was Henry Fitz-Ailwinde Londonestone (1135-1212). The positionwas created in1189 by King Richard theLionheart (1157-1199), in exchange for vastsums of money to fund his wars. Fitz-Ailwinde Londonestone served an impressivetwenty-four terms as mayor until his deathin 1212. Sadly, in spite of his long tenure,relatively little is known about him. What wedo know is that he married, had four sons,and was an alderman prior to becomingmayor. He is best remembered for settlingboundary disputes between neighbours, andensuring Londoners used materials in theconstruction of buildings that were made ofstone in order to prevent death and damagefrom fire. On neighbours: In the year of Our Lord 1189, in the first year,namely, of the reign of the illustrious KingRichard, Henry Fitz-Aylewin (who was the firstMayor of London) being then Mayor, it wasby the discreet men of the City [thus]provided and ordained, for the allaying of thecontentions that at times arise betweenneighbours in the City touching boundariesmade, or to be made, between their lands,and other things; to the end that, according

to the provisions then made and ordained,such contentions might be allayed. And thesaid Provision and Ordinance was called an“Assize.” On building in stone: It should be remembered, that in ancient timesthe greater part of the City was built of wood,and the houses were covered with straw andstubble, and the like. Hence it happened, thatwhen a single house had caught fire, the greaterpart of the City was destroyed through suchconflagration; a thing that took place in thefirst year of the reign of King Stephen, (as (fn.10) set forth in the Chronicles before-writtenin this Book,) when, by reason of a fire thatbroke out at London Bridge, the Church of SaintPaul was burnt; from which spot theconflagration extended, destroying housesand buildings, as far as the Church of SaintClement Danes. After this, many of the citizens,to the best of their ability to avoid such a peril,built stone houses upon their foundations,covered with thick tiles, and [so] protectedagainst the fury of the flames; whence it hasoften been the case that, when a fire has brokenout in the City, and has destroyed manybuildings, upon reaching such houses, it hasbeen unable to do further mischief, and hasbeen there extinguished; so that, through sucha house as this, many houses of the neighbourshave been saved from being burnt. Hence it is,that in the aforesaid Ordinance, called the“Assize,” it was provided and ordained, in orderthat the citizens might be encouraged to buildwith stone, that every one who should have astone-wall upon his own land sixteen feet inheight… ~Chronicles of the Mayors andSheriffs of London 1188-1274, Additions tothe Chronicles: Assize of buildings (Richard I). While not exactly salacious, or exciting, Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone certainly had a long,illustrious, and a solid career as London’s firstmayor.Today, you can find his stoney visagegracing the Holborn Viaduct near FarringdonStreet.

The Bad: Cursed by Connection Sometimes, cronyism won’t always save you,and connections can be a curse. You can stackthe decks, and make friends in high places,but Lady Fortune has a way of surprising eventhe most self-assured figures, like one SirNicholas Brembre (d.1388). Clearly noteveryone who became Mayor of Londonenshrined the principles of decency andethical behaviour. One of these less-than-upstanding mayors was Nicholas Brembre.We don’t know much about his early life, butwe do know that during his time as mayor, he

was embroiled customs corruption andaccused of fixing elections to place his friendsin lucrative positions. He was the Sheriff ofLondon, and then in 1376, became anAlderman. Interestingly enough, Brembrehired none other than Geoffrey Chaucer(1343-1400) to be his comptroller while heran customs. Brembre seemed to have runLondon like medieval Tony Soprano, and inthe end, made more enemies than friends,ultimately leading to his demise.

Richard II meeting with the rebels of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Jean Froissart,Chroniques

Brembre lived during a tumultuous time inLondon. He was involved in the ill-fatedPeasant’s Revolt, helping his friend anddefender, Richard II (1367-1400) quell therebellion. For his assistance, he wasrewarded with a knighthood by the king.Unfortunately, his close ties with the Richardwould be his undoing. He made enemies ofthe Lords Appellant, a group of nobles whobrought down Richard’s court favourites,Brembre being one of them. Brembre wasseized and accused of treason. He wassentenced to death by hanging on February20, 1388. Brembre, a knight, asked for Trialby Combat, which was his right, but he wasso detested by Richard’s opponents that hisrequest for an honourable end was deniedand he was promptly sent to the gallows.Richard tried, but even he couldn’t saveBrembre. Richard had him exoneratedposthumously when he exacted his revengeon the Appellants in 1397. The following is an excerpt from the Calendarof the Close Rolls Preserved in the PublicRecord Office : Richard II, 1385-1389,detailing Brembre’s arrest and the charge oftreason brought against him. Febrary 15. To the constable of the Tower ofLondon and to his lieutenant. Westminster.Order by advice of the council to causeNicholas Brembre knight, who by virtue of theking’s writ was delivered in the king’s name tothe constable’s custody it is said, to comebefore the king and council at Westminster inthis parliament on Monday next ; as order waslately made by the king and council that thesaid Nicholas, who is appealed by Thomasduke of Gloucestre, Henry earl of Derby,Richard earl of Arundell, Thomas earl ofWarrewyk and Thomas earl of Notynghambefore the king and the great council oftreasons affecting the king and the estate ofthe realm, should for a time be kept in custodyin the Tower, and the king commanded theconstable and lieutenant to receive and sokeep him until further order of the king andcouncil, as they would answer for his body. By

K. and C. To the constable of the Tower of London andhis lieutenant. Order to receive NicholasBrembre knight and, as they will answer for hisbody, to keep him in safe cu.stody in the Toweruntil further order of the king and council ; asThomas duke of Gloucester etc. {as above) haveappealed him before the king and the greatcouncil etc., wherefore order is made by theking and council that he be kept for a time incustody in the Tower. By K. and C. The Worst: Fire! Fire! Wait no…Let’sJust Pee on it and Go Back to Bed… While Nicholas Brembre was corrupt, and aroyal crony, there have been worse mayorsin London. Jumping forward a little to theEarly Modern period, we have Sir ThomasBloodworth (1620-1682). Like many mayorsbefore him, he also had a merchantupbringing; his family belonged to theLondon Company of Vintners. Prior tobecoming Mayor of London, he had a strongcareer in the city. Bloodworth was aprominent timber merchant, a member of thefamous East India company, an MP forSouthwark, a Sheriff, and an Alderman! Quitethe career before taking the helm as London’smayor in 1665. Bloodworth seemed poisedto retire from a solid political career exceptfor one poor decision, on one fateful, nightthat wiped away all his previous efforts andachievements. In the middle of the night, on September 2,1666, a fire broke out in the home of baker,Thomas Farriner. As the fire began ravagingthe city, efforts were made to stop it bydestroying buildings in the path of the flamesto create pockets that would deprive the fireof further fuel. Since buildings were to belevelled, Bloodworth, as mayor, was asked togive his permission to destroy them.Bloodworth said no. He didn’t deem the firea great enough threat and was moreconcerned about the amount he would haveto pay to the building owners than about

stopping the fire in its tracks. That “no” costBloodworth dearly. London diarist, SamuelPepys (1633-1703) famously jotted downBloodworth’s failure to act and save the city.Pepys himself went to see King Charles II(1630-1685) and only after the kingcommanded Bloodworth to destroy thebuildings, did he make his move. Alas, it wastoo late, the flames decimated 75% of thecity. Pepys captured his ineptness for all timein the following passages of his diary: September 2, 1666 At last met my Lord Mayor in Canningstreet,like a man spent, with a handkercher abouthis neck. To the King’s message he cried, likea fainting woman, “Lord! what can I do? I amspent: people will not obey me. I have beenpulling down houses; but the fire overtakes usfaster than we can do it…They seemed muchtroubled, and the King commanded me to goto my Lord Mayor from him, and command himto spare no houses, but to pull down beforethe fire every way. Friday September 7, 1666 People do all the world over cry out of thesimplicity of my Lord Mayor in generall; andmore particularly in this business of the fire,laying it all upon’ him. Bloodworth was blamed for allowing the fireto get out of control due to his refusal to actwhen he had the chance. He tried to put itbehind him and continued on in politics butwas never able to live the stigma down. WhenParliament met after the fire, Bloodworth wasa laughing stock, and was named to thecommittee, “…’for providing utensils for thespeedy quenching of fire’, no doubt ribaldreferences to the lord mayor’s chamber-pot,and to recommend tax abatements for thestricken metropolis. His own house and stockin Gracechurch Street had been destroyed,but he was able to build himself a splendidreplacement in Maiden Lane.” He is nowforever remembered as the infamous mayor

who let London burn on the night of the GreatFire in 1666. Hopefully, London’s newly minted mayor willread this and opt for a more Fitz-Ailwin deLondonestone mayoralty, and less of aBrembre and Bloodworth approach to citymanagement. London remains ever watchful,ever hopeful, and always judgemental! Goodluck Mr. Khan, your city awaits!

The Funeral ofAnne of Brittany

Anne died on Monday, January 9, 1514 in theCastle of Blois. Her body lay in her room untilFriday. Surgeons and apothecariesembalmed the body. She had asked that herheart be extracted which they did, enclosingit in a golden box. Because she was ananointed queen, her body would be buriedin the royal mausoleum at Saint Denis. But itwas her wish that her heart be buried inNantes in the tomb of her parents and in thecountry of the Breton people. King Louis XII was grief stricken at her death.It was recorded that he wept for eight daysand requested that the tomb in Saint Denisbe made large enough for two. For five daysafter her death, mendicant friars encircledthe body and intoned the office of the dead.On that Friday night, the body was taken tothe State room in the newly built area of thecastle. The room was hung with silk tapestry

depicting the destruction of Jerusalem. Thelower parts of the walls were hung with blackvelvet decorated with Anne’s escutcheon andher device of a golden girdle. The Queensbody had been dressed in royal garments andplaced on a State bed covered in cloth of goldbordered with ermine. On her head was hercrown and her scepter and wand of justicewere placed on cushions of cloth of gold byher side. The Queen lay in the State room with her faceuncovered from Saturday until Mondayevening. She was surrounded by monks whoceaselessly said Masses and prayers for thedead. Many visitors came to pay their respectsdressed in mourning including princes andprincesses of her family, her ladies and maidsof honor and all the officials

Anne, Duchess of Brittany had been crowned twice as theQueen of France. She married King Charles VIII and whenhe died, she married King Louis XII. She suffered through along and complicated pregnancy history with only twodaughters surviving. One of her daughters, Claude, wouldalso be Queen of France. When Anne was thirty-six, shebegan to suffer from kidney disease. In the last days of 1513,she was extremely ill and in pain for about ten days beforeshe died. Many said the doctors who took care of her wereignorant and incompetent.

By Susan Abernethy

Funeral of Anne, Queen of France from an illuminated manuscript in theBiblioteca Marciana, Venice, Italy

and members of her household. There wasmuch crying, sobbing and piteouslamentation. On Monday evening, a veil waslaid over her face and her body was placedin a wooden coffin lined with lead. The coffinwas then covered in copper and a longepitaph was engraved on it. The funeral ceremonies would last for fifteendays. Each day, four high Masses wereperformed by the prelates and choir of theroyal chapel in addition to those said by themonks. The King took part in all theceremonies. On Friday, February 3, at twoo’clock in the afternoon, the Queen’s bodywas borne by officers of her household fromthe State room of the castle to the Church ofSt. Sauveur, just outside the Castle. The coffinwas preceded and followed by a largeprocession of clergy, monks, the poor of thetown, members of her household, officials ofthe Duchy of Brittany and the Grand Masterof King Louis’ household. The royal princesand princesses also followed includingFrançois d’Angoulême, the heir to the throne(the future King François I). François wasdressed in a long mourning garment with atrain more than three yards long. After Mass the following morning, theQueen’s confessor Guillaume de Parvi spokethe first part of the funeral oration. Theoration would consist of commending theQueen’s thirty-six virtues, one for each yearof her life. Around two o’clock in theafternoon, the coffin was laid on a four-wheeled carriage, and then covered with ablack velvet pall which was crossed withwhite stain that hung down to the ground.The carriage was drawn by six fine-lookinghorses which were dressed in black velvetand white satin decorative coverings andonly their eyes could be seen. Two knights on horseback rode at the frontof the bier with six of the King’s archers oneither side to keep the crowd fromapproaching too near. The Swiss guards linedthe way. The cortège stopped and services

were held at all the important towns alongthe route. Crowds of people knelt on the roadand prayed as she passed while her almonersdistributed money to the poor of the townsand villages. On Monday, February 13, thebody rested at the abbey of Nôtre-Dame-des-Champs just outside the gates of Paris. OnTuesday, the procession started againheading towards the Cathedral of NôtreDame. The streets of Paris were hung with black, tanor blue and the inhabitants set lighted torchesbefore their homes. Each square and streeton the route leading to Saint Denis wasguarded to prevent overcrowding. Theprovost’s archers, town criers, watchmen,monks and clergy joined the procession. Theroyal relatives came from Blois mounted onlittle black mules decorated with velvet whilethe Queen’s ladies and maids of honor rodeon horses led two by two by a groom on foot.The coffin was borne into the cathedral byofficers of her household with the fourcorners of the pall carried by the fourpresidents of Parliament. The porch and the interior of the cathedralwere hung with black cloth embroidered withthe arms of the Queen. All the altars weredraped in black velvet and white silk. Therewere three thousand eight hundred candlesburning on these various altars. Inside thechoir, a small chapel had been erected and litby twelve hundred candles and this is wherethe body was placed. On Wednesday, February 15, a solemn Masswas said by the Cardinal of Mans and then thenext part of the funeral oration was given.Afterwards, there was a dinner. In theafternoon, twenty-four criers made their waythrough the town saying: Honorable and devout persons, pray for thesoul of the most noble, most powerful, veryexcellent, generous, and benevolent PrincessAnne, in her lifetime by the Grace of God, Queenof France, Duchess of Brittany who

died at the Castle of Blois on the 9th day ofJanuary, and now lies in the church of NôtreDame. Say your paternosters that God mayhave mercy on her soul.

The procession began again making its wayto Saint Denis. The princes and princesseswalked on foot as far as the church of St.Lazare outside the city walls where theymounted their mules. At the royal abbey, the

Cardiotaph of Anne of Brittany exposed in the Musée de Bretagne, Rennes. Photoby Pymouss / Wikimedia Commons

body was placed on a catafalque in the choirof the church. On the next day, a solemn Masswas performed and Guillaume de Parvi spokethe rest of the funeral oration. Afterwards,the Cardinal de Mans gave the benediction.He wore on his shoulders a magnificentjeweled cope which had been embroideredby Anne and her ladies and given to thechurch of Saint Denis. After the absolution,the coffin was lowered into a vault before thehigh altar. The vault measured eight feet byeight feet and in a niche at one end was astatue of the Virgin Mary with the arms ofFrance on one side and the arms of Brittanyon the other. The coffin was laid on iron barstwo feet above the ground. The Cardinal threw in a small amount of earthand then the Champagne King-at-Arms cameforward, calling three times for silence andasking the Bretagne King-at-Arms to do hisduty. The Breton then called out: “The mostChristian Queen-Duchess our SovereignLady and Mistress is dead. The Queen is dead.The Queen is dead”. The King-at-Arms thensummoned the Gentleman Usher whoapproached bearing the rod of justice, theGrand Master of Brittany brought the scepterand the Master of Horse brought the crown.After they each kissed the insignia, they gavethem to the Bretagne King-at-Arms who alsokissed them and then placed them on the

coffin. The people were allowed to come forwardand kneel and say a short prayer. For the wholenext whole day, crowds made their way downthe road from Paris to Saint Denis to visit theroyal tomb. On Saturday, the 18th of February,the funeral feast began. Many notablesattended including the President ofParliament and all the officials of the Queen’shousehold. Anne’s natural brother, Jean deBretagne Baron d’Avaugour presided over thebanquet in his capacity as Grand Master ofBrittany. He addressed those present, tellingthe household they had served Anne loyallyand she loved them for it. He told them theycould work for the King or his daughters now.He said Anne’s household no longer existedand he then broke the household staff. King Louis ordered Pierre Choque, theBrittany King-at-Arms and devoted servant ofQueen Anne, to write a detailed account ofthe obsequies. He authorized Choque to haveseveral copies made of his description. Eachcopy contained eleven miniatures of theprincipal scenes from the funeral painted byJean de Paris. The numerous ceremonies ofthis funeral would serve as a guide for thecourt on other similar occasions.

Susan Abernethy is the writer of The Freelance HistoryWriter. Follow Susan on Facebook at The FreelanceHistory Writer, and at Medieval History Lovers, and onTwitter: @SusanAbernethy2

Further reading A Twice Crowned Queen: Anne of Brittany, by Constance Mary Elizabeth(London, 1906) Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France, by Kathleen Wellman (Yale,2013)

The Bishop Cat

A Fable from Marie de France

Marie de France lived around the 12th and early 13thcenturies, but we actually know very little about her life. Shemay have been born in France, and lived in England, andwas perhaps connected to the court of the English kingHenry II. But we do know that she was a great poet, writingin Anglo-Norman French, and has left us several works. Thisincludes her Fables, which offers over a hundred shortstories written in verse. Here is one of our favourtes: TheBishop Cat

There sat a cat upon a stove,waiting and spying from above.He saw a vole and mouse; to eachhe spoke in fair and honeyed speech.He was their bishop, so he said:through bad advice they’ve been misled,no confirmation had they had!But the mouse made reply; he said:“I’d rather die! It would be worseto be beneath those claws of yours!”Mouse and vole fled, the cat, intent,came chasing after on the hunt.The rodents reached the wall: insidethey thought it preferable to hidecrouched in the wall, move not at all,than heed the bishop and his call- his confirmation, terrible! -

Cat and mouse depcited in British Library MS Harley 928 f. 44v

they knew that cat was criminal! So here we can a moral fit:To someone’s power one can’t submitif their intent’s an evil one;shun them, and then no harm is done!

You can read this and more in the new bookMarie de France Poetry, New Translations,Backgrounds and Contexts Criticism, byDorothy Gilbert. This Norton Critical Editionwas published in 2015 - learn more at http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?i­d=4294985395

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