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!
Charlemagne’s Denarius, Constantine’s Edicule, and the Vera Crux
December 1, 2014 By
In 806 a much-discussed silver denarius bearing the likeness of Charlemagne was issued. This is called the “temple-type” coin due to the (as yet unidentified) architectural structure illustrated on the reverse side, and which is explicitly labeled as representing the epitome of “Christian Religion.”
Hagiography and the Experience of the Holy in the Work of Gregory of Tours
November 9, 2014 By
The rich literature associated with the Desert Fathers provides convincing evidence of the important role played by charismatic figures in the transformation of Late Antiquity.
Competition and tradition: Carolingian political rituals, 751-800
September 15, 2014 By
In 751, the Carolingians supplanted the traditional ruling dynasty of Francia. This article surveys Carolingian political rituals between 751 and 800, and argues that ritual was one means through which this new royal family sought to construct and legitimate its authority against its dynastic competitors.
Hungary’s Conversion to Christianity: The Establishment of Hungarian Statehood and its Consequences to the Thirteenth Century
September 1, 2014 By
The Carpathian Basin occupies a peculiar place in history. It was the ground where Roman-Germanic world met that of the Slavs and mounted nomad peoples, where no group had achieved sustained unity before the state of Hungary was founded.
The Birth of the Monarchy out of Violent Death
August 30, 2014 By
There were many motives for murdering a king.
Enemy and Ancestor: Viking Identities and Ethnic Boundaries in England and Normandy, c.950 – c.1015
August 12, 2014 By
This thesis is a comparison of ethnicity in Viking Age England and Normandy. It focuses on the period c.950-c.1015, which begins several generations after the initial Scandinavian settlements in both regions.
Goths, Lombards, Romans, and Greeks: Creating Identity in Early Medieval Italy
July 16, 2014 By
This essay explores how two different non-Roman historians represented the past to their peoples: the Gothic historian Jordanes’ sixth-century work, the Getica, and the eighth-century Lombard historian Paul the Deacons’ History of the Lombards.
The Uses Made of History by the Kings of Medieval England
July 7, 2014 By
The kings of medieval England, besides using history for the entertainment of themselves and their courts, turned it to practical purposes. They plundered history-books for precedents and other evidences to justify their claims and acts. They also recognised its value as propaganda, to bolster up their positions at home and strengthen their hands abroad.
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.
The original Frenglish
June 10, 2014 By
When France was speaking English without the prompting of a war or was it England who was speaking French….
Blended and Extended Families in Carolingian Charters
May 27, 2014 By
This is a summary of a paper on Carolingian charters and the relationship between step and blended families.
Making a difference in tenth-century politics: King Athelstan’s sisters and Frankish queenship
May 10, 2014 By
In the early years of the tenth century several Anglo-Saxon royal women, all daughters of King Edward the Elder of Wessex (899-924) and sisters (or half-sisters) of his son King Athelstan (924-39), were despatched across the Channel as brides for Frankish and Saxon rulers and aristocrats. This article addresses the fate of some of these women through an analysis of their political identities.
Advocating change: monasteries, territories and justice between East and West Francia, 11th-12th centuries
February 1, 2014 By
This article looks at the question of the formation of territorial principalities in western Europe through the issue of ecclesiastical advocacy.
Ibn Wāṣil: An Ayyūbid Perspective on Frankish Lordships and Crusades
January 27, 2014 By
Ibn Wāṣil (604/1208-697/1298) was a relatively prominent scholar and administrator who had close links with the political and military elites of Ayyūbid- and early Mamlūk-period Egypt and Syria throughout his career.
Under the aegis of the saints. Hagiography and power in early Carolingian northern Italy
January 22, 2014 By
This article gives an overview of the features, choices, tastes and models of sanctity characteristic of Italian hagiography, against the background of local contexts and political competition.
Charlemagne: A Frank Analysis of Imperialism in the 8th and 9th Centuries
December 27, 2013 By
Charlemagne has been approached by historians because of the pivotal role he fills as the Father of a Continent. His kingdom spread across Europe and renewed the culture of the Western World; a “mini-Renaissance” that shifted the focal point of Europe away from crumbling Rome.
Merovingian and Carolingian Empires: An Analysis of Their Strengths and Weaknesses
December 26, 2013 By
In this research paper I will analyze the achievements and the destruction of the Merovingian Empire to demonstrate how both provide a basic structure of government for the Carolingians to adopt.
Feeding the micel here in England c. 865-878
December 25, 2013 By
Feeding the micel here in England c. 865-878 Shane McLeod Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, Volume 3 (2007) Abstract With the question of the probable size of ninth-century Viking armies remaining unresolved, this paper examines one of the primary impediments to fielding a large army: the availability of food. Perhaps the best documented […]
Behind the Veil: The rise of female monasticism and the double house
September 29, 2013 By
In this thesis I aim to restore the contemporary views of female monasticism that have been marginalized in current historiography. By evaluating the primary source material on women in monasticism, I intend to recapture the complex links between female religious communities and the wider social, cultural and political world of the Frankish kingdoms.
Frankish involvement in the Gregorian mission to Kent
September 13, 2013 By
This article re-examines the primary documents relating to the sixth century Gregorian Mission to Kent in light of the modern historiographical tradition which claims Frankish hegemony existed over the Kentish Kingdom under Aethelberht’s rule.
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence
August 7, 2013 By
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence Philipp Dörler Networks and Neighbours, Volume One, Number One (2013) The Liber historiae Francorum was influenced by different historiographic traditions. In this paper, I pursue two arguments. First, I believe that the author of the Liber historiae Francorum juxtaposes and slightly transforms these […]
The Pagans and the Other: Varying Presentations in the Early Middle Ages
August 6, 2013 By
The Pagans and the Other: Varying Presentations in the Early Middle Ages Ian Wood Networks and Neighbours, Volume One, Number One (2013) Abstract This paper discusses the position of the pagan ‘Other’ in medieval thought, arguing that although Paganism was alien to the Christian, churchmen wanted above all to bring the pagans into the Christian […]
Absoluimus uos uice beati petri apostolorum principis. Episcopal authority and the reconciliation of excommunicants in England and Frankia c. 900-c.1050
July 19, 2013 By
No mention is made of any rite being followed by Bishop Wulfstan on this occasion, but services for the reconciliation of excommunication are first recorded in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Louis the Pious and the Conversion of the Danes
May 17, 2013 By
This paper was part of a very interesting session on the Early Middle Ages. The papers covered Eastern European Infant Burial, the archaeology of medieval feasting and conversion. This paper contrasted the conversion policies of Charlemagne versus those of Louis the Pious.
How you can Follow Us!