Daily Medieval

We saw yesterday how in 937 an alliance of former enemies came together to attack King Æthelstan, who had in the past proven superior in ba...

Gregorio Papareschi was a Cluniac monk who was made a cardinal deacon in 1116 by Pope Paschal II . After Paschal, Pope Calixtus II sent him...

Godwin, Earl of Wessex (c.1001 - 15 April 1053) had played his cards carefully, supporting whomever was in power. Although English, he rose ...

Olaf Haraldsson (c.995 - 29 July 1030) started out the son of a petty king in a Norway district but rose to become King of Norway by uniting...

So...Sandwich. Most people just think about the food item that shares its name, but it has had more history than that, and not just as a Cin...

A major victory of Saxons in England over the native Britons took place just south of Chester in the early 7th century. Æthelfrith, the king...

"High above the river Thames and on the edge of a Saxon hunting ground" William of Normandy built a motte-and-bailey structure fro...

Most of what we know about King Alfred the Great comes from a single manuscript copy from the Cotton Library , Vita Ælfredi regis Angul Sax...

Alfred the Great (849 - 899) was not an idle king, even when not battling Danish invasions to protect the shores of Great Britain. Some of h...

Duncan I was king of Scotland from 1034 until he was killed on 14 August 1040 by Macbeth. Peter O'Toole as Duncan, portrayed as an ...

The first part is here . Death of Harald Hardrada, illustration from Matthew Paris King Harold Godwinson of England, hearing th...

Harthacanute's death at the wedding feast [Cambridge University Library, Ee.3.59, fo. 7r] He was the son of King Cnut, and his roya...

Ivar the Boneless, played by Vaclovas Kiselevicius in the TV show "The Dark Ages" The post on Vikings in Ireland mentioned I...

Halley's Comet on the Bayeaux Tapestry The nice thing about astronomy is that some celestial events are so predictably cyclical that...

A new TV show started in 2013 and has proven popular enough that it has been renewed for a couple more seasons. It is called "The Vikin...

Edward's murder at Corfe Castle The death of the 16-year-old Edward the Martyr in 978 was not one of England's finest moments. T...

One of the shortest reigns in the history of England was that of Edward the Martyr, from 975 until 978. Edward, who was born c. 962, was...

Relic of True Cross at Cortona, near Florence Yesterday's post told of Empress (later Saint) Helena, the mother of the Emperor Const...

Before we conclude our three-part journey through the 20 years of civil war between Stephen of Blois (a usurper whom history calls king) a...

Melrose Abbey, on the Scottish border, mentioned in connection with St. Cuthbert , is historically significant for other reasons. Many Sco...