Trickery, Mockery and the Scottish Way of War
This article seeks to examine two prominent themes, those of trickery and mockery, in how warfare against England was represented in Scottish historical narratives of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Which Empire Do You Belong In?
Ever wonder which historical empire you are best fitted for? Find out here!
Dental Health in Viking Age Icelanders
The purpose of the study was to evaluate dental health in Iceland 1000 years ago.
Medieval iconography of watermelons in Mediterranean Europe
With the objective of obtaining an improved understanding of watermelon history and diversity in this region, medieval drawings purportedly of watermelons were collected, examined and compared for originality, detail and accuracy.
Marking the Face, Curing the Soul? Reading the Disfigurement of Women in the Later Middle Ages
This specific example, and a survey of later medieval texts suggests that the period between 1150 and 1500 was one of increasing attention to the facial features of both men and women within and outside clerical circles, driven partly by increased exposure of western Europeans to peoples of different physical appearance, and partly by the rediscovery of the ancient pseudo-science of physiognomy, which claimed to read character traits from facial features.
The Vikings and clothing accessories they brought home
New study on the use of imported objects in Viking Age Scandinavia
Priests found spiritual satisfaction by serving nuns, Stanford medieval historian says
A study of medieval texts and imagery by Stanford history Professor Fiona Griffiths counters commonly held beliefs about misogynistic practices in medieval Europe. Griffiths’ research reveals how some male clergy acknowledged and celebrated the perceived religious superiority of nuns.
New Location for the Battle of Crécy discovered
For over 250 years it has been believed that the Battle of Crécy, one of the most famous battles of the Middle Ages, was fought just north of the French town of Crécy-en-Ponthieu in Picardy. Now, a new book that contains the most intensive examination of sources about the battle to date, offers convincing evidence that the fourteenth-century battle instead took place 5.5 km to the south.
The Medieval Magazine – Issue 35
This week we explore the early stages of the Hundred Years War, revealing new details about the Battle of Crécy, and telling the story of Fiery Joanna’s defence of Hennebont. You can also read about rune stones, the Celts, and Icelandic sagas.
‘Like the Wick of the Lamp, Like the Silkworm They Are’: Stupid Schoolteachers in Classical Arabic Literary Sources
That schoolteachers were incorrigibly fatuous was certainly a common perception, widespread in adab literature of the ʿAbbāsid period and in later sources too. Indeed, the question of their stupidity, or rather, the stereotype of ‘the stupid schoolteacher’ was a topos which several classical and post-classical writers were fond of using, along with others such as ‘the dull person’, ‘the smart sponger’ and ‘the ridiculous bedouin’.
Who Were The Celts? The British Museum Offers Answers with New Exhibition
The British Museum just opened its latest exhibit, Celts: Art and Identity this past Thursday, covering 2,500 years of Celtic history. The exhibit explores Celtic identity and how it eveolved from the time of the Ancient Greeks to the present through art, culture, daily life, religion and politics.
Rapid Invention, Slow Industrialization, and the Absent Entrepreneur in Medieval China
For some sixteen centuries, about eight times the length of the period since the onset of England’s Industrial Revolution, China was the source of an astonishing outpouring of inventions that included a vast variety of prospectively valuable novelties as diverse as printing, the blast furnace, the spinning wheel, the wheelbarrow, and playing cards, in addition to the more widely recognized gunpowder and compass.
‘The boldest and most remarkable feat ever performed by a woman’: Fiery Joanna and the Siege of Hennebont
It ranks as one of the most fascinating stories from the 14th century, one that chroniclers of that time relished in telling and historians have ever since recounted.
5 Cool Celtic Things at the British Museum
I attended the opening of the British Museum’s, Celts: Art and Identity exhibit on Sept 24th. It showcases stunning art, jewellery, weaponry, daily and religious objects to tell the story of the Celtic people.
Can Florence in the Quatrocento Help Shape Tax Policy Today?
I therefore decided to apply what I knew about tax policy—the only subject on which I was conversant and which seemed remotely relevant—to Florence in the days of the Medici, and see what happened.
The Sense of Time in Anglo-Saxon England
Much has been written about how the Anglo- Saxons measured time, but relatively little about why, or in what circumstances. When did it seem important to note the year or the month, the day or the hour?
The Book of Dame Frevisse: Margaret Frazer’s Medieval Mysteries
Margaret Frazer has written and published fifteen medieval mystery books thus far. These books are considered detective fiction.
Patrician Purity and the Female Person in Early Renaissance Venice
This essay studies the Venetian patriciate’s enforcement of its exclusiveness and superior status by focusing on the purity and social standing on the women of the class.
Halls, ‘hall-houses’ and tower-houses in medieval Ireland: disentangling the needlessly entangled
This short paper addresses what I regard as two critical issues in Irish castellological research: the definition of the ‘hall-house’, and the relationship of buildings so identified with the tower-houses of the later middle ages.
Between 50 and 75 medieval skeletons discovered at Westminster Abbey
Archaeologists have discovered the skeletal remains of between 50 to 75 individuals buried in the walls of Westminster Abbey. It is believed that they date from the 11th or early 12th century.
Renaissance Robotics: Leonardo da Vinci’s Lost Knight and Enlivened Materiality
The knight, when activated, would spring upright while simultaneously closing its arms in a lateral, pectoral embrace.
Five Medieval Minutes with Steven Muhlberger
Formal deeds of arms were an opportunity for one group of people to show off their skills – particularly their horsemanship – and for other people to appreciate how bold and daring they were.
Neither Cursed Nor Possessed: Mental Abnormality in the Late Middle Ages
I plan to address the more formal ecclesiastical proscriptions regarding mental abnormality.
How to build a medieval fortress – the construction of Hildagsburg
What does it take to build a fortification in the 10th century?