Medieval News
How you can own a medieval piece of York Minster
Medieval stones from York Minster will be going up for auction on August 22nd.
Building Kenilworth Castle on Minecraft
English Heritage has reimagined Kenilworth Castle on Minecraft and will host workshops at Dover and Kenilworth castles for visitors to build their own
Byzantine manuscript, missing for 27 years, to be returned to Greece
A 12th century Byzantine manuscript, which went missing from the University of Athens in 1991, has been discovered in the collections of the Museum of the Bible, and will be returned to Greece later this year.
Medieval people’s obsession with crystals: an interview with Marisa Galvez
Stanford medievalist Marisa Galvez is examining the origins of people’s fascination with crystals. She finds that crystals inspired the writing and poetry of some medieval authors in unexpected ways.
Heatwave reveals medieval road in England
Keele University scientists have discovered a road created by the Knights Templar after the recent heatwave exposed the long-hidden foundations.
Medieval Articles
Shock and Awe: The use of terror as a psychological weapon during the Bruce-Balliol Civil War, 1332-38
Ravaging land, burning crops, stealing livestock and killing peasants: this is how war was fought in the middle ages. These tactics constituted a form of warfare that minimised the dangers of meeting an enemy in battle, while maximising the destruction that could be inflicted upon the opposition.
Labour Pains: Scenes of Birth and Becoming in Old Norse Legendary Literature
In its ability to produce sons, the maternal body offered one of the few means for women to attain power and influence in the medieval world. However, it is constantly depicted as being broken down in Old Norse legendary literature, a loose generic distinction taken here to encompass principally the poems of the Poetic Edda and the prosimetric narratives of the fornaldarsögur.
Recording Miracles in Renaissance Italy
This essay has surveyed the changing form of Renaissance Italian ex-votos, and the ways in which they were compiled and conserved in a variety of shrines across the peninsula, in order to argue that votive offerings came to function as archives of the miraculous.
Nuremberg’s Noble Servant: Werner von Parsberg (d. 1455) between Town and Nobility in Late Medieval Germany
Through this appreciation of the factors supporting town–noble cooperation in the late Middle Ages we are better able to understand the formation and development of the dialectic of town and nobility as a way of understanding German society.
Sumptuary Legislation and Conduct Literature in Late Medieval England
This study is an examination of attempts to control dress in late medieval England.
All about the Middle Ages
Microhistory and the Big Picture
Microhistory draws us in with stories of compelling people, and teaches us more about history along the way. Done well, it can be the best of both worlds.
Medieval Animal Trials
Why were animals put on trial – for murder or for eating crops – in the Middle Ages?
How the borders of Asia changed during the Middle Ages
Here are a few sets of videos to show the rise and fall of kingdoms, states and empires on the continent of Asia, including during the medieval period.
Five new books on the Middle Ages worth a look!
War, famine, murder, sex and politics – what you can read about from the Middle Ages!
King Sverre on Drunkenness
Sverre Sigurdsson, a medieval King of Norway, tells his followers about the dangers of overdrinking.
Castle for Sale in France: Château de Corbère
Dating back to the 11th century, this castle is selling for about $9 million.
Motte and Bailey Castle for Sale in Wales
Own your own piece of Welsh history with your own Motte and Bailey Castle site in your garden with views over Lake Bala which comes with a superb farmhouse.
Where You Should Live – a Medieval Guide
A civilized and intelligent man should choose, in the city as well as the country, the place most advantageous for the time of the year, pleasant, delightful, charming where he may build, where he may devote his efforts to farming, where he may relax with his artistic interests, where he may, in sum, commune with the gods themselves, an easy accomplishment for a man of the greatest integrity and learning.
Six Degrees of Chaucer: How Southwark Shaped The Canterbury Tales
Sebastian Sobecki has found a network of intriguing connections between Geoffrey Chaucer and some of the biggest influencers of the day, including John Gower, and Bishop William of Wykeham, chancellor of England.
A Medieval Cure for Baldness
Medieval men also worried about losing their hair. They could turn to Hildegard of Bingen to provide them with a cure for baldness.
Cat Pics from the Middle Ages
August 8th is International Cat Day! We thought Medievalist.net should do something to commemorate this day and let you know that cat pics existed in the Middle Ages as well.
The Modern World of a Medieval Sport
You might think that jousting went extinct after the Middle Ages, but it in fact enjoys a strong modern following.
The Case of Conjoined Twins in 10th Century Byzantium
How were these conjoined twins treated, and how did the Byzantine physicians try to separate them?
The Weird, the Wonderful, and the Macabre in the Cathedral of Narbonne
Narbonne is one of those European cities with evidence of its past on every street. This important Roman city was adopted in the Middle Ages, with multiple cases of re-use. One example includes the Roman subterranean grain storage chambers known as the Horreum used as medieval cellars. The Via Domitia, one of the main Roman […]
Which Historic Era Should You Live In?
Have you ever felt out of place in today’s society? Here’s where you should really live!
NEW! The Medieval Magazine, No. 111: HAGIOGRAPHY
In this issue, we look at hagiography, the medieval cult of saints, alchemy, visit Prague and visit del Escorial, Spain.
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