Images of the Medieval Apocalypse
Created by Dr. Sarah Peverley, these are some images of the Apocalypse and Doomsday from medieval manuscripts
Medieval Siege Machines: The Bellifortis by Conrad Keyser
One of the most imaginative and fascinating works to depict medieval siege warfare is the Bellifortis by Conrad Keyser.
Æthelstan, Anglo-Saxon King of England
Æthelstan was the first King of Wessex to bring together all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. He was well educated, very pious and a collector of saints relics and manuscripts. He was also a formidable warrior.
International Medieval Congress – Day 4
Photos and tweets from the final day of the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds.
A Good Day for a Trebuchet
You know you’re a medieval nerd when you walk into a toy store with the intention of getting toys for actual children, and walk out with a build-your-own-trebuchet kit for yourself.
International Medieval Congress – Day 3
News, tweets and pictures from the third day at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds
Did people drink water in the Middle Ages?
One of the oddest myths about the Middle Ages is that people did not drink water.
The secret histories of Gregory of Tours
In recent years the spiritual side of Gregory’s Histories has been firmly brought into focus, but the possibility that there may be a political aspect to them and to their literary form has been little considered
We May Lose More Than We May Gain: Boldness and prudence among Froissart’s warriors
Jean Froissart’s Chronicles, one of the most influential accounts of the first half of the Hundred Years War, was in large part devoted to preserving tales of individual chivalric accomplishment
Earliest case of Down Syndrome discovered
Researchers in France have discovered the remains of a child from the 5th or 6th century AD that had Down Syndrome. It is the earliest case to have been found so far.
International Medieval Congress – Day 2
News, tweets and pictures from the second day at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds
Medieval Letter-Collections as a Mirror of Circles of Friendship? The Example of Stephen of Tournai, 1128-1203
We are well informed on the life of Stephen of Tournai and some of his work (97). Born in 1128, he grew up in the chapter of Sainte-Croix in Orléans, where he was educated in the artes liberales.
Mosaic from Venice
This mosaic was made in the first half of the twelfth century as part of a decoration at the west dome in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice.
Travel and Travelers in Medieval Eurasia
The rise of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century dramatically changed the opportunities for travel across Eurasia: for the first time we encounter those who traveled its full length and then returned home to narrate what they saw.
Edward III and the Hundred Years War
The period historians call the Hundred Years War, stretching from 1337-1453, brought about a number of changes to England and France.
International Medieval Congress – Day 1
The news, tweets and videos coming from the first day of the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds
Could Duke Phillip the Good of Burgundy have owned the Bayeux tapestry in 1430?
An entry in the Inventory of the Bayeux cathedral treasury records that in 1476 the church owned the following: Item une tente tres longue et estroicte de telle a broderie d’ymages et escripteaulx, faisans representation du Conquest d’Angleterre, laquelle est tendu environ la nefde l’église le jour et par l’octave des reliques (l). Not until the 1720 ‘s did scholars first find and appreciate the potential importance of this brief entry.
Saints, Tradition and Monastic Identity: The Ghent Relics, 850-1100
The extraordinary story ofthe Ghent relics was first told by Oswald Holder- Egger in an article published in 1886. During his work on part two of volume 15 of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores series, which Holder- Egger had just finished, he had come across the hagiographie literature produced at the abbeys of St Baafs and St Pieters in Ghent.
The Reordering of Society in Medieval Provence
“Here, some pray, others fight, still others work …” {}). “Since the beginning of time, mankind has been divided into three groups, men of prayer, farmers, and warriors” (2). Appearing between 1024 and 1031 in the writings of Adelbero, bishop of Laon, and his cousin Gerard, bishop of Cambrai, these two statements constitute the first fully developed expression of a tripartite, or more accurately a trifunctional conceptualization of European society.
The Uses Made of History by the Kings of Medieval England
The kings of medieval England, besides using history for the entertainment of themselves and their courts, turned it to practical purposes. They plundered history-books for precedents and other evidences to justify their claims and acts. They also recognised its value as propaganda, to bolster up their positions at home and strengthen their hands abroad.
Man, woman or monster : some themes of female masculinity and transvestism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
This dissertation discusses medieval and Renaissance clerical and cultural constructions of femininity and female masculinity, and it analyses the complex relationship between such conceptions and the literary representation of the transvestite woman.
Viking Human Sacrifices: Hollywood vs Reality
In his article, ‘Plastic Pagans: Viking Human Sacrifice in Film and Television’, Harry Brown notes a very key difference between how it is being portrayed and how it was in reality.
Dreams in Old Norse-Icelandic Royal Biographies as Representations of the Dynastic Identity: The Case of the Fairhair Dynasty
King Hálfdan dreams one day, in a pigsty, that he becomes a man with the finest hair, although the color and length of each ringlet vary. One curl excels in color, brightness and length, signifying St. Olaf, national saint of Norway.
15 Medieval Fashion Trends
How did fashion change during the Middle Ages? Using images from medieval manuscripts, we can track some of the changes in fashion over the centuries. The styles of dress and clothing would see new trends emerge, ranging from long-toed shoes to plunging necklines.