King’s sister, queen of dissent: Marguerite of Navarre (1492-1549) and her evangelical network
This study reconstructs the previously unknown history of the most important dissident group within France before the French Reformed Church formed during the 1550s.
Crafting the witch: Gendering magic in medieval and early modern England
This project documents and analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.
Slippery When Wet: Madness and Eroticism in the Countess Elizabeth Bathory
The Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a 16th century Hungarian noblewoman, is purported to have killed and bathed in the blood of 600 virgin girls
10 Terrifying Reads for Halloween!
Here are some spooky medieval books for you to celebrate with over Halloween!
John Skelton’s ‘Speke Parott’
Just four days after this video was posted to Youtube, nearly 130 000 people have watched a reading of the Middle English poem Speke Parott.
Vikings, the barbaric heroes: exploring the Viking image in museums in Iceland and England and its impact on identity
This study analyses the responses of Icelandic and English individuals in regards to their views on the Viking image as represented within museums and in society.
The Revolution in Writing Styles during the Renaissance
Just as we have our faces, we each should have own writing style – this was the lesson that two leading Renaissance thinkers, Erasmus and Montaigne, gave to their contemporaries in 16th century Europe.
A First Escape from Poverty in Late Medieval Japan: Evidence from Real Wages in Kyoto (1360-1860)
This paper offers a first investigation of long-term trends in Japanese living standards from the mid-14th to the mid-19th century using urban daily wages and price data for a number of basic commodities.
Aberdeen Breviary goes online
A copy of the Aberdeen Breviary, one of the first printed books in Scotland, has been purchased by the National Library of Scotland and is now available to read online.
The Lit de Justice: Semantics, Ceremonial, and the Parlement of Paris, 1300–1600
The curious phrase lit de justice originated in the fourteenth century and by the first decade of the fifteenth century designated particularly important royal sessions of the Parlement of Paris.
10 Things to See at Southwark Cathedral
My 10 favourite things about Southwark Cathedral.
A monastic landscape: The Cistercians in medieval Leinster
This study endeavours to discuss the Cistercian monasteries of Leinster with regard to their physical location in the landscape, the agricultural contribution of the monks to the broader social and economic world and the interaction between the cloistered monks and the secular world.
Prevention Strategies and Changes in Sexual Mores in Response to the Outbreak of Syphilis in Europe in the Early Modern Age
Prevention Strategies and Changes in Sexual Mores in Response to the Outbreak of Syphilis in Europe in the Early Modern Age By Eugenia…
The last man standing : causes of daimyo survival in sixteenth century Japan
Regional magnates, or daimyo, came to dominate the political landscape of Japan, each controlling territory on their own authority. These military strongmen established control over local warriors and cultivators and then began to challenge one another for supremacy. The result was a period of protracted civil war lasting for almost 150 years.
The Legal Status of Female Guardians in 1530s Lithuania
The office of guardianship was clearly needed in the society of sixteenth-century Lithuania. The comparatively short average life expectancy meant that quite a great number of children lost one or both of their parents before reaching majority, and thus had to receive some sort of protection.
Daily Weather Observations in Sixteenth-Century Europe
Thirty-two weather diaries written in astronomical calendars in central Europe in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are presented and discussed.
Grainne Uaile: The Movie
An up and coming movie about Grace O’ Malley (Grainne Uaile), Ireland’s famous female pirate!
Pedlars and Alchemists in Friuli History of itinerant sellers in an alpine reality
This short review discusses about itinerant sellers in Friuli, who are Cramaro called (XI-XIX centuries). Attention is focused, in particular, on the question if some of theme were alchemists.
Northern Renaissance? Burgundy And Netherlandish Art In Fifteenth-Century Europe
Everyone who has studied medieval or modern history knows that the periodisation of the eras on either side of the Renaissance provides much food for thought. This contribution aims irst to address the usefulness of the widespread concept of the ‘Northern Renaissance’.
Slaves, Money Lenders, and Prisoner Guards: The Jews and the Trade in Slaves and Captives in the Crimean Khanate
Trade in slaves and captives was one of the most important (if not the most important) sources of income of the Crimean Khanate in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Women’s Devotional Bequests of Textiles in the Late Medieval English Parish Church, c.1350-1550
My investigation is set within the context of the current high level of interest in the workings of the late medieval parish.
The Physicality of Service in German Ideas of Knighthood, c.1200-1500
Jörg’s memoir is a particularly informative example of how one knight understood his own calling to knighthood and his practice of it. The medieval knight had a voice, and although precious few memoirs like Jörg’s exist, knightly perspectives inform a considerable breadth of primary materials.
Claude, Duke of Guise and the Battle of Marignano, 1515
The Guise brothers, Claude, Antony and Ferry had become separated during the action. Antony frantically searched for his brothers.
MOVIE REVIEW: Flesh and Blood
My review of the late medieval movie, Flesh and Blood.
CONFERENCES: Renaissance Drinking Culture and Renaissance Drinking Vessels
This paper took a closer look at Renaissance drinking vessels and drinking culture and examined the types of vessels commonly used in Italy and the Netherlands during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.