The University of Toledo

I'm torn about doing this post. On the one hand, I want this blog to stay focused on "Modern Medieval" or, perhaps better, how being a medievalist means that you can say something about the modern world. On the other hand, this seems an opportunity to do so -- especially as I've tried to talk about how the Humanities (and Liberal Arts, more generally) can indeed help us understand our world (see medieval shrimp factories, meaning of history, medieval "tolerance", on Seung-Hui Cho 1, and 2, etc.).

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So, I'm going to do the post:

Read this post at New Kid on the University of Toledo. Then, go sign the petition.

There you go.

On Medieval Shrimp Factories

Saw this little gem on CNN.com today. If I may quote the article about working conditions in (predominantly) Thai shrimp factories:

The plant, Ranya Paew, "was more like a fortress than a factory, with 16-foot-high barbed-wire capped walls, an armed guard force, and an extensive internal closed-circuit television system," the Solidarity Center alleged, citing Thai police reports.

"Behind the walls, the police found a scene that one report described as 'little short of medieval,' with hundreds of workers literally trapped inside the compound, living in squalid conditions, forced to work long hours, and subjected to physical, emotional, and sexual intimidation and abuse. Workers who angered the employer were often 'put to shame' in front of others by having their hair cut or shaved in patches. Women and girls were stripped naked and publicly beaten as a form of discipline." [my emphasis]

Apparently, the Middle Ages were worse even than this. Although I don't know as much as I should about medieval peasant society, I'm pretty sure this is actually worse than a typical manor. Granted, you don't hear the voice of the underclass much in medieval texts but the forcible imprisonment and public torture (just to take the most egregious examples here) seem to me beyond anything to be expected in a typical medieval village.

So, why use "medieval?" (Granted, I'm stepping on LLCoolCarl's shoes but that's my thang...) This is an entirely different use of the term -- and memory of the period -- than I've written about before. Even if the CNN/ Thai definition is a bit closer to my perception of the period, it's nonetheless a little troubling to me -- I happened about this article earlier today and it's stuck in my craw since then, compelling me to write something about it. I'm still not sure what the problem is though.

Maybe I'm bothered because the article simply throws the word out there without a whole lot of thought behind it. I mean, they're probably thinking about a dungeon, right? Whips, chains, iron maiden, etc. But maybe not. Maybe it's just an adjective that means "other," an uncritical, englightenment perception of a darker past that we, generally, have moved beyond. And generally, I might like to agree. The problem, then, is that this kind of thinking asserts that such behavior -- torture, kidnapping, etc. -- are aberrant in our society, when in fact they're really not. Certainly, all that stuff was there in the Middle Ages too. The thing is though, it never left. I hope I don't need to go into examples.

So, maybe the solution to dealing with all these problems is simply to be aware that they're out there and that they're actually more common than we might like to think. Maybe we all should acknowledge that good stuff and bad stuff happens to all people, at all times, in all places. It's not just confined to the "medieval." Personally, we might find such violence abnormal but there are, unfortunately, plenty who don't. We might (unfortunately?) stop being surprised when this stuff happens but we also might be able to stop it earlier, since we (reluctantly?) concede that it's indeed going on.

(Short) Review of Wealtheow, by Ashley Crownover

Being a blogger has its perks. It's not just the fame, the fortune, the prestige that naturally associates itself with the act of blogging. Sometimes, just sometimes, you get free stuff.

Along with Dr. Noakes and JJ Cohen, I was fortunate enough to be sent an advance copy of Ashley Crownover's Wealtheow: Her Telling of Beowulf. Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed the book. As you may guess, the novel (re-)tells the story of Beowulf from the point-of-view of Wealtheow, Queen of the Danes and Hrothgar's wife. In this telling, the plot revolves around her and the focus is on the role of the wife, as peace-weaver, as settler of feud, in this society.
Beowulf, as you might expect, shows up eventually and the familiar story takes over. But this is almost an epilogue to the main telling and Crownover spends the majority of her time on the shape of Danish society and the subtle interactions among all those with different roles to play.

Crownover certainly is a good storyteller. The narrative flows along at a quick pace and the characters are well-drawn. I have minor quibbles here and there but my only major concern was about the role magic seems to play in this society. It's not there, then it's sort of there, then it's REALLY there, then not so much again. When magic became important in the narrative -- and that comes suddenly -- it's quite jarring and, for me, was almost a "jump the shark" moment. Luckily, it wasn't.

Overall, I'd recommend the book. It might go well in a course on medievalism, especially if paired with Zemeckis' telling of Beowulf.

Gerard Caspary

Sometimes the personal intrudes.

I learned yesterday that one of my graduate school teachers, Gerard Caspary, passed away. Euromad has an elegant post up about his mentor.

In all honesty, I never saw eye-to-eye with the man but he was a towering intellect and (as I say over at Euromad), the one course I took from him, on biblical exegesis, was probably the most important course I've ever taken in my life. I hope, hope, hope that more of his work will come to light.