The Moral Purpose of the Medieval State
Explore how medieval thinkers from Augustine to Aquinas debated the role of government, from preserving peace and order to promoting virtue and human fulfillment in the pursuit of the common good.
Latest Posts
BooksAll posts
New Medieval Books: Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford and Duke of Ireland (1362-1392)
This biography re-examines the life of Robert de Vere, the English nobleman best known as a childhood friend of Richard II. It investigates whether he truly deserved the reputation of a shameless sycophant that medieval chroniclers gave him.
New Medieval Books: Hiding in Caverns Formed from Old Roots
New Medieval Books: Inventing the Renaissance
New Medieval Books: The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330
New Medieval Books: The Hippodrome of Constantinople
New Medieval Books: Historians on Robin Hood
New Medieval Books: The Vikings in Poland
New Medieval Books: Easter
New Medieval Books: Enchanted Creatures
Latest Podcast EpisodesAll posts
Royal Women of Sweden with Caroline Wilhelmsson
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Caroline Wilhelmsson about the royal women of Sweden, how they became queens, and how they exercised their power.
Latin Literature in Late Antiquity, with Gavin Kelly
A conversation with Gavin Kelly about the corpus of Latin literature from antiquity down to the present, where we discuss the reasons why most scholars focus on the period before 200 AD, why late antiquity is overlooked (despite having some first rate authors), and what can be done about that. Similar issues, we find, emerge from the study of Greek literature too.
Frederick Barbarossa with Graham Loud
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Graham Loud about how Barbarossa came to power, how he managed to reign supreme in both Germany and Italy despite some bumps along the way, and why he’s sometimes revered as a once and future king in Germany.
Peer-review: The Good, The Bad, and The Amusing, with Tina Sessa and Marion Kruse
A conversation with Tina Sessa and Marion Kruse on the process of peer-review in the humanities: what it’s for, how it can be done well, and where it can go awry. The conversation is based on many decades of collective experience of peer-review, on all sides of the process.
The Rise of Henry Tudor with Nathen Amin
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Nathen Amin about Henry Tudor’s Welsh ancestry, how generations of royals and rebels shaped him, and how he managed to claim the English throne despite desperately long odds.
Medieval Hospitals with Sarah Loose Guerrero
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Sarah Loose Guerrero about what to expect at a medieval hospital, how institutions like the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala supported citizens from infancy to adulthood, and what hospital support looked like for both urban and rural communities.