Shout-Out: The Edge of the World by Michael Pye

Michael Pye's The Edge of the World is an epic adventure: from the Vikings to the Enlightenment, from barbaric outpost to global centre, it tells the amazing story of northern Europe's transformation by sea.

This is a story of saints and spies, of fishermen and pirates, traders and marauders - and of how their wild and daring journeys across the North Sea built the world we know. When the Roman Empire retreated, northern Europe was a barbarian outpost at the very edge of everything. A thousand years later, it was the heart of global empires and the home of science, art, enlightenment and money. We owe this transformation to the tides and storms of the North Sea. The water was dangerous, but it was far easier than struggling over land; so it was the sea that brought people together. Boats carried food and raw materials, but also new ideas and information. The seafarers raided, ruined and killed, but they also settled and coupled. With them they brought new tastes and technologies - books, clothes, manners, paintings and machines. In this dazzling historical adventure, we return to a time that is largely forgotten and watch as the modern world is born. We see the spread of money and how it paved the way for science. We see how plague terrorised even the rich and transformed daily life for the poor. We watch as the climate changed and coastlines shifted, people adapted and towns flourished. We see the arrival of the first politicians, artists, lawyers: citizens. From Viking raiders to Mongol hordes, Frisian fishermen to Hanseatic hustlers, travelling as far west as America and as far east as Byzantium, we see how the life and traffic of the seas changed everything. 

Drawing on an astonishing breadth of learning and packed with human stories and revelations, this is the epic drama of how we came to be who we are. ''A closely-researched and fascinating characterisation of the richness of life and the underestimated interconnections of the peoples all around the medieval and early modern North Sea. 

Book Review: The Alchemy of Paint: Art, Science and Secrets From the Middle Ages by Spike Bucklow

Pros: very well researched, explains things clearly using numerous examples, goes over various historical traditions

Cons: only mentions the most expensive pigments artists used, only a few illustrations

This is an exploration of colours used by painters in the middle ages by way of their ‘scientific’ and alchemical significance.  It mentions myths, traditions, physical and spiritual significances of the materials according to Traditional beliefs.  It also goes over the alchemical procedures that made these already expensive pigments even more important.

I was expecting a treatise on all the different pigments used in the middle ages, something akin to a teaching manual.  Instead, I got a mind blowing exploration of philosophy and world beliefs of the past.  I’ve always been interested in alchemy, and this book explained things like Plato’s cave, 4 element theory, and the Philosopher’s Stone in a way that was easy to understand.  While there were only a few simple figure drawings, the clarity of the writing meant illustration wasn’t really necessary (even if it would have been welcome).

Only a few pigments are mentioned: Tyrian purple, ultramarine blue, vermilion and dragonsblood (both red), and gold.  Later chapters revisit some of these materials showing their spiritual, rather than physical, significance.  I appreciated learning that the location and method of obtaining materials had meaning for the later artwork and use of the pigments, which I hadn’t expected.  Similarly, it doesn’t cover all aspects of alchemy, just those associated with the pigments being discussed.

The opening’s a bit condescending in the way of ‘we don’t think as they did, so it will be hard for you to understand what I’m about to say’, but he quickly moved on to the topic at hand, and only occasionally gave a modern analogy for those who might have trouble wrapping their heads around the Traditional world view (as opposed to the modern Scientific, analytical view).

This is a fascinating book and if you have any interest in alchemy I can’t recommend it enough.  Another thing it showed, that modern audiences don’t recognize, is how interconnected the world of the past was.  We see Europe as an isolated area, ignoring the fact that materials and ideas traversed borders and continents to influence them.  I also didn’t realize just how much Christianity took from other traditions.  Looks like I’ve a whole lot more reading and research to do.

Link to Monsters

It's the last day of my offsite, so I thought I'd give you something special - monsters.  Here's an article by medievalists.net describing the Top Ten Monsters of the Middle Ages, namely:

dragons
unicorns
manticores
blemmyae
cynocephali
skiapodes
giants
melusine
mermaids
Grendel + mother

While I agree with most of these I'm not sure Grendel belongs on this list.  He's only mentioned in one story, whereas all the others are mentioned by numerous sources.  He may be a monster modern audiences think of, but I'm curious how wildly known the story was in the middle ages.  I might have picked griffins for the 10th.

Anyway, enjoy. :)