Medievalists.net » 5MinMedievalist http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 19:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 How to Write a Letter for a Suspicious Knight http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/how-to-write-a-letter-for-a-suspicious-knight/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/how-to-write-a-letter-for-a-suspicious-knight/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2015 03:11:54 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=63040 For some were shoemakers in their own shires, some swineherds, and the man has yet to be found who would couple a girl of such noble birth to a man of ignoble origins.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/how-to-write-a-letter-for-a-suspicious-knight/feed/ 0 5 Things to Pack in Your Medieval First Aid Kit http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/5-things-to-pack-in-your-medieval-first-aid-kit/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/5-things-to-pack-in-your-medieval-first-aid-kit/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2015 02:39:35 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=63035 Here are five things that would have been a handy part of a medieval 'first aid kit' and that (incidentally) science is slowly proving can still be counted on to work in a pinch.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/5-things-to-pack-in-your-medieval-first-aid-kit/feed/ 0 7 Things One Should Know When Dealing with Kings: The Icelander’s Version http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/29/7-things-one-should-know-when-dealing-with-kings-the-icelanders-version/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/29/7-things-one-should-know-when-dealing-with-kings-the-icelanders-version/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:00:48 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62887 Here is MaryAnn R. Adams’ winning advice on how to deal with Norse kings.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/29/7-things-one-should-know-when-dealing-with-kings-the-icelanders-version/feed/ 0 In Search of Guinevere http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/in-search-of-guinevere/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/in-search-of-guinevere/#comments Sat, 28 Nov 2015 22:51:50 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62851 As a lifelong lover of Arthurian stories, I have always had a love/hate relationship with Guinevere. In some stories, she is the well-mannered and generous ideal queen; in others she is a jealous and spiteful adulteress. How can she be both? When did she change?

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/in-search-of-guinevere/feed/ 0 The Snow Baby: A Cautionary Tale http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/22/the-snow-baby-a-cautionary-tale/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/22/the-snow-baby-a-cautionary-tale/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2015 18:32:18 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62704 Most of the time, fabliaux are lighthearted and lusty, but occasionally they stray into dark humour, like 'The Snow Baby'.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/22/the-snow-baby-a-cautionary-tale/feed/ 0 Last Words from a Medieval Mother to her Son http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/19/last-words-from-a-medieval-mother-to-her-son/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/19/last-words-from-a-medieval-mother-to-her-son/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2015 18:45:35 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62632 Yesterday, I stumbled across a passage from the Liber Manualis, written by a ninth-century Frankish woman named Dhuoda to her fifteen-year-old son.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/19/last-words-from-a-medieval-mother-to-her-son/feed/ 0 How to Tell if Your 12th-Century Lover is Just Not That Into You http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/14/how-to-tell-if-your-12th-century-lover-is-just-not-that-into-you/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/14/how-to-tell-if-your-12th-century-lover-is-just-not-that-into-you/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2015 03:58:49 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62535 In the twelfth century, courtly love was all the rage with the French nobility. To participate in this trendiest of trends, though, you actually needed to know the rules.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/14/how-to-tell-if-your-12th-century-lover-is-just-not-that-into-you/feed/ 0 Gargoyles: Mysterious Monsters of the Middle Ages http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/31/gargoyles-mysterious-monsters-of-the-middle-ages/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/31/gargoyles-mysterious-monsters-of-the-middle-ages/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2015 04:32:24 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62181 I love gargoyles. While there are so many beautiful pieces of sculpture that have survived the Middle Ages, like so many people, I’m drawn to those strange and ugly funny faces, not least of all because I can’t figure out what they’re for.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/31/gargoyles-mysterious-monsters-of-the-middle-ages/feed/ 0 ‘One Thing I Know’: Werewolves Are a Thing http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/30/one-thing-i-know-werewolves-are-a-thing/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/30/one-thing-i-know-werewolves-are-a-thing/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2015 03:35:49 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62153 In his Otia Imperialia, Gervase of Tilbury tells of many strange creatures he knows all about. One of these creatures is the werewolf.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/30/one-thing-i-know-werewolves-are-a-thing/feed/ 0 Meet the Real Ulrich von Liechtenstein http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/24/meet-the-real-ulrich-von-liechtenstein/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/24/meet-the-real-ulrich-von-liechtenstein/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2015 03:38:58 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=61979 If you’ve ever seen A Knight’s Tale, you’ll know that the titular knight takes on the name of Ulrich von Liechtenstein in order to joust on the tournament circuit and win the hand of his lady fair. What you may not have known is that there seems to have been a real thirteenth-century knight named Ulrich von Liechtenstein, who spent his youth jousting to win the heart (and body) of a capricious lady, and then wrote a book about it.

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