Mental Geographies and Cultural Identities in the Baltic Region in the Eleventh-Century: the Anglo-Saxon Cotton World Map
The cartography of the Baltic Sea and Scandinavia has been an interesting topic among scholars of the history of the ancient maps.
Byzantine Jewellery: The Evidence from Byzantine Legal Documents
In the field of Byzantine jewellery studies the usefulness of this approach was demonstrated, over 20 years ago, by the work of Hetherington on the ownership and distribution of Byzantine enamels.
Weather and Ideology in Íslendinga saga: A Case Study of the Volcanic Climate Forcing of the 1257 Samalas eruption
This eruption, which took place in 1257 at the Samalas caldera in Indonesia, caused a cooling effect across Europe until 1261, as the sulfur emissions from the volcano encircled the globe.
The Battle of Murten: The Invasion of Charles the Bold and the Survival of the Swiss States
In two stunning victories, Granson (Grandson in German), and, most importantly, Murten (Morat in French), the Swiss assured the survival of the Confederation, and these impressive feats of arms also propelled the Swiss states to the status of major players in international affairs for a short time.
Medieval History, Explosive Volcanism, and the Geoengineering Debate
By studying historical explosive volcanism, medieval history provides a laboratory for understanding the climatic and societal impacts of geoengineering in the form of reports of extreme weather and societal stresses such as subsistence crises and even conflict arising from scarcity induced resource competition
Teaching Tolkien’s Translations of Medieval Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Orfeo, and Pearl
J.R.R. Tolkien, the medievalist who became the father of modern fantasy literature, translated many poems out of Old English, Old Norse and Middle English into carefully versified modern English.
Gathering communities: locality, governance and rulership in early medieval Ireland
This article reviews the archaeological character of assembly practices in Ireland, and how a phenomenon of transient activities and temporary gathering is manifest materially and spatially.
The value of empire: tenth-century Bulgaria between Magyars, Pechenegs and Byzantium
The article seeks to explain the connection between the migration of the Magyars and Pechenegs in central and south-east Europe, in the late ninth and early tenth century, and the conflict between Byzantium and Bulgaria during the same period.
Siblings and the Sexes within the Medieval Religious Life
Contact between the sexes within the religious life presented a perennial source of anxiety for medieval churchmen.
Crusaders in the Red Sea: Renaud de Châtillon’s raids of AD 1182–83
This fresh look at Renaud’s exploit is intended to clarify some of the motives, facts and geographical details of the campaign, though much still remains obscure.
Studying the Middle Ages: Historical Food for Thought in the Present Day
Why study the Middle Ages? The answers this question yields concern more than simply medievalists: they generate reflections regarding the usefulness of science or intellectual engagement in any given society.
Why Should we Care about the Middle Ages? Putting the Case for the Relevance of Studying Medieval Europe
This introductory chapter puts forward a case for the continuing importance of studying the European Middle Ages.
The Writings of the Historians of the Roman and Early Medieval Periods and their Relevance to the Chronology of the First Millennium AD
the focus will be on what the historical sources actually say, and the extent to which the historical evidence supports each of the various chronological models (orthodox and unorthodox) under consideration.
The way of obtaining the Grand Elixir : an edition of the ‘Tamyrtone’ text in BL Harley 1747
Take one quarter ounce of the sun and half an ounce of the moon, purified, and make of both of them thin metal filings. Then take an …
Exonerating Manuel I Komnenos: Byzantine Foreign Policy (1143-1180)
How did Manuel justify his foreign policy and how did his contemporaries view him?
Evolution of the account of Duke Godfrey’s deed of hewing the enemy through the middle with a single blow during the siege of Antioch by the First Crusade: A source study
The article contains research on the narratives describing the battle of the Bridge Gate (March 6, 1098), which took place during the siege of Antioch by the Crusaders.
The Rise of Spurcalia: Medieval Festival and Modern Myth
A closer examination of the medieval sources, however, reveals that this festival never actually existed.
Filthy and indecent words: Insults, defamation, and urban politics in the southern Low Countries (1300-1550)
In 1527, the Bruges fishmonger Thomas Haghebaert shouted at the governors of his guild: ‘I will have nothing to do with you or the magistracy. I sh*t on you and on the aldermen and on all those who think they can harm me!’
Women and public space: Social codes and female presence in the Byzantine urban society of the 6th to the 8th centuries
The aim of the study is to sketch a picture of female presence in public space in the urban milieu of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th to the 8th centuries.
‘Laugh, My Love, Laugh’: Mottos, Proverbs and Love Inscriptions on Late Medieval Bone Saddles
Fifteenth-century bone saddles form a particularly unique and special object group in medieval Central European history.
Vi et Armis: Londoners and Violent Trespass Before the Common Pleas in the Fifteenth Century
The Londoners who entered pleadings in this court between 1405 and 1415 have left a fascinating glimpse into both interpersonal violence and the world of savvy litigators.
Child death, grief, and the community in high and late Medieval England
Today, the heartbreaking news about child death, in most cases, is viewed as “unexpected” or “rare.” However, the medieval corpus reflects the grim reality that child death was common.
Between Brothers: Brotherhood and Masculinity in the Later Middle Ages
This dissertation examines aristocratic brothers in order to understand how elite men negotiated the pressures of gender and kinship in the context of the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453).
London Under Danish Rule: Cnut’s Politics and Policies as a Demonstration of Power
In 1016, London was one of very few English cities of European significance. This reflected London’s prominence as a trading port, an economic and administrative hub, and population centre, rather than any status as a nascent capital city.
What Imported Viking Age and Medieval Artifacts Can Tell Us about Trade and Exchange in Mývatn, Iceland
This article examines how Mývatn Icelanders were able to partially connect to the continental trade in beads, the Baltic trade in flint, and to other European trade networks operating between the 9th and 15th centuries, and to what extent these networks were able to influence the early Mývatn economy.