Power relations and social hierarchy had an impact as well, for social standing in itself generated food culture norms, shaping the notion of a social-class-appropriate diet, i.e., what kind of ...eating habits were suitable for one class or another. According to Livonia's oldest knight law, fishing in someone else 's private waters was punishable by a fine of one mark (Kahk 1992, 157). In medieval times, daily food consumption was no longer only and directly dependent on crop yields and hard work, but was also affected by market prices and requirements, the (economic-)political decisions of lords, international agreements, etc. Norms and regulations alone do not give the full picture of how people really ate; however, there are some sources - accounts, menus, town council regulations, wills, court protocols, inventories, etc. - that shed a more direct light onto what was actually consumed.
The aim of the article is to give an overview of the veneration of Anthony the Great in medieval and early modern Estonia, identify its typical characteristics and find out how the veneration of the ...saint differed for urban and rural populations. Therefore, the topic will be approached from a wider transcultural perspective, rather than along the lines of ethnic and/or social divisions. Different sources indicate the rich heritage associated with the cult of Saint Anthony as well as its long-lasting effects on local culture.
The article deals with language use in 17th-18th century documents concerning the Estonian-speaking area. Although this was the period when German (and Swedish) pastors were busy creating literary ...Estonian, the latter was mainly used in translating church literature (catechisms, hymns, the Bible) and in sermon writing. The matrix language used in church administration was German. The documents contain but single Estonian sentences, phrases and words still missing generalised analysis. A closer look is given to the cases of Estonian used in four kinds of documents of church administration: 17th century visitation records, two different kinds of parish registers from the early 18th century, and a register of parishioners from the late 18th century. It is investigated whether it is reasonable to approach the Estonian language material found in those documents as cases of code switching and what could be revealed by such text fragments about the linguistic communication and the status of the Estonian language at that time. The results suggest that the code-switching approach worked best for the visitation records, where the Estonian quotations reveal a clear pragmatic meaning, namely, by switching from the German matrix language to Estonian, the writer expressed distancing from the quote. In parish registers, German and Estonian entries follow different templates. Occasional switching from one language to the other had no pragmatic meaning, whereas choice of the template must have been eloquent of intra-community social relations. The exact nature of the relationship needs further research, though. As for the register of parishioners from the late 18th century, it suggests that at least some of the documents of the period in question show mixed use of the two languages without any special meaning added by code switching.
Medieval research in Estonia before the 1990s concentrated mainly on the history of peasants and agriculture. The new generation of historians who generally studied at the University of Tartu in the ...1980s and 1990s substantially changed this situation. The amount of medieval research increased significantly, and the scope of research topics became much wider. Over the last two decades, medieval research in Estonia has discovered several new ways of history writing, such as microhistory, gender
studies, oral history, the history of animals, etc., which have undoubtedly brought richer and more diverse knowledge about medieval history. This also enabled historians to provide a more comprehensive picture of society and the social, cultural, etc., development of Livonia in the Middle Ages.
Due to the active international cooperation, supported by the political changes in Europe at the end of the twentieth century, medieval Livonia increasingly became a topic of interest for scholars outside Estonia and Latvia. Over the last two decades the publication activity (including publications in foreign languages) of Estonian medievalists increased several times and certainly represents one of the most active and deeply internationally networked fields of the Estonian humanities.
The central areas of medieval research in the 2000s and 2010s have been the Baltic Crusades, the history of the Teutonic Order, social history dominantly in the urban context, and the history of everyday culture. The outcome of interdisciplinary cooperation between historians, archaeologists and art historians has become important. A remarkable general tendency that can be observed is the more integrative presentation of medieval Livonian society compared to the traditional understanding. Research tends to stress interaction and mutual cultural impact between social and ethnic groups instead of conflict and isolation. The political history of medieval Livonia is dominated by examination of the activities of the Livonian Teutonic Order, and here it is remarkable that scholars have detailed account of the personal and political connections of individual actors outside Livonia, with the papal curia or emperor, for example.
As the Tallinn City Archives are one of the bestpreserved medieval archives in the Hanse area, urban history and the history of Tallinn deserve closer attention. Scanty written sources make research into small towns a convoluted and sometimes even impossible task. Luckily, the absence of written records is sometimes compensated for by archaeological findings, which makes cooperation between historians and archaeologists in this research field necessary. Medieval research in Estonia has also focused on important ecclesiastical and religious processes, especially on the spread of the Lutheran Reformation in Livonia. Regarding both urban and rural populations, the themes of everyday life, such as food or festivals, became more important than traditional interest in international trade or agricultural productivity. The lack of personal and material resources has limited the work on medieval source publications. In this regard the digital age is without doubt a major new challenge to Estonian medievalists, and, furthermore, leads to innovative approaches to medieval history.
EESTI KESKAJA UURIMINE 21. SAJANDIL Põltsam-Jürjo, Inna; Selart, Anti
Acta historica Tallinnensia,
01/2020, Letnik:
26, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Artikkel annab ülevaate Eesti keskaja ajaloo uurimise tähtsamatest tulemustest ja suundumustest viimasel kahel kümnendil. Vaadeldakse, millised uurimisvaldkonnad on osutunud selle aja jooksul kõige ...viljakamateks ning millised on loonud sobiva platvormi nii Eesti-siseseks kui ka rahvusvaheliseks koostööks. Samuti tuuakse välja teemad, mis on varasemaga võrreldes jäänud tagaplaanile või mille potentsiaali pole suudetud uurimistöös realiseerida. Artiklis tutvustatakse aktiivseid uurimisasutusi ja uurimistöö rahastamist, ühtlasi esitatakse joonealustes asjakohaste publikatsioonide rikkalik bibliograafia.
Estonia has historically been rich in sea and lake fish. Already in prehistoric times subsistence fishing played an important role in the life of the inhabitants. Due to the development of ...agriculture, the economic importance of fish declined. However, in the Middle Ages the demand for fish grew again, fish trade made rapid progress and even achieved transregional dimensions. Already the first medieval chronicles containing descriptions of Estonia praise its fish abundance. During the medieval period fish became so important that access to fishing waters was a significant factor shaping the development of local settlement.
Throughout history, the consumption of fish was influenced not only by its availability, but also by attitude, prejudices and beliefs of the people. Alongside with the spread of Christianity in Europe the proportion of fish in the daily menu increased. This resulted directly from the fasting rules of the medieval church. Namely for that reason fish dishes occupied a special place in the medieval diet. Fish was certainly a very important food because it was easily available, it was practically caught all the year round and it was relatively cheap. Moreover, eating it was not regulated by religious restrictions. Quite the contrary, due to the strict fasting rules of the church fish was inevitable in the diet of medieval people regardless of one’s social status. After Christianization in the 13th century, fasting became an obligatory norm in Estonia as well.
In the Middle Ages a part of Estonia’s population practiced fishing. Not only natural fish waters were used, written sources also speak about fish rearing. There were fishponds near abbeys, castles of the Teutonic Order, as well as in towns.
As daily food, fish was consumed in large amounts and assortment. Baltic herring was the most important fish caught from the sea. In the medieval period salted Baltic herring became a common food for Estonian peasants. On the one hand
the rules of the Lent, on the other hand the relative cheapness of fish compared to meat were the reasons why it had such an important place in the daily menu of medieval people.
Fish occupied an important place in the internal trade of medieval Estonia,
but it was also imported and exported (lamprey, eel, salmon etc.) by Hanseatic merchants. Mainly salted herring and dried cod were imported and consumed in Estonia. The assortment of local fish on sale was remarkably rich: Baltic herring, salmon, cod, smelt, flounder, lamprey, sturgeon, pike, eel, bass, bream etc. Fish spoiled easily, and that was the reason why people mostly ate salted or dried fish. However, trade in living fish has been mentioned in written sources as well.
The Reformation abolished the requirement of fasting, but the tradition that had taken root in people’s consciousness did not disappear quickly. In the Middle Ages and afterwards fish was regarded as a substitute for meat, which strongly influenced people’s attitude towards it. It is possible that the negative view deepened after the fasting regulations were liquidated and the menu was dictated primarily by one’s financial capability. In a situation where for the common people eating fish was mainly associated with the sense of poverty and hunger, it was difficult to regard it as valuable food or enjoy it.
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