Time Flies

Not all that much happened in the past period, apart from study work. I've also been reading "In the Shadow of Burgundy" again, a study on court culture in Guelders from about 1380 to 1500. It is a wonderfully detailed book, divided in three parts. I had finished the first part (on court finances, education, job posts and the day-to-day happenings at court) a few months ago. I picked up the book again early on in the week and yesterday I finished the second part (on the arts: literature and the spoken words, visual and applied arts, etc) and today I started part three (on the way the culture at court benefitted or affected the position of the lands governed by the Dukes of Guelders, and vice versa). It is hugely interesting; I am often surprised by how interesting seemingly dull cultural subjects can be. Two years ago, when in Kleve (a German city and medieval Duchy bordering Guelders), I bought a book on literature at the court of Kleve from 1100-1600, and am using it for comparison. The book is referenced to quite regularly in In the Shadow of Burgundy.

Fun fact: In the 1290's, nearly 30% of the household expenses of the Counts of Flanders was spent on wine. Nearly 1% was spent on waffles (although it's not much, I'm surprised waffles were accounted for seperately; but then again, this is Belgium after all).