The Stirrup as a Revolutionary Device
A German legal historian, Paul Roth, published in 1850 a work that set out the basic concept of feudalism. According to Roth, Charles Martel had combined the two existing institutions of ‘vassalage’ and ‘benefice’—that is, a vassal swore allegiance to his lord in return for which he was given some kind of benefice, usually rent-free land.
Early medieval science: the evidence of Bede
The Venerable Bede used observable proofs and mathematical calculations in his early 8th-century treatise De temporum ratione to teach the astronomical principles that inform the calculation of the date of Easter. This suggests that the seeds of the modern scientific method might be found before the 12th century in the educational practices of the early medieval monasteries.
Tradition and Transformation in the Cult of St. Guthlac in Early Medieval England
Do the variations reflect changes in purpose, patronage, doctrine, liturgy, or intended audience? Are they due to differences in authorship, geographical origin, or regional preferences? Analysis of the variations introduced into the corpus of materials, both narrative and visual, for a given saint over the course of the Middle Ages in England can elucidate the social, cultural, and historical significance of these changes.
Boniface’s Booklife: How the Ragyndrudis Codex Came to be a Vita Bonifatii
The most recent addition to the family of literary genres may be the booklife. Finding its origin in Roland Barthes’s Roland Barthes and now taught in English departments, the booklife proposes a union of sorts of writing and living. Whether the genre will be long-lived is an open question, that it can be fruitful is not in doubt. But medievalists already knew that the dividing line between book and life is always thin, especially if that life has been lived in and among books.
The Alcuin number of a graph
A man had to transport to the far side of a river a wolf, a goat, and a bundle of cabbages. The only boat he could find was one which would carry only two of them. For that reason he sought a plan which would enable them all to get to the far side unhurt. Let him, who is able, say how it could be possible to transport them safely?
The Andalusi origins of the Berbers
How could the Berbers originate in al-Andalus when everyone knows they are the original inhabitants of North Africa? One of the goals of this article is to show that asking the question in this way is part of the problem and that it stands in the way of securing the soundness of historical interpretations of the past.
Britons and Saxons In Pre-Viking Wessex: Reflections on the Law 77 of King Ine
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Saxons arrived in the south of Britain in the third quarter of the fifth century. Successive shiploads of invaders progressively defeated the Britons of Kent, Sussex and southern Wessex, before moving north up the Thames Valley and beyond, establishing themselves over much of the territory of the Romano-Britons.
Theological Works of the Venerable Bede and their Literary and Manuscript Presentation, with Special Reference to the Gospel Homilies
Bede’s theology is complex and closely interwoven; as we can observe, the different themes are interleaved within the homilies. Though Bede was profoundly influenced by Gregory, Augustine and the other Church Fathers, he combined their theologies in a new way that has had a lasting influence.
The Cipherment of the Franks Casket
The content carved on the Franks Casket has remained as obscure as its origin. No-one has managed to properly interpret the artwork and the runic inscriptions, though the piece has often passed under the scope over the 150 years since its discovery; with a range of lenses, which at times have passed the flaw to the thing seen.
The Archaeology of Play Things: Theorising a Toy Stage in the Biography of Objects
The cemeteries contained the remains of not less than 867 people, some of whom died in childhood, but all of whom, if they had survived the first few years of life…
Kings and Vikings: On the Dynamics of Competitive Agglomeration
While we hope our theory is useful in understanding the basic forces driving agglomeration in the face of conflict in a general setting, we shall discuss our theory in terms of a particularly dramatic episode in history: the era of the Viking invasions.
Reconstructed Aberlady Cross unveiled in Scotland
A hand-carved reconstruction of an Early Christian cross has been unveiled in the Scottish village of Aberlady to mark the medieval pilgrimage route used by the monks of Iona and Lindisfarne.
The Vikings in Scotland
Intermittent raids were followed by phases of permanent settlement, and in Scotland this focussed on Northern Scotland, the Western Isles and South-West Scotland.
Medicine and early Irish law
Medicine and early Irish law Kelly, F. Irish Journal of Medical Science, Volume 170, Number 1 (2001) Abstract The Old Irish law texts,…
Evidence and Intuition: Making Medieval Instruments
Evidence and Intuition: Making Medieval Instruments Adelman, Beth Early Music America (Fall 2005) Abstract The Atlakvida (The Lay of Attila), an 8th-or early 9th-century…