Book Review: The Iron King, by Maurice Druon
Touted by George R.R. Martin as the original Game of Thrones, Druon’s series has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity recently, and can be found in major bookstores.
How Much Taxes Did a Medieval Peasant Pay? The numbers from Sweden
A new study on taxation in late medieval Sweden has revealed fascinating details about how much peasants had to pay to the royal government in taxes.
When Reality Becomes Fantasy: How Video Games are Hijacking the Middle Ages
“The Middle Ages is a space where White Supremecy is legitimised. The maintenance of white privilege. The gamer community use ‘historical facts’ to legitimise this kind of literacy.’
Is it better to be right or left-handed? The view from the 9th century
Was it really bad to be left-handed in the Middle Ages? Or was it better than being right-handed? The 9th century writer of all things unusual, al-Jahiz, weighs in.
How I Built an Information Time Machine
Frederic Kaplan shows off the Venice Time Machine, a project to digitize 80 kilometers of books to create a historical and geographical simulation of Venice across 1000 years
‘Virile Strength In A Feminine Breast’: Women, Hostageship, Captivity, And Society In The Anglo-French World, C. 1000- C.1300
My interest in the relationship between hostage- and captive-taking practices and gender originally arose out of the idea for a much grander project about women and warfare.
The City of Rome in the Middle Ages
Let us begin by considering the importance of the idea of Rome in the medieval mind. On the one hand there was the ancient prestige of the City, the capital of the greatest empire the world had known, the seat of a civilisation and art so far above what most of the Middle Ages could attain.
The Middle Ages Unlocked: Starting a Fire
One very good example of misconceptions we have today about a bit of boringly daily life in medieval times is fire – or, more specifically, lighting fire.
The Middle Ages Unlocked: Interview with Gillian Polack
While we were getting the draft of the Middle Ages Unlocked into a new structure, we had to cut out many things – among them a lot of lists.
The Middle Ages Unlocked: Medieval Crafts
We’ve decided to share some of the questions Gillian asked Katrin, because the answers are fascinating and only some of them appear in the book.
The Middle Ages Unlocked: Developing the Book
There’s a story behind everything. My personal story for The Middle Ages Unlocked goes back to the days before Twitter and Facebook.
The Middle Ages Unlocked: Writer Things
Working together with Gillian on The Middle Ages Unlocked was a cross-border experience in many ways: an Australian and a German, a historian and an archaeologist, and a professional writer with a professional crafter.
The Middle Ages Unlocked: Finding the Team
The Middle Ages Unlocked: A Guide to Life in Medieval England, 1050-1300, is a new book by Gillian Polack and Katrin Kania. Now…
New online database allows users to explore the families of Medieval England
Mapping the Medieval Countryside has announced that the beta version of their searchable English translations of inquisitions post mortem (IPMs) – a major source into the lives and legacies of thousands of families from the Later Middle Ages.
Embracing Death, Celebrating Life: Reflections on the Concept of Martyrdom in the Order of the Knights Templar
Although research on the concept of martyrdom during the era of the Crusades has gained considerable prominence, it has rarely been applied to the Knights Templar. This is surprising, as the Templars were the first military order and paved the way for a new monastic development; they were devoted to warfare only; and they, together with the other military orders, but unlike most Crusaders, established a permanent presence in the hostile environment of the Holy Land, consequently facing the threat of death both regularly and frequently.
Through the Looking Glass Darkly: Medievalism, Satanism, and the Dark Illumination of the Self in the Aesthetics of Black Metal
The upside-down world of Satanic black metal is uncanny, both familiar in its use of inverted tropes and schemes and yet completely ‘other’ to those on the outside looking in, including Christians and consumers of mainstream popular culture.
Barbarian envoys at Byzantium in the 6th century
We intend to focus on the possibility of deciphering a barbaric point of view regarding the relations with the Byzantine Empire, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, when the narrative sources that are available to us have a Byzantine origin, or, when referring to barbarian kingdoms in the West, they are profoundly influenced by Roman and Roman-Byzantine traditions.
The Last Viking and his Magical Sword?
An amazing discovery of a late Viking Age sword – embellished with gold, inscriptions and other ornamentation – has now been revealed in Norway.
International trade and institutional change: Medieval Venice’s response to globalization
Venice has always presented two faces. As a great medieval trading centre its wealth was used to build not only beautiful architecture, but also remarkably modern institutions.
Imprisonment, Execution and Escape: Medieval History and the National Curriculum
The final talk in Sesson #1041, Engaging the Public with the Medieval World, looked at what English children are being taught in school. How much medieval history is in the new programme that was released in September 2014? Megan Gooch, Curator at the Historic Royal Palaces breaks down the English system for us in her paper, ‘Imprisonment, Execution, and Escape: Medieval History and the National Curriculum’.
PREDATOR: Dark Ages
Watch medieval warriors take on the ultimate hunter in the galaxy in PREDATOR: Dark Ages!
Making the Castle a Home: Creating an Immersive Medieval World Using Live Costumed Interpreters
How does the use of unscripted, adaptive, historical interpretation boost the tourist experience? Right on the heels of our look at the Tower of London’s visitor engagement, we heard a paper from Lauren Johnson, Research Manager for Past Pleasures, the oldest historical interpretation company in the UK who educate and entertain the public at historical sites, museums, on stage and and on TV.
A Comparative Analysis of the Concepts of Holy War and the Idealized Topos of Holy Warrior In Medieval Anatolian And European Sources
This thesis focuses on the relations between the idea of holy war and the portrayals of holy warriors in medieval narratives composed by those in the service of power-holders.
How Christianity came to Europe
During the Middle Ages nearly all the lands of Europe converted to Christianity. In this short guide, we take a look at how various lands adopted Christianity, including by means of missionary efforts, politics and warfare.