Daily Medieval

Pope Alexander III decided that it was time to tackle the pagans on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea (the Baltic is between the penins...

In 1179, Pope Alexander III , now able to function as the recognized pope after his imperial-supported rival popes were suppressed, was in a...

A man born in Siena c.1100 grew up to make significant changes to the Roman Catholic Church. His name was Roland, and he studied theology at...

After Niels , the fourth and last of the sons of Sweyn II to become kings of Denmark, died, the throne passed to the next generation; in th...

Roger de Moulins was not known to history until 1177 when he became Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller . His chief concern seemed to be ...

In the 12th century, while the kingdoms established in the Holy Land by Western Europeans were struggling to maintain themselves against the...

The First Crusade founded several Christian territories in the East. In order of their founding, they were the County of Edessa, the Princip...

Prince John (24 December 1166 - 19 October 1216) had been made Lord of Ireland by his father, Henry II, in the 1177 Council of Oxford. He to...

It was perfectly acceptable in the Middle Ages for kings to father children outside of wedlock. Although these illegitimate children were un...

It's a rare medieval post that starts with a Star Wars reference, but here it is (spoilers!): when Obi Wan confronts Darth Vader, he war...

Thomas Becket rose from decent middle-class origins to the highest non-royal position in England. As Archbishop of Canterbury, however, hi...

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

Peter Lombard (c.1096 - July 1160) was the Bishop of Paris and the author of Four Books of Sentences  which became the standard theological ...

For some reason, a 12th century Norman knight named Jocelin did not want his son to follow in his footsteps. We do not know why, but a commo...

That "inaccessible area" in Asia mentioned in the Finding Paradise entry fascinated Europeans. Knowledge of the lands to the ea...

One of the decrees that came out of the Fourth Lateran Council of Pope Innocent III was that "every cathedral or other church of suffi...