New Medieval Books: Rome and the Invention of the Papacy
A look at how the Papacy in Rome developed in the Early Middle Ages through the Liber pontificalis, a series of biographies of popes. This text is crucial to understanding how the Papacy came to dominate the Christian religion in Western Europe.
Five Warrior Bishops in the Middle Ages
Here are five medieval bishops who, against the expectations of their ecclesiastical positions, found themselves personally involved in actual battles.
Shifty Greeks, Arrogant Latins: Polemical authors and the schism of the Churches, with Alessandra Bucossi
A conversation with Alessandra Bucossi about the text “Against the Greeks” and “Against the Latins” that were produced by writers taking sides in the Schism of the Churches (Rome and Constantinople, of Greek and Latin, or Catholic and Orthodox, as we would call them today). There are many of these texts and they contain fascinating material, but have yet to receive the attention they deserve. Alessandra is our guide through the jungle.
San Clemente: Man, Legend, Church
By Chris Petitt San Clemente is one of the Roman tituli, the twenty-some late antique churches that continue to animate the modern landscape of…
Decoding Divine Enterprise: The Spiritual Affairs of 13th Century Canterbury Cathedral
In understanding the spiritual affairs of Canterbury we may be able to gain a key insight into the role that shrines and altars played in the finances of the cathedral.
New Medieval Books: City of Echoes
This book intertwines the history of Rome and the history of the Papacy, to show how each influenced the other and the legacy they created together.
New Medieval Books: A Constellation of Authority: Castilian Bishops and the Secular Church During the Reign of Alfonso VIII
This book profiles seven bishops from the reign of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile from 1158 to 1214. It examines their careers and what role they functioned in the Castilian government.
Building the Parish Church, 1150-1300
Estimated somewhere between 8000 and 9000 examples, parish churches containing at least some medieval building fabric are ubiquitous in the English landscape.
Jan Hus and the Bohemian Reformation
Before Martin Luther, there was Jan Hus, a Czech firebrand whose death at the stake sparked off a fire that five Crusades could not extinguish.
Going to Church in Medieval England with Nicholas Orme
During the Middle Ages, the church was at the very heart of European society, but how did ordinary people interact with it in their daily lives? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Nicholas Orme about the churchgoing experience of everyday medieval people, how it changed over time, and what it was like to attend a medieval mass.
“Stop the Steal!”: Challenging an election, medieval style
Today, the United States and other democratic countries are dealing with fundamental challenges to their electoral systems. Can events from the year 1378 give us some insights into what is a ‘legitimate’ election?
A Few Ways Medieval Christianity Anticipated the Reformation
While the shift was monumental in many ways, some of the reforms Henry VIII made were actually anticipated in medieval Christianity.
The Antipope Who Became a Saint: Forgery, Heresy, and the Power of Manuscripts
By Riccardo Macchioro In today’s world, people are pretty much accustomed to the concepts of “fake news” and “propaganda” (albeit, we might say,…
Tilly goes to Church: the Medieval and Religious Roots of European State Formation
The single most powerful challenger to kings and emperors in the Middle Ages was the Catholic Church.
The construction and destruction of a saint: Thomas Becket
Diarmaid MacCulloch and Nicholas Vincent explore the meteoric rise to canonisation of Thomas Becket, his subsequent veneration and the destruction of his reputation during the Reformation, in the Tudor period
Good Government: An Important Legacy from the Middle Ages
Corruption, especially in government, is an age-old problem. How did people in the Middle Ages try to solve it?
Geoffrey: the Prodigal Son of Henry II
Geoffrey’s devotion to Henry II and the favored status which saw him rise high in his father’s reign
Did Henry VIII really ‘break’ the Church?
Emma Wells speaking on Henry VIII and the stripping of the altars in English churches.
When England was under Interdict
Under King John’s rule, England was placed under papal interdict for over six years.
Medieval Geopolitics: A Full-Fledged Theory of Medieval Papal Power
Hostiensis argued that the pope did not govern by divine mandate; rather he governed as a divine agent.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Evolution of Positive Law
In this column I trace the next stage in the evolution of the ideas first laid out Innocent’s influential decretal, focusing in particular on the writings of the canonist Laurentius Hispanus.
Pepin, Power and the Papacy: The True First Holy Roman Emperor
Pepin has been greatly underestimated and undervalued by many historians of the modem world. In his time, he was renowned as a great ruler and Church reformer.
Medieval Geopolitics: How a Pope shares in the divine power of God
At the end of the twelfth century, Pope Innocent III issued a document known as the Quanto personam. What kind of influence did it have on ideas about sovereignty and power in the medieval era?
The Papacy, Inquisition and Saint Guinefort the Holy Greyhound
The legend of St Guinefort the Holy Greyhound reveals the medieval Church engaged in a familiar struggle: to balance popular piety with orthodox teaching.
Records reveal how a medieval cathedral was protected against fire
Schedl was able to examine hundreds of years of the church’s income and expenditure accounts, which were maintained by the Kirchmeister or church treasurer, which offered fascinating new insights into how the medieval cathedral was maintained.