Rome During Avignon: Myth, Memory, and Civic Identity in Fourteenth-Century Roman Politics
Broadly conceived, my dissertation examines the traditions of popular government emerging spasmodically in the roughly two hundred and fifty years between the Roman senate’s 1143 revival, and the papacy’s definitive 1377 return to Rome from roughly seven decades in Avignon. The majority of my inquiry, however, is directed toward the much-understudied fourteenth century.
Historical Thought and the Reform Crisis of the Early Sixteenth Century
I shall follow what I feel to be the methodologically sound procedure of examining one case in some detail, while at the same time producing evidence to suggest that elements which are operative in this instance may be operative in others as well. What I should like to focus attention upon are certain ideas of history which were current in the early sixteenth century.

The Body of Christ: Sacred Street Theater in Medieval England
As many as forty-six plays, amounting to more than thirteen thousand lines of verse, may have preceded the performance of the Doomsday play. Together they hit most of the highlights of the Christian canon and apocrypha.
A History of Everyday Life in Medieval Scotland, 1000 to 1600
This book examines the ordinary, routine, daily behaviour, experiences and beliefs of people in Scotland from the earliest times to 1600.
The Poisoned Image of the Borgias: A Look at the Public Image of Pope Alexander VI and His Children
Upon Rodrigo Borgia’s ascension to the papacy in 1492 and assumption of the name Alexander VI, the masses of Rome who watched his parade and celebration with hopeful eyes welcomed him eagerly, despite his wild ways and indiscretions as a cardinal.
The Old English Rune Poem – Semantics, Structure, and Symmetry
The later runic alphabets do, of course, follow the basic pattern of the earlier Germanic Fupark though considerably modified by the late eighth century, decreasing in the number of runes in Scandinavia whilst increasing in number in the runic alphabets of England.
Was medieval manuscript marginalia pure distraction?
This essay aims at investigating the roles and meaning of pictures in the marginalia of medieval manuscripts, and I will try to reach some conclusions through looking at examples from some European manuscripts of mainly the high and late Middle Ages.
Master builder of the Middle Ages and design build of today: an analysis and comparison
European architecture went through a period of great development and building between 1150 and 1450.
Evolution of the Werewolf Archetype from Ovid to J.K. Rowling
The medieval period has a greater variety of theories and perspectives regarding werewolves than any other pre-modern era.
The Wendish Crusade of 1147
The so-called Wendish Crusade of 1147 was actually part of the Second Crusade of the same time period. It was fought on German soil, largely by Saxon Germans (some Danes as well) against the pagan tribes of Wends
An Environmental History of the Middle Ages: The Crucible of Nature
John Aberth focuses his study on three key areas: the natural elements of air, water, and earth; the forest; and wild and domestic animals.
Freedom of expression and censorship in medieval Arabic literature
This article explores the restraints placed upon literary production in medieval Arabic literature (particularly poetry) and the ways in which such control was effected
The monastic thought and culture of Pope Gregory the Great in their Western context, c.400-604
Gregory was the first monk to be pope; proverbially, he would have preferred to have remained a monk; the audience he addressed was almost always made up of monks.
The origins and development of English medieval townhouses operating commercially on two storeys
There can scarcely be a type of building more central to the function of the medieval town than the house used for selling
Sex in the Middle Ages
Here are some of the more interesting pieces of research we have uncovered about sex in the Middle Ages.
The Church and sexuality in medieval Iceland
From its earliest days Christianity has attempted to control human sexuality. The letters of Paul and the writings of the Church Fathers praise the state of virginity above that of marriage, and within matrimony permit sex only for procreation.
“I want what I cannot have”: Medieval Love Literature explained
Unlike today, when we expect romance to yield tangible results, bards of the Middle Ages who sang about their desires never expected their true love to reciprocate.
King James II of Scotland: A Reign of Murder and Mayhem
History repeats itself. This aphorism is especially true for the Scottish monarchy. There was a period during Scottish history where Kings would die, leaving a child as heir to be ruled by a regency council. This happened over and over and it happened to King James II.
Conference: ‘In the hands of God’s servants’ The Power of the Bishop in Western Europe (1000-1300)
Conference at Cardiff University, on 23-24 May 2013
Kathy Krause wins fellowship to research Medieval Women and Literary Production
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a fellowship to Kathy M. Krause of the University of Missouri-Kansas City to research ‘The Role of Noblewomen in Literary Production in Northern France during the 13th Century.’
How parasites went on Crusade
The contents of crusader latrines are helping researchers probe the history of parasite infections in humans.
The ‘Prehistory’ of Gregory of Tours: An Analysis of Books I-IV of Gregory’s Histories
In northern Gaul in the second half of the sixth century, a bishop of Tours, Georgius Florentius Gregorius, known to posterity as Gregory of Tours, composed eight books of hagiography and ten books of history. These testaments survive as evidence of the politics, society and theology of this post-imperial world.
Strangers in Icelandic Society, 1100-1400
How open was Icelandic society to people from another society or even from a different ethnic background? Which features of the society facilitated integration, and which elements obstructed the process? Was Iceland an open society compared to other societies at other times?
Hidden in Plain Sight: The “Pietre di Paragone” and the Preeminence of Medieval Measurements in Communal Italy
Propelled by an active engagement with measurements, the medieval communes devised a revolutionary method to preserve these measurements, which I call Pietre di Paragone.
The Mind’s Eye: Reconstructing the Historian’s Semantic Matrix Through Henry Knighton’s Account of the Peasants’ Revolt, 1381
The Mind’s Eye: Reconstructing the Historian’s Semantic Matrix Through Henry Knighton’s Account of the Peasants’ Revolt, 1381 Sarah Marilyn Steeves Keeshan Master of Arts,…