Lægbrødre og godsdrift

Laybrothers and the Operation of Monastic Estates in Medieval DenmarkThe present study reassesses the role played by laybrothers in the operation of Cistercian estates in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. One of the basic premises of previous research is that there is a causal link between the number of laybrothers at Cistercian monasteries and structural changes in the way they ran their properties. Some scholars argue that in the twelfth century the monasteries were forced to lease out lands due to difficulty in recruiting a sufficient number of laybrothers to run the estates with their own manpower, while others see the cause as diametrically opposite, namely that an increase in the practice of leasing gradually reduced the need for laybrothers.Rather than discuss the arguments and relative merits of these two hypotheses, the study draws into question whether one way or the other there is any correlation to be explained.On the basis of an analysis of Cistercian monastery operations in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and by calculating the number of laybrothers and other monks in a number of different Cistercian monasteries it is shown that there most likely is no direct relation at all between the way the Cistercians ran their estates and the number of their laybrothers. First of all, most monasteries used a mix of operational forms, including both grange and traditional manorial systems. Secondly, transitions from distinctly grange-based systems and selfoperation to leasing were taking place already in the twelfth and especially in the first half of the thirteenth centuries, while the decrease in laybrothers began only towards the end of the thirteenth century.The problems involved in the traditional presumption of a positive correlation between developments in the number of laybrothers and the manner of operation are further emphasized in the second part of the study, where the idea of laybrothers as a work force engaged in all the practical tasks of running an estate is subjected to critical scrutiny.On the basis of documentary sources and the Rules of the Cistercian Order as well as scholarly studies it is shown, firstly, that laybrothers in both the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were primarily engaged in managerial and administrative tasks, and, secondly, that the use of paid secular labour was practised from the very foundation of the order and entirely in accordance with the founders’ intentions.The relatively open economy and operational commercialization of the Cistercian monasteries meant that their way of running their properties was affected by market fluctuations and fundamental socio-economic changes to neither a greater nor a lesser degree than these factors affected the operation of the estates of others, whether ecclesiastical or secular. The task, however, of analysing how the Cistercians ran their estates in this larger context of common factors still remains to be done.Translated by Michael Wolf

Hard X-ray magnetochiral dichroism in a paramagnetic molecular 4f complex

Magnetochiral dichroism (MΧD) originates in the coupling of local electric fields and magnetic moments in systems where a simultaneous break of space parity and time-reversal symmetries occurs. This magnetoelectric coupling, displayed by chiral magnetic materials, can be exploited to manipulate the magnetic moment of molecular materials at the single molecule level. We demonstrate herein the first experimental observation of X-ray magnetochiral dichroism in enantiopure chiral trigonal single crystals of a chiral mononuclear paramagnetic lanthanide coordination complex, namely, holmium oxydiacetate, at the Ho L(3)-edge. The observed magnetochiral effect is opposite for the two enantiomers and is rationalised on the basis of a multipolar expansion of the matter–radiation interaction. These results demonstrate that 4f–5d hybridization in chiral lanthanoid coordination complexes is at the origin of magnetochiral dichroism, an effect that could be exploited for addressing of their magnetic moment at the single molecule level

Short-term temporal variation of coastal marine eDNA

Temporal variation in eDNA signals is increasingly explored for understanding community ecology in aquatic habitats. Seasonal changes have been addressed using eDNA sampling, but very little is known regarding short-term temporal variation that spans hours to days. To address this, we filtered marine water samples from a single coastal site in Denmark every hour for 32 h. We used metabarcoding to target both fish and broader eukaryote diversity and evaluated temporal changes in this marine community. Results revealed variation in fish species richness (15–27) and eukaryote class richness (35–64) across the 32 h of sampling, and we further evaluated sampling efforts needed to reach different levels of diversity saturation. Relative read frequency data for both fish and eukaryotes indicated a clear diel change in community composition, with different communities detected during daylight versus dark hours. The abundance signals in our data reflected biological variation rather than stochastic variation, since replicates taken at the same hour were more similar to each other than those taken at different hours. Our compositional results indicated a dynamic community, rather than a static pool of eDNA—even across a few hours. The fish data showed a daily pattern of relative species abundances, and the uncoupling of fish and broader eukaryote data suggest that variation in eDNA profiles across a single day can provide valuable information reflecting diel changes, at least for highly mobile organism groups. However, our results also point to several pitfalls in current eDNA experimental design, in which samples are taken over large areas without relative time-consistency or short-term replication. Our findings shed new light on short-term variation in coastal eDNA and have wide implications for experimental study design and for incorporating temporality into project conceptualization for future aquatic biodiversity monitoring.publishedVersio

Synthons for carbide complex chemistry

The sterically accessible carbide complex, (Cy3P)Cl3Ru?C-PtCl(py)(2), acts as a synthon for terminal and bridging carbide fragments that relocate to pincer and A-frame scaffolds upon ligand addition. This concept, benefitting from coordination sphere selection as the concluding step, confronts traditional synthetic strategies and broadens the scope for carbide complexes