One of the most infamous chararacters from the Middle Ages was Vlad III Dracula, the prince of Wallachia. Here is the story of how he gained the name of ‘the Impaler’.
Move over Milan! Late Medieval and Renaissance Fashion in Venice
January 3, 2015 By
Milan may be Italy’s current fashion capital, but Venice had an important role to play in the development of the Italian fashion and textile industry since the late middle ages and renaissance period.
The Foxes of Venice
December 13, 2014 By
This paper will focus on the process that led to the professionalization of ambassadorial relations and dispatches as a means to display the shift in the Venetian Senate’s political priorities, as it necessitated and enforced a constant and regular influx of foreign knowledge.
How Witches Looked in Medieval Art
December 13, 2014 By
I recently visited the British Museum and enjoyed their Witches and Wicked Bodies exhibit which runs until January 11th, 2015. It displays art depicting witches from the middle ages up to the late nineteenth century. This post looks at a few late medieval interpretations of witches and the artists behind these works.
‘Forget Your People and Your Father’s House’: Teresa de Cartagena and the Converso Identity
December 3, 2014 By
Religion is a very important factor to take into consideration in discussions about the identity of the conversos [converts] or New Christians, an emerging group in 15th-century Castile.
The Sincere Body: The Performance of Weeping and Emotion in Late Medieval Italian Sermons
November 30, 2014 By
In 1493 the well-known and controversial Franciscan preacher Bernardino of Feltre gave a series of Lenten sermons to the people of Pavia. On March 11 he dedicated an entire sermon to the necessity of contrition—or perfect sorrow over sin—in the rite of confession.
Besteiros Do Conto (Crossbowmen): Organization, abuses of power and irregularities during the reign of Dom João I (1385-1433)
November 23, 2014 By
The aim of this paper is to examine an aspect of social life linked to one of the most important and original forms of military organization in the whole of Portuguese history—the besteiros do conto (crossbowmen).
Renaissance Contacts Between Dubrovnik (Ragusa) and the Kingdom of Hungary
November 23, 2014 By
During the rule of the Angevin dynasty (1308-82) in Hungary, towns and cities increasingly assumed greater political influence. The first treaty between the King of Hungary and Dubrovnik (in those days Ragusa) was signed in 1358, during the reign of Louis (Lajos) the Great.
Emperor Zar’a Ya’eqob (1434-68) And The Christianization Of Medieval Ethiopia
November 20, 2014 By
One of the most important figures in Ethiopian Christianity was the 15th century Emperor Zar’a Ya’eqob.
Skirts and Politics: The Cistercian Monastery of Harvestehude and the Hamburg City Council
November 14, 2014 By
In 1482, Catharina Arndes lifted up her skirts in front of the archbishop’s chaplain. She was a respectable townswoman from Hamburg, and her action was carried out in defense of the Cistercian monastery of Harvestehude which was close to the city and where several of Catharina’s nieces lived as nuns.
Women do not sit as Judges, or do they? The office of Judge in Vincentius Bellovacensis’ Speculum
November 10, 2014 By
It was Charles Homer Haskins (1870-1936) who coined the expression “Renaissance of the twelfth century”. Before him this expression referred more specifically to the Italian Renaissance of the fifteenth century as nineteenth century Swiss historian Jakob Burckhardt put it.
Feminine Love in the Twelfth Century – A Case Study: The Mulier in the Lost Love Letters and the Work of Female Mystics
November 10, 2014 By
This article compares the twelfth-century writings of the secular mulier in the Lost Love Letters with the work of religious female ‘mystics’ to draw comparisons about the way these authors chose to express love.
Flee the loathsome shadow: Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) and the Medici in Florence
November 9, 2014 By
This article examines the changing political landscape of Medicean Florence, from Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464) to his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), through the letters of the celebrated neo-Platonist philosopher Marsilio Ficino (1433-99).
King’s sister, queen of dissent: Marguerite of Navarre (1492-1549) and her evangelical network
November 7, 2014 By
This study reconstructs the previously unknown history of the most important dissident group within France before the French Reformed Church formed during the 1550s.
Of sagas and sheep: Toward a historical anthropology of social change and production for market, subsistence and tribute in early Iceland
November 6, 2014 By
This dissertation deals with the formation of chiefdoms, communities, ecclesiastical institutions and state, and with production for market, subsistence and tribute in early Iceland in the context of climatic change and ecological succession.
Constructing social identity in Renaissance Florence: Botticelli’s ‘Portrait of a Lady’
November 6, 2014 By
This study scrutinizes a work within a neglected portion of Botticelli’s oeuvre, examining the ways in which its modest, and somewhat ambiguous, visual cues also construct its sitter’s elevated social identity, while simultaneously protecting it.
The Perils of Polygamy in 15th century Cairo
November 5, 2014 By
Under medieval Islamic law, a man could marry up to four women. However, if accounts from 15th century Egypt are indicative, it would be rare for such an arrangement to work out for all parties.
Conflicting expectations: Parish priests in late medieval Germany
November 2, 2014 By
The study investigates the expectations various groups in late medieval German society held of their parish priests and how these expectations were mediated through specific relationships.
Crafting the witch: Gendering magic in medieval and early modern England
November 2, 2014 By
This project documents and analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.
Instructions for a Parish Priest
October 24, 2014 By
Myrc was a clergyman writing in England in the early fifteenth century, and his long poem was created to help priests who were not particularly learned remember all the most important parts of their work.
10 Terrifying Reads for Halloween!
October 23, 2014 By
Here are some spooky medieval books for you to celebrate with over Halloween!
Late Medieval Knight Reflecting on his Public Life: Hugo de Urriés (c. 1405-c. 1493), Diplomacy and Translating the Classics
October 22, 2014 By
This article focuses on Aragonese courtier Hugo de Urriés’s public profile by means of analyzing the critical points derived from examining his personal, political, cultural and historical stands making use of an invaluable primary source, his letter to Fernando the Catholic in the early 1490s.
Does a Reformation End?: Rethinking Religious Simulation in Sixteenth-Century Italy
October 21, 2014 By
A paper examining the Italian Reformation.
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.
Materiality in the Queenship of Isabeau of Bavaria
October 18, 2014 By
This thesis revisits the origins of Isabeau of Bavaria’s notorious reputation – her ‘Black Legend’.
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