Kingship and chivalry were not separate constructs in late medieval didactic works, chronicles and biographies which praised ideal qualities like loyalty largesse, honour and above all prudence that were essential for both kings and knights.
Rituals of Royalty: Prescription, Politics and Practice in English Coronation and Royal Funeral Rituals c. 1327 to c. 1485
April 18, 2015 By
This thesis examines English royal ritual culture in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, focusing specifically upon the rituals of coronation and funeral.
BOOKS: Medieval Ireland
March 17, 2015 By
In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, here are some great books on medieval Ireland!
The King’s Courts and the King’s Soul: Pardoning as Almsgiving in Medieval England
December 20, 2014 By
This paper examines the workings of the English royal courts in the thirteenth century through one of their practices—pardoning—and argues that the king and his officials could see courts not just as venues for justice, but also as institutions through which the king could see to the health of his own soul.
The Prologue to Alfred’s Law Code: Instruction in the Spirit of Mercy
November 9, 2014 By
The Prologue to Alfred’s Law Code: Instruction in the Spirit of Mercy Michael Treschow Florilegium: Volume 13 (1994) Abstract Alfred’s law code tends to receive scant attention in discussions of the char- acter of his reign. It lacks the distinctive stamp of his other writings and acts. It is a conservative code that seeks not […]
Intellectual Cartographic Spaces: Alfonso X, the Wise and the Foundation of the Studium Generale of Seville
November 7, 2014 By
This dissertation, “Intellectual Cartographic Spaces: Alfonso X, the Wise and the Foundations of the Studium Generale of Seville,” I reevaluate Spain’s medieval history, specifically focusing on the role of Alfonso X and his court in the development of institutions of higher education in thirteenth-century Andalusia.
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.
Dynastic Intrigues and Domestic Realities during the Reigns of Andrew I and Bela I
October 23, 2014 By
In the mid-1030s, the cousin of King Stephen I of Hungary, Prince Vazul (the son of Michael, the younger brother of Geza, Stephen’s father) conspired to assassinate the elderly and ailing king.
Rose without Thorn, Eagle without Feathers: Nation and Power in Late Medieval England and Germany
September 28, 2014 By
It is hard at times to take the Agincourt Carol entirely seriously. Patriotism of such brash exuberance seems more properly to belong in a brightly lit Laurence Olivier world of mid twentieth-century medievalism than amid the grim and tangled realities of fifteenth- century politics and war.
The Lit de Justice: Semantics, Ceremonial, and the Parlement of Paris, 1300–1600
September 26, 2014 By
The curious phrase lit de justice originated in the fourteenth century and by the first decade of the fifteenth century designated particularly important royal sessions of the Parlement of Paris.
The Birth of the Monarchy out of Violent Death
August 30, 2014 By
There were many motives for murdering a king.
The Visit of King Sigismund to England, 1416
August 23, 2014 By
In their chapter-length account of Sigismund’s visit to England in 1416, James Hamilton Wylie and William Templeton Waugh remark that, though this was the first and only visit by a Holy Roman Emperor to England during the Middle Ages, aside from an immediate political gain, in the treaty signed by Sigismund and Henry V to defend each other against the French, the impact in terms of anecdote or literature is virtually nil; and they conclude somewhat ironically, “The most notable momento of Sigismund’s stay in England is his sword, which is now one of the insignia of the corporation of York.”
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 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.
Like Father Like Son? Henry III’s Tomb at Westminster Abbey as a Case Study in Late Thirteenth-Century English Kingship
June 7, 2014 By
Who was this king, and who made this grand monument to him? An inscription around the edge of the upper tomb chest identifies its occupant as Henry III, the English king who died in 1272 after a reign of fifty-six years.
Merovingian Diplomacy: Practice and purpose in the sixth century
April 6, 2014 By
The practise of diplomacy has not been much studied in Merovingian Gaul, although there are numerous works that deal with its political dealings with its neighbours and with the administration and culture of Gaul at this time.
The Knights in the Middle Ages of England
February 14, 2014 By
Chivalry was a special phenomenon in the Middle Ages of Europe, and was also a part of the military system in the Middle Ages of Europe.
Rituals of Greeting and Farewell: Reflections on a Visit to the Royal Court of Norway in 1302
February 6, 2014 By
An account of reception and farewell rituals at the royal court of Norway in 1302 is described in detail and analyzed through the use of ritual studies.
The Role of Bishops in Anglo-Saxon Succession Struggles, 955 x 978
January 31, 2014 By
With these words the anonymous author of the Vita Sancti Oswaldi, now believed to be Byrhtferth of Ramsey, depicts the situation after the death of King Edgar in 975.
To be a King: changing concepts of kingship during the reign of Henry VI, 1422-1461
January 26, 2014 By
The questions we must ask ourselves at this early juncture, considering the nature of the debate, is why this king was able to persevere for so long on the throne despite his infirmities?
Kings, chieftains and public cult in pre-Christian Scandinavia
January 22, 2014 By
The article addresses the question of the performance of pre-Christian public cult by political leaders in early medieval Scandinavia.
Did King Alfred write anything?
January 7, 2014 By
The author investigates the question of whether King Alfred translated Latin texts into English. According to the author, modern scholarship seems to conclude that Alfred did compose the extant translations of a number of texts, although there are questions about Alfred’s linguistic and intellectual skills.
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.
Gower’s “Confessio” and the “Nova statuta Angliae”: royal lessons in English law
November 13, 2013 By
In the following discussion, I will explore some hitherto unexamined links between the Confessio Amantis and one of these legal texts, the Nova Statuta Angliae or New Statutes of England, which circulated among professional and non-professional readers in the 1380s and 1390s and which Richard II received in a manuscript now in Cambridge: St. John’s College MS A.7.
The King’s Table: A Semiotic Analysis of a Medieval Noble Banquet
October 26, 2013 By
During the Middle Ages, aristocratic banquets were common and often grandiose affairs. The function of a banquet went beyond mere celebration of an event or holiday and became a tool for demonstrating a person’s wealth, influence, piety, and generosity.
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