From a Giant to a Wrecked Ship: 10 Medieval Studies’ Articles Published Last Month
What is new in medieval studies? Here are ten articles published in January, which tell us about topics including Bestiaries, Bridget and Baḥrīyah.
Medieval and Viking-Age artifacts discovered in Norway
A very rare Byzantine coin is among dozens of medieval and Viking-era objects discovered in eastern Norway last year. Officials with Innlandet County Municipality have released details of items found by metal detectorists, including buckles, seals and pieces from swords.
DNA used to discover origins of medieval chess set
Researchers in Poland have discovered new details about a nearly complete medieval chess set. By obtaining DNA from pieces of the Sandomierz chess set, they could determine what animals were used to make them.
Beautiful medieval brooches discovered in England and Wales
Several spectacular medieval brooches have been recently discovered in England and Wales. They include finds from both the early and later Middle Ages.
Early medieval saddle discovered in Mongolia
The team’s radiocarbon dating pins the artifact to roughly around the year 420 AD, making it one of the earliest known frame saddles in the world.
How to kill a God: Christians against Pagans in the Middle Ages
To bring new lands under Roman Catholicism, the old pagan faiths had to be destroyed. Here is how this was done on the island of Rügen in the twelfth century.
A Journey to the Far North in the Middle Ages
The name Ohthere does not usually rank among the famous explorers of the Middle Ages, such as Leif Erikson or Marco Polo. However, his exploits are very impressive, for he would sail into the Arctic Circle over eleven hundred years ago.
Seven Medieval Christmas Traditions
Here are seven things you might see during Christmas in the Middle Ages, which range from cribs in Italy to trolls in Iceland.
The Moon in the Middle Ages
The Moon was an ever-present part of the medieval world. What did people in the Middle Ages think when they looked up on the Moon? Here we look at the various views from science, literature and folklore about the sphere that revolved around the Earth.
New Medieval Books: Introducing the Medieval Fox
A look into how medieval people viewed the fox, through religious writings, bestiaries, hunting manuals, and literature, most notably the stories revolving around the famous literary character Reynard the Fox.
A Medieval Manuscript for a Healthy Life: Tacuinum Sanitatis
Through 130 beautiful pictures the Tacuinum Sanitatis provides unparalleled insights into 15th-century life.
Yak milk was a popular drink in the Mongol Empire, study finds
The Mongol Empire reached the height of its power in the 13th century. It was also during this time that yak milk became a popular drink among its elite, a new study has found.
Medieval Pet Care
Medieval people kept pet dogs, cats and other animals. Here is the advice they gave about taking proper care of them.
New Medieval Books: The Cosmography and Geography of Africa
This new addition to Penguin Classics is a translation of an early 16th-century account of Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the most important text we have about the continent to cover its medieval history.
Medieval Insults
If you are looking for ways to hurl insults at your enemies, then the medieval world has some interesting examples for you.
How many people died in the Black Death?
One big question about the Black Death is how many people were killed?
New Medieval Books: Animal-Human Relationships in Medieval Iceland
With medieval Iceland being entirely rural, farms and their animals played a crucial role in their society. This book looks at domestic animals – horses, cattle and sheep – and how they are depicted in the sagas.
Seven Things to Look for in Medieval Manuscripts
A guide to some of the interesting things you can look for in these manuscripts from the Middle Ages.
The Pagan and Christian Origins of Halloween
With roots in Europe’s Christianization, Halloween is something of a hybrid holiday strongly influenced by ancient pagan beliefs, and for this reason, its celebration has long been somewhat controversial within the Christian faith.
How to Make a Monster
Ideas about monstrosity were fundamental to ancient and medieval debates about the nature of humanity, and the rhetoric of monstrosity was widely used to dehumanize certain groups in medieval Europe.
What makes a good military leader? The Byzantine answer
Despite the extraordinary attention that modern armies pay to the subject of military leadership, the answer to the question, “What makes a good (military) leader?” is neither simple nor universal.
Right-handed or Left-handed? A Medieval View
Was it really bad to be left-handed in the Middle Ages? Or was it better than being right-handed? The ninth-century writer of all things unusual, al-Jahiz, weighs in.
New Medieval Exhibition at Dutch museum to focus on the year 1000
This month, the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden) is going back in time over a thousand years with the exhibition ‘The Year 1000’. Over 400 items from the Netherlands and beyond will be on display.
Jobs on a Medieval Manor
A medieval nobleperson needed employees to run their manor. Who were these people and what jobs did they do?