Several possible causes have been advanced for the Black Death. Introduction Theories of the Black Death are...
Medieval
The early West African societies of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai all created empires that gained much of...
Lions, tigers, and dragons, oh my! By Erin Migdol, Elizabeth Morrison, and Larisa Grollemond During the Middle...
Of the many groups under pressure and persecution in this period were Jews, lepers, and homosexuals. Western...
Introduction The Stone of Scone (Gaelic: Lia Fail), also known as the Stone of Destiny or Coronation...
Queen Bona helps us understand how elite Renaissance women acquired, maintained, and negotiated power. Among the women...
The origin of the mince pies can be traced back to the thirteenth century during the Crusades....
Christmas gifts were a well-established part of the medieval year. The traditions of giving to the less...
The “Book on the Conditions of Women” was novel in its adoption of the new Arabic medicine...
Knowledge preserved in medieval books enjoyed a longevity that extended beyond the period of the manuscript book....
Venice’s embodied a unique combination that fostered innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity. When Venetians invented quarantine in 1348,...
The Gothic style was popular throughout Europe from the 12th century through the 16th century. By Hillary...
The relatively sensible approach to crime found in Ancient Rome gave way to something much different in...
Castles are best seen as an architectural expression of the social status of their owners. Introduction The...
The term “gentry” by itself is a construct that historians have applied loosely to rather different societies....
It can be hard to estimate broad social trends in the Middle Ages, but some sources allow...
At its peak, Krak des Chevaliers housed a garrison of around 2,000, allowing the Hospitallers to exact...
The Western medical tradition often traces its roots directly to the early Greek civilization. Introduction Medieval medicine in Western...
As the Western Roman Empire collapsed, landholders gradually transitioned from outright slavery to serfdom. What Is Feudalism?...
Dutch painter Pieter Claesz’s Still Life with Turkey Pie (1627) features a cooked turkey that’s been placed...
Examining early medieval approaches to various types of knowledge we might consider today to be ‘scientific’ and...
Roman and early medieval scientific texts were read and studied, contributing to the understanding of nature in...
There is a suggestion that the name is in fact a veiled pun on a Low German...
The people of early modern Europe sought to use magic to manipulate the world around them. By...
The word “folklore” was coined in 1846 CE by the British writer William John Thoms to replace...
Characterizing the Middle Ages as a period of darkness is misleading. Introduction So much of what the...
Æthelstan was the first ruler of the whole kingdom of England. Æthelstan was the grandson of King...
Jousting fell out of fashion by the end of the Middle Ages, but there were occasional revivals...
Texts and images produced throughout the medieval world reveal that harp music could elicit powerful responses. Infernal...
The culture of antiquity played an important role in the literary and artistic endeavors of the Middle...