‘I wanted to make them a little book’: The knight and the book for his daughters
I wanted to make them a little book to read so they might learn and study and understand the good and evil that has already happened, in order to keep them from that which is yet to come.
Augustine and the Master of the Sentences
This begs the question, what were the Sentences exactly, who was Peter Lombard and what did he have to do with Augustine?
Medieval mystery novels with Candace Robb
Everyone loves a medieval mystery novel, but just how does an author go about creating one that’s true to the period?
Let Us Go Forth Amongst the Fighters: Valkyries, Shield Maidens, and Alt-Right Women
To begin a three-part examination of the concept of the valkyrie and other powerful female figures in Norse literature, this month we’re delving into medieval Scandinavia and the use of Norse symbols and figures by the alt-right.
Medieval Reads: Van Loon’s Lives by Hendrik Van Loon
My personal label for it is this-is-fantasy-fiction-but-it’s-acting-as-fact. Or I could call it a novel about dinner parties with dead people.
Bastards and Priests in the Middle Ages with Sara McDougall
What was it like to be a bastard in medieval Europe? Were you excluded from one of the most important institutions of the time: the priesthood? Danièle is joined by Sara McDougall to talk about bastards, priests, and if you could be both at that same time.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Iberian Crusades
The pre-history of the Iberian Crusades can be traced to the disintegration of Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031 and the subsequent emergence of a constellation of weak successor kingdoms.
The Kitten that Nearly Killed King Arthur
“I’ve never feared for myself any more than I did when I was entangled with that devil…”
Can you answer these medieval animal riddles?
Here are seven riddles about animals from the Early Middle Ages. Can you solve them?
Disabilities in the Middle Ages with Kisha Tracy
How did medieval people deal with physical and mental challenges? Danièle speaks with Kisha Tracy of Fitchburg State University on why its important to talk about disabilities in the Middle Ages and what evidence we have for how people cared for each other when there was physical or mental disabilities.
New Medieval Books: Fighting Manuals
With the popularity of medieval fighting techniques growing at a rapid pace, we wanted to showcase some books that offer translations and insights into fighting manuals from the Middle Ages.
Famous Boars in Medieval Arthurian Romance
In medieval literature boars made teh perfect enemies that the hero must conquer in order to complete their quest.
Etheldreda: Queen, Abbess, Saint
Saint Etheldreda / Ӕthelthryth / Audrey (636 -679 AD) was an East-Anglian princess who became the Queen of Northumbria and later the founder and abbess of a monastery at Ely in Cambridgeshire.
How to be a Medieval Romance Hero in Five Easy Steps
If you follow these simple steps, you can be a hero straight out of a medieval romance in no time at all.
The Battle of Agincourt with Michael Livingston
Episode 8 of The Medieval Podcast – Danièle speaks with Michael Livingston about his latest research on where the Battle of Agincourt might have been fought.
Traces of the Past: Reenacting the Medieval Period in Argentina
What is the reason why more and more people participate in these events: historical curiosity, cultural immersion, entertainment, or all three of them?
The Zanj Revolt: A Slave War in Medieval Iraq
After generations of oppression, an army of slaves rose up to challenge the Abbasid Caliphate.
Medieval Geopolitics: The High Phase of Northern Crusading
Examining the Prussian Crusades (1230-83), the Lithuanian Crusades (1280-1435), and the Novgorod Crusades (1243-16th century).
Quiz: Medieval Kingdoms
How well do you know your kingdoms from the Middle Ages? Try these 10 questions!
Eloping Lovers and A Werewolf: The Romance of Guillaume de Palerne
In addition to being a story celebrating courtly love and all the romance tropes, Guillaume de Palerne is essentially a story of transformation and disguise
Medieval Marriage with Ruth Mazo Karras
Episode 7 of The Medieval Podcast – What was marriage in the Middle Ages really like? Danièle is joined by Ruth Mazo Karras to discuss love, weddings and partnerships in medieval society.
“Fiction Piled on Fiction”: The Uses and Abuses of King Arthur
Here we are in 2019 still discussing the possibility of an historical King Arthur. How and why that is the case is a fascinating story told expertly by the historian Nicholas J. Higham in King Arthur: The Making of a Legend,
How to be a Holy Man and a Pragmatist: The story of Hybald
Any type of leader will often have to balance their convictions with pragmatism. For a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon abbot, perhaps there could be a way to display both.
Medieval Reads: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Once in a generation, a writer comes along and, in making fun of his generation and in creating fun using the Middle Ages brings together a new set of stories for people to tell. This is what Mark Twain did in 1889.
