Kille is the name of the game

I got older a few days ago, one of the presents managed to find its way over here; a deck of cards. Now this might not seem like much but there was some though behind this, I’ll get back to that. The game is called Killespelet which if I understand it right is derived from the game Coucou, a French game from the 16^th century that quickly became popular all over central Europe. In the end of the 18^th century a special deck of cards were invented for the game. During the 18^th century the game the game became popular in Germany, Austria, Switzerland etc as Hexenspiel (The witch game) and Vogelkarten (the bird cards). The first time the game is mentioned in Sweden is in 1741 as campio. The name changed to Kille sometime during the first half of the 19^th century, the first time it is mentioned is in 1833. The game in itself can be played in several variants all used in gambling.

The deck only holds one colour with 21 denominations; these are in doublets making the deck hold a total of  42 cards.

I wrote that there was some thoughts behind this present, an it is not that I am known for gambling or a certain love for card games, but another peculiar fact; This particular deck of cards is a facsimile from a deck printed in the middle of the 19^th century by my ancestor Carl Fredrik Reuterdahl who owned a printing company that in Malmö.

Carl Fredrik Reuterdahl, brother of Henrik Reuterdahl (archbishop 1856-1870), born 1797 and died 1876. He became a merchant and started several businesses such as a printing shop and a wine importing company or shop (I’m not sure which) which according to Henrik Reuterdahl went bad and costed him a lot of money as he had guaranteed several loans in his brothers name.

Magnus Reuterdahl

J.D. – R.I.P.

J.D. Salinger has past away at age 91, an eccentric and legendary author best known for his Cather in the Rye (1951). Catcher is a great read but my favourites are his debut novel A Perfect Day for Bananafish (1948) and Franny and Zooey (1961).

Now Salinger is one of those authors that I got know long before I read anything of his work. My first real contact was in fact Ian Hamilton’s biography In Search of J.D. Salinger: A Writing Life (1935–65) from 1988 telling the tale of the author that did not want to be published disturbed or be known. This got me to read and buy and read Salinger’s body of work. It’s a fascinating tale that I’ll have to reread some day.

Rumours have it that Salinger never stopped writing and that several novels and as in any death speculations will arise if or when they’ll be published, there is also a risk or chance (depending on stand point) that Cather in the Rye makes it to the movies. In one way I would love to read more stories from Salinger on the other hand he choose not to publish them and to live out his life away from the public eye.

I hope he got the life he wanted – now R.I.P. –  J.D.

//Magnus Reuterdahl

Medieval Stockholm on display

The entrance to the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, in the background to the left is the royal castle and the Old town and to the right Sveriges Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament building).

For those of you that are not familiar with Stockholm, it’s the capitol of Sweden; the city was founded during the 12^th or 13^th century and became the capitol during the 15^th century. Still there are lots of traces of the medieval town to been seen, in the Old City, in some of the churches and of course in museum exhibits and collections. The Museum of Medieval Stockholm is build around a part of the city wall that was found during excavations at Helgeandsholmen (The Island of the Holy Spirit) between 1978 and 1980 and opened in 1986.

The city wall, or what’s left of it

The museum has undergone renovations and been closed since 2007. This weekend the Museum of Medieval Stockholm reopened. I took a few pictures and rather than a long post I’ll let them do most of the talking. A few notes; the museum has gotten a facelift, a few modifications on the old exhibit and a few new installments. I feel it’s all for the better, it’s less crowded and bit more airy and concentrated. A new feature is a “science fair” where archaeologists and specialists such as osteologists talks (on small video screens) on their work, on methods and results or so I was told – there a bit noisy with all the visitors – so I’ll take a rain check on them but it seemed interesting enough for a re-visit, that and the fact that I know a couple of the people on those screens. A few things are still missing such as information signs and such – but I’m sure it’ll all work out just fine.

Life in a bubble?

Welcome to the abandoned land,

come on in child,

take my hand…

Now life in medival time time was hard but probably not quite as grim, though these bones tells a story of some that had a pretty hard life

these bones, belonged to someone that wasn’t all that well (the second from the front displays a femur (thigh bone)), thank God for modern day medicine and doctors.

This is a human spine which have ossified due to disease, possibly some kind of arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis

and for those unlucky enough it all ended here…

…at the gallows end

others lived out there life within the city

as working men or women

-Wanna buy some bread!

…others choose a different life, a new part of the exhibit is about cloisters, devoting their lives to the almighty and his works

here is the cloister garden

while yet others served the more worldly powers

Stockholm on display!

Stockholm as it looked to a medieval artist

Here a more modern approach on how the medieval town was layed out

If you’re in Stockholm looking for a good museum or to kill a few hours the Museum of Medieval Stockholm is a good choice.

I’ll close it all up with a few words from those who were Stockholmare then, and made this  rune stone

//Magnus Reuterdahl

Reopening of the Medieval Museum of Stockholm

Tomorrow I’ll attend the reopening of the Medieval Museum of Stockholm. Officially it opens at 1400 but I got an invitation, btw thanks, to the opening ceremony at 1200 so if you’re attending- see you there!

Magnus Reuterdahl

Currently reading

I’ve just opened up the covers of Thomas McGuane – Ninety-Two in the shade (1973).

A long time ago, at least it seems that way, I worked in a second hand record and book shop in Jönköping. It’s closed now but I am still in contact with the owner and my previous employer when I get home. This in turn leads to a thinning wallet, as he knows my vices. But then again we also share a similar taste in literature and he use to recommed this and that when we meet, this time he recommend and lent me this one – with the words as if Hemingway wrote a detective, noir or pulp novel and did it good. For your information it may be interesting to know that Hemingway is not one of my favourite authors. I find him a bit too chatty, descriptive and a bit to forced in an old fashioned masculine way, which probably is due to the fact that he was a man of his age and I am one of mine. Therefore it shall be interesting to see how I feel about this one.

Magnus Reuterdahl

Once again in Östersund

This time I was greeted by a cloud of smoke, ca 200-300 m NNW of my living quarters a fire is raging. Well, raging is perhaps a somewhat strong word as the fire department believes that they have the situation under control. But the smell of warm metal, charcoal and smoke is eminent and I live in a house built sometimes during the end of the 19^th century and what is the main material – you guessed right – wood.

Well I’ll try to sleep but I guess that might sleep a bit light, partly as it’s not all that pleasent to have a fire close by partly due to the smell.

Länstidningen Östersund (article in the local paper in Swedish)

Magnus Reuterdahl

Where things happens to end up

Sometimes you get mysterious backlinks, some awakes the curiosity in me; I got a back link to this pdf that caught my attention which in turn led me to the Apple Valley Unified School, California, USA, and the Granite Hills High School .

The pdf is regarding the human skeleton and there is a photograph on a cranium with wormian bones that I took a couple of years ago and posted here, see this post . I think it’s great that the picture has come to use and I hope ms Jones are a returning visitor to my blog and I wish the best of luck to you and your students.

Kranium med inca ben, os incae

All photos on this blog are taken by me (Magnus Reuterdahl)  if  not otherwise specified. All pictures taken by me and published on this blog are free to use, all I ask is that you give me and the blog credit for it and that they are not used in political or religious propaganda. If you want a picture with a higher resolution please contact me via e-mail or the comment function. In this case there was a reference link to the blog – thanks!

Magnus Reuterdahl

The doors to the dark ages opens again

The Museum of Medieval Stockholm re-opens after renovation with a new exhibit on January 24^th. The facilities has been closed since june 15^th 2007, though a temporary exhibit has been available at Kulturhuset.

I for one intend to be there. The museum has been one of my favorites in Stockholm therefore I hope that the newly renovated facilities and the new exhibit will reinforce that impression.

There is also some information on The Museum of Medieval Stockholm blog, though in Swedish.

Magnus Reuterdahl

Give me some attention, lend me your ear

The anthro blog carnival Four Stone Hearth # 84 is now up and running at A Primate of Modern Aspect. I’ve been lazy when it comes to contributions of late but this time I managed to write something, btw I’ll host come ed # 85 on Feb. 10^th. Now I suggest that you hurry up and take part of this great ed. with contributions on subjects such as the 4SH goes ape. Here are several posts on primates; geladas, chimps, baboons, spider monkeys and gorillas from apes we go hominoid; Neanderthals, homo erectus onwards towards more recent times. Lots and lots to read about.

If you want to contribute to the next 4SH by either writing or proposing something you’ve just read contact Julien Riel-Salvatore at A very remote period indeed who’ll host 4SH # 85.

Best wishes

Magnus Reuterdahl

On the threshold of (archaeological) history

First things first, this is not the 1938 detective story To Wake the Dead by John Dickson Carr but a book on renaissance merchant Cyriacus of Ancona (1391-1452) aka Cyriacus Pizzecolli who went and became the original Indian Jones by Marina Belozerskaya.

This book is a nice read; it has pleasant flow and good prose combined with an interesting story on an interesting man. It takes us to 15th century Italy, giving a frame of life and thoughts in the 15th century around the Mediterranean Sea. Especially interesting is the description on how man looked at historic/ancient monuments, the past and prehistory.

As the arch of Trajan in Ancona catches Cyriacus eyes and a question begins to dwell within his mind, archaeology as we know it takes its first staggering steps. If archaeologist were keen on pilgrimages this should be one of the stops as it was here it all started. Well I guess most of us are really; there are sites we are dying to see and we more or less pilgrimage, often enough in groups, to see them. Evan though they in many cases looks just like any swamp, forest or meadow we know through books and/or museums that once there were a palace, a castle or a settlement at just that spot and we are fascinated by just being there.

Belozerskaya gives Cyriacus of Ancona the epithet the father of archaeology. Is that title correct?  Well it is in the eye of the beholder but for me it opens up for questions on what is archaeology? Was Cyriacus of Ancona an archaeologist, or perhaps the first or one of the first in a line of “prearchaeologists” (others include for example historian Flavio Biondo (1392–1463)), or is he rather an art historian with an interest of ancient and historic monuments, art and scriptures. What constitutes an archaeologist? Do we need to excavate or do we need to work with certain questions or theories? Was Cyriacus of Ancona an arcaheologist? He most probably did not see himself as an archaeologist, but he asked questions about the past, how life was then, why they built the buildings they built? If it seems to be an archaeologist its most probably is an archaeologist!

Wheatear or not we see Cyriacus as an archaeologist or not his legacy is nether the less important regarding cultural history. The sketches and descriptions is, or should be, of great use for those studying the area as many of the sites he visited and described have been destroyed or changed long before we had a chase to see or study them. His sketches and descriptions are the records that describe what we see as ruins and can help to give life to long lost ancient remains. I believe that we, as archaeologist, sometimes tend to live a lot in the present using cleaver inventions such as 3D-programs, GIS applications, Total stations etc to record and describe the past. Though wonderful tools it is important that we don’t forget that there are many sources that can help us to verify or falsify what we see. Legacies such as that left by Cyriacus of Ancona is such a tool.

There are several books and articles written on what could be called archaeological history, describing the work and accomplishments of previous archaeologists, often with a critical view. The authors of these texts often stress the importance of knowing where archaeology comes from, who formed the basis of theories and based on what, what’s been excavated and why, how was it excavated and what questions was asked and perhaps more important which questions were at the time of no importance or was not asked. Well here is a recollection of, if not the first one of the first, steps of archaeology or perhaps better put comparative studies of the past.

As I read this book I find myself asking questions, which I feel is a good thing when reading a work of science.

A big thank you to W.W. Norton & Company for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Magnus Reuterdahl