Schoolboy finds lost medieval gravestones in Govan

A schoolboy called Mark Mettigan has found one of the lost Govan stones, dating back to the 10th and 11th century, in an archaeological dig at Scotland's oldest churchyard, Govan Old Parish Church. The stones date back to the ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde, before Scotland itself existed as a country, and were long feared lost.

The BBC has the full story at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-47748026.

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Medieval resources website and ebooks sale

From TannerRitchie Publishing (https://tannerritchie.com):

TannerRitchie's Holiday sale is on until 15 January 2017!

Check out www.tannerritchie.com for huge savings on our entire ebook download catalogue, and Quick Access to MEMSO (personal access to our MEMSO database and ebook downloads designed for individuals).

And don't forget, libraries, colleges and universities can request a free trial to MEMSO (Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online), which is used around the world for anyone interested in the humanities and law.

We look forward to hearing from you!

COMMENT: So what is TannerRitchie? From the site:

TannerRitchie Publishing provides an extensive range of rare historical titles used by researchers, historians and genealogists around the world.

To cut a long story short, this is a site well worth exploring for early Irish, Scottish, and English resources from the medieval period onwards. For Scotland alone it has PDF versions of books from the Scottish Record Society, the Bannatyne Club, Scottish Burgh Records Society, the Historical Manuscripts Collection, the Iona Club, William Fraser's Scottish Family Histories, various Calendars of historic Scottish Government papers, and much more. (Note that publications from the Scottish Record Society are not included in this sale).

In the sale all ebooks are currently CAN $10 or less. You can also get a discounted access to the Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO) site, with the discounts as below:

If you are curious about MEMSO and early resources, now is the time to have a play. And believe me, you will find something of interest! There's some basic info on the resource at https://tannerritchie.com/memso.php.

Have fun!

Chris

Needing a Christmas present for a family history obsessed love one (or for yourself)?! For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

How did medieval people walk?!

I love a bit of quirky, I do!

The following video popped up on my timeline, having been shared in a blogpost by Kelly Faircloth at https://pictorial.jezebel.com/this-video-of-how-medieval-people-walked-is-oddly-compe-1819217663. It features a German gent by the name of Cornelius Berthold addressing an issue that I was never even aware of before - the fact that in the medieval period, people walked in a very different way to how they do today. It was all down to the footwear!

Enjoy...!

(Also available at https://youtu.be/EszwYNvvCjQ)

Chris

My next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course commences Nov 6th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

TNA podcasts - First World War VD prosecution, and medieval treason and magic

The National Archives based in England (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) has two new podcasts available.

‘A Bit of a Scratch’, a radio drama about the battle against Venereal Disease during the First World War

‘A Bit of a Scratch’ explores the first recorded prosecution under the Venereal Diseases Act 1917. The legislation was introduced due to the large numbers, roughly 5%, of UK troops returning from the First World War with venereal diseases and to ensure that treatment was undertaken by qualified medical professionals. The last century has seen remarkable developments in sexual health, however with rising numbers of sexually transmitted infections and the emergence of antimicrobial resistant disease, the provision of high quality sexual health services are more important than ever.

This podcast was produced jointly with the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). More information on the issues
contained within this podcast can be found on the BASHH website and @BASHH_UK.

The podcast is available at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/bit-scratch/


Medieval treason and magic

In this podcast, two of our records specialists tell us about treason and necromancy in The National Archives’ medieval records.

The first part, narrated by Paul Dryburgh, tells the story of a band of men from Coventry who planned to kill King Edward II and his supporters, the Despencers, with a plot that involved wax effigies and pins. In the second part, Sean Cunningham discusses one of the earliest English language statements in legal history; a tale involving a mole catcher and a magical dismembered hand.

The podcast is available at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/medieval-treason-magic/

NB: Please note the survey that the archive is asking for responses from, concerning its online media player, available at http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/FFCFX/.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

TNA podcast - The life and death of King John

The latest podcast from the National Archives in England (www.nationalarchives.co.uk) will be of interest to those with ancestors in early medieval England. Entitled The life and death of King John, the 42 minute long talk by Professor David Carpenter, Professor Stephen Church, and Dr Marc Morris deals with the following:

King John’s acts of misgovernment prompted his barons to demand reform, setting the kingdom on the road to civil war and leading to John’s grant of Magna Carta. Why was he seen as such a terrible king and how did Magna Carta come about?

Professor David Carpenter, Professor Stephen Church and Dr Marc Morris discuss the life and reign of King John, 800 years after his death in October 1216.

To access the podcast visit http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/life-death-king-john/ or download for free from iTunes.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Forthcoming talks at the National Archives at Kew

Forthcoming events this week at the National Archives in England (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk):

Ireland and 1916: Isle of Saints and Soldiers?(Symposium)
Saturday 18 June 2016, 10:00-17:00

This symposium will look at the Irish contribution to and experience of the First World War. As it falls between both centenaries, topics will include the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme but will also consider broader historical questions, relating to Ireland and the war.

Professor Alexander Watson, Professor Richard Grayson, Dr Timothy Bowman and Lar Joye will all speak at the event, with a discussion panel to follow which will include former Pre
sident Mary McAleese and Ambassador Daniel Mulhall.


Pipe Roll Society lecture 2016: Government and Recordkeeping in the Middle Ages
Tuesday, 28 June 2016 from 18:00 to 19:30

Dr Richard Cassidy, an acknowledged expert on Exchequer administration and finance in the 13th century, will speak about the memorand rolls - key records which document the process of auditing royal accounts.
One of the last great series of medieval rolls to be catalogued in detail, the memoranda rolls reveal a wealth of information about people, places, royal and individual rights, the economy, government finance and warfare in the medieval period.


‘A test of support’: The end of Ottoman neutrality, 1913-14
Thursday, 30 June 2016 from 14:00 to 15:00

What led the Ottoman Empire to join Germany and her allies in the First World War? Find out how a matrix of seemingly unrelated events and foreign policies – including the machinations of then First Sea Lord Winston Churchill – ultimately pushed Turkish leaders to leave neutrality behind and join the Central Powers.


Further details, and how to book places, at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/visit-us/whats-on/events/

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

DNA marker link to Battle of Bannockburn identified

A couple of years ago I blogged about the University of Strathclyde's Bannockburn Family History Project (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/battle-of-bannockburn-family-history.html), which attempts to find DNA connections to folk living today with many of the participants at the medieval battle.

The latest annoucnement from the project was made today, concerning a connection established between a Stirlingshire based businessman and the line of King Robert III, thanks to a newly identified marker called ZZ52 specific to the lineage of his son, Sir John Stewart of Blackhall and Ardgowan. John grandfather was Walter Stewart, who particpated in the battle on the side of the Bruce.

The full story is available in the National newspaper at www.thenational.scot/news/grandfathers-royal-roots-revealed-by-advanced-dna-test.18074, with the BBC picking up on it also at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-36396531.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Medieval English Genealogy website update

The Medieval English Genealogy website (www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk) has an update with news of new published additions to the Victoria County History series, abstracts for 2916 fines for several counties added to the Feet of Fines sections, new web links, and more.

For full details visit www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/updates/update.shtml

(With thanks to the Guild of One Name Studies via Twitter)

Chris

For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

Tracing medieval Scots, Welsh and Irish emigrants in England

Amanda Epperson's Scottish Emigration Blog has a good piece on the England's Immigrants 1330-1550 database at www.englandsimmigrants.com, noting that it is possible to identify some 3389 Scottish emigrants who appeared in England in that period, as mentioned within various medieval documents. The full post is available at http://scottishemigration.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/scots-in-medieval-england.html.

I carried out a similar search on Irish emigrants who turned up in England, and found some 2018 entries, whilst for Wales, 60 folk are noted.

(With thanks to Amanda)

Chris

For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

TNA podcast - Courtroom reality in medieval England

The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) is entitled Annual lecture of the Pipe Roll Society (2014): Formal record and courtroom reality in 13th and 14th century England, a 50 minute talk by Prof. Paul Bland.

The podcast can be heard for free at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/annual-lecture-pipe-roll-society-2014/ or downloaded from iTunes.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

Surnames database project reaches 45,000 names

The Family Names of the United Kingdom Project, currently under way at my old university in Bristol, the University of the West of England, has now researched some 45,000 names to date in its project to document British surnames across time, completing the first phase of the project due to be published in 2016.

The project was recently revised and given additional funding to include surnames for which there are still at least 20 people bearing it as a minimum, as opposed to the previous 100.

The full update is available at both www.medievalists.net/2014/04/14/database-uk-surnames-reached-45000-entries-dating-back-middle-ages/ and www1.uwe.ac.uk/cahe/research/bristolcentreforlinguistics/fanuk.aspx.

(With thanks to Medievalists.net)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

People of Medieval Scotland website launch

A new consolidated website has appeared online for early Scottish medieval research. The People of Medieval Scotland project has catalogued about 21,000 people mentioned in 8,600 documents written between 1093 and 1314, and can be accessed at www.poms.ac.uk. The site has been formed from the combination of resources from two projects, The Paradox of Medieval Scotland (2007-2010) and The Breaking of Britain (2010-2013).

(With thanks to Ali MacDonald on Facebook)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Trinity College Dublin archive projects

Trinity College Dublin (www.tcd.ie) has been awarded €6.5 million by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme for a new four year archive project looking at both the First World War and medieval Europe. The project is entitled CENDARI (Collaborative EuropeaN Digital ARchive Infrastructure). Three British institutions are involved also - the University of Birmingham, Kings College London and the Consortium of European Research Libraries.

From the press release:

The project focuses on two pilot areas of research: The First World War, a pan-European conflict which led to the dispersal of archives across national borders, all but preventing the rise of any truly comparative approach to its history, and the medieval era, crucible of modern Europe. CENDARI will see technical experts join forces with leading historians and archivists to create a widely applicable digital infrastructure of the highest quality. It will allow scholars unprecedented visibility over primary archival materials, from illuminated medieval gospels to propaganda leaflets dropped over Germany in 1917. It will also offer huge flexibility in the organisation and visualisation of these materials, prompting new research methods and answers to previously unanswered questions.

By integrating and enhancing a huge variety of data and sources into a central research infrastructure, CENDARI will provide a model that is not only relevant for historical data, but also for other scientific fields, such as biomedical images and environmental data.

Commenting on the significance of the project headed by Dr Jennifer Edmond of the Trinity Long Room Hub says: “Projects like CENDARI not only push the barriers of what e-infrastructures are able to do, but they also bring new users into the Digital Humanities community. The project will introduce skills necessary to the next generation of young researchers, drawing young people into advanced study of history. As the data it contains will be easy to adapt for public audiences, CENDARI will also give all citizens a platform to expand their understanding of their place within the European Community.”

*The CENDARI consortium partners:

• Trinity College Dublin (lead institution)
• Freie Universitaet Berlin (Germany)
• Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Serbia)
• University of Birmingham (UK)
• Kings College London (UK)
• Georg August Universitaet Göttingen (Germany)
• Czech National Library, Prague (Czeck Republic)
• International Society for the Study of Medieval Latin (Italy)
• Fondazione Ezio Francheschini (Italy)
• University of Stuttgart (Germany)
• Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (France)
• Consortium of European Research Libraries (UK)
• De Koninkljike Bibliotheek - European Library (Netherlands)
• University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (Italy)

The full press release is at www.tcd.ie/Communications/news/pressreleases/pressRelease.php?headerID=2526&pressReleaseArchive=2012

(With thanks to @learnaboutarchives and @tcddublin)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Seals in Medieval Wales exhibition

An exhibition entitled Seals in Medieval Wales is currently underway at the National Library of Wales until September 29th 2012. The exhibition "explores the economy, politics and religion of medieval Wales through these fascinating and intricate objects".

For more information visit www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=5326

(And we're talking wax seals here...!)

Chris

British GENES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES and Twitter @chrismpaton

Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ScottishGenealogyResearch

Gillian Waters joins Pharos team

Medievalist Gillian Waters has joined the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) team, where she will be teaching a new five week course entitled Introduction to Medieval Genealogy, from April 19th 2012. Gillian has worked at the National Armouries Museum in Leeds from 1996-2011 and teaches at York University. A full biography and details on the course can be found on the Pharos website.

FYI, the only course starting up in February from Pharos that still is still advertising available spaces is:

Researching Your Welsh Ancestors (Eilir Daniels, 5 wks, £45.99)

And another quick plug for my own Scottish Research Online course, starting from March 8th, 5 weeks at £45.99...!

(With thanks to Helen Osborn)

Chris