This essay has surveyed the changing form of Renaissance Italian ex-votos, and the ways in which they were compiled and conserved in a variety of shrines across the peninsula, in order to argue that votive offerings came to function as archives of the miraculous.
The Italian “commercial revolution”: an archaeological reading
June 28, 2018 by
Archaeology tells us more about how commerce really worked than written texts do, but it has not been used enough to construct historical narratives on its own; this lecture will offer one.
Renaissance Woman: The Life of Vittoria Colonna
June 5, 2018 by
Ramie Targoff’s Renaissance Woman tells of the most remarkable woman of the Italian Renaissance: Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa of Pescara.
Italian castle designed by Brunelleschi for sale
May 28, 2018 by
The great Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi designed this castle, which was built near Florence in 1424.
Why hasn’t an earthquake toppled the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
May 14, 2018 by
Ironically, the very same soil that caused the leaning instability and brought the Tower to the verge of collapse, can be credited for helping it survive these seismic events.
NEW! The Medieval Magazine, No. 110: THE RISE OF THE MEDIEVAL CITY
May 6, 2018 by
In this issue, we focus on cities. From Barcelona, to Constantinople, to Bologna, we cover marriage, trade, slavery, and foundation stories. Take a trip with us around the world and learn about the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the medieval city.
The Medieval Magazine: (Volume 4: No. 2): Issue 104: Winter 2018
January 30, 2018 by
Banish the January doldrums with our latest issue featuring Sirens, the Bayeux Tapestry, Joan of Arc, and a trip to Ireland.
Mercantile Arithmetic in Renaissance Italy: A Translation and Study of Selected Passages from a Vernacular Abbaco Work
January 19, 2018 by
This essay is a study of a Renaissance Italian manuscript which has been published under the title Arte Giamata Aresmetica (‘The Art Called Arithmetic’).
Cardinals and the War of Ferrara
January 11, 2018 by
The bestowal of a red hat can turn even the most humbly born cleric into an ecclesiastical prince, but whereas few cardinals of the modern era have been born princely, most of those created in the Renaissance period could claim to be of noble lineage.
Linking the Mediterranean: The Construction of Trading Networks in 14th and 15th-century Italy
January 11, 2018 by
When the Mediterranean Sea is discussed historically, it is never a simple question of geography. Its meaning remains somewhat indeterminate. It refers to intellectual journeys that do not circumnavigate any one particular region; it indicates periods that splash over.
Medieval Castle for Sale in Italy: Torre di Fiume
January 7, 2018 by
Located on the border of Tuscany and Umbria, this eleventh-century castle has recently been restored.
A Medieval Man’s New Year’s Resolutions
December 29, 2017 by
In the diary of Gregorio Dati, an Italian merchant born in the fourteenth century, we can see resolutions tied to this urge to face a new year as a better man in an entry dated January 1, 1404.
Social Perception of Infertility and Its Treatment in Late Medieval Italy: Margherita Datini, an Italian Merchant’s Wife
December 18, 2017 by
This article seeks to elucidate the common social perception of infertility and its treatment in late medieval Europe by analyzing the case of Margherita Datini, an Italian merchant’s wife who lived in the 1400s.
The One about Michelangelo and the Onions: Jokes and Cultural Anxiety in the Early Sixteenth Century
December 18, 2017 by
This article investigates the texture of relationships within elite circles in Rome and Florence in the early sixteenth-century, and shows how visual and verbal humour at this time acted as a means through which to express anxieties about the pace of social change.
Castle for Sale in Tuscany
December 11, 2017 by
Located in the Tuscan hills near the town of Montalcino, Castel Verdelli dates back to the 14th century.
The Bolognese Societates Armatae of the Late 13th Century
November 29, 2017 by
The Bologna archives preserve the bye-laws of 24 „armed societies”, dating from between 1230 and the early 1300s, written in good notary Latin. Though known to exist in other Italian city-states, only few non-Bolognese armed society bye-laws are preserved.
Income and working time of a Fencing Master in Bologna in the 15th and early 16th century
November 29, 2017 by
Since ancient times, the master-at-arms profession has always been considered essential for the education of the nobility and the common citizenship, especially in the Middle Ages. Yet, we know nothing about the real standard of living of these characters.
Piety and Poor Relief: Confraternities in Medieval Cremona, c. 1334-1499
November 6, 2017 by
This dissertation focuses on confraternal piety and poor relief in the northern Italian city of Cremona between the mid-fourteenth century and the end of the fifteenth century.
Bankers and Banking in Medieval Italy
August 10, 2017 by
Banks as we have come to know them in today’s world owe their origins to the innovative credit mechanisms developed in medieval Italy.
Living with Books in Renaissance Ferrara
August 8, 2017 by
The growth of private libraries was one of the most remarkable aspects of the history of the medieval book during the 14th and 15th centuries.
Joanna II of Anjou-Durazzo, the Glorious Queen
August 8, 2017 by
This short essay reflects on Queen Joanna as a test case of both the difficulties and the potential that always reside in communication and confrontation between disciplines, even when they are as closely related as history and art history.
The Walk to Canossa: The Tale of an Emperor and a Pope
August 4, 2017 by
Ever since it happened people have been debating what took place at Canossa. Some have called it a brilliant masterstroke by Emperor Henry IV, while others have termed it his humiliation.
The Evil That Kings Do: Kingship, Tyranny and William I in Hugo Falcandus
July 9, 2017 by
A study of the presentation of William I of Sicily in the work of the pseudo – Hugo Falcandus, with particular attention to the author’s views on the entirety of the Hauteville dynasty and kingship in Sicily through the lens of his reign.
Death of a Renaissance Record-Keeper: The Murder of Tomasso da Tortona in Ferrara, 1385
May 4, 2017 by
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
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, Issue 7)
April 23, 2017 by
In our latest issue: Being lovesick was a real disease in the Middle Ages! Judaism, War, and Chivalry: Why is this Knight Different than Other Knights? Travel Tips: San Lorenzo’s Medici Crypt! Crusade in Europe
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