The Astrolabe: Medieval Multi-Tool of Navigation
They were the Swiss Army knife of medieval travelers.
Ore, Fire, Hammer, Sickle: Iron Production in Viking Age and Early Medieval Iceland
Iron production may be used as a window through which to view, in part, the economic structure of Icelandic society during the Viking Age (c. AD 870-1000) and Early Medieval (AD 1000-1264) periods.
Medieval Blacksmiths: The Men Behind the Metal
Medieval blacksmiths were loved, hated, thought to have magical healing powers, and able to fend off the devil. Here’s a quick look at the men behind the metal.
The Pre-History of Gunpowder
There is a Chinese tradition that a cook carrying a bowl of saltpetre slipped and dropped it onto a charcoal fire. That would certainly create a considerable conflagration but, as the ingredients were not mixed, hardly an explosion.
Mons Meg removed from Edinburgh Castle for conservation work
Mons Meg, one of the most famous weapons of the Middle Ages, was removed from Edinburgh Castle last month for specialist restoration and conservation work.
Saltpetre in medieval gunpowder: Calcium or Potassium Nitrate?
Until recently, it has been accepted that the formulation of gunpowder has always been based on variable mixtures of charcoal, sulphur and potassium nitrate. This has recently been challenged.
From Tempests and Hydraulic Machines to the Arno Diversion: the Historical Significance of da Vinci’s Study of Water
Reemergence of classical thought and the importance of water in society led da Vinci to pursue multiple projects regarding his study of water – culminating in the project to divert the Arno River.
A Portal to the Universe: The Astrolabe as a Site of Exchange in Medieval and Early Modern Knowledge
This essay analyzes the astrolabe and its ability to transfer ideas and culture across traditional geographic boundaries, from the perspective of Europe in the Medieval and Early Modern eras.
Making medieval chainmail
Recently, I picked up a new hobby in this vein: making chain mail.
The Early Medieval Cutting Edge of Technology
Comparison of knives from England, Dublin and Europe revealed that the Vikings had little direct impact on England’s knife manufacturing industry, although there was a change in manufacturing methods in the 10th century towards the mass produced sandwich welded knife.
Building Medieval Plate Armor: An Operator’s Guide
The subject was how understanding the design and function of real medieval plate armor can help someone build their own suit of armor in a more historically accurate and properly functional way.
Cut, Chop and Thrust: The Sword through Millennia
Igor and Phillip talk about the history of the European Sword, including its technology, design, rituals, traditions, symbols, social and religious meanings.
Medieval glass artefacts shed new light on Swedish history
Archaeological finds of glass material from Old Lödöse, a Swedish trade centre in the High Middle Ages, call for a revision of the country’s glass history.
Ten Medieval Inventions that Changed the World
Ten Inventions from the Middle Ages that have had lasting importance, even to the present-day.
A Good Day for a Trebuchet, Part II: The Siege of the Sandpit
The fact that you can build a trebuchet out of found materials and still have it manage to function consistently and accurately speaks to the genius of the original design.
The civil uses of gunpowder: demolishing, quarrying, and mining (15th-18th centuries). A reappraisal
The first idea of blasting appears in 1403, when a Florentine engineer pondered on how to open a breach in the walls of Pisa by exploding a charge of black powder inside an old walled-up gate.
Medieval Siege Machines: The Bellifortis by Conrad Keyser
One of the most imaginative and fascinating works to depict medieval siege warfare is the Bellifortis by Conrad Keyser.
A Good Day for a Trebuchet
You know you’re a medieval nerd when you walk into a toy store with the intention of getting toys for actual children, and walk out with a build-your-own-trebuchet kit for yourself.
An Introduction to the Mechanical Arts in the Middle Ages
A brief overview of where these “mechanical arts” fit into the scholastic world. The thesis of the “Dark Ages” often suggests that there was a discontinuity in knowledge between Antiquity and the Renaissance, and perhaps nowhere so obviously as in the mechanical arts. This is certainly false…
Time and Clocks in the Middle Ages
York, England, is a particularly convenient place to study the ways medieval people measured and thought about time.
Limitations imposed by wearing armour on Medieval soldiers’ locomotor performance
Our findings can predict age-associated decline in Medieval soldiers’ physical performance, and have potential implications in understanding the outcomes of past European military battles.
Old Light on New Media: Medieval Practices in a Digital Ages
This essay offers an insight into the way digital editions of medieval texts can be employed to replicate the medieval reading experience.
Armourers and their workshops: The tools and techniques of late medieval armour production
Armour represents one of the most recognised and enduring monuments of the Middle Ages, but its fabrication as a craft-product remain obscure.
Tempus Fugit: The Middle Ages and Time
If you needed to know the time between bells, there were several ways to find out.