How to be a Holy Man and a Pragmatist: The story of Hybald
Any type of leader will often have to balance their convictions with pragmatism. For a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon abbot, perhaps there could be a way to display both.
The medieval nun who faked her own death
The launch this month of ‘The Northern Way’ research project, which looks at the Archbishops of York from 1304 to 1405, is revealing some fascinating stories, including that of a nun who made an elaborate plan to escape her own convent.
10 Videos about Monks and Nuns in the Middle Ages
Want to learn more about the medieval world of monks and nuns? Here are ten videos we found that offer some quick information on monasticism in the Middle Ages.
“From what is earthly to what is divine”: The Story of Caritas Pirckheimer, Renaissance Woman
An abbess fighting for her nuns, a scholar of humanism, and a historian of the Franciscans.
Virgin Sacrifice in the 12th century: The Hortus Deliciarum
If you put a group of bookish virgins up against a monster bent on devouring the world, what do you get? Something approximating salvation, right?
Torture and Confession in the Templar Interrogations at Caen, 28–29 October 1307
Perhaps more clearly than anywhere else in the documentation of the “Trial of the Templars,” these acts reveal how royal agents extracted confessions from the Templars in the weeks following their arrest.
700-year-old floor discovered by archaeologists at Bath Abbey
Archaeologists have discovered a stunning 13th century tiled floor during renovation works for Bath Abbey’s Footprint Project.
You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire: The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane
Th is article compares the deaths of two abbots as told by contemporary observers
Monasticism without frontiers : the extended monastic community of the Abbot of Cluny in England and Wales
Cluniac monasteries, so called because of their relationship to the abbot of Cluny in Burgundy, have been estimated to have numbered over seven hundred foundations at one time, distributed throughout France and in England, Wales, Scotland, Lombardy, and Spain.
Lost but not yet Found: Medieval Foundlings and their Care in Northern France, 1200-1500
The High Middle Ages was an important period of transition in the care of France’s “miserable persons,” that is, the poor, sick, widows, orphans, aged, and infirm.
Tiny Edens: What you can find in a medieval monastery’s garden
Here are five garden elements you’d regularly find on a monastery’s grounds.
Before Dracula: The Rise and Fall of Whitby Abbey
But in addition to Bram and Dracula, Whitby Abbey has more stories to tell; and they are much more ancient than the immortal Count.
Monastic Reform and the Geography of Christendom: Experience, Observation and Influence
Historians have suggested that tropes about the desert, solitude, etc., drawn from early texts found their way into mainstream accounts of monastic change in the period c. 1080–1150; this paper challenges this model.
The Novice-master in the Cistercian Order
Information relating to the novice master has to be rather sought in the customs, constitutions and in similar texts. Their explanations and regulations come closer to the practices of the respective community than can be expected from rules.
The Miracle of the Unspilled Beer
Was not spilling beer important enough to be considered a miracle? For one seventh-century writer it was!
The Soul of Early Irish Monasticism
Not many people are aware that when it comes to Irish religious history, St Patrick only scratches the surface. The island in fact has a rich and fascinating Christian heritage, of which monks and sprawling monastic communities play a central role.
Book Tour: Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connolly
This November, Medievalists.net is pleased to feature Sharon Connolly’s book tour for Heroines of the Medieval World. The book shares the stories of women, famous, infamous, and unknown, who shaped the course of medieval history.
The Meaning of the Habit: Religious Orders, Dress and Identity, 1215-1650
What lies at the core of this analysis of the conceptions about religious clothing – used as a heuristic tool – is precisely its capacity to show not only how the identities of the religious orders of the period evolved, but also how they were perceived and conceived, and how they shaped these changes.
Book Review: The Mortecarni
Are you a horror fan looking for something different to shake up your reading list? Kelly Evans might have just what you’re looking for in her latest novel, ‘The Mortecarni’, a medieval zombie mash up set around the time of the Black Death.
White, Black and Grey: recent discoveries at Aberdeen’s medieval friaries
Recent excavations at Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen have revealed 30 burials from the medieval Dominican (Black) friary as well as hints at remains of the buildings. This talk will present the latest evidence from this site and look at the other excavated medieval friaries, Franciscan (Grey) and Carmelite (white).
Tips on being a good CEO from a medieval abbot
In many ways, Abbot Samson would resemble the Chief Executive Officer of a company – indeed, he was actually running a corporation that would have been worth tens of millions of pounds in today’s money
Get Thee to a Nunnery: Unruly Women and Christianity in Medieval Europe
These texts also demonstrate that women’s power waned in the shift between pre-Christian and Christian Europe.
Fish on Friday II: Monastic Meals
In the Middle Ages, fasting and Lenten traditions were highly evident in the monastic houses. The different Rules and Orders (take your pick…
Disimpassioned Monks and Flying Nuns: Emotion Management in Early Medieval Rules
What do a monastery and an airplane have in common? Both are closed communities; there is no way out (at least after the plane has started). Both are regulated by rules different from those followed in the world outside.
