What’s new in medieval studies? Here are ten open-access articles published in August, which includes research about the depiction of Vikings in Icelandic sagas and fish farming in China.
This ongoing series on Medievalists.net highlights what has been published in journals over the last month that deal with the Middle Ages. All ten articles are Open-Access, meaning you can read them for free. We have a special tier on our Patreon where you can see the full list of the 60 open-access articles we found.
Maritime Dangers in the Red Sea during the Mamluk Period (ah 648–923 / 1250–1517)
By Reema bint Saleh Al-qirnas
Darah Journal of Arabian Peninsula Studies
Abstract: This article considers the two varieties of maritime danger in the Red Sea during the Mamluk era (ah 648–923 / 1250–1517): natural as well as human. Consideration is given first to the location and geographical importance of the Red Sea, then to natural dangers including winds, storms, heavy rains, coral reefs, and whirlpools and then to the human dangers, such as piracy carried out by some of the sharifs as well as the bedouin, the Portuguese fleet, and conflict over ports between the Mamluk and Rasulid states, which exposed sailing vessels as well as navigation in the Red Sea to both material and moral losses such as the loss of property and lives. Lastly, the preventive measures taken by the Mamluk state to avoid these dangers and protect the Red Sea are studied.
Change of tack? The English eleventh-century horse-tack explosion in context
By Brandon Fathy
Archaeological Journal
Abstract: The eleventh century marked a significant transformation in English horse equipment, characterized by an unprecedented proliferation of copper-alloy horse tack. Analysing 3086 finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), this research reveals a nearly 30-fold increase in copper-alloy horse equipment from the tenth to eleventh centuries, with 62% of finds being stirrup components. This study examines this ‘explosion’ through technological, economic and social lenses. Copper-alloy horse tack emerged amid complex developments in urban metalworking, equestrian culture and status signification.
While often associated with Viking and Norman conquests, the material shift reflects broader cultural negotiations rather than simple technological transfer. Notably, the research unveils a robust north–south divide in horse tack distribution, with the North East showing significantly fewer copper-alloy finds. This regional variation challenges assumptions of cultural uniformity and suggests localized material culture dynamics. The results highlights how decontextualized archaeological artefacts can provide profound insights into socio-political and economic changes, offering a sophisticated understanding of human–horse relationships in Medieval England.
Víking Across Conversion: Depictions of Víkingar in the Sagas of Icelanders
By Matthew Firth
Journal of Medieval History
Abstract: Vikings commonly feature in the Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders). The words víking (the act of raiding) or víkingr (a raider) appear over 180 times across the forty-some texts of the corpus. Here, they are a ubiquitous part of the cultural landscape of the late ninth- to mid-twelfth-century North Atlantic. The Íslendingasögur are not contemporary sources such as those from England and Francia that report experiences of viking raids. The sagas do, however, represent stories of the societies from which the vikings came. Here there are nuances to the depictions of the raiders that contrast with the accounts of their victims. This article examines the intersection of viking activity and the Icelandic conversion in the year 1000 (kristnitaka) in the Íslendingasögur. It posits that while, in the saga worldview, víking could be lauded prior to kristnitaka, with the coming of Christianity, Icelandic heroes could no longer easily pursue víking without censure.
A Medical Error of Saints Cosmas and Damian: Reflections on Fallibility and Medical Education From a Medieval Miracle
By Minso Kim and Ju-Hong Jeon
Journal of Korean Medical Sciences
Introduction:Saints Cosmas and Damian—twin brothers, Christian martyrs, and among the most venerated medical figures in medieval and Renaissance Europe—were renowned as anargyroi, practitioners who provided medical care free of charge. Over time, they became revered as the patron saints of medicine, gradually displacing the worship of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, in the Christian world. Their most famous miracle, as recounted in Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea)—one of the most widely read medieval texts that profoundly shaped popular hagiographic narratives—describes a divine transplantation: the saints replaced a verger’s gangrenous leg with that of a recently deceased Black man.
The Mappa mundi of Albi: Insight into the manufacturing, life and conservation state of an 8th century world map
By Laurianne Robinet, Sylvie Heu-Thao, Giulia Galante, Gaël Latour, Aurélie Tournié, Céline Daher, Anca Dan, Marie-Claire Schanne-Klein, Anne Michelin and Jocelyne Deschaux
Journal of Cultural Heritage
Abstract: The Mappa mundi of Albi is one of the oldest examples of spatial representation of the Western world. The small map conserved on the verso of folio 57 in manuscript 29 of the Médiathèque Pierre Amalric in Albi (France) was drawn on parchment, probably made in the second half of the 8th century, somewhere between south-western France and northern Spain, maybe in Albi itself. Because of its exceptional importance for the history of space representation, the map, together with the Index of seas and winds facing it, on the recto of folio 58, was recorded in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2015.
The detailed study published here has examined the manuscript’s structure and characterised the different constitutive materials. Observations and physicochemical analyses were performed on the map and the index, from the micro to the macroscale, combining optical microscopy, XRF, FORS, FTIR, and micro-Raman spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, proteomic analysis, and non-linear optical microscopy. Three manuscripts conserved at the same library or suspected to have been produced in the scriptorium of Albi have also been examined for comparisons. This material investigation complements the historical studies of the map by shedding new light on the manufacturing, life, and conservation state of this exceptional document.
Abstract: This paper examines the royal touch, a thaumaturgic healing ritual in which the monarchs of medieval-early modern England and France attempted to cure scrofula through physical contact with the afflicted. Using rational choice theory, we explain how this esoteric practice endured for so long. Monarchs engaged in the royal touch to secure political legitimacy and popular support by projecting divine favor and Christian benevolence, especially in times of instability or dynastic uncertainty. Meanwhile, patients willingly participated in the royal touch as it was a cheap and non-invasive procedure that was consistent with their belief in the efficacy of miracles. This belief was reinforced by scrofula’s self-limiting nature and by the monarchs’ strategic selection of likely-to-recover individuals. The practice ultimately faded with the spread of secularism, disillusionment in monarchy as a viable form of governance, and advancements in medical science. Our key finding is that mystical healing rituals persist when both patients and monarchs perceive them as net beneficial within their specific institutional and historical contexts.
The medieval stained glass in Catalonia: Girona cathedral
By Trinitat Pradell
Journal of Cultural Heritage
Abstract: The production and distribution of stained glass in Mediterranean Europe during the Middle Ages remains inadequately understood. This article focuses on Catalonia, where local glass production is documented as early as the 13th century, but little is known about the production of window glass. This study analyses a collection of stained glass fragments from Girona Cathedral, dating from the 13th to the 16th century, some of which is the work of renowned master glassmakers. The data obtained is compared with contemporary stained glass documented from other parts of Europe, and with a collection of 15th and 16th century archaeological window glass from Barcelona. The data is also contrasted with historical documentation on glass production in Catalonia.
The findings reveal that the glass from Girona from the 13th and 14th centuries is of the potassium-lime type, similar to that produced in the workshops of north-western France. By the late 14th and 15th centuries, the composition aligns more closely with that of north-eastern France. In the 16th century, however, the glass changes to a soda-lime composition, similar to the glass found in Barcelona, suggesting a transition from central European to Mediterranean sources, and indicates a change in the raw materials involving the use of soda-lime plant ash instead of potassium-lime forest ash. These results indicate that the production of window glass shifted from France to Barcelona at the close of the 15th century.
Gender Bias in Medieval Inquisitions and its Place in Shaping Knowledge about the Heterodox
By Davor Salihović and José Luis Estévez
Social Science History
Abstract: This study examines gender bias in the investigative work of medieval inquisitors, focusing on Albert of Castellario’s trial of the Waldensians in Giaveno, Italy, in 1335. Drawing upon advancements in sociological and criminological literature, we conceptualize an inquisitorial trial as a discretionary information-gathering endeavor contingent upon the inquisitor’s judgment in deciding which leads to pursue. Employing social network analysis and survival methods, we evaluate whether Albert demonstrated gender biases in his investigative decisions, particularly regarding the weight assigned to testimonies from men versus women. Our findings demonstrate that Albert was more inclined to investigate men and prioritize their testimonies, even where similar levels of incriminating evidence were present for both genders. These results highlight the influence of societal attitudes toward gender on inquisitorial practices, on the representativeness of historical records, and on prevailing understandings of heretical groups. Furthermore, this study underscores the broader utility of our methodological framework for addressing related historical inquiries, including the political motivations behind the medieval inquisition.
Fish Farming in Pre-modern China: A Study and Translation of Two Texts
By Roel Sterckx
T’oung Pao
Abstract: This article examines two rare sources on fish farming in pre-modern China: a text fragment entitled Taozhu gong Yang yu jing 陶朱公養魚經 (Lord Taozhu’s Classic on Fish Farming) preserved in Jia Sixie’s 賈思勰 (fl. 6th cent CE) Qimin yaoshu 齊民要術 (Essential Techniques for the Peasantry), and a treatise similarly entitled Yang yu jing 養魚經 (Classic on Fish Farming) by Ming scholar Huang Xingzeng 黃省曾 (1490–1540). The essay explores the history of managed aquaculture leading up to the compilation of these texts, analyses their sources and contents, and presents annotated translations.
Conflict and Cooperation Between the Armenian and Byzantine Churches in the Late 9th and 10th Centuries
By Arman Samvel Yeghiazaryan
Religions
Abstract: The question of the relationship between the Armenian and Byzantine churches has always interested researchers, often becoming a problem of study. Since the chosen problem concerns not only the mentioned churches but was also a fierce problem of the entire Christian world in the context of the debate between the supporters of Monophysitism and Dyophysitism, we set ourselves the goal of studying the issue in this context within the framework of the end of the 9th century and in the 10th century, when particularly important development took place. One of the main results of the article is that despite the accepted opinion that the Armenian Church has always insisted on its confession, based on political considerations, the Armenian political and religious leaders sometimes expressed readiness for a church union with Byzantium. The main method of this article is the genetic method, with the help of which the origin, sequence of events, and patterns of development of the phenomenon under research are studied.
We found 60 open-access articles from August – you can get the full list by joining our Patreon – look for the tier that says Open Access articles in Medieval Studies.
What’s new in medieval studies? Here are ten open-access articles published in August, which includes research about the depiction of Vikings in Icelandic sagas and fish farming in China.
This ongoing series on Medievalists.net highlights what has been published in journals over the last month that deal with the Middle Ages. All ten articles are Open-Access, meaning you can read them for free. We have a special tier on our Patreon where you can see the full list of the 60 open-access articles we found.
Maritime Dangers in the Red Sea during the Mamluk Period (ah 648–923 / 1250–1517)
By Reema bint Saleh Al-qirnas
Darah Journal of Arabian Peninsula Studies
Abstract: This article considers the two varieties of maritime danger in the Red Sea during the Mamluk era (ah 648–923 / 1250–1517): natural as well as human. Consideration is given first to the location and geographical importance of the Red Sea, then to natural dangers including winds, storms, heavy rains, coral reefs, and whirlpools and then to the human dangers, such as piracy carried out by some of the sharifs as well as the bedouin, the Portuguese fleet, and conflict over ports between the Mamluk and Rasulid states, which exposed sailing vessels as well as navigation in the Red Sea to both material and moral losses such as the loss of property and lives. Lastly, the preventive measures taken by the Mamluk state to avoid these dangers and protect the Red Sea are studied.
Click here to read this article
Change of tack? The English eleventh-century horse-tack explosion in context
By Brandon Fathy
Archaeological Journal
Abstract: The eleventh century marked a significant transformation in English horse equipment, characterized by an unprecedented proliferation of copper-alloy horse tack. Analysing 3086 finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), this research reveals a nearly 30-fold increase in copper-alloy horse equipment from the tenth to eleventh centuries, with 62% of finds being stirrup components. This study examines this ‘explosion’ through technological, economic and social lenses. Copper-alloy horse tack emerged amid complex developments in urban metalworking, equestrian culture and status signification.
While often associated with Viking and Norman conquests, the material shift reflects broader cultural negotiations rather than simple technological transfer. Notably, the research unveils a robust north–south divide in horse tack distribution, with the North East showing significantly fewer copper-alloy finds. This regional variation challenges assumptions of cultural uniformity and suggests localized material culture dynamics. The results highlights how decontextualized archaeological artefacts can provide profound insights into socio-political and economic changes, offering a sophisticated understanding of human–horse relationships in Medieval England.
Click here to read this article
Víking Across Conversion: Depictions of Víkingar in the Sagas of Icelanders
By Matthew Firth
Journal of Medieval History
Abstract: Vikings commonly feature in the Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders). The words víking (the act of raiding) or víkingr (a raider) appear over 180 times across the forty-some texts of the corpus. Here, they are a ubiquitous part of the cultural landscape of the late ninth- to mid-twelfth-century North Atlantic. The Íslendingasögur are not contemporary sources such as those from England and Francia that report experiences of viking raids. The sagas do, however, represent stories of the societies from which the vikings came. Here there are nuances to the depictions of the raiders that contrast with the accounts of their victims. This article examines the intersection of viking activity and the Icelandic conversion in the year 1000 (kristnitaka) in the Íslendingasögur. It posits that while, in the saga worldview, víking could be lauded prior to kristnitaka, with the coming of Christianity, Icelandic heroes could no longer easily pursue víking without censure.
Click here to read this article
A Medical Error of Saints Cosmas and Damian: Reflections on Fallibility and Medical Education From a Medieval Miracle
By Minso Kim and Ju-Hong Jeon
Journal of Korean Medical Sciences
Introduction:Saints Cosmas and Damian—twin brothers, Christian martyrs, and among the most venerated medical figures in medieval and Renaissance Europe—were renowned as anargyroi, practitioners who provided medical care free of charge. Over time, they became revered as the patron saints of medicine, gradually displacing the worship of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, in the Christian world. Their most famous miracle, as recounted in Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea)—one of the most widely read medieval texts that profoundly shaped popular hagiographic narratives—describes a divine transplantation: the saints replaced a verger’s gangrenous leg with that of a recently deceased Black man.
Click here to read this article
The Mappa mundi of Albi: Insight into the manufacturing, life and conservation state of an 8th century world map
By Laurianne Robinet, Sylvie Heu-Thao, Giulia Galante, Gaël Latour, Aurélie Tournié, Céline Daher, Anca Dan, Marie-Claire Schanne-Klein, Anne Michelin and Jocelyne Deschaux
Journal of Cultural Heritage
Abstract: The Mappa mundi of Albi is one of the oldest examples of spatial representation of the Western world. The small map conserved on the verso of folio 57 in manuscript 29 of the Médiathèque Pierre Amalric in Albi (France) was drawn on parchment, probably made in the second half of the 8th century, somewhere between south-western France and northern Spain, maybe in Albi itself. Because of its exceptional importance for the history of space representation, the map, together with the Index of seas and winds facing it, on the recto of folio 58, was recorded in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2015.
The detailed study published here has examined the manuscript’s structure and characterised the different constitutive materials. Observations and physicochemical analyses were performed on the map and the index, from the micro to the macroscale, combining optical microscopy, XRF, FORS, FTIR, and micro-Raman spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, proteomic analysis, and non-linear optical microscopy. Three manuscripts conserved at the same library or suspected to have been produced in the scriptorium of Albi have also been examined for comparisons. This material investigation complements the historical studies of the map by shedding new light on the manufacturing, life, and conservation state of this exceptional document.
Click here to read this article
The royal touch
By Vladimir V. Maltsev and Alicia M. Plemmons
Public Choice
Abstract: This paper examines the royal touch, a thaumaturgic healing ritual in which the monarchs of medieval-early modern England and France attempted to cure scrofula through physical contact with the afflicted. Using rational choice theory, we explain how this esoteric practice endured for so long. Monarchs engaged in the royal touch to secure political legitimacy and popular support by projecting divine favor and Christian benevolence, especially in times of instability or dynastic uncertainty. Meanwhile, patients willingly participated in the royal touch as it was a cheap and non-invasive procedure that was consistent with their belief in the efficacy of miracles. This belief was reinforced by scrofula’s self-limiting nature and by the monarchs’ strategic selection of likely-to-recover individuals. The practice ultimately faded with the spread of secularism, disillusionment in monarchy as a viable form of governance, and advancements in medical science. Our key finding is that mystical healing rituals persist when both patients and monarchs perceive them as net beneficial within their specific institutional and historical contexts.
Click here to read this article
The medieval stained glass in Catalonia: Girona cathedral
By Trinitat Pradell
Journal of Cultural Heritage
Abstract: The production and distribution of stained glass in Mediterranean Europe during the Middle Ages remains inadequately understood. This article focuses on Catalonia, where local glass production is documented as early as the 13th century, but little is known about the production of window glass. This study analyses a collection of stained glass fragments from Girona Cathedral, dating from the 13th to the 16th century, some of which is the work of renowned master glassmakers. The data obtained is compared with contemporary stained glass documented from other parts of Europe, and with a collection of 15th and 16th century archaeological window glass from Barcelona. The data is also contrasted with historical documentation on glass production in Catalonia.
The findings reveal that the glass from Girona from the 13th and 14th centuries is of the potassium-lime type, similar to that produced in the workshops of north-western France. By the late 14th and 15th centuries, the composition aligns more closely with that of north-eastern France. In the 16th century, however, the glass changes to a soda-lime composition, similar to the glass found in Barcelona, suggesting a transition from central European to Mediterranean sources, and indicates a change in the raw materials involving the use of soda-lime plant ash instead of potassium-lime forest ash. These results indicate that the production of window glass shifted from France to Barcelona at the close of the 15th century.
Click here to read this article
Gender Bias in Medieval Inquisitions and its Place in Shaping Knowledge about the Heterodox
By Davor Salihović and José Luis Estévez
Social Science History
Abstract: This study examines gender bias in the investigative work of medieval inquisitors, focusing on Albert of Castellario’s trial of the Waldensians in Giaveno, Italy, in 1335. Drawing upon advancements in sociological and criminological literature, we conceptualize an inquisitorial trial as a discretionary information-gathering endeavor contingent upon the inquisitor’s judgment in deciding which leads to pursue. Employing social network analysis and survival methods, we evaluate whether Albert demonstrated gender biases in his investigative decisions, particularly regarding the weight assigned to testimonies from men versus women. Our findings demonstrate that Albert was more inclined to investigate men and prioritize their testimonies, even where similar levels of incriminating evidence were present for both genders. These results highlight the influence of societal attitudes toward gender on inquisitorial practices, on the representativeness of historical records, and on prevailing understandings of heretical groups. Furthermore, this study underscores the broader utility of our methodological framework for addressing related historical inquiries, including the political motivations behind the medieval inquisition.
Click here to read this article
Fish Farming in Pre-modern China: A Study and Translation of Two Texts
By Roel Sterckx
T’oung Pao
Abstract: This article examines two rare sources on fish farming in pre-modern China: a text fragment entitled Taozhu gong Yang yu jing 陶朱公養魚經 (Lord Taozhu’s Classic on Fish Farming) preserved in Jia Sixie’s 賈思勰 (fl. 6th cent CE) Qimin yaoshu 齊民要術 (Essential Techniques for the Peasantry), and a treatise similarly entitled Yang yu jing 養魚經 (Classic on Fish Farming) by Ming scholar Huang Xingzeng 黃省曾 (1490–1540). The essay explores the history of managed aquaculture leading up to the compilation of these texts, analyses their sources and contents, and presents annotated translations.
Click here to read this article
Conflict and Cooperation Between the Armenian and Byzantine Churches in the Late 9th and 10th Centuries
By Arman Samvel Yeghiazaryan
Religions
Abstract: The question of the relationship between the Armenian and Byzantine churches has always interested researchers, often becoming a problem of study. Since the chosen problem concerns not only the mentioned churches but was also a fierce problem of the entire Christian world in the context of the debate between the supporters of Monophysitism and Dyophysitism, we set ourselves the goal of studying the issue in this context within the framework of the end of the 9th century and in the 10th century, when particularly important development took place. One of the main results of the article is that despite the accepted opinion that the Armenian Church has always insisted on its confession, based on political considerations, the Armenian political and religious leaders sometimes expressed readiness for a church union with Byzantium. The main method of this article is the genetic method, with the help of which the origin, sequence of events, and patterns of development of the phenomenon under research are studied.
Click here to read this article
We found 60 open-access articles from August – you can get the full list by joining our Patreon – look for the tier that says Open Access articles in Medieval Studies.
See also our list of open-access articles from July
Top Image: Facsimile of the Mappa Mundi of Albi at the Cathedral’s Treasure – photo by Luisxto / Wikimedia Commons
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