New Medieval Books: Biographies
An emperor, an admiral, a poet, a rebel, and five princesses – new biographies about people from the medieval world.
Questions and Answers about the Middle Ages
This week, Danièle answers questions sent to The Medieval Podcast by our listeners, including how did people get rid of human waste in the Middle Ages? How were medieval cities planned? What was it like to be a seamstress? And who is Danièle’s favourite knight?
Medieval Manuscripts: Splendor Solis
If you ever wondered how to transform metals into gold, this is the manuscript for you. Splendor Solis takes us into the world of 16th-century alchemy, and does so with a series of magnificent full-page miniatures abounding with mysterious symbols.
Medieval English Translatathon: How to help stop cancer and get a medieval holiday card at the same time!
Students in Leiden University’s English programmes are raising money for cancer research by translating short holiday greetings into Old and Middle English.
Jesus the Shopkeeper
The striking vision of Christ as a cook, a pharmacist, and a merchant fits right into Blannbekin’s physical world of Vienna and spiritual world of religious instruction.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Evolution of Positive Law
In this column I trace the next stage in the evolution of the ideas first laid out Innocent’s influential decretal, focusing in particular on the writings of the canonist Laurentius Hispanus.
How Well Do You Know the 13th Century?
Here are 13 questions to test your knowledge of the medieval world. How many will you get right?
Crusaders with Dan Jones
Who were the men and women who took up the cross and journeyed to Holy Lands? Danièle speaks with Dan Jones about his latest book on crusaders and on why it’s important for historians to talk about the crusades today.
A life well lived in the tenth-century
‘There is nothing that befalls travelers of which I did not have my share, barring begging and grievous sin.’
Medieval Movie Review: The King
Netflix is continuing to feed viewers’ interest in the Middle Ages with a new movie: The King.
Tales from the Hundred Years’ War: The Duel at La Roche Senadoire
So they joined battle and they did some fine fighting striking some blows on each other with their swords…
Why people medieval were fasting on Fridays
In British Library MS Harley 2253, there exists a short passage which explains ‘Reasons for Fasting on Friday’
Medieval witches with Gemma Hollman
It’s the spookiest season, which means it’s the perfect time to investigate medieval witches. This week, Danièle speaks with Gemma Hollman, author of Royal Witches, about some of the fifteenth century’s most high profile accusations of witchcraft.
Interpreting Medieval Dreams
Dreams have a powerful way of stirring emotions, so it would be awfully nice to know if they contain important messages for us, or hints about the future.
The slave who founded an empire: The story of Alp Tegin
In the tenth century Alp Tegin would find himself serving as a slave soldier for one empire. He would rise through the ranks, and get to the heights of political power. When his fortunes turned, he would embark on a campaign to create his own empire.
Medieval Geopolitics: How a Pope shares in the divine power of God
At the end of the twelfth century, Pope Innocent III issued a document known as the Quanto personam. What kind of influence did it have on ideas about sovereignty and power in the medieval era?
The Best (of) Saint Augustine
I started this series with a deceptively simple purpose. I wanted to write about Augustine’s presence in the Middle Ages.
Human Trafficking 1000 years ago
Human trafficking was taking place in the Mediterranean a thousand years ago. A recent article takes a look at how and why this business was taking place.
How beer came to medieval England
It might be a surprise to some readers to know that this beverage was only introduced to England in the latter half of the fourteenth century, and that it arrived thanks to Dutch immigrants.
Talking History with Natalie Zemon Davis
Natalie Zemon Davis talks about some of her favourite trailblazers, how she sees Medieval Studies today, and how historians can use their work to bring people together across cultures
New Medieval Books: From Swords to Silent Film
Five new books about the Middle Ages, including a translation of two accounts of Milanese tyrants and a look at medieval manuscripts in a global context.
Medieval Manuscripts: Aratea
When the Greek poet Aratus looked at the night sky, he saw mythological horses, centaurs, and heroes. Centuries after his death, an unknown artist brought his stories to life in a codex that became among the most famous astronomical manuscripts of the Carolingian Renaissance.
Book of the Month Club: Chivalry and the Medieval Past
Our next book in the Book of the Month Club will be Chivalry and the Medieval Past, edited by Katie Stevenson and Barbara Gribling
5 Things you might not know about Medieval Werewolves
Medieval authors were fascinated by werewolves just as much as we are. Yet, despite all the ferocity, the werewolf they imagined is not quite the same monster in our era.
