Guillaume d’Orange: Duke, Saint, Legend
In this article, we will meet the man himself, neither as a strictly historical person, nor an entirely fictionalised one, but as he is remembered and represented with the passage of time.
The Medieval Journeys of Alexander the Great
Going into the heavens and under the sea with Alexander the Great.
Sir Reynard: The Fox, the Trickster, the Peasant Hero
Despite being a romance, the story of Reynard the Fox is no romance in the traditional sense.
Oh My Dog! St Guinefort and St Christopher
Dogs and holiness in the stories of St Guinefort and St Christopher.
The Legendary History of Norway
That the legendary forefathers of Norway are named after elements of nature (and winter) is interesting.
St. Patrick and the Ossory Werewolves
How a tale of cursed werewolves in Ireland finds its way to 13th century Norway.
Four Medieval Love Stories You May Not Know About
Four tales from the Middle Ages about love.
The Sirens: From Sage to Cannibal, From Goddess to Prostitute
Sultry and deadly seductresses, the Sirens are fearful, yet fascinating creatures that have captivated writers for centuries. But they weren’t always depicted this way – what were the origins of the Sirens and how did they become synonymous with death, destruction, and sin?
The Yule Cat of Iceland: A Different Kind of Christmas Tradition
By Minjie Su You know the Christmas Cat, – That cat was enormous. People know not where he came from Nor to what…
The Werewolf’s Wife: The She-Wolves in Medieval Literature
Whereas the werewolves grieve over their fate, the she-wolves use the power of metamorphosis to deal with those who get in their way, turning this whole wolf thing to their advantage.
5 Things you might not know about Medieval Werewolves
Medieval authors were fascinated by werewolves just as much as we are. Yet, despite all the ferocity, the werewolf they imagined is not quite the same monster in our era.
The Saga of Jón the Playmate: A ‘Cannibalistic’ Story
At first sight, Jóns saga leikara is but your average chivalric romance, filled with exciting but somewhat generic little adventures.
(Medieval) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Imagining Animals in the Middle Ages
The wild landscape in the medieval imagination is both enchanting and enchanted.
Advice from a Werewolf: Arthur and Gorlagon
King Arthur goes on a quest to learn ‘the nature or the heart of a woman’. What did he find out?
The Standing Contest between King Charles and Redbad
Can win a medieval kingdom by being able to stand very still (and with just a little bit of scheming)?
Not Your Average Maiden King: Ingigerðr, Queen of Ambiguity
Far from being a damsel in distress, the Maiden King is a damsel who creates distress
In search of Lagertha, the Warrior Queen
As one of the most aspiring female characters on the show, Lagertha in the TV series Vikings is introduced as the wife of Ragnarr Loðbrók and a renowned shieldmaiden – women who fight fearlessly in the battlefront. But where does Lagertha’s story originate?
The Dead Man’s Prophecy and a Roundtrip to Hell: The Early Adventures of Hadingus
What can be more glorious, more tempting than the conquest of death?
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.
Life, Fantasy, Sagas, and Whatnot: Some Thoughts on Tolkien the Movie
I felt both very thrilled and scared when I learned that they had made a Tolkien biopic.
Plotting, Rebellion, Fratricide: A Game of Thrones in Medieval Sweden
The one story that I wish to tell today is from Erikskrönikan, or ‘The Chronicle of Duke Erik’.
The Boy Who Was a Girl: The Romance of Silence
Suppose girls cannot inherit, but your only child is a daughter and you happen to have an enormous inheritance, what will you do?
The Sad Story of the Queen of the Elves: An Icelandic Folktale
Once upon a time, in a mountainous region somewhere in Iceland, something strange took place that was at the same time puzzling and frightening: every year
‘I wanted to make them a little book’: The knight and the book for his daughters
I wanted to make them a little book to read so they might learn and study and understand the good and evil that has already happened, in order to keep them from that which is yet to come.