Geoffrey: the Prodigal Son of Henry II
Geoffrey’s devotion to Henry II and the favored status which saw him rise high in his father’s reign
William Longespée: The Tyrant’s Enforcer
Born sometime around the mid 1170s, William Longespée was the son of King Henry II and the most aristocratic and well connected of his known mistresses, Ida de Tosny.
Project to examine late medieval local government
A new research project has been launched to examine the local governments of the historic cities of Augsburg and Aberdeen, and how they evolved in the late Middle Ages.
The 1259 Pipe Roll
The 1259 pipe roll is certainly a vast and unwieldy manuscript roll, taking 23 rotulets and over 200,000 words to set out the accounts of 24 counties or pairs of counties.
Doing Things beside Domesday Book
Domesday Book is the collective name attached to two different bodies of text. Colloquially known as “Great” and “Little” Domesday, they represent successive documentary phases of the inquest undertaken by agents of William the Conqueror in 1086.
Familia inquisitionis: a study on the inquisitors’ entourage (XIII-XIV centuries)
It is inquisitors that sell, these days: marketing builds upon visual imagination and curiosity, but is also driven by some sort of fascination with these controversial and ultimately incomprehensible individuals who pursued religious non-conformity as a crime.
Wartime Corruption and Complaints of the English Peasantry
The late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries witnessed a great military transformation, one that heavily affected the peasantry in ways it had not before.
City notaries and the administration of a territory: Lucca, 1430–1501
The present article examines the functions, personnel, reputation and effectiveness of notaries in the service of fifteenth-century Lucca following the restoration of liberty.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval “Fiscal Revolution”
So far in this series, we have talked about medieval “revolutions” in military power and judicial authority. A third great change in the late medieval era was in the control of money.
The Case of the Corrupt Archbishop
How a 14th century archbishop spent years orchestrating an elaborate plot of embezzlement and forgery.
Constraining Elites: The Self-Enforcing Constitution of the Patricians of Venice
This paper analyzes how late Middle Age and Renaissance era Venice achieved economic prosperity despite being ruled by elite patricians.
Death of a Renaissance Record-Keeper: The Murder of Tomasso da Tortona in Ferrara, 1385
Beginning with a description of the murder of an Italian record-keeper at the hands of an angry mob in the late fourteenth century, this essay explores the historical background of official records destruction during the Renaissance
A matter of trust: the royal regulation of England’s French residents during wartime, 1294–1377
How, without the formal allegiance enacted under the process of denization, did the governments of Edward I, II and III negotiate and define the status of foreigners living within their jurisdiction?
The Twelfth-century documents of St. George’s of Tròccoli (Sicily)
This study publishes for the first time six authentic and original documents from mid-twelfth-century Norman Sicily. Three are bilingual, written in Greek and Arabic, and three are Arabic.
The Florentine Archives in Transition: Government, Warfare and Communication (1289–1530 ca.)
Focusing on the important case of Florence, the administrative uses of records connected to government, diplomacy and military needs will be discussed, and evidence will be provided that such documentary practices accelerated significantly during the so-called Italian Wars (from 1494 onwards).
Can Florence in the Quatrocento Help Shape Tax Policy Today?
I therefore decided to apply what I knew about tax policy—the only subject on which I was conversant and which seemed remotely relevant—to Florence in the days of the Medici, and see what happened.
The Longest and Shortest Reigns of the Middle Ages
Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for over 63 years – how does this compare to medieval rulers?
A clerk ther was of Rowan County also…. What the Kim Davis Case Tells Us About America’s Long Middle Ages
Have you ever thought about the relationship between the words “clerk” and “clergy”?
Financing the tribute to the Kingdom of Jerusalem: An urban tax in Damascus
After a brief introduction to legal taxation and Saljuq fiscal policy, the philological problems in the definition of a specific due, al-fissa, illegitimate according to the sharia, will be addressed along with its political function and history. This due was levied in Damascus for the tribute to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Prostitution in the Medieval City
Prostitution was a vice that was was considered a necessary evil because of “men’s lust”. Ecclesiastics felt that if brothels weren’t available to men in cities, they would find other inappropriate outlets for their entertainment. In an effort to curb potential problems, civic officials permitted prostitution to function within the city walls so long as it was regulated and turned a profit.
How Much Taxes Did a Medieval Peasant Pay? The numbers from Sweden
A new study on taxation in late medieval Sweden has revealed fascinating details about how much peasants had to pay to the royal government in taxes.
New online database allows users to explore the families of Medieval England
Mapping the Medieval Countryside has announced that the beta version of their searchable English translations of inquisitions post mortem (IPMs) – a major source into the lives and legacies of thousands of families from the Later Middle Ages.
Medieval Emergencies and the Contemporary Debate
This article shows that medieval France formulated its own state of exception, meant to deal with emergencies, based on the legal principle of necessity.
Magna Carta Conference Offers New Insights Into The 800-year-old Document
Magna Carta just celebrated its 800th birthday this past Monday. In honour of this incredible milestone, King’s College London, and the Magna Carta Project, hosted a 3 day conference dedicated to this historic document.