The Other Conquest: Films set in the Medieval Americas
In this article we will turn our attention to those films which have made the indigenous peoples of medieval America their main subject. As we shall see, this actually uncovers a remarkable set of movies.
20 English Proverbs that originated in the Middle Ages
Here is our 20 favourite English proverbs that have medieval origins.
Glass-Breaking: An Affective Process
The iconoclasm of the English Reformation was marked by a transformation from reinterpreted 15th-century theological doctrine to tangible action
Medieval Geopolitics: Marxism and Medieval War
How do Marxists deal with medieval geopolitics, and specifically with the dynamics of war in the Middle Ages?
Four Medieval Love Stories You May Not Know About
Four tales from the Middle Ages about love.
Five Medieval Tricks to Make You Luckier in Love
The Distaff Gospels is a fifteenth-century collection of pseudo-serious advice given by fictional women, and it covers a wide range of the topics we can’t seem to get enough of, love and lust included.
A Guide to Arthurian Literature
This week is all about King Arthur and his Knights on The Medieval Podcast.
How to build a house (and learn French) the medieval way
Perhaps one of the most delightful works from the Middle Ages is The Treatise of Walter of Bibbesworth. From it you can learn much about medieval daily life and be taught French at the same time.
Medieval Manuscripts: The Bamberg Apocalypse
Just after the year 1000, the monastic island of Reichenau produced impressive wall paintings and illuminated manuscripts, but only one illustrated cycle of the Book of Revelation: the Bamberg Apocalypse.
Robert of Gloucester: The King’s Son Ascendant
If many Anglo-Norman and Angevin royal bastards during the 12th century could be said to be have had good fortunes, then Henry I’s eldest illegitimate child, Earl Robert of Gloucester, spent most of his lifetime rising on the wheel.
Al-Hajjaj: Machiavellian or Villain?
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi was the Umayyad caliphate’s most famous and most able governor. He administered the eastern “super province” of the caliphate which included Iraq, Khurasan, and Sijistan from 694 to 714.
Yonec: A tale of courtly love
We’re going back to the Lais of Marie de France, as Danièle tells the story of Yonec. It has all the hallmarks of a classic medieval romance: adultery, magic, spying, revenge, and women being blamed for wrecking everything.
New Medieval Books: New Translations of Medieval Texts
Here are seven books offering new translations of medieval texts, all published within the last year.
Medieval Manuscripts: The Peterborough Psalter in Brussels
With its magnificent gold and silver text, the Peterborough Psalter strikes contemporary art enthusiasts as much as it impressed its many former owners: Pope John XXII, the dukes of Burgundy, the kings of France, and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Sanctuary with Shannon McSheffrey
In the Middle Ages, a person could claim sanctuary to delay or avoid punishment for a serious crime. But what were the rules? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle interviews Dr. Shannon McSheffrey to find out how and why medieval people sought sanctuary, and whether or not a convicted heretic could expect the church to save his life.
The Prussian Uprisings: A Story of Knights, Pagans, Traitors, and Miracles
Before 1242, the Teutonic Order was a rising power in the Baltic. The Knights had conquered most of Prussia, incorporated the Livonian Order, and were pressing into Russia; in a few short years they would be fighting for their very survival.
The Sirens: From Sage to Cannibal, From Goddess to Prostitute
Sultry and deadly seductresses, the Sirens are fearful, yet fascinating creatures that have captivated writers for centuries. But they weren’t always depicted this way – what were the origins of the Sirens and how did they become synonymous with death, destruction, and sin?
The Witcher: Magic, Monsters and Medievalism
The Witcher is the latest breakthrough series on Netflix. Should you watch it and what is its connection to the Middle Ages and medievalism?
A Quest for Medieval Romance Novelists
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle reaches out to romance writers, giving both information and resources for those who want to write their very own medieval novels.
Byzantine Spies and Espionage
Here, I will deal with the methods and dangers of information and intelligence flow that authorities in Byzantium could gather in local markets and fairs, important ports, and taverns and inns, and how they reacted to spies and espionage activity in these particular places.
Tales from the Hundred Years War: How captains used trickery to profit from war
This kind of war did not look like the campaigns of kings; more often captains used trickery to defeat their enemies and plunder the opposing soldiers’ accumulated treasure.
A Marriage in Medieval London: The Brother’s Tale
On January 15, 1472, in the case of Elizabeth Isaak versus John Bolde, the deposed witness was Elizabeth’s brother, Walter Isaak.
Medieval Manuscripts: Muhibbî Dîvânı: A Sultan in Love
From sultan to servant: in this collection of poems, Süleyman the Magnificent gives up all his powers to worship a girl “as tall as a cypress, with cheeks as red as roses”. And what better decoration than ever-changing gold and pastel floral patterns?
The Ten Most Important Weapons of the Middle Ages
What were the most important of these weapons – which of them had a significant impact on the Middle Ages? Here is our list of ten medieval weapons you should know about.