Favorite Underrated Disney Movie: The Sword and the Stone

Or “IN” the Stone… ;)

(Source: kimberlylikestodraw, via fuckyeaharthuriana)

mediumaevum:

Illuminated elephants on parade.

1. From a herbal, Italy (Lombardy), c. 1440 

2. From a bestiary, England, between 1236 and c. 1250 (he looks so scared, poor soul)

More about medieval pachyderms here.

(via mirousworlds)

Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais  (1404–1440) was the basis for the legendary Bluebeard; the most infamous serial murderer of the High Middle Ages. 

An example of what happens when a sick mind is in a position where no one is able to tell him “no,” Gilles was vain and materialist. Eager to for fame, he achieved his goal as a hero of the Hundred Year Wars as a one-time compatriot of Joan of Arc, including the Siege of Orleans. When he retired from public life he grew to depravity when he returned to his estates in Brittany. 

He is said to have murdered between 140-200 peasant children. His style was typical of most children murderers; he would dress them finely, feed them, get them drunk on wine; then, before long, he’d take them to an isolated location, sexually assault, torture, and kill them; mutilating their bodies afterwards. The victim’s parents would be turned away if they sought to question the Baron about the whereabouts of their children. His assistants were composed mostly of his one-time victims that he allowed to live and serve him, another trait expressed by contemporary child killers. 

He was finally caught in 1440 when, after a dispute with the Archbishop of Nantes, he assaulted and kidnapped a cleric. The following investigation by the Archbishop and the Duke of Brittany revealed extent of this horrible tale. He was hung up and burned to death following his confession and trial. His victims-turned-assistants were done the same way, in their turn.

Jean Benedetti’s The Real Bluebeard: The Life of Gilles de Rais (1971) is still the standard biography for the Baron if you are curious to learn about this subject. I highly recommend it, though I do not believe it is currently in print. 

Pictures (taken from the WikiCommons:

1) the Ruins of the Baron’s Chateau de Tiffauges.

2) an 18th century print of Gilles de Rais thought to be taken from a now lost contemporary portrait.

3) a 19th century depiction of Gilles committing his crimes at the behest of the devil

4) the blason of Gilles de Rais, Dore’s depiction of the Bluebeard fairy tale.

5 & 6) 16th Century depictions of his trial and execution.

(Source: commons.wikimedia.org)

Archaeologists map lost medieval Suffolk town of Dunwich under the sea

Acoustic imaging helps trace streets and buildings in port of Dunwich, which vanished underwater centuries ago

The streets, churches, market place and town walls of Dunwich, a major town in Suffolk which vanished into the North Sea centuries ago, have been mapped using acoustic imaging to peer through the murky silt which now buries the remains.

A few houses, a museum, a pub and legends of the sound of drowned church bells still ringing from beneath the waves are all that remain today of a port which once rivalled London. However, over the past five yearsarchaeologists, historians, local divers and scientists have joined forces, funded by English Heritage, combining hi-tech equipment, underwater exploration and study of old charts and navigation guides to trace the ruins of what has become the world’s largest underwater medieval town site.

In the Roman period the shoreline was at least 2,000 metres further out. The town’s slow death began in 1286 when a three-day storm which started on New Year’s Eve wrecked much of the settlement and blocked the river mouth. Further storms silted up what had been an international port, destroying the town’s prosperity, and the erosion of the coastline was remorseless. As recently as 1736 All Saints was a handsome church with a tall tower: by 1912 only the ruined tower remained teetering on the edge of the cliff, and now nothing remains on dry land.

Although the ruins are only between three and 10 metres (9.8ft to 32.8ft) below the water, visibility is atrocious. Prof David Sear, of the geography and environment department of Southampton University, who led the project, described the Didson acoustic imaging used as “like shining a torch on to the seabed, only using sound instead of light”.

The new map locates ruins including major churches and a large house which may have been the town hall, scores of other archaeological sites including several windmills, wooden port structures and a town wall which may have been Saxon in origin.

You will notice two lines in the map above, between those is what is now underwater.

(Source: Guardian)

- Valar Morghulis.
- Yes, all men must die, but we are not men.

Except……………

-maniacal laughter-

(Source: bbrando, via evereverafterly)

Artist appreciation:

Pieter Bruegel (Brueghel) the Elder (1525 – 9 September 1569)

One of my all time favorites, for his idealistic or comedic scenes from life to his horrible nightmare fantasies, Pieter Bruegel gives us a window into the lives of a people who very rarely had a chance to have a voice, the common peasant. With subtle statements about the Habsburg occupation, the hypocritical nature of humanity, while expanding on traditional medieval artistic themes like the “Danse macabre” or the religious scene to a grant and highly detailed degree. His work is like the “Where’s Waldo” of the Middle Ages, there is so much to look at with one portrait.