Medieval crutches and prostheses

Salerno (pop. ~ 130.000) is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The site has been one of the most important and strategic ports on the Mediterranean sea, yielding a rich Greco-Roman heritage. It was an independent Lombard principality in the early Middle Ages. The Normans in 1077 made Salerno the capital of their rule in all of southern Italy. In the 16th century, under the Sanseverino family, among the most powerful feudal lords in southern Italy, the city became a center of learning, culture, and the arts. Salerno has been the seat of an archbishop since 983 and the city's medical school is famous for being the first college or "university" of medieval Europe. The Diocesan Museum is best known for the "Salerno Ivories". A collection of ivory plaques from around the 11th or 12th century that contain elements of Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic art as well as influences from Western Romanesque and Anglo-Saxon art. It is the largest unified set of ivory carvings preserved from the pre-Gothic Middle Ages and depicts narrative scenes from both the Old and New Testaments. It is supposed the ivories originated in either Salerno or Amalfi, which both contain identified ivory workshops, however, neither has been definitively linked to the plaques so the city of origin remains unknown. Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind John 9, 1:6 "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spits on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. "Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam”. So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." --- The Myrrhbearers

In 1927, which is quite recent, the town "Borgo San Donnino" changed its name to "Fidenza" as it was known as "Fidentia Julia" in Roman times. The city was given its name and the Duomo within the walls was dedicated to San Donnino di Fidenza (aka 'Donninus of Fidenza'), who was martyred nearby in 291. A legend tells, that when Charlemagne passed through "Borgo San Donnino", an angel told him, where to dig for San Donnino´s relics. He is connected to the city and the duomo. Sigeric the Serious, Archbishop of Canterbury, made a pilgrimage to Rome on the Via Francigena around 990. His contemporary accounts of this voyage still exist (and are the source of modern guidebooks). He reached "Sce Domnine" after 36 days, which is pretty fast for 1000+ km. Frederick Barbarossa had entrusted "Borgo San Donnino" to the Pallavicino family from Piacenza. In 1268, after a siege, the city was conquered by the troops of Parma, who plundered and burned it completely. All houses were destroyed at that time, only the unfinished Duomo was saved. The erection of the Cattedrale di San Donnino had started in the 11th century, the first consecration took place in 1106, though the building process continued. From around 1200 on Master Benedetto Antelami and his workshop worked here, not only as Master masons. Antelami may as well be the architect of the facade. There are reliefs in the church telling the story of Saint Doninnos, a cephalopore bearing his severed head. Left he is called by an angel during a nap, right is healing a cripple.

Naumburg has a population of around 33,000 and is the center of the northernmost German wine-growing region Saale-Unstrut. The first written record of Naumburg dates from 1012. It was founded at the crossing of two trade-routes, Via Regia and the Regensburg Road. The successful foundation not long beforehand of a Propstei Church on the site of the later Naumburg Cathedral was mentioned in the Merseburg Bishops' Chronicles in 1021. Already in 1028 Pope John XIX gave his approval for the transfer of the bishopric from Zeitz to Naumburg. Until 1568, during the Reformation, Naumburg was the seat of the bishops A late Romanesque new building was started around 1210. The new construction began in the nave. Of the old structure only the crypt survived. However, the construction of the new nave was soon abandoned. Instead, the construction of the new eastern parts of the cathedral began and the new building was then gradually continued to the west. It did not remain in this late-Romanesque form long for by the mid-13th century the early-Gothic west choir was added. It was likely finished by 1260. The western towers were raised by one floor shortly thereafter. In around 1330 the high-Gothic polygonal east choir was built. Additional floors were added to the western towers in the 14th and 15th centuries. The museum of the cathedral Medieval crutch

León was founded in 68 AD for a Roman legion from which they were supposed to pacify the rebellious mountain dwellers of Asturias and Cantabria. The name of the settlement that was then developed is based on a refined form of the Latin word "legio". After the end of the Roman Empire, the city was conquered by the Visigoths and in 712 by the Moors. In 856, after the reconquest under King Ordoño I of Asturias, the city was repopulated. Ordoño II made León the capital of his kingdom of León in 914. Sacked by Almanzor in about 987, the city was reconstructed and repopulated by Alfonso V, León was an important stop on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela. Traders and artisans settled in the suburbs and had a strong influence on the development of the city from the 13th century onwards. In the early Middle Ages, the city became prosperous through the cattle trade. However, from the 16th century until the 19th century, the economy and population declined. The main construction period of the cathedral was between 1255 and 1303. The first architect was "Master Enrique", who had previously built the transept and nave of Burgos Cathedral between 1243 and 1260. "Master Enrique" directed the construction from 1255 to 1277, using Reims Cathedral as a model. The experience he gained in Burgos prompted him to take a risk, which paid off centuries later, as many openings later had to be bricked up for stability reasons. In the middle of the 19th century, the structure was on the verge of collapse and had to be completely restored. Reconstruction lasted from 1859 to 1901. In 1302, the work was apparently stopped, probably for financial reasons. This may also be the reason for the comparatively short nave with only five bays, for the lack of a tower in the transept. The upper parts of the cathedral were not completed until 1439. I don't know whose tomb this is. Below the crucifixion scene is a group of mourners. On the right is a bishop or abbot. Below is the most interesting scene, where the deceased is distributing food to poor and crippled. Some of the sick have crutches.

Zamora straddles the Douro River. The Romans named the settlement "Occelum Durii" ("Eye of the Duero"). For the Visigoths, the place was "Semure". In the 710s the town was conquered and a Berber garrison was left in there, but some decades later it was seized by Alfonso I of Asturias. A diocese was established in the town in the early 10th century. Ibn al-Qitt unsuccessfully tried to invade the city in 901, Almanzor eventually seized the city in 966. The place returned to Christian control during the reign of Alfonso V of León. Since the early 11th century the place saw planned repopulating efforts. City walls were also erected in the 11th century. The most notable historical episode in Zamora was the assassination outside the city walls of the King Sancho II of Castile in 1072. Ferdinand I of León had divided his kingdoms between his three sons. To his daughter Urraca, he had bequeathed Zamora. All three sons warred among themselves, till the ultimate winner, Sancho, was left victorious. Zamora, under his sister who was allied with Leonese nobles, resisted. Sancho II of Castile, assisted by El Cid, laid siege to Zamora. King Sancho II was murdered by Bellido Dolfos, a duplicitous noble of Zamora, Bellido Dolfos. After the death of Sancho, Castile reverted to his deposed brother Alfonso VI of León. Zamora is known for its medieval heritage. There are more than a dozen Romanesque churches and chapels. The Zamora Cathedral was built under Bishop Esteban of the Diocese of Zamora, under the patronage of Alfonso VII and his sister, Sancha Raimúndez. The date of construction (1151–1174) is traditionally attested by an inscription on the northern side of the transept, although recent discoveries have proven that the church had already begun in 1139. The cathedral was consecrated in 1174 and works continued. The cloister and the bell tower date to the first half of the 13th century. Detail of a Gothic altar. The painting shows a bishop presenting a reliquary. On the left a cripple, lying paralyzed with hand crutches.

York was already an important centre in Roman times, when it was known under the name of Eboracum. The Vikings, who took over the area later from the Angels , in turn adapted the name to Norse Jórvík. After the Anglian settlement York was first capital of Deira and later Northumbria, and by the early 7th century, York was an important royal centre for the Northumbrian kings. Following the Norman Conquest York was substantially damaged in response to regional revolt. Two castles were erected in the city on either side of the River Ouse. In time York became an important urban centre as the administrative centre of the county of Yorkshire, as the seat of an archbishop, and at times in the later 13th and 14th centuries as an alternative seat of royal government. It was an important trading centre. York prospered during much of the later medieval era; the later years of the 14th and the earlier years of the 15th centuries were characterised by particular prosperity. During the English Civil War, the city was regarded as a Royalist stronghold and was besieged and eventually captured by Parliamentary forces under Lord Fairfax in 1644. After the war, York retained its pre-eminence in the North, and, by 1660, was the third-largest city in England after London and Norwich. A bishop of York was summoned to the Council of Arles in 314, indicating the presence of a Christian community in York at this time. The present church had at least three predecessors. The first church, mentioned by Beda was a wooden structure built in 627 to provide a place to baptise Edwin, King of Northumbria. In 741 the existing cathedral was damaged or destroyed, possibly in a fire. The cathedral then passed through the hands of numerous invaders, along with the rest of the city, and its history is unclear until the 10th century. There were a number of Benedictine archbishops, who travelled to Westminster to crown William the Conqueror in 1066. In 1069, a revolt in support of Edgar Ætheling sparked a brutal crackdown. William the Conquerors troops devastated the town and the minster. Later that year, Danish invaders supporting the Ætheling, attacked the town, starting a fire and burning the cathedral to the ground. The first Norman archbishop, Thomas of Bayeux, who arrived in 1070, apparently organised repairs, but in 1075 another Danish force sailed up the river and sacked the minster. Construction of the Norman cathedral began in 1080 and was completed in 1100. Built in the Norman style, the new cathedral was 360 feet (111 m) long. When Walter de Grey was appointed archbishop in 1215, he ordered the construction of a Gothic structure to rival Canterbury. Construction began in 1220. The north and south transepts were the first new structures, completed in the 1250s. Both were built in the early Gothic style, but had noticeably different wall heights. A massive central tower with a wooden spire was also completed. Construction continued into the 15th century. The chapter house was started in the 1260s and was completed before 1296. The wide nave was built on Norman foundations from the 1280s. The external roof was completed in the 1330s, but the vaulting was not completed until 1360. Construction then moved on to the east wing and chapels. The Norman chancel was demolished in the 1390s. In 1407 the central tower collapsed. The pillars were then reinforced and a new tower was built in 1420. The western towers were added between 1433 and 1472. In 1472 the cathedral was declared finished and consecrated. The English Reformation led to the looting of much of the cathedral's treasures. Under Elizabeth I there was a concerted effort to remove all traces of Roman Catholicism from the cathedral; there was much destruction of tombs, windows and altars. In the English Civil War the city was besieged and fell to the forces of Cromwell in 1644, but it was prevented any further damage to the cathedral. On 9 July 1984 a blaze caused severe destruction to the south transept. Believed to have been started by a lightning strike, the roof burnt for three hours before it was made to collapse by the fire brigade to stop it spreading to other parts of the minster. It took over £2.25 million to repair the damage, and a rededication ceremony was held in October 1988. Parts of the cathedral are a museum. Unknown artist / A well-dressed saint gives alms to a crippled pilgrim / ca. 1500