Discoveries from medieval Central Europe

There have been several recent online reports of significant archaeological finds from sites in central Europe.

The first is from the Slovakian city of Zvolen, which lies in the central part of the country. Wikipedia has an account of the city at Zvolen

The discovery of note there is a handsome episcopal ring which has been dated to circa 1300. At that time, and until 1918, it was part of Hungary. The ring was found at the site of the castle of Pustý hrad, for which Wikipedia has an illustrated account at Pustý hrad

The ring is described by LiveScience at Medieval gold ring found in castle in Slovakia has rare purple sapphire imported from Sri Lanka

allthatsinteresting.com also reports on the discovery at 700-Year-Old Gold Ring Discovered In The Ruins Of A Slovakian Castle Found To Feature A Sapphire From Sri Lanka

To the north in Silesia an amethyst in a gold setting was found in an excavation at the site of a castle. This was slightly later in date but equally  striking. 

LiveScience reports on the find.and includes a useful and detailed link to a history of the castle. This can all be found at 600-year-old amethyst 'worthy of a duke' found in medieval castle moat in Poland

There is another, similar article about the brooch, but with a set of detailed drawings, on the Greek Reporter website at Amethyst of Incalculable Worth Discovered in a Castle in Poland

Further north in Gdansk/Danzig archaeologists have uncovered the carved tomb cover and grave of a knight from the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth century. The city passed from the control of the Dukes of Pomerania to that of the Teutonic Knights in 1308, so the clearly important occupant of the grave could have been associated with either.

Medievalists.net has an account of the discovery at Medieval Knight’s Grave Discovered in Poland

The discovery has received considerable publicity. There are other accounts online from Men’s Journal, with more pictures, at Archaeologists Discover Rare Skeleton of Medieval Knight Under Old Ice Cream Parlor and from archaeologymag com which has even better images of the monumental slab, at Rare medieval knight tombstone discovered in heart of Gdańsk

The article about the grave  in the Indian Defence Review concentrates too much, in my view, on the man’s height, as there is plenty of evidence that many mediaeval people were similar in height to their modern descendants, even allowing for the twentieth century spurt in height. The article can be seen at Archaeologists Discover Giant Medieval Knight in Gdańsk, Challenging Our View of the Past

Notes from Poland also report on the discovery at "Medieval knight" found buried in Polish city as does CBS at Skeleton of medieval knight found under former ice cream parlor

These discoveries all illustrate the life of elite figures in areas most English speaking people are largely unaware of in the period. Hopefully as such discoveries as they are publicised they will make people more aware of the rich and complex history of the region.

Baltic Brasses

Fr Jerome Bertram C.O. of the Oxford Oratory is, in addition to his very considerable skills as a priest and preacher, a leading authority on monumental brasses and related matters. In recent years he has spent holidays looking at, and indeed for, brasses in the Baltic coastlands east of Lubeck right round to the remains of East Prussia. Since 1989-91 this has become much easier and his discoveries were presented to the Society of Antiquaries (he is an FSA )in a lecture in 2011. He has now made this available to a wider public in a monograph, Bishops and Burghers, Dukes and Knights.

This is not just a catalogue of brasses, brass indents and incised slabs, but with its illustrations of the churches and castles of the bishops, nobles and Teutonic knights who are commemorated an evocation not only of the splendid things that are once again accessible along the shores of the Baltic but also of the world that created them. Here is the landscape and culture of the Northern Crusades and the medieval conversion and colonisation of the medieval  Ostsiedlung, the origins of the Drang nach Osten. The monuments Fr Jerome illustrates are impressive in themselves and well worthy of being better known, and if it achieves nothing more then his study of them should do that.

Handsomely illustrated and written with knowledge and characteristc good humour Bishops and Burghers, Dukes and Knights is published by Lulu.com and can be ordered online from them, and costs £10.50.