French royal courts in the late twelfth century were absolutely smitten with love. Troubadaours traveled from place to place reciting stories of knights and the ladies they wooed.
Did Purchasing Power Parity Hold in Medieval Europe?
August 4, 2014 By
This paper employs a unique, hand-collected dataset of exchange rates for five major currencies (the lira of Barcelona, the pound sterling of England, the pond groot of Flanders, the florin of Florence and the livre tournois of France) to consider whether the law of one price and purchasing power parity held in Europe during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.
Herleva of Falaise, Mother of William the Conqueror
July 31, 2014 By
Legends states the young Duke Robert I of Normandy was on the walkway of his castle at Falaise looking down at the river and discovered a beautiful young girl washing clothes. He asked to see her and she became his mistress. She would become the mother of William the Conqueror.
BOOK REVIEW: A Triple Knot by Emma Campion
July 29, 2014 By
BOOK REVIEW: A Triple Knot by Emma Campion I had the pleasure of reading another Emma Campion (Candace Robb) novel recently. Campion, who has written extensively about Alice Perrers, the royal mistress of King Edward III, in her hit, The King’s Mistress, is back on the shelves with a new book released this month entitled: A Triple Knot. This […]
Urban Jousts in the Later Middle Ages: The White Bear of Bruges
July 18, 2014 By
Jousting competitions between towns excited passions which, far from releasing citizens into some escapist unreality, could plunge them instead into violence.
Earliest case of Down Syndrome discovered
July 8, 2014 By
Researchers in France have discovered the remains of a child from the 5th or 6th century AD that had Down Syndrome. It is the earliest case to have been found so far.
Medieval Letter-Collections as a Mirror of Circles of Friendship? The Example of Stephen of Tournai, 1128-1203
July 8, 2014 By
We are well informed on the life of Stephen of Tournai and some of his work (97). Born in 1128, he grew up in the chapter of Sainte-Croix in Orléans, where he was educated in the artes liberales.
Edward III and the Hundred Years War
July 7, 2014 By
The period historians call the Hundred Years War, stretching from 1337-1453, brought about a number of changes to England and France.
The Reordering of Society in Medieval Provence
July 7, 2014 By
“Here, some pray, others fight, still others work …” {}). “Since the beginning of time, mankind has been divided into three groups, men of prayer, farmers, and warriors” (2). Appearing between 1024 and 1031 in the writings of Adelbero, bishop of Laon, and his cousin Gerard, bishop of Cambrai, these two statements constitute the first fully developed expression of a tripartite, or more accurately a trifunctional conceptualization of European society.
The Battle of Montlhéry
July 3, 2014 By
Between the two armies was an expansive field of wheat, oats and beans. The heat was unbearable and the fields were powdery dry because of the July drought.
Top 10 Medieval Castles in France
July 2, 2014 By
Here is our list of the top 10 medieval castles in France – ones that have retained its appearance from the Middle Ages.
The Vikings in Normandy and Brittany
June 28, 2014 By
Dr David Petts (Durham University) tells us about his research in northern France: an area in which we know the Vikings to be elusive
The Consolidation of Local Authority Through the Defense of the Church in the Royal Domain of France Under Louis VI
June 23, 2014 By
When Louis VI ascended to the throne in 1108 AD, he faced substantial challenges as the fifth monarch of the Capetian dynasty; he confronted the problem of stopping the general decline of the monarchy and achieved this in a way that reasserted the foundations of the crown as the sole dominant figure in the royal domain and a respected lord throughout the kingdom.
The Tale of Bealhildis or how an Anglian slave became a saintly French Queen
June 23, 2014 By
It is not every day England gives a home girl to be worshipped as a Saint by enthusiastic Gallic crowds.
Two Rabbinic Views of Christianity in the Middle Ages
June 15, 2014 By
In the sessions of our section over the past decade, I introduced a significant distinction between two rabbinic attitudes in the Mediterranean countries during the Middle Ages of 12th and 13th centuries as to their view of Christianity.
John of Gaunt and John Wyclif
June 14, 2014 By
Historians have always been somewhat puzzled at the alliance of two such men as John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster and third son of Edward III, and John Wyclif, controversialist and reformer.
CONFERENCES: Count Hugh of Troyes and the Crusading Nexus of Champagne
June 12, 2014 By
This is my summary of a paper given at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London.
THINGS TO SEE: Murder in the Cathedral
June 11, 2014 By
This is my review of the T.S. Eliot’s play, “Murder in the Cathedral”, on at St. Bartholomew in Smithfield, London.
A Goodman’s Guide to Marriage
June 4, 2014 By
So, what kind of advice does a Parisian husband give to his wife in the late 14th Century?
‘Sadly and with a Bitter Heart’: What the Caesarean Section Meant in the Middle Ages
May 30, 2014 By
The article presents a unique historical document, a notarized act of 1473 drawn up for a Provençal barber surgeon commissioned to extract a fetus from a corpse
The Childhood of William the Conqueror
May 28, 2014 By
Duke Robert died when William was seven leaving him to rely on other men to rule his duchy until he came of age. These years were fraught with peril.
Margaret Stewart of Scotland, Dauphine of France
May 22, 2014 By
The chroniclers say Margaret had a talent for writing rhymes and poetry like her father. She was fond of court life and was popular with the courtiers but for the most part bored and unhappy.
How Destructive were the Vikings?
May 21, 2014 By
Danielle Trynoski reports on the paper “How Much Material Damage Did the Northmen Do in Northern Europe?” given by Lesley Anne Morden
BOOK REVIEW: “Defending the City of God” : A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem, by Sharan Newman
May 9, 2014 By
This is my review of Sharan Newman’s latest book, Defending the City of God: A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem.
Charles the Fat and the Viking Great Army: The Military Explanation for the End of the Carolingian Empire
April 22, 2014 By
In late July 885 a large Viking fleet gathered at the mouth of the River Seine and began to move upstream in the direction of Paris.
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