Top 10 Most Famous Swords of the Middle Ages
Our list of the top 10 swords – real and fictional – from the Middle Ages
Instructions for a Medieval Parish Priest
Myrc was a clergyman writing in England in the early fifteenth century, and his long poem was created to help priests who were not particularly learned remember all the most important parts of their work.
Which Woman Would You Be in King Arthur’s Court?
The legendary days of King Arthur were full of love and betrayal, loyalty and ambition, violence and intrigue. Which woman would you have been in Arthurian times? Take the test and find out!
Which Man Would You Be in King Arthur’s Court?
The legendary days of King Arthur were full of love and betrayal, loyalty and ambition, violence and intrigue. Which man would you have been in Arthurian times? Take the test and find out!
The Names of Criminals in Medieval England
Agnes Daythef, Henry Golichtly, Godwin Haluedeuel and Walter Litlegod – how did they get such names?
The drawings that Michelangelo did not want you to see
There are about 600 drawings by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo that have survived to the present day – many of them stunningly beautiful – but he would probably have been ‘absolutely horrified’ that the general public can now see them.
Does a Reformation End?: Rethinking Religious Simulation in Sixteenth-Century Italy
A paper examining the Italian Reformation.
This Week in Medieval Manuscript Images
From pigs on crutches to lions at your feet, some of the best images from medieval manuscripts posted on Twitter in the last week.
The Norman Conquest of England: The Alternative Histories
We take a look at two alternative histories of the Norman Conquest – Waces’s Roman de Rou and the Vita Haroldi
Being a Medieval Surgeon: From Dog Bites to Brain Surgery
Henri de Mondeville (c. 1260 – 1316) was the surgeon to two kings of France – Philip IV and Louis X. In 1312 he wrote Cyrurgia (Surgery), one of the first works of its kind from the Middle Ages.
Who is Your Medieval Alter Ego?
Who would you have been if you had lived in the medieval era? Take the test and find out!
Medieval Parenting Advice
For as long as there have been children, there has been parental advice. This week, let’s take five minutes to look at two Middle English texts that deal with advice
What warrior from history are you?
Spartan, Samurai or Knight: What warrior from history are you?
This Week in Medieval Manuscript Images
Wild women, big fish and scary faces are among the nearly 40 medieval manuscript images collected from Twitter in the last week.
When gold was medicine
If you came to a medieval physician with a problem such a trembling heart or melancholy, he may give you gold as part of your cure.
Quiz: Medieval Maps
How good are your geography skills? Try to identify these 15 places based on how they are depicted in medieval maps
Which Chinese Emperor Are You?
Take this quiz to see which Ming or Qing emperor you are most similar to.
Vegetables in the Middle Ages
Vegetables: A Biography, by Evelyne Bloch-Dano, offers the stories of eleven different vegetables – artichokes, beans, chard, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, chili peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, pumpkins, and tomatoes – offering tidbits from science and agriculture to history, culture, and, of course, cooking. Here are a few excerpts from the book that detail their history during the Middle Ages
Can you solve Odin’s Riddles?
Here are 14 riddles that the Norse god Odin says to King Heidrek. Can you solve them?
10 Medieval and Renaissance Things to See at the Victoria and Albert Museum
My latest visit to the Victoria and Albert Musuem: 10 Medieval and Renaissance Things to See at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Which Lord of the Rings character are you?
Some Tolkien fun – Which one of the nine members of the fellowship are you?
Top 10 Strange Things done with the Medieval Dead
From piles of bones to embalmed hearts, with stories about mass graves and sleeping for hundreds of years, here is our top 10 list of strange things done with the medieval dead.
Ten Great Anglo-Saxon Girls’ Names
We’ve come up with our ten favourite girls’ names – if you are considering a different type of baby name, perhaps you will pick one of these!
This Week in Medieval Manuscript Images
In this week’s edition, we bring you over 20 images, including how babies are born, illustrations of the moon, and St. Michael hard at work slaying evil!