KAJAK seminar: Heli Huhtamaa ja Priit Raudkivi
25.04.2013 kell 15.00 - 15.00
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Neljapäeval, 25. aprillil kl 14 räägivad TLÜ Ajaloo Instituudi
(Rüütli tn 10, Tallinn) nõutoas Keskkonnaajaloo Keskuse (KAJAK) seminari
raames Heli Huhtamaa Ida-Soome Ãœ±ô¾±°ì´Ç´Ç±ô¾±²õ³Ù teemal "Climatic Anomalies, Food
Systems and Subsistence Crises in Medieval North-East Europe" ja Priit
Raudkvi ÌìÃÀÓ°ÊÓ Ãœ±ô¾±°ì´Ç´Ç±ô¾±²õ³Ù teemal "Famine in Livonia. Some General
Comments". Seminar on inglise keeles.Ettekannete kokkuvõtted:Heli Hutamaa
(University of Eastern Finland): Climate and History: Climatic Anomalies,
Food Systems and Subsistence Crises in Medieval North-East EuropeOver the
last decades the possible impacts of climatic change on human well-being
have gained pronounced interest, in science, politics and everyday life
alike. Despite the ever-increasing number of scientific research on climate
change and its impacts on man, climatic aspects remain marginal in
historical research. Yet, climatic factors have affected human well-being
and disturbed societies through history. However, including climatic
evidence from natural data into historical reasoning may be challenging. In
addition, historians´ reluctance to bring climatic factors into
consideration may be connected to their refusal of climatic determinism of
the early 20th century. Thus, the history of climate and the history of
societal change have been written separately.In the first part of the
presentation, the methodological challenges and prospects of including
climatic evidence into historical research are discussed. The focus is on
medieval North-east Europe. In the second part of the presentation, a case
study on climate anomalies and subsistence crises in medieval Novgorod is
reviewed. The presentation illustrates the plurality of possible climatic
impacts on medieval food system and the variance of human responses to
climatic anomalies.Priit Raudkivi (University of Tallinn)Famine in Livonia.
Some General CommentsFamine is a complex phenomenon with multiple
dimensions. Although historians are particularly interested in its impact
on society, one must not forget that every person is a bio-physiological
entity. Today's trials cast doubt upon the claim that the massive deaths
were directly caused by malnutrition. Rather, the cause of death is
malfunctioning of the body's overall physiological defense resulting
weakening and susceptibility to illnesses. Malnutrition and starvation that
cause mass deaths are two different things, but it is is very difficult to
keep them apart.Unfortunately we do not have any famine chronology for
Livonia. This is why the effect of the phenomenon is very difficult to use
in the narrative. All we can do is to speculate, taking into account the
parallels. Before the Great famine in the beginning of the 14th century and
before the one in 1225/26, Northern Europe had faced climate-induced
famines in 1005 - 1006, 1099 - 1101, 1124 - 1126, 1144 - 1147, 1149 - 1151,
1195 - 1198 (Curschmann, 1900). We do not know anything about famines
during the period in Livonia. We know only that famine was here in 1233:
Fames validissima in Livonia, ita ut homines se invicem comederent; eitam
fures, a partibulis abstracti, magna aviditate devorabantur. Annales
Stadenses (Monumenta Germaniae Historica 16, 1859). Livonia's own sources
remain silent. Malnutrition and hunger brought about diseases. In
England, Scotland, France, Holland and Northern Germany mortality
rates were high. Deceased had to be buried quickly because the corps were
stinking dreadfully. Dysentery, high fever, and probably purulent sore have
been considered the main causes of death, although symptoms described
do not permit any accurate classification of diseases. The Chronicle of
Lübeck says that in 1315 there was hunger all over Livonia. If we add to
it information from the chronicles by Renner and Hermann de Wartberge, then
there is little doubt that the Great famine of the beginning of the 14th
century also affected severely Livonia.
(Rüütli tn 10, Tallinn) nõutoas Keskkonnaajaloo Keskuse (KAJAK) seminari
raames Heli Huhtamaa Ida-Soome Ãœ±ô¾±°ì´Ç´Ç±ô¾±²õ³Ù teemal "Climatic Anomalies, Food
Systems and Subsistence Crises in Medieval North-East Europe" ja Priit
Raudkvi ÌìÃÀÓ°ÊÓ Ãœ±ô¾±°ì´Ç´Ç±ô¾±²õ³Ù teemal "Famine in Livonia. Some General
Comments". Seminar on inglise keeles.Ettekannete kokkuvõtted:Heli Hutamaa
(University of Eastern Finland): Climate and History: Climatic Anomalies,
Food Systems and Subsistence Crises in Medieval North-East EuropeOver the
last decades the possible impacts of climatic change on human well-being
have gained pronounced interest, in science, politics and everyday life
alike. Despite the ever-increasing number of scientific research on climate
change and its impacts on man, climatic aspects remain marginal in
historical research. Yet, climatic factors have affected human well-being
and disturbed societies through history. However, including climatic
evidence from natural data into historical reasoning may be challenging. In
addition, historians´ reluctance to bring climatic factors into
consideration may be connected to their refusal of climatic determinism of
the early 20th century. Thus, the history of climate and the history of
societal change have been written separately.In the first part of the
presentation, the methodological challenges and prospects of including
climatic evidence into historical research are discussed. The focus is on
medieval North-east Europe. In the second part of the presentation, a case
study on climate anomalies and subsistence crises in medieval Novgorod is
reviewed. The presentation illustrates the plurality of possible climatic
impacts on medieval food system and the variance of human responses to
climatic anomalies.Priit Raudkivi (University of Tallinn)Famine in Livonia.
Some General CommentsFamine is a complex phenomenon with multiple
dimensions. Although historians are particularly interested in its impact
on society, one must not forget that every person is a bio-physiological
entity. Today's trials cast doubt upon the claim that the massive deaths
were directly caused by malnutrition. Rather, the cause of death is
malfunctioning of the body's overall physiological defense resulting
weakening and susceptibility to illnesses. Malnutrition and starvation that
cause mass deaths are two different things, but it is is very difficult to
keep them apart.Unfortunately we do not have any famine chronology for
Livonia. This is why the effect of the phenomenon is very difficult to use
in the narrative. All we can do is to speculate, taking into account the
parallels. Before the Great famine in the beginning of the 14th century and
before the one in 1225/26, Northern Europe had faced climate-induced
famines in 1005 - 1006, 1099 - 1101, 1124 - 1126, 1144 - 1147, 1149 - 1151,
1195 - 1198 (Curschmann, 1900). We do not know anything about famines
during the period in Livonia. We know only that famine was here in 1233:
Fames validissima in Livonia, ita ut homines se invicem comederent; eitam
fures, a partibulis abstracti, magna aviditate devorabantur. Annales
Stadenses (Monumenta Germaniae Historica 16, 1859). Livonia's own sources
remain silent. Malnutrition and hunger brought about diseases. In
England, Scotland, France, Holland and Northern Germany mortality
rates were high. Deceased had to be buried quickly because the corps were
stinking dreadfully. Dysentery, high fever, and probably purulent sore have
been considered the main causes of death, although symptoms described
do not permit any accurate classification of diseases. The Chronicle of
Lübeck says that in 1315 there was hunger all over Livonia. If we add to
it information from the chronicles by Renner and Hermann de Wartberge, then
there is little doubt that the Great famine of the beginning of the 14th
century also affected severely Livonia.