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
The Romans as Viewed by Arabic Authors in the 9th and 10th Centuries A.D.
The reason why Muslims authors of the 9th and 10th century A.D. dealt with the history and culture not only of
the Romans but also of other ancient and contemporary nations is related to the social, political and cultural
circumstances of their age.
Peter Des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, and the Papal Interdict on England, 1208-1214
A native of western France and probably originatly a knight, Peter rose to prominence in English affairs through service as the principal financial clerk in John’s chamber.
Asian Origins of Cinderella: The Zhuang Storyteller of Guangxi
The acceptance and understanding of the Asian origins of the “Cinderella” story should replace the widely held belief that the story is fundamentally Western or universal. The Zhuang, an ethnic group at the intersection of China and Vietnam, combined ideas from their own traditions and experiences with motifs from Hindu and Buddhist narratives circulating in their area during the Tang Dynasty, and should be credited with creating this subversive, virginal, talented, and compassionate heroine.
The Forgotten Text of Nikolai Golovin: New Light on the Igor Tale
Mann argues that a rare text of the Skazanie o Mamaevom poboishche comes from an early, fifteenth-century redaction that scholars could never locate—a redaction that is the prototype for all the redactions that have been studied heretofore. He maintains that unique parallels between this redaction and the Slovo o polka Igoreve support the hypothesis that the Igor Tale was an oral epic song in a tradition that actually continued into the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when oral tales about the Kulikovo Battle (1380) were composed. He places the new parallels in the context of other evidence for oral composition in the Igor Tale.
The Story of Richard III as Graphic Novel
Check out these great illustrations made by Emma Viceli
Social Aggravations during the Period of Medieval Wars in Europe
This article makes and attempt to disclose the dynamics of development of social interactions in an aggravated environment in relation to the distinctive features of religious wars and their negative impact to the society. Crisis situations that took place in all spheres of social life are described, on the grounds of which the author comes to specific conclusions.
“A Swarm in July”: Beekeeping Perspectives on the Old English Wið Ymbe Charm
At the same time, however, their differing responses to the remedy attest both to the variation of beekeeping practices and the multivalence of Wið Ymbe itself. The fact that two beekeepers interviewed within two days and two hundred miles of each other can respond differently to the charm’s advice on swarms suggests that we reevaluate unilateral assertions regarding what the text might have meant across the hundreds of years that we now know as the Anglo-Saxon period.
The Virtuous Pagan in Middle English Literature
From the first through the fourteenth centuries, a succession of solutions to the problem of these virtuous pagans evolved. For the Early Church, an attractive solution was that Christ descended into Hell to convert the souls he found there.
The Black Foreigners of York and the White Foreigners of Dublin
In 866 the ‘Great Army’ of Danes crossed the Humber from its base in East Anglia and captured York on the feast of All Saints.
The development of incest regulations in the early Middle Ages : family, nurturance, and aggression in the making of the medieval West
In the late sixth century, Brunhild, queen mother for one branch of the Merovingians and herself a Visigothic princess, met with Guntram, the over-king of the Franks, to discuss the marriage of her daughter Chlodosind to her first cousin once removed, Reccared.
15th-century Book of Hours comes to South Carolina
A 15th-century Book of Hours has been recently purchased by the University of South Carolina, and students and the public will soon be able to see the valuable medieval text in person and online.
Scholars discover fragments of French medieval epics
The larger fragment is a section of text from the Chanson de Guillaume, one of the earliest surviving Old French texts, known until now in only one manuscript. The smaller fragment comes from a manuscript of Foulque de Candie, a late twelfth-century poem.
Conference: Growth and Decay: The Dynamics of Early Medieval Europe
The Australian Early Medieval Association will be holding its ninth conference at Monash University, February 10-11, 2013
Thank-you for Subscribing to The Medieval Magazine
Thank-you for subscribing to The Medieval Magazine with Paypal. We greatly appreciate your support and interest in medieval history. We will be emailing…
The Mediterranean Muslim Navy and the Expeditions Dispatched against Constantinople
The aim of this paper is to present an account of the information we find in various Arabic sources of the early period of Arabic historiography on the preparation of a military naval force and the expeditions launched against Constantinople during the period of the early expansion of the Muslim Arabs
Monastic Imagination? A Pedagogical Reflection
The medieval view of imagination, in the context of medieval Christian monastic writing, differed in important ways from our modern notion of the term.
What Was Viking Poetry For?
The most characteristic kind of verse that has been preserved from the Viking Age is praise poetry — praise either of the living or of the recently dead…
Apprentices and Apprenticeship in Early Fourteenth-Century London
What was the nature of the medieval institution which in the early modern period became such a prominent feature of London life?
The Middle Ages: The Approach to the Truce of God
This long period of history cannot be represented as a period of peace but as one seeking peace, seeking limitation as to just cause in war and, with it, limitation consistent with the just peace.
Richard III Foundation welcomes success of archaeological dig and looks forward to re-burial of England’s Last Plantagenet King
‘We are delighted that the remains of Richard III appear to have been found, and we thank Philippa Langley for her tenacity in championing this project and for the archaeological team and everyone else involved.’
Two Chroniclers of Louis IX
By studying the approaches of two authors to the same historical event, we can learn something of their respective manners of comprehending the world and representing reality in literary form.
St. Isidore and mediaeval science
Did Isidore appear foolish to his contemporaries and immediate mediaeval successors, or is his foolishness a more recent discovery?
World Without End – Review of Episode 2: King
On this week’s World Without End, we see Caris marry abusive Elfric and Ralph’s fateful meeting with Annet that lands him in the stocks….
Have the remains of Richard III been found? Archaeologists discover skeleton at Leicester dig
Archaeologists searching for the grave of Richard III have discovered the human remains of a human male that have ‘strong circumstantial evidence’ indicating that it is of the English king.
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.