332 al-Hazen
the most successful military leaders in Italy. In 1377 he
entered the service of Florence until his death. He
became a citizen and commanded its armies and helped
extend the influence of the city by dominating much of
TUSCANY. An impressive tomb, redone in 1436 by Paolo
UCELLO, was erected in the cathedral of Florence for Gio-
vanni Acuto,the form of his unpronounceable name in
Italian. He died very rich in 1394.
Further reading:Hubert Cole, Hawkwood(London:
Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1967); John Temple Leader, Sir
John Hawkwood (L’Acuto): Story of a Condottiere,trans.
Leader Scott [pseud.] (London: T. F. Unwin, 1889).
al-Hazen SeeIBN AL-HAYTHAM,ABUALI AL-HASAN IBN
AL-HASAN, AL-BASRA.
heaven (theological and artistic) Heaven was consid-
ered the dwelling place of GODand his ANGELS, where
the saved soul saw or experienced him and thus had the
BEATIFIC VISION. What this meant and how much of this
might ever be available to humans was much disputed in
the Middle Ages. During this life heaven and the Beatific
Vision could only be imagined in theological terms and
portrayed only vaguely even in the best and most elabo-
rate artistic representations. Getting to heaven could be
seen as a journey to a rightful home or a return from
exile. For Jews and Christians, there was a sort of heav-
enly city on Earth, JERUSALEM, which was also sacred to
Muslims. The concept of PARADISEor a new and revived,
almost physical Garden of Eden embodied heaven’s char-
acteristics and those of the place whence humankind
had been expelled. This was sometimes related to the
idea of an enclosed and wonderful garden, as in the
SONG OFSONGS, a place of peace and happiness that
artists tried to represent but could only suggest. Access
to heaven had been restored by the Passion and resurrec-
tion of Christ. Heaven was the goal of salvation, where
the saved were sent after the LAST JUDGMENT. The
church, as the gateway to heaven through its SEVEN
SACRAMENTSand liturgy, was to assist the soul along the
way, especially with help of the gift of GRACEgranted
directly and gratuitously by God.
See alsoALIGHIERI,DANTE;ASCENSION;ASSUMPTION
OF THEVIRGINMARY;HARROWING OFHELL; HELL; PREDES-
TINATION; PURGATORY; REDEMPTION; TRANSFIGURATION.
Further reading:Robert Easting, Visions of the Other
World in Middle English(Suffolk: D. S. Brewer, 1997);
Clifford Davidson, ed., The Iconography of Heaven(Kala-
mazoo, Mich.: Medieval Institute Publications, Western
Michigan University, 1994); Eileen Gardiner, Medieval
Visions of Heaven and Hell: A Sourcebook (New York:
Garland, 1993); Jean Delumeau, History of Paradise: The
Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition, trans. Matthew
O’Connell. (New York: Continuum, 1995); Colleen
McDannell and Bernhard Lang, Heaven: A History(New
Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988); Jeffrey
Burton Russell, A History of Heaven: The Singing Silence
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997); Carol
Zaleski and Philip Zaleski, eds., The Book of Heaven: An
Anthology of Writings from Ancient to Modern Times
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).Hedeby (Haithabu) A Danish VIKINGage trading cen-
ter and port at the head of the Schlei Fjord, Hedeby was
on the Baltic Sea, near Schleswig and Kiel in modern GER-
MANY. Contemporary Frankish sources mentioned that a
Danish king, Godfred (d. 810), settled in 808 merchants
from a nearby town called Reric. This probably launched
Hedeby’s development as a center of TRADE. There had
been a late-eighth-century settlement nearby to the south
of the center of this new Viking town. Hedeby had the
earliest known mint in Scandinavia and a tollhouse. A
wide range of handicraft activities were conducted there,
working in metal, bone (or antler), and amber, making
glass and pottery; and repairing ships. As in most other
Viking age towns, by the 10th century Hedeby’s streets
were paved with timbers. There was a earth-and-timber
rampart, and sea barriers to protect its harbor.
A Jewish merchant from CÓRDOBAvisited Hedeby in
the mid-10th century and wrote a description of the
town. He noted many freshwater wells but considered it
a squalid place, remarking that the singing of the inhabi-
tants was “worse than the hollowing of dogs.” He also
mentioned the existence of a church and a small Chris-
tian community. Hedeby was under the control of Swe-
den in the early 10th century, then came under German
control later in the century. Disputed between the kings
of NORWAYand Denmark, the town was sacked twice in
the 11th century by the king of NORWAY, Harald
Hardrada (r. 1046–66), in 1050 and by the WENDSin- By 1100 Hedeby was then abandoned in favor of
Schleswig, probably because the latter was easier to
reach by the larger merchant ships then coming into use.
In the early 11th century, Hedeby had a population of
between 1,000 and 1,500 people but was likely mostly
destroyed by fire about 1050.
Further reading:Ole Crumlin-Pedersen, Viking-Age
Ships and Shipbuilding in Hedeby/Haithabu and Schleswig
(Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum, 1997); Sidney Cohen,
“The Earliest Scandinavians Towns,” in The Medieval City,
ed. Harry A. Miskimin, David Herlihy, and A. L. Udovitch
(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977),
313–325; Else Roesdahl, Viking Age Denmark, trans.
Susan Margeson and Kirsten Williams (London: British
Museum; 1982), 70–77.
Hedwiga SeeJAGIELLONIANS,DYNASTY OF.hegira SeeAL-HIJR;MUHAMMAD.