Construction Materials and Building Constructions in the Architecture of Medieval Rus, from the 10th to the Beginning of the 12th Centuries
Construction Materials and Building Constructions in the Architecture of Medieval Rus, from the 10th to the Beginning of the 12th Centuries Bernhard Flüge…
The Trends Toward Serfdom in Mediaeval England
The bald theory of progressive subjection during Anglo-Saxon times does not appear possible of definition; and even as a hypothesis, it would seem inadequate.
The Council of Trent (1545–63) and Michelangelo’s Last Judgment (1541)
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is one of the world’s most famous paintings, located in one of the world’s most famous rooms, the Sistine Chapel.
Simoniaca Heresis
With Gregory the Great (pope, 590–604) the expression simoniaca heresis becomes a frequently used phrase.
Witches, Spies and Stockholm Syndrome, Life in Medieval Ireland
In this unique book, Dublin based historian Finbar Dwyer has created a captivating picture of life in the Late Middle Ages from fatal tavern fights to football; sex to sea travel and other topics often neglected by histories of the period
How much did medieval teachers beat their students?
Medieval writing suggests classroom punishments such as beating, flogging and whipping were carefully regimented – and were only meant to be used to aid learning.
The Contractors of Chartres Revisited
It is not difficult to understand why the idea of itinerant contractors has met with considerable resistance from the start, as it tends to fly in the face of our understanding of medieval building practice, and indeed of practicality.
St. Augustine’s Tower – Hackney, London
My trip to St. Augustine’s Tower in Hackney, London.
Anglo-Saxon Sarcophagus Opened
‘The body appeared to be wearing leather boots or shoes, which was usual for this period. This would suggest that it was someone of importance.’
The Discovery of a Roman Girl in the 15th century
She looked ‘so lovely, so pleasing, so attractive, that, although the girl had certainly been dead fifteen hundred years, she appeared to have been laid to rest that very day.’
North America’s First Contact: Norse-Inuit Relations
The interaction between the Norse and Inuit was sparse, at times hostile, and could have possibly doomed the Greenland colonies to extinction.
Sword-point and blade will reconcile us first: The Vikings in the English Context
The Vikings first came to Britain in 793 CE sacking the monastery at Lindisfarne off its northeast coast.
Why Roman Law Did Not Succeed in England
England is the only European country whose legal system is not based on the Code of Emperor Justinian I
Trees of Gold. Royal Adaptations of Paradise in Dante’s Purgatory
Dante’s vision of afterlife, expressed in his masterpiece the Divine Comedy, starts in the real world: he finds himself lost in a wood, as a metaphor of his difficult position in earthly life being exiled from his patria, the city of Florence.
The Study of Medieval Sports, Games, and Pastimes: A Fifteen-Year Reflection, 1988-2003
Although some noteworthy studies by trained medievalists appeared in the 1980s, 90s, and the beginning of the new century, especially from scholars working in medieval literature, they were only a beginning.
Midwives as Agents of Social Control: Ecclesiastical and Municipal Regulation of Midwifery in the Late Middle Ages
Rather than the oft-claimed argument that midwifery regulation occurred as a result of midwives’ ignorance and lack of skill, both ecclesiastical and secular authorities in fact used midwives to their advantage to harness the ‘tremendous social power of medicine’.
Living History in an Early 14th Century Castle
In the small German village of Kanzach, population 504, a unique project has become reality, the complete reconstruction of a wooden castle with its tower, agricultural houses, furniture and various items from its daily life.
Beautiful Daughters and Rich Tournaments: Pleasures of the East in Correspondences between Ottoman Sultans and Christian Princes in the 14th and 15th century
When I was working on Anti-Turkish print products of the 15th century I came across a most curious little letter written by a certain Morbisanus to pope Pius II.
Interview with Heather Day Gilbert, author of God’s Daughter
I want them to reach a large audience–in particular, an audience interested in Viking history. I guess I wanted to bring Viking history into people’s lives in a memorable way, sort of like Marian Zimmer Bradley brought King Arthur to life with The Mists of Avalon.
Baking Bread in a Reconstructed Bread-Oven of the Late Iron Age
In 2003 and 2004 ‘Senas vides Darbnica’ (Latvia) built a late Iron Age (9th -12th century AD) bread oven based on archaeological finds and test baked bread and traditional Latvian pastries.
Construction and Conception Techniques of Residential Buildings and Urbanism in Medieval Europe around 1100 AD: The Example of Cluny, France
Everybody knows that the Burgundian abbey of Cluny was one of the intellectual and spiritual centres of Europe during the High Middle Ages. But also the surrounding little town is of scientific interest.
Medieval Movie Review: Army of Darkness
Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up! You see this? This… is my boomstick!
Mary Magdalene, Partner or Prostitute: An in-depth study of the transformation of Mary Magdalene in church history
I will examine current popular fictional and non-fictional works that assert the resurrection of Mary Magdalene, her position in the Christian story and her authority.
The Crusades and the Lost Literature of the Italian Renaissance
Dr. Brian Jeffrey Maxson describes Biondo Flavio’s account of the Fourth Crusade
Nancy Marie Brown: The Song of the Vikings, Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths
Nancy Marie Brown gives a talk about her recent book The Song of Vikings, Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths