Reading the Exeter Book Riddles as Life-Writing
There is much to be gained from interpreting the tenth-century Exeter Book riddles as a characteristically biographical group of texts. They comprise a rich source of information for the study of Anglo-Saxon concepts of life courses and life stages.
Why was it important for the Byzantines to read Latin? The views of Demetrios Kydones (1324-1398)
This article will discuss how Demetrius Kydones promoted the policy of reconciliation and alliance with Western European powers against the Ottoman Turks.
What’s in a Name?: Reflections on, and Echoes of, the Reign of Pedro I of Castile
There has been only one Pedro, Pedro I of Castile. This was no accidental oversight. The circumstances of his reign, and the passions and animosities he unleashed, assured that his name and memory would not be honored, sparing future monarchs of the taint of Pedro’s tumultuous reign.
Medieval Sermon Studies since The Sermon: A Deepening and Broadening Field
Since the publication of The Sermon in 2000, the field of medieval sermon studies has matured into a well-established and growing interdisciplinary area of medieval studies.
Clemence of Barking and Valdes of Lyon: Two Contemporaneous Examples of Innovation in the Twelfth Century
Clemence of Barking and Valdes of Lyons were strong supporters of Catholic ideals and were seeking to endorse Christian virtues. Nevertheless, their actions provide examples of innovation and a deviation from the mainstream.
Women, attorneys and credit in late medieval England
In recent years, quantitative research regarding the use of later medieval English courts has dispelled the old myth that women at law were mostly engaged in litigation over land.
‘Nec ancilla nec domina’: Representations of Eve in the Twelfth Century
This thesis seeks to demonstrate the extent to which the figure of Eve operated in twelfth-century commentary on Genesis as a crucial means by which to examine some of the most fundamental and problematic areas of the hexaemeron and fall narratives.
Artefacts could reveal closer connection between the Vikings and the Islamic world
Swedish researchers have uncovered Kufic characters, an ancient Arabic script, in artefacts from Viking Age Scandinavia. Their study also indicates that both the names ‘Allah’ and ‘Ali’ can be seen in these artefacts.
King Eystein’s Raid on Aberdeen
In the early 1150s Eysteinn Haraldsson, the eldest son of the late Harald Gille, who shared the kingship of Norway with his younger half-brothers, led a fleet across the North Sea.
Beowulf before Beowulf: Anglo-Saxon Anthroponymy and Heroic Legend
Since the inception of Beowulf scholarship approximately two hundred years ago, debate has persisted concerning the nature of the poem’s eponymous hero. Is he a historical Geatish prince or is he a fictional character inserted into a historico-legendary world?
Agatha, Clerical ‘Wife’ and Wet Nurse to King John of England, Longtime Companion to Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester
Agatha is the earliest royal wet nurse for whom at least a faint sketch of her life can be drawn, and she presents a rare view of a non-noble, non-royal, non-religious English woman of the late twelfth- and early thirteenth centuries.
Topping Off a Tournament
In the tournament, a crest was an unusual and eye-catching piece of a knight’s equipment.
Sacred Values: Medieval Archaeology and Religious Heritage
Why do we value, conserve and interpret medieval sacred heritage? What is the potential significance of medieval archaeology to contemporary social issues surrounding religious identity, and how does this impact on archaeology?
A Rabbi, a Priest, and an Imam Walk into a Coffee Shop: Talking about Other People’s Religions in the Middle Ages
This lecture focuses on three medieval scholars – one rabbi, one priest, and one imam – who had a lot to say about their rival religions, arguing that there is much more going on when they did so than just ugly denunciation.
‘Becoming English’: Nationality, Terminology, and Changing Sides in the Late Middle Ages
Late medieval English chronicles contain several puzzling references to the idea of people ‘becoming English’ by changing allegiance, usually in the context of war.
Women in Domesday
Four women may be taken as typical of the sort of information Domesday includes, and the sort of women on whom it focusses.
Law and Mental Competency in Late Medieval England
Between the late thirteenth century and 1540, when Henry VIII established the Court of Wards and Liveries, the English royal courts oversaw hundreds of inquisitions involving individuals thought to be idiots or ‘natural fools’.
The Nineteenth Century Memory of Renaissance Italian Warfare: Ercole Ricotti and Jacob Burckhardt
Renaissance Italian military history is a sad story of devolution, culminating in conquest by foreign powers. It stands as a “distant mirror” of the foreign oppression endured by nineteenth century Risorgimento Italy, when the academic study of Renaissance military history first began.
Mensuration in Early Medieval Barcelona
Various units of length are found in use in early medieval Barcelona, but the dexter is by far the most common. However, the interpretation of its value is by no means straightforward.
Freyja and Freyr: Successors of the Sun – On the absence of the sun in Nordic saga literature
Why is the Sun is missing in Nordic saga literature, considering its vital role in the religious life in the Bronze Age North?
The Medieval Climate Anomoly in the Iberian Peninsula reconstructed from marine and lake records
Selected multi-proxy and accurately dated marine and terrestrial records covering the past 2000 years in the Iberian Peninsula facilitated a comprehensive regional paleoclimate reconstruction for the Medieval Climate Anomaly (900-1300 AD).
14th-century Japanese artwork comes to the Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s recent acquisitions include a 14th-century Japanese hanging scroll featuring the Buddhist deity Aizen Myōō, Wisdom King of Passion.
‘Lost chapel’ of Westminster Palace revealed in new 3D model
The first dedicated House of Commons chamber, destroyed in the 1834 Palace of Westminster fire, has been reconstructed with the help of 3D visualisation technology.
Morbidity and mortality of leprosy in the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, nearly everyone in Europe was exposed to the disfiguring, painful and ostracizing disease of leprosy. But did contracting the disease necessarily increase a person’s chances of dying?
Unravelling a medieval murder mystery
In the ultimate cold case an Aberdeen historian has re-examined a 600 year old murder, fitting of a plot for Game of Thrones.