Daily Medieval

Marie de France's collection of 102 fables written in the late 12th century mostly come from Aesop and Avianus, but there are a few she ...

People love fables. Brief stories that offer a lesson or moral can be instructive as well as fun. A Castilian version of Arabic fables was m...

Marie de France (c.1160 - 1215) is called that because of one line from her writing: "Marie ai num, si sui de France." It means ...

Just as there is a difference between the medieval werewolf and the modern, in medieval literature we can see distinctions between types of ...

The European Middle Ages had plenty of werewolf stories, but they were notably different from what we portray about modern werewolves. Let...

Medieval Europe (and beyond) had a fascination with werewolves, but they were different from the modern horror-story representations. hey ra...

Medieval scholars from very early on were fascinated by grammar  and analyzed it and language endlessly, trying to figure out how a word rel...

Human cultures can weave anything into a story. Opening an umbrella indoors might knock something over, and walking under a ladder (presumab...

A reference to sheep-shearing made me wonder about the origin of scissors. Apparently, some have given the credit to Leonardo da Vinci becau...

Wool is different from hair in that it has a natural "crimp" to it that allows the fibers to bind together. This, and the fact tha...

Before we talk about the wool trade, I think a few words about the history of wool is a good start. There is evidence that sheep were domest...

To sum up yesterday's post : France considered Flanders their territory, Flanders under Count Robert III fought a war about that and los...

About 60 years before the Peasants' Revolt in England over a poll tax, the lower classes of the Low Countries revolted against taxes. Ro...

Whan Adam delf, and Eve span, Wo was thanne a gentilman? This was part of a sermon allegedly delivered in Blackheath the night before that g...

The term "Flemish" has been used since the 1300s to refer to a certain group of people. What does it mean to be Flemish? The word ...

John van Ruysbroeck was one of the foremost of the Flemish mystics, and even earned the titles "Admirable Doctor" and "Divine...

One of the more notable Beguines was the French mystic Marguerite Porete. We know little about her life except what was recorded in her tri...

Although the Beguines were great role models for how to live a Christian life, all was not rosy. By the end of the 13th century, most regio...

Christianity inspired many different approaches to life: some became canons regular (parish priests), some joined monasteries or convents, s...

It seems unfair that I mention Jacques de Vitry here and here and here , and don't really tell much more than he was a cardinal. He wa...

Christina was born about 1150 in Belgium, the youngest of three daughters. She was raised by her two older sisters from the age of 15 when t...

Thomas of Cantimpré is one of those people for whom this blog exists: a significant figure in his day, all but forgotten in our time, who de...

Folklores from all over the world include tales of dog-headed humanoids. The phenomenon is referred to as cynocephaly, from the Greek words ...

The patron saint of travelers, popular with surfers and anyone making a journey. His medals are still sold all over; if you check Amazon, yo...

A 1987 film, Le Moine et la sorcière (released in the USA as The Sorceress ), tells the story of a Dominican Friar, Etienne de Bourbon, in ...

The term "Tridentine" refers to the Council of Trent (1545 through 1563), the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church...

The inspiration for the Waldensians was when Waldes heard a troubadour sing about St. Alexius of Rome, a man whose situation was similar to ...

The first thing you'll notice is quotation marks around the "Peter" in the title. That is because Peter was likely not his nam...