Medieval English Law manuscript digitised
The Textus Roffensis, a 12th century legal encyclopaedia, is now available online.
Of sagas and sheep: Toward a historical anthropology of social change and production for market, subsistence and tribute in early Iceland
This dissertation deals with the formation of chiefdoms, communities, ecclesiastical institutions and state, and with production for market, subsistence and tribute in early Iceland in the context of climatic change and ecological succession.
Constructing social identity in Renaissance Florence: Botticelli’s ‘Portrait of a Lady’
This study scrutinizes a work within a neglected portion of Botticelli’s oeuvre, examining the ways in which its modest, and somewhat ambiguous, visual cues also construct its sitter’s elevated social identity, while simultaneously protecting it.
Eadburh, Queen of the West Saxons
Whether she deserved it or not, Eadburh of the West Saxons is infamous for being an evil queen.
Richard II: One of England’s forgotten kings
I thought I’d take five minutes today to talk a little bit about one of England’s forgotten kings.
The Perils of Polygamy in 15th century Cairo
Under medieval Islamic law, a man could marry up to four women. However, if accounts from 15th century Egypt are indicative, it would be rare for such an arrangement to work out for all parties.
The Bible in the Middle Ages
Twenty images from medieval manuscripts showing famous scenes from the Bible
£8.3 million in funding for 31 English Cathedrals
The First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund announced last month that they will be giving out £8.3 million to help 25 Church of England and six Catholic cathedrals undertake repairs and restorations.
Enniskillen Castle to receive over £2 million in heritage funding
Enniskillen Castle, one of Northern Ireland’s most impressive castles, is to be transformed into a world class heritage attraction, thanks to a £2.37 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Working women in thirteenth-century Paris
This thesis examines the role of women in the Parisian economy in the late thirteenth century.
Women’s monasticism in late medieval Bologna, 1200-1500
This dissertation explores the fluid relationship between monastic women and religious orders. I examine the roles of popes and their representatives, governing bodies of religious orders, and the nunneries themselves in outlining the contours of those relationships.
The Bible of St. Louis: An Introduction
Few works in the history of books are as hermetic as the Bible of Saint Louis in some specific aspects.
Places to See: Sainte Chapelle
Travelling to Paris ? Add this beautiful thirteenth century Capetian chapel to your MUST-SEE list for your next visit!
This Week in Medieval Manuscript Images
Nearly 40 medieval manuscript images from Twitter to share with you this week, including rabbits cooking people, a bat smiling, and a man smoking a pipe.
716: A Crucial Year For Charles Martel
The early years of Charles Martel’s life are all but obscured from the historian’s view.
The Hero’s Journey: Beowulf, Film, and Masculinity
Beowulf is one of many examples of a story that employs the rhetoric of the hero. The plight of the main character Beowulf is the focus of the tale, and the tasks that he must overcome throughout the course of the poem provide insight into the development of the character of the hero.
Conflicting expectations: Parish priests in late medieval Germany
The study investigates the expectations various groups in late medieval German society held of their parish priests and how these expectations were mediated through specific relationships.
Quality of Life in Medieval Monasteries and Nunneries
The purpose of this thesis was to explore the possible differences of quality of life in medieval monastic institutions based on the sex of their inhabitants, their location, and/or their ideology.
Ten Medieval Saints You May Not Have Heard of
Sometimes overshadowed, sometimes eccentric, and perhaps a little unbelievable – here are ten medieval saints you should know more about.
Crafting the witch: Gendering magic in medieval and early modern England
This project documents and analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.
Messages from the Otherworld – The Roles of the Dead in Medieval Iceland
I will examine the role of the restless dead in sagas by focusing on the individuals who are responsible for banishing the malevolent ghosts, or encounter the benevolent or non-harmful living dead.
Soldier saints and holy warriors: Warfare and sanctity in Anglo-Saxon England
This study examines hagiographers’ changing literary tropes as subtle but important reflections of medieval Christianity’s evolution from rejecting the sword to tolerating and even wielding it. H
The Saint’s Play in Medieval England
Plays about saints—their lives, martyrdoms, and miracles—flourished in England for more than three centuries side-by-side with the Corpus Christi cycles.
The Horror of Saints, Slashers, and Virgins
In our modern world, the repression of sexuality is still prevalent, although it is better masked than it was in the Middle Ages, and we still use the image of women and virginity to terrorize or save.
Painful Pleasure: Saintly Torture on the Verge of Pornography
Within female hagiographical narratives, stimulating, pornographic and often sadistic endeavours can be detected, gendering the tortured body parts such as tongue, teeth or the breast and thus supporting the development of (negative) erotic phantasies.