Medieval Geopolitics: Giles of Rome on why the Pope should rule the entire world
The early fourteenth-century would see the King of France and the Papacy fighting over who was the superior power. One of the leading scholars of that time would weigh on the matter – and provide the key arguments for Papal Absolutism.
How to explain the Medieval Papacy
How on earth did it come to wield the enormous amount of power that it did in the 13th century?
Medieval Geopolitics: The Conflict between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France
The clash between Pope Boniface VIII and the King Philip IV of France would lead to a consequential geopolitical question: where did the epicentre of supreme political authority lie in Medieval Latin Christendom?
Saving Souls and Cracking Skulls: Warrior Clerics with Craig Nakashian
Episode 15 of The Medieval Podcast – Although it seems to be a fundamental contradiction, some medieval conflicts saw bishops braving the battlefield.
Bastards and Priests in the Middle Ages with Sara McDougall
What was it like to be a bastard in medieval Europe? Were you excluded from one of the most important institutions of the time: the priesthood? Danièle is joined by Sara McDougall to talk about bastards, priests, and if you could be both at that same time.
Wages of sin: The financial operations of a medieval church court
An overwhelming number of the criminal charges made in the Consistory from the second half of the fourteenth century until the last quarter of the fifteenth, the period for which records are most complete, were sexual in nature.
The medieval nun who faked her own death
The launch this month of ‘The Northern Way’ research project, which looks at the Archbishops of York from 1304 to 1405, is revealing some fascinating stories, including that of a nun who made an elaborate plan to escape her own convent.
Women at Canossa: The Role of Royal and Aristocratic Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany
Modern historians rarely mention the presence of royal and aristocratic women at Canossa in January 1077. Yet contemporaries emphasised the important roles played by several women, including Matilda of Tuscany, Adelaide of Turin, Empress Agnes and Queen Bertha.
Call for Papers: The 4th Power of the Bishop conference
The fourth Power of the Bishop conference to be held at Sarum College, Salisbury, May 30-31, 2019
Medieval Geopolitics: The Institution of the Crusade
How did the crusades emerge as an institution in the medieval world?
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval Church as a Military Power
By the late 11th century the Roman Catholic Church began to evolve into a distinctive – and powerful – controller of military power.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval “Church-State”
If you’re interested in why the medieval Church did what it did – and how it was able to do so in the political sphere – I think you’ll enjoy this series.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Invention of the Idea of Sovereignty
In this column, I trace on the evolution of the idea of “sovereignty,” which I believe to be the conceptual linchpin of this historical process.
Fulfilling Gregory’s goal: the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon people
The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons in the seventh century AD was a complex process that involved several stages.
Cardinals and the War of Ferrara
The bestowal of a red hat can turn even the most humbly born cleric into an ecclesiastical prince, but whereas few cardinals of the modern era have been born princely, most of those created in the Renaissance period could claim to be of noble lineage.
The Courts Christian in Medieval England
This article examines the structure and jurisdiction of the pre-Reformation ecclesiastical courts in England to determine their effect on the Reformation.
The Medieval Magazine: (Volume 3: No. 18): Issue 101: Reformation 500
In this issue: 80+ pages of news, books, articles, exhibits, and events, with a focus on the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation!
“A New kind of monster … part-monk, part-knight”: the paradox of clerical militarism in the Middle Ages
The interaction between clerics and warfare was a source of constant tension, debate, and conflict in the Middle Ages.
An Ethiopian Monk And A Dominican Friar Walk Into A Bar
In 1237, during the brief sequel of Latin rule, one Ethiopian monk decided to work this system to his—and his kingdom’s—advantage.
Judicial Inquiry as an Instrument of Centralized Government: The Papacy’s Criminal Proceedings against Prelates in the Age of Theocracy (Mid-Twelfth to Mid-Fourteenth Century)
From the end of the twelfth century until the Great Schism, the papacy prosecuted hundreds of prelates who were charged with ‘crimes’ (crimina), ‘excesses’ (excessus), or ‘enormities’ (enormia, enormitates), these words being used interchangeably in the documents.
St Columba’s cell revealed by archaeologists
This discovery is massive. St Columba is a key figure in Western Christendom. He was the national patron saint of Scotland in the Middle Ages.
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, No. 12) : Medieval Nation
In this issue we tackle National Holidays and the development of Nations, manuscripts at the Getty, and look at courtly festivities and jousting in London. We’re also baking bread Viking style, taking a trip to Avignon, and joining the medieval navy!
The Prior, the Prioress, and the Kidnappers
Monks were deserting their pastoral posts and in some cases their vows altogether; nuns were having covert affairs with local men and—worse—getting caught.
Medieval Sources of Sovereignty: The Idea of Supreme Authority in Quanto Personam and its Glosses
Pope Innocent III’s decretal Quanto personam, issued on 21 August 1198, makes a number of claims regarding the locus, source and character of supreme authority within the Church.
