The Most Controversial Books in Medieval Studies
Ten books that caused controversy in the field of medieval studies.
New Medieval Books: Rival Byzantiums
A look at how the Byzantine Empire came to be viewed in five countries – Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.
The Story of Moses at the Mongol Court
The extant paintings prominently feature the life of Moses in a synthesis of stylistic sources, reflecting a unique cosmopolitan union of history and religion.
At the dawn of Byzantine Studies: Martin Crusius (1526-1607), with Richard Calis
A conversation with Richard Calis about Martin Crusius (aka Kraus: 1526-1607 AD), one of the first philologist-historians who tried to reconstruct Byzantine history from the sources. We talk about his interest in the Greek language and the Ottoman empire, in using Byzantine sources to understand antiquity, and his working methods — all in an era before there was much scholarship to guide him.
New Medieval Books: Procopius of Caesarea: The Persian Wars: A Historical Commentary
Geoffrey Greatrex’ magnum opus, this book complements his translation of The Persian Wars.
New Medieval Books: Matthew Paris on the Mongol Invasion in Europe
This book can be seen as a case study to help answer the author’s question: “What is history and how did Matthew view his duty as a historian?”
New Medieval Books: The Rise and Demise of the Myth of the Rus’ Land
This open-access book examines the concept of the Rus’ Land and how modern Russian nationalism made it the equivalent of “Russia.” It looks at how this myth developed during the medieval and early modern periods.
On writing narrative history
Why and how should we write narrative histories? What do they accomplish in the overall economy of the scholarly production of knowledge?
The Annals of Clonmacnoise
Lecture focusing on Armagh Robinson MS A – the oldest manuscript of Conall Mag Eochagáin’s English translation of Irish Annals
A medieval chronicle written by a woman: The Annals of Quedlinburg
Relatively few surviving works from the Middle Ages were written by women. One of them is a monastic chronicle known as the Annals of Quedlinburg, created in the early eleventh century. A look into this work reveals some interesting insights into the writer and her abbey.
The Deeds of Philip Augustus with Cecilia Gaposchkin and Sean Field
As a teenage king, a crusader, and a bigamist, Philip Augustus’ life story is filled with enough saintliness and scandal to satisfy the appetites of any medieval chronicler. This week, Danièle speaks with Cecilia Gaposchkin and Sean Field about the life of Philip II Augustus, as recorded by a contemporary monk.
Across the Strait of Gibraltar: Chroniclers from Iberia and North Africa
We are bridging communities across the sea in this episode of the Medieval Grad Podcast. Emma Snowden talks with Lucie Laumonier about her dissertation, “Bridging the Strait: The Shared History of Iberia and North Africa in Medieval Muslim and Christian Chronicles.”
Anna Komnene: The Purple-Born Historian
Anna’s legacy is not her political vivacity but the impressive history she wrote of her father’s reign, fittingly called the Alexiad.
The Rescue of Armenian Historiography and the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa
Of the thirty-five manuscripts that remain of the 12th-century Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, not a single one dates from before 1590, but over half of them were produced by 1700.
V for Viking
I want to talk a little bit about aspects of my more public-facing academic research and public engagement
Imagining Microplaces: From Medieval into the Present
Exploring how thinking through microplace might open up new possibilities for historians, bringing together research, imagination, and varied tools for immersive, experiential analysis and interpretation.
Wherein Tina and I take bad scholarly habits to task, with Tina Sessa
In a fun romp through some of the foibles, evasions, pretensions, and generally bad habits of scholarship, Tina Sessa and I take our fields to task for practices that make our eyes roll. Sure, we’ve probably been guilty of most of these too! But what better place to vent a bit than a podcast?
Bower’s Scotichronicon – Part 2
This is the second part of Scotichronicast’s book club series. In this episode, Kate Buchanan and Joanna Richardson talk about books 6-10 in Walter Bower’s Scotichronicon.
Is it Time to Decolonize the Terms Byzantine and Byzantium?
A panel discussion including George Demacopoulos, Elizabeth Bolman, Anthony Kaldelis, Leonora Neville and Alexander Tudorie
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.