Domesday coming to the British Library
The National Archives will loan Domesday, the most famous and earliest surviving public record, to the British Library for its landmark exhibition, Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms.
Build a medieval city with new video game
Foundation is a grid-less, sprawling medieval city building simulation with a heavy focus on organic development, monument construction and resource management.
Seven Wonders of the Medieval Far North
Konungs skuggsjá explains the wonders of the strange waters around Greenland, a far corner of the medieval world.
Researchers discover early medieval women with their skulls altered
A new palaeogenomic study of early medieval people in southern Germany has revealed the presence of women who had their skulls artificially altered.
How was music invented? A medieval answer
Have you ever wondered how music was invented? Apparently, people in the Middle Ages thought about this question too, and they came up with several interesting answers.
The Women around an Emperor: Anne of Brittany
In the fifth in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Anne of Brittany.
One of his own: the Irish participant in the assassination of Tigernán Ua Ruairc
Tigernán Ua Ruairc was King of Bréifne and Conmaicne. In fact this kingdom reached its greatest extent during his long reign, between c. 1124 and his assassination in 1172.
Medieval Clothing in Uvdal, Norway
A special feature of three of the bodies was that their skulls were wrapped in linen cloth. Not only the forehead and neck, but also mouth, nose and eyes were covered with linen. These linen wrappings must have been applied especially for burial purposes.
‘Sisters Under the Skin’? Anglo-Saxon Nuns and Nunneries in Southern England
The history of female monastic life in Anglo-Saxon England has generally been seen as falling into two distinct phases conveniently separated by the Carolingian Renaissance and the Viking invasions of the ninth century.
The Giving and Withholding of Consent in Late Twelfth-Century French Literature
My investigations into the depiction and punishment of rape in late twelfth-century literature in northern France stem from a particular interest in some of the earlier branches of the Roman de Renart.
The Monk Who Knew the Ways of Love
It has been suggested that the art of the troubadour is original primarily in its exercise of choice within a relatively strictly limited field and that, if art results from the tension between freedom and restraint, then the two poles of this dialectic are the exercise of choice of expression and the limitation of the field in terms of subject-matter and linguistic register.
Old Norse Ship Names and Ship Terms
The nautical language of the North Sea Germanic area is a very elaborate and rich terminology. This was no less true at the time I am dealing with, namely the period from the Viking Age up to about 1400 A.D.
The Penny in the Pennylands: Coinage in Scotland in the Early Middle Ages
Other terms of account, such as shilling, mancus, mark and ora are to be found in Old English documents, but the silver penny was tile only coin to be issued, and remained so until the groat was introduced by Edward I in 1279.
St. Theodore, Euchaïta and Anatolia, c. 500-1000 CE: Landscape, Climate and the Survival of an Empire
St Theodore ‘the recruit’ was one of the most important military saints of the Byzantine and wider medieval world, and his cult center, at Euchaïta in northern Turkey, was famous from the fifth century on.
Chaucer’s Decameron and the Wife of Bath’s Tale: Why Do Literary History?
A possible direct link between the two greatest literary collections of the fourteenth century, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, has long tantalized readers because these works share many stories, which are, moreover, placed in similar frames.
The Audacious Metaphors of Mystical Women: The Model of Caterina da Siena
Religious education for women included spiritual meditation by which it was specifically taught to revive the life and passion of Christ. Caterina da Siena has been a model for many mystical writers.
Undergraduate research project finds connection between Chaucer and medieval astronomers
Senior English Literature major, Michael Walecke, is mapping collocations of one of Chaucer’s only prose works.
Rare Collection of Royal Charters to Be Preserved for Future Generations
A rare collection of royal charters dating back to the 12th century will be restored as part of a new project to preserve the precious documents for future generations.
Were rabbits first domesticated in the Early Middle Ages?
Scientists from Oxford University test dating methods to challenge whether our relationship and affection for rabbits dates back to any single event, or, if it is instead better explained as a continuum that has evolved over time.
The Newberry opens up access to 1.7 million historical images
The Newberry seeks to promote wider public engagement with 1.7 million high-res images now online.
10 New Youtube Videos for Medieval Lovers – Volume 4
Ten videos posted in the last month on Youtube for the medievalist’s viewing pleasure!
New Medieval Books: From Ironmaking to Psalters
Five recently publishing books covering the Middle Ages – taking you from Ireland to Germany and from Sicily to Norway.
Who was Christine de Pizan?
Danièle Cybulskie talks about an awesome fifteenth-century female writer: Christine de Pizan.
Exploring the world of colourful medieval cuisine
Colour often has a great influence on how we perceive the food we eat. It can make food appear more appetising, or even warn that something is wrong. This was just as true for diners in the Middle Ages as it is for modern consumers.
Trust and Credit: The Mercantile Culture of Risk in Renaissance Italy
Renaissance Italy was a society in which the problems of how to trust and whom to trust presented perennial challenges; yet it also housed a vibrant, transcontinental, proto-capitalist economy that relied on trust for its functioning.