My review of the recent Historical Novel Society conference that took place in London, England.
Were medieval monks obese?
September 18, 2014 By
The modern image of the medieval monk, as often depicted in Robin Hood’s Friar Tuck, is of the overweight man who indulges in food. How accurate is this stereotype?
Public Toilets in the Middle Ages
September 14, 2014 By
Where should you go to find a public toilet in the medieval city?
Two Lost Libraries in London
September 5, 2014 By
Medieval libraries in England were assembled in many places and for different purposes.
Air Pollution and Fuel Crises in Preindustrial London, 1250-1650
August 10, 2014 By
I intend to show in this paper that the occurrence of air pollution in London before the Industrial Revolution was symptomatic of one of these basic environmental problems
Prisons and Punishments in Late Medieval London
July 27, 2014 By
This thesis begins with an analysis of the purpose of imprisonment, which was not merely custodial and was undoubtedly punitive in the medieval period. Having established that incarceration was employed for a variety of purposes the physicality of prison buildings and the conditions in which prisoners were kept are considered.
Medieval London Murders: Edmund de Brekkles
June 12, 2014 By
On Sunday, June 10, 1324, the body of Edmund de Brekles, a chaplain, was found dead in the house of John de Maltone and Juliana Aunsel, in the Ward of Bishopsgate.
Citie Calls for Beere: The Introduction of Hops and the Foundation of Industrial Brewing in London 1200-1700
June 5, 2014 By
This paper examines the impact of hopped beer on the brewing trade in London between the years 1200-1700.
London’s Medieval Pottery
June 3, 2014 By
Learn about the pottery discovered from medieval London with Jacqui Pearce of the Museum of London Archaeology.
Medieval London Murders: Joice de Cornwall
June 2, 2014 By
This is the first in a series of posts that will look at homicides from medieval London.
Property, Propriety, and Patriarchy: Abduction, Assault and Housebreaking in the Court of Common Pleas, 1399-1500
May 30, 2014 By
The purpose of this thesis is to examine how pleas of assault, housebreaking, and abduction cases in the Court of Common Pleas were shaped by social visions of gender hierarchy, and the personal conduct expected of persons as members of households and governors of households
Where medieval London got its fish from
May 27, 2014 By
During the 13th century the supply of fish to London dramatically changed from a local supply to one important from outside England.
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.
Time, space and power in later medieval Bristol
May 26, 2014 By
With a population of almost 10,000, Bristol was later medieval England’s second or third biggest urban place, and the realm’s second port after London. While not particularly large or wealthy in comparison with the great cities of northern Italy, Flanders or the Rhineland, it was a metropolis in the context of the British Isles.
Origin and Creation: London Guilds of the Twelfth Century
May 24, 2014 By
London, as well as other towns and cities of the twelfth century, acted as the epicenter for guilds to create a regulated authority over members, monopolies, and outside merchants.
Mortality Risk and Survival in the Aftermath of the Medieval Black Death
May 7, 2014 By
The results indicate that there are significant differences in survival and mortality risk, but not birth rates, between the two time periods, which suggest improvements in health following the Black Death, despite repeated outbreaks of plague in the centuries after the Black Death.
Environmental management in medieval London : was London a ‘filthy city’?
May 5, 2014 By
The BBC series ‘Filthy Cities’ presented medieval London as knee deep in muck, with rivers of butchers’ waste washing into streams and chamber pots emptied on the heads of hapless passers-by.
The Cross-dressing Women of Medieval London
May 3, 2014 By
Women going around dressed as men, wearing men’s hats, and even having their hair cut short, was not an acceptable practice in medieval society. However, in late medieval London there were at least 13 cases of women accused of doing just that.
Boys’ Names from Medieval London (not the usual ones!)
April 30, 2014 By
Looking to go back to the Middle Ages to name your newborn son? But you don’t want to go with the names everyone knows. Try these ten names!
Girls’ Names from Medieval London (not the usual ones!)
April 29, 2014 By
Looking for that great ‘medieval’ name for your newborn daughter? Here are ten names from medieval London that you may never had heard of!
What to See at The Tower of London
April 26, 2014 By
Here is a list of our ‘Must sees’ and things you can skip if you’re pressed for time when you tour the Tower of London.
Old St. Paul’s Cathedral of London
April 23, 2014 By
It was the fourth church to be built on the site on Ludgate Hill and the presence of the shrine of St. Erkenwald made the church a pilgrimage site in medieval times.
Medieval London Quiz
April 20, 2014 By
How well do you know your way around medieval London? Try this quiz of various sites around England’s largest city.
Archaeologists discover London’s Black Death mass grave
March 31, 2014 By
Skeletons discovered last year in London were victims of the Black Death, according to new research announced yesterday. Furthermore, archaeologists believe that have found an emergency burial ground created in 1348 for victim of the pandemic.
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