Corrupted Air and Water: Pollution in Medieval Cities
When poop and entrails filled the Thames. Dealing with urban pollution in the Middle Ages.
Trees have histories too, with Alexander Olson
A conversation with Alexander Olson about the secret lives of olive trees and oak trees in Byzantium. Contrary to what you may think, these were not cultivated consistently in the Mediterranean ecosystem of the Middle Ages; their uses to the human population fluctuated over time, giving the trees a history of their own, albeit one shaped by that of the people around them (and vice versa).
Drought led to the end of Norse Greenland settlement, researchers find
New research suggests it wasn’t dropping temperatures that helped drive the Norse from Greenland, but drought.
Medieval Zanzibar’s environment damaged by urban growth, study finds
Humanity’s impact on the environment is often framed in the context of the post-industrial era but new archaeological research reveals how intensive land use by a medieval East African population altered their natural habitat forever.
Environmental Disasters in Medieval France
How did medieval people deal with natural disasters? In this episode of the Medieval Grade Podcast, Lucie speaks with Brian Forman, whose research focuses on responses to environmental disasters in three late medieval communities of medieval France. As we find out in the podcast, late medieval municipalities implemented a wide array of strategies to mitigate and prevent climatic catastrophes, sometimes religious, and at other times practical.
Ball lightning was seen in 1195, researchers find
Researchers have discovered what appears to be the earliest known account of a rare weather phenomenon called ball lightning, which took place in the year 1195
How volcanic eruptions contributed to the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties
Volcanic eruptions may have triggered abrupt climate changes contributing to the repeated collapse of Chinese dynasties over the past 2,000 years, according to new research.
Waste Management in Medieval Scotland with Richard Oram
Kate Buchanan and Richard Oram talk about the everyday task of dealing with waste in Medieval Scotland. Covering both urban setting and elite residences, this episode outlines what people thought about and did with their daily waste.
Crusaders of Climate Change? The Debate on Global Warming between the Medieval and the Present Age
Through such a debate, the study of medieval history could become more helpful for present considerations on climate change and more resistant against deliberate misinterpretation.
Can botany provide a window to our medieval past?
Can botany provide a window to our medieval past? Paper by Fiona MacGowan Given at the BSBI Irish Spring Conference, on March 27,…
The watery miracles of Italian saints
A new study examines the cultural impacts of climate change in Italy during the Early Middle Ages.
How to Grow Organic Food like Medieval Farmers
If nothing else works, you could bring the vermin to justice.
Researchers see parallels between 14th century drought and current climate change
New research about medieval weather conditions has revealed that a severe drought that struck Europe in the early 14th-century displays similarities with the 2018 weather anomaly, which also left the continent experiencing exceptional heat and drought.
A Medieval Peasants’ Winter
Coping with cold and snow, the medieval way.
Climate change caused the demise of Central Asia’s medieval civilizations, study finds
A new study challenges the long-held view that the destruction of Central Asia’s medieval river civilizations was a direct result of the Mongol invasion in the early 13th century.
How changing from a tribal to a feudal society impacted the local environment
The transition from tribal to feudal living, which occurred throughout the 14th century in Lagow, Poland had a significant impact on the local ecosystem, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
Medieval Scottish Deer Parks and Beyond, with Kevin Malloy
Kate Buchanan is joined by Kevin Malloy to discuss Kevin’s journey to studying medieval Scottish history, his work on medieval deer parks, and how researching medieval Scottish history can lead to other work.
Sea ice caused the Little Ice Age in the 14th century, researchers say
A new study finds a trigger for the Little Ice Age that cooled Europe from the 1300s through mid-1800s, and supports surprising model results suggesting that under the right conditions sudden climate changes can occur spontaneously, without external forcing.
Environmental History and the Fall of Rome, with Kristina Sessa
Kristina Sessa discusses non-human causes of change – like climate and disease – that are being emphasized more than ever in the history of Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium.
Wood And Woodlands In Icelandic Literary, Documentary And Archaeological Sources
The 12th-century AD Íslendingabók describes Iceland as having been ‘covered with woodland from the mountains to the seashores’ at the time of the Norse settlement in the late 9th-century AD.
Looking for the Northern Lights in Medieval Iceland, finding Jane Austen
Ármann Jakobsson attempts to answer the questions he keeps being asked about Icelandic sagas.
The contours of disease and hunger in Carolingian and early Ottonian Europe (c.750-c.950 CE)
This thesis is the first systematic examination of the textual and material evidence for disease and hunger in Carolingian and early Ottonian Europe, c.750 to c.950 CE
Lead pollution in Britain was just as bad in the 12th century as during the Industrial Revolution, study finds
Air pollution from lead mines in twelfth-century Britain was as bad as it was during the Industrial Revolution and exactly maps the comings and goings of England’s Kings, a new world-first study has shown.
Climate and the Crises of the Early Fourteenth Century in Northeastern Europe
This article demonstrates how tree-ring material can be applied to historical research using the climate-driven crises of the fourteenth century as a case study.