The Carolingian Army and the Struggle against the Vikings
There have been many previous studies of the Carolingian army, but none examining the ninth-century armies which faced the Viking invasions.
Pope vs State: The Medieval Catholic Church as an International Governmental Organization
The object of this thesis is to understand the nature of these power struggles and to demonstrate that the medieval Church functioned in many ways like a prototype IGO.
Two Rabbinic Views of Christianity in the Middle Ages
In the sessions of our section over the past decade, I introduced a significant distinction between two rabbinic attitudes in the Mediterranean countries during the Middle Ages of 12th and 13th centuries as to their view of Christianity.
Royal and Magnate Bastards in the Later Middle Ages: The View from Scotland
Theory and Practice in Scotland and Elsewhere Medieval Scotland’s law on bastardy is set out in the lawbook Regiam Majestatem (c.1320)…In England things were different, as Michael Hicks has demonstrated. Admittedly, English heraldic practice eventually followed the French, and the formula ‘X bastard of Y’ is occasionally found for magnates’ bastards.
Dreams in medieval Saints’ lives: Saint Francis of Assisi
How do medieval descriptions of dreams or visions reflect spiritual growth? What images are used as rhetorical or hagiographical means? And what can we learn from the interpretation of these spiritual images in a late medieval literary context?
The Apple in Early Irish Narrative Tradition: A Thoroughly Christian Symbol?
Echtrae Chonnlai is regarded as being one of the earliest extant tales in Irish, dating from the eighth or ninth century A.D.
A Grave Revisited: On Grave Robbery in Viking Age Iceland
Are they broken into for social or religious reason or perhaps for simpler reasons of plunder?
Grendel: Boundaries of Flesh and Law
In Beowulf, Grendel presents itself as a figure of inescapable ambiguity and as an embodiment of paradox that causes consternation in the human community.
A Song of Fantasy Traditions: How A Song of Ice and Fire Subverts Traditions of Women in Tolkienesque Fantasy
I will show how Martin is working against the tradition of marginalized female characters in the fantasy genre.
John of Gaunt and John Wyclif
Historians have always been somewhat puzzled at the alliance of two such men as John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster and third son of Edward III, and John Wyclif, controversialist and reformer.
Richard Lionheart: Bad King, Bad Crusader?
This paper analyzes the impact of King Richard Lionheart of England during his tenure as leader of the Third Crusade.
Florentine politics and the ruling class, 1382-1407
Although outwardly the regime respected the institutions of communal Florence and republican formalities, real power in the state supposedly resided in the hands of a narrow group of families.
The original Frenglish
When France was speaking English without the prompting of a war or was it England who was speaking French….
Illegitimacy and English Landed Society c.1285-c.1500
This study begins with a survey of the legal issues surrounding illegitimacy and the context within which landowners were able to make provision for illegitimate children. Subsequent chapters examine wills and estate settlements to consider the actual provision for illegitimate children made by individuals in different circumstances.
Like Father Like Son? Henry III’s Tomb at Westminster Abbey as a Case Study in Late Thirteenth-Century English Kingship
Who was this king, and who made this grand monument to him? An inscription around the edge of the upper tomb chest identifies its occupant as Henry III, the English king who died in 1272 after a reign of fifty-six years.
The Christina of Markyate Psalter – A Modern Legend: On the Purpose of the St. Albans Psalter
The early 12th century psalter manuscript of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, which is currently in the possession of the church parish of St. Godehard in Hildesheim, Germany, has attracted much attention due to the richness of its illustration.
Sword and Shield of God: Byzantine Strategy and Tactics Under Heraclius During the Last Persian War and First Arab War
Only Heraclius could have wielded these forces effectively against his foes to achieve victory; with any other Byzantine commander these revolutionary tactics would have been monumentally difficult if not unworkable.
Holy rulers and the integration of the medieval Serbian space
This paper proposes a new line of analysis of the rich body of medieval Serbian royal hagiography.
The contribution of insect remains to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and medieval Dublin
This paper examines the important contribution that sub-fossil insect remains can make to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and medieval Dublin.
Quid Tacitus . . . ? The Germania and the Study of Anglo-Saxon England
This paper considers the vexed historiography of Tacitus’s Germania and its reception history, first among German and other European historians and then among Anglo-Saxonists.
Citie Calls for Beere: The Introduction of Hops and the Foundation of Industrial Brewing in London 1200-1700
This paper examines the impact of hopped beer on the brewing trade in London between the years 1200-1700.
The Unfortunate James I, King of Scots
James Stewart I, King of Scots had an unusual reign in many ways. His rule began while he was a prisoner of King Henry IV of England. And his rule certainly ended in a tumultuous and violent manner.
Navegación y embarcaciones en la época vikinga: diferentes fuentes para su estudio (Shipping and navigation in the Viking Age: different sources for study)
This article (in Spanish) is about Viking shipping and navigation.
The political impact of crusading ideology in Sweden, 1150-1350
Swedish historiography has occasionally touched on the political impact of crusading ideology but the topic cannot be said to have attracted any great deal of research and only in recent decades have certain scholars given it their undivided attention…