Hungary’s Castle Defense Strategy in the Aftermath of the Mongol Invasion (1241-1242)
Following the Mongol withdrawal from Europe in 1242, there was a flurry of castle-building in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Charisma, Violence and Weapons: The Broken Swords of the Vikings
The blades were beaten, bent or twisted, sometimes folded together in a way that needs preparation, expertise and equipment. The fact that these swords were subjected to special treatment, handled in a different manner than the rest of the grave goods, underscores the distinctive role of swords in Norse society
Trading in Viking-Period Scandinavia – A Business Only for a Few? The Jämtland Case
To what extent did people in rural areas in Viking-period Scandinavia, living outside the emporia of the time, participate in buying and selling goods?
Why We Need to Think About the Global Middle Ages
Medieval history has become synonymous with the study of western Europe. This article argues that it is important to widen the geographic focus to better understand the Middle Ages as a whole, and in doing so, counter Eurocentric views of the past that have dominated and shaped views of the past.
Prostitution in Urban Brothels in Late Medieval Austria
Municipal authorities officially established urban brothels in late medieval Austria as a necessary evil in order to control the lust of unmarried men and thus protect women from sexual abuse
Gendered viewing, childbirth and female authority in the residence of Alice Chaucer, duchess of Suffolk, at Ewelme, Oxfordshire
This article examines the visual culture of the late medieval great residence from the perspective of the female gaze.
Magic and the Warding-off of Barbarians in Constantinople, 9th – 12th Centuries
What remains to be seen is how the populace of the middle-Byzantine Constantinople tried to ward off “barbarians” by resorting to the “magical properties” of bewitched statues.
The Mayor of the Mob: The Life Records of John Northampton
This study provides context for the political conflicts of the last quarter of the fourteenth century in London through the life of its most controversial mayor, John Northampton.
“A somewhat too cruel vengeance was taken for the blood of the slain”: Royal Punishment of Rebels, Traitors, and Political Enemies in Medieval Scotland, c.1100–c.1250
Rather than the grizzly purveyors of random violence, hands soaked with the blood of those who opposed them, contemporary Scottish monarchs were rather different. In fact, they were more like their European contemporaries than has been recognized.
“My Written Books of Surgery in the Englishe Tonge”: The London Company of Barber-Surgeons and the Lylye of Medicynes
This article explores the later provenance of the Lylye amongst the Gale family of barber-surgeons in sixteenth-century London.
Straight from the Pot: Cuisine and Power in West Africa and in the Epic of Sunjata
The Sunjata epic describes the founding of the Mande Empire of the thirteenth century and bears the name of its founder.
Accounting in an English medieval abbey
Let us consider the accounting problems for an abbey, a monastery, one of the prominent social institutions of the middle ages, a center for many activities: religious, social, cultural and economic.
Piracy and reprisal in Byzantine waters: resolving a maritime conflict between Byzantines and Genoese at the end of the twelfth century
In 1192, Genoese and Pisan pirates under the command of a Genoese corsair pillaged Venetian ships carrying merchandise and valuable gifts for the Byzantine emperor from the Sultan of Egypt.
Profile of an Emperor: Reading Vita Karoli Magni in Light of Its Sources and Composition
In composing Vita Karoli Magni, Einhard borrows heavily from Suetonius’s De vita Caesarum – Vita divi Augusti in particular – and Annales regni Francorum.
Laundry Ladies in Medieval Poland
Usually considered to be “women’s work”, this paper takes a close look at how laundry was done in medieval Poland, calling into question common historical stereotypes.
Between Venice and Alexandria: Trade and the Movement of Precious Metals in the Early Mamluk Period
The Venetians were conspicuous among the merchants resuming trade in Mamluk lands shortly after the fall of Acre in 1291.
Horror in the Medieval North: The Troll
In the Middle Ages, trolls were not really thought of a race or a species; that was a later development influenced by scientific taxonomy.
A Possible case of Facio-Auriculo-Vertebral sequence (FAVs) in an adult female from medieval Iceland (13th–16th Century)
This paper offers a visually distinct case of an under-represented and under-documented congenital condition for future identification within paleopathology.
The slave markets of the Viking world: comparative perspectives on an ‘invisible archaeology’
This study explores the comparative archaeologies and histories of slave markets in order to examine the potential form and function of these sites, and how they might have operated as part of the wider, interconnected Viking world.
Gothic Cathedral as Theology and Literature
I will explore correlations in the use of sacred geometry, number symbolism, light metaphysics, and optics in Gothic cathedral architecture and sacred literature of the same period
How Much did the Gothic Churches Cost? An Estimate of Ecclesiastical Building Costs in the Paris Basin between 1100-1250
I estimate that over this 150-year period, on average, 21.5 percent of the regional economy was devoted to the construction of these Gothic churches, 1.5 percent of which is directly related to the implicit cost of labor.
Medieval Elements in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Published in 1831, the classic historical Gothic romance The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is representative for narratology, since the plot is majestically set in medieval Paris and Victor Hugo manages to create a specific Middle-Ages atmosphere
Criminalising Animals in Medieval France: Insights from Records of Executions
This article explores compelling and specific cases from France during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in which animals were formally executed for crimes.
Ullr: A God on the Edge of Memory
In the Old Icelandic and Norwegian literary sources, Ullr is one of the least frequently occurring gods.