Collapse of the Hunnic Empire: Jordanes, Ardaric and the Battle of Nedao
This thesis examines the evidence surrounding the Battle of Nedao, an engagement between Ardaric, leader of the Gepids and other rebelling tribes, and Ellac, the eldest son of Attila.
The Novice-master in the Cistercian Order
Information relating to the novice master has to be rather sought in the customs, constitutions and in similar texts. Their explanations and regulations come closer to the practices of the respective community than can be expected from rules.
Walking in Sixteenth-Century Venice: Mobilizing the Early Modern City
By studying physical motion, we can capture the dynamism of early modern cities and, drawing on all the rich meanings of the Italian verb movimentare, move, mobilize, invigorate, and enliven the history of early modern urban society and culture.
Soldiers, Villagers and Politics: Military Violence and the Jacquerie of 1358
The Jacquerie of 1358 remains a hotly contested incident, but the importance of soldiers as a cause of the revolt is one of the few things on which scholars agree.
Who was Edward I?
The Five-Minute Medievalist talks about the life and times of Edward I, King of England.
Medieval Grooming Tools
The Five-Minute Medievalist takes a look at some of the grooming tools from the Middle Ages that she has come across in her travels.
When were the Middle Ages?
The Five-Minute Medievalist answers the question, ‘When were the Middle Ages?’
The Medieval Magazine: (Volume 4: No. 3): Issue 105: Valentine’s Day
The Valentine’s Issue!: Love in the Middle Ages, Teutonic Knights, Tudor medicine, and much, much more!
The Medieval Love Letters of H and a Lady
The story of a remarkable set of three letters written in verse, preserved in a 12th century manuscript, which tells of love between a woman and a man.
The Women around an Emperor: Eleanor of Portugal
In the fourth in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Eleanor of Portugal.
The Florentine Army in the Age of the Companies of Adventure
The Florentine army was, in contrast to the current literature, not an ad hoc and temporary entity but the product of careful consideration and coordination.
Justinian and the Corpus Iuris: An Overview
Justinian’s codification is the bridge that links Antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, and Europe. It is also the link between civil law and common law, and between canon law and civil law.
Warriors and Civilians in the Crusade Movement: Military Identities and Status in the Liberation and Defence of the Holy Land (1096-1204)
The canonical definition of crusades as penitential pilgrimages meant that most expeditions during the first century of the movement included large numbers of non-combatants, which caused significant problems with regard to discipline and logistics.
Marco Polo on the Mongol State: Taxation, Predation, and Monopolization
The aim of this article is to bring attention to Marco Polo’s descriptions of economic and political features of the Mongol empire that are especially meaningful when viewed through the lens of Austrian economics.
The Authoritative Text: Raymond of Penyafort’s editing of the Decretals of Gregory IX (1234)
The Decretals has long been understood as a key text for the study of the medieval papacy, the rise of scholasticism within the universities, and the extension of the Church’s jurisdiction into almost every area of medieval life.
Cross-Channel Marriage and Royal Succession in the Age of Charles the Simple and Athelstan (c. 916-936)
This article discusses the marriages of four Anglo-Saxon princesses to Continental kings and princes between the years 917 and 930.
Lollardy, Hussitism and the Scottish Inquisition, c.1390-c.1527
Despite a peculiar constellation of factors that make Scotland in this period quite unique, and because of a patchy and fragmentary archival record, scholars have paid virtually no attention to Scotland when considering those issues that have shaped the historiography of medieval Europe.
The Viking Great Army in England: new dates from the Repton charnel
The size and nature of Great Army winter camps has been used as a proxy to estimate the size of the invading forces, but with divergent results. An accurate understanding of the chronology at Repton is therefore essential for improving our knowledge in these areas.
The ‘light touch’ of the Black Death in the Southern Netherlands: an urban trick?
In this article an array of dispersed sources for the Southern Netherlands together with a new mortmain accounts database for Hainaut show that the Black Death was severe, perhaps no less severe than other parts of western Europe.
The Evangelical Pearl: The Last Masterpiece of Medieval Female Mysticism
This paper explores the writings of the anonymous, 16th-century female author of The Evangelical Pearl. Written in the Dutch vernacular and first published in 1537, the work proved to be a popular and influential one.
High-tech scans reveal secrets of medieval burial stones in Scotland
The latest digital photography techniques applied to the ancient burial stones at Inchinnan Parish Church in western Scotland have revealed that one of the stones, thought to be medieval in date, was originally carved much earlier..
Byzantine fountain and pools discovered in Israel
Archaeological Excavations in Ein Hanniya Park in Rephaim Valley National Park, Israel, have uncovered impressive and significant finds, including pools and an elaborate fountain dating back 1500 years, a capital typical of First Temple-era royal estates, and a rare silver coin.
The Medieval History of the Tower of London
Popular author and historian Toni Mount explores the fascinating history of the Tower of London in honour of her latest medieval murder mystery, The Colour of Murder.
The Heart of Dread: A Case Study of Fear in Old Norse Culture
The misplaced idea of the Middle Ages as a period of unmediated emotion is still popular. Yet, by studying both textual and material culture from the period, recent scholarship in the history of emotions has proved that this is not the case.
The Medical Response to the Black Death
Even though medicine in the Middle East was marginally more advanced than European medicine, physicians in both regions were unsuccessful at treating the Plague; however, the Black Death served to promote medical innovations that laid the foundations of modern medicine.