It’s Black Friday! Here’s a little inspiration for that scholar, blogger, or aspiring writer on your holiday list.
The Struggle is Real: Where are the Medieval Economists?!
November 21, 2015 By
Another fascinating paper from “Making the Medieval Relevant” was given by Daniel Curtis, a specialist in Social and Economic History, and a professor at the University of Utrecht.
Genoa: The cog in the new medieval economy
August 18, 2015 By
Journalist and author Nicholas Walton writes about medieval Genoa’s economy, trade and role in the Black Death. Walton recently published a book on Genoese history entitled, “Genoa: La Superba”
BOOK REVIEW: Genoa ‘La Superba’: The Rise and Fall of a Merchant Pirate Superpower by Nicholas Walton
August 9, 2015 By
While most books about Italy have been dedicated to tourist hubs like Milan, Florence, Rome, Sicily and Venice, Genoa with its rich history, rugged landscape, and tenacious residents, has been given only a passing mention.
Single Genetic change created the medieval plague, researchers find
July 1, 2015 By
Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that caused Justinian’s Plague and the Black Death, was once only able to cause a mild gastrointestinal infection. However, researchers have found that a single genetic change to bacteria turned into one of the deadliest diseases in human history.
Papers on Medieval Prosopography: Session #47 at KZOO 2015
May 29, 2015 By
Three fantastic papers on Prosopography from #KZOO2015.
The Quickener – A Medieval Tale
March 27, 2015 By
The year is 1348. Medieval England has just been struck by a terrifying plague. The fate of a young sculptor and his wife will be decided today. With a brutal moneylender breathing down their necks and The Black Death wrecking havoc will they be able to escape doom?
Priests and the Black Death
February 26, 2015 By
As news of outbreaks of disease continues to swirl around the world, I keep being reminded of the bravery of the caregivers who bring comfort and aid to the sick and the dying.
How Climate Change in Asia brought the Black Death to Europe
February 24, 2015 By
A group of Norwegian and Swiss researchers have uncovered links between climatic changes in central Asia and repeated outbreaks of the Bubonic plague in Europe, starting with the Black Death in the 14th century.
Epidemics Past and Present: What Historic Diseases Tell Us About Future Threats
February 19, 2015 By
Dr. DeWitte will discuss how bioarchaeological research on past epidemics such as the Black Death can improve our understanding of emerging diseases and human-pathogen coevolution in general, and the potential it has to provide tools for dealing with disease in living populations.
Black Death DNA found in teeth
February 10, 2015 By
Remnants of the genetic makeup of plague bacteria have been found in thousands of victims of the Black Death and the major plague epidemics at the end of the Iron Age. The DNA analyses may predict the next plague outbreak.
Medieval Books for Christmas
December 15, 2014 By
It’s that time of year again – the mad scramble for the perfect Christmas gift for the historian, nerd, avid reader on your list. Here are a few suggestions for you – new releases for December and January!
Plague Remedies from Renaissance Italy
December 11, 2014 By
‘Rue tops, one clove of garlic, a walnut, a grain of salt, and eat on an empty stomach everyday for up to a month, and you must be cheerful, and this recipe, it’s good against vermin and it’s perfect.
The Medieval Globe launches with special issue on the Black Death
December 11, 2014 By
Pandemic Disease in the Medieval World: Rethinking the Black Death is the theme for the inaugural issue of The Medieval Globe.
What can fourteenth century Venice teach us about Ebola?
November 21, 2014 By
Venice’s response to the plague an “example of resilience management,’ say experts
The Importance of Parks in Fifteenth-Century Society
October 21, 2014 By
In this paper, my aim is to consider the role of parks in the fifteenth century.
INTERVIEW: A Conversation with SD Sykes about Plague Land
October 3, 2014 By
My interview with fiction author, SD Sykes about her fantastic medieval crime novel, Plague Land.
A First Escape from Poverty in Late Medieval Japan: Evidence from Real Wages in Kyoto (1360-1860)
September 26, 2014 By
This paper offers a first investigation of long-term trends in Japanese living standards from the mid-14th to the mid-19th century using urban daily wages and price data for a number of basic commodities.
Containing Contagion: Perception and Prevention of Plague in the Late Middle Ages
September 19, 2014 By
When the Black Death, one of the world’s deadliest epidemics, struck the European continent, the people afflicted with plague looked to those already respected in the medical field.
Turning Toward Death: The Medievals’ Terrestrial Treatment of Death in Art During the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
September 8, 2014 By
Throughout the Middle Ages, religious iconography was a main theme of art and the Church heavily patronized works that embodied virtuous ideals. Art was often used as a religious implement in which the Church instructed the illiterate masses. However, art can also represent pain and trauma acting as an outlet for the artist.
BOOK REVIEW: Plague Land by SD Sykes
September 4, 2014 By
My review of SD Sykes brilliant medieval thriller, Plague Land.
Teaching Out of the Box: Creating a Lesson about the Black Death
September 1, 2014 By
A team of teachers is challenged to produce an imaginative and exciting lesson on medieval history inspired by objects given to them in a box.
From Sin to Science: Astrological Explanations for the Black Death, 1347-1350
August 16, 2014 By
Few survivors of the plague’s horrors could have remained indifferent to debates over its ultimate cause. The frequent evocation of astrology in these debates helped to increase the circulation of astrological ideas in the later fourteenth century, and contributed to the wider vogue they enjoyed during the early modern period
Living la vita apostolica: Life expectancy and mortality of nuns in late-medieval Holland
July 28, 2014 By
Living la vita apostolica: Life expectancy and mortality of nuns in late-medieval Holland Jaco Zuijderduijn (Utrecht University ) Centre for Global Economic History: Utrecht University, Working Paper No. 44, June (2013) Abstract Data on vital events of medieval women are extremely scarce. We use a dataset based on a necrology of nuns in late-medieval Holland […]
Some Pharmaceutical Recipes for the Treatment of the Bubonic Pest Contained into the Kitab Al-Tahsil of Ibn Khatima (d.1369)
July 27, 2014 By
This paper is a study of fragments of the work entitled in Arabic Tahsil gharad al-qasid fi-tafsil al-marad al-wafid, which was written in the 14th century by the well known Spanish physician Ibn Khatima
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