The Count of Hainault’s Daughter
The register of Walter Stapeldon, Bishop of Exeter, contains a delightful description of a daughter of the Count of Hainault, dated 1319, which has long been thought to refer to Philippa.
Samuel and Saul in Medieval Political Thought
This article traces the history of a medieval struggle for supremacy between spiritual and temporal authority, between pope or church and monarch, following the employment of the aforementioned Old Testament narrative
The Metaphysics of Peter Abelard
I’ll begin with Abelard’s antirealism about universals, since it is the key to his irrealism. It provides the foundation for his conviction that only individuals exist, a thesis that calls for further analysis of the nature of individuals
Relics and Reliquaries in the Vita Germani Auctore Constantio : the Capsula
It is the sporadic presence of the term capsula in the Vita Germani, and in other texts contemporary to it, which indicates its importance in the history of Christian costume as described by Constantius. In what follows, I shall demonstrate through literary comparisons and historical linguistics how such an affirmation is not, in fact, a contradiction at all.
Making Good Scents: Fragrance in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
If asked to imagine the smell of the medieval world, most people would probably crinkle their nose in disgust. The Middle Ages have a reputation for being one of the smelliest periods in history.
A Fairy Tale from before Fairy Tales: Egbert of Liège’s “De puella a lupellis seruata” and the Medieval Background of “Little Red Riding Hood”
The Fecunda ratis has been called ‘a treasure trove for students of medieval folklore’ for although Egbert drew extensively upon the Bible and patristic writings, he also relied heavily on the rich oral traditions that circulated in
his region,
Lawyers in the Old Icelandic Family Sagas: Heroes, Villains, and Authors
Along with the accomplishments of skill in arms and verse-making, many a saga hero is credited with a knowledge of law and legal procedure. Many of these heroes are shown duelling with their enemiesin a series of legal disputes forming a series of chapters.
Tenebrae Refulgeant: Celestial Signa in Gregory of Tours
Celestial portents appear frequently in the Historiae of Bishop Gregory of Tours (ca. 539–94). Gregory carefully distinguished between the interpretation of celestial signs and horoscopic astrology by describing signs as natural, albeit miraculous, elements of God’s Creation.
Colonization activities in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
The following paper is an attempt to describe one important feature of the social and economic problems of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem: The colonization activities of the Crusaders in the Holy Land.
Manure and the medieval social order
Taking examples from the open fields of England, it is argued that peasants used manure to differentiate their holdings from those of the lord, and by so doing helped to defne both space and their own social identity.
A tale of Wade: The Anglo-Saxon origin myth in an East Saxon setting
In the past Walter Map’s tale of Gado, included in his De Nugis Curialium, written towards the end of the twelfth century, has been merely regarded as a Medieval Latin version of a pre-conquest lay concerning the exploits of the Germanic hero Wade. However, if we look past the fantastic elements which surround him we are left with what appears to be an East Saxon version of the English settlement myth most familiar in the Kentish form involving Hengist and Vortigern, which itself seems to have been adopted from a common Germanic theme.
Danger from the high seas: Pirates shaped the history of the Mediterranean for 3000 years
Eye patch, peg leg and hook arm – these are the attributes commonly connoted with pirates. What many might not know is that pirates had been painting the waters of the Mediterranean red for almost 3,000 years.
Licit and Illicit Sexuality in Medieval Iberia: A Survey of Las Siete Partidas
This thesis examines Las Siete Partidas, a thirteenth-century Castilian legal code of laws, including on marriage and illicit sexual behaviors.
Medievalists and the Scholarly Digital Edition
Clearly, since 2002 there has been significant growth in the number and range of digitized manuscripts available online, and it may be that the increase in the reported use of digitized facsimiles simply follows the increasing availability of those facsimiles.
A review of Irish medieval castles as a tourist facility
Of all heritage features which lie spread across the Irish landscape, it is perhaps the vast array of medieval castle which – more than any other – offer the most evocative testament to the country’s military and belligerent past
Archeological and Historical Approaches to Complex Societies: The Islamic States of Medieval Morocco
We postulate that during the Medieval period two widely different sociopolitical contexts existed, giving rise to diverse urban patterns. Most importantly, we argue that the second of these patterns represents a widespread situation that is inadequately treated in the literature.
The Monk as an Element of Byzantine Society
In Byzantium, the monk – at least as a projected ideal – embodied the aspirations of his society as a whole.
Castle for Sale in Texas
The medieval look includes two turrets, a moat-like walkway, and gargoyles along the walls!
Hungary and the Second Crusade
The aim of the present study is to survey and analyze the role played by Hungary during the Second Crusade and through this scholarly goal it is to bridge the gap which can be observed in Hungarian historiography.
Matilda of Flanders, Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy
One of the most influential and formidable medieval Queens of England was Matilda of Flanders, the wife of William the Conqueror.
Book Review: Medievalisms: Making the Past the Present
In the book Medievalisms: Making the Past the Present, Tison Pugh and Angela Jane Weisl recognize the enduring influence of the Middle Ages and address how medievalisms are interpreted and represented in modern culture.
The Birth of Heloise: New Light on an Old Mystery
So where did she come from, this extraordinary woman and what was the composition of genes that went into her inheritance?
Hunting and Hunters in Medieval Aragonese Legislation
Our research on hunting in the kingdom of Aragón in the 12th-15th centuries is based on the information provided by two groups of legal texts: those for local or regional areas and those that were applied to all the kingdom after the 13th century.
Egil Skallagrimsson and the Viking Ideal
How did the Vikings want to be perceived–by other members of their own culture, and by posterity?
Viking poetry of love and war – new book by Judith Jesch
They are most famous for being violent invaders of foreign shores but a new book by a University of Nottingham Viking expert shows they were also poetry lovers with a wicked sense of humour!