Uncovering the Formation of Fake History Narratives
The project explores the global topic through a case study of circulating pseudohistorical narratives on Russian medieval history in the Russian language web.
Bower’s Scotichronicon – Part 1
This is the first of the Scotichronicast’s book club series. In this episode, Dr. Kate Buchanan and Dr. Marian Toledo talk about the first 5 books in Walter Bower’s Scotichronicon.
Inscribing the Mongol Invasion into History: The Chronica Majora and Beyond
In 1242 the people of Eastern Europe acquired first-hand knowledge about the Mongols in their own lands, but within a short time the news made it to the westernmost edges of Christian Europe.
How can historians use new media to disseminate ideas?, with Merle Eisenberg
A wide-ranging conversation with Merle Eisenberg on the opportunities created for historians by media, old and new, to disseminate our ideas to the public
Michael Clanchy passes away
Michael T. Clanchy, a historian and author of ground-breaking books about the Middle Ages, has passed away at the age of 84.
Giles Constable passes away
One of the leading medievalists of the last 60 years, Constable focused his research on the eleventh and twelfth centuries, covering topics such as monasticism, crusading, and religious and social thought
Preventing the Misuse of the Medieval Past with Amy Kaufman and Paul Sturtevant
There are those who abuse the medieval past in order to promote ideas of racism, white supremacism, and other toxic ideologies. To counter these views, Amy S. Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant have written The Devil’s Historians: How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past. They join Danièle on The Medieval Podcast to talk about their work and how the Middle Ages was more diverse, compelling, and complex than is often portrayed in mass media.
Our Words, and Theirs: A Reflection on the Historian’s Craft Today
What is the relationship between the idiom of the observer (historian, anthropologist) and the idiom of the actors, dead or alive?
Engaging the Crusades
What do the crusades mean today? A new book series entitled Engaging the Crusades takes a look.
Studying the Middle Ages: Historical Food for Thought in the Present Day
Why study the Middle Ages? The answers this question yields concern more than simply medievalists: they generate reflections regarding the usefulness of science or intellectual engagement in any given society.
The Writings of the Historians of the Roman and Early Medieval Periods and their Relevance to the Chronology of the First Millennium AD
the focus will be on what the historical sources actually say, and the extent to which the historical evidence supports each of the various chronological models (orthodox and unorthodox) under consideration.
From Cushing Crude to the City of Angels: USC Dornsife’s new medieval scholar traces his unusual journey
Adolescent Anglophilia, fueled by a love for “Doctor Who” and The Kinks, led Jay Rubenstein to discover a passion for the Middle Ages. Now the MacArthur Fellow and distinguished medievalist joins USC Dornsife to create a new Center for the Study of the Pre-Modern World.
Talking History with Natalie Zemon Davis
Natalie Zemon Davis talks about some of her favourite trailblazers, how she sees Medieval Studies today, and how historians can use their work to bring people together across cultures
A memoir of the court of Henry VII
The memoir of the court of Henry VII for the years of 1486-90, contained in BL, MS Cotton Julius B. XII, fols. 8v-66r, represents an invaluable source for the study of court and socio-political life during the early years of the reign of Henry VII.
Why We Need to Think About the Global Middle Ages
Medieval history has become synonymous with the study of western Europe. This article argues that it is important to widen the geographic focus to better understand the Middle Ages as a whole, and in doing so, counter Eurocentric views of the past that have dominated and shaped views of the past.
How to criticize: The Chronicle of Constantine Manasses
Few can match the 12th century chronicler Constantine Manasses when it comes to inventive ways to criticize a ruler.
Understanding medieval chronicles with Lane Sobehrad
This week, Danièle speaks with Dr. Lane Sobehrad about how medieval people wrote history, and how historians today can do their part to help future generations through outreach.
Profile of an Emperor: Reading Vita Karoli Magni in Light of Its Sources and Composition
In composing Vita Karoli Magni, Einhard borrows heavily from Suetonius’s De vita Caesarum – Vita divi Augusti in particular – and Annales regni Francorum.
What was the fate of the ‘True Cross’ in the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars?
Despite the fact that there is a relative abundance of contemporary or near contemporary sources on Heraclius’ campaigns, it is hard – if not impossible – to retrace the chronology of the events leading up to the restoration of the Cross.
Ethics and Representation of War in the Lanercost Chronicle, 1327–47
I argue that Lanercost’s distinctive style is not simply the result of patriotic or anti-Scottish fervour, but instead reflects a sensitive awareness of the death and destruction of war.
In Search of Medieval Africa: Sources, Methods, and Traps
Since my talk today is the first in a series I’m going to begin by placing the study of medieval Africa in the larger context of the writing of African history since the 1960s
“Fiction Piled on Fiction”: The Uses and Abuses of King Arthur
Here we are in 2019 still discussing the possibility of an historical King Arthur. How and why that is the case is a fascinating story told expertly by the historian Nicholas J. Higham in King Arthur: The Making of a Legend,
Time, Myth and the Origins of the Lombards
Origins, Identities and ethnicities were all central concerns of Early Medieval writers
The world view of the anonymous author of the Greek Chronicle of the Tocco, 14th-15th centuries
Written in 3923 ‘political verses’, the anonymous Chronicle of the Tocco is an epic family chronicle, which describes the history of the Tocco family – mainly the deeds of Carlo I Tocco, as well as the events which took place in Western Greece and the islands of Zakynthos, Leukas, Cephalonia and Ithaca during the years 1375-1422.