From Slavery to Students: 10 Medieval Studies’ Articles Published Last Month
What is new in medieval studies? Here are ten articles published in November, which tell us about topics including Henry of Lancaster’s Revolt,…
From Crusades to Insurance Contracts: 10 Medieval Studies’ Articles Published Last Month
What is new in medieval studies? Here are ten articles published in October, which tell us about topics including art history, economics, saints and restoring a heritage site damaged by an earthquake.
From Bread to Mechanical Women: 10 Medieval Studies’ Articles Published Last Month
What is new in medieval studies? Here are ten articles published in September, which tell us about topics including riddles, droughts, gunshot wounds and more.
Rome and Byzantium in Heavy Metal music, with Jeremy Swist
A conversation with Jeremy Swist on why some heavy metal bands write music about Roman and Byzantine history. Expect “good” and “bad” emperors to be reversed here!
The Myth of the Flat Earth
If they didn’t think it was flat, what did they think? And why are we all convinced otherwise?
The Stone of Destiny is set of for the Coronation of Charles III
The Stone of Destiny, the medieval symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, has been sent from Edinburgh Castle to Westminster Abbey, where it will serve an important role in the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Rising sea levels contributed to the Norse disappearance from Greenland, study finds
Not only were sea levels drawn up by gravity, other factors – including the subsidence of Greenland’s land mass – made the settlement more prone to flooding.
Ibn Khaldun, medieval medicine and Islam – four articles
Here are four recent articles focusing on Ibn Khaldun, the fourteenth-century century social scientist and historian. Written by Mohammadreza Shahidipak, they focus on his views on medicine and the role of Islam in this science.
Researchers to examine the origins of the Maritime Silk Route
An international team of researchers will be delving into medieval ceramics and how they led to the origins of the Maritime Silk Route.
The experiences of Byzantine children, with Oana-Maria Cojocaru
A conversation with Oana-Maria Cojocaru about the images of Byzantine children in our sources, and the experiences that they would have had once they made it past infancy.
The 5 Most Common Jobs in a Medieval City
The five most common jobs were farming, carpentry, butchery, shoemaking and Church-related work.
The grain supply of the Byzantine empire revisited: history, archaeology, palynology
We’re going to talk about in this paper the way the production of cereal, such as wheat, barley, millet and so forth, developed and was managed across the Byzantine period.
The construction and destruction of a saint: Thomas Becket
Diarmaid MacCulloch and Nicholas Vincent explore the meteoric rise to canonisation of Thomas Becket, his subsequent veneration and the destruction of his reputation during the Reformation, in the Tudor period
Call for Papers: Handbook on the Later Crusades conference
Taking place in Frankfurt, Germany from 13-14 July 2021
The Political Opposition to Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1118)
Byzantium in the 11th century was marked by the struggle between the bureaucracy and the military landed aristocracy. The seizure of power by Alexios I was, therefore, the final victory of the latter.
Hunting in the Middle Ages: Articles and Theses
Here is a list of articles, dissertations and theses about the hunting during the Middle Ages that you can access online for free:
Christine de Pizan: Articles and Theses
Here is a list of articles, dissertations and theses about the medieval writer Christine de Pizan that you can access online for free:
The contours of disease and hunger in Carolingian and early Ottonian Europe (c.750-c.950 CE)
This thesis is the first systematic examination of the textual and material evidence for disease and hunger in Carolingian and early Ottonian Europe, c.750 to c.950 CE
Intercultural relations of the inhabitants of Polish territory in the 9th and 10th centuries
This chapter discusses the influence that neighbours had on the population of Poland in the period in question, and vice-versa. The aim is to demonstrate the diverse cultural models that were reaching Polish lands in the 9th and 10th centuries.
How to Rebel via Jokes and Laughter: Two Examples of Rebellious Emotions in the Early Middle Ages
Two very different examples of public emotions have been presented. On the one hand Sichar failed to fulfill his ritual obligation by using a too rude joke. His attempt to rebel against his conqueror backfired and led – without any laughter at his bad joke – to his own death.
The 1381 Rising in Bury St Edmunds: The Role of Leaders and the Community in Shaping the Rebellion
This article explores the relative role of leaders and communities within Bury St
Edmunds, a town in western Suffolk under the lordship of the Abbey of St Edmunds.
The Challenge of State Building in the Twelfth Century: the Crusader States in Palestine and Syria
The crusader states in the twelfth century do not conform to the stereotypical constructs of historians and economists; instead they present a series of paradoxes.
The mystery of plague in medieval Iceland
Icelandic annals record two severe plague epidemics for 1402-4 and 1494-95.
Why was Leifr Eiríksson called ‘Lucky’?
Although it might be said that the discovery of a whole continent was a sufficient justification for such an appellation, the sources do not indicate that Leifr earned his cognomen through discoveries or exploration.