How were these conjoined twins treated, and how did the Byzantine physicians try to separate them?
They Hasten toward Perfection: Virginal & Chaste Monks in the High Middle Ages
January 1, 2014 By
As perennial Christian ideals, virginity and chastity were frequent themes in medieval religious discourse. Male religious were frequently virgins and were expected to cultivate chastity; however, women not men were usually the focus of such discussions. But some monastic writers did draw on those models when considering their own spirituality, and it is worth knowing how they were understood and enlisted in those instances.
The Riurikid Relationship with the Orthodox Christian Church in Kievan Rus
December 29, 2013 By
Prior to the late tenth century, the princes of the Riurikid dynasty were rulers over the loose collection of pagan Slavic tribes and minor city states that were Kievan Rus. However, in a relatively short period, the dynasty had linked itself and its legitimacy to rule to the Orthodox Christian Church centered in Constantinople.
Antimicrobial assays of three native British plants used in Anglo-Saxon medicine for wound healing formulations in 10th century England
December 14, 2013 By
Three important Anglo-Saxon medical texts from the 10th century contain herbal formulations for over 250 plant species, many of which have yet to be evaluated for their phytochemical and/or pharmacological properties.
Ӕlfwynn of Mercia
December 5, 2013 By
Very little is known about this granddaughter of King Alfred the Great.
Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia
November 28, 2013 By
Of all the medieval women I have researched and written about, Aethelflaed is by far my favorite. She was the daughter of Alfred the Great and was instrumental in carrying out his vision for a united Britain.
Construction Materials and Building Constructions in the Architecture of Medieval Rus, from the 10th to the Beginning of the 12th Centuries
November 20, 2013 By
Construction Materials and Building Constructions in the Architecture of Medieval Rus, from the 10th to the Beginning of the 12th Centuries Bernhard Flüge Paper given at: The Masons at Work Conference (2012) Abstract Everybody knows that the Burgundian abbey of Cluny was one of the intellectual and spiri- tual centres of Europe during the High […]
The Origins of Local Society in late Anglo-Saxon England
November 9, 2013 By
The Origins of Local Society in late Anglo-Saxon England Hirokazu Tsurushima Paper given at: The Third Japanese-Korean Conference of British History (2008) Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show the issues surrounding the origins of local society in late ‘Anglo-Saxon’ England, by examining a single original document from 968. A local society not […]
The Caliph’s Favorite: New Light from Manuscript Sources on Hasdai ibn Shaprut of Cordova
October 13, 2013 By
By approximately 930, the Jewish family of Hasdai son of Joseph ibn Shaprut had moved from their hometown of Jaen to the Muslim capital of Cordova,
Rulers of Jorvik
September 8, 2013 By
From 866 until 954, York was part of a Viking kingdom ruled, mostly, by the descendants of Ragnar Lothbrok; the city seems to have been the capital of the Viking kingdom from which power was exercised.
The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia
August 23, 2013 By
Violence, even murder, perpetuated this cycle of revenge. This code of retribution can be broken down further into the following dimensions: the individuals involved, the appropriate actions as deemed by Viking society, and any extenuating circumstances, such as supernatural strength or the wronged party’s reluctance to seek revenge.
Coexistence among the Peoples of the Book under Abd al-Rahman III
August 16, 2013 By
A policy of coexistence among the Peoples of the Book was pursued by Abd al-Rahman III as such an existence was conducive to economic prosperity. To pursue these ends, the Jewish community was tolerated and protected, while the muwallads, mozarabs and Christian principalities were managed through violence and enforced cooperation within the Iberian Peninsula.
Hosting the king: hospitality and the royal iter in tenth-century England
July 31, 2013 By
Hosting the king: hospitality and the royal iter in tenth-century England Levi Roach (Trinity College, Cambridge) The Journal of Medieval History, 37.1 (March 2011), 34-46 Abstract Traditional studies of royal itinerancy have depended on locating the king’s progress through his kingdom(s) as precisely as possible and it should therefore not surprise that the iter regis […]
Avicenna’s Concept of Cardiovascular Drug Targeting in Medicamenta Cordialia
July 19, 2013 By
Avicenna (980 – 1037 AD) known as the prince of physicians in the west was one of the most prominent Persian thinkers, philosophers, and physicians. Owing to his interests in cardiology, he authored considerable works on different aspects of cardiology.
Absoluimus uos uice beati petri apostolorum principis. Episcopal authority and the reconciliation of excommunicants in England and Frankia c. 900-c.1050
July 19, 2013 By
No mention is made of any rite being followed by Bishop Wulfstan on this occasion, but services for the reconciliation of excommunication are first recorded in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Inquiring into Adultery and Other Wicked Deeds: Episcopal Justice in Tenth- and Early Eleventh-Century Italy
July 18, 2013 By
This article suggests that Italian bishops often had recourse to spiritual penalties to exercise their coercive authority over serious offences during the tenth and early eleventh centuries.
Border Fury! The Muslim campaigning tactics in Asia Minor through the writings of the Byzantine military treatise Περί παραδρομής του κυρού Νικηφόρου του βασιλέως
July 14, 2013 By
These Byzantine military manuals formed the ‘legacy’ of experienced and glorious generals in the warfare in the East and they reflect the practice of older and well-established strategies and tactics, along with a number of innovative ideas put into practice, and the task of the historian is to distinguish between the two.
Fraxinetum: An Islamic Frontier State in Tenth Century Provence
July 3, 2013 By
How did a Muslim mini-state emerge on the southern coast of France in the tenth century?
Infant Burials and Christianization: The View from East Central Europe
May 19, 2013 By
This was the second paper in the Early Medieval Europe I series given at KZOO and another fabulous archaeology paper. It contrasted infant grave sites in early converted medieval Poland and Anglo Saxon England.
Feasting with Early Medieval Chiefs: Locating Political Action through Environmental Archaeology
May 18, 2013 By
This excellent paper was the first given in the session on Early Medieval Europe. It looked at various archaeological excavations in Iceland and Denmark and the political role feasting played in pre-Christian Viking societies.
Æthelflæd: Warrior Queen of Mercia
April 5, 2013 By
Her deeds are largely forgotten, but as Alex Burghart explains, Æthelfæd turned a cornered kingdom into a powerhouse that defeated the Welsh and the Vikings
Sleep paralysis in medieval Persia – the Hidayat of Akhawayni
March 25, 2013 By
Sleep paralysis, a rapid eye movement (REM) parasomnia, is characterized by a period of inability to perform voluntary movements at sleep onset (hypnagogic form) or upon awakening (hypnopompic form).
Aelfthryth, Queen of England
March 12, 2013 By
In researching medieval queens, I came across the story of a queen having all the elements of a fairy tale. Her name is Aelfthryth, the wife of King Edgar the Peaceable
Narratives of the saintly body in Anglo-Saxon England
March 10, 2013 By
This dissertation investigates narratives of the saintly body in Anglo-Saxon England. Specifically, it examines the ways in which the bodies of holy men and women were constructed through such narratives and read in local appropriations of emblematic vitae and passiones.
Notes on a private library in fourth/tenth-century Baghdad
March 3, 2013 By
Studies on medieval Arabic bibliophilia have mainly focussed on public and semi-public institutions, for some of which we have detailed information. Less is known about private libraries and their physical arrangement. This paper looks at the library of Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī (d. 335/947), which is described by the sources in unique terms, contextualising it with al-Ṣūlī’s own words on collecting and organizing books.
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