New facial recognition software to help solve art mysteries
Anyone who has admired centuries-old sculptures and portraits displayed in museums and galleries around the world at some point has asked one question: Who is that?
Love and Devotion: From Persia and Beyond – exhibition now underway in Australia
Exhibition of illustrated Persian manuscripts now showing in Melbourne; will go on display at Oxford later this year.
Archaeologists to examine underground chamber in medieval church
A mysterious chamber buried beneath the central part of St Winwaloe’s Church at East Portlemouth in southwest England will be examined by archaeologists thanks to a grant of £12,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fun
Iron and sulphur compounds threaten old shipwrecks
Sulphur and iron compounds have now been found in shipwrecks both in the Baltic and off the west coast of Sweden.
Thousands of Irish Medieval Documents now available online
Trinity College Dublin historians have reconstructed invaluable medieval documents destroyed during the bombardment of the Four Courts in 1922.
Margot Fassler wins 2012 Otto Gründler Book Prize
Margot Fassler, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Music History and Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, was awarded the 2012 Otto Gründler Book Prize for her book The Virgin of Chartres: Making History Through Liturgy and the Arts.
47th International Congress on Medieval Studies draws over 3000 medievalists
Over 3000 scholars, historians, writers, students and medievalists came to Kalamazoo, Michigan over the last four days, where they took part in the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Research uncovers new details about John Cabot’s voyage to North America
Evidence that a Florentine merchant house financed the earliest English voyages to North America, has been published on-line in the academic journal Historical Research.
Shona Kelly Wray (1963-2012)
It is with sadness that we report the death of Shona Kelly Wray, professor of history at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
Glass discovered at Glastonbury Abbey dates back to 7th century, researchers find
Glass furnaces recorded in 1955-7 were previously thought to date from before the Norman Conquest. However, radiocarbon dating has now revealed that they date approximately to the 680s, and are likely to be associated with a major rebuilding of the abbey undertaken by King Ine of Wessex.
Exhibition reveals the genius of Leonardo’s anatomical work
Leonardo da Vinci’s ground-breaking studies of the human body are to go on display in the largest-ever exhibition of his anatomical work.
Marco Polo really did go to China, new study finds
A thorough new study of Chinese sources by University of Tübingen Sinologist Hans Ulrich Vogel dispels claims that Venice’s most famous traveler never truly went as far as China.
What can dirt on pages tell us about medieval manuscripts and their readers?
For the first time a new scientific technique has allowed us into the minds and motivations of medieval people – through their dirty books.
Medieval treasures discovered in English abbey
An archaeological investigation at Furness Abbey in northwest England has uncovered the grave of an abbot, which includes an extremely rare medieval silver-gilt crozier and bejewelled ring.
British Library purchases the St Cuthbert Gospel for £9 million
The British Library has announced that it has successfully acquired the St Cuthbert Gospel, a miraculously well-preserved 7th century manuscript that is the oldest European book to survive fully intact and therefore one of the world’s most important books.
Bones4Culture project to examine a thousand medieval skeletons from northern Europe
A new project is underway to analyze population, life, health and culture of the people that lived in the German-Danish border land during the Middle Ages (AD 1050 – 1536).
Skeletons found at mass burial site in Oxford could be ’10th-century Viking raiders’
Thirty-seven skeletons found in a mass burial site in the grounds of St John’s College in Oxford may not be who they initially seemed, according to Oxford University researchers studying the remains.
University of Oxford and Vatican to digitize 1.5 million pages of historical texts
A collaboration between the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana at the Vatican will bring historical texts dating back to the Middle Ages into the digital era.
Medieval Monastic Library of Lorsch recreated online
The unique holdings of the medieval monastic library of Lorsch, currently scattered over 68 libraries worldwide, are being re-compiled into a virtual library.
Jousting the latest extreme sport with Full Metal Jousting
If you are looking for a sport with true medieval roots, the new TV show Full Metal Jousting might be for you.
Birds’ Head Haggadah – scholar gives new insights into Jewish medieval text
The Birds’ Head Haggadah, a manuscript dating from around the year 1300, is considered one of the most interesting and mysterious pieces of Jewish art from the Middle Ages.
Filmmaker to bring the Middle Ages and Rap together in ‘The Quickener’
A British filmmaker is seeking to raise $8000 to produce a medieval rap movie. The Quickener is described as “a fast-paced medieval drama, set during the year the Black Death struck England…”
The Walters Art Museum Receives $265,000 NEH Grant to Digitize Over 100 Flemish Manuscripts
This third NEH grant allows the Walters to provide public access to an even greater number of its illuminated medieval manuscripts
Crac des Chevaliers in danger as Syrian forces shell town around medieval castle
Video emerged yesterday which appears to show that the town surrounding Crac des Chevaliers in Syria under artillery fire from Syrian forces.
First Performance in 400 Years for Medieval Passover Music
Toronto Jewish High School Choir Revives Lost Tunes