Special Issue of Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian HistoryHave you ever felt exasperated at hearing, yet again, that medieval warhorses resembled Shires, could plough thei…| thegrailquest
A new project is reframing beliefs about violence in the Middle Ages. While nearly everyone today imagines medieval towns as places where arbitrary bloodshed lurked around every corner, the Medieval Murder Map project presents a different picture. By examining coroners’ inquests in London, York, and Oxford between 1296 and 1398, researchers found 355 homicides that […]| Archaeology News Online Magazine
Archaeologists from Lund University have shed new light on the artillery of Gribshunden, the late medieval Danish-Norwegian King Hans’ flagship that sank in 1495 off Ronneby (Sweden). The ship, labeled the world’s best-preserved vessel from the cusp of the Age of Exploration, provides unique insight into the technological developments that facilitated European maritime dominance. The […]| Archaeology News Online Magazine
A recent archaeological study in southern Iraq is redefining the history of the Zanj rebellion, a massive uprising that shook the Abbasid Caliphate between 869 and 883 CE. For centuries, it was recorded in the accounts—mostly written by medieval chroniclers like Al-Tabari and Al-Mas’udi—that the rebellion was a disaster that crippled the Basra economy and […]| Archaeology News Online Magazine
This is the start of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) discussing the structures of life for pre-modern peasants, who made up the majority of all humans who have ever lived. In the last few sections, we’ve looked broadly at how mortality, marriage and childbearing patterns shape the households these folks … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVa: Subsistence and a Little More→| A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
There’s been much recent scholarly interest in queenship, and this inevitably leads to the recurring historical question: what changed in medieval queenship and when? To answer this. it’s often use…| Magistra et Mater
Explore Oxford’s medieval rise, Norman rebuilding, and its transformation into a key political and educational centre.| Oxford Castle & Prison
This is the first part of the third part of our series (I, II) discussing the patterns of life of the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of all humans who lived in our agrarian past and indeed a majority of all humans who have ever lived. Last week, we looked at death, … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIa: Family Formation→| A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
Nothing more clearly illustrates the power of war as a culture-shaping force than the eerie parallels between feudal Japan and feudal Europe. Both societies rested on the labor of relatively unfree peasants, and both were ruled by hereditary warrior classes—knights in Europe and bushi, or samurai, in Japan—representing, or at least serving, the landed aristocracy. […]| Dojo Darelir, the School of Xenograg the Sorcerer
Archaeologists have unearthed surprising genetic evidence that two individuals buried at opposite ends of the south coast of England in the 7th century CE had recent West African ancestry. The findings, published in Antiquity, contradict centuries of traditional beliefs about the extent of migration and cultural connections in the Early Middle Ages. The discovery comes […]| Archaeology News Online Magazine
Amateur archaeologists made a series of stunning discoveries this summer in the quiet Grodziec Forest District near Kalisz, Poland, uncovering treasures that reveal centuries of history in the region. In just five weeks, the Denar Kalisz Group, working with the Voivodeship Office of Environmental Protection in Kalisz, unearthed artifacts that dated from the Roman period […]| Archaeology News Online Magazine
In 2019 public historian Tom Holland published his book Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, a thematic history examining the ways Christianity has fundamentally influenced western thinking. The book became a best-seller and critical favourite, though it did not sit well with some, particularly those with an animus against Christianity and religion in general. It has been, however, warmly embraced by Christian apologists and this has recently attracted the ire of the YouTube creator Step...| History for Atheists
Every year, without fail, we find endless articles, memes and claims on social media about the supposed “pagan origins” of Christmas. As with Halloween and Easter, anti-theist activists find themselves in furious agreement with neo-pagans and even some evangelical Christians that the date and virtually all the main customs and traditions of Christmas are actually pagan. Pop history articles and books are full of these breathlessly confident claims. Except, in fact, very little about Chris...| History for Atheists
My guest today is Dr David M. Perry . David is a medieval historian and author of several books, including The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe and the forthcoming Oathbreakers, both co-authored with Matthew Gabriele. He has taught medieval history at Dominican University and is currently the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Minnesota. The Bright Ages sought to refute common misconceptions about the Middle Ages and counter the misconception that th...| History for Atheists
The concept of “the Dark Ages” is central to several key elements in much anti-religious polemic. One of the primary myths most beloved by many anti-theists is the one whereby Christianity violently suppressed ancient Greco-Roman learning, destroyed an ancient intellectual culture based on pure reason and retarded a nascent scientific and technological revolution, thus plunging Europe into a one thousand year “dark age” which was only relieved by the glorious dawn of “the Renaissa...| History for Atheists
Generic picture of speaker at IMC I had to cancel going to the International Medieval Congress 2025 in person at the last minute because of health problems, but I did at least get to attend virtual…| Magistra et Mater
This is the back half of the third part of our series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the patterns of life for the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of humans who lived in the past. Last week, we started looking at family formation through the lens of marriage, this week we’ll consider it … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIb: Children and Childrearing→| A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
Ron Ennis explores the similarities and differences between Rambam, Maharal, and Rema, in their approaches to conflicts between science and Torah.| The Lehrhaus
This encounter is designed to challenge your players' expectations of morality and social expectations in a setting that may have different worldviews from their own. In that way, it's well-suited to a non-Flintstonist campaign, as a way to introduce players to the concept that people in a medieval fantasy world might see things differently than they see things today - especially with players who are new to the idea of leaving their preconceived notions at the door when approaching the camp...| Tales of the Lunar Lands
Apollonia Pontica was once a welcome refuge for mariners navigating a notoriously treacherous stretch of the Black Sea coast. Tradition has it that this ancient city was founded by Greek settlers from Miletus in 610 BC, but excavations at the site are now pointing to an earlier foundation date. Archaeological work has also revealed the location of a major sanctuary, and is shedding fascinating new light on the ebb and flow of the city’s fortunes. We take a look at how archaeology is deliver...| World Archaeology
This is the first part of the third part of our series (I, II) discussing the patterns of life of the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of all humans who lived in our agrarian past…| A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
This is the second part of our series (I) discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor, subsistence, death – of pre-modern peasants and their families. As we’ve discussed, pre-modern peasant farmers make up the vast majority of human beings in in the past. Last week we started by looking at the basic … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part II: Starting at the End→| A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
Among the many books bought at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds was Introducing Medieval Animal Names by Ben Parsons. Published by the University of Wales Press in the series designs t…| thegrailquest
Cong Abbey Cong Abbey is set in the charming village of Cong in County Mayo. This area is perhaps best known now for featuring in the famous film The Quiet Man featuring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and for the renowned luxury hotel Ashford Castle. Though Cong is a deeply [...] The post Cong Abbey appeared first on Tuatha.| Tuatha
Here Bonaventure emphasizes faith as the key to Bible interpretation. The goal of Bible study is not academic knowledge, but wisdom -- the experience of God leading to eternal happiness and fulfillment of all our desires. The post Understanding Scripture – Bonaventure appeared first on Crossroads Initiative.| Crossroads Initiative
Print or download the following prayer of St. Bonaventure. It is especially fitting to pray this prayer after sacramental or spiritual communion, but it is a beautiful prayer to pray anytime. ierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and... The post Prayer of St Bonaventure appeared first on Crossroads Initiative.| Crossroads Initiative
A guest blog by Helen Clutton, a MA Medieval Studies student, recalling a placement with Special Collections earlier this year| Special Collections Blog
This is the second part of our series (I) discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor, subsistence, death – of pre-modern peasants and their families. As we’ve …| A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
what even is a nation anyway| videodante
After the sudden collapse of a tower at Almonacid Castle in Toledo, Spain, on April 4, 2025, Global Digital Heritage was called upon to assist in an urgent digital restoration effort. Within just three days, the foundation had reprocessed historic aerial imagery to create a high-resolution 3D model that will now serve as the primary […]| Global Digital Heritage
St. Henry II was born in Bavaria in 973. He succeeded his father in ruling Bavaria as duke and was later elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1014. He proved extraordinary in his work for Church reform and expanded missionary activity. He died in 1024 and was canonized in 1146 by Pope Eugene III. The post Henry – The Emperor Who Became a Saint appeared first on Crossroads Initiative.| Crossroads Initiative
Estos 5 pueblos medievales están entre los más visitados por su magnífico estado de conservación.| Viajestic
Ceræ is an open-access, award-winning, peer-reviewed journal directed by a committee of international graduate students and early career researchers. We are united in our commitment to open access …| CERÆ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
After purchasing a ship in Portoga , the overworld of Dragon Quest III opens dramatically. From this point on there are no real road blocks...| tales-of-the-lunar-lands.blogspot.com
Family forms Emmanuel Todd, The Explanation of Ideology: Family Structures and Social Systems (Blackwell, 1985, French original from 1983) was written a long time before the author became a promine…| Magistra et Mater
By: Caleb Prus In 1485, during London’s first epidemic of the sweating sickness, the physician Thomas Forestier complained to Henry VII about certain “false leeches” ⎯healers deceiving the public through “writing of the kind[s] of powders and of medicines.” These “unexpert men” were not university-educated physicians like Forestier but ordinary tradespeople⎯ “carpenters and mill keepers”⎯who … Continue reading On Medical Manuscripts in Reynolds’ Reading Practice →| The Recipes Project
Medieval world was under siege by a swarm of giant snails, and the brave knights were the only thing standing in the monsters’ way. Or at least, that is what medieval manuscripts want you to believe. Margins and initials of medieval manuscripts often hold depictions of knights fighting against snails. And snails could be formidable … Continue reading Medieval Fighting Snails| War Fantasy
I’ve just been re-reading Kate Cooper, “Closely watched households: visibility, exposure and private power in the Roman domus”, Past and Present, 197 (2007), 3-33 (10.1093/pastj/gtm012). It made me…| Magistra et Mater
I just emailed this to the authors of High-resolution genomic ancestry reveals mobility in early medieval Europe, a new preprint at bioRxiv [LINK]. I appreciate that Polish population history is not the main focus of your preprint, and also that you're constrained by the lack of relevant and suitably high quality ancient genomes from East-Central and Eastern Europe. However, I must say that your| Eurogenes Blog
Don’t be saddened by the fact that Christmas is over and New Year’s Eve has passed, there is still an opportunity for you to have a party and indulge in festive treats: Twelfth Night and Epiphany are upon us! Twelfth Night on January the 5th and Epiphany on the 6th have been celebrated since the […] The post Twelfth Night and Epiphany are upon us! appeared first on Oxford Castle & Prison.| Oxford Castle & Prison
During our trip to Italy last year, we also visited the city of Ferrara. After our 3 week stay in Cividale del Friuli, we went on a short 5-night road trip in central Italy before finishing our holiday in Milan. On our way to Tuscany, we stopped for 1 night in Ferrara. Ferrara is... Read More » The post Ferrara – Italy Guide appeared first on Manu’s Menu. --- Ferrara – Italy Guide was first posted on November 23, 2020 at 10:45 pm. ©2018 "Manu’s Menu". Use of this feed is for pers...| Manu’s Menu
I am adamantly opposed to the conception of grind culture. I swear to god, if you 💯💯💯 me, I will consider it a hate crime, and will report you to my local self-governance group for a reparative harm process. This isn’t to say that I do not understand that work is often required of us … Continue reading "On side hustles"| Going Medieval
Our brand-new ‘Snap’ dragon puppet is here! Children and their adult carers who attend the Castle’s Snaplings and Snapdragons sessions for pre-schoolers are about to make a new friend! Snap has bee…| Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Off. It’s not like I’m off doing very much but, you know, I have actual chores to do, a couple of nights in Montreal… and other day trips to take… and summer’s slipping away so maybe there won’t be so much in this week’s beery news notes. And I am going to have limited access to scribbling time during the middle of this week so let’s see what I can come up with… no one wants someone to get that sad and lonely feeling if there isn’t something to read as they slurp down th...| A Good Beer Blog
It was a fact of medieval life that you could die a sinner. However sin eaters, on the edge of society, could take that sin away for beer and a loaf of bread.| Historic Mysteries
In 1325, an ordinary bucket gained unprecedented notoriety as the alleged trigger for the War… The post War of the Bucket: How a Bucket Killed 2000 People (Video) appeared first on Historic Mysteries.| Historic Mysteries
An overview of the conservation process of two medieval boots in the Norfolk Museums Service's collection.| Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Researchers have uncovered a significant Slavic settlement and burial ground near Wettin-Löbejün in Germany.| ArchaeologyNews Online Magazine
Coriander went from ancient staple to persona non grata.| Atlas Obscura
Thatch the way, a-ha a-ha, I like it... There are very few thatched churches remaining in England, and only one remaining in the whole of Lincolnshire.| Burials & Beyond
[The following short piece was originally published in the Lincoln Record Society News Review, 18 (2021), pp. 2–4; the version presented be...| www.caitlingreen.org
The aim of the following draft is to offer some thoughts on a local name from thirteenth-century Lincolnshire, Macamathehou , that involves ...| www.caitlingreen.org
Over the last several months, I’ve been working my way through Christopher De Hamel’s book Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World, and I just finished reading the final chapter today. I’m not a medievalist – I’ve often found books on medieval history that I’ve been exposed to are very focused on … Continue reading Fascinating Details of Medieval Manuscripts| History Research Shenanigans
One of the fundamental things in a medieval book is letters – those symbols that fill up page after page and that make up meaning. Each one of us human beings writes differently and considering that medieval books were made before the invention of print, it follows that the scripts they carry show a great variety in execution styles. … Continue reading The Secrets of Medieval Fonts→| medievalbooks
Robert Fludd, Jacob’s Ladder AUGUSTINE famously distinguished between two powers or levels of human reason, which he called lower reason (ratio inferior) and higher reason (ratio superior). These refer, respectively, to discursive reasoning (ratiocination) and intellection (immediate grasp), and correspond to what in the Platonic/Neoplatonic tradition are called dianoia and nous. Augustine’s views, of course, […]| Christian Platonism
Siblings who were heroes in their time, each was dedicated to a holy pursuit and exemplified it to an incredible degree. It has been decades since then, and they are considered holy figures. Especially for adventurers or other outsiders to normal society, the saints are an excellent way to pursue faith, along with strong personal virtues and goals to align with.| Words for Yellow
The point of combat| Words for Yellow
These races are all fantastical humans, and would consider many of the classic fantasy races equally human. None of them are inherently better or worse at any given thing, though cultures may reinforce certain skills or passions and shun others. If in doubt, anyone can simply be a Cikrem nomad of whatever skin color they prefer, or simply add their preferred races as needed.| Words for Yellow
Travelers from far off lands, wealthy Veshkin traders sometimes carry vessels that contain only a wise and ancient spirit. These spirits are called Genie, born untold aeons ago and living in forms crafted by flame. Many of them hold long-forgotten secrets and can share this information, and they must grant one wish to a mortal before they may leave whatever body they inhabit. Of course, they can only grant a wish within their power, and if they have found a comfortable vessel they have little...| Words for Yellow
I drew these, as some possible results on the sword generator| Words for Yellow
Spell rituals| Words for Yellow
Cartographers guild| Words for Yellow
guard by Allon Kremer| Words for Yellow
This is part of a GLOG community project to make rules for fighting and playing as kaiju (if you can believe it), proposed by Arkos over at Tome of Dreams. Some parts were quite a challenge, but it's the kind of challenge that you really want to rise up to, and I can only hope that I did a good job.| Words for Yellow
Perhaps my favorite part of any character sheet is the 'appearance' section, especially if it has an area for drawing a character portrait.| Words for Yellow
Hunters of Blades| Words for Yellow
This work is a Spanish illumination made in 1180 in gold, tempura, and ink on parchment from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was disassembled from the original book binding i…| Sight+Signs
The woodcut by Michael Ostendorfer of the Pilgrimage to the New Church at Regensburg, made around the year 1519, preserves the memory of the medieval performance of votive dedication. Devotees wou…| Sight+Signs
This beautifully painted manuscript is a Hungarian breviary made for Domonkos KaIlmaIncsehi, named bishop of Oradea in 1495. It was made by Francesco de Castello in c. 1474. A breviary is a manus…| Sight+Signs
This is a sculpture titled Hanging Lamp in the Form of a Sandaled Right Foot at the Met. It is a composite object which has been repurposed, or “spoliated.” It is an example of the complicated na…| Sight+Signs
The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is one of the most widely known and studied Medieval manuscripts. Its pages are frequently used to introduce Medieval art to students as it maintains its stat…| Sight+Signs
Game pieces offered sculptors a limitless opportunity in the Middle Ages. Although there are excellent examples of game pieces of all types, chess sets in particular provide fascinating, bea…| Sight+Signs
This beautiful gilded sculpture from the Metropolitan Museum of Art comes from the Dominican convent of Katherinethal in present day Switzerland. It depicts the Visitation of Mary (on the left hand…| Sight+Signs
We all know that cats on the internet pose a serious threat to users attempting to do work. The exponential proliferation of cat imagery is a daunting task to sort through for anyone, and frequentl…| Sight+Signs
This Beautiful ivory roundel from the Louvre depicts a common late Medieval scene of knights attacking a structure identified as the castle of love. The scenes in ivory depicted here resemble this…| Sight+Signs
The miniature crib known as the Crib of the Infant Jesus presented in a solitary plexiglas case at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is a fascinating work deserving of attention which it r…| Sight+Signs
The Adoration of the Magi, British Library, Add. 18850, f. 24v Two carols for Twelfth Night, the eve of the Epiphany. The visit of the ...| aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com
Annunciation ( BL Add. 29433, f. 20 ) Here's an Advent poem from a collection of carols which was compiled by James Ryman, Franciscan f...| aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com
Virgin and Child, from a 15th-century Book of Hours ( BL Add. 50001, f. 119v ) Mary hath borne alone The Son of God in throne. That ...| aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com