Shopping-and-Product-Reviews:Fashion-Style Articles

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Choose Your Medieval Clothing Style To Attend A Medieval Wedding

Choose Your Medieval Clothing Style To Attend A Medieval Wedding

Do you have an invitation to attend a medieval wedding? Don't know what should you wear? Before you spend time searching for costumes and purchase anything, you should first find out if the wedding style. Is the wedding style going to be a peasant style medieval wedding or lords and kings style medieval wedding? Showing up in different style and costumes would certainly be awkward.

The bride and groom may have a simple wedding ceremony outside in nature like a peasant and move on to a medieval feast like in a castle. In this case, you could choose and wear a costume that meets somewhat between the two classes, like well-to-do merchants, lesser nobles, royal knights, a lady-in-waiting, or else.

The couple may have an elaborate church wedding and then have their reception at some outdoor venue. Dressing down would be more appropriate. You can choose more fitting to the lower classes such as a serving wench, a lesser knight, or a villager.

Medieval Clothing styles changed with each generation. But, there are still some common elements through most of the styles.

The materials used for medieval clothing was heavier than it is today. If you plan on sewing your own costumes, keep in mind that pastel colors were outdated. The colors should be vibrant, rich and deep. Choose materials that contain deep blues, forest green, burgundies or chocolate browns.

Choose a suitable materials for the main outer garment such as velvet, brocade or damask. Take care in choosing the material pattern. Medieval clothing did not contain stripes, polka dots or small patterns. You can add leather laces, ribbons and other such ties to secure clothing. If you elect to wear peasant garb, choose attire made from linen, cotton or other materials so you will remain comfortable.

If you don't have much time to search around, maybe rent a medieval costume isn't a bad idea. However, it depends on your costume rental shop or a professional theatre whether they have some sort of medieval clothing that you wants. Your medieval costume selection may be limited. You can try purchasing a medieval costume online to save your time.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Family Fun In A Medieval Mode

Family Fun In A Medieval Mode

Slashing swords, chain-mail armor, flowing gowns, pageantry, gold crowns - these scenes will greet spectators to Saturday's Highland River Melees, a series of battles set by the creek that wanders through City Park in Hagerstown.

The event features armored combatants who belong to the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a national organization promoting the history and culture of the Middle Ages.

Spectators are welcome to the event, which takes place all day Saturday.

It's easy to be captivated by the flash and crash of battle. But for longtime SCA member Eric Knibb, the group is about more than fighting.

"In itself, going out and hitting people with swords, it's a lot of fun," said Knibb, a Williamsport resident. "But the primary focus of the SCA is to re-create the positive aspects of the Middle Ages."

Chivalry, for one thing. Knibb said if a combatant loses a weapon during battle, their opponent allows them to pick it up before continuing. Courtesy is one aspect of medieval culture.

SCA members also re-create medieval foods, music, costumes, children's toys, tents, and more.

Knibb makes chain mail.

Under his adopted medieval Scottish persona, Fergus, Knibb makes shirts, armor and other chain-mail items and sells them to other SCA members or to the public. His product line includes pouches, shirts, jewelry, chandeliers and, um, bikini tops.

"Bikini tops are not medieval whatsoever," Knibb said, with a laugh. "I make them because people buy them."

Knibb has been making chain mail for 20 years. He met and married his wife, Glynis, through the group. And though he has no children of his own, he knows other families who are involved.

Read complete article in Herald-Mail.com

At Port Gamble Medieval Faire, ‘A Thousand Years of History to Draw On'

At Port Gamble Medieval Faire, ‘A Thousand Years of History to Draw On'

By Josh Farley

jfarley@kitsapsun.com

@DATELINE:PORT GAMBLE

From stitching coifs to throwing spears, one thousand years of history came to life Saturday in Port Gamble.

The 27th annual Medieval Faire, which continues today, showcased the best of life in the middle ages, minus death, disease and other drawbacks of the millennium.

"We take the best aspects of the Middle Ages, but we avoid things like the Black Plague or the Spanish Inquisition," said Eric Bosley of Port Orchard, also known as Eric De Dragonslaier.

About 1,000 members of the Society for Creative Anachronism — including 300 or so from Kitsap — camped out for the weekend to give visitors an idea of life long ago.

"Instead of just reading about it, you recreate it," said Silverdale resident Tammie Dupuis, who goes by Laurellen in her medieval life.

Visitors could watch glass blowing or dueling knights, as well as equestrian jousting and archery competitions.

"We have 1,000 years of history to draw on," Bosley said.

SCA members aren't bashful about their passion for all things medieval.

"People here don't think you're weird for wanting to learn new things," said Rycheza, aka Laura Henson of Suquamish, a member for 22 years.

Read complete article in Kitsapsun.com

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Medieval and Renaissance Forum presents Ensemble Chaconne

Medieval and Renaissance Forum presents Ensemble Chaconne

Ensemble Chaconne, with mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal, will join the 30th Annual Plymouth State University Medieval and Renaissance Forum for a single public performance Friday at 8:15 p.m. The concert will be performed at Heritage Hall in Hall Residence Hall on Highland Street in Plymouth.

Praised for "vitality and character … style and verve" by MusicWeb International, Ensemble Chaconne is celebrating its 23rd season. Members of the ensemble are Peter H. Bloom, Renaissance flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba and Olav Chris Henriksen, Renaissance lute.

Ensemble Chaconne will perform "Measure for Measure: The Music of Shakespeare's Plays" at PSU, a sampling of the music Shakespeare's audiences would have heard, written by the leading composers of his day.

Selections are tied directly to the plays and include music from "As You Like It," "Measure for Measure," "Twelfth Night," "Henry V," "The Winter's Tale," "The Tempest," "Hamlet," "Othello," "Macbeth" and other plays.

Ensemble Chaconne has garnered consistent critical acclaim for its vivid concerts of Renaissance music on period instruments. They have developed themed program for organizations including Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and the Peabody Essex Museum, and have performed in concert halls across the U.S.

Guest artist Pamela Dellal has toured the U.S., Europe, Australia and Japan and has recorded for Arabesque Records, Artona, BMG, and others.

Tickets for Ensemble Chaconne's Plymouth performance are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and students. Contact Professor Karolyn Kinane at 535-2402 or send e-mail to kkinaneplymouth.edu.

Taken From Citizen.com

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

St. Cloud Costume Shop Weathers Tough Economy

St. Cloud Costume Shop Weathers Tough Economy

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The aisles of Invincible Costume and Theatrical are crammed with a thousand stories, just waiting to be told.

Fuzzy, white bunny heads wait patiently in a row. A Chinese dragon peers down from a wall of wigs. Tinkerbell's dress soars silently above costumes for musketeers, cheerleaders, leprechauns and beasts.

Each garment stands ready, waiting for an opportunity to transform the mundane into the magical. Then the shop door bell rings. An ordinary person walks into the changing room and emerges as a hero or a villain, a cartoon character or a mobster.

"When they come in skeptical and they leave with a grin on their face - when they go out the door saying 'That was a lot of fun' - then I know I've succeeded," owner Michael Anderson said.

For 26 years, Invincible Costume & Theatrical has dressed the dreams of Minnesota. It designs, builds and rents theatrical costumes and accessories.

When Anderson started working at the shop, he had never made a costume.

An Air Force veteran and a graduate of the University of Iowa, he moved to St. Cloud in 1993 to be closer to his family. Although he held a degree in theater, he worked at a variety of jobs in other industries. Then in 1994 while volunteering at County Stearns Theatrical Company, he heard about a job opening at Invincible Costume and Theatrical. He decided to give it a try.

It proved a good fit.

"I love making things. I don't care what they are," Anderson said. "I've worked in leather, worked in plastics, worked as a carpenter and with concrete. I like the act of creation."

When former owner Sandra Oullette decided to sell the business in 1998, Anderson bought the company and set his sights on making the best costumes in the country.

Invincible Costume has thrived under Anderson's ownership, developing a reputation for historical accuracy and attention to detail.

"We don't rely on 50 feet and bright lights like most theatrical companies," Anderson said. "Our costumes have to look good not only onstage but close up. We can't do gold-painted macaroni."

Today Anderson has more than 7,000 costumes in every shape and size. There are furs, kilts, hoop skirts, military uniforms and wedding gowns. There are more than 1,000 hats and an entire shelf dedicated to go-go boots.

"I'm sure I own more powder blue tux coats than anyone else in the state," Anderson said.

Costumes rent for an average of $35, with the most expensive items available for $70. Anything they don't have, they make. So far, they've never been stumped.

"We make everything and we're very good at it," Anderson said.

Anderson is assisted in his work by seamstress Misty Rinkenberger, who helps build, alter and maintain costumes. During the busy Halloween season, eight seasonal employees join the Invincible team.

The shop serves customers across Minnesota and surrounding states. Some need a costume for a holiday or special occasion.

There are businesses and organizations that use characters to enliven events and promotions. And there are opera and theatrical companies looking to dress an entire cast.

Individual sales are highest at Halloween when Invincible rents out 500 to 1,200 costumes each year.

"That's all going out within a three-day period," Anderson said. "Imagine the laundry. One year we were cleaning costumes until Thanksgiving."

Holidays are also busy times, prompting orders from churches, retailers and restaurants. A leprechaun costume made its debut at the Sauk Rapids' Coborn's store on St. Patrick's Day. Now it's the Easter Bunny's turn. The shop's 20 bunny costumes are scheduled to appear at more than 60 Easter events.

Then there are the specialty orders, like the gold lame outfit and blond wig for a Mr. Montana Karaoke contest or the llama costumes for the United Way's Llama Llama Read-A-Rama.

But Invincible's main focus remains costuming theatrical productions. Anderson estimates he costumes about 70 productions each year. A recent production of "A Christmas Carol" required 120 period costumes.

"When you're truly reaching (the audience), when there's the willing suspension of disbelief, that's when we've been successful," Anderson said. "As Shakespeare said, 'The play's the thing.'"

Anderson is constantly building new pieces. Some are created to fill customer requests. Others are costumes for characters or projects that scratch a creative itch.

A replica of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow costume from "Pirates of the Caribbean" has been in the works for years.

"People will kill to get this outfit," Anderson said. "I've had people begging me to get this costume finished. I work on it when I can."

Though it's still under construction, one look at the worn French naval coat, waistcoat and breeches quickly conjures the image of Depp's charming but dissolute character. That authentic appearance didn't come easy.

"It's a big project. I've already added and removed dye 10 times on the coat," Anderson said. "I'm trying to make it appear worn by salt water, by the bottle, by the effects of time, by having wine poured on it - by anything that would happen to a pirate."

Another pet project is a replica of an Elizabethan costume Gwyneth Paltrow wore in "Shakespeare in Love." Anderson has been working on the exquisite gown on and off for five years. It is made of fine silk and features a hand-stitched Elizabethan corset and a cartridge pleated skirt that's painstakingly decorated with pearls.

"The lace collar alone has 300 stitches in it," Anderson said. "I'd be willing to bet that I'm the only guy in the world that has made one of these during the Super Bowl."

With each new project, Anderson learns new skills. He studies contemporary and period patterns and searches for new construction techniques. And he is constantly on the lookout for new materials and tools.

"There are a lot of new, well actually old, techniques from the 1500s in this gown," Anderson said. "I love history. It's all about learning new things for me."

The last decade has been hard on the costume rental industry. The last recession started a wave of costume shop closures that continues to this day.

"Ninety percent of U.S. costume shops went out of business in the last 10 years," Anderson said. "We deal with a completely expendable resource. There is nothing that we sell that people need to live, so these are the things that go first (in budgets)."

The current recession isn't helping. According to Anderson, his 2008 Halloween sales were the lowest in 20 years.

"We made less money than we did in 1988," Anderson said. "But in '88 there was nobody else doing adult costuming."

Competitors have sprung up as well. Internet vendors and "30-day shops" that spring up like mushrooms a month before Halloween have prices Anderson can't beat, but he hopes the quality of their materials and workmanship will make customers think twice before buying them.

"A cheap costume from China is going to look really good on the Internet," Anderson said. "But when you see them up close you realize the kind of shoddy materials they're made of. They're really basically plastic."

Invincible has responded to these challenges by continuing to do what it does best: Building authentic costumes with quality materials.

"We don't do it if it's not right. Any costumes that goes out of here is a reflection on us," Anderson said. "We do inexpensive, but we don't do cheap."

Anderson also keeps a sharp eye out for new trends and new audiences. When Renaissance-themed weddings became popular, Invincible Costume was there to outfit wedding parties. When '70s and '80s parties became hip, they were ready to outfit guests. This year, they are beginning to see requests for wigs and accessories for anime events.

"Like any business, we're always looking for new markets," Anderson said. "We do guerrilla theater. We do it anyway we can get it done. Like in guerrilla warfare, we make up the rules as we go along."

So far his strategy is working. Unlike many businesses that are tied to the arts, Invisible Costume has survived for 26 years.

"We're not getting richer. We're just hanging in there," Anderson said. "I think anybody in the arts would understand that survival right now is somewhat of an incredible thing."

Taken From FortMillTimes.com

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

MoMA Exhibition of Drawings for Theater, Dance, and Opera Explores Visual Experimentation on the Stage

MoMA Exhibition of Drawings for Theater, Dance, and Opera Explores Visual Experimentation on the Stage

NEW YORK, NY.- Featuring approximately 150 drawings from The Museum of Modern Art's collection, Stage Pictures: Drawing for Performance investigates the work that results when artists design for theater, dance, and opera.

The exhibition highlights set and costume studies, as well as more abstract suggestions of light and mood, from the total theaters of the Ballets Russes and the Bauhaus, to Lincoln Kirstein’s formation of the New York City Ballet, to Pop performances and contemporary epic opera.

The works, many rarely on view, span a century of visual experimentation on the stage, demonstrating how artists have used drawing strategies to translate texts into dramatic mises-en-scène, articulate illumination and shadow, imagine the form and presentation of character, manipulate bodies in space, and express duration.

Such artists as Marc Chagall, Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Jim Dine, George Grosz, David Hockney, William Kentridge, Fernand Léger, Lyubov Popova, Diego Rivera, Oskar Schlemmer, and Robert Wilson are featured alongside career set and costume designers.

Several video projections of realized performances are also shown, complementing related drawings. The exhibition, on view March 11 through August 25, 2009, is organized by Jodi Hauptman, Curator, Department of Drawings, The Museum of Modern Art.

MoMA’s commitment to stage pictures dates to 1939, when Lincoln Kirstein, a colleague of MoMA’s founding director Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and the eventual founder of the New York City Ballet, gave his personal collection of performance-related books and ephemera to the Museum, establishing a Dance Archives that would, for a brief period in the mid-1940s, become a separate curatorial department.

Though the Museum’s Department of Dance and Theatre Design (later the Department of Theatre Arts) was short lived, the Museum continues to collect theater-related work today.

While the works in the exhibition vary in emphasis—from those with roots in folk traditions, machine aesthetics, or the mass media, to others that question the architecture of the stage, make abstract forms three-dimensional, or envision a total artwork on an epic scale—they all reflect a desire to create something new, to work across mediums, and to unify the arts.

Folk traditions were exploited and modified by artists associated with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, including Natalia Goncharova (Russian, 1881-1962), who created a city square inspired by the bold outlines of Russian icon painting and the abstract patterns of peasant embroidery for the 1937 Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo revival of Le Coq d’or. A study for this elaborate backdrop is on view in the galleries.

Inspired by the world of rapid industrialization, many artists focused on the workings of the machine, including Fernand Léger (French, 1881-1955) and Oskar Schlemmer (German, 1888-1943).

Commissioned for the 1922 Ballets Suédois production of Skating Rink, Léger’s mechanical costumes, once set in motion, reflected the artist’s sense that the rhythm of industry and the modern city’s everyday bustle were the most entrancing of spectacles.

For Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet, performed for the first time in its entirety in 1922, the artist created costumes that transformed the dancers from humans into mechanized puppets. Sketches of Schlemmer’s costumes are shown alongside a filmed reconstruction of the ballet from 1970.

Folk traditions merge with machine aesthetics in works such as Lyubov Popova's (Russian, 1889-1924) costume drawing for a 1921 Moscow production of Romeo and Juliet. For this design, Popova created a suit of armor out of hard-edged blue polygons resembling sheets of metal. The result is a costume that is both medieval and mechanical.

Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957) emphasized the tension between industry and nature in designs for the 1932 Philadelphia Civic Opera Company's production of H.P. (Horsepower). In the drawings on view, costumes animate tropical fruit and gold and silver bars, while sets juxtapose flora and machines.

Pop art's impact, as well as the emancipating effect of 1960s Happenings on traditional performance, can be found in colorful collaged designs by Jim Dine (American, b. 1935) and David Hockney (British, b. 1937). Taking his cue from a Red Devil paint sample chart, Dine employed a rainbow palette in a series of drawings for a raucous 1966 performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

More recent projects by artists such as Robert Wilson (American, b. 1941) and William Kentridge (South African, b. 1955) show efforts to create multimedia productions on an epic scale.

On view is a recent acquisition, a drawing from the series Preparing the Flute (2005), Kentridge's backdrop design for Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, which he directed and co-designed in 2005.

To prepare for the production, the artist created black-and-white drawings that employ photography's positive and negative imagery to emphasize the opera's larger themes of darkness and light.

Just outside the galleries are two reconstructions of costumes by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) for the 1917 Ballets Russes production of Parade. Picasso created set and costume designs to accompany a scenario by Jean Cocteau, music by Erik Satie, and choreography by Léonide Massine.

Accompanying these large-scale works—including The French Manager (1917), which measures almost 9-feet tall—is a video excerpt of the Joffrey Ballet's 1973 revival of Parade.

Taken From ArtDaily.org

Thursday, January 29, 2009

4 Interesting Facts About Renaissance Doctors and Medicine

4 Interesting Facts About Renaissance Doctors and Medicine

Do you usually link Renaissance to advances in medicine? Typically, when we talk about the Renaissance period, we talk about an explosion of learning and creativity. From paintings to music, this was a tremendous time for the arts in particular.

However, the era of the Renaissance, which lasted from the middle 1400s until the 1700s, also featured major developments in European medicine. Here are some of the important facts surrounding the Renaissance period and medicine:

1. New knowledge and inventions improved medicine

A flurry of new knowledge and inventions helped to advance medicine quickly, during the Renaissance. There were no instruments yet to observe bacteria, and thus create a need for cheap urbane scrubs.

However, diagrams of the human body and the printing press both had a huge influence on the world of medicine. Thus, doctors had a better comprehension of how the human body functioned, than during any previous era in Europe's history.

2. Galen was no longer king

During the previous Middle Ages, the medical world considered Galen's writings to be infallible. Galen was an ancient Greek living in Rome, who had developed the concepts of Hippocrates, "The Father of Medicine."

However, during the Renaissance, doctors took a more practical and academic approach to training in their profession. Medical students studied from books with realistic diagrams of humans.

In addition to better books, doctors-in-training also had access to more of them, thanks to the invention of the printing press. In fact, universities even permitted students to dissect humans, towards the end of the Renaissance. This practice had previously been limited to animals.

3. Science began to supersede spirituality

During the Renaissance, people still held to some spiritual reasoning regarding diseases. For instance, people were unaware that bacteria existed, and could spread from person-to-person. However, logic became king, due to a new wealth of knowledge available, and an efficient way to distribute it faster-the printing press.

In addition, the training for surgical procedures greatly improved. Apprentices would learn surgical techniques, from an active surgeon. Interestingly, universities themselves failed to supply doctors-in-training with these skills. Nevertheless, the improvements in textbooks about human anatomy significantly boosted the complexity of the surgeries that doctors did.

4. Many did not embrace advances in medicine

While the Renaissance ushered in a new era of medical knowledge and skills, not everyone was impressed. During the Renaissance, home remedies remained a vital aspect of medical treatment, for many people.

In fact, some people still sought treatments from local shaman who lacked formal training in the medical profession. Also, many "old-school" doctors and the Catholic Church still adhered to the teachings of Galen. However, within time, medical advances during the Renaissance would revolutionize the whole professional.

The Renaissance was clearly an era of enlightenment and developments. Besides the fantastic output in the arts, the medical profession flourished as well. While doctors were yet unaware of bacteria or the need to wear scrubs during surgeries, they were nonetheless learning. Essentially starting with the Renaissance, spiritual doctors were becoming scientific doctors!

Brent McNutt enjoys talking about cheap urbane scrubs and cheap landau scrubs as well as networking with healthcare professionals online.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

How to Cut Costs with Halloween Costumes

How to Cut Costs with Halloween Costumes

There's no reason to overspend on Halloween costumes if you plan ahead. Here are tips for saving money at Halloween.

1. Prepare for next year - of course it's too late now, but check Halloween stores and local drugstores the day after Halloween and stock up on accessories that don't go out of style like face makeup, vampire teeth, and cobweb netting. The discounts are often as much as 90%. Garage sales also net very, very cheap Halloween costumes if you're willing to grab them when you see them.

2. Start early - It is easy to sometimes make your own, but never a good idea to start looking for good budget ideas on October 30th.

3. Look for ideas that don't tie to specific characters. It's hard to make something look like a real good knock-off of Mickey Mouse.

4. Try community sites for previously used Halloween outfits, especially in kids' sizes.

5. Involve your child - ask them what they want to be and use items your kids are already interested in. If you have football or soccer outfits, use them. This is simple and might be easier to sell to your child rather than trying to imitate what they have seen on TV.

6. Take a trip to thrift store and consider these favorites:

• Old prom dresses, along with blood for a "Carrie" costume, or for Beauty Pageant misfits
• Bridal gowns for "Bride of Frankenstein" or cut down as princess dresses
• Old tuxedos for crazy French waiters
• Retro outfits

7. Consider these cheap and easy costumes:

• Wrap a sheet and you have a mummy or a toga costume
• Safety pin odd clothing items to a single colored ensemble and go as "static cling."
• Wrap a red blanket around a child, put on a big cross or other medallion and go as a medieval crusader
• Eye patch, red turtleneck, blue jeans and a red bandana for a pirate
• Attach Smarties to your child's pants with packing tape to create a "smartie(s) pants" costume (familyfun.com idea)

8. Consult websites for ideas. Two of our favorites are:

• coolest-homemade-costumes.com - idea sharing site
• familyfun.com (even a category for last minute ideas)

There are plenty of ideas without the need for a glue gun or sewing machine. Even if you feel you aren't very creative, the websites listed above have lots of ideas of things you can put together mostly using items you have at home.

Halloween doesn't have to be expensive and can be a lot of fun, probably more so, if you use a little imagination rather than buying something off the rack at the store. Put on your creative hat and get cracking because here is an easy method for creating homemade Halloween masks for your little trick-or-treater.

Paul Banas is a founder of GreatDad.com. Discuss about planning a baby, holiday ideas, raising kids, activity with kids and other parenting related topics at his Fathers Forum.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Medieval Armor - The Replicas Of Ancient Body Armors

Medieval Armor - The Replicas Of Ancient Body Armors

The epitome of medieval armor lies in its exceptional structure and significant praxis. In medieval period soldiers wore it in wars and combats, so that they can defend themselves from the sudden attacks of the enemies.

The prime usage of medieval armors was to protect the soldiers or its wearer from the strikes of the weapons. Earlier, in Greek and Roman empires these body shells were considered as the top priority for soldiers and every knight had to wear it.

These knights are most memorized for their sophisticated armors. However, apart from the excellence of armors and their battle competence, they were also considered as the style statement.

In fact, even today most of the people around the world are awestruck with medieval armors. Many people strive to collect these historical artifacts for their home collection and rummage around for the best replicas of those medieval armors which were in those days considered as the prestigious possessions.

Owning a breastplate, early medieval helmet, axes and lots of other kinds of armors can change the entire gaze and feel of your home. All these medieval armors can be used for battle reenactments also and in various movies and shows in order to regenerate the exact feel of medieval era in the mind and heart of the viewers.

All the medieval armors are usually hand made by the well versed artisans but many of them are machine made also. The material used in the construction of the armaments is also of top quality, so that they can remain for a long time to come.

If we talk about the replicas of ancient helmets, then there are varieties of these head covering like Viking helmet, Roman helmet, French helmet, Gladiator helmet, Knight helmet, Saxon helmet etc.

If you need ancient axes then medieval axe and medieval farsa are available for your requirement. Likewise, various other kinds of medieval armors in the form of chain mail, leather, breastplate can also be purchase from various online shops.

Find the most exclusive range of medieval armor at http://www.stalloneindia.com

Friday, September 26, 2008

Medieval Medicine: Ways of the Old

Medieval Medicine: Ways of the Old

Within the history of medicine timeline, medieval medicine is a particularly interesting aspect to investigate, as at this time medicine was still based on some fairly archaic ideas, but by the end of the era new theories were beginning to emerge which would one day revolutionize medicine.

The timeline of medicine begins much earlier than medieval times--in fact, medicine's history extends back to the prehistoric era--but it was during the medieval age that certain medical advances were made which would prove to be particularly important in the future.

The Medieval System of Medicine

The most well-respected physician during the medieval era was Galen of Pergamum, a Greek who had lived in the second century B.C. During the time in which he lived, his work had added a great deal of important information to the store of medical knowledge--including study on inflammation, infectious diseases, and pharmacology.

At this time, qualifying as a Doctor of Medicine involved ten years' worth of study, and because of this there were relatively few doctors. Women were did not train as doctors, but many medical practitioners actually were women, until the increasing regulation of the profession began to exclude people who had not trained from practicing.

The Medieval Theory: Four Humors

During the medieval era, the prevailing medical theory was the theory of humours, which was pioneered by Hippocrates and further developed by Galen of Pergamum. The theory of humours ended up being very long-lived--it was not until the nineteenth century that it began to fall out of use.

According to the theory, the body was made up of four principal humours--fluids--called yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm. All diseases were caused by imbalances in the body's proportion of the various humours.

For example, too much phlegm in the body would cause lung diseases, and would cause the lungs to cough up the excess phlegm in an attempt to restore the balance between the four humours. Each of the four humours was also associated with particular organs, climate types, elements, and even personality types.

Treating various diseases often involved the application of herbs, which were supposed to help restore the balance between the humors. Using herbs lent itself to the Christian "Doctrine of Signatures," which stated that God had provided a world in which the cure for every ailment existed, and that each cure had on it some sort of sign which proclaimed its purpose. For example, Lungwort, which was used to treat tuberculosis, had an appearance similar to that of diseased lungs.

The High Medieval Era

It wasn't until the end of the medieval era that some of those important advances were made. During this era, for example, Theodoric Borgognoni pioneered the introduction of one of the most important concepts in modern medicine: the use of antiseptic practices.

Other physicians contributed immensely to the store of knowledge, including Realdo Colombo and Michael Servetus, both of whom discovered important knowledge about the circulatory system.

Emeka Ezidiegwu is Webmaster and Internet marketer who owns and operate several web properties. Emeka has written articles on many different topics for some of his web properties like: http://www.onlinemedicineinfo.com/medieval-medicine.html