Was it for walrus? Viking Age settlement and medieval walrus ivory trade in Iceland and Greenland
The Norse expansion into the North Atlantic is remarkable testimony to the maritime transformation of the early medieval world.
Vote for Your Medieval Ruler!
Today is election day – your chance to choose which medieval monarch should be your ruler. Here are seven to pick from…
Imperial Electioneering: The Evolution of the Election in the Holy Roman Empire from the Collapse of the Carolingians to the Rise of the Ottonians
This election set the Holy Roman Empire apart from the Carolingian Empire and the rest of Europe. This strange political development would define the Holy Roman Empire and central Europe for centuries to come.
The Attitude Towards Democracy in Medieval Jewish Philosophy
By and large, medieval Jewish philosophers conceived the ideal government to be that of a perfect philosopher-king of the Platonic mold
The Medieval Roots of Democracy
By the late Middle Ages, institutions of self-government, including regional representative institutions, municipal assemblies, and numerous other autonomous units, had come to saturate West European society.
An Uneasy Relation: Byzantium and the Nomads
Byzantine sources provide abundant information about how the imperial government in Constantinople dealt with the peoples inhabiting the steppe lands north of the Black and Caspian Seas.
The Measure of a King: Forging English Royal Reputations, 1066-1272
The good, the bad, the inept, the brave and the foolish – English historiography is peppered with remarkable kings whose reputations cling to them despite the best efforts of historians. Yet what is it that makes a king?
The Getty Enchants with Alchemy Exhibits
Long shrouded in secrecy, alchemy was once considered the highest of arts. Straddling art, science, and natural philosophy, alchemy has proven key to both the materiality and creative expression embedded in artistic output, from ancient sculpture and the decorative arts to medieval illumination, and masterpieces in paint, print, and a panoply of media from the European Renaissance to the present day.
BOOK EXCERPT: King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England 1016 by W.B. Bartlett
The Viking Conquest of England in 1016, saw two great warriors, the Danish prince Cnut, and his equally ruthless English opponent, King Edmund Ironside fight an epic campaign.