The Mongols in Europe: The Byzantines, the Bulgarians and the Golden Horde
How did the Mongol presence in the Balkans effect its two main political powers – the Byzantines and the Bulgarians?
The Mongol invasions and the Aegean world (1241–61)
This article examines the decisive role played by the Mongols in the political history of the Aegean region in the thirteenth century. The Mongol invasions of 1241–44 were the key turning point in the struggle for hegemony in the region.
Women at Canossa: The Role of Royal and Aristocratic Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany
Modern historians rarely mention the presence of royal and aristocratic women at Canossa in January 1077. Yet contemporaries emphasised the important roles played by several women, including Matilda of Tuscany, Adelaide of Turin, Empress Agnes and Queen Bertha.
Mortgaging Medieval Children
Taking a look at the controversial decision to “mortgage” a young boy to the Venetians, and why children were used as political hostages in the Middle Ages.
The Great Western Schism, Legitimacy, and Tyrannicide: The Murder of Louis of Orléans (1407)
I will argue that the use of this kind of vocabulary during the Schism may have facilitated a slip into the rhetoric of tyrannicide, and may have incited it. I will suggest that the climate and rhetori of the Schism may have led John the Fearless to rationalize tyrannicide against his cousin, Louis of Orléans.
Collapse, Reconfiguration or Renegotiation? The Strange End of the Mercian Kingdom, 850-924
The Kingdom of Mercians is generally assumed to have come to an end, largely as a result of Viking incursions, in the late ninth century
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.
The Young Caliph and his Wicked Advisors: Women and Power Politics under Caliph Al-Muqtadir (r. 295–320/908–932)
This article explores the role of women as contenders for power at al-Muqtadir’s court.
Byzantium and Venice: The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Alliance
The story of the Venetian-Byzantine military alliance is a complex one, with many questions that need to be answered.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Crusades to the Holy Land – Phase 1
In my next few columns, I’m going to explore the way in which crusading manifested itself in the Holy Land.
Machiavelli meets ‘The Prince’
On 24th June 1502, the Florentine politician and diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli came face to face with Cesare Borgia.
The career of the Empress Judith, 819-843
This thesis examines the career of Judith (819-843), the second wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious (814-840).
Medieval Geopolitics: The Institution of the Crusade
How did the crusades emerge as an institution in the medieval world?
The Franks in the early Ideology of Frederick Barbarossa (1152-1158)
This article traces the Frankish legacy in the early years of Frederick Barbarossa’s reign, from his coronation to the diet of Roncaglia (1152-1158).
The Vigilante Empire: The Pinnacle of Saffarid Power and the Dynasty’s Fall from Grace
As Yaqub ibn Layth gained power and followers, his ambitions grew, ultimately leading to a confrontation with the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Leaders: King Sverre and King Haakon
The objective of the present dissertation discusses how King Sverre Sigurdsson (1177-1202) and Haakon Haakonsson (1217-1263) are depicted in their Sagas.
How to Become the King of England: 5 Tips from Stephen
How Stephen of Blois was able to go from Norman count to the King of England in less than a month.
The Calamity of Violence: Reading the Paris Massacres of 1418
The prelude to the massacres began on the night of 29 May 1418. The city had been brutally occupied for five years by the Armagnacs, the ruling junta hostile to both the Parisians and the populist Burgundian party that the vast majority of the capital’s residents favored.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval State
What did medieval states look like? A look at the most common and significant forms: kingdoms, principalities, communes and leagues.
The Abbasid Caliphate of Cairo (1261-1517): History and Tradition in the Mamluk Court
This dissertation investigates the two-and-a-half century evolution of Islam’s most prominent leadership institution, the Abbasid caliphate, after its restoration in Cairo following the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Invention of the Idea of Sovereignty
In this column, I trace on the evolution of the idea of “sovereignty,” which I believe to be the conceptual linchpin of this historical process.
The Justification of Tyrannicide in the Chronicle of Dalimil. The Czech Nobility as the “Mystical Body” of the Realm
Dating from the early 14th century (1309-1314), the Chronicle of Dalimil reflects the political attitudes of this pivotal period.
Richard III and the Woodville Faction: The Events Surrounding 1483
This paper examines the Usurpation of Richard III in 1483 and the events leading up to it.
Imperium et Credo: Frankish-Byzantine Rivalry over Leadership of the Roman-Christian Credo-State in the Ninth Century
The years 869-871 saw the onset of the last major diplomatic dispute between the two great powers of Christendom, the Franks in Western Europe and the Byzantines in the East. Louis
