Search Results for: lent

Lenten fish

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Ruth

I’ll do another entry on Lent and fasting. It’s worth just talking about fish. Some fish came from ponds and were probably fresh. Monasteries knew in advance that they’d be fasting for every possible fast day year round, so they … Continue reading →

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Lent begins

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Ruth

The fast season of Lent was not nearly as unique in the medieval year as it is in the modern. Fast days punctuated the year, and the entire four weeks before Christmas was also a fast. Lent was merely the … Continue reading →

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The beginning of Lent

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Ruth

Shrove Tuesday, ca. 1200 meant three things: food, cockfighting, and mummers. Food, obviously. A forty-day fast was about to begin. Chiefly, they would eat no animal products, so any and all animal products, especially meat, had to be eaten. The … Continue reading →

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Medieval Bears

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Ruth

The Eurasian brown bear, Ursus arctos, ranged over every part of Europe in the early Middle Ages. Its diet was mainly mean, since small animals were also plentiful. Two different bear populations met in Europe, one coming from the Pyrenees … Continue reading →

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North Africa in the 14th Century

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Ruth

North Africa’s Muslim story in the 14th century mostly stars a Moroccan dynasty we call the Marinids, after their founder whose first name was Marin. They were Berbers of the Zenata tribe, locked in long rivalry and conflict with other … Continue reading →

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Mamluk Game of Thrones, 1290-1330

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Ruth

The Mamluks governed based on competence, in a time when governance was always based on inheritance. They didn’t come up with a framework for peaceful transfers of power or group selection of the leader. Instead, they functioned like a monarchy … Continue reading →

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At the Close of the 13th Century

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Ruth

Before going on to the momentous events of the 14th Century, let’s look at what Europe and Asia were like in the late 13th. Life was soon to change. Climate: First, and at the largest scale, a climatic maximum—-a warm … Continue reading →

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Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty, 1271-92

Posted on August 29, 2023 by Ruth

“In Xandu did Cublai Can build a stately Pallace, encompassing sixteen miles of plaine ground with a wall, wherein are fertile Meddowes, pleasant Springs, delightfull streames, and all sorts of beasts of chase and game, and in the middest thereof … Continue reading →

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The Saint and the Seventh Crusade, 1248-54

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Ruth

Of course, the Pope called a new crusade. But Europe was in bad shape for a Crusade. In the Sixth Crusade, the King of Hungary had led, but now Hungary was in ruins. Europe’s bad boy Frederick II was not … Continue reading →

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The Mongols Invade Eastern Muslim Lands, 1218-21

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Ruth

By 1218, the Mongol hordes were ruling the Kara Khitan, the last province that was culturally part of northern China’s long reach. This placed them on the border of the easternmost outpost of the Muslim empire. This eastern territory by … Continue reading →

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