Medieval Ghosts
Medieval ghosts appeared in different forms under different circumstances. At first they were pale harbingers of dire warnings. Later, they turned into scary and macabre beings….
Saints and Souls
Between 1024 and 1033 the monks at Cluny began commemorating the Dead Souls on the day after All Saints….
Living with the Dead
In the Middle Ages Polish priests and theologians fought to eradicate old and traditional ways of cohabiting with the dead. Yet it does not seem as if they ever succeeded….
Soul Cakes
There is no doubt that the tradition of giving alms in the form of bread or cookies on All Saints and All Souls has both ancient and medieval roots…
Sweets for Souls
Urban legend in USA has it that we cannot offer the children home baked goodies at Halloween (some weirdos excel in filling them with crushed glass). More is the pity since our European traditions offer a selection of medieval traditional fare…
News
Two Princely Graves from the Migration Period – in Sachsen-Anhalt and the Thames Valley
05/10/2020Two Migration Period Graves are considered “once-in-a-lifetime” finds in England and Germany Read more
Cnut the Holy in Odense Cathedral
03/10/2020For nine centuries, the Cathedral in Odense has held the relics of a Danish King, Cnut the Holy and his brother Benedict. Both were murdered inside St. Albans in AD 1086. Read more
Who were the migrants of the migratory period?
03/10/2020Last year, ten million euros were granted to the project, HistoGenes, to study the aDNA of 6000 individuals from AD 400-900. Read more
Medieval Food in Norwegians Towns
03/10/2020A new interdisciplinary research project – The impact of food culture in Medieval towns (FOODIMPACT) will analyse more than 30.000 items in the Cultural Museum in Oslo Read more
The Gjellestad Excavation of a Viking ship Live Streamed
03/10/2020Last week, the Gjellestad excavation was live streamed by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Read more
Boiled Sturgeon
03/09/2020The sturgeon was a royal fish. According to ancient law, any sturgeon found on the beaches or caught in the Atlantic or the Baltic, belonged to the king. Read more
An Ancient Atlantic Sturgeon and a Sea-Monster
02/09/2020Recently, archaeologists from Lund University succeeded in identifying a massive specimen of an Atlantic sturgeon in the womb of a capsized royal ship off the Baltic coast Read more
Ethnogenesis and Indigeneity
27/08/2020In the latter half of the 20th-century historians of Late Antiquity have been ferociously engaged in debates concerning the “identity of the Goths”. Were they a people? In what sense? And what does Ethnogenesis and Indigeneity mean? Read more
New Books
Royal Magnificence
04/10/2020REVIEW: How do you recognise a king or a queen? Through splendid Magnificence, a new book reveals. Read more
Ecclesiastical Landscapes in Medieval Europe
04/10/2020REVIEW: New book on “Ecclesiastical Landscapes” aims to explore the diversity and unity of how churches and monasteries set their mark on their surrounding landscape Read more
Life And Cult Of Cnut The Holy
04/10/2020REVIEW: In 2016, the City of Odense celebrated the 850th anniversary of the murder of Cnut IV in the church of St. Alban in Odense. A splendid report of the symposium has been generously published as open source. Read more
Regnal Communities or Nations in the High Middle Ages
19/02/2020Medieval historians hesitate to talk about medieval nation-states. Instead, they prefer to talk about kingdoms and their corresponding royal communities or assemblies. New book reviews the questions regarding terminology. Read more
New Research
Disc-on-Bow and Cruciform Brooches
26/10/2020New research points to the role distinct brooches played in the formation of “ethnic” identities in the North Sea region during the migration period and in the Early Viking Age; and the role women played as custodians of their cultural and mythological heritage. Already in the 6th and 7th centuries,… Read more
Constructing and deconstructing the Gokstad mound
08/10/2020Norwegian archeologists are revisiting the old mounds ind which Viking Ships were buried. It appears, these mounds were carefully created as part of the burial traditions. Read more
Who were the migrants of the migratory period?
03/10/2020Last year, ten million euros were granted to the project, HistoGenes, to study the aDNA of 6000 individuals from AD 400-900. Read more
Medieval Food in Norwegians Towns
03/10/2020A new interdisciplinary research project – The impact of food culture in Medieval towns (FOODIMPACT) will analyse more than 30.000 items in the Cultural Museum in Oslo Read more
New Exhibitions
Visigoths in Toulouse
24/08/2020The Visigoths in Toulouse forged one of the first barbarian kingdom inside the Roman Empire, ruling from 420 – 507. In 2020 an exhibition in Toulouse celebrates the 1600-anniversary of their foundation. This summer a major exhibition focusing on the Visigothic kingdom in Toulouse 420 – 507 has been organised… Read more
Nuns and their lives in the 14th century
04/08/2020This summer, visitors to Zürich National Museum can study the remarkable story of the careers of medieval nuns. Extended to mid-august, an exhibition is worth looking into, if you are in the vicinity. Read more
The Early History of Copenhagen at a New Museum
11/02/2020Last week, a new attraction opened, The Museum of Copenhagen, covering the history from the ice-age hunters and gatherers and into the near future. Central is the brand new story of the earliest period in the life of the town ca. 1000 Read more
Facing Van Eyck – The Miracle of the Detail
08/02/2020Come September, Brussels houses an exhibition focusing on the visually detailed techniques of Jan van Eyck and his work of art. The exhibition is paired with a prized digital resource. Read more
Soul Cakes
There is no doubt that the tradition of giving alms in the form of bread or cookies on All Saints and All Souls has both ancient and medieval roots
Sweets for Souls
Urban legend in USA has it that we cannot offer the children home baked goodies at Halloween (some weirdos excel in filling them with crushed glass). More is the pity since our European traditions offer a selection of medieval traditional fare