Pride and Prudentius: Beowulf and the Seven Deadly Sins
This work also explores the conflict between the warrior culture of the pagans and the ideologies behind the Christian conversion.
When Did Historical Atlases Really Originate?
Renaissance geography began in the early 1400s with the translation from Greek and dissemination among scholars of the Geographia or Cosmographia by the second-century Alexandrian scientist Claudius Ptolemy.
Aberdeen Bestiary goes on public display for the first time
The Aberdeen Bestiary, a beautifully illustrated manuscript that dates back to the twelfth century and which once belonged to King Henry VIII, can now be seen by the public for the first time at the the University of Aberdeen
Changing views on Vikings
In this article changing views, not only of Viking activities, but also of the etymology and meaning of the word viking will be discussed.
The Mongol War Machine: How were the Mongols able to forge the largest contiguous land empire in history?
In the early 13th century a young Mongol chieftain called Temujin united the nomadic steppe peoples of Mongolia through conquest in order to fulfill his vision of a great nation.
“For We Who Were Occidentals Have Become Orientals:” The Evolution of Intermediaries in the Latin East, 1095-1291
Intermediaries were a vital component of this new society, one often almost entirely ignored by modern scholarship, which bypasses the interpreters and diplomats who moved between Latins and Muslims.
Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns
A practical guide to making your own Norse Viking garment!
In Defence of the Distant Past
. Why do we study History? What is the discipline for? What can it hope to achieve?
St Andrews Cathedral in Scotland recreated online
People can now explore St Andrews Cathedral, Scotland’s largest medieval church, as it looked in the Middle Ages, through a new online portal created by the University of St Andrews.
Romanian-Saxon Intercultural Aspects in Braşov
The most pertinent opinions can be expressed about this complex and subtle phenomenon not by appealing to the memory of documents and libraries, but living together in explicitly multi-cultural environments.
Jewish trading in Fes on the eve of the Almohad conquest
The status of Jewish communities under Almohad rule has been the subject of scholarly interest for different reasons notably in the framework of the disruption of convivencia in al-Andalus among the people of the three abrahamic faiths.
Requiem For a Lost Age
Conventional wisdom said medieval Christian graves – the plain remains of the pious – held little interest for archaeologists. Now cemetery excavations have revealed an extraordinary world of fear, superstition, care and mourning. Roberta Gilchrist reports on a major new study.
The Palio in Italian Renaissance art, thought, and culture
The palio and its associated feast days provided impetus for extensive artistic production. The palio derives its name from the banner awarded to the winner of the horse race.
The Squirrel Fur Trade in 14th Century Novgorod
In the early part of the 14th century, high-quality, brilliantly-colored woolen fabrics became available in Western Europe. It was discovered that lush, gray-white, northern squirrel fur was an ideal complement to this type of cloth.
Slavic Paganism
Before the advent of Christianity, the European population practiced various forms of paganism. Pagan beliefs were not centralized or codified; they exhibited specific regional characteristics that developed within relatively small territories (Afanas’ev). Slavic cities had differing pantheons comprised of deities whom the inhabitants considered to be most important.
Cogs, Sails and Longbows: Implications of Naval Tactics and Technology in the Hundred Years War
There were several naval engagements during the Hundred Years War. The three that will be looked at in this work are the battle of Sluys in 1340, the battle of Les Espagnols-Sur- Mer in 1350, and the capture of a French fleet from La Rochelle. The battle of Sluys is the best known of these, but it can be argued that subsequent engagements are of equal or greater importance. Many historians have downplayed these events.
Gender and Violence in the Northern French Farce
I will briefly examine here the identity of farce’s violent characters and their victims, as well as the deviant behaviors punished by comically violent means, ending with a brief discussion of the social conditions which, in my opinion, may have caused the farce’s target audience to enjoy watching the aggressive correction of certain types of antisocial behavior in the century following the Hundred Years’ War.
The North Italian Cotton Industry 1200-1800
The versatility of cotton and its adaptability to a wide range of climatic conditions ensured a steady demand among urban and rural consumers linked by extensive commercial networks.
Bogomils, Cathars, Lollards, and the High Social Position of Women During the Middle Ages
During the 12th century, if not slightly earlier, Western Europe lived through a period of economic and social upheaval termed by many historians the 12th c. Renaissance. One of its aspects is related to the considerable emancipation of women mostly in Southern France, a development which spread over to Italy, Flanders, and later, England. One can even detect social zones where real emancipation was achieved.
‘Arthritis’ in Byzantium (AD 324-1453): unknown information from non-medical literary sources
Most Byzantine physicians described several types of arthritis that resemble rheumatoid arthritis, chronic deformans polyarthritis and gout.
Foundations of Byzantine late middle ages architecture thoughtfulness
Byzantine late Middle Ages and Byzantine Renaissance (1204-1453) are two final periods in the culture and architecture of that 1141 year lasting Empire.
The Eagle Returns: Evidence of Continued Ismaili Activity at Alamut and in the South Caspian Region following the Mongol Conquests
The catastrophic Mongol incursions into the heart of the Muslim world during the thirteenth century left a path of death and destruction in their wake.
How late were Pictish symbols employed?
It is suggested that certain features enable particular relief-decorated stones displaying Pictish symbols to be dated within chronological horizons, and that this indicates that Pictish symbols continued to be employed in Scotland into the 10th century or beyond, survival perhaps lasting longer in the north.
“Thus he rode sorowyng”: Travel Narratives and the Ethics of Sexual Behavior in Le Morte d’Arthur
The Arthurian oeuvre traditionally maintains a plot structure that requires knights to depart from the Round Table, either as a response to a challenge or in quest of chivalric “aventure,” followed by a return to Camelot. Within this narrative framework, there exists an intricately designed logic to descriptions of movement and travel. In particular, sex and travel appear inseparable.