Linking the Mediterranean: The Construction of Trading Networks in 14th and 15th-century Italy
When the Mediterranean Sea is discussed historically, it is never a simple question of geography. Its meaning remains somewhat indeterminate. It refers to intellectual journeys that do not circumnavigate any one particular region; it indicates periods that splash over.
English Queenship 1445-1503
The Wars of the Roses marked a period of political instability which brought into question existing ideologies of kingship and, within that, of queenship, reshaping the latter office and its rituals.
Herod the Great in Medieval Art and Literature
This thesis follows the treatment of Herod the Great in the art and literature of 1500 years, concentrating especially on the iconographic detail and distinctive literary developments of this paradoxical king of the Jews.
Constructing Communities: Identification and Self-Understanding in the Twelfth-Century North of England
This is a study of local communities in the north of England between 1069 and 1200. It examines the way these communities were constructed, imagined and perceived by contemporary individuals.
‘To Talk of Many Things’: Whales, Walrus, and Seals in Medieval Icelandic Literature
The use of whales, walrus, and seals in the sagas illustrates a cultural map of the ocean. This network of places, known and imagined, is filled in by trade goods, species and place names, and stories that incorporate the denizens of the deep.
A Falconer’s Ritual: A study of the cognitive and spiritual dimensions of pre-Christian Scandinavian falconry
Working from the premise that falconry was introduced in Scandinavia from an eastern origin sometime in the course of the 6th century AD, this paper suggests that the practice may have harboured cognitive and spirituals dimensions unshared by the rest of the feudal, Christian European kingdoms.
Science and the Future of the Human Past
Michael McCormick discusses how we can discover our ancestors and their lived experience, their successes and failures, and invent a new discipline, the Science of the Human Past.
York Minster’s Great East Window restoration completed
On 2 January 2018, the final panel in York Minster’s 600-year-old Great East Window was returned to the world-famous masterpiece, 10 years after all 311 panels were removed by York Glaziers Trust.
Research into Anglo-Saxon burials uncover new insights
Christine Cave, a PhD candidate at the Austrialian National University, has developed a new method for determining the age-of-death for skeletal remains based on how worn the teeth are.
Canterbury Roll now available online
In New Zealand, University of Canterbury staff and students are working to translate and digitise a unique medieval manuscript to make it accessible to the world.
Medieval Castle for Sale in Italy: Torre di Fiume
Located on the border of Tuscany and Umbria, this eleventh-century castle has recently been restored.
Must-see objects at the Bodleian Treasures
This exhibition contains 21 pairs of carefully selected items. Most of these are manuscripts, but there are also a few other objects; together, they feature some of the Bodleian Libraries’ best collections.
New Year, New You: Early Modern Style
While many people may be making new year’s resolutions to get fitter in 2018, Natalie Anderson takes a look at the early modern obsession with achieving the same goal hundreds of years ago.
Medieval Manuscripts: Epiphany in The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany
The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany is undoubtedly a masterpiece of French painting, as is fitting for a manuscript intended for someone who was twice queen of France: with Charles VIII and then Louis XII.
Wood Culture and Technology in the Greenland Norse Society, 10th-15th Century
Despite a relatively poor wooded environment, well preserved archaeological collections show timbers were often used, suggesting Norse people in Greenland found multiple ways to acquire the wood they needed.
Aspects and Problems of the Templars’ Religious Presence in Medieval Europe from the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Century
What has been neglected in the debate on military order religion is a more focused discussion of how the religion of individual military orders was understood and experienced by outsiders through the ecclesiastical property these orders possessed and the devotional spaces they created and maintained.
Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History: Eleanor of Aquitaine’s Political Career and Its Significance to Noblewomen
Eleanor of Aquitaine played an indirect role in the formation of medieval and early modern Europe through her resources, wit, and royal connections.
A Provençal Holy Land. Re-reading the Legend and the Sites of Mary Magdalene in Southern France
From the twelfth century onwards, various sites in Provence became associated with Mary Magdalene and her family, creating a pilgrimage “land” for those who wanted to see and experience their post-biblical lives.
Dracontius and the Wider World: Cultural and Intellectual Interconnectedness in Late Fifth-Century Vandal North Africa
The traditional image of Vandal North Africa as a place of oppression has largely been shattered under the weight of modern scholarly investigation. In recent years, scholars from various fields have come together to greatly enhance our understanding of Vandal North Africa.
How Waterford won its Civic Sword: the battle of Ballymacaw
The battle of Ballymacaw is known from two accounts, both compiled at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries.
Climate of Doubt: A re-evaluation of Büntgen and Di Cosmo’s environmental hypothesis for the Mongol withdrawal from Hungary, 1242 CE
Büntgen and Di Cosmo’s recent article in Scientific Reports attempts to tackle an important historical mystery (the abrupt Mongol withdrawal from medieval Hungary). We agree with their underlying assumption that an interdisciplinary analysis of environmental and documentary resources can result in a better understanding of the events. However, some of the supporting evidence does not withstand critical examination in the context of the Mongol invasion of Hungary.
Free Trade and Free Movement of People: diplomacy and material culture in the early and high Middle Ages
There is a wealth of material relating to diplomatic gifts. However, beyond this aspect, and a few references about trade in treaties and links to this in coinage, surprisingly little has been written about material culture and diplomatic practice.
Multilingualism and Empires: Byzantium and Sasanian Persia
The long and bitter confrontation between Byzantium and the Sasanian Empire was one of the most important historical phenomena of Late Antiquity; it was also very significant for the development of later mediaeval societies and institutions in East and West.
Some Highlights of Education in Christian Spain the Late Medieval Period
In this article we will tour some of the major educational milestones of late medieval Spain, including the primary and secondary education at that time, especially in the educational activity of the Church, the councils and individuals.
The Conservation History, Problems and the Rehabilitation of Lithuanian Medieval Castles
The paper discusses the conservation practices and methods of the Lithuanian medieval castles. Since 19th century there was a lot of attention on the medieval castles in Lithuania, which later transformed into a search for an identity.