Where the Middle Ages Begin
King John of England’s treasure hoard included gemstones prized not only for their rarity, but for the powers medieval people believed they held. James Turner explores how kings used jewels to project authority, how lapidaries shaped ideas about stones, and what the evidence suggests about John’s personal fascination with them.
What everyday objects did people use in the Middle Ages? From clothing and household necessities to tools for work and warfare, these 25 medieval items were essential to daily life and shaped how people lived, ate, and survived.
Delve into the pivotal figures of the Middle Ages whose enduring legacies shaped the course of history. From visionary leaders and profound scholars to prolific writers and formidable warriors, these individuals left an indelible mark on medieval society.
Discover the 50 most significant events of the Middle Ages, spanning the years 500 to 1500.
Here are seven vivid facts about colour in the Middle Ages
In medieval times, many unique jobs, such as Ale-wife and Groom of the Stool, were essential but have since vanished. Discover these obsolete occupations and how historical changes led to their disappearance.
Are you wanting to talk more like someone from the Middle Ages? We have a list of 30 great sayings and proverbs that you can use in your conversations.
Have you wondered what a medieval king did on a typical day? Thanks to Christine de Pizan, we have an account of what daily life was like for King Charles V of France.
Some of our most popular phrases have a long history, including some that go back to the Middle Ages.
Want to know what kind of jobs there were in the Middle Ages? A unique source from the 15th century gives us some beautiful images of medieval people at work.
Researchers are using photogrammetry to digitally preserve runic inscriptions carved into the plaster walls of Gotland’s medieval churches before climate-related damage causes them to fade.
King John of England’s treasure hoard included gemstones prized not only for their rarity, but for the powers medieval people believed they held. James Turner explores how kings used jewels to project authority, how lapidaries shaped ideas about stones, and what the evidence suggests about John’s personal fascination with them.
Zoe Tsiami writes about how poverty shaped everyday life in the Byzantine Empire, and how the state and Church responded through law, charity, and social institutions.
David Bachrach explores how the Carolingian rulers gathered intelligence, interrogated travellers, and compiled detailed frontier reports to plan and execute their military campaigns.
Explore the Ryukyu Kuniezu—three massive 17th-century maps of the Ryukyu Kingdom—now online in high resolution, with zoomable details of Okinawa and the island chains, plus the Wako Zukan pirate scroll.
From tragic moon princess to anime icon, discover how Princess Kaguya’s medieval story lives on.
The Celts, who had lived in northwestern Europe since antiquity, developed a distinctive religious and supernatural worldview. This book explores their beliefs and traces their continuing influence on medieval folklore and magical traditions.
New isotope research reveals how social status shaped medieval diets in England, showing differences between friars, townspeople, rural residents, and hospital burials.
The six-week course with Eleanor Janega begins February 18th with live sessions on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm EST.
Medieval medical writers offered foods and prescriptions to boost desire and potency. Explore Ahmed Ibn al-Jazzar’s influential handbook and its remedies, from simple ingredients to elaborate recipes.
Want a medieval tale about a prince who goes incognito to meet a queen—only to be sent off on adventures, thrown into tournaments, and tested at every turn? Will this couple earn their happy-ever-after? Find out in this translation of a 12th-century romance.
The Hundred Years’ War and the Birth of Modern Europe is a 10-week course taught by C.J. Adrien. The course begins on February 17th with live classes each Tuesday from 2:00 to 3:30 pm EST.
How do you tell someone you love them in Viking-Age Sweden? You carve a message in runes on a knife: “Think of me, and I’ll think of you.”
A conversation with Alicia Walker on the pseudo-Arabic inscriptions that appear on a number of tenth- and eleventh-century churches in Greece, most notably at the monastery of Hosios Loukas. What did the Arabic script signify in Orthodox culture at the time if not tension with Islam?
A newly discovered chronicle from the early eighth century is giving medieval historians a rare new window onto the political shocks and religious debates that reshaped the eastern Mediterranean in the decades before and after the rise of Islam
What’s new in medieval studies? Here are ten open-access articles published in January, which include papers on Christianity in Ethiopia to the Templars in England.
The Americas during the Middle Ages: 500-1500 CE, is a new online course offering a wider, global perspective on events of the medieval period. Taught by Charlie Presti of Portland Community College, this six-week course begins on February 17th with classes running each Tuesday from 3:30 to 5:00 pm EST.
One of the lesser-known episodes of the Wars of the Roses was the 1471 attempt by supporters of Henry VI to strike at London and free their captive king. This book is the first full study of that failed siege—and it follows the story through to Henry’s final fate.
The British Museum has secured the £3.5 million needed to acquire the Tudor Heart Pendant for its permanent collection, ensuring the rare 24-carat-gold jewel linked to King Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon will remain on public display.
Explore 25 tips from the Middle Ages, featuring practical and sometimes strange medieval advice on health, travel, animals, family life, and everyday living, drawn from medieval sources.
Why the Great Schism of 1054 is often misunderstood. Explore how the split between the Catholic and Orthodox churches began centuries earlier, how the filioque controversy and Charlemagne’s imperial ambitions reshaped Christian authority, and why 1054 was not the true beginning of the schism.
At the end of the eighth century, the Abbasid caliph sent a letter to the Byzantine emperor. This book presents a new edition and translation of that remarkable text—one of the earliest surviving defences of Islam—offering a rare insight into how its author explained Islamic belief and set out what he believed Christianity had misunderstood.
A rare red-chalk drawing by Michelangelo has sold for US $27.2 million at Christie’s in New York, setting a new auction record for the Renaissance artist after around 45 minutes of intense bidding.
After Henry V’s death, the Hundred Years’ War flares back to life as a Franco-Scottish army confronts the English in Normandy. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly dig into the Battle of Verneuil—one of the war’s bloodiest clashes—and why it mattered.
The Celts, who had lived in northwestern Europe since antiquity, developed a distinctive religious and supernatural worldview. This book explores their beliefs and traces their continuing influence on medieval folklore and magical traditions.
A conversation with Alicia Walker on the pseudo-Arabic inscriptions that appear on a number of tenth- and eleventh-century churches in Greece, most notably at the monastery of Hosios Loukas. What did the Arabic script signify in Orthodox culture at the time if not tension with Islam?
After Henry V’s death, the Hundred Years’ War flares back to life as a Franco-Scottish army confronts the English in Normandy. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly dig into the Battle of Verneuil—one of the war’s bloodiest clashes—and why it mattered.
The Assassins and the Knights Templar have become two of the most iconic groups of fighters from the period of the Crusades. In recent times, they have been popularised through the video game and movie franchise, Assassin’s Creed. But who were they really and how did they interact in the Holy Land?
A conversation with Kevin van Bladel on his proposal regarding “The Classical Near East,” a constellation of fields defined by the classical literary…
Scotland’s in turmoil in the 1330s—and Edward III spots an opening. In this episode of Bow & Blade, Michael and Kelly break down the Battle of Dupplin Moor, where tactics, terrain, and timing turn chaos into catastrophe.
Byzantine Studies is still larger than Sumerology and Hittitology, but the numbers of our full-time faculty is shrinking. How can our fields navigate an uncertain future?
