Crisis and Resilience in Late Antique Rome, with Michele Salzman
A conversation with Michele Salzman about the resilience shown by the city of Rome and its ability to recover from crisis during the fifth-seventh centuries. These recoveries were usually spearheaded by the Senate of Rome, which continued to invest in the city and its institutions even after the emperors ceased to reside there full-time.
Rome and the Papacy with Jessica Wärnberg
He’s one of the most powerful figures in all of Western history, with influence not only over life and death, but over the immortal souls of billions of people over thousands of years. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Jessica Wärnberg about the role of the pope, his influence on Rome, and what happens when the holiest of men isn’t quite so holy.
The Social Scope of Roman Identity in Byzantium: An Evidence-Based Approach
This contribution concerns a specific point that no one has so far elucidated fully with reference to the evidence found in the sources: What was the social scope of attributions of Roman identity in Byzantine sources?
The Medieval History of the Pantheon
One of the great landmarks of ancient Rome is the Pantheon. Built around the year 126 AD by emperor Hadrian, it initially served as a temple to all gods. However, in the Early Middle Ages the Pantheon would be repurposed.
Medieval Survivals In Modern Rome
An analysis of medieval buildings in Rome with “defensive” characteristics has been ongoing for the past four years (towers, fortified houses, fortifications on ancient monuments).
Care of relics in early medieval Rome
Hidden in a dark corner of St. Peter’s shrine, Pope Sergius I (687–701) found a silver box so blackened with age that he was at first unsure whether it was indeed made of silver.
The City of Rome in the Middle Ages
Let us begin by considering the importance of the idea of Rome in the medieval mind. On the one hand there was the ancient prestige of the City, the capital of the greatest empire the world had known, the seat of a civilisation and art so far above what most of the Middle Ages could attain.
Foundation Myths in Medieval and Renaissance Italy
The 3 papers featured here looked at the development of the civic identities of Florence, Genoa and Rome through art, architecture and foundation legends.
The Schola Saxonum and the Borgo in Rome
During the Anglo-Saxon era in England, there were many pilgrims to Rome. A community existed in Rome where these pilgrims would stay called the Schola Anglorum or Schola Saxonum.
Medieval Books for Christmas
It’s that time of year again – the mad scramble for the perfect Christmas gift for the historian, nerd, avid reader on your list. Here are a few suggestions for you – new releases for December and January!
Conversion on the Scaffold: Italian Practices in European Context
11 January 1581 was a fine day in Rome. That morning, Michel de Montaigne, recently arrived in the city, had gone out on horseback when he encountered a procession accompanying a condemned man to execution. Montaigne stopped to watch the sight.
Objections to Episcopal Elections in England, 1216-1272
Objections to Episcopal Elections in England, 1216-1272 Katherine Harvey Nottingham Medieval Studies: 55 (2011), pp. 125-48 Abstract In August 1228, following the death…
Michelangelo, Copernicus and the Sistine Chapel
A detailed examination of the themes, motifs and secrets held with Michelagelo’s masterpiece.
The Medieval Life of the Colosseum
Archaeologist working on Rome’s Colosseum have discovered that the ancient landmark continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages, but not as a gladiatorial arena. Instead, it was used homes, workshops and even stables.
Leiðarvísir: Its Genre and Sources, with Particular Reference to the Description of Rome
For the last two centuries, Leiðarvísir has been the subject of great interest by scholars from a variety of disciplines: not only Old Norse scholars, but also historians, geographers, toponymists and scholars of pilgrimage have studied and analysed this work.
Auðun of the West Fjords and the Saga Tradition: Similarities of Theme and Structural Suitability
This paper evaluates the story of Auðun from the West Fjords, a þáttr dating from the Sturlunga period of medieval Iceland. It compares the short prose narrative to the much longer sagas in terms of their mutual concerns with kings, peace, and the place of Iceland in a larger Christian world.
Saint Patrick’s Purgatory: a fresco in Todi, Italy
This essay deals with the tradition of the revelation of Purgatory to St. Patrick on Station Island in Lough Derg, whose popularity is testified not only in literary texts in the various languages of Medieval Europe but also in a unique work of art in the convent of the Sisters of Saint Clair at Todi, Umbria
Kickstarter campaign to restore St.Francis of Assisi’s home in Rome
The Franciscan order hopes to raise $125 000 to restore a convent in Rome which was the home of St. Francis of Assisi. They have created a Kickstarter campaign to ask for donations from the public.
BOOKS: The Feuding Families of Medieval and Renaissance Italy
Put down the Godfather, turn off the Sorpanos, and check out the real Italian families of Medieval and Renaissance Italy!
Avignon vs. Rome: Dante, Petrarch, Catherine of Siena
In the fourteenth century the image of ancient Rome as Babylon was transformed into the positive idea of Rome as both a Christian and a classical ideal.
The Woman who Ruled the Papacy
She was the lover of one Pope, mother to another, and grandmother to a third.
Holy War and the home front : the crusading culture of Berry, France in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries
Le Berry, in the geographical centre of France, developed its own “crusading culture” that both affected the ideas of the people living there and effected new institutions and traditions in that society pertaining to the crusades.
Under the aegis of the saints. Hagiography and power in early Carolingian northern Italy
This article gives an overview of the features, choices, tastes and models of sanctity characteristic of Italian hagiography, against the background of local contexts and political competition.
Theoderic the Great vs. Boethius: Tensions in Italy in the Late 5th and Early 6th Centuries
In 524AD the Roman senator Boethius was executed for committing treason against Theoderic the Great, the ruling gothic king in Italy. Boethius was never given a trial, and the charge of treason may have been an exaggeration of what actually happened.
Charlemagne: A Frank Analysis of Imperialism in the 8th and 9th Centuries
Charlemagne has been approached by historians because of the pivotal role he fills as the Father of a Continent. His kingdom spread across Europe and renewed the culture of the Western World; a “mini-Renaissance” that shifted the focal point of Europe away from crumbling Rome.