New Medieval Books: Dynasty in Motion
A look at royal weddings in the 15th and 16th centuries, focusing on the travel that took place before getting to the ceremony.
Alexander III, King of Scotland: A Child on the Throne and Schemers all Around
Alexander III’s reign both began and ended in crisis.
The Mysterious Fate of Edward II: The deposed king, the Mortimer, and the murder mystery
This talk presents the evidence that Edward II did die in 1327 and the evidence that he did not, and reveals that the ultimate fate of this most unsuccessful of kings is far more intriguing than usually supposed.
When the King of Jerusalem came to England
A fascinating look at a little-known episode in which the king of Jerusalem came to England on a fundraising expedition in 1223. Like a microcosm of the crusades, it started with high hopes and ended in bitter recriminations.
The Almost Kings of Anglo-Norman England
A look at four men – Robert Curthose, William Clito, Theobald II and Eustace – who almost became the King of England. Why didn’t they reach the throne?
So you’re the Roman emperor… now what?, with Olivier Hekster
A conversation with Olivier Hekster about the position of Roman emperor, from the beginning to the sixth century. We talk a little bit about titles and mostly about the expectations that subjects had of their emperors and how the latter navigated these demands and tried, or failed, to play their roles properly.
New Medieval Books: A Compendium of World Sovereigns
This guide lists all the various rulers of the medieval world, covering Europe, Asia, Africa and even Mexico and Central America. Includes emperors, kings, even dukes and counts in over 500 pages.
New Medieval Books: Corruption, Protection and Justice in Medieval Europe
It’s very much a tale of those seeking justice and how power and corruption played a very big role in their outcomes.
New Medieval Books: The Emperor and the Elephant
A book on medieval diplomacy, it is a case study of Carolingian relations with the Islamic world, particularly the Abbasids in the Middle East and the Umayyads in Iberia. It is a fascinating account of political relations revealing a more complex situation than has previously been thought.
The Power of Medieval States – A Report from 1423
What was the wealth and military power of states in the Middle Ages? It is a question that the Venetian government tried to figure ou
The Woman who Ruled the Papacy
The Papacy is a very male-dominated institution. However, for several years it was a woman who held true power over the Popes in Rome.
New Medieval Books: Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders
Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick By Nathen Amin Amberley Publishing ISBN: 978 1 3981 1246 9 A full…
25 Medieval Empires
Here is our list of 25 empires from the Middle Ages, starting with the most successful.
‘The Great’ Medieval Rulers
Here is a guide to 20 ‘Great’ medieval rulers, arranged chronologically.
Edward I and the Scottish Succession Crisis of 1290
A long history of Anglo-Scottish relations would lead to Edward I becoming the person who would determine the next King of Scotland.
Saying No to Medieval Fratricide: Why it wasn’t Ok to kill your Brother
A look into the lack of royal fratricide in twelfth-century England.
New Medieval Books: De La Pole, Father and Son
A double biography of two leading nobles in fifteenth-century England: John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, and his son, also named John. They become involved in the politics of the English crown and the Wars of the Roses.
Henry II’s Court from Hell
You might think your job is bad, but if you heed the words of Walter Map, it must be worse to work in the court of England’s King Henry II.
The Last Knight: Emperor Maximilian I
Was Maximilian brilliant and innovative, or was he a schemer who put family above country, or was he a natural leader, or was he just a politician with a mixed record?
Emperor Frederick II, Mr. Controversy
Let’s look at the factors that made Frederick important.
Crime and Punishment in the Reign of Vlad the Impaler
In the medieval stories, many made up by the Transylvanian Saxons at the end of the fifteenth century and sent to the Hungarian king, Vlad is presented as a vicious and bloody ruler who used to impale hundreds or thousands of people.
Scottish Child Kings with Emily Joan Ward
Kate Buchanan is joined by Emily Joan Ward as they talk about Scottish Child Kings and medieval adolescence.
Two Houses, Two Kingdoms with Catherine Hanley
To see the tangled knots of medieval interpersonal and international relationships, we need look no further than two of the most powerful, long-lasting, and entwined dynasties of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Catherine Hanley about two hundred years of rule by the houses of Plantagenet and Capet.
The Warlord Missionary: Abu Sa‘id al-Jannabi and the Rise of the Qaramita of Bahrayn
Fierce desert tribesmen, united by a sectarian missionary, emerged in Eastern Arabia in the 9th century. Under the leadership of this warlord missionary, they established a powerful predatory polity in Bahrayn that would terrorize the neighboring regions for 150 years.