New Medieval Books: Dante’s Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri stands as one of medieval literature’s greatest masterpieces. This book follows the remarkable journey of Dante’s epic, from its creation in the early 1300s through centuries of both fame and neglect, to its enduring influence today, inspiring books, movies, and more.
Medieval Democracy in Action: From the Fables of Odo of Cheriton
If you’re choosing your next ruler, you might take a page from Odo of Cheriton’s book. This 13th-century English preacher and storyteller offered tales of birds, frogs, trees, and ants who tried their hand at electing kings—and their choice backfired.
Bad Chaucer with Tison Pugh – The Medieval Podcast, Episode 264
When it comes to classics of literature, it can feel like there’s a lot of pressure to nod along with the crowd and say that some authors are just brilliant, full stop. But sometimes even great literature isn’t so great. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Tison Pugh about the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
Book Review: Sweet Hunter: The Complete Poems of St. Teresa of Ávila
The engaging freshness of the translations collapses much of the distance between this fervent mystic of Ávila and the contemporary reader, making Sweet Hunter a fascinating and moving volume.
Which Translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms Should I Read?
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of China’s greatest literary masterpieces, has fascinated readers for centuries with its epic tales of warfare, intrigue, and heroism. If you’re eager to dive into this 14th-century classic but don’t read Chinese, you might be wondering: Which English translation should you choose?
Top 50 Masterpieces of Medieval Literature
Unlock the rich and diverse world of medieval literature with our list of 50 masterpieces. From epic tales of heroism to timeless romances and spiritual writings, these works from the Middle Ages have shaped cultures and influenced storytelling traditions for centuries.
New Medieval Books: Three Political Tales from Medieval Germany
Translations of three medieval German texts, two of which deal with knights while the third is about a fox. All of them were meant to offer political messages for their time, and perhaps for our time as well.
New Medieval Books: The Misadventures of Master Mugwort
The Misadventures of Master Mugwort: A Joke Book Trilogy from Imperial China By Su Shi, Lu Cai, Tu Benjun Translated by Elizabeth Smithrosser…
Forbidden Love: Medieval Romance as Critical Race Studies Archive
My goal here is to talk a bit about why medieval romance, and especially medieval English romance, is such a useful archive for the critical study of race.
Icelandic Saga Now Available in English for the First Time
Medieval Icelandic literature enthusiasts have a reason to celebrate—a saga, previously inaccessible to English readers, has been translated for the first time. Even better, it’s available to read for free.
10 Fake (But Also Real) Medieval Proverbs
Ever wondered if medieval wisdom was just old wives’ tales or something more? Dive into the quirky world of the Distaff Gospels, where satire meets surprising truths in these so-called “fake” proverbs.
New Medieval Books: The New Reynard
The medieval tales involving Reynard the Fox are always a fun read. Here we have translations of three satires from the 13th century, which sees our mischievous protagonist poking fun at politics of the medieval kind.
New Medieval Books: Bad Chaucer
One of the famous works of the Middle Ages is scrutinized for its errors, missed opportunities, and not-so-great poetry.
Buried Alive with an Undead Corpse: A Medieval Tale of Horror
Medieval people, much like us today, loved sharing spooky stories of the dead rising and haunting the living. One such tale involves a man named Asmund, who chose to be buried alive with his deceased friend. The most terrifying aspect of this story is how the friend returned as the undead.
10 Medieval Poems Offering Timeless Wisdom
Throughout the medieval world, various writings aimed to impart advice and wisdom. Here is some poetic wisdom from the ninth-century Middle East.
New Medieval Books: Medieval Humour
What did people in the Middle Ages find funny? This book has six essays that examine what would be humourous in medieval Western culture, whether it be in manuscripts, writings, or even in the monastery.
Your Medieval ABCs
We all remember reading ABC books when we were children. In medieval England, there was something similar, with a poem known as the ABC of Aristotle. Here are two of these texts in translation.
Five Jokes about the Medieval Church
Could medieval people joke about religion? Poggio Bracciolini proves it to be true, and offers us five funny stories. In 1470 the Italian…
New Medieval Books: Kalilah and Dimnah
A collection of over fifty short tales, originally from India and adapted to Arabic audiences in the 8th century. These entertaining morality tales have animals as the main characters, similar to Aesop’s Fables.
New Medieval Books: Africanism
A groundbreaking book that examines the history between Arab and African peoples in the Middle Ages, focusing on Arab depictions of Black people in literature.
Ibn Hamdis of Sicily: A Medieval Life in Modern Circumstances
Ibn Hamdis is the only Muslim Sicilian whose voice we hear from in medieval times. His poetry – about 370 poems survive – is autobiographical and tells us much about his life and experiences.
Medieval Monsters with Charity Urbanski
They’re the things that go bump in the night, the creatures that storm your mead hall and eat your friends, the beings that wander restlessly from their graves. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Charity Urbanski about monsters in the medieval world.
Seven Lost Medieval Texts
Here are seven lost texts from the Middle Ages that we wished we still had.
The Well-Laden Ship: Medieval Proverbs
This week, Danièle and Peter Konieczny share profound – and profoundly odd – medieval proverbs from one of their favourite books of the Middle Ages: The Well-Laden Ship.