10 Peace Treaties That Shaped the Middle Ages
Ten major peace treaties from the Middle Ages that reshaped kingdoms, ended wars, and changed the course of medieval diplomacy and history.
Latest Posts
La Vie en Breton: Anne of Brittany’s Enduring Legacy and Appeal
Anne of Brittany (1477-1514) has inspired painters, poets, Breton nationalists, and even a wildly popular French rock opera.
An earlier version of the Mona Lisa?
The Swiss-based Mona Lisa Foundation believes they have proven that Leonardo da Vinci painted an earlier version of the Mona Lisa.
Worlds writ small: four studies on miniature architectural forms in the medieval Middle East
While academic discussion of ornament within medieval Islamic art has laboured much over the codification and meaning of certain forms, there has been relatively little research to date on the visual and iconographic function of architecture as ornament in this context…This thesis proposes, first and foremost, that there is significant cultural meaning inherent in the use of architecture as an inspiration for the non-essential formal qualities of portable objects from the medieval Islamic world.
Waldensians at the turn of the fifteenth century in the Duchy of Austria: Perception of Heresy and Action against Heretics
The other major field of research that pertains to my current investigation is the inquisition; or the repression of heresy, as Richard Kieckhefer asserts. He notes that there was no such a thing as the Inquisition, because it existed only as mere offices, or functions of carrying out the inquisitorial justice, and did not as an institution as such, not even institutions, as was later the case in the sixteenth century.
Strange Geographies: The Happy, Haunted Island of Poveglia
What I found there was both stranger and more innocuous than anything I had heard.
The Geography of the Provincial Administration of the Byzantine Empire (ca 600-1200)
The transition to the medieval thematic system of provincial administration took place at a period of time on which our level of information is extremely low.
Sailing with the Mu’allim: The Technical Practiceof Red Sea Sailing during the Medieval Period
The status of the Red Sea as a lane of communication be-tween the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean has beenwidely commented upon…The medieval period was no exception to this. The establishment of Mecca as a centre of pilgrimage and theincreasing importance of Cairo both served to provide further motives for seafaring activity along and across theRed Sea.
The Three Loves of Cúchulainn: The Impact of Warrior Relationships in The Táin
Before discussing the relationship between Cúchulainn and Fergus, fosterage in medieval Ireland must be understood. The fostering of children was common in the early middle ages. It entailed send- ing children away from their birth parents to be raised in comparable households until about the age of seventeen. This system was important for both the families and the children who were fostered.
Medieval Fairs: an archaeologist’s approach
This paper intends to explore some of the possibilities offered by the physical and conceptual structures of fairs towards the interpretation of medieval culture from the viewpoint of an archaeologist working largely in southern Italy.
Understanding the Language of Alchemy
The editing of medieval alchemical texts poses a number of challenges to the modern scholar.
The Language of Birds in Old Norse Tradition
Special individuals capable of understanding the language of birds are spread throughout the medieval Icelandic literary corpus. This phenomenon has received surprisingly little academic attention and is deserving of detailed, extensive, and interdisciplinary study. Capable of flight and song, birds universally hold a special place in human experience. Their effective communication to people in Old Norse lore offers another example of their unique role in humanity’s socio-cosmic reality.
The Amber Trail in early medieval Eastern Europe.
The standard method employed in characterization studies of amber, namely infrared spectrography, can discriminate roughly between Baltic amber and amber from other European sources…
Maculate Conceptions
For the greater part of human history…disease has been understood in terms of its manifestations on the outside of the body. more than any other sign, t has been spots that have signified the onset of disease…
Re-writing discourse features: speech acts in Heliand
Though extremely fascinating and very appealing, the theory of the saxonization and northernization of the Gospel has ended up permeating every single level upon which an analysis of the poem can be carried out, becoming a sort of a priori starting point that may lead scholars to over-interpretation and, therefore, hinder them from developing a perhaps deeper insight into the poem.
The Arthur of the chronicles
Even if we cannot accept the claim made by Geoffrey in his introduction that his putative source was ‘attractively composed to form a consecutive andorderly narrative’, he certainly made extensive use ofWelsh genealogies andking-lists.
Excavations of a Monastic Settlement and Medieval Church Site at Killevin, Crarae Gardens, Mid Argyll
According to local tradition, Killevin was the first parish church of Glassary before being succeeded by Kilneuair. Unfortunately, the lack of surviving evidence regarding the ecclesiastical history of the parish before the mid-14th century poses real problems for untangling the status of medieval Killevin. Even that of Kilneuair is shrouded in doubt.
Women and the adoption of charters in Scotland north of Forth, c. 1150–1286
In the thirteenth century, charters in the name of women became more plentiful, especially in the case of widows, and more standard formulas emphasising the ‘lawful power of widowhood’ were employed widely.
Performance, transmission and devotion: understanding the Anglo-Saxon prayer books, c.800-1050
This thesis offers a corrective to standard histories of medieval devotion that circumvent the Anglo-‐Saxon contribution to medieval piety, by investigating private prayers found in certain manuscripts between 800 and 1050. It examines the manuscript tradition of prayer, to reveal the reality of prayer performance in Anglo-‐Saxon England.
Preliminary report on a Viking warrior grave at War Memorial Park, Islandbridge
The site where the artefacts were discovered is located on the edge of what was known as ‘the great pit’, a gravel pit that was in use in the 1860s. A number of Scandinavian furnished burials were discovered through gravel extraction at that time.
‘Nation’ Consciousnesses in Medieval Ireland
A unified sovereignty never came into existence in Ireland throughout the middle ages. Nevertheless, the native inhabitants of this island have been reported as being of one nation in several different documents since the seventh century.
The Magnificence of Borso and Ercole d’Este: Princes of Ferrara (1450-1505)
During the second half of the fifteenth century, Ferrara became the seat of one of the more prominent Italian courts and it achieved a reputation as a leading cultural centre.
Heraclius and the Evolution of Byzantine Strategy
This paper aims to be an initial stepping stone in the understanding of the foundation and evolution of Byzantine strategy.
The Fox: A Medieval View, and Its Legacy in Modern Children’s Literature
In the medieval bestiaries, which were considered to be authorities on zoological truths, the fox was described as a fraudulent and ingenious animal.
A Cold Case of Historical Bias
Cardano’s ‘Encomium Neronis’—rendered in my translation as ‘Nero, an Exemplary Life’—is structured like a pleading in Nero’s defense delivered in front of a modern court of law by a very clever, if not entirely genial, lawyer.
BooksAll posts
New Medieval Books: The Medieval Mediterranean between Islam and Christianity
If you are interested in the connections between Christian and Islamic cultures in the Middle Ages, physical objects can reveal remarkable stories of exchange and interaction. This book brings together ten essays exploring the materials, artifacts, and goods that moved between these two societies, shedding light on the cultural ties that linked the medieval Mediterranean world.
Earth Wounds: Creative Explorations of Viking Age Funerary Customs
New Medieval Books: Exhortation to the Monks by Hyperechios
New Cambridge History Explores the Arthurian Legend from the Middle Ages to Modern Media
New Medieval Books: The People’s Princes
New Medieval Books: Chinese Characters across Asia
New Medieval Books: Medieval German Tales
New Medieval Books: The Art of Making Verses
New Medieval Books: Vikings, Knights, Elves, and Ogres
Latest Podcast EpisodesAll posts
Q&A #14: Why were Infantry Defeating Knights in Battle?
In the latest Q&A episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly answer questions about infantry vs cavalry in late medieval battles, will there be archaeological excavations at Hundred Years’ War battlefields, favourite centuries and what our hosts will be doing this summer.
Julian Augustus and the Dream of a Platonic Roman Empire, with Jeremy Swist
A conversation with Jeremy Swist on the emperor Julian (361-363 AD) and how he tried to combine his love of philosophy with ruling the Roman Empire. We talk about why Julian continues to excite such passions, how in some ways he may have been more Roman than Greek, and how he read Roman history in light of the theurgical Neoplatonism that he espoused.
The Battle of Grandson (1476)
Charles the Bold was building his Duchy of Burgundy into a European power when he faced the Old Swiss Confederacy. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly talk about the Battle of Grandson, a key event of the Burgundian Wars.
The Menologion of Basil II, with Charlie Kuper
A conversation with Charlie Kuper about the Menologion of Basil II, a lavishly illustrated manuscript pairing brief notices about the saints with images of them and their ordeals, arranged according to the liturgical calendar.
The Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, with Nicole Eddy
A conversation with Nicole Eddy about the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, one of the most important publishing ventures of recent times when it comes to medieval texts and literature.
How and Why We Teach Roman History, with Beth Digeser
A conversation with Beth Digeser about pedagogy, specifically about what we are hoping to accomplish by teaching Roman history.