New survey of Dunstable Priory reveals a grander complex
Historic England has published a survey giving fascinating insights into Dunstable Priory, a monastery founded by King Henry I around the year 1132. It reveals that the church was grander and more elaborate than originally thought.
Five Gamechangers in English Castle-Building
Here are five changes in English castle design that had a big impact on history.
Kings of the Angles and Kings of the English: Royal Saints in the Prayer Book Calendar
What I’m going to do is first to give an introduction to the royal saints who appear in the Calendar of the Prayer Book to talk about their lives and the history of their veneration, and then to think about what their inclusion in that calendar can tell us about the intertwined history of the English monarchy and the English church.
The Battle of Shrewsbury (1403)
King Henry IV would face a major threat from within England, led by Henry “Harry Hotspur” Percy. Percy’s rebellion would culminate at the Battle of Shrewsbury, fought on 21 July 1403. How did this battle unfold, and how did Prince Hal survive an arrow to the face?
The Battle of Hastings
Luck may characterize the Battle of Hastings better than any other battle, and William the Conqueror more than any other general.
The Battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge
How Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson invaded England in 1066, winning the Battle of Fulford but losing the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
Warhorses in medieval England are about the size of a modern-day pony, study finds
Warhorses were not always bred for size, but for success in a wide range of different functions – including tournaments and long-distance raiding campaigns.
Roman statues discovered under medieval church in England
Archaeologists in central England working on the HS2 project have uncovered a set of incredible rare Roman statues whilst excavating a Norman Church in Stoke Mandeville.
The tomb of the Black Prince reveals its secrets
A new analysis of the tomb of Edward the Black Prince – who was due to become the King of England – has shed new light on the ingenuity of royal artists in the 14th century.
Treason in the Middle Ages, with Amanda McVitty
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Amanda McVitty about the changing face of treason in medieval England.
Medieval tannery discovered at Fountains Abbey
The largest tannery yet discovered at a monastic site in Britain has been identified at Fountains Abbey in northern England, revealing some remarkable new evidence about the community of monks and lay brothers who lived there.
Christians and Jews in 13th-century England, with Adrienne Williams Boyarin
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Adrienne Williams Boyarin about the ways in which Christians and Jews dealt with similarity and difference in thirteenth-century England.
Alice Chaucer with Michèle Schindler
Much ink has been spilled on Geoffrey Chaucer, but there’s another Chaucer that should be showing up on our radar, as well. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Michèle Schindler about the life and times of Alice Chaucer.
The man who should have lost the Battle of Hastings: The Saga of Swegen Godwinson
Shouldn’t Swegen have arisen to the English kingship in 1066 and been defending the throne at Stamford Bridge and Hastings?
Emotion, Drama and Intrigue: A year in York’s relationship with Richard III, 1476 – 77
This talk by Sarah Rees Jones will explore the evidence of the York House Books and the York Mystery Plays for clues to the tumultuous relationship between York and Richard in the years before he became king.
Remains of 800-year old bridge discovered in England
Remains of a previously unknown medieval wooden bridge have been discovered in Eastern England. Found in the town of Eye in Suffolk, it is believed to have been part of the defences of a castle, and may date back as far as 1200 AD.
The Corrupt Sheriff: The Story of William Heron
From his base in Newcastle, the wicked Sheriff of Northumberland weaved a web of power and corruption in the thirteenth century.
The construction and destruction of a saint: Thomas Becket
Diarmaid MacCulloch and Nicholas Vincent explore the meteoric rise to canonisation of Thomas Becket, his subsequent veneration and the destruction of his reputation during the Reformation, in the Tudor period
Edward I and the Tale of Two Audiences
Edward I and the Tale of Two Audiences Paper by Kathleen Neal Given at Mortimer History Society online conference on May 15, 2021…
Thomas Becket exhibition set to open at the British Museum
After being delayed for six months, the British Museum is now ready to show its new exhibition, Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint. The museum reopens on May 17th, with the exhibition starting three days later.
Piers Plowman and the Great Uprising of 1381
The Great Uprising of 1381 saw a group of dissatisfied peasants and their supporters march on London with demands that the king abolish serfdom and a new poll tax. The revolt remains one of the most widespread insurrections in English history, and it was inspired, in part, by the famous medieval poem Piers Plowman.
John of Gaunt with Helen Carr
Diplomat, soldier, prince, adulterer. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Helen Carr about one of the most colourful and powerful figures of the late Middle Ages: John of Gaunt.
Beautiful and quirky medieval items discovered
A ‘snail man’ mount and a matrix depicting an elephant are among the medieval finds reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme in 2020. It is likely that both of these items will find homes in British museums.
800-year-old medieval pottery fragments reveal Jewish dietary practices
A team of scientists have found the first evidence of a religious diet locked inside pottery fragments excavated from the early medieval Jewish community of Oxford.
Inner Circles: Reading and Writing in Late Medieval London
New findings reveal that London’s clerks and scriveners, who moved between English, French, and Latin, formed professional ‘communities of practice’, which played a significant part in the dissemination of literary manuscripts.