Why did the Norse People in Greenland upend their settlements in the late 15th century? A new explanation refers to their culture and way of life inherited from 9th century Viking Society.
Category: Medieval Research
Life in the Medieval town of Rungholt in 1362
In 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.
Brittany in the 6th century – abandoned, wet, cold and covered in forests
New research reveals a marked shift in the landscape of Northwestern France in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages
Camera reveals details of the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral
When 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
Black Grave in Chernaya Mogila in Ukraine
A 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”
Climate Changes in Pre-Viking Societies had Profound Consequences
Did climate changes in pre-Viking societies really matter? Did people adapt their agricultural strategies? Or were such changes just registered as temporarily “whacky weather” by the people of the past?
How devastating was the Black Death?
How devastaing was the Black Death in the Later Middle Ages? New scientific studies of pollen raise serious questions as to the death rate
Limbo at Thunau
Archaeologists have been working for decades to excavate the early medieval settlements at Thurnau near Gars in Eastern Austria. Recent studies of the burial ground excavated in 1975-2000 tell the story of the burial of the unbaptized destined for limbo.
From Wheat to Rye – Agriculture and Climate in Europe during Late Antiquity
During the 4th-8th century, vast stretches of Europe shifted from growing wheat to rye. Careful studies indicate the shift was a reflection towards a new, more balanced peasant economy.
The Schlüsselfeld Ship
In the 14th century, it became fashionable to decorate tables at noble or royal banquets with models of ships, symbolising “Good Luck” and “Fair Wind”. Later, the wealthy merchants in the cities picked up this fashion. The Schlüsselfeld ship is one of the more famous.
Ships as Table Decorations in the Middle Ages
Ships were prized ornaments decorating the tables of kings and lords into the 16th and 17th century.
Marian Ughi visits St. Thomas of Becket in 1444
A newly discovered travel account of a Florentine merchant visiting Canterbury and the shrine of Thomas Becket sheds light on late medieval devotion
Disc-on-Bow and Cruciform Brooches
New 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
Constructing and deconstructing the Gokstad mound
Norwegian 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.
Who were the migrants of the migratory period?
Last year, ten million euros were granted to the project, HistoGenes, to study the aDNA of 6000 individuals from AD 400-900.
Medieval Food in Norwegians Towns
A 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