Charles Brandon was the perfect companion for King Henry VIII, whom he resembled in both looks and build. He also shared Henry’s love of the joust, becoming the King’s valiant partner in the lists.
Scoring Masculinity: the English Tournament and the Jousting Cheques of the early Sixteenth Century
December 18, 2017 by
Surrender in Medieval Europe: An Indirect Approach
September 14, 2017 by
The demise of slavery meant that for the first time women and children came to be regarded as non-combatants, and high-status warriors treated as a source of profit (ransom).
Ramon Llull and The Book of the Order of Chivalry: an attempt to retake the ideals of the Christian Chivalry
July 22, 2017 by
This study has as theme the resumption of the ideal of Christian Chivalry, or milles Christi, present in The Book of the Order of Chivalry, from Ramon Llull.
The Statutes of the Teutonic Knights: A Study of Religious Chivalry
August 21, 2016 by
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of the religious military orders, and of the Teutonic Knights in particular, within the process of change in developing the concept of a religious and a Christian warrior during the Crusades, or, in other words, how the existing Latin ideal of religious retreat was adapted, blended and attached to the chivalric image of Western Europe in the Holy Land, as reflected in the statutes of the Teutonic Knights.
Identity and Posthuman Medievalism in Sons of Anarchy
May 17, 2016 by
The medievalism of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014) is not inherently obvious. Set in Northern California, the series follows a fictional outlaw motorcycle club (MC) modeled on real gangs including the Hells Angels. Critics, fans, and creators alike discuss the series as an extended adaptation of Hamlet, and the broad narrative of the series is indeed a family tragedy.
Civic Knighthood in the Early Renaissance: Leonardo Bruni’s De militia (ca. 1420)
January 31, 2016 by
Leonardo Bruni’s aim in the De militia (ca. 1420) was to co-opt the most glamorous of medieval ideals, the ideal of chivalry, and to reinterpret it in terms of Greco-Roman ideals of military service.
Conception of Knighthood and Fifteenth-Century Chivalric Manuals
January 21, 2016 by
Chivalric writings like chronicles, romances and military handbooks, either in manuscript or in print, were popular and widely read in the latter half of the 15th century.
Meet the Real Ulrich von Liechtenstein
October 24, 2015 by
If you’ve ever seen A Knight’s Tale, you’ll know that the titular knight takes on the name of Ulrich von Liechtenstein in order to joust on the tournament circuit and win the hand of his lady fair. What you may not have known is that there seems to have been a real thirteenth-century knight named Ulrich von Liechtenstein, who spent his youth jousting to win the heart (and body) of a capricious lady, and then wrote a book about it.
Five Medieval Minutes with Steven Muhlberger
September 24, 2015 by
Formal deeds of arms were an opportunity for one group of people to show off their skills – particularly their horsemanship – and for other people to appreciate how bold and daring they were.
Genre Medievalisms: Geek Goes Chic!
June 4, 2015 by
Is Cersei a collection of bad medieval stereotypes? Have nerds gone mainstream? Were American cowboys a modern retelling of the medieval knight? Put down that comic, put away your bag of dice, and indulge your inner nerd.
Conflicting Perspectives: Chivalry in Twelfth-Century Historiography
June 2, 2015 by
Historians have found the task of defining medieval chivalry to be an elusive task.
The Anglo-Saxon War-Culture and The Lord of the Rings: Legacy and Reappraisal
January 18, 2015 by
The literature of war in English claims its origin from the Homeric epics, and the medieval accounts of chivalry and the crusades.
Medieval Books for Christmas
December 15, 2014 by
It’s that time of year again – the mad scramble for the perfect Christmas gift for the historian, nerd, avid reader on your list. Here are a few suggestions for you – new releases for December and January!
Extralegal and English: the Robin Hood Legend and Increasing National Identity in the Middling Sorts of Late Medieval England
September 15, 2014 by
The legend was clearly not the only work of popular culture in what I propose as the long fifteenth century, but it does serve as a very useful representation for examining the growth of Englishness.
Nicolette : action transvestite, or, who and what is the heroine of Aucassin et Nicolette?
August 24, 2014 by
In this paper, I will show how Nicolette is constantly, deliberately, changing, in appearance and identity, from the beginning of the story, and how she is thus Izzard’s action transvestite.
Medieval Misogyny and Gawain’s Outburst against Women in “‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’
August 12, 2014 by
The view has been gaining ground of late that the Gawain of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a knight renowned as ‘Pat fyne fader of nurture’ (1. 919) and as ‘so cortays and coynt’ of his ‘hetes’ (1. I525), degenerates at the moment of leave-taking from the Green Knight, his erstwhile host, to the level of a churl capable of abusing the ladies of that knight’s household (11.2411 -28).
Caught in Love’s Grip: Passion and Moral Agency in French Courtly Romance
August 12, 2014 by
French royal courts in the late twelfth century were absolutely smitten with love. Troubadaours traveled from place to place reciting stories of knights and the ladies they wooed.
The Physicality of Service in German Ideas of Knighthood, c.1200-1500
August 6, 2014 by
Jörg’s memoir is a particularly informative example of how one knight understood his own calling to knighthood and his practice of it. The medieval knight had a voice, and although precious few memoirs like Jörg’s exist, knightly perspectives inform a considerable breadth of primary materials.
A Kiss Is Just a Kiss: Heterosexuality and Its Consolations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
August 5, 2014 by
The famous line from that modern romance- “A kiss is just a kiss”- is the message the Gawain-poet gave his listeners six centuries ago.
The American Dark Ages and the Terrorist Witch in Season of the Witch
July 21, 2014 by
In this article we argue that medieval films are not to be analyzed according to their faithfulness to the known historical sources, but that they can only be fully analyzed by understanding medievalist codes, traditions and (filmic) intertextuality.
Chivalry comes to the Getty Museum
June 11, 2014 by
The J. Paul Getty Museum’s newest exhibition Chivalry in the Middle Ages, which begins on July 8, 2014 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, demonstrates how manuscripts of a variety of genres, ranging from romances to hunting treatises, played a central role in promoting the tenets of chivalry.
‘Protecting the non-combatant’: Chivalry, Codes and the Just War Theory
May 23, 2014 by
The concept of chivalry, a traditional code of conduct idealised by the knightly class relating to times of both peace and war, dominated the medieval period and many of the scholars who contributed to the principle of jus in bello were in fact writing about chivalry.
Stains on shining armour: Perceptions of chivalry during the reign of Edward III, 1327-1377
April 28, 2014 by
How did chivalry influence the life of a knight in the fourteenth century and how were the ideals of chivalry reflected in practice?
Knightly Bird Vows: A Case Study in Late Medieval Courtly Culture
April 7, 2014 by
In the late Middle Ages, there was a series of instances wherein knights vowed upon birds.
Crusading as a Knightly Deed
March 30, 2014 by
How far do the works of Jean of Joinville and James I of Aragon depict crusading as an integral part of chivalry in the thirteenth century?
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