Rule by Natural Reason: Late Medieval and early Renaissance conceptions of political corruption
This paper argues that, from about the eleventh century CE, a new and distinctive model of corruption accompanied the rediscovery and increased availability of a number of classical texts and ideals, particularly those of Cicero and the Roman Jurists.
Kongo Ambassadors, Papal Politics, and Italian Images of Black Africans in the Early 1600s
While the political and economic power of Italian states was declining in the Seventeenth Century, Italy’s cultural authority remained influential, especially in the visual arts and, of course, religion, even though Europe had been split into faith-based fragments by the Protestant Reformation after 1517.
Rune Stones and Magnate Farms: The Viking Age in Vadsbo Hundred
What is the relationship between the Viking Age magnate farms and local place names? What of the numerous Rune stones, burial mounds, surface finds, and ancient monuments? Are they also tied to subsequent names? Can they help us place farms and other sites?
Food Recipes from the 12th-century discovered in manuscript
Scholars have found a collection of food recipes dating back to the twelfth-century, making them the oldest western medieval culinary recipes known to exist.
Matilda of Boulogne, Queen of England
Matilda and Stephen were the model medieval couple.
The Symbolic Meaning of Sword and Palio in Late Medieval and Early Modern Ritual Entries: The Case of Seville
If I have spend some time establishing the semantic field in which these terms appear, it is because I wish to emphasize the malleability of concepts such as symbols and rituals, particularly when applied to the articulation of powers Moreover, these meanings and intents depend often on the context, temporal and geographical location.
Stepmothers as Villains: The Dark Side of Medieval Motherhood
Anglo-Norman writers seem to assign women to one of two extremes within the chronicles: on one side there are women who are presented as visions of perfection. With almost super-human ease, these women excel at marriage, motherhood, and religious devotion all of which are reflected in their physical beauty.
The Roots of Rhythm: The Medieval Origins of the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Beignet
This paper argues that the beloved Mardi Gras beignet, eaten in advance of the Lenten fast, derives from deep-fried pastries used to break the Ramadan fast by medieval Muslims living in Spain.
Bohemian Barbarians: Bohemia in Late Antiquity
The settlement of the Bohemian Basin passed through a very complicated development during Late Antiquity.
Making Books for Profit in Medieval Times
What I find most remarkable about the bookish slice of medieval society that I study is not so much the differences between medieval manuscripts and our modern books, but their similarities.
Vikings – Review of Episode 7: A King’s Ransom
This week on the Vikings, we go back and forth between England and Scandinavia as Ragnar prepares to raid in Northumbria again and Lagertha rules the village in his absence.
Medieval Germany in America
Do Americans have anything to learn from the history of Germany in the Middle Ages?
Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades
What caused the particular enmity between Saladin and the Templars and Hospitallers? To understand this situation one must begin with examination of Muslim perspectives on monasticism in general.
Late Antique and Early Byzantine fortifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geographically, the province of Dalmatia can be divided into two zones: the coastal and the mountainous regions.
The Borgias – Review of Season 3 Episode 1: The Face of Death
Plots thicken and intrigue is flying left and right at the Borgia family. It was a non-stop action episode that had you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It was definitely an excellent start to what’s looking to be an exciting season!
Game of Thrones – Review of Season 3 Episode 3: Walk of Punishment
‘All men must die…but we are not men’ ~ Daenerys Targaryen
The Rise and Fall of Syphilis in Renaissance Europe
What exactly were the features of the disease at the moment of its appearance in Europe at the end of the fifteenth century? How many years did it take for the early, virulent form to be replaced and become endemic?
The Passions of Achilles: Herbort von Fritzlar’s “Liet von Troye” and his Description of the Passions of Achilles in light of Herbort’s Historical Concept
There once lived in Greece a King named Peleas. He was noble and powerful. He lived in splendor in his castles and in his country. Food and (costly) garments were abundant at his court.
Settlement and Taxes: the Vandals in North Africa
With the Vandals, the migration of Northern barbarians flowed into a region that had of course been weakened by innumerable internal crises but was still essentially wealthy, productive and well governed.
Climate in Medieval Ireland: AD 500-1600
The aim of the dissertation is to reconstruct climate in Medieval Ireland using documentary and dendrochronological proxy data from Ireland and Northern Europe.
The Enduring Appeal of Richard III
It has indeed been confidently asserted that [Richard the 3d] killed his two Nephews & his Wife, but it has also been declared that he did not kill his two Nephews.
Cottage Gardening in the 14th Century England
As a student member of this research project, I spent my fall semester investigating various aspects of 14th century English agriculture and cottage gardening and blogged regularly about my findings to exchange information with the other project members.
Horticulture and Health in the Middle Ages: Images from the Tacuinum Sanitatis
The relationships between plants and health have been and continue to be of great concern for humankind considering both diet and medicinal uses.
Science, warfare and society in the Renaissance, with particular reference to fortification theory
The new style of fortification was accompanied, in the second half of the 16th century, by the publication of a relatively large number of treatises on the art.
The “Battle with the Monster”: Transformation of a Traditional Pattern in “The Dream of the Rood”
Thus, although I would not suggest that “The Dream of the Rood” was composed orally in performance, it is, I would contend, oral-derived, and it is that presumption upon which this analysis is founded. The poem, in other words, straddles both worlds, having ties to both textuality and orality.