From J. R. R. Tolkien’s unpublished translation of a Middle English homily to the use of jazz as a framework for understanding medieval Sufism, scholars continue to find fresh ways of exploring the medieval world. Here are ten open-access articles published in June 2026 that medievalists can read for free.
In total, we found 68 open-access articles on medieval studies published last month. Our Patreon supporters can access the full list, featuring research on counterfeit coins, Cairo’s citadel, medieval Sicily, Christian relics, Anglo-Saxon glassworking, and much more.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Soul’s Ward: A Critical Edition of His Unpublished Translation of the Early Middle English Homily Sawles Warde
By Andoni Cossio and Nelson Goering
The Review of English Studies
Among Tolkien’s papers in Oxford’s Bodleian Library is an unpublished translation of Sawles Warde, an early thirteenth-century Middle English homily. This critical edition examines the translation’s date, manuscript context, and significance for understanding Tolkien’s lifelong engagement with medieval languages and literature.
Before and After the Black Death: Understanding Catastrophic and Attritional Mortality
By Emilia R. Franklin, John Robb, and Piers D. Mitchell
Antiquity
The Black Death is closely associated with plague pits and mass burials, but many of its victims were placed in ordinary parish cemeteries. This complicates attempts to distinguish catastrophic plague mortality from the patterns of death found in medieval populations during more typical periods.
The Damhus Hoard: New Insights Into Some of the Earliest Viking Silver Coinage
By Thomas Birch, Helle Horsnæs, Rasmus Andreasen, Claus Feveile, Stephen Merkel, Jane Kershaw, Guillaume Sarah, Rory Naismith, and Jens Christian Moesgaard
Archaeometry
Discovered near Ribe, Denmark, in 2018, the Damhus Hoard contains 266 silver coins from the early ninth century. An analysis of these objects—most of which carry distinctive human-face and deer designs—provides new insights into some of Scandinavia’s earliest Viking silver pennies.
Spectral Authenticity and the Fate of the Stone of Destiny
By Sally Foster and Elisabeth Niklasson
Heritage & Society
Scotland’s Stone of Destiny has accumulated competing stories about its origins, identity, and political meaning, particularly amid claims that the surviving object may not be the original stone. This article examines how uncertainty itself has become part of the object’s heritage, allowing disputed versions of its past to continue haunting debates about authenticity and ownership.
What Shipwreck Remains from the Sunken Fleet of Kublai Khan Reveal About Wood Use in Yuan-Dynasty China
By Mechtild Mertz and Takao Itoh
International Journal of Wood Culture
This study examines wooden remains associated with the fleets sent by Kublai Khan to invade Japan during the thirteenth century. Identifying the types of timber used in the ships offers evidence about shipbuilding, woodland resources, and the selection and circulation of wood in Yuan-dynasty China.
Riffing on/as the Real: Towards Jazz as a Framework for Medieval Sufism
By Cyril V. Uy II
Sophia
This article proposes jazz as a new framework for approaching the writings and knowledge practices of the medieval Sufi thinker Ibn ʿArabī. Concepts such as improvisation and the jazz standard help illuminate how he reworked established materials while exploring the relationship between divine reality and human expression.
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That Has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe Since the Middle Ages
By Şener Aktürk and Yury Katliarou
Nationalities Papers
The Lithuanian-Polish Tatars are the only Muslim community in Europe to have survived continuously under Catholic rule from the late Middle Ages to the present. This article argues that their survival resulted from the particular balance of power among monarchs, nobles, religious authorities, and minority communities in Lithuania and Poland.
Breaking Borders: The Medieval Archaeology of the Ethiopian-Somaliland Borderland
By Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Jorge Rouco Collazo, Valeria Leticia Franco Salvi, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Mohamed Abdi Allamagen, Carolina Cornax Gómez, Mario Llorente García, Mesfin Getachew, Adrián de la Torre García, Juan Montegú, Worku Derara, Álvaro Minguito Palomares, and Khalid Abdilahi Abdi
African Archaeological Review
Modern borders between Ethiopia and Somaliland have divided what was once an interconnected medieval cultural and economic landscape. Combining research from both sides of the frontier demonstrates how looking beyond colonial boundaries can produce a fuller account of settlement, trade, and Muslim societies in the medieval Horn of Africa.
How the East Became the East: Triumphal Rulership and the Failure of Integration in Carolingian Central Europe
By Helmut Reimitz
Austrian History Yearbook
This study investigates how triumphal rulership shaped Carolingian efforts to govern and integrate Central Europe. It considers why attempts to incorporate the empire’s eastern regions ultimately reinforced distinctions between “East” and “West” instead of producing a unified political order.
Adam Smith and the Role of the Towns in Feudal Europe
By Mark Koyama
Public Choice
This article revisits Adam Smith’s influential explanation of how medieval European towns helped weaken feudalism. Smith argued that an alliance between kings and urban communities challenged the power of local lords, allowing commerce and political centralization to transform Europe’s institutional landscape.
If you want to explore even more recent research, Medievalists.net Patreon supporters can access our complete roundup of over 68 open-access medieval studies articles published in June 2026.
From J. R. R. Tolkien’s unpublished translation of a Middle English homily to the use of jazz as a framework for understanding medieval Sufism, scholars continue to find fresh ways of exploring the medieval world. Here are ten open-access articles published in June 2026 that medievalists can read for free.
In total, we found 68 open-access articles on medieval studies published last month. Our Patreon supporters can access the full list, featuring research on counterfeit coins, Cairo’s citadel, medieval Sicily, Christian relics, Anglo-Saxon glassworking, and much more.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Soul’s Ward: A Critical Edition of His Unpublished Translation of the Early Middle English Homily Sawles Warde
By Andoni Cossio and Nelson Goering
The Review of English Studies
Among Tolkien’s papers in Oxford’s Bodleian Library is an unpublished translation of Sawles Warde, an early thirteenth-century Middle English homily. This critical edition examines the translation’s date, manuscript context, and significance for understanding Tolkien’s lifelong engagement with medieval languages and literature.
Click here to read this article
Before and After the Black Death: Understanding Catastrophic and Attritional Mortality
By Emilia R. Franklin, John Robb, and Piers D. Mitchell
Antiquity
The Black Death is closely associated with plague pits and mass burials, but many of its victims were placed in ordinary parish cemeteries. This complicates attempts to distinguish catastrophic plague mortality from the patterns of death found in medieval populations during more typical periods.
Click here to read this article
The Damhus Hoard: New Insights Into Some of the Earliest Viking Silver Coinage
By Thomas Birch, Helle Horsnæs, Rasmus Andreasen, Claus Feveile, Stephen Merkel, Jane Kershaw, Guillaume Sarah, Rory Naismith, and Jens Christian Moesgaard
Archaeometry
Discovered near Ribe, Denmark, in 2018, the Damhus Hoard contains 266 silver coins from the early ninth century. An analysis of these objects—most of which carry distinctive human-face and deer designs—provides new insights into some of Scandinavia’s earliest Viking silver pennies.
Click here to read this article
Spectral Authenticity and the Fate of the Stone of Destiny
By Sally Foster and Elisabeth Niklasson
Heritage & Society
Scotland’s Stone of Destiny has accumulated competing stories about its origins, identity, and political meaning, particularly amid claims that the surviving object may not be the original stone. This article examines how uncertainty itself has become part of the object’s heritage, allowing disputed versions of its past to continue haunting debates about authenticity and ownership.
Click here to read this article
What Shipwreck Remains from the Sunken Fleet of Kublai Khan Reveal About Wood Use in Yuan-Dynasty China
By Mechtild Mertz and Takao Itoh
International Journal of Wood Culture
This study examines wooden remains associated with the fleets sent by Kublai Khan to invade Japan during the thirteenth century. Identifying the types of timber used in the ships offers evidence about shipbuilding, woodland resources, and the selection and circulation of wood in Yuan-dynasty China.
Click here to read this article
Riffing on/as the Real: Towards Jazz as a Framework for Medieval Sufism
By Cyril V. Uy II
Sophia
This article proposes jazz as a new framework for approaching the writings and knowledge practices of the medieval Sufi thinker Ibn ʿArabī. Concepts such as improvisation and the jazz standard help illuminate how he reworked established materials while exploring the relationship between divine reality and human expression.
Click here to read this article
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That Has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe Since the Middle Ages
By Şener Aktürk and Yury Katliarou
Nationalities Papers
The Lithuanian-Polish Tatars are the only Muslim community in Europe to have survived continuously under Catholic rule from the late Middle Ages to the present. This article argues that their survival resulted from the particular balance of power among monarchs, nobles, religious authorities, and minority communities in Lithuania and Poland.
Click here to read this article
Breaking Borders: The Medieval Archaeology of the Ethiopian-Somaliland Borderland
By Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Jorge Rouco Collazo, Valeria Leticia Franco Salvi, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Mohamed Abdi Allamagen, Carolina Cornax Gómez, Mario Llorente García, Mesfin Getachew, Adrián de la Torre García, Juan Montegú, Worku Derara, Álvaro Minguito Palomares, and Khalid Abdilahi Abdi
African Archaeological Review
Modern borders between Ethiopia and Somaliland have divided what was once an interconnected medieval cultural and economic landscape. Combining research from both sides of the frontier demonstrates how looking beyond colonial boundaries can produce a fuller account of settlement, trade, and Muslim societies in the medieval Horn of Africa.
Click here to read this article
How the East Became the East: Triumphal Rulership and the Failure of Integration in Carolingian Central Europe
By Helmut Reimitz
Austrian History Yearbook
This study investigates how triumphal rulership shaped Carolingian efforts to govern and integrate Central Europe. It considers why attempts to incorporate the empire’s eastern regions ultimately reinforced distinctions between “East” and “West” instead of producing a unified political order.
Click here to read this article
Adam Smith and the Role of the Towns in Feudal Europe
By Mark Koyama
Public Choice
This article revisits Adam Smith’s influential explanation of how medieval European towns helped weaken feudalism. Smith argued that an alliance between kings and urban communities challenged the power of local lords, allowing commerce and political centralization to transform Europe’s institutional landscape.
Click here to read this article
If you want to explore even more recent research, Medievalists.net Patreon supporters can access our complete roundup of over 68 open-access medieval studies articles published in June 2026.
Access the full list on Patreon
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