Book Review: Drout’s Quick and Easy Old English
It may seem a little incredible that anyone would need a textbook to learn an older version of his or her mother tongue, but learning Old English (Anglo-Saxon) takes some time and effort – and a good textbook.
The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra
Around the fourth century in what is now Turkey, a boy of humble circumstance became a man revered for his many virtues.
Medieval Geopolitics: An interview with Andrew Latham
Was there such a thing as International Relations in the Middle Ages?
How to be a medieval party-crasher
I’m the one who saved you the trouble of sending an invitation!
Dunluce Castle: History and Archaeology
Dunluce Castle, dramatically positioned on cliffs that plunge straight into the sea, was for centuries at the centre of a maritime lordship encompassing north Ulster and the Western Isles of Scotland.
Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages are often viewed as a repository of tradition, yet what we think of as traditional marriage was far from the only available alternative to the single state in medieval Europe.
The Vikings at L’Anse aux Meadows – a ‘temporary base camp’
A new study of the archaeological remains from the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America argues that it was never meant to be a long-term settlement. It is also very likely that it was the home to at least one Norse woman.
Fleas, Flies, and Friars: Children’s Poetry from the Middle Ages
In Fleas, Flies, and Friars, Nicholas Orme, an expert on childhood in the Middle Ages, has gathered a wide variety of children’s verse that circulated in England beginning in the 1400s, providing a way for modern readers of all ages to experience the medieval world through the eyes of its children.
The Pope Who Quit
What led him to make that decision and what happened afterward would be shrouded in mystery for centuries.
Medieval Cures from The Alphabet of Galen
Use green mint to stop hiccups, radish to relieve aching joints and donkey dung as toothpaste! Some medieval cures from the Alphabet of Galen, the pharmacy handbook of the Middle Ages.
Medieval Military Technology
A new edition of Medieval Military Technology, by Kelly DeVries and Robert D. Smith, is now available.
New Book on ‘The Book of Kells’ launched
This new publication, presented in a cloth-bound slipcase, features 84 full-size reproductions of complete pages of the manuscript, while enlarged details allow one to relish the intricacy of elements barely visible to the naked eye.
John Lydgate and the Poetics of Fame
Read our interview with Mary C. Flannery about her new book
Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar: Joan of Arc’s Scottish Captain
Priest, soldier, pillager, diplomat, counsellor to kings, Archdeacon of St Andrews… and mentioned in the birth of Scottish golf. You couldn’t make this man up.
Kerry, Ireland A.D. 800 – medieval children’s book
Set in Ireland’s majestic Ring of Kerry in the year 800, the tale is an inspiring coming-of-age adventure that deals with life lessons on the backdrop of an educational and entertaining plot
Medieval Pets
New book by Kathleen Walker-Meikle on pets in the Middle Ages
The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail
W. Jeffrey Bolster takes us through a millennium-long environmental history of our impact on one of the largest ecosystems in the world.
BOOK REVIEW: Edric the Wild
A book review of the new release “Edric the Wild”, by Jayden Woods
The Life and Miracles of St. Margaret of Cortona (1247 – 1297)
Margaret’s extraordinary career brings the historian closer to the early development of the Franciscans and the Order of Penance; it tells us much about how women saints were described, and about how civic cults of saints emerged.
Fashioning Change: The Trope of Clothing in High- and Late-Medieval England
Medieval European culture was obsessed with clothing. In Fashioning Change: The Trope of Clothing in High-and Late-Medieval England, Andrea Denny-Brown explores the central impact of clothing in medieval ideas about impermanence and the ethical stakes of human transience.
Review: The Medieval Anarchy: History In An Hour
The latest ebook from History In An Hour, The Medieval Anarchy aims to give the reader a relatively quick look at events during the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), a period of civil war throughout the Anglo-Norman empire.
Fatal Colours: Towton 1461 – England’s Most Brutal Battle
The battle of Towton in 1461 was unique in its ferocity and brutality, as the armies of two kings of England engaged with murderous weaponry and in appalling conditions to conclude the first War of the Roses
How Venice almost got a second head of Saint Mark the Evangelist
In 1419, Venice was almost able to get a second head of Saint Mark the Evangelist.
Reassessing the Roles of Women as ‘Makers’ of Medieval Art and Architecture
This two-volume set proposes a renewed way of framing the debate around the history of medieval art and architecture to highlight the multiple roles played by women.