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.
Vikings, the barbaric heroes: exploring the Viking image in museums in Iceland and England and its impact on identity
October 6, 2014 By
A Medieval Dream and its Interpretation
October 5, 2014 By
Medieval people were also interested in dreams, and they attempted to figure out what they meant. Often a dream would be interpret as a sign of future events, or a divine warning that someone needed to change their ways.
The Sword Brothers at War: Observations on the Military Activity of the Knighthood of Christ in the Conquest of Livonia and Estonia (1203–1227)
October 5, 2014 By
The Knighthood of Christ of Livonia (Militia Christi de Livonia) was the first of the medieval military religious orders to be founded for service outside the Holy Land and Iberia, and thus the first one to be actively involved in warfare anywhere in northern Europe.
Medical Prognosis in the Middle Ages: William the Englishman’s De urina non visa and its fortune
October 5, 2014 By
He aimed to give to his colleagues and fellows the means to judge the state of the patient based not on the urine flask, but on the configuration of the sky at the time of consultation.
CONFERENCES: Arnold Fitz Thedmar: an Early London chronicler
October 4, 2014 By
Another fascinating paper given at the Institute for Historical Research in central London. For those of you interested in chronicles, urban history and London, this paper was definitely for you. Ian Stone discussed his dissertation about thirteenth century London through the eyes of wealthy Alderman, Arnold Fitz Thedmar.
Constructing memory: holy war in the Chronicle of the Poles by Bishop Vincentius of Cracow
October 4, 2014 By
The Chronicle of the Poles by Bishop Vincentius of Cracow is a twelfth-century history of Poland and a recognised masterpiece of medieval scholarship.
The Great Parliament of 1265: Medieval origins of modern democracy
September 24, 2014 By
On the eve of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta – the charter recognised as laying the foundations of England’s modern democracy – new research by a medieval historian from the University of Lincoln, reminds us that 2015 also marks 750 years since the earliest forerunner of a modern parliament was held.
10 Things to See at Southwark Cathedral
September 24, 2014 By
My 10 favourite things about Southwark Cathedral.
Did Marco Polo go to Alaska?
September 24, 2014 By
A set of documents, brought to United States by an Italian immigrant, may reveal new details about Marco Polo’s travels in Asia, including that he possibly explored and mapped Alaska.
Robert of Courtenay (1221-1227): an idiot on the throne of Constantinople?
September 20, 2014 By
Among scholars who have discussed Robert’s reign – however superficially – there appears to exist a relative consensus, with few exceptions, that the misfortunes that befell the empire of Constantinople during this period are largely to be attributed to his personal and utter incompetence. In this contribution I would like to challenge that view.
Medicine and surgery in the Livre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois de Jérusalem
September 15, 2014 By
The Livre des Assises, written in the thirteenth century in Acre, not only provides insights into the practice of medicine and surgery in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, but also suggests that the licensing and regulation of doctors reflected contemporary Islamic practice.
Extralegal and English: the Robin Hood Legend and Increasing National Identity in the Middling Sorts of Late Medieval England
September 15, 2014 By
The legend was clearly not the only work of popular culture in what I propose as the long fifteenth century, but it does serve as a very useful representation for examining the growth of Englishness.
The Danes and the Marriage Break-up of Philip II of France
September 11, 2014 By
On 14 August 1193 the illustrious king Philip II of France repudiated his queen, Ingeborg, the daughter of the Danish king Valdemar I, during her coronation ceremony in Amiens cathedral. The events that followed, which merited twenty-four papal letters and the comment and speculation of several chroniclers across Europe.
Narratives of resistance: arguments against the mendicants in the works of Matthew Paris and William of Saint-Amour
September 8, 2014 By
The rise of the new mendicant orders, foremost the Franciscans and Dominicans, is one of the great success stories of thirteenth-century Europe. Combining apostolic poverty with sophisticated organization and university learning, they brought much needed improvements to pastoral care in the growing cities.
The Friars Preachers: The First Hundred Years of the Dominican Order
September 7, 2014 By
When Dominic of Caleruega began preaching in southern France in the early 1200s, he would have had no idea of the far reaching influence that the band of men he would attract would leave such a broad and enduring influence on medieval history.
Fast and Feast – Christianization through the Regulation of Everyday Life
September 7, 2014 By
This article will illustrate that an important part of rulers’ wish to create a Christian society was the introduction of Christian legislation.
Why does Saladin have such good PR in the Medieval West?
September 1, 2014 By
The story of Hattin and the Third Crusade is a very good read and it features a splendid duel, indeed almost a tournament, pitting Saladin against Richard the Lionheart. And to this exciting mixture is added a dash of sex
Manor Village and Individual in Medieval England
August 25, 2014 By
This thesis explores peasant life of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in England from information found in the manorial court rolls-the village court records–of Ramsey Hepman grove and Bury.
Northern Renaissance? Burgundy And Netherlandish Art In Fifteenth-Century Europe
August 25, 2014 By
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’.
The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: the Albigensian Crusade and the Subjugation of the Languedoc
August 24, 2014 By
In March of 1208, Pope Innocent III preached the Albigensian Crusade. The crusade, which covered an area from Agen to Avignon and the Pyrenees to Cahors, initiated a new phase in the already strained relationship between the Catholic Church and the Languedoc.
Nicolette : action transvestite, or, who and what is the heroine of Aucassin et Nicolette?
August 24, 2014 By
In this paper, I will show how Nicolette is constantly, deliberately, changing, in appearance and identity, from the beginning of the story, and how she is thus Izzard’s action transvestite.
Castle Building and Its Social Significance in Medieval Hungary
August 22, 2014 By
The history of Hungarian fortification and castle-building has been a subject of Hungarian historiography ever since the 1870s, when Bela Czobor wrote his pioneering study, “Hungary’s Medieval Castles.”
Objections to Episcopal Elections in England, 1216-1272
August 21, 2014 By
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 of Stephen Langton, the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury assembled to elect his successor. Their choice was quickly made: within a month of Langton’s death Walter of Eynsham, a member of the […]
Women, Heresy, and Crusade: Toward a Context for Jacques de Vitry’s Relationship to the Early Beguines
August 6, 2014 By
Grundmann‘s search for a founding figure is understandable in light of the problematic nature of Beguine institutional history. Beguine historiography has long struggled with the anomalous lack of clear foundation documents and accounts.
The Physicality of Service in German Ideas of Knighthood, c.1200-1500
August 6, 2014 By
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.
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