The oldest medieval Italian manuscript from c. 1400 with recipes from Tuscany reveals the role of cabbage and kale – then and now.
Author: Medieval Histories
Agrarian Life in Early Medieval Hilltop Villages in Italy
From c. 550 CE, Italy experienced a significant agrarian decline. Grain harvests still mattered, but a new diet came to reflect the new uphill location
Castle of Miranduolo
In the last 20 years archaeologists have excavated the castle of Miranduolo near Siena documenting a continuous habitation from the 8th to the 14th century.
Valmarecchia – an Italian Medieval Landscape
Changes in the Medieval Italian landscape were often dramatic. And, yet, micro-studies of Valmarechia in Emilia Romagna, reveal both continuity and change.
Medieval Hilltop Villages and Castles in the Italian Landscape
The history behind the castle-building on hilltops in the medieval Mediterranean landscape – the incastellamento or incastellation – is nuanced
Medieval Italian Hilltop Villages 2017
Medieval hilltop villages offer delightful opportunities for slow, more authentic, and sustainable, tourism. In 2017 Italy intends to focus on them.
The Plan of St. Gall – Ideal or Reality
One of the treasures from the Carolingian Age is the Plan of St. Gall - a design for an ideal monastery – from the 9th century.
Abbey of Fontenelle at La Roche-sur-Yon
France overflows with medieval religious heritage in ruins. One victim is the Abbey of Fontenelle at La Roche-sur-Yon
Cnut the Great – A New Biography
Cnut the Great is one of the overlooked English kings. Maligned as aprimitive Viking conqueror, the story has most often been told as a civilising project carried out by Emma. Not so in this new biography.
Dead Viking Warriors in Living Memory.
The archaeologist, Anne Pedersen, has painstakingly sifted through the reports of excavations of Viking warrior tombs in Denmark. New book tells the story
The Fregerslev Viking From Outside Hørning
Sensational find of several chamber graves from the later part of the Viking Age at Fregerslev in Denmark witness to the ethos of the Viking warriors
St. Martin in Moissac – the Oldest Church in France
In late Antiquity, a Roman bath fell into disuse in Moissac. Soon after, the church of Saint-Martin, the oldest in France, was built inside the ruins.
Minor Medieval News March 2017
Ever so often we stumble on some minor medieval news, which do not merit a full article, but nevertheless, deserve a short notice.
Donald Duck goes to Jelling
The Rune Stones at Jelling are in for a renewed scrutiny by Donald Duck and his bright nephews, when the search goes on for a unique Viking necklace.
Deserted Medieval Landscape near Pier in the Northern Rhineland
Between Jülich and Düren in Northern Rhineland lies a bleak landscape scarred by lignite mining. Beneath lies a precious time warp of a medieval landscape
Book of Hours of Richard III
Rumour has it this Book of Hours accompanied Richard III to the Battle of Bosworth. Later impaired by the mother of Henry VII, it has now been digitised.