New Medieval Books: Africanism
A groundbreaking book that examines the history between Arab and African peoples in the Middle Ages, focusing on Arab depictions of Black people in literature.
Ibn Hamdis of Sicily: A Medieval Life in Modern Circumstances
Ibn Hamdis is the only Muslim Sicilian whose voice we hear from in medieval times. His poetry – about 370 poems survive – is autobiographical and tells us much about his life and experiences.
Medieval Monsters with Charity Urbanski
They’re the things that go bump in the night, the creatures that storm your mead hall and eat your friends, the beings that wander restlessly from their graves. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Charity Urbanski about monsters in the medieval world.
Seven Lost Medieval Texts
Here are seven lost texts from the Middle Ages that we wished we still had.
The Well-Laden Ship: Medieval Proverbs
This week, Danièle and Peter Konieczny share profound – and profoundly odd – medieval proverbs from one of their favourite books of the Middle Ages: The Well-Laden Ship.
New Medieval Books: The Book of Monasteries
While this tenth-century is text about monasteries it’s not about religion. Instead, it is very much an account of the social and literary world of Christian monasteries in the medieval Middle East and the poetry of this time.
Medieval Horror, Epistemic Fear, and the Cloud of Unknowing
Examines ideas about the horror genre through the late 14th-century Middle English work, The Cloud of Unknowing.
This medieval lament about a lost love will leave you heartbroken
It is rare to find a work from the Middle Ages about a lost love – even more rare that these words are written by a Byzantine emperor. However, this is the case of Theodore II Laskaris and the heartfelt lament for his wife Elena.
What can we learn about the Middle Ages from its literature?
Five ways we learn from reading medieval fiction alongside our history books.
New Medieval Books: The Story of Attila in Prose
This book gives the text and English translation of a 13th-century fictional account of the wars of Attila the Hun against Christians. It includes a subplot where Sarah, Queen of Padua leads her people away from the Huns and founds the city of Venice.
Right-handed or Left-handed? A Medieval View
Was it really bad to be left-handed in the Middle Ages? Or was it better than being right-handed? The ninth-century writer of all things unusual, al-Jahiz, weighs in.
Beyond the chessboard: Adventures in Abbasid literature and historiography
An exploration of the ways in which the Abbasid court made sense of the past and, in general, of what ‘historiography’ means in a medieval Arabic context.
How England’s oldest joke book answers your questions
What cannot freeze? What came first: the chicken or the egg? You can find out the answers to these questions from England’s oldest joke book.
Sayings from a Viking god
When the Norse god Odin offers advice, one should probably listen.
Leonardo da Vinci wrote these great fables
Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, inventor, engineer and scientist, but he also found time to write little fables for himself.
Medieval Storytime: A Spicy Snack
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle takes a quick moment out of summer vacation to bring you a (mildly) spicy story from medieval Italy about a jealous husband and his quick-witted wife.
New Medieval Books: Fate the Hunter
A collection of 26 poems and one prose piece from the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras, focused on hunting, a hugely important activity among the Arabs.
Wisdom from a Medieval King
Are you looking for some wise advice? Perhaps the wisdom that came from King Aldfrith of Northumbria will offer you some answers.
John Gower with Eve Salisbury and Georgiana Donavin
Everyone’s heard of Geoffrey Chaucer, but he wasn’t the only poet writing powerful and political verse in fourteenth-century London. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Eve Salisbury and Georgiana Donavin about John Gower, his poetry, and why we should all get to know him.
Medieval comedy performance discovered in 15th century manuscript
‘By me, Richard Heege, because I was at that feast and did not have a drink.’
‘While the cat’s away, the mouse is seen scurrying about’: 25 Medieval Proverbs
Here are 25 of our favourite medieval proverbs from The Well-Laden Ship.
Introducing Chrétien de Troyes
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle introduces Chrétien de Troyes, a thirteenth-century master of Arthurian literature and one of the most influential writers of all time.
15 Medieval Jokes that are actually pretty funny!
Poggio Bracciolini’s 15th-century joke book is all about sex, money and religion.
How Roman de Silence speaks to today’s debate on gender identity
The modern-day debate about gender identity can take some lessons from a 13th-century story. Researchers at the University of Warwick worked with a professional storyteller to bring Roman de Silence to new audiences.
New Medieval Books: Kalīlah and Dimnah: Fables of Virtue and Vice
Kalīlah and Dimnah: Fables of Virtue and Vice By Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ Translated by Michael Fishbein and James E. Montgomery New York University Press…