Between 2020 and 2026, Patrick J. Geary has been part of a large research project exploring the Genetic History of the Migration period (c. 400-700).
Author: medieval.eu
How Ancient DNA Is Rewriting the History of Early Medieval Europe
How Gene-Mapping Help us Decode Early Medieval Secrets
St. Francis in Arezzo 1226-2026
New Exhibition in Arezzo showcases images from the 800 years since his death in 1226, and celebrates the multiple imaginations of who St. Francis was.
Medieval News 05.10.2026 – 12.10.2026
This week is all about medievalism: a new exhibition in Lübeck, a Medieval Modern Exhibition at Frederiksborg in Denmark, and a new book on "unthinking medieval poetry"
How Did St Francis of Assisi Become an Icon?
How did the man remembered by Thomas of Celano become the instantly recognisable St Francis of medieval art?
Modern biographies of St. Francis
From Sabatier to Leppin, modern biographers have repeatedly reconstructed the “real” Francis, each revealing as much about their own age as about the saint
MEDIEVAL SOURCE: Portrait of St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi was a short man, with dark eyes and large ears. He was definitely also a charming man.
The Restoration of the Tomb and Reburial of Otto the Great
In January 2025, a major programme of conservation and research began on the tomb of Otto the Great in Magdeburg Cathedral as serious deterioration had been discovered
Did Otto the Great Die from a Stroke?
Not only do we possess what is likely an eyewitness account from AD 973 of the death of Emperor Otto the Great, but recent studies of his remains might fit the description.
The Emperor’s Marble
Was the great antique marble slab covering Otto the Great’s tomb brought from Ravenna as imperial spolia – and chosen to evoke the world of Charlemagne?
From meat and milk to sheep and grain
New research traces a millennium of changing animal husbandry and cereal production in medieval England
Pox on the Sheep…
Medieval parchment tells a story of how murrains among sheep must have been recurring scourges, threatening the livelihoods of peasants and lords alike.
Otto the Great
German historians of the 19th and early 20th centuries claimed that Otto the Great (912–973) was responsible for consolidating Germany as a nation. Modern historians tell a more nuanced story.
Early Medieval Venice – and the Making of Venetian Identity
How did Venice emerge as an independent political community between two competing empires, the Frankish realm and Byzantium? And how did its inhabitants construct a collective memory of their past?
Memleben – a Royal and Monastic Centre in 10thcentury Germany
Memleben, one of the royal centres in Ottonian Germany is located at the river Unstrut. Founded in the 8th century, its heyday fell in the late 10th century, when the last Ottonians briefly planned to turn the place into a memorial shrine for their dynasty
Medieval Poggibonsi and Surroundings
Heavily bombarded during WW2Poggibonsi’s charm resides in the suburbs and its hidden gems: an open-air museum, a medieval inn and a nearby castle