“What If … Charlemagne’s Other Sons had survived?” Charlemagne’s Sons and the Problems of Royal Succession
On January 28th 814, Charlemagne died at the age of 72. His son Louis the Pious succeeded his father into kingship and empire.
Regnal succession in early medieval Ireland
Many scholars have written about ‘the Irish law of dynastic succession’ since Eoin Mac Neill published an article with that title in 1919.
Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York
The leather described here spans a range of 600 years and provides an insight into one of York’s principal trades during the Anglo-Scandinavian and medieval periods
Not Quite Venus from the Waves: The Almoravid Conquest of Ghana in the Modern Historiography of Western Africa
The first seeds, within European learning, of the conquest hypothesis were sown by Leo Africanus.
The Marlowe-Shakespeare Authorship Debate: Approaching an Old Problem with New Methods
The facts surrounding the life and death of the men called Shakespeare and Marlowe are murky at best. Both men had births recorded in 1564. Before Shakespeare’s name became widely known, Marlowe had already produced several major works in various genres, including Tamburlaine the Great and Dr. Faustus.
Culpability and Concealed Motives: An Analysis of the Parties Involved in the Diversion of the Fourth Crusade
This article is in direct contrast to an earlier one by Joseph Gill, in which he utilizes primary sources in an attempt to establish Pope Innocent III’s lack of responsibility in the outcome of the Crusade.
Shame as a Means of Punishment
My main concepts are honor and shame, and they were not only inner or personal, but very public values in the late medieval German society, at least in the sense of the criminal justice system and the dishonoring punishments.
Ireland’s Viking Towns
Comparison of recent excavation results from Irish Viking Age towns in terms of location, layout, defences and buildings show that they have many physical traits in common…
Practical Texts in Difficult Situations: Bulgarian Medieval Charms as Apocrypha and Fachliteratur
The apocrypha are one of the most important phenomena of the Middle Ages. They provide a different perspective and a valuable insight to the mentality of the period.
Lady of the Elves: The Great Germanic Goddess
The most prominent goddesses in Germany were Holda (propitious) and Berchta (bright, glorious).
‘Temple Pendants’ in Medieval Rus’: How were they Worn?
A useful contribution towards the understanding of the wearing practices of Byzantine and other medieval ear ornaments is supplied by archaeological evidence from the territory of medieval Rus.
Maimonides: an early but accurate view on the treatment of haemorrhoids
Moses Maimonides was not only one of the most influential religious figures of the middle ages, but also a pioneer in a wide variety of medical practices.
The Poet and the Spae-Wife: An Attempt to Reconstruct Al-Ghazal’s Embassy to the Vikings
Before Dozy’s work,only excerpts from ibn-Dihya in incomplete shape had been known from the writings of the seventeenth-century Maghribi man of letters, al-Maqqari…
Foundlings, asylums, almshouses and orphanages: early roots of child protection
Historically, when societies faced serious economic problems, competing demands for resources, or implicit cultural expectations, those with the lowest social status fared poorly.
Defining a community: Controlling nuisance in late-medieval London
Looking only at late-medieval London, this study examines nuisance and social regulation through an analysis of secular court records, as well as other relevant municipal sources.