AI and medieval studies

The AI-Generated Middle Ages: The Pitfalls and the Potentials

More and more students – and people in all walks of life – use AI to find answers to all sorts of questions. Whereas Wiki used to be the first port of call, and Wiki is an encyclopedia, however flawed and criticized it may be, so requires some effort in reading, skimming through, etc., now people can just throw all sorts of questions at Google Gemini, ChatGPT and other bots. One of the concerns is that, instead of turning to a supervisor or seeking answer online or in a library, students are going to throw the questions out there online. And what the results would be?

This was the subject of the round table on AI generated Middle Ages. Like many people who are involved in the production and dissemination of knowledge and who work with students, I am concerned about what will happen when knowledge will be dealt out (and maybe even generated) by bots of various quality. So I simply had to attend this one. Unfortunately it coincided with a session I was requested to moderate, but, with the option to record, we can all be something of a Hermione Granger, who, with her magical clock, could attend multiple lectures at the same time. I watched the recording and found it was well worth my time.

This was a round table, so the format favoured short, thought-provoking papers in the making rather than completed studies.

Asking Gemini chat various provocative questions, such as the ones undergrads or non-academics would ask mostly generated intelligent answers: for instance, “was Vikings white?” received an answer that some, but not all Vikings were white. Questions about the sexual orientation of Gilgamesh and Chaucer, a fictional character and a real person, received the respective answers that people of the past did not think of gender the way we do today, so no definite answer can be given. Trouble came when Gemini was asked a non-medieval question. “Was Oscar Wilde gay?” was cut short with a categorical “I am not programmed to assist with that.” Ok. So this raises the questions of censorship, knowledge control and classifying which information is to be shared and which is to be withheld.
Admittedly, on the second attempt, Gemini came up with an answer, but it was a delightfully ambiguous one, the kind of answer given on the issues of Gilgamesh’s and Chaucer’s identity, whereas in the case of Wilde the answer is far clearer.

Another paper suggested that teachers of medieval literature and history can use AI to generate translations of texts for students. The author also noted that university teachers are advised to familiarize themselves with AI tools to instruct the students on how to use AI. However, the author noted an example of what she called “hallucinations”: when asked when Gower wrote Pearl, AI answered that it was written in the 14^th century, but by Chaucer, not Gower. Yet the author of Pearl is unknown – so, unless ChatGPT knows something no one else knows…

The third paper showed how an artist collaborated with various image-producing AI applications. Interestingly, the only way to produce images similar in style to medieval illuminations, was to include the words “ugly, horrible” in the prompt.

In the discussion, the authors all affirmed that AI can be trained to make translations and transcriptions of passably good quality, but it took a lot of training.

At the end of the day, my question is: why train AI to do creative work, rather than asked it to do administrative, routine drudgery? Why do university lecturers have to resort to AI translations because they have no time to translate original documents? The answer is: because teachers in all levels of education are overwhelmed with paperwork. Now, AI could easily do this paperwork, and possibly even provide better quality reports, because it would be free from the so-called human error. And then humans could do the inspiring work they enjoy: translating medieval texts, working with students, writing interesting research paper and creating original art. I assume here that humans like this work better than paperwork – at least I do. I may be wrong. In which case… Enjoy those delightfully derivative AI artworks, translations and “original” texts.

Here is an image of “medievalist engaged in doing boring, repetitive paperwork instead of teaching students, in medieval style” created by Deep AI.

And a delightful little poem, composed by CoWriter – Your AI platform for creative writing using the same prompt. I am sure anyone reading it will surely enjoy it:

The Monotonous Task

In a dusty old chamber, devoid of light,

A scholar sits hunched, a pitiful sight.

His quill scratches parchment, ink smeared and blotted,

His mind lost in paperwork, teaching forgotten.

O! Medievalist, lost in paperwork drear,

Your passion for learning now replaced by fear.

No longer do students seek wisdom from thee,

But endless forms and records, a mundane decree.

The scrolls and ledgers pile high on the desk,

As the candle burns low, a flickering mess.

Words of ancient wisdom, now lost in the void,

As bureaucratic tasks leave the scholar annoyed.

O! Medievalist, once filled with zeal,

Now trapped in a cycle that seems all too real.

Yearning for days spent in scholarly debate,

Instead engulfed in paperwork’s relentless weight.

The ink-stained fingers and tired weary eyes,

Tell a tale of a scholar caught in a guise.

Of administrative duties that never seem to end,

A tedious task that around him does bend.

O! Medievalist, may you find your way,

Back to the halls where knowledge holds sway.

Cast off the shackles of paperwork’s hold,

And return to the classroom, where stories are told.

For in the heart of a medievalist true,

Lies a passion for learning, tried and true.

So let the quill rest, the inkwell dry,

And reclaim your purpose beneath the sky.

You can also read it on my blog:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/ai-fficial-ages-104163846?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Middle Ages in Modern Games 2023 conference proceedings

Someone told me once that my only interest is horses. That someone was right… almost.
99% of my non-sleeping (“free”) time is horses. Taking care of them, riding them, writing, reading and talking about them, and just watching them.
But there is that 1% of time which is not horses, so occasionally, just occasionally, I write research papers that are not about horses.
One of such papers ended up in Middle Ages in Modern Games 2023 conference proceedings. It’s a free Open Access publication, brightly illustrated, with the Apocalypse as its special theme. What could be more exciting?
My own contribution, co-authored with Edgar Rops, is about LARP
(Live Action Role Playing) in the first decade of this millennium in the Baltics. Based on the critical revaluation of personal experience, autoethnographic, complete with unique photos!
https://issuu.com/theuniversityofwinchester/docs/mamg23_proceedings

Thinking of medieval horses and their psychology

Medieval bestiaries are mini-encyclopedias of animals and other living beings, some real and some imaginary (or we think them imaginary, because a unicorn or a dragon could have been as real to medieval audiences as rhinos and crocs).
This is a precis from the entry on the horse, summarised from the medieval bestiaries, which go all the way back to the antique authors, including Plutarch:

Horses are lively and high-spirited. They are happy in fields, can smell war, are provoked to race by a voice, are called to battle by the sound of the trumpet, grieve when defeated and exult when victorious. Some horses can recognize an enemy in battle and attack by biting. Some recognize only their masters and will allow no other to ride them. Only the horse weeps and grieves for its dead or dying master. Mares are sometimes impregnated by the west wind. There are three kinds of horses: noble, good for battle and work; common, good for carrying burdens but not for riding; and hybrids, born from a mixture of two kinds.

If you want to read more on this from medieval bestiaries, you can take a look at this website: https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast212.htm.

Now, for a long time, scholars tended to dismiss this bestiaries as fanciful, or at least some information in them as fanciful. Thus, the statement about horses weeping for their masters. However, I believe there’s more to it than the over-active imagination of an untravelled ecclesiatic.
Recent studies confirm that horses have emotional attachments to their conspecifics.
My own elderly blind mare Kalla has formed an attachment to a lame gelding of her age. Every time she is in season, she is ready to literally leap into his lap.





But a horse can easily become part of a human herd, and vice versa.
The story of Bucephalus, who has been “tamed” by Alexander of Macedonia, may originate in antiquity, but it was popular in the Middle Ages throughout Europe and Byzantium. Some of the versions state that Bucephalus wept when the poisoned Alexander died, but immediately stopped weeping and was ready to attack the poisoner, one of Alexander’s servants, when the latter entered the room.

“Bukephalos rushed into their midst and, stopping near Alexander, began to bathe the bed in tears. A loud noise arouse among the Persians and the Macedonians alike, about the horse shedding tears.” / “ὁ δὲ Βουκέφαλος ἵππος μέσον πάντων δρομαῖος εἰσῆλθε καὶ πλησίον Ἂλεξάνδρου ἐπιστὰς ἤρξατο τοῖς δάκρυσιν καταλούειν τὴν κλίνην. κοπετὸς δὲ γέγονεν μέγας Περσῶν ὁμοῦ καὶ Μακεδόνων ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἵππου δακρυρροίᾳ.“ F. Parthe (ed.), Der Griechische Alexanderroman. Rezension Γ. Buch III, Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie 33 (Meisenheim am Glan, 1969), 32, 442, 10–14.

This is from an Greek anonymous text, which was revised through the Middle Byzantine period continuously, the earliest versions going back to the 4-6th century. The quotation comes from an 11th-century recension.




A weeping horse must have come as a surprise to the onlookers, judging by their reaction. But affective response in a horse, just as in another intelligent domestic animal, is not a far-fetched or uncommon occurrence.
I suggest we read medieval “scientific” and “popular” literature more attentively, rather than dismiss something we don’t understand in it out of hand. There may be more to it than may appear at first glance.
And Bucephalus started off as a “wild” horse, too. Now, judging by my own experience with Basja, a wild horse may be worth a dozen farm-raised horses, in terms of faithfulness and affection.





Basja (left, a formerly feral konik) and Kalla (right, a Latvian Warmblood).

Alexander & Bucephalus by John Steell located in front of Edinburgh’s City Chambers.

The blind mare Kalla and her lame paramour

The original post was published on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102193543?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

Musings on medieval horse psychology

Musings on medieval horse psychology

The Keplies and others

https://tinyurl.com/2y2j7eyd
My new post (early access to members, the public will have to wait for 3 days) introduces the common ground between such historical, mythical and cultural characters as Brunhilde and Aleksandre of Macedonia, the four sons of Aymon and St. Hippolytes.
Hint: the Kelpies are involved.

Basja the Konik and Medieval Dental Care

https://www.patreon.com/posts/basja-konik-and-100931468?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Last week, Basja had her first dental care. As my vet explained, it is textbook practice for horses to have regular dental care twice a year from the age of two and a half onwards. Basja is four, but, due to her life in the wild, she had skipped dental care previously. This dental care mostly consists of filing the teeth, but can also involve teeth extraction.

Horse skull. The toothless part is where the bits sits. By Vassil – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1748825.

Historically, dental care is likely to have been practiced in all societies where horses were worked, both in under rider and in harness (a short history and pictures are available in Taylor et al., 2018).

In the Middle Ages in Europe, the first mandatory dental care mentioned by Jordanus Rufus is the removal of teeth at the age of three. It is not quite clear which teeth Rufus recommends removing, but he suggests these teeth would interfere with the bit, so there is good chance these are the first premolars, otherwise known as Wolf teeth. They are residual teeth, which are not involved in chewing food and can interfere with the action of the bit, being placed in the toothless part of the jaw. They are still removed today, a practiced considered as controversial by many vets. My own vet stated they do not interfere with the action of the bit in only 80% of cases; Basja fell in the 20% category, so she had Wolf teeth and some loose milk teeth extracted.

A wolf tooth, located just in front of the premolars. Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=320316

The other possibility, discussed by The Liminal Horse: Equitation and Boundaries Cover Paperback (trivent-publishing.eu), is that the teeth mentioned by Rufus as those needing extraction are canine teeth. These teeth typically develop in stallions, those some geldings and mares can grow them, too (they are the big teeth between the incisors and the toothless part on the image above). They are not extracted nowadays, and these are big teeth, so removing them would have been both painful and complicated.

Whatever these teeth are, they were to be pulled after the horses’ teeth have changed, which is between two and four years:

Et muez les denz, l’en doit le plus doucement que on puest esracher ceulz qui son en la maschouere dessoubz, c’est assavoir les .IIII. denz muez, ce sont deux d’un coste et deux de l’autre, lesquels on appelle scallions ou denz plains, qui sont encontre la garde du frein. [And when the teeth have changed, one must pull out, as gently as possible, those teeth which are on the lower [part] of the jaw, to wit the four teeth that have come in, two on one side and two on the other, which are called scallions or [and]69 flat teeth, which are touching the guard of the bit.]

Rufus states that, after the teeth have been removed and before the wounds are healed, the horse should be ridden with its regular bit, to improve responsiveness to the bit. I have always find this piece a little cruel, to say the least:

Et se il a la bouche tendre et douce, au secont jour depuis que on li ara esrachie les denz, ou au tiers jour, l’en li doit mettre le freim a barre aussi. Et comme j’ay dit, on le doit touzjours chevauchier doucement sanz rigueur en afrenant atempreement et le galoper. [And if he has a mouth tender and soft, the second day after you have gotten rid of the teeth, or on the third day, you must also put on him the a barre bit. And as I have said, we must always ride softly without severity and hold back/restrain him moderately and gallop/canter him.]

Imagine my surprise when I asked the vet when I can ride Basja next after her teeth extraction, and he said: “Tomorrow, if you want.” With my previous horses, I was told to wait for three days before putting the bit in, which is where my bitless bridle came in rather useful. I asked the vet again, to make sure it would not be painful. He said: “For sure it would be painful. But she had felt pain from the bit before, and it would be a different and lesser pain.”

I rode Basja in our beautiful medieval saddle – not the next day, but the day after – and she was her attentive and responsive self, maybe only a little more sensitive.

Meet Margery, the species queer goat

I came to the farm as a young goat, and I have not seen anything in my life save the stall where I was born, my mother goat, a few of my relatives and some chicken. It thus came as a total surprise that there is in the world a variety of rather huge, hornless goats that graze while moving around and that play in ways unlike anything I have experienced before. Imagine those big goats running around, jumping on top of each other, and, when tired, combing each other with their teeth, rather than butting each other with horns. Well, I have said that they have no horns, so of course they cannot play with the horns, poor things. Neither could they scratch themselves, like I can with those elegant horns of mine.
Thus, I learnt in time to nibble at their chests, when I was in a playful mood, and to scratch them with my teeth when I felt like having a bit of peace and quiet in a pleasant company.
However, I was beyond happy when a billy goat like me arrived. His name is Sir Thomas Malory, and we spend lots of time butting each other with our horns. When the big hornless goats go with our humans on what they call “hacking out,” we often accompany them. It is rather entertaining g to go around and see the world. It’s also nice to lie down after a hack, as I never got the trick of sleeping while standing, the way the hornless goats do.
It’s a goat life, anyway. And I am still totally clueless as to why our humans call me species queer. I know very well who I am, no question about my species identity at all.

Note
What Margery refers to as combing each other with the teeth is allogrooming. Horses do it, usually with their favourite conspecifics, and the frequency and intensity of allogrooming is intensified during the mating season or when under stress.
Another note is that goats sleep and rest lying down, while horses mostly doze while standing, only lying down when very tired, hot, etc.

If you want to support me as a writer and historian and help our farm grow and prosper, consider becoming my paid subscriber on Patreon. This way, you will never miss any of my posts and updates as well as get access to my member-only content.

More photos in the original post:https://www.patreon.com/posts/100349612?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

St Hippolytus: the story goes on

A little follow-on to my previous post on horse blessing.

The earliest evidence of this custom at St Ippolyts Church comes from the end of the sixteenth century. In 1598, the antiquary John Norden wrote of the place in the Speculi Britaniae Pars: the Description of Hartfordshire:

“EPPALETS […] or HIPPOLETTS, vulgarly PALLETS, this place was dedicate to a supposed Saint of that name, that in his life time was a good tamer of colts, and as good a horseleach: And for these qualities so deuoutly honored after his death, as all passengers by that way on horseback, thought themselues bound to bring their steeds into the church, euen, vp to the high aulter, where this holy horseman was shrined, and where a Priest continually attended, to bestowe such fragmentes of Eppolettes myracles, vpon their vntamed coltes and olde wanton, and forworne Iades, as hee had in store, And did auaile so much the more or lesse, as the passengers were bountifull or hard-handed, but he that was coy of his coyne had but a colde and counterfeite cure.”

Links and references available on my Patreon blog.

Horse training in the ancient world: a seminar

Want to find out how horses were trained in the ancient world? Maybe get some useful tips for your own training practice?
Join the first collaborative seminar hosted by the Equine History Collective and Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History.

You can find more info here: https://equinehistory.wpcomstaging.com/2024/03/06/ehc-cheiron-present-horse-training-and-management-in-ancient-egypt-and-beyond/

To join the event, click here: https://zoom.us/j/97100760082?pwd=SVZxVzR1eEV5Y3F2NTFHUDN2VGNZZz09.

St Hippolyte and wild horses

As part of my new publication project on wild horses in the medieval world, I will be publishing a series of posts about different instances of wild horses making an appearance in medieval sources.

I want to make it clear that they are not academic studies, and the eventual academic publication will be edited and will include all the proper references. On my site, I am going to publish lighter preliminary pieces of the “wild horse puzzle,” and the first piece is about St. Hyppolite. Feedback for this and the subsequent pieces will be very welcome!

Hyppolite’s name is probably responsible for the connection made by hagiographers early on. Most often, we hear about the saint’s martyrdom, with wild horses tearing St. Hyppolite.

However, one medieval English text takes the connection between St. Hyppolite and wild mares a step further.

Full story with pictures available on my Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/98996958?utm_campaign=postshare_creator