New TV drama – “Vikings” – to be filmed in Ireland and Northern Europe
The History Channel in the US and History Television in Canada have announced they will be airing a scripted drama series, ‘Vikings’.
Exploring the enigma of Bristol Cathedral
The Medieval art, architecture and history of Bristol Cathedral is the focus of a new book by researchers at the University of Bristol
Slovakia’s Krasna Horka castle destroyed in fire
Children playing with matches has led to a fire gutting one of Slovakia’s most important medieval castles.
Tweeting History: Social Media meets Mummies and Moats
Last week, dozens of Toronto-area bloggers gathered at a local bar, bringing with them their iPhones and Blackberries. Amidst watching Viking re-enactors fight it out on stage and playing trivia, the group got ready for the main event of the evening – watching a tv show about the Pergamon and Neues Museums in Berlin, Germany, and tweeting history.
Relic Robbing: Church’s Medieval Treasures in Jeopardy?
The theft of the a medieval relic from a church in Ireland earlier this week is raising questions about the security of these places of worship and the safety of the items held within it.
800-year old Leper Chapel in Cambridge to be site of renewable energy project
There are 21st century ideas in prospect for the 800 year old Leper Chapel in East Cambridge following a unique collaboration between Cambridge Past, Present and Future, and an Architecture student at the University of Cambridge.
Emergency repairs to medieval gatehouse set to begin
A medieval monastic gatehouse at Pentney Priory in Norfolk is to be saved, following a £200,000 English Heritage grant for emergency structural repairs.
Exemplaria receives the Phoenix Award for most improved journal
Exemplaria, an academic journal dedicated to medieval and Renaissance studies from Maney Publishing, has received the 2011 Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals
New book examines the role of Arab doctors in the history of medieval medicine
A leading medical historian has acknowledged the extent of Western medicine’s debt to medieval Arab doctors in a new book.
Westgate Towers in Canterbury to be blocked from traffic
The massive 14th-century Westgate Towers in Canterbury will no longer see cars passing through its gate, as city officials start a 12-month experimental project to make the roadway accessible only for pedestrians.
Bodleian Libraries Cairo Genizah collection now available online
From the store room to the web: Bodleian launches website featuring its 25,000 Cairo Genizah fragments
Medieval Saint’s relic stolen from Dublin church
The preserved heart of St Laurence O’Toole, Dublin’s patron saint has been stolen from the city’s Christ Church Cathedral. The theft occurred sometime between Friday night and noon on Saturday.
‘Battle Castle’ lays siege on-air and online
The show is an interactive, trans-medieval journey into castle engineering, bloody siegecraft, and epic clashes that transform mortals into legends. Hosted by UK celebrity Dan Snow, the show takes its viewers over six one-hour timeslots to Syria, France, Spain, Wales, Poland and England delving into the stories of six fascinating castles.
Arabic sources show extreme weather hit medieval Baghdad
The research, published in Weather, analyses the writings of scholars, historians and diarists in Iraq during the Islamic Golden Age between 816-1009 AD for evidence of extreme weather in Iraq, including snowfalls and hailstorms in Baghdad.
The Ghent Altarpiece in 100 Billion Pixels
It is now possible to zoom into the intricate, breathtaking details of one of the most important works of art from the medieval world, thanks to a newly completed website focused on the Ghent Altarpiece.
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette – just like a medieval romance?
The hugely popular TV shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have now been on US television screens for about ten years, but medievalist Paul Patterson, Ph.D., assistant professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, says the plots for both TV hits were written long ago.
Researchers explore lives of medieval Nubians from hundreds of skeletons
Research being carried out on the remains of hundreds of men, women and children from medieval Nubia has revealed they were plagued by meager diets, high infant mortality and diseases such as scurvy and tuberculosis.
University of Tennessee hosts Symposium on Reading, Writing in Pre-modern World
Now in its tenth year, the symposium will feature a stellar line-up of specialists in the interdisciplinary field of book history who will explore the complex interaction between pre-modern writers and readers, their books, and the places—libraries, museums, monasteries, university classrooms, the courts of patrons—where they used them.
Minnesota professor receives funding to research medieval religious women in Germany
For years, Deane has been passionate about studying the lay religious women of medieval Europe often known as ‘beguines’, whose hundreds of independent communities were mainly centered in the Low Countries, the Rhine region, France, and German-speaking lands.
Swansea Castle to be opened to visitors this weekend
Swansea Castle in Wales will be opened up for public tours this weekend, allowing people to explore the medieval Welsh ruin. It’s only the third time in decades that people will have the chance to explore the historic attraction.
Old Irish words deciphered from Stowe Missal
Research into the Stowe Missal, an Irish manuscript written around 800 A.D., has led to the exciting discoveries of two new Old Irish verbs and several nouns from the text, which will help unlock mysteries in other Old Irish scripts.
Mapping the Medieval Countryside project receives £528,000 in funding
A new project from King’s College London and the University of Winchester will allow researchers to explore the lands of medieval England as never before has received over half a million pounds in funding.
Mischievous Monks and Naughty Nuns? Scholar re-examines the illicit sexual accusations against monasteries in England during the dissolution
Research by a scholar at the University of Toronto has shown that the evidence collected by King Henry’s officials did not even show many sexual crimes, but instead used accusations of masturbation to make the monastic communities seem like they were deviant.
Shoes from the Middle Ages, Early Modern Period, topic of lecture in London
Up until the 16th century shoes were indeed hazardous, as fashion had favoured a flat, elongated gothic shoe with exaggeratedly long toes, both for men and women.
President Obama to award National Humanities Medal to medievalist
UCLA’s Teofilo F. Ruiz, an internationally recognized historian whose work focuses on medieval Spain and Europe, will be awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama today.