Where the Middle Ages Begin
Discover Bethlehem’s Milk Grotto and its chalky white soil, a medieval Christian relic linked to the Virgin Mary’s milk and used in devotion, healing, fertility, and pilgrimage traditions across Europe.
What everyday objects did people use in the Middle Ages? From clothing and household necessities to tools for work and warfare, these 25 medieval items were essential to daily life and shaped how people lived, ate, and survived.
Delve into the pivotal figures of the Middle Ages whose enduring legacies shaped the course of history. From visionary leaders and profound scholars to prolific writers and formidable warriors, these individuals left an indelible mark on medieval society.
Discover the 50 most significant events of the Middle Ages, spanning the years 500 to 1500.
Here are seven vivid facts about colour in the Middle Ages
In medieval times, many unique jobs, such as Ale-wife and Groom of the Stool, were essential but have since vanished. Discover these obsolete occupations and how historical changes led to their disappearance.
Are you wanting to talk more like someone from the Middle Ages? We have a list of 30 great sayings and proverbs that you can use in your conversations.
Have you wondered what a medieval king did on a typical day? Thanks to Christine de Pizan, we have an account of what daily life was like for King Charles V of France.
Some of our most popular phrases have a long history, including some that go back to the Middle Ages.
Want to know what kind of jobs there were in the Middle Ages? A unique source from the 15th century gives us some beautiful images of medieval people at work.
How did medieval people tell time? What devices did they use to mark its passage?
This fifteenth-century epic, presented with both its text and translation, offers a journey akin to Dante’s Divine Comedy—yet beneath its allegory lies a pointed commentary on the turmoil gripping Castile during this period.
Interested in taking an online course about the Middle Ages? Now is the time, as we are having our Black Friday sale.
A look into the medieval folk tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin and what occurred in the thirteenth-century German town of Hamelin.
Discover why the death penalty was rare in medieval Europe, as courts relied on fines, banishment, and royal pardons instead of routine execution.
A coming-of-age story and a royal love triangle marked by danger and longing, based on real events in medieval France and England.
A conversation with Ed Watts about his recent book, The Romans: A 2,000 Year History, which covers two millennia of Roman history, down to 1204 AD.
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Ayoush Lazikani about what – and who – medieval people across the world believed the moon to be.
Edward I responded to England’s medieval warhorse shortage with export bans, foreign purchases, and an expanded royal stud system. His policies show how crucial trained warhorses were to military campaigns in Wales, Scotland, and on the Continent.
Archaeologists in Norway have uncovered a rare and well-preserved Viking Age grave containing the remains of a woman buried with jewellery, clothing accessories and an unexplained ritual involving two scallop shells.
Beginning Tuesday, November 18th, this four-week online course explores the architecture, paintings, and decorative arts from different nations during the medieval period using a multicultural and intersectional approach.
Looking for a medieval name for your child? Discover twenty of the most unusual names recorded in medieval London — rare, beautiful choices that once graced the city’s streets.
Discover how a medieval panic over coin-clipping in 1278–79 sparked mass arrests, harsh trials, and the execution of hundreds of Jews in Edward I’s England. The article traces the commissions, procedures, and consequences that followed.
An examination of the economic pressures behind the medieval Assassins, from costly fortresses to the financial realities that influenced their role as hired killers.
New research on medieval carpenters shows how they lived, worked, travelled, and transformed building practices in later medieval England.
A conversation with Mark Roosien about the earthquakes that struck Constantinople in late antiquity and about how emperors and the people of the City reacted to them in the moment. We focus on the church liturgies that commemorated and tried to make sense of them.
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Erin Wagner about what late medieval people meant when they used the word heresy, how the usage evolved, and how medieval people applied ideas of heresy beyond the borders of Christianity.
New research suggests that the Crusades may have begun far earlier than 1095. A study of a 1062 Byzantine embassy reveals Emperor Constantine X Doukas may have sought Western aid—and even invoked Jerusalem—decades before the First Crusade.
Medieval Valais developed distinctive laws on the unborn child, combining Roman legal traditions and Christian beliefs to shape inheritance rights, baptismal requirements, and ideas of life before birth.
Forensic and genetic analysis of bones found on Margaret Island has confirmed they belong to Duke Béla of Macsó—revealing his royal lineage, diet, and the brutal details of his 1272 assassination.
Explore how medieval Persian musicians blended art, theory, and performance through two remarkable texts that reveal the sounds and social world of music.
Discover how a persecuted sect known as the Assassins transformed remote Syrian fortresses into the centre of a medieval mountain state—blending diplomacy, strategy, and fortification to secure their survival.
MGM+’s new Robin Hood series reimagines the medieval legend for 2025. In its first episode, “I See Him,” Saxons rise against Norman rule, a new hero emerges—and a surprising frog hops into the story.
Archaeologists in Sweden have uncovered Viking Age graves containing swords, ornate horse gear, and cremation sites in the central region of Västmanland.
When it comes to the crusading era, few groups have been more mythologised than the Knights Templar and the Ismailis—often labelled the “Assassins.” This book takes a fresh look at both, showing not only how their histories have been shaped by legend, but also how—and why—they could resemble each other in surprising ways.
A conversation with Aaron Butts on the conversion to Christianity of Ezana, the fourth-century king of Aksum (in modern Ethiopia and Eritrea). “Conversion” is a conventional term, but what Ezana’s inscriptions and coins reveals is a complicated process of appealing to different groups and the coexistence of religions in his realm and the royal monuments.
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Alexander L. Kaufman about how Robin Hood’s legend evolved over time, his transformation into a pantomime favourite, and that time Robin robbed Santa Claus himself.
In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly examine the Battle of Stirling Bridge in Scotland as a clear example of poor generalship. Focusing on the English command’s mistakes, they explore how underestimating William Wallace and the Scottish forces led to disastrous decisions over terrain and timing.
A conversation with Ellen Muehlberger about how some people in late antiquity tried to model, confirm, or interpret what they thought was going on in the minds of others. We briefly talk about the genre of the lecture book, and then about classroom exercises in impersonation (were they exercises in empathy or not?) and breaking into houses to see what people had in their private quarters.
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Heather Blurton about how Richard’s contemporaries saw him, the wild stories told about him in the later Middle Ages, and why we still just can’t get enough of this controversial king.
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Steve Tibble about who the Assassins were, what tactics they used in the Middle Ages, and what this legendary order stood for.
