The Frankish Pretender Gundovald, 582–585. A Crisis of Merovingian Blood
In the autumn of 582, a claimant to Frankish kingship named Gundovald landed in Marseilles, returning from exile in Constantinople with covert support from very powerful persons in the kingdom.
Medieval emergence of sweet melons, Cucumis melo (Cucurbitaceae)
De Observantia Ciborum, an early 6th-century book on foods attributed to a Pseudo-Hippocrates, lists cucumere (snake melons) first among the vegetables. The pepone (watermelons), here too, are listed among other fruits that are eaten raw when ripe, pomegranates, grapes and figs, but there is no mention of melopepones or melones
Quiz: Medieval Maps
How good are your geography skills? Try to identify these 15 places based on how they are depicted in medieval maps
Which Chinese Emperor Are You?
Take this quiz to see which Ming or Qing emperor you are most similar to.
Vegetables in the Middle Ages
Vegetables: A Biography, by Evelyne Bloch-Dano, offers the stories of eleven different vegetables – artichokes, beans, chard, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, chili peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, pumpkins, and tomatoes – offering tidbits from science and agriculture to history, culture, and, of course, cooking. Here are a few excerpts from the book that detail their history during the Middle Ages
Knighthood in Le Morte D’Arthur: Recapitulation of Development of Medieval Chivalric Literature
Undoubtedly chivalry belongs among the most influential phenomena in medieval Europe. Since its emergence in the eleventh century chivalry with its concept of knighthood is adopted by various European countries in the era as one of the principal codes applied not only in military campaigns but also in the sphere of morality as well as the social stratification of the monarchies.
Tundale’s Vision: Socialization in 12th Century Ireland
The purpose of this project is to explore the historical image of Hell in Medieval Europe as an agent of socialization for illiterate Christian communities.
John Skelton’s ‘Speke Parott’
Just four days after this video was posted to Youtube, nearly 130 000 people have watched a reading of the Middle English poem Speke Parott.
The influence of conflicting medieval church and social discourses on individual consciousness : dissociation in the visions of Hadewijch of Brabant
This article examines the influence of the conflicting dis- courses in the medieval church and its social context on the subconscious experiences of Hadewijch of Brabant, a 13th century Flemish visionary, mystical author, vernacular theologian and Beguine leader
Movie Review: Dracula Untold
‘Sometimes the world doesn’t need a hero. It needs a monster.’
Can you solve Odin’s Riddles?
Here are 14 riddles that the Norse god Odin says to King Heidrek. Can you solve them?
British Library brings all four Magna Carta manuscripts together for the first time in history
There are only four original Magna Carta documents from 1215 which survive. Two are kept at the British Library, one at Lincoln Cathedral…
10 Medieval and Renaissance Things to See at the Victoria and Albert Museum
My latest visit to the Victoria and Albert Musuem: 10 Medieval and Renaissance Things to See at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Vampires and Watchmen: Categorizing the Mediaeval Icelandic Undead
One can imagine three ways to approach a mediaeval Icelandic draugr, a term which is usually glossed as ‘ghost’ in English.
Earl Rögnvaldr of Orkney, a Poet of the Viking Diaspora
Kali Kolsson, later Rögnvaldr, Earl of Orkney, ca. 1103–1158, is a truly international figure. He was born in Noway. He travelled to England with some traders in his youth. He then came to power in Northern Scotland.
The Devil as a Christian Author? The Case of Versus maligni angeli
The devil as an author of a poem is a unique occurrence in the Middle Ages. The devil as an author of a Christian poem is a paradox that calls for interpretation, and this special situation has indeed been explained already in the Middle Ages in at least three different ways. The present study discusses the curious medieval justifications of the devil as a Christian author.
Gender and Matrimonial Litigation in the Church Courts in the Later Middle Ages: The Evidence of the Court of York
If some later medieval males thought the courts were biased, what might the female perspective have been?
Which Lord of the Rings character are you?
Some Tolkien fun – Which one of the nine members of the fellowship are you?
Top 10 Strange Things done with the Medieval Dead
From piles of bones to embalmed hearts, with stories about mass graves and sleeping for hundreds of years, here is our top 10 list of strange things done with the medieval dead.
The Contours, Frequency and Causation of Subsistence Crises in Carolingian Europe (750-950)
The Contours, Frequency and Causation of Subsistence Crises in Carolingian Europe (750-950) Timothy P. Newfield Crisis Alimentarias en la Edad Media: Modelos, Explicaciones…
Serving the man that ruled: aspects of the domestic arrangements of the household of King John, 1199-1216
This thesis interrogates the evidence of the household ordinances from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, by using a corpus of record sources extant from 1199 onwards, which break through the façade of departmentalism to reveal the complexity of the royal household.
Ten Great Anglo-Saxon Girls’ Names
We’ve come up with our ten favourite girls’ names – if you are considering a different type of baby name, perhaps you will pick one of these!
This Week in Medieval Manuscript Images
In this week’s edition, we bring you over 20 images, including how babies are born, illustrations of the moon, and St. Michael hard at work slaying evil!
Vikings, the barbaric heroes: exploring the Viking image in museums in Iceland and England and its impact on identity
This study analyses the responses of Icelandic and English individuals in regards to their views on the Viking image as represented within museums and in society.