Notarial Convention in the Facilitation of Trade and Economics in Mid-Thirteenth Century Marseille
This paper examines Marseillaise notarial documents of 1248 from the cartulary of Girauld Amalric. Amalric’s cartulary demonstrates how notarial techniques and related legal conventions facilitated Marseille’s long- and short-distance trade.
The Military Use of the Icon of the Theotokos and its Moral Logic in the Historians of the Ninth-Twelfth Centuries
Starting at least by the late tenth century, Byzantine emperors took icons of the Mother of God with them on campaign. This article examines the appearance of such icons in the narratives of historical texts.
‘Waiting Only for a Pretext’: A New Chronology for the Sixth-Century Byzantine Invasion of Spain
This article argues that the common modern version of the invasion, in which Byzantine forces arrived in 552, fought on the side of the usurper Athanagild until 555, and then fought against Athanagild for a brief period before concluding a treaty with him, is flawed and, relying on a more precise reading of the sources, proposes a new chronology and narrative, in which Byzantine forces did not arrive until 554.
The Most Significant Manuscript Sources of Medieval Croatian Vernacular Verse
The first part of the article gives a brief overview of the history of Croatian literacy up to the first written record of poetry in the Old Croatian language.
Did a Megadrought force the Huns to invade Europe?
The worst megadrought in the last 2000 years hit Central Asia around 360 AD, new study finds
Medieval Thought and its Architectural Expression
This dissertation will study the correlation and influences between a series of underlying beliefs and how these find expression in the architecture and setting of place.
‘Part of our commonwealth’: a study of the Normans in eleventh-century Byzantine historiography
‘Part of our commonwealth’: a study of the Normans in eleventh-century Byzantine historiography Alexander Olson (Simon Fraser University) Simon Fraser University: Faculty of…
Theodora, Aetius of Amida, and Procopius: Some Possible Connections
Behind the purported facts of Theodora’s career as a common prostitute and later as empress are the hidden details of what we might call feminine pharmacology: what were the drugs used by prostitutes and call-girls in sixth-century Byzan- tium? Were there ordinary pharmaceuticals employed by such professionals to stay in business?
Theoderic the Great vs. Boethius: Tensions in Italy in the Late 5th and Early 6th Centuries
In 524AD the Roman senator Boethius was executed for committing treason against Theoderic the Great, the ruling gothic king in Italy. Boethius was never given a trial, and the charge of treason may have been an exaggeration of what actually happened.
Crisis of Legitimacy: Honorius, Galla Placidia, and the Struggles for Control of the Western Roman Empire, 405-425 C.E.
This dissertation offers a new analytical narrative of the years from 405 to 425 C.E., a period which extends from the final phase of the general Stilicho’s control over the administration of the emperor Honorius
Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets and Their Tradition
A diverse yet distinctive group of magical amulets has periodically attracted the attention of scholars from Renaissance times to the present. The amulets take many forms, including engraved gems and cameos, enamel pendants, die-struck bronze tokens, cast or engraved pendants of gold, silver, bronze, and lead, and rings of silver and bronze.
Into the frontier: medieval land reclamation and the creation of new societies. Comparing Holland and the Po Valley, 800-1500
In the paper it is shown that medieval land reclamation led to the emergence of two very divergent societies, characterised by a number of different configurations; (a) power and property structure, (b) modes of exploitation, (c) economic portfolios, and (d) commodity markets.
Rome, Constantinople, and the Barbarians
The barbarian invasions definitely did not happen to an unsuspecting empire, as though mysterious beings had landed from outer space. On the contrary, Rome had always had warlike tribesmen at its gates and had centuries of experience in dealing with them.
Machiavelli: Theories on Liberty, Religion, and The Original Constitution
Machiavelli: Theories on Liberty, Religion, and The Original Constitution Erin Bos Oklahoma Christian University Journal of Historical Studies, Tau Sigma Journal of Historical Studies:…
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence Philipp Dörler Networks and Neighbours, Volume One, Number One (2013) The…
The Anglo-Saxon influence on Romano-Britain : research past and present
The Romano-British to Anglo-Saxon transition in Britain is one of the most striking transitions seen in the archaeological record. Changes in burial practice between these periods, along with historical, anthropological, environmental and linguistic evidence have all been thought to indicate that a mass migration of Angles and Saxons into Britain occurred in the 5th century A.D.
Life and death in late ancient and early medieval Egyptian monasteries
Since 2006, Stephen Davis has served as Executive Director of the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project, conducting field work and training graduate students at two sites in Egypt: the White Monastery near Sohag and the Monastery of John the Little in Wadi al-Natrun.
Late Antique and Early Byzantine fortifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geographically, the province of Dalmatia can be divided into two zones: the coastal and the mountainous regions.
Delivering stability: Primogeniture and autocratic survival in European monarchies 1000-1800
Although the dominating position of primogeniture at the end of the period might seem natural given primogeniture’s many advantages for the monarch and the ruling elite it was first rather late in history that the principle came to dominate Europe.
A tale of Wade: The Anglo-Saxon origin myth in an East Saxon setting
In the past Walter Map’s tale of Gado, included in his De Nugis Curialium, written towards the end of the twelfth century, has been merely regarded as a Medieval Latin version of a pre-conquest lay concerning the exploits of the Germanic hero Wade. However, if we look past the fantastic elements which surround him we are left with what appears to be an East Saxon version of the English settlement myth most familiar in the Kentish form involving Hengist and Vortigern, which itself seems to have been adopted from a common Germanic theme.
Procopius’ Portrayal of Theodora in the Secret History: ‘Her Charity was Universal’
Like most other writers of late antiquity, what little is known about Procopius comes from his works. Born at the turn of the sixth century in Caesarea, he had the chance to receive education in the traditional Greek fashion, i.e. through the use of classical authors, before Justinian banned pagan teaching in 529
The Ideology of the Feminine in Byzantine historical narrative: The role of John Skylitzes’ Synopsis of Histories
“Who once sliced men more sharoly than the sword Is victim of a woman…Epitaph for Emperor Nicephoros II Phocas.
Plague, Settlement and Structural Change at the Dawn of the Middle Ages
Calculations on the number of inhabitants during these centuries are, however, impossible to make. The most famous attempt, by J.C. Russell, is, as will be revealed below, not satisfying. Using results from other studies, like those referred to above, Russell assumed hypothetical population figures without any real empirical evidence.
The Emergence of the North
Apart from this bipolar system that contrasted North and South, authors writing in the Old Norse-Icelandic language also appear to use the term Norðrlönd within a quadripolar system that held good beyond the immediate region: Norðrlönd, the Vestrlönd (the British Isles), Suðrríki (Germany, the Holy Roman Empire), and Austrríki or Austrvegr (Russia and other lands to the East).