Monthly Archives: January 2011

01/30/11

Medieval Diseases

In the Middle Ages, the range of types of diseases was similar to what we experience today, with some exceptions (HIV/AIDS).   Viruses, of course, are no easier to combat now than then, but without vaccines and if the infected person was living in unclean or freezing conditions, or suffering from a poor diet, the disease was made that much worse.  Antibiotics help with some diseases, but then again, more have sprung up in response to them (C-diff).

That said, these are some of the most common diseases people experienced in Europe in the Middle Ages (not including the Black Plague, see:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/?p=1000; or leprosy, see:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/?p=223)

Dysentary:  Still common in poorer countries today, Dysentary is an infection caused either by bacteria or amoebas, spread through contamination of food and water by infected fecal matter.  Typhoid is another such disease spread through bacteria and fecal matter which was not uncommon in the Middle Ages

“Symptoms: (Bacillary) After 1-6 days incubation, watery stools, fever, cramps, dehydration. In advanced stages, bloody stools, meningitis, conjunctivitis, and arthritis. (Amebic) Acute form: watery, bloody stools, cramps, fever, weakness. Chronic form: intermittent diarrhea, mild abdominal discomfort.  Result: Generally weakened condition.  Note: Endemic in medieval armies and pretty common in cities. Infantile diarrhea was a leading cause of death for infants. After the Black Death, many urban areas instituted public health reforms to improve sanitation and prevent these enteric fevers.”  http://www.labelle.org/top_diseases.html

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Ergotism (“St. Anthony’s fire,” “holy fire,” “evil fire,” “devil’s fire,” “saints’ fire”):  Poisoning from a fungal infection of grain, especially rye.

Symptoms: (Convulsive) Degeneration of the nervous system causes anxiety, vertigo, aural/visual hallucinations, and the sensation of being bitten or burned; stupor, convulsions, and psychosis. (Gangrenous) Constriction of the blood vessels causes reddening and blistering of skin, then blackening, with itching and burning, and finally necrosis.  Result: 40% mortality. Lingering symptoms, including mental impairment, among survivors.

Note: Ergotism was known as a rural disease, particularly of marshy areas, and one that followed crop damage or famine; especially after a severe winter and a rainy spring. Children are more susceptible because of their smaller body weight. Because England did not rely on rye as much as populations on the continent, it suffered fewer cases of the convulsive type.”  http://www.labelle.org/top_diseases.html

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Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Gonorrhea, Syphilis): 

“By the Middle Ages both gonorrhoea and syphilis were widespread. One view, by no means unchallenged, was that syphilis was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus’ sailors on their return from the New World. The differentiation of the 2 diseases from each other was often a matter of medical debate, from the sixteenth up until the nineteenth century, many authors believing that the symptoms of gonorrhoea (clap or gleet) were the early stages of syphilis (the pox). This view was substantiated by the British surgeon John Hunter (1728-93), who undertook heroic self-experimentation by injecting his own penis with material taken from a patient with gonorrhoea. On developing the signs of syphilis he concluded the two infections were the same — little realizing that his patient, like many others, actually suffered from both infections at the same time. 
The main orthodox treatment for syphilis from the Middle Ages until the early years of the twentieth century consisted of the application of a mercury ointment, a favourite treatment for skin lesions. But sufferers from the disease were particularly susceptible to the blandishments of quacks and charlatans, and many successful businesses profited during the seventeenth through to the twentieth centuries from selling useless remedies.”  http://www.answers.com/topic/sexually-transmitted-diseases-a-brief-history
This article http://www.spectroscopynow.com/coi/cda/detail.cda?id=18699&type=Feature&chId=4&page=1 details the discovery of medical mercury found in medieval bones.  In these cases, it was used primarily to treat syphilis and leprosy.
 
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Diptheria:  “Diphtheria is a highly contagious and potentially life-threatening bacterial disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. There are two types of diphtheria: respiratory and cutaneous. Respiratory diphtheria involves the nose, throat and tonsils, and cutaneous diphtheria involves the skin . . . Death occurs in approximately five to ten percent of all respiratory cases with higher death rates (of up to 20 percent) among persons younger than five and older than 40 years of age.”  http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/diphtheria/fact_sheet.htm

“In the early part of the 14th century there were outbreaks of typhoid fever, dysentery and diphtheria. It has been estimated that in 1316 about 10% of the population died from these three diseases.”  http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/YALDdisease.htm

01/27/11

New Books Available!

I’ve been working on the After Cilmeri series, a young adult, time-travel fantasy, for the past five years.  As should be obvious by now, the fate of Wales after the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd has been a near-constant occupation of mine, and these novels are a fun way to imagine a different fate for him.   A prequel is in the works . . . Enjoy!

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Footsteps in Time

In December of 1282, English soldiers ambushed and murdered Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the Prince of Wales.  His death marked the end of Wales as an independent nation and the beginning of over seven hundred years of English oppression.

Footsteps in Time is the story of what might have happened had Llywelyn lived.   

And what happens to the two American teenagers who save him.

Footsteps in Time is available (for free) at:  http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/18316/footsteps-in-time

Or at Smashwords.com:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/38722

Or At Amazon.com: Footsteps in Time  

Amazon UK:  Footsteps in Time

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Prince of Time

Prince of Time, the second book in the After Cilmeri series, continues the story of David and Anna, two American teenagers catapulted back in time to alter history and save the medieval kingdom of Wales.  David and his man-at-arms, Ieuan, find themselves alone and on the run from a company of English soldiers who’ve sworn vengeance for the recent death of their king.  Meanwhile, Llywelyn lays on his deathbed from a traitor’s arrow.  And once again, it is David and Anna, and all they represent, that holds the key to the survival of Wales.

Prince of Time is available at Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Barnesandnoble.com, Smashwords.com and elsewhere to which Smashwords distributes:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/38723

At Amazon.com:  Prince of Time

At Amazon UK:  Prince of Time

01/18/11

Working Archaeology in Wales

Archaeologists are always working on new projects in Wales.  A shortage of workers and funding inhibit the work, but the Dyfed Archaeological Trust conducted seven different digs, mostly using volunteer labor, in 2010.  A look at their page is a good review of what ‘real’ archaeology is like:  lots of digging, frustration, and grunt work, interspersed with occasional finds.  http://www.cambria.org.uk/  They worked on:

Fan Barrow Excavation 2010

Capel y Groes 2010

Pantybutler Round Barrows 2010

Tir y Dail Castle, Ammanford Dig Diary July 2010

Upper Newton Roman Villa at Wolfscastle, Pembrokeshire – Dig Diary 2010

Wernfawr Dig Diary 2010

Nevern Castle Summer Excavation 2010

Nevern Castle Spring Excavation 2010

Each of these is a fascinating study in luck and circumstance (and hard work).  There are four archaeological trusts in Wales (Dyfed, Gwynedd, Glamorgan-Gwen, and Clwyd-Powys), found here:  http://www.archwilio.org.uk/

Gwynedd’s digs include:

Llys Rhosyr: Palace of the Princes

Dig Diary: Parc Cybi, Holyhead

Dig Diary: Parc Cegin, Llandygai

North Anglesey Standing Stones tour

In addition, Aber Garth Celyn was under excavation this fall under the auspices of Snowdonia national park archaeologists:  http://www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk/conwy-county-news/local-conwy-news/2010/10/21/archaelogists-may-have-discovered-12th-century-royal-court-in-aber-55243-27512832/

       

01/16/11

Because I just had to post this . . .

01/9/11

Two New Medieval Fantasy shows

With the demise of Legend of the Seeker, I’ve had to go elsewhere for my medieval fantasy fix.   Two shows, both claiming to be ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’ might be worth a look:

And then the perennial attempt at King Arthur:

01/4/11

A Twilight Interlude

Forks, Washington is the setting for Stephanie Meyer’s Twlight series.  While I’m not a Twlight ‘fan’, I appreciate it any time an author sparks a reading frenzy as she has.  And today, we drove through Forks (on the way to somewhere else, but we decided we had to stop).  We went to the visitor center and chatted with the proprieters who reported that 73,000 people passed through their doors in 2010.  We were the only ones today.

Forks is a town of 3000 people.  The visitor center employee, who was very nice and knowledgable, said that 95% percent of the citizens of Forks were supportive of their role in the Twilight series and had embraced the tourists and the experience.  (She has a bumper sticker which says ‘Team Jacob’.  He has my vote too :)

Her parting comment was how wonderful it was to be part of a ‘modern day Romeo and Juliet’.  I suppose that’s true if you consider that in both stories, the hero and heroine end up dead.  Otherwise  . . . hmm, maybe not.

That said, the real reason to visit the Olympic Penninsula is not to see Forks, but for this:

01/1/11

Happy (Roman) New Year!

In the Roman calendar before Caesar, a year consisted of 12 months, for a total of 355 days plus an intercalary month between February and March.

For the Romans, the ideal intercalary cycle consisted of ordinary years of 355 days alternating with intercalary years (377 and 378 days long). On this system, the average Roman year would have had 366¼ days over four years, giving it an average drift of one day per year. Later, it was refined so that for 8 years out of 24, there were only three intercalary years, each of 377 days. This refinement averages the length of the year to 365¼ days over 24 years. In practice, intercalations did not occur as they should, according to the whims of the priest in power at the time.

According to Wikipedia:  If managed correctly this system allowed the Roman year, on average, to stay roughly aligned to a tropical year. However, since the Pontifices were often politicians, and because a Roman magistrate’s term corresponded with a calendar year, this power was prone to abuse: a Pontifex could lengthen a year in which he or one of his political allies was in office, or refuse to lengthen one in which his opponents were in power. If too many intercalations were omitted, the calendar would drift rapidly out of alignment with the tropical year. Moreover, because intercalations were often determined quite late, the average Roman citizen often did not know the date, particularly if he were some distance from the city. For these reasons, the last years of the pre-Julian calendar were later known as “years of confusion”.  The calendar image is a pre-Julian calendar that was part of a fresco.

The problems became particularly acute during the years of Julius Caesar’s pontificate before the reform, 63–46 BC, when there were only five intercalary months, whereas there should have been eight, and none at all during the five Roman years before 46 BC.  Thus, Caesar crossed the Rubicon on January 10, in 49 BC of the official calendar, but the official calendar had drifted so far away from the seasons had that it was actually mid-autumn.

Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, and then it was reformed several more times before 1582 (as with Christmas) when the Pope adjusted the solstice to December 21.

Many other cultures celebrate the New Year in a month other than January (which, in truth, is a completely arbitrary date).  These include the Mayans, Babylonians, Persians, and Balinese (March); the Assyrians, Nepalese, and much of Southeast Asia (April); the Coptics (September); Australian Aboriginal (October); neo-pagans (November); and in the Muslim world, because their calendar is lunar, their New Year occurs eleven days earlier than the one before.