Mapping the World in Medieval China
This talk looks at the extent of geographic and cartographic knowledge of the world that existed in medieval China.
Fish on Friday I: Economic Blessing or Dietary Sacrifice?
A lack of red meat on the medieval table meant the diners were having a humble meal, and fish was a convenient substitute protein.
New Medieval Books: From Paper to Prostitutes
This week’s five books takes you from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.
The Weight of Love and the Anglo-Saxon Cold Water Ordeals
The Old English Cold Water Ordeals, which prescribe how an accused person was to be immersed in water and required to ‘prove’ his or her innocence by being accepted by the water, by sinking rather than floating, are very strange documents from the perspective of modern readers.
Reading faces: how did late medieval Europeans interpret emotions in faces?
How did medieval people read signs of emotions in faces?
Bites and stings: A medieval perspective
Venomous creatures and their poisons loom large in the medieval medical European imagination.
Raising infanta Catalina de Aragón to be Catherine Queen of England
My aim in this study is to focus on queenship, particularly the formative years before 1509 when she was learning to be a queen.
Kingmakers: How Power in England Was Won and Lost on the Welsh Frontier
Timothy Venning explores their mentality and reveals the dramatic careers both of those who prospered from their loyalty to the king and those whose power was gained by treachery – from the Norman Conquest to the beginnings of the Tudor dynasty.
Book Review: A Medieval Woman’s Companion by Susan Signe Morrison
Susan Signe Morrison’s book, “A Medieval Woman’s Companion” brings the contributions of medieval women, famous and obscure, to the forefront in this fantastic introductory text.
Medieval zombies coming to Netflix
Netflix has announced that it will be creating a Korean television series that will be mixing the Middle Ages with zombies! Kingdom is going to be an eight-episode series directed by Kim Seong-hun and written by Kim Eun-hee.
Intercession and Motherhood: The Queenships of Philippa of Hainault and Anne of Bohemia
In this post, author Conor Byrne discusses the rule of two medieval queens: Anne of Bohemia and Philippa of Hainault.
10 Medieval Women You Should Know More About
Here are ten medieval women whose fascinating contributions deserve more recognition.
“One Freedom to All Human Beings”: Laura Cereta, Fifteenth-Century Women’s Champion
In medieval Italy, the nature and capabilities of women were being debated by both women and men, who fell on both sides of the argument. One voice among those was Laura Cereta’s.
Opening the Macclesfield Psalter: Patrons and Priories
It is undeniable that the Macclesfield Psalter is virtually unrivalled for its lavish illustrations. The gilded representations of structural, organic and allegorical elements are alluring and were certainly significant for the medieval recipients. Despite its beauty and rare pigments it was not just a work of art to simply gaze upon.
The Desire for Solitude: The Secret Poems of Irish Monks
Medieval monks worked long hours in silence copying and illustrating manuscripts. But what happened when their minds began to wander?
The Emotional Lives of Epidemics: Hate and Compassion from the Plague of Athens to AIDS
From an interdisciplinary array of scholars, a consensus has emerged: invariably, epidemics in past times provoked class hatred, blamed the ‘other’, and victimized the victims of epidemic diseases.
Viking toy boat discovered in Norway
A thousand years ago, for reasons we will never know, the residents of a tiny farmstead on the coast of central Norway filled an old well with dirt.
Complaining about doctors in the 12th century
Doctors were around in the Middle Ages too, and according to one twelfth-century writer, many of them were failing their patients.
New Medieval Books: Boucicaut to Art Recipes
This week’s five new books goes into politics, making art and one of the greatest knights of the Middle Ages.
Catapults are not Atomic Bombs: Towards a Redefinition of Effectiveness in Premodern Military Technology
Since at least the sixteenth century most historians have believed that the longbow significantly changed English strategy and tactics in the later Middle Ages.
Rodulf and Ubba: In Search of a Frisian–Danish Viking
This article attempts to reconstruct some of Rodulf’s life and deeds.
Spousal Abuse in Fourteenth-Century Yorkshire
One area which historians of marriage have chosen to focus on in particular as a measure of love within marriage is spousal abuse. Two approaches have been employed in this respect.
Grandparents in Urban and Rural Lower Languedoc at the End of the Middle Ages
This article analyzes the role and place of grandparents in their kinship groups in Lower Languedoc at the end of the Middle Ages.
Leprosy and Plague in St Giles in the Fields
Author and historian, Rebecca Rideal, on leprosy in London during the Middles Ages and Early Modern period.
The Medieval Magazine: Celebrating International Women’s Day (Volume 3, Issue 4)
We’ve just released our latest issue of the Medieval Magazine in celebration of International Women’s Day!