12 Things You Didn’t Know About the Bayeux Tapestry
Discover 12 surprising facts about the Bayeux Tapestry, from its true origins and missing scenes to erotic imagery and medieval military insights.
Latest Posts
12 Things You Didn’t Know About the Bayeux Tapestry
Discover 12 surprising facts about the Bayeux Tapestry, from its true origins and missing scenes to erotic imagery and medieval military insights.
New Medieval Books: History in Flames
Many medieval materials survived for centuries, only to be lost in more recent times to war and violence. This book tells the story of some of Europe’s most important collections that have since vanished.
How to Behave Like a Civilised Man: Hygiene and Manners from the Middle Ages
A newly translated 13th-century guide, The Book of the Civilised Man, reveals how medieval people approached hygiene and manners with surprising detail—from grooming tips to rules about belching and flatulence.
The Invention of the Idea of Sovereignty in the Middle Ages
Discover how the concept of medieval sovereignty evolved through Roman law, canon law, and political theory—shaping papal power, imperial authority, and the rise of sovereign kingdoms in the Middle Ages.
Medieval Man with Crippled Knee Offers Clues to Disability Care
A new study reveals how the remains of a disabled man buried in medieval Lund shed light on medical care and societal attitudes toward disability in the Middle Ages.
The Federal Assault on American Research Universities, with Clifford Ando
A conversation with Cliff Ando about the revenue models of American research universities and the dangers to advanced research posed by the freezes recently placed on federal funding.
Saxon Cross Unearthed in Leeds Reveals Medieval Past
A rare 8th-century Saxon cross discovered near Leeds in northern England offers new insights into early medieval life and religious identity in Northumbria.
15th-century Florentine Masterpiece to be Restored
Piero del Pollaiolo’s ‘Saint Michael the Archangel Defeating the Dragon’ will undergo conservation at the Bardini Museum
African Figurines Discovered in Medieval Graves in Southern Israel
Archaeologists uncover 1,500-year-old burial goods reflecting the diverse Christian communities of the early medieval Negev.
Magna Carta at Harvard dates to the Year 1300, historians find
Detailed comparison and imaging techniques confirm Harvard manuscript as one of seven surviving versions from Edward I’s 1300 issue.
El Cid with Nora Berend
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Nora Berend about the real Rodrigo Díaz, the astonishing way his legend grew and changed over time, and how El Cid is still being used as a political tool in the modern world.
New Medieval Books: The Romance of the Violet and Other Wager Tales from Medieval France
This book offers translations of three thirteenth-century romances—The Romance of the Violet, The Romance of the Count of Poitiers, and The Tale of King Flore and the Fair Joan—each centred on men who wager over a woman’s virtue.
The Seventh Crusade: New Research Reveals a Different Story
New research using Arabic sources to reveal a different story of the Seventh Crusade — one shaped by internal Ayyubid power struggles, political intrigue, and the rise of the Mamluks during Louis IX’s failed Egyptian campaign.
A Medieval Brothel, a Baby’s Grave, and a New Perspective on Motherhood
A new archaeological study sheds light on the personal lives of medieval sex workers, revealing a moving and unexpected act of maternal care…
Pregnancy and Power in the Viking Age: New Study Reveals Surprising Roles for Expectant Women
A new study uncovers how pregnant women in Viking society were imagined not only as mothers, but sometimes as warriors.
New Medieval Books: Marco Polo and His World
Marco Polo’s account of his journey to Asia is one of the most well-known texts to come out of the Middle Ages. This book explores the people, places, and wonders that Polo described in his writings.
Medieval Shipwreck Uncovered Beneath Barcelona
Archaeologists in Barcelona have uncovered a 15th–16th century shipwreck beneath the city, offering new insights into medieval shipbuilding and maritime trade in the western Mediterranean.
How to Harvest a Mandrake: Medieval Medicine and Magic in the Old English Herbarium
Discover the medieval cure-all known as the mandrake—and why you needed a hungry dog to pull it from the ground, according to a 10th-century medical text.
Did Copernicus Draw on a Medieval Arab Astronomer? New Study Highlights Striking Parallels
A new study reveals striking similarities between Copernicus’s heliocentric model and the planetary theories of 14th-century Arab astronomer Ibn al-Shatir, raising questions about the transmission of medieval Islamic science to Renaissance Europe.
Hagia Sophia’s Dome Undergoes Restoration to Withstand Earthquakes
Turkish authorities have begun restoring the dome of Hagia Sophia to improve its earthquake resilience—a major project for the nearly 1,500-year-old structure with a long history of seismic damage.
New Medieval Books: Merovingian Worlds
This book offers an overview of the Merovingian realm, roughly what is now France and parts of neighbouring Western Europe during the 5th to 8th centuries.
When Medieval Nuns Stopped a Papal Construction Site: The Turbulent Story of the Basilica of Saint-Urbain in Troyes
Discover the dramatic story of how a powerful abbess and her nuns defied the papacy and halted the construction of a major Gothic basilica in 13th-century Troyes, France.
What if a Nightmare Foretold Your Death? The Strange Final Days of William Rufus
After a terrifying dream warns him of his sins, King William Rufus vows to change—only to be killed the next day in a mysterious hunting accident. A 12th-century poet tells the chilling tale.
Medieval Chinese Poems Reveal Decline of Endangered Porpoise
A team of conservation researchers is turning to an unexpected source to track the decline of one of the world’s most endangered animals:…
BooksAll posts
New Medieval Books: History in Flames
Many medieval materials survived for centuries, only to be lost in more recent times to war and violence. This book tells the story of some of Europe’s most important collections that have since vanished.
New Medieval Books: The Romance of the Violet and Other Wager Tales from Medieval France
New Medieval Books: Marco Polo and His World
New Medieval Books: Merovingian Worlds
New Medieval Books: Annals of Winchester
New Medieval Books: Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford and Duke of Ireland (1362-1392)
New Medieval Books: Hiding in Caverns Formed from Old Roots
New Medieval Books: Inventing the Renaissance
New Medieval Books: The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330
Latest Podcast EpisodesAll posts
The Federal Assault on American Research Universities, with Clifford Ando
A conversation with Cliff Ando about the revenue models of American research universities and the dangers to advanced research posed by the freezes recently placed on federal funding.
El Cid with Nora Berend
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Nora Berend about the real Rodrigo Díaz, the astonishing way his legend grew and changed over time, and how El Cid is still being used as a political tool in the modern world.
Royal Women of Sweden with Caroline Wilhelmsson
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Caroline Wilhelmsson about the royal women of Sweden, how they became queens, and how they exercised their power.
Latin Literature in Late Antiquity, with Gavin Kelly
A conversation with Gavin Kelly about the corpus of Latin literature from antiquity down to the present, where we discuss the reasons why most scholars focus on the period before 200 AD, why late antiquity is overlooked (despite having some first rate authors), and what can be done about that. Similar issues, we find, emerge from the study of Greek literature too.
Frederick Barbarossa with Graham Loud
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Graham Loud about how Barbarossa came to power, how he managed to reign supreme in both Germany and Italy despite some bumps along the way, and why he’s sometimes revered as a once and future king in Germany.
Peer-review: The Good, The Bad, and The Amusing, with Tina Sessa and Marion Kruse
A conversation with Tina Sessa and Marion Kruse on the process of peer-review in the humanities: what it’s for, how it can be done well, and where it can go awry. The conversation is based on many decades of collective experience of peer-review, on all sides of the process.