10 Ancient Beauty Secrets from the Middle Ages: Timeless Tips from The Trotula
Curious about how women in the Middle Ages enhanced their beauty? The Trotula, a 12th-century medieval text from Italy, offers fascinating insights.
Medieval Tightrope Walking
Accounts of death-defying stunts for public entertainment can be found even in the Middle Ages.
22 Intriguing Characters from a Medieval City’s Underworld
Discover 22 intriguing characters from the medieval underworld in Muhammad Ibn Dāniyāl’s play, “The Amazing Preacher and the Stranger.” Explore the lives of medieval street performers, animal trainers, and shady tradesmen.
Obsolete Occupations from 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.
Drinking Horns in the Middle Ages
Ten things to know about medieval drinking horns.
New Medieval Books: Beards and Baldness in the Middle Ages
Translations of three medieval texts: In Praise of Baldness, On Bald Men, and A Defense of Beards. It reveals that male grooming was indeed a thing in the Middle Ages.
Medieval guide explains where you should live
Are you looking for your next place to live? A medieval writer offers advice on where your home should be, even which way the windows should face.
Carrying and Moving in the Middle Ages
In a time and place with a serious lack of pockets and built-in shelving, how and where did people carry and store their everyday stuff? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle takes a look at carrying, packing, and moving in the Middle Ages.
How rich medieval people spent their money
If you were a noble in the Middle Ages, you were most likely very rich. What did you do with your money?
Did people in the Middle Ages take baths?
It was said that the Middle Ages was ‘one thousand years without a bath.’ However, a closer look shows that baths and bathing were actually quite common in the Middle Ages, but in a different way than one might expect.
How did people sleep in the Middle Ages?
A look at the theory that medieval people slept in two periods during the night.
Medieval Insults
If you are looking for ways to hurl insults at your enemies, then the medieval world has some interesting examples for you.
Mythbusting Illiteracy in the Middle Ages
A look at literacy and illiteracy in medieval Europe.
Jobs on a Medieval Manor
A medieval nobleperson needed employees to run their manor. Who were these people and what jobs did they do?
Traffic Problems in the Medieval City
The medieval city was seen as a crowded, bustling place, with people, horses, carts and wagons all moving around. Just as in our modern city, this would all lead to inevitable traffic problems.
Medieval Beds: Two Examples from 1488
What should a medieval bed look like? A contract from 1488 gives many details about two custom-made beds.
The 5 Most Common Jobs in a Medieval City
The five most common jobs were farming, carpentry, butchery, shoemaking and Church-related work.
Public Toilets in the Middle Ages
Where could a medieval person find public toilet?
How did medieval people dance?
Historians have known that medieval people enjoyed dancing, but they did not know exactly how they danced. A book by Robert Mullally is answering a part of this question, detailing one of the most popular dances of the Middle Ages.
Time and the Middle Ages
A look at time and time-keeping in the Middle Ages
Medieval Table Manners: The Messiest Myth?
Because medieval people ate with their hands, there is a common idea that they had no table manners at all.
Banquets in the Middle Ages
If the medieval meal you’re imagining looks a little bit like a modern wedding, you’re not too far off.
A Medieval Autobiography
The autobiography of Opicino de Canistris is both very mundane and very strange.
Did people drink water in the Middle Ages?
One of the oddest myths about the Middle Ages is that people did not drink water.
The Daily Life of a Medieval King
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.