A Viking burial at Balnakeil, Sutherland
Heavy storms in May 1991 caused extensive sand blows in the dunes of Balnakeil Bay, Sutherland. these partially uncovered the remains of a human skeleton
The Scots at the Battle of Neville’s Cross, 17 October 1346
This is an analysis of the loyalties and political rivalries of the army of David II of Scotland at the battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346 where that king was apparently deserted by some of his subjects and led off to eleven years’ captivity in England.
The counts of the Perche, c. 1066-1217
The history of Count Rotrou’s family and the polity which they created spans less than 200 years, but it has much to tell us about the development of power structures in the central middle ages and it illustrates two significant strands in the modem historiography of France
Monsters: A Surprising Tool of Governments Past and Present
Essentially, the state hopes to comprise itself of an entire safe race of people, eliminating the threats from the inside out; while this may seem a very modern initiative, medieval literature suggests that this has been a focus of societies from their early construction.
Medieval Advice on How to Take Care of Your Pet
Medieval people did have pet dogs, cats and other animals. Here is some of the advice they gave about taking proper care of these animals.
A Great Carolingian Panzootic
This paper considers the cattle panzootic of 809-810, the most thoroughly documented and, as far as can be discerned, spatially significant livestock pestilence of the Carolingian period (750-950 CE).
The Festive Beverages of the Khans
Festivities held with yearly regularity are a stable feature of nomadic life. Each nomad tribe seems to have had a ceremony connected with eating and drinking on which the leaders were presen
Dragon Harald Fairhair: The construction of a Viking Dragon Ship
A ten-minute video on the construction of a Viking dragon ship, which began in 2010 and is the largest Viking ship ever built in modern times.
Not One Chance in a Thousand: How the Cloisters came to be
Timothy Husband, curator, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters at the Museum talks about how the Cloisters came to be.
Hywel Dda manuscript now online
The National Library of Wales has digitized and put online the Boston Manuscript of the Laws of King Hywel Dda. The manuscript was purchased last year at auction for £541,250.
Byzantine coins and jewelry discovered in Israel
Refuse pits near the ancient city of Apollonia-Arsuf are turning up a large number of artefacts, including hundreds of Byzantine coins, Samaritan lamps and gold jewelry. Why were people throwing out this stuff?
English Royal Minorities and the Hundred Years War
It has become commonplace in modern textbooks to base any brief account of the Hundred Years War on the contention that the chief cause was the dynastic dispute over the French throne between Edward III and Philip of Valois.
Machiavelli: Theories on Liberty, Religion, and The Original Constitution
Machiavelli: Theories on Liberty, Religion, and The Original Constitution Erin Bos Oklahoma Christian University Journal of Historical Studies, Tau Sigma Journal of Historical Studies:…
Crusader hospital discovered in Jerusalem
The remains of a large hospital from the Crusader period have been discovered in the heart of Old Jerusalem, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Later this year the public will be to visit part of the structure when the site is turned into a restaurant.
The Fortune of War: Henry I and Normandy, 1116 – 1120
The Fortune of War: Henry I and Normandy, 1116 – 1120 Dillon Byrd Oklahoma Christian University, Tau Sigma, Journal of Historical Studies, Vol.21 (2013) Abstract…
A King on the Move: The Place of an Itinerant Court in Charlemagne’s Government
I shall suggest here that we should abandon this assumed correlation, and that once we have done so, a very different picture of Charlemagne’s itinerary between 768 and 814, and consequently of his government, emerges.
Castle for Sale in France: Château-sur-Epte Castle
This Anglo-Norman castle was built at the turn of the twelfth-century, and was on the front lines in the wars between England and France in the Middle Ages. Now a picturesque ruin, this would be a historian’s dream!
War dogs among the early Irish
In the Celtic world, as elsewhere, canines were admired for their senses of sight, smell and hearing. Dogs were used on hunting expeditions and to guard homes, as domestic pets and as a source of food
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence Philipp Dörler Networks and Neighbours, Volume One, Number One (2013) The…
Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales
Arthur Tudor was born shortly after midnight on September 20, 1486, just eight months after his parent’s marriage. King Henry was optimistic and insisted his son be born at Winchester, the legendary capital of King Arthur’s Camelot.
Archaeologists complete dig at Richard III site
The archaeological team that discovered Richard III has completed its second dig at the Grey Friars site in Leicester. The month-long dig revealed more details about the medieval friary and uncovered other buried people.
Knighthood in later medieval Italy
There is a clear reason for this general discounting of Italian knighthood in the later Middle Ages. The traditional focus of northern Italian historiography being cities and civic life, knighthood has struggled to find a place in the world of communes and city-states, merchants and markets.
Literary composition and the early medieval historian in the nineteenth century
I wish to consider a number of literary works written by men who were also scholars, to see whether there could be a serious interpretative purpose in the historical novel.
A Crisis of the Middle Ages? Deconstructing and Constructing European Identities in a Globalised World
In a globalizing world the Middle Ages run the risk of losing their position in the order of history.
The Devil’s Apples (Mandrakes)
The magic of the Mandrake grew with the passage of time. Elusive in its origins, where its associations lay with the age-long mysteries of love, its potency lingers on through the medicine of the Middle Ages