Adriatic Sea or Gulf of Venice? How Medieval Politics played out on maps
For centuries a debate was taking place among Europe’s mapmakers: should the Adriatic Sea be called the Gulf of Venice?
The Battle of Zonchio (1499)
In the first naval battle covered by Bow and Blade, Kelly and Michael discuss the Battle of Zonchio, fought on four separate days in August of 1499. The Ottoman and Venetian fleets fight off the coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea to determine who would control the waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
Historian discovers Marco Polo had another daughter
It is well-known that Marco Polo had three daughters after he returned from travels across Asia. Now, a document discovered in the States Archives of Venice has revealed another daughter named Agnese Polo, who was born before Marco’s marriage to Donata Badoer.
Defending Venice against the Black Death
How the catastrophic impact of the plague contributed to the early development of Venetian public health care.
How the nuns of San Zaccaria succeeded in 12th century Venice
“These women find their fulfillment not individually, in the prayer and silence expected from those who have retreated to within the walls of a cloister, but in the project shared and collectively pursued to increase the prestige and influence of their monastic community.”
14th century depiction of Venice discovered
The oldest known city view of Venice, dating from the mid-14th century, has been discovered in a manuscript of an Italian pilgrim.
Pirates, Merchants, and a Small Battle on the Island of Kythira in the Later Middle Ages
Incidents of maritime violence such as this were common in the Mediterranean during the later Middle Ages.
Jacopo de’ Barbari’s ‘View of Venice’ (1500): Image Vehicles Past and Present
This essay focuses on an iconic and ground-breaking woodcut – Jacopo de’ Barbari (c. 1460/70–1516) and Anton Kolb’s View of Venice (1500) – and an interactive museum installation that I first developed for Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art.
Between Venice and Alexandria: Trade and the Movement of Precious Metals in the Early Mamluk Period
The Venetians were conspicuous among the merchants resuming trade in Mamluk lands shortly after the fall of Acre in 1291.
Byzantium and Venice: The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Alliance
The story of the Venetian-Byzantine military alliance is a complex one, with many questions that need to be answered.
How the borders of Venice changed in the Middle Ages
A video showing how the borders of the Venetian Republic changed between the years 697 and 1797 AD.
Walking in Sixteenth-Century Venice: Mobilizing the Early Modern City
By studying physical motion, we can capture the dynamism of early modern cities and, drawing on all the rich meanings of the Italian verb movimentare, move, mobilize, invigorate, and enliven the history of early modern urban society and culture.
Eight centuries of the risk-free rate: bond market reversals from the Venetians to the ‘VaR shock’
This paper presents a new dataset for the annual risk-free rate in both nominal and real terms going back to the 13th century.
Making an Impression: The Display of Maps in Sixteenth-Century Venetian Homes
Maps were versatile objects that could demonstrate that the owner was a cultured, cosmopolitan man educated about the world, reinforce his professional or trade standing, or enhance a military persona, all to the glorification of the family name.
Venice’s Need for Settling the ‘Byzantine question’ by Conquest: The Fourth Crusade’s Second Siege of Constantinople (early 1204)
This article is a contribution to the ‘diversion debate’ concerning the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), which argues that ultimately the endangered Venetian commercial interests were at the core of the final decision by the crusade leadership to conquer and take over the Byzantine empire.
Between the Sultan and the Doge: Diplomats and Spies at the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent
The paper presents earliest Venetian accounts about the Ottoman empire viewed through the prism of personal contacts and links between Venetian and Ottoman diplomats and nobles.
Under the ‘Romans’ or under the Franks? Venice between Two Empires
At the beginning of the ninth century, the Venetian duchy ran the risk of losing the autonomy that it had recently obtained from its former overlords, the Byzantine emperors.
Constraining Elites: The Self-Enforcing Constitution of the Patricians of Venice
This paper analyzes how late Middle Age and Renaissance era Venice achieved economic prosperity despite being ruled by elite patricians.
How and when Venice became Venice: Framing the urban development of a trading town in Italy
Venice was one of the most important cities in Europe in the late Middle Ages and the Modern era, when it formed an independent state which controlled trade across the Mediterranean and towards the Levant.
Book Talk: A Conversation with Guy Gavriel Kay
Set in a parallel Renaissance world, two major religions, the Jaddites who worship the sun, and the Asharites who worship the stars, struggle amidst the backdrop of court politics, murder, espionage, faith and family.
Negotiating the Sacred: Byzantium, Venice and the True Cross in Late Medieval Venice
Dr. Klein’s lecture about art, faith and politics in late medieval Venice.
The Global Side of Medieval at the Getty Centre: Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts
Los Angeles correspondent, Danielle Trynoski takes through the, ‘Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts’ exhibut at the Getty Museum.
Competing Spectacles in the Venetian Festa delle Marie
This essay clarifies the ways in which a civic spectacle such as Venice’s lavish celebration of the Purification, the Feste delle Marie, functioned as an opportunity to articulate alternatives to the dominant understanding of the social order.
The Power of Medieval States – A Report from the Year 1423
A 15th-century Venetian report estimates on the military and economic strength of the kingdoms and states of Europe
Patrician Purity and the Female Person in Early Renaissance Venice
This essay studies the Venetian patriciate’s enforcement of its exclusiveness and superior status by focusing on the purity and social standing on the women of the class.