Helen J. Nicholson's Blog, page 10
January 9, 2015
The Templars at Gislingham in Suffolk
This is exciting! Although the records from the Templars’ estates between 1308 and 1313 mention regular almsgiving, they are generally silent on the subject of buildings associated with aid for the poor. But the inventory for the Templars’ manor at Gislingham in Suffolk mentions an ‘eleemosynary house’, although also states that it was ruinous and beyond economic repair. Here is a photo of the text: the Latin is: ‘J dom’ elemo[s]i[n]e ad portas slactas’��+��ruinos���+ qu[e] no[n] possu[n]t emendar[i] n[is]\i/ p[er] magna custag��� merem��� + corp[er]tur���’ — One eleemosynary house at the gates, slate covered, ruined and which cannot be repaired without great cost in timber and roof-covering.
Section of The National Archives, E 142/112 mem. 2
January 8, 2015
Reproduction online of old articles on the Templars and Hospitallers
Earlier this week I put on to Academia.edu some��of my early papers from the international ���Military Orders��� conferences at St John���s Gate in London: ���Knights and Lovers�������(from the 1992 conference); ���Before William of Tyre��� (from the 1996 conference); and ���The Hospitallers and the ���Peasants��� Revolt��� of 1381 revisited��� (from 2000). All of these have been published in the proceedings of each conference: the proceedings of the 1996 and 2000 conferences are still in print and are available for purchase from Ashgate Publishing.
December 10, 2014
UKIP and the M4
Sums up the issues neatly!
Originally posted on Official Gawain Blog:
Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, has tried to get to Port Talbot. For some reason he drove, rather than taking advantage of the 2hr 37minute train journey from London Paddington to Port Talbot Parkway (a rather battered station which has 509,976 users, down by 4,500 from last year for some reason).
Although the train takes under 160 minutes, the car journey is apparently advertised as 210-240 minutes so he allowed that. Alas, it took him 360 minutes and he missed his��big event at Margam Park.
There are various ways to respond to such a problem when questioned about it. He could of course have said:
These things happen.
But that doesn���t sound very convincing, so he didn���t.
He could have followed the great politician line of blaming someone else:
Obviously Google���s journey planner is over-optimistic and I���ll have to look elsewhere next time.
But that would���
View original 767 more words
November 6, 2014
Glorious Devon
I’ve posted a draft transcription of the sheriff’s accounts for the Templars’ property in Devon here.
September 5, 2014
New transcriptions: Templars in Essex, Templars in Northumberland.
More transcriptions are on Wattpad! See my blog here. With thanks to Myra Born and Valerie Rudd for their hard work in transcribing!
June 3, 2014
Medievalism Transformed: The Dead of Night
On Friday 6 June 2014 I’ll be at Bangor University, giving the keynote lecture at this year’s ‘Medievalism Transformed’ conference. This is an annual interdisciplinary postgraduate event at Bangor University and this year’s theme is ‘The glory and the glore of death and horror through the ages’. My paper is: ‘The Dead of Night: the Functions of Horror in Medieval Writing’, and the complete programme is:
09.30 – Arrivals, registration, tea and coffee
09.45 – Formal Welcome from Professor Helen Wilcox (Head of School of English Literature, Bangor University)
10.00 – Paper 1 – Jennifer Crangle – University of Sheffield (Doctoral Researcher): ‘The Sentient Dead: Perceptions of Corpses and Skeletons in Medieval England’
10.25 – Paper 2 – Alyxandra Mattison – University of Sheffield: ‘Decapitating the Walking Dead in Early Medieval England’
10.50 – Paper 3 – Dr. Christian Livermore – University of St. Andrews (PhD Candidate): ‘I know… you do not want to die: Revenants from the Church to Literature’
11.15 – Tea and coffee break
11.30 – Group Q & A (papers 1-3)
11.50 – Lunch
12.50 – Welcome Back
13.00 – Paper 4 – Victoria Baker – Bangor University (3rd year History Undergraduate): ‘Women and the Danse Macabre’
13.25 – Paper 5 – Alison Harthill – University of Cardiff: ‘And the Dead Shall Rise’
Conference logo
13.50 – Paper 6 – Dr. Owen Roberson – University of Leicester (Final year PhD student): ‘Aelfric’s Antichrist’
14.10 – Group Q + A (papers 4-6)
14.30 – Tea and coffee break
14.50 – Guest Speaker – Prof. Helen Nicholson – University of Cardiff: ‘The Dead of Night: the Functions of Horror in Medieval Writing’
16.00 – Round Table Session
17.00 – Finish.
May 24, 2014
Deeds Done Beyond the Sea
A new collection of ‘Crusades’ papers will be published soon. Deeds done beyond the Sea: Essays on William of Tyre, Cyprus and the Military Orders presented to Peter Edbury, edited by Susan Edgington and myself is published by Ashgate Publishing in June 2014 at a price of £70 (£63 on the website: see http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472417831 ) It is volume 6 in the ‘subsidia’ series of the academic journal Crusades. The volume includes articles by Peter’s friends, colleagues and students, all on subjects related to Peter’s own research during his long and successful academic career. There is an introduction by Jonathan Riley-Smith, and an appreciation by Christopher Tyerman. Sue and I will be presenting Peter with a copy of the book at a special event at the Institute of Historical Research, London, on Monday 6 June at 6.30pm. All Peter’s friends and fans are welcome to attend.
May 2, 2014
The 700th anniversary of the Templars��� demise: continued
Postscript: the conference went well! My paper was well received. There’s some work to do on it before it’s fit for full publication, but meanwhile I’ve posted a copy on Academia.edu for anyone to read.
The 700th anniversary of the Templars’ demise: continued
The Templar Economy in Britain and Ireland: Workshop report
The workshop last Saturday at Blaydes House in Hull went extremely well. First point: Blaydes house is a beautiful old merchant’s house, with beautiful high-ceiling’d rooms, perfect for a workshop of this sort. Every University should have a resource like this one (Cardiff University, you’ll gather, hasn’t.) Next point: we had some excellent papers. The first paper was on Templar preceptories in Lincolnshire and asked: What are the characteristics of a preceptory? How did they differ from other properties? Then there was a paper on the recent excavations at the Templars’ former commandery/preceptory at Faxfleet in Yorkshire, and a paper on the Templars’ properties in Scotland and what became of them after the Templars were dissolved — with a great map, locating all the properties! After lunch, there was a paper ‘clearing the ground’ for new research into the Templars and Hospitallers in the north of England, a progress report on research into Templars and Hospitallers in Ireland and their relations with kings and popes, and my own paper on Templars in the south-west margins of Templar property in England and Wales. I was arguing that although the Templars’ lands made a profit in the period 1307-13, when the additional costs of corrodies and pensions are taken into account they may not have been so profitable in the long term.
John Walker and I are now considering a follow-up meeting, to include those who couldn’t get to this workshop, and for further progress reports from those who came this time. We are also thinking about publishing the papers in some form, perhaps online.
