New Medieval Books: Political Culture in the Latin West, Byzantium and the Islamic World, c.700-c.1500
A comparison of three regions of the medieval world – Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Middle East – in how governments and politics operated. It looks to explain the question of who were the political elites from these areas and how they maintained power.
New Medieval Books: Richard of Cornwall
A biography of Richard of Cornwall, the youngest son of King John. He had an eventful career, as a power player in England, a crusader, and as a contender to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.
Inheriting the Mantle of the Roman Empire, with Nathan Aschenbrenner
A conversation with Nathan Aschenbrenner about Western European claims to the Roman imperial title, from the Middle Ages to early modernity. We also discuss some plans in the West after 1453 to reclaim the “eastern empire” and a curious history from the early sixteenth that fuses Western and Eastern imperial history into one.
New Medieval Books: The Beauforts
A look into an important English family during the fifteenth century. As the children of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, the Beauforts were major allies to the Lancastrian kings and played a key role in the politics and wars of the period.
The Names of Medieval Dynasties
The medieval world had many ruling dynasties, such as the Carolingians, the Hohenstaufen, and the Plantagenets. Did they call themselves that? If not, how did they get those names?
The Holy Guardian and His Royal Ward: Thomas Becket and Henry the Young King
A look at the relationship between Thomas Becket and Henry the Young King
New Medieval Books: Dynasty in Motion
A look at royal weddings in the 15th and 16th centuries, focusing on the travel that took place before getting to the ceremony.
Alexander III, King of Scotland: A Child on the Throne and Schemers all Around
Alexander III’s reign both began and ended in crisis.
The Mysterious Fate of Edward II: The deposed king, the Mortimer, and the murder mystery
This talk presents the evidence that Edward II did die in 1327 and the evidence that he did not, and reveals that the ultimate fate of this most unsuccessful of kings is far more intriguing than usually supposed.
When the King of Jerusalem came to England
A fascinating look at a little-known episode in which the king of Jerusalem came to England on a fundraising expedition in 1223. Like a microcosm of the crusades, it started with high hopes and ended in bitter recriminations.
The Almost Kings of Anglo-Norman England
A look at four men – Robert Curthose, William Clito, Theobald II and Eustace – who almost became the King of England. Why didn’t they reach the throne?
So you’re the Roman emperor… now what?, with Olivier Hekster
A conversation with Olivier Hekster about the position of Roman emperor, from the beginning to the sixth century. We talk a little bit about titles and mostly about the expectations that subjects had of their emperors and how the latter navigated these demands and tried, or failed, to play their roles properly.
New Medieval Books: A Compendium of World Sovereigns
This guide lists all the various rulers of the medieval world, covering Europe, Asia, Africa and even Mexico and Central America. Includes emperors, kings, even dukes and counts in over 500 pages.
New Medieval Books: Corruption, Protection and Justice in Medieval Europe
It’s very much a tale of those seeking justice and how power and corruption played a very big role in their outcomes.
New Medieval Books: The Emperor and the Elephant
A book on medieval diplomacy, it is a case study of Carolingian relations with the Islamic world, particularly the Abbasids in the Middle East and the Umayyads in Iberia. It is a fascinating account of political relations revealing a more complex situation than has previously been thought.
The Power of Medieval States – A Report from 1423
What was the wealth and military power of states in the Middle Ages? It is a question that the Venetian government tried to figure ou
The Woman who Ruled the Papacy
The Papacy is a very male-dominated institution. However, for several years it was a woman who held true power over the Popes in Rome.
New Medieval Books: Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders
Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick By Nathen Amin Amberley Publishing ISBN: 978 1 3981 1246 9 A full…
25 Medieval Empires
Here is our list of 25 empires from the Middle Ages, starting with the most successful.
‘The Great’ Medieval Rulers
Here is a guide to 20 ‘Great’ medieval rulers, arranged chronologically.
Edward I and the Scottish Succession Crisis of 1290
A long history of Anglo-Scottish relations would lead to Edward I becoming the person who would determine the next King of Scotland.
Saying No to Medieval Fratricide: Why it wasn’t Ok to kill your Brother
A look into the lack of royal fratricide in twelfth-century England.
New Medieval Books: De La Pole, Father and Son
A double biography of two leading nobles in fifteenth-century England: John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, and his son, also named John. They become involved in the politics of the English crown and the Wars of the Roses.
Henry II’s Court from Hell
You might think your job is bad, but if you heed the words of Walter Map, it must be worse to work in the court of England’s King Henry II.
The Last Knight: Emperor Maximilian I
Was Maximilian brilliant and innovative, or was he a schemer who put family above country, or was he a natural leader, or was he just a politician with a mixed record?