Ancient DNA analysis indicates the first English lions originated from North Africa
Although the Royal Menagerie and its animals are known from documentary records, few physical re- mains survive (O’Regan et al., 2005). Amongst the rare exceptions are two lion skulls that were recovered from the moat of the Tower of London during excava- tions in 1936-1937. These skulls were recently radio- carbon-dated to AD1280-1385 and AD1420-1480.
The Queen of troubadours goes to England: Eleanor of Aquitaine and 12th Century Anglo-Norman Literary Milieu
Although her importance in the growth of courtly love literature in France has been sufficiently stated, little attention has been paid to her patronising activities in England.
Places to Hear the Play: The Performance of the Corpus Christi Play at York
At the beginning of the tradition, the pageants were linked to the religious procession on Corpus Christi Day. In the city og York this procession was organised by the Corpus Christi Guild as a separate event from the celebration of the minister.
Glaber’s Cluniac preoccupations
In this thesis I examine a set of specific themes and ideas in the works of Rodulfus Glaber that type him as a Cluniac monk of the early eleventh century.
Labor Markets After the Black Death: Landlord Collusion and the Imposition of Serfdom in Eastern Europe and the Middle East
The differences in the imposition of serfdom led to different economic and political effects for the peasantry in Europe. In Western Europe, wages rose, grain prices fell, and the consumption of meat, dairy products, and beer increased. More and more peasants moved into a widening “middle class” that could afford to buy manufactured goods.
Many Motives: Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Reasons For His Falsification of History
It is clear to most modern historians who have studied Geoffrey’s Historia that its contents bear little to no resemblance to real events. Even in Geoffrey’s own lifetime many historians condemned the work.
Hƒdr’s Blindness and the Pledging of Ódinn’s Eye: A Study of the Symbolic Value of the Eyes of Hƒdr, Ódinn and fiórr
The supreme god of the Old Norse pantheon, Óðinn, is one-eyed, and þórr is described as having particularly sharp eyes
Cranial Trauma and Treatment: A Case Study from the Medieval Cemetery of St. Mary Spital, London
The individual under examination was context number 19893, from a burial pit situated to the southwest of an early 14th century charnel house.
Triangles of the Sacred Sisterhood
In courtly works, the resolution is generally in favour of the status quo as a courtly adulterous affair rarely works out, while in the fabliau the marriage is generally left intact, although a deceitful wife may be given carte blanche to philander.
The Triumphal Way of Constantinople and the Golden Gate
In Rome the term triumphus referred to an archaic and highly regulated rite that was decreed by the Senate upon the fulfilment of certain strict preconditions. Scholars have disagreed whether the triumphal procession, which could be held only in Rome, always followed the same itinerary, but the chances are that it did
The Italo-Cretan Religious Painting and The Byzantine-Palaeologan Legacy
The paper aims to introduce the last significant school of painting, which was nurtured by the Byzantine sources, the so-called Italo-Cretan school, whose presence and influence lasted for more than 300 years. Its works are perceived not just as mere objects of veneration but have also high artistic and marketing value.
Herding horses: a model of prehistoric horsemanship in Scandinavia – and elsewhere?
This article discusses a possible system of horse keeping, used in prehistoric Scandinavia, with focus on the Late Iron Age.
A Companion and Guide to the Norman Conquest
Peter Bramley’s beautifully illustrated field guide and companion to the Norman Conquest gives full details of both the events and the personalities associated with each of these sites, together with the historical background and the reasons for the end of Anglo-Saxon rule.
Marriage Impediments in Canon Law and Practice: Consanguinity Regulations and the Case of Orthodox-Catholic Intermarriage in Kyivan Rus’, ca. 1000–1241
This paper focused on marriage alliances in Eastern Europe and the issue of canon law and consanguinity.
Towards a Context for Ibn Umayl, Known to Chaucer as the Alchemist ‘Senior’
his article will present what we know of the life and times of an important alchemist, Ibn Umayl.
Unity and Diversity in Early Medieval Canonical Collections
This paper details differences and similarities in canon law sources in different regions.
Clovis: How Barbaric, How Pagan?
The mainstream portrait of Clovis, still dominant in English and American writing, derives its many negative features from secondary sources written a half-century or more after his death and abounding in grossly unreliable anecdotes.
Peripheral facial palsy in the past: contributions from Avicenna, Nicolaus Friedreich and Charles Bell
This study provides historical documents of peripheral facial palsy from Egypt, Greece and Rome, through the middle ages, and the renaissance, and into the last four centuries.
Eriugena: The Medieval Irish Genius Between Augustine and Aquinas
Carolingian thinker Johannes Scottus Eriugena (810-877 CE) is the author of numerous philosophical and theological works.
Living Blood Poured Out: Piety, Practice, and Theology in Northern Europe in the Fifteenth Century
Professor Bynum discusses the widespread prominence of images of the bleeding Christ in the iconography and piety of the period and the many university-level theological debates about blood relics and miracles, including anti-Jewish host desecration libels.
The Dance of the Black Death
‘One by one, we become the mistress of Death. Extending his bony grip, he pulls us into his fleshless, decayed frame and begins whirling us around in a morbid dance of fatal seduction. We are Death’s partner in the danse macabre.’
Shedding Light on a Dark Age: Britain in the Forth and Fifth Centuries
This paper seeks to examine the fourth and fifth centuries in Britain in order to address the issue of collapse versus continuity after the end of the Roman state.
How Many Tower-houses were there in the Scottish Borders? A few observations
The question of how many tower-houses there were in the Scottish Borders crops up from time to time, but nobody has yet been able to give a definitive answer.
The Contemplation of God in Medieval Literature
Is there a link between seeking God and reading and writing literature? Is literature a help or an obstacle in seeking God?
The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister
One of the most skilful forgeries of the Middle Ages, the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister has puzzled scholars for over 150 years, not least because of its challenging Latinity.