We present a newly compiled database of mortality information taken from mortmain records in Hainaut, Belgium, in the period 1349-1450, which not only is an important new source of information on medieval mortality, but also allows for sex-disaggregation.
The sex-selective impact of the Black Death and recurring plagues in the Southern Netherlands, 1349-1450
July 11, 2017 by
The knighthood in and around late medieval Brussels
April 11, 2017 by
This case study contributes to ongoing debates on the position and status of late medieval knighthood.
Friends, Vassals or Foes: Relations and their representations between Frisians and Scandinavians in the Viking Age
March 23, 2017 by
‘We paid a visit to the lads of Frisia. And we it was who split the spoils of battle among us.’ – So reads the runic inscription on a silver Viking Age neck-ring found in Senja, Troms County in northern Norway, which is dated to c. 1025.
Rodulf and Ubba: In Search of a Frisian–Danish Viking
March 5, 2017 by
This article attempts to reconstruct some of Rodulf’s life and deeds.
The Duel between Guy of Steenvoorde and Iron Herman
November 29, 2015 by
…both fought bitterly. But Guy knocked his adversary from his horse and kept him down easily with his lance as he was struggling to get up. Then his opponent, running nearer, ran Guy’s horse through with his sword, disemboweling it.
The Struggle is Real: Where are the Medieval Economists?!
November 21, 2015 by
Another fascinating paper from “Making the Medieval Relevant” was given by Daniel Curtis, a specialist in Social and Economic History, and a professor at the University of Utrecht.
Video shows the reconstruction of an Early Medieval Turf House
November 19, 2015 by
This time-lapse video shows the reconstruction of an early medieval turf house in the northern Dutch town of Firdgum.
Old Companions, Noble Steeds: Why dogs and horses were buried at an Early Medieval settlement along the Old Rhine
November 10, 2015 by
Excavations at the Early Medieval site of Oegstgeest, located in the Dutch Rhine estuary, have yielded the burials of three horses and three dogs
Honour, community and hierarchy in the feasts of the archery and crossbow guilds of Bruges, 1445–81
October 6, 2015 by
Archery and crossbow guilds first appeared in the fourteenth century in response to the needs of town defence and princely calls for troops. By the fifteenth century these guilds existed across northern Europe.
Public Space, Urban Identity and Conflict in Medieval Flanders
July 10, 2015 by
Ideas of public space can say a lot about the societies that create them. A clear example of this was its use in Flanders during the medieval period. People within Flanders found themselves in a unique situation having one of the highest amounts of urban densities in Europe. This allowed for a distinct urban identity emerge.
A Medievalist at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum
July 5, 2015 by
Danielle Trynoski reviews the permanent exhibition at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
Late Medieval Enclosed Gardens of the Low Countries
June 3, 2015 by
In the late Middle Ages and Early Modernity an artistic phenomenon emerged in a feminine religious context, particularly in the Low Countries and the Rhineland: the so-called Enclosed Gardens.
Papers on Medieval Prosopography: Session #47 at KZOO 2015
May 29, 2015 by
Three fantastic papers on Prosopography from #KZOO2015.
Insults Hurt: Verbal Injury in Late Medieval Frisia
April 22, 2015 by
Abba’s wife had told Feye Scroer’s wife that Feye was to die very soon and had also been married to another woman all the while. If he were to die now, she said, he would be damned forever
Late medieval bling-bling
March 26, 2015 by
Illustrations and surviving clothing and accessories however present an entirely different picture of medieval fashion: bright, contrasting colours, costly, lavishly decorated fabrics and belts and bags adorned with all kinds of golden and silver-coloured mounts.
Living la vita apostolica: Life expectancy and mortality of nuns in late-medieval Holland
July 28, 2014 by
Living la vita apostolica: Life expectancy and mortality of nuns in late-medieval Holland Jaco Zuijderduijn (Utrecht University ) Centre for Global Economic History: Utrecht University, Working Paper No. 44, June (2013) Abstract Data on vital events of medieval women are extremely scarce. We use a dataset based on a necrology of nuns in late-medieval Holland […]
England’s First Attempt to Break the Commercial Monopoly of the Hanseatic League, 1377-1380
July 27, 2014 by
During the second half of the fourteenth century English traders first seriously threatened the Hanseatic League’s commercial monopoly in the Baltic. The League, attempting to defendits monopoly, treated the English unjustly,where upon in 1377 the English Parliament rescinded the charter that granted the League important concessions and privileges in its English trade.
Galbert of Bruges’ ‘Journal’: From Medieval Flop to Modern Bestseller
July 23, 2014 by
Galbert’s text was an utter failure in the Middle Ages. No medieval copies of the journal survive and there is no reason to believe that more than one copy of it every existed during the period.
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.
Were Medieval Prostitutes Marginals? Evidence from Sluis, 1387-1440
July 4, 2014 by
How convincing is the idea that all prostitutes had common, inalienable characteristics? How convincing is the view that prostitutes formed a distinct and clearly identifiable group?
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
Medieval Dutch Charlemagne Romances: An Overview
April 1, 2014 by
The great majority of the Middle Dutch Charlemagne romances are adaptations of Old French chansons de geste.
Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy and Regent of the Netherlands
February 20, 2014 by
Margaret’s Motto: Fortune, Infortune, Fortune pretty much sums up her extraordinary life.
How Charles the Bold dispensed justice
February 5, 2014 by
Shortly before his visit to Middelburg, the governor, a nobleman and knight, fell in love with a married woman. She indignantly spurned his advances. The governor took revenge against the woman by having her husband arrested and imprisoned on a charge of high treason.
Late medieval choir stalls and the search for their maker
January 17, 2014 by
Christel Theunissen, a graduate student at Radboud University, has created this video introducing the research she is doing on medieval choir stalls.
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