The Mental Toll of Polygamy in Medieval Egypt
Discover how women in 15th-century Cairo resisted polygamy—and the emotional toll it took—through rare accounts from a medieval biographical dictionary.
What Did Brides Wear in the Middle Ages? A Guide to Medieval Wedding Dresses
Discover what brides really wore in the Middle Ages—from colourful gowns and luxurious fabrics to silver belts and floral accessories—in this guide to medieval wedding dresses.
Spring in the Middle Ages
How did medieval people perceive the arrival of Spring? How was Spring depicted in medieval calendars and literary texts? And, was Spring the “mating season” for humans, as it is for many animal species?
A Medieval Take on Choosing Between Love and Career
It’s an age-old dilemma: choosing between marriage and a career. A letter from the fifteenth century provides insight into how one woman advised another on this very question.
Ten Medieval Reasons a Man should not Marry
It sounds like a joke from a men’s magazine, but this list of ten reasons not to get married was created in the Middle Ages, by a man who became a Pope.
A Medieval Royal Wedding: How Much Could it Cost?
Just how lavish could a medieval royal wedding be? The nuptials of a 14th-century English princess offer some insights.
Medieval Wedding Dresses: A Guide
If you are a bride wanting to have a medieval look on your wedding day, what should you wear? While evidence about medieval wedding dresses is scattered in the sources, there are a few details we can learn. They reveal the brides would wear a lot of colour and several kinds of accessories.
Love and Marriage: Medieval Style
I think the most widespread impression of medieval marriage is that of a cold, loveless, and practical union, made simply for the purpose of transferring real estate.
Medieval prostitutes, concubines, and their relationships – their story told in new research
In late medieval Valencia, city authorities would not punish a woman for being a prostitute or being a concubine, but she could not be both.
A Medieval Wedding Feast in Bologna
If you wanted to hold a medieval wedding feast, you could do well to follow the example given by Annibale II Bentivoglio and Lucrezia d’Este in 1487.
Abduction, Marriage and Consent in the Middle Ages
What did it mean to abduct your fiancé? Lucie Laumonier talks with Chanelle Delameillieure about marriage and consent in the late medieval Low Countries. We learn that consented abductions were a thing, but that they could lead to contentious outcomes!
The Tudors and Courtly Love with Sarah Gristwood
The Tudors are a fascinating and turbulent dynasty, but how were they shaped by medieval culture? In this episode of The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Sarah Gristwood about the courtly love traditions that heavily influenced the Tudors.
Spring in the Middle Ages
How did medieval people perceive the arrival of Spring? How was Spring depicted in medieval calendars and literary texts? And, was Spring the “mating season” for humans, as it is for many animal species?
Love and Marriage in Old Norse Literature
Why actions speak louder than words when it comes to romance in the Icelandic sagas.
A Guide to Medieval Marital Sex
With whom and why should you have sex? When can you engage in sexual activities and when should you refrain from them? How and where is it appropriate to have intercourse?
Marriage, Adultery and Divorce in the Middle Ages with Bridget Wells-Furby
Marriage was an important part of many medieval women’s lives, but not all marriages followed the neat path that the church had laid out for them. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Dr. Bridget Wells-Furby about fourteenth-century heiress Lucy de Thweng and what her story can tell us about medieval marriage, adultery, and even annulment.
Living and Loving in Sin: The Remarkable Relationships of Margaret de Gatesden
One exceptional case bears out not only that marriages might not last, but that separation can indeed lead to a happy ending.
Five Medieval Tricks to Make You Luckier in Love
The Distaff Gospels is a fifteenth-century collection of pseudo-serious advice given by fictional women, and it covers a wide range of the topics we can’t seem to get enough of, love and lust included.
A Marriage in Medieval London: The Brother’s Tale
On January 15, 1472, in the case of Elizabeth Isaak versus John Bolde, the deposed witness was Elizabeth’s brother, Walter Isaak.
How medieval marriages laws changed Western society
The Western Catholic Church’s influence on marriage and family structures during the Middle Ages shaped the cultural evolution of the beliefs and behaviors now common among Western Europeans and their cultural descendants, researchers report.
Henry VIII’s marital troubles may have influenced other splits, newly-discovered documents show
Newly-discovered documents show Henry VIII’s legendary marital troubles may have led to other copy-cat splits around the country.
Love, marriage and abduction in Byzantium: the epic romance of Digenes Akritas
What can an epic poem from the the 12th century tells us about love and marriage in the Byzantine world?
Lucrezia Borgia and her marriage to Alfonso d’Este
After two failed marriages, one of which had ended in the murder of Alfonso Duke of Bisceglie, Lucrezia Borgia was once more on the marriage market in the year 1500. She was a pawn, a chess piece for her father and brother’s political plans. This time, the Borgia family were looking to tie their family to the Estes of Ferrara – a proud and ancient House.
The Rocky Road to Assimilation: Converso-Old Christian Intermarriage in the Late 15th Century
Focusing on converso / old Christian intermarriage will I hope shed more light on the social and religious processes in the individual decision making that were involved in the gradual assimilation of a good number of converso families into old Christian society.
