Archaeologists discover London’s Black Death mass grave
Skeletons discovered last year in London were victims of the Black Death, according to new research announced yesterday. Furthermore, archaeologists believe that have found an emergency burial ground created in 1348 for victim of the pandemic.
Spiritual ‘encyclopedias’ in eleventh-century Byzantium?
The theoretical debate concerning what constitutes an ‘encyclopedia’ in the Byzantine context appears to be not only underdeveloped, but also carried out in a vacuum with respect to the Latin medieval counterpart (and vice-versa).
Pulp Fiction in Medieval Latin Literature?
Almost all medieval literature could be considered pulp fiction.
Crusading as a Knightly Deed
How far do the works of Jean of Joinville and James I of Aragon depict crusading as an integral part of chivalry in the thirteenth century?
Towards a first chronology for the middle settlement of Norse Greenland
The so-called Middle Settlement (Mellembygden) of Norse/Viking Greenland has received far less attention than either of its larger Eastern and Western counterparts.
Queenship, Nunneries and Royal Widowhood in Carolingian Europe
Fulk‟s letter therefore introduces us to some central aspects of Carolingian thinking about the appropriate behaviour of laywomen especially, and serves as a way into the principal themes of this article. In particular, it is noticeable that the archbishop highlighted his expectations of Richildis in two roles: her supposed misdemeanour was concerned specifically with a failure to meet her obligations as a widow and as a queen.
The Fables of Leonardo da Vinci
When wine is consumed by the drunkard, it takes revenge on the drinker.
Living stones : the practice of remembrance at Lincoln Cathedral, (1092-1235)
This thesis analyses four different aspects of devotional life at one of England’s largest and wealthiest medieval cathedrals between the years 1092 and 1235.
The Origins of the Tale of the Blood Drinking Hungarians
The motif of the covenant of blood was quite widespread in West European chronicle literature, and it was not necessarily applied to Oriental peoples, nor particularly to Hungarians.
Charlemagne and Europe
Jinty Nelson examines the long association between Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Christian emperor of the West, and Europe.
From Legible Text to Magical Pattern: Arabic Inscriptions in Muslim and Christian Spain
The Arabic inscriptions in this building fascinated me, and led me down a long path of research that continues today over a decade later. Today I will present some of that research, showing you some of the other structures and objects that are adorned with the same inscription.
The Ottonians and the Word: Gospel Books as Objects, Images, and Texts
I would like to consider issues of the material texts, literacy and the status of the written word in Ottonian Germany, as they coalesce at the site of deluxe liturgical manuscripts.
Baths of Bliss in the Middle Ages: Fact and Fiction
Medieval writers refer to baths in many contexts: spiritual (baptism), medical, erotic, didactic, comic, magical, dangerous – death in the bath was not uncommon.
Quasicrystals in Medieval Islamic Architecture
Quasicrystal patterns have remarkable properties: they do not repeat periodically, and have special symmetry—and were not understood in the West until the 1970s.
Vikings – Review of Season 2 Episode 5: Answers in Blood
This episode gives us good old fashioned father-son bonding moments – this being Vikings, that involves arson, a pitched battle, and a beheading!
Skeleton might not be Richard III, scholars suggest
Two leading medieval scholars are casting doubt that the body found in Leicester in 2012 is that of King Richard III, but those involved in the discovery are defending their findings.
Ermengarde de Beaumont, Queen of Scotland
Very little is known of Ermengarde de Beaumont who became Queen of Scotland in 1186 when she married the forty three year old King William I of Scotland, later known as ‘The Lyon’.
The Evolutions of Arms and Armors during the Crusades: 1095 – 1291 C.E.
The Crusades were a major turning point in history which evoked a rapid evolution of arms and armors that persisted throughout the middle ages.
Enemies of the Faith: Western Christian Views of Jews and Muslims in the Middle Ages
When we deal with this kind of question it is easy to simply fall into the trap of regarding Muslims and Jews as simply others in the views of Western Europeans. But if you look at things more closely you realize that Western European Christians viewed Muslims and Jews rather differently
‘Romeo and Juliet of Stonegate’: a medieval marriage in crisis
The course of the case can therefore be reconstructed, issues touched by the case identified and educated guesses can be given about what happened to the principal actors after the case had been abandoned by the archbishop’s court.
A Medieval Multiverse
Ideas in a thirteenth-century treatise on the nature of matter still resonate today, say Tom C. B. McLeish and colleagues.
The Spread Out of Arianism: A Critical Analysis of the Arian Heresy
On this paper I will focus on the Arian heresy, trying to show how this heresy spread out on the Roman Empire and how it kept his strength for many century on the spiritual formation of some people.
‘Vikings’ Renewed for Third Season
The television show Vikings has been renewed for a third season by the American channel History. Production on ten more episodes for season three will begin this summer and be broadcast in 2015.
Alice de Lacy and the Hazards and Possibilities of Medieval Widowhood, 1322-1348
The widow of Thomas, earl of Lancaster, Alice found herself in a precarious position after her husband’s execution for treason in 1322.
What did Scone look like in the Middle Ages
A team of researchers have stared a new project that will give us a look at how Scone, one of Scotland’s medieval royal centres, looked like and why it was so important to the development of the Scottish kingdom.