Medieval News

Before and after pictures of Castle Matrera. (Photo by The Guardian)

Outrage in Matrera Over Botched Castle Restoration

A botched restoration attempt in Spain has garnered international attention and condemnation from locals, historians and conservationists.

York Archbishops Registers Revealed

New Online Resource: The Registers of the Archbishops of York

Over 10,000 folios from the medieval Registers from the Archbishops of York have been been digitized and published by online by the University of York. This website – York’s Archbishops Registers Revealed – makes available one of the most important collections of historical materials related to England’s ecclesiastical history.

Anglo Saxon island

Anglo-Saxon island discovered

The remains of an Anglo-Saxon island have been uncovered in one of the most important archaeological finds in decades.

Umberto Eco in 2011 - Photo credit: Das Blaue Sofa / Club Bertelsmann.

Umberto Eco, medievalist and novelist, passes away

Umberto Eco, who gained international fame for his novel The Name of the Rose, passed away on Friday. He was 84.

sweetheart abbey breviary - photo courtesy National Library of Scotland.

Sweetheart Abbey Breviary acquired by National Library of Scotland

A monastic treasure written in Scotland 700 years ago has been acquired by the National Library of Scotland.

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Medieval Articles

Portrait of Elizabeth of York, now at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

The Funeral of Queen Elizabeth of York, the First Tudor Queen of England

Elizabeth of York, Queen to King Henry VII of England, died in the Tower of London on February 11, 1503. She had given birth to a daughter Katherine on February 2 and never recovered. The death was a shock to her husband, her children and to the nation.

Torre Dei Capocci Roma (The Capocci Tower). Built in the Arcioni family in the 12th century. (Wiki Commons).

Medieval Survivals In Modern Rome

An analysis of medieval buildings in Rome with “defensive” characteristics has been ongoing for the past four years (towers, fortified houses, fortifications on ancient monuments).

Mercia - from An English history with illustrations and maps, by E.S. Symes 1905

Osthryth, Queen of the Mercians

Osthryth was one of the few women mentioned by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. She was born into a time of great strife. There was much tension and bad blood between the ruling houses of the various kingdoms in England before unification, especially between Mercia and Northumbria.

The emperor Theophilus chooses his empress A.D. 829. - created by Val Cameron Prinsep (1838-1904)

The Historicity of Imperial Bride-Shows

Seven independent Byzantine sources record that five times in the eighth and ninth centuries the winner in a competition of beautiful women became the bride of an emperor or future emperor.

King Harold Godwinesson

Harold Godwinson in Wales: Military Legitimacy in Late Anglo-Saxon England

On January 6, 1066, Harold Godwinson ascended the throne of England. He succeeded King Edward the Confessor who had died after reigning for twenty-three years over the English people.

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Medieval Videos

The Silk Roads: Questioning the Eurocentric View of History

Dr Peter Frankopan is a historian at Oxford University, where he is a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford and Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. During this lecture he will talk about his best selling book The Silk Roads.

Amorous encounters in Medieval French chess

The question I want to look at today is how chess is used in presenting these questions of love, of the amorous encounter, of the meeting between two people and the potential for feelings the might result from it.

Medieval Universities: Privileged, Distinctive and Embedded

This lecture will introduce medieval universities from their beginnings in England, France and Italy and on to the Renaissance

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Medieval Books

BOOK TOUR: On the Trail of the Yorks by Kristie Dean

Today we’re hosting Kristie Dean’s “On the Trail of the Yorks” book tour, featuring Anne of Exeter.

Can You Solve These Medieval Riddles?

Test yourself with these ten riddles from the seventh-century, part of Saint Aldhelm’s Riddles, translated by A.M. Juster and published by the University of Toronto Press.

Lost Battlefields of Wales, by Martin Hackett

In this book, Martin Hackett takes us on a journey through the military history of Wales, looking at the armies involved and the weapons they used.

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Medieval Movies & TV

Movie Review: Pope Joan – Medieval Legend Comes to Life Onscreen

Released in 2009, also under its German title, ,Die Päpstin,, ,Pope Joan’ recounts the medieval legend of Johanna von Ingleheim, a woman who disguised herself as a man, lived as a monk, and eventually went on to become pope in the ninth century.

The World’s Worst Fantasy Film: In the Name of the King

What do you get when you mix Burt Reynolds, Jason Statham, Ray Liotta and Ron Perlman in a movie together? You get a horrible movie. Those worlds are never meant to collide, and never in a fantasy movie.

Friendship, Betrayal, War: “Soldier of God” Movie Review

A Templar and a Muslim; their strange friendship is the premise of this week’s movie based in the 12th century immediately after the disastrous Battle of Hattin.

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More Medieval History

Making the Medieval Relevant: Crossing Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Studies on Disease and Disability

A summary of a paper given by Professor Christina Lee at the University of Nottingham’s “Making the Medieval Relevant” Conference.

Imprisonment, Execution and Escape: Medieval History and the National Curriculum

The final talk in Sesson #1041, Engaging the Public with the Medieval World, looked at what English children are being taught in school. How much medieval history is in the new programme that was released in September 2014? Megan Gooch, Curator at the Historic Royal Palaces breaks down the English system for us in her paper, ‘Imprisonment, Execution, and Escape: Medieval History and the National Curriculum’.

Making the Castle a Home: Creating an Immersive Medieval World Using Live Costumed Interpreters

How does the use of unscripted, adaptive, historical interpretation boost the tourist experience? Right on the heels of our look at the Tower of London’s visitor engagement, we heard a paper from Lauren Johnson, Research Manager for Past Pleasures, the oldest historical interpretation company in the UK who educate and entertain the public at historical sites, museums, on stage and and on TV.

‘But Where are the Dungeons?’: How to Engage the Public at the Tower of London

A talk about how historical sites, like the Tower of London engage the public. How to handle visitor expectations, what do people come t see and how to tell history in a captivating but accurate manner.

Kindred of the Sea – Young Adult Fiction series about the Vikings

These three novels in the series Kindred of the Sea, by C.J. Adrien, are aimed at a young adult/teen audience

Daughter of Destiny, by Nicole Evelina

Before queenship and Camelot, Guinevere was a priestess of Avalon. She loved another before Arthur, a warrior who would one day betray her.

The Last Kingdom: An Interview with Bernard Cornwell

What I find most compelling is the struggle to create a country which became England, a struggle that must have seemed hopeless at times and which roiled Britain in constant fighting. We think of England (especially) as a peaceful landscape, but in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries it was horribly brutal and merciless.

Teaching Historical Theory through Video Games

The potential of video games for teaching history is receiving increasing recognition. However, the greatest emphasis is on their use as tools in secondary education. The few studies focusing on undergraduate education demonstrate the use of games to create an immersive historical experience with counterfactual options.

Minecraft and the Middle Ages

It is one of the most popular video games ever created. Moreover, educators are finding ways to use Minecraft as a teaching tool, and one that could be ideal for learning about the Middle Ages.

Gareth Hinds’ Beowulf

Dark and visceral, the graphic novel version of Beowulf created by Gareth Hinds is considered to be one of the most successful adaptations of the Old English tale.

Using LEGO to teach the Middle Ages

Here are a few ideas that teachers can use to teach the Middle Ages with LEGO

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