The Story of Christ on a Donkey and the Medieval Palmesel
The use of a statue of a donkey in connection with Palm Sunday is mentioned for the first time in the 10th century. This was in Augsburg. Hope was to achieve absolution for one’s sins by pulling the ass along…
Arnulf of Leuven – Salve Mundi Salutare or Medieval Sensuality
In the Late Middle Ages, the immersion into the corporeal horrors of the crucifixion led to a new devotional practice, the sensual contemplation of the seven wounds. Arnulf of Leuven led the way…
Seven Words of Christ – or Early Modern Spirituality
Time to revive Early Modern Sensuality? Listen to the Seven Words of Christ by Pergolesi from the beginning of the 18th century…
Crucifixus Dolorosus or the Forked Crucifix from c. 1300
In an unusually dramatic way, a Crucifixus Dolorosus depicts the suffering and dying Christ hung on a living tree. Such forked crucifixes became important features in late medieval churches, and were regarded as miraculous destinations of pilgrimages…
Christ from Aunslev – Denmark’s Oldest Crucifix
Around AD 900, a Danish Viking woman went for a walk in the fields near Aunslev on the Island of Funen and lost a precious piece of jewellery: a Viking crucifix. The pendant may bear witness to an early presence of Christianity in Denmark…
The Return of the Middle Ages
In the 1990s, a number of scholars and historians wrote about the impending “Return of the Middle Ages”. We truly live in a time marked by the “Return of the Medieval”….
The Medieval World and the Middle Ages
What was the Middle Ages known for? Why was it called the Middle Ages? What characterised the Medieval World?….
The Hundred Years’ War and the Battle at Crécy
In 1346 Edward III launched an invasion of Medieval France. Mounting the largest medieval invasion ever, he gained an overwhelming victory of the French army at Crécy. Since then, scholars have asked whether he was just lucky or a superb strategist…
Mercenaries in the 14th Century
In the Middle Ages, mercenaries were widely recruited. However, what was the military effectiveness of these forces? And the downside?…
Revisiting a Wartorn Countryside – Venette near Compiegne in 1359
In 1358, the village of Venette near Compiegne was visited by marauding English troops burning, pillaging and murdering innocent people. These events inspired an evocative and haunting description of the horrors of wars…
The Hundred Years’ War
A short bibliography of the Hundred Years’ War – where to begin…
Rus – Vikings in the East
Spectacular exhibition showcasing the history of Medieval Ukraine, the Kyivan Rus’, is currently on show in Århus, Denmark….
Putin and his Medieval Worldview
Putin’ Orthodox worldwiev calls for him to play the leading role in the reenactment of the medieval Kyivan Rus’…
Kremlin under Medieval Siege
UNESCO considers removing World Heritage Status from the Kremlin due to the erection of a massive statue of Vladimir the Great….
The Pskov School of Architecture
The listing of the churches and monasteries in the ancient principality of Pskov 20 km from the borders of Estonia reflects the geo-political interests of Putin’s Russia…
Vladimir the Great (958-1015)
Vladimir the Great is remembered as the founding father of the Kievan Rus’. Of Viking decent, he converted to Christianity in AD 987 and lost his barbarian aura in later chronicles….
BEST BOOK on the Kingdom of Rus’
This book explores how sloppy medieval history has downplayed the European significance of what has been considered a minor “barbaric” proto-state, the Kievan Rus’. …
New Viking Exhibition in Oslo
A new Viking exhibition – Vikingr – opened last year in Oslo, showcasing some of the fabulous finds from recent years…
Vikings Before Vikings
When the two Viking ships found at Salme and holding the remains of 41 dead warriors were dated to ca. AD 700-750, the sensation rippled through academic circles. Now, the finds are exhibited in Estonia.
The Viking Expedition – Copenhagen 2021
In a few weeks time, The National Museum of Denmark opens its doors to a whole new “take” of the Viking Experience….
The Viking World – Exhibition in Stockholm 2021
A new exhibition in Stockholm called the Viking World boasts of being the world’s largest. Opening its doors in June, the jury is still out. But the preview seems impressive….
The Rus – Vikings of the East
In January 2022, the Museum at Moesgaard in Århus plans to open a new exhibition telling how the Vikings conquered the East while sailing, trading, raiding and settling from Novgorod to Kiev and further South…
New Research
Life in the Medieval town of Rungholt in 1362
11/04/2022In AD 1362, a terrible storm broke through the medieval dykes in the Wadden Sea, protecting people living in the marshy foreland. Later called the Grote Mandrenke – The Great Drowning of Men – a whole town, Rungholt, together with 42 parishes, disappeared. Read more
Brittany in the 6th century – abandoned, wet, cold and covered in forests
07/04/2022New research reveals a marked shift in the landscape of Northwestern France in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages Read more
Camera reveals details of the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral
01/04/2022When the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock, died in 1376, he left precise specifications for his burial as well as his effigy. New studies of the cast gilded brass sculputure have yielded a new understanding of the sculpture Read more
Black Grave in Chernaya Mogila in Ukraine
10/03/2022A magnificent Viking burial took place at Chernihiv more than a thousand years ago. Recent studies of the find in the tomb has uncovered an extraordinary new “Viking artefact” Read more
News
Headless horses found in Merovingian graves in Knittlingen
08/04/2022Recent excavations have revealed 140 Merovingan graves at Knittlingen near Stuttgart. Some of the graves were accompanied by decapitated and headless horses. Read more
A Cultural History of Peace in the Middle Ages
02/04/2022Warring was endemic to the Middle Ages. But so were endeavours to try and soften the attrition to secure peace and the truce of God. New book tells the cultural history of medieval peacemaking Read more
Medieval History and Nature at Medvedgrad and Medvenica in Croatia
16/01/2022Medvedgrad is a medieval castle located on the southern slope of the Medvenica mountain near Zagreb. Read more
Elegant golden earring from Byzantium found by metal-detector
05/12/2021Unique 11th-century earring made of gold with cloisonné enamelling from was recently discovered by a metal-detector in Western Jutland. The earring likely derives from Byzantium or Egypt. Read more
New Books
The Castle in England
06/05/2022A vibrant history of the castle in Britain, from the early Middle Ages to the present dayA vibrant history of the castle in Britain, from the early Middle Ages to the present day Read more
Viking Age Textile Production
06/05/2022The story goes that a Viking leaned to keep a stoic face if their ship was lost. However, if the ship sank together with the sails, he cried. New book tells the story of the production system and the economy of the textiles in Viking Age Society Read more
Conflict and Violence in Medieval Italy 568-1154
20/04/2022Studies have shown that people in the Middle Ages were inherently more violent than at other times. New book explores how this violence played out in Medieval Italy 568-1154 Read more
Cross Veneration in the Medieval Islamic World
12/04/2022During the Middle Ages, the Cross and its veneration became a key topic in numerous Islamic and Christian treatises. New book explores the theologies behind Read more
