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Archive for juni, 2012

jun 27

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Knights Templars

“The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon” were commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars. They were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders.

Founded in 1119 the order originated in the feverish aftermath of the first crusade, when the French knight Hugues de Payens proposed to create a monastic order with the object of providing protection for pilgrims to the Holy Land. At first the Knights Templars upheld their impoverished status, but this did not last. Very soon they were receiving huge donations while they at the same time began to function as bankers for crusaders and other pilgrims to Jerusalem. Until the dissolution of the order in 1307 they managed large economic investments and properties as well as building fortifications across Europe. At some point they even owned all of Cyprus.

However, when the Holy Land was lost, their support dwindled and the French king, Philip IV, who was deeply in debt to the Order, orchestrated a full-scale attack. In 1307, many of the Order’s members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. For instance, the Templars were coerced to confess that they had spat on the Cross. Finally in 1312 Pope Clement V, under pressure from the king, disbanded the Order referring to the many charges of apostasy, idolatry, heresy, obscenities, sodomy, corruption and fraud, which the leaders had confessed.

execution templiers retail Knights Templars

These interrogations were recorded on a thirty-meter long parchment, kept at the “Archives Nationales” in Paris, which is the centrepiece of a newly opened exhibition in Troyes in France. The exhibition, which is organised by the National Archive together with the Aube Conseil Général, tells the factual story behind these events. Thus it is an exemplary opportunity to peel off much of the more or less romantic nonsense, which so often accompanies the modern myths about the Templars.  The exhibition is organised in commemoration of the dissolution 700 years ago.

Templiers – Une Histoire, notre trésor
Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte, Rue de la Cité – Troyes
16.06.2012 – 31.10.2012

The exhibition is accompanied by an international symposium scheduled to 24.10.2012 – 26.10.2012

Catalogue:
Templiers. De Jérusalem aux commanderies de Champagne
Somogy éditions d’art

Apart from the official site, a parallel local organisation – the Aube Templiers – have organised a long list of more popular events in order to mark the anniversary

Lux in Arcana
At the same time  - until september – it is possible to view a number of central documents pertaining to the Papal handling of the dissolution of the order in Rome at the Capitol.
There is a general presentation of this exhibition in Medieval Histories 2012:2

 

 

jun 20

Fortified Churches

Transylvania or Siebenbürgen may be packed with ghastly vampires, ghosts and werewolfs. But it is also a very beautiful corner of Europe with an amazing history. One of the more unusual sights is the fortified churches of which more than 150 have been preserved. Complete with defensive towers, battle walks, loopholes and even latrines, they witness to the long history of violence in the region and well worth a visit. It might be mentioned that the fortified churches were designated as World Heritage in 1993.

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Viscri in Siebenbürgen

 

Since medieval times, the population of the region was a mixture of ethnic Romanians (historically known as Vlachs), Hungarians, Germans (also known as Saxons), Bulgarians, Armenians, Jews and Roma (also known as Gypsies or “tatars”). Of course this mix reflects the 1000-year long history of warring between the different ethnic groups and their respective rulers.

Nowadays, however, the fighting is not so much about and in between linguistic and/or religious barriers (Catholics, Orthodox, Protestant and Muslim groups) but about stopping the migration from the region though attracting tourists and generating jobs and new income.

Recently a new app was launched, which tells the story about the fortified churches and give precise directions about location, opening times etc.  The name of the app is “The landscape of Saxon Fortified Churches in Transylvania” and may be downloaded from iTunes. All the churches belong to the Evangelical Church of Romania, basically an Evangelical Lutheran Church, where services are still celebrated in German.

Read more about the churches (in German or Rumanian)

Read about the App 

jun 3

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Writing Britain

What is it about being British? And what does Britain look like when seen through the pen of poets…

This summer a huge crowd of sports fanatics wills pour into London. Fortunately some of these may turn out to be less one-eyed and single-minded than seem to be the case if we listen to the news.

To cater for these crossovers, the Olympic city is mounting a cultural program, the London 2012 Festival, which runs from the 21th of June to the 9th of September.

Most of this is of course the usually mix of mimes, lightly clad dancers in weird performances and insipid music galore. One gem, however, should be recommended, although it is hardly mentioned in the official program: the exhibition at The British Library: Writing Britain. Wastelands to Wonderlands.

From William Blake to the 21st-century suburban hinterlands of J G Ballard, Writing Britain examines how the landscapes of Britain permeate great literary works. According to the official blurb, it allows visitors to read between the lines of some of the great works of English literature, discover the secrets and stories surrounding the works’ creation and  and explore the ways in which they speak to the country today.

Over 150 literary works, including many first-time loans from overseas and directly from authors: sound recordings, videos, letters, photographs, maps, song lyrics and drawings – as well as manuscripts and printed editions are on show.

The exhibition is organized in six themes – Rural Dreams, Industrial and Cityscapes, Wild Places, London, Edges and Waterlands – presenting a huge variety of artists, their dreams and visions about Britain packed in one gallery.

Naturally, for the medievalist some of the exhibits are especially important such as for instance the Landsdowne manuscript (Lansdowne MS 851) with a text of the Canterbury Tales. It would, however, be a pity to limit oneself to only part of the bonanza. The amazing and huge variety of manuscripts and sound-renderings is really amazing and gives a glimpse of the diverse ways, in which artists were and still seems to be the all-important agents in setting the scene for the creation of what some might wish to term “The British Identity”.

Naturally this is a troublesome concept; nevertheless looking at Albion from afar there is such a “thing”, encapsulated in a mixture of the smiling countryside, bleak coal-districts and postmodern cityscapes and suburbia. We recognize it immediately because we have “read” it all. Although this is an eclectic selection, it is all on show  and we recognize it easily.

Maybe this is not be the sole object of the exhibition, but it really does invite the guests to start (re)reading the classics (most of them luckily available in nice and cheap edition from the Penguin Press.) What more can you wish for?

Well, maybe there is room for one quibble: Why is the exhibition not mounted in collaboration with the National Gallery? It would have been a feast to see to what extent the visual and the literary arts might have complimented each other.

Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands
British Library, London NW1 2DB
11.5-2012 -25.09.2012

A full list of the exhibits may be viewed here

The Exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by The British Library:
Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands
 by Christina Hardyment
British Library 2012

 

 

eleanor.hutchins@fourcommunications.com

evie.jeffreys@bl.uk