The Middle Ages go digital
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Allen Frantzen, PhD, on an archeological dig in Denmark |
In 2005, noticing that many of the punishments were related to food, such as prescribed fasting, Frantzen got the idea for a second project. Unearthing pottery shards and cooking objects at the site of a Viking village from 800 CE inspired Frantzen to think about how food-related objects could be used to “make the invisible visible” to students of medieval culture. “Everyone understands food, so this gives students an access point into what life was like in the 9th century.”
“Words and Things: Food, Archaeology, & Anglo-Saxon Texts” was created this summer by Frantzen and Chris Grubbs, a computer science graduate student. The database examines connections between words for food-related processes and objects and the material remains of Anglo-Saxon England that have been uncovered by archaeologists. Frantzen is expanding the project by developing an undergraduate course for spring 2008 that aims to help students achieve a deeper understanding of the processes that define cultures. Both of Frantzen’s databases can be viewed at www.anglo-saxon.net.