How Coal Played a Part in Medieval Air Pollution
Pollution was a problem long before the Industrial Revolution and complaints of air pollution and its association with fuel can be traced back over seven hundred years.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Origins of Jihad and the Islamic Conquests
This short column will explain the historical context for the conquests and the three major transformations that made them possible.
Medieval Manuscripts: Book Altar of Philip the Good
The miniatures of the diptych, dating back to around 1430, were so precious to Philip that he had to have them with him every time he said his prayers.
Chatting with Medievalists.net
This week, Sandra Alvarez, cofounder of Medievalists.net was back in Toronto, so Danièle sat down with Sandra and Peter Konieczny to talk about how the website got started, and how the field has changed in the decade since.
Creating Viking Age Clothing in the 21st Century
Today’s cultural image of a Viking is of a hulking man fit with a horned helm and piles of fur. Is there a better way of creating clothing that melds fantasy and reality?
Has the Battle of Brunanburh been discovered?
The famous medieval battlefield has been lost for centuries. Has new archaeological research discovered the site?
Medieval Manuscripts: The Pearl Manuscript
This is the story of a grieving father who loses his two-year-old daughter and finds her in a dream. The conversation between them, written in poetry at the end of the 14th century and immortalized in an illuminated codex, is unanimously regarded as one of the treasures of Middle English literature.
Medieval Reads: The Thirteen Hallows, by Michael Scott and Colette Freedman
Arthurian horror is a thing.
Has the Battle of Brunanburh battlefield been discovered?
The famous medieval battlefield has been lost for centuries. Has new archaeological research discovered the site?
Siege Engines during the Crusades
In the Holy Land during the eleventh to fourteenth centuries, it seemed as if one place or another was continually under siege, and armies on both sides of the crusades moved from city to city attempting to dominate each other.
Measuring in the Middle Ages with Emanuele Lugli
It often seems it’s the things that we take for granted that have the biggest impact. One of these things is the way we measure. This week, Danièle speaks with Dr. Emanuele Lugli about the way people used measurement for business, for justice, and for devotion.
How the Hashimite Revolution became the Abbasid Revolution
In 750 the Umayyad caliphal dynasty was overthrown by a popular revolution that had its origins in the eastern regions of the Muslim world, primarily in Khurasan.
New Medieval Books: Early Medieval Britain
Five new books that look at England, Scotland and Wales in the Early Middle Ages
Sports in Medieval London
Fitzstephen takes the time to show us medieval Londoners in all their human glory, enjoying themselves in the time they have off.
Wise Words from the 9th century
The Jewels of Speech and the Pearls of Wisdom has over two thousand pieces of wisdom. Here are our twenty favourites.
Medieval Manuscripts: Psalterium Sancti Ruperti
Imagine writing a readable text on the pages of a book the size of a matchbox. This is the task the bookmakers of the Psalterium Sancti Ruperti were entrusted with.
Medieval Africa at the Aga Khan Museum
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada has unveiled a new exhibition: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa. Danièle took in the exhibition and spoke with Michael Chagnon, the Curator of the museum. They talk about medieval Africa, its connections with the wider world, and what you can see at the Aga Khan Museum.
Book of the Month Club: The Bayeux Tapestry: New Interpretations
Our next book in the Book of the Month Club will be The Bayeux Tapestry: New Interpretations, edited by Martin K. Foys, Karen Eileen Overbey and Dan Terkla.
New Medieval Books: Emperors, Philosophers, Mystics, Bandits and Guilds
Five new books about the medieval world, taking us from the Byzantine Empire to fields of Japan.
Early Medieval Art: A Short Guide
A guide to Anglo-Saxon, Byzantine, Carolingian, Chinese, Indian, Viking and Visigothic art from the Early Middle Ages.
O Fortuna: The story of the one the great poems (and songs) of the Middle Ages
What comes to mind when you think of medieval music?
Medieval Manuscripts: The Lorsch Gospels
This week, Facsimile Finder unveils one of the richest manuscripts of Carolingian art – the Lorsch Gospels – a volume that Charlemagne himself may have held in his hands.
Publishing about the Middle Ages with Richard Barber
This week, Danièle speaks with Boydell and Brewer’s Richard Barber about how the field has changed over the last fifty years, current trends in medieval publishing, and what Richard’s best tips are for up-and-coming authors.
