Love Between Muslim and Jew in Medieval Spain: A Triangular Affair
We will soon find that, in affairs of love as in so many others, Muslims and Jews in Christian Spain were not in an exclusive dialogue.
Marrying the Mongol Khans: Byzantine Imperial Women and the Diplomacy of Religious Conversion in the 13th and 14th Centuries
Marrying the Mongol Khans: Byzantine Imperial Women and the Diplomacy of Religious Conversion in the 13th and 14th Centuries By AnnaLinden Weller Scandanavian Journal…
‘Living as a single person’: Marital Status, Performance and the Law in Late Medieval England
One approach to the vexed question of how we define the single woman is to think further about definitions of marriage, that is, about what it is that makes someone ‘married’ as opposed to ‘not married’.
Should I get married or become a writer? A medieval answer
And so, my Alessandra, you are uncertain whether to dedicate yourself to the Muses of to a Man?
Book Review: A Medieval Woman’s Companion by Susan Signe Morrison
Susan Signe Morrison’s book, “A Medieval Woman’s Companion” brings the contributions of medieval women, famous and obscure, to the forefront in this fantastic introductory text.
Intercession and Motherhood: The Queenships of Philippa of Hainault and Anne of Bohemia
In this post, author Conor Byrne discusses the rule of two medieval queens: Anne of Bohemia and Philippa of Hainault.
Queenship in England: 1308-1485 Gender and Power in the Late Middle Ages: Book Tour and Giveaway!
Medieval Readers! Today, we’re hosting day 3 of Conor Byrne’s Book Tour and running an international contest to give away a copy of his latest novel: Queenship in England: 1308-1485 Gender and Power in the Late Middle Ages Want a chance to win it?
Marriage and Sanctity in the Lives of Late Medieval Married Saints
How did the saint come to marry? How are sexual relations portrayed in saints’ lives? How did the saint live after the death of or separation from a spouse?
The Medieval Magazine: Be My Medieval Valentine (Volume 3, Issue 3)
We’ve just released our latest issue of the Medieval Magazine! In this issue: 5 Ways to Win Her Heart! Images of Medieval Love:…
BOOK REVIEW: A Year in the Life of Medieval England by Toni Mount
Author Toni Mount is back again, but this time with an in-depth look at daily life in Medieval England. Her book, A Year in the Life of Medieval England, explores war, medicine, marriage, disputes, work, and cooking. A fascinating almanac of bits and bobs about Medieval England from the most most mundane, to the most important events in its history.
Letter Written by Sir George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury to His Wife, Bess of Hardwick, 1568
Susan Abernethy’s latest piece looks at a letter from Sir George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury to his wife, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I, Bess Hardwick.
A Letter from Perkin Warbeck to His Future Wife, Lady Katherine Gordon
Following up on her post about Perkin Warbeck’s wife, Lady Katherine Gordon, Susan Abernethy brings us a love letter from the pretender to the Tudor throne to his future wife.
The Historicity of Imperial Bride-Shows
Seven independent Byzantine sources record that five times in the eighth and ninth centuries the winner in a competition of beautiful women became the bride of an emperor or future emperor.
Margery and John Paston: Fifteenth-Century Valentines
As we celebrate the day dedicated to love letters, it seems appropriate to share a Valentine’s Day story from one of the most famous letter-writing families of the Middle Ages: the Pastons.
Two models of incest: Conflict and confusion in high medieval discourse on kinship and marriage
In the present paper, I will address these paradoxes by looking at two very dissimilar branches of the medieval discourse on endogamy and exogamy, and more specifically at different justifications of marriage prohibitions as found in systematic canon law collections of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Five (In)famous Medieval Break-Ups
The other day, a friend put me on to the very funny It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Break-Ups in History by Jennifer Wright, a modern and cheeky look at some truly awful splits from Emperor Nero to Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher (and Elizabeth Taylor).
The Laws about Weddings in Viking-Age Gotland
An important source about daily-life in Viking-Age Scandinavia is Guta Lag, a set of laws from the Swedish island of Gotland. This includes details on how weddings were to be conducted.
‘Que lo lean literalmente’: Clerical Ignorance and a Late Medieval Wedding Ceremony
There is ample evidence that in late-medieval Spain a vast number of priests charged with carrying out the Church’s everyday liturgical responsibilities were undereducated and had little or no capacity in that language.
Incest in Early Medieval Society
The question of what persons and why can have sexual relations with each other and consequently, can contract marriage, is of basic importance for the functioning of every society, irrespective of time, place and the degree of the society’s development.
Scattered voices: Anthonis de Roovere and other reporters of the wedding of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York
Both sources are of great value for those who study the Bruges wedding, with the impact it had on its contemporaries, and the way in which our present-day picture of it came about.
Intersex in the Middle Ages
A brief look at how the medieval world viewed the Intersex individual.
In Pursuit of Aristocratic Women: A Key to Success in Norman England
Discussion of marital strategies of the aristocracy in England, 1066-1154, including recruitment through marriage, marital alliances, and political advantage.
Marital Affection and Expectations in a 14th-Century Parisian Court
I argue that the women in fourteenth-century Paris expected affection, or at least a lack of hatred, within their marriages.
Love and Marriage on the Medieval English Stage: Using the English Cycle Plays as Sources for Social History
Much scholarship concerning the concept of “companionate” marriage traces its origins to the early modern period as clergymen, especially Protestant ones, began to publish “guides” to the relationships and respective duties of husbands and wives in the 1500s and 1600s.
The Perils of Polygamy in 15th century Cairo
Under medieval Islamic law, a man could marry up to four women. However, if accounts from 15th century Egypt are indicative, it would be rare for such an arrangement to work out for all parties.