Daily Medieval

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...

We are now in the Christian season of Advent, from the Latin adventus,  meaning "coming." It comprises the four Sundays leading...

The previous post on the Mesta mentioned the kings of Castile giving shepherds rights-of-way that overrode those of other landowners in o...

Merino Ram, bred in Medieval Spain Consider the Iberian Peninsula in the early Middle Ages: the Moors controlled the southern part, and...

Icon of St. Genesius, commissioned by the Fraternity of St. Genesius There are several saints named Genesius in early Christian history...

A secret seder [ source ] Yesterday I alluded to a third option available to persecuted Jews in the Middle Ages who were forced into t...

The Inquisition in Portigal [ source ] When the Alhambra Decree gave Jews the choice of converting to Christianity or leaving the kingd...

[ source ] There is an ethnic subdivision of Jews called Sephardic Jews. "Sephardic" comes from the Hebrew  Sepharad , which r...

Liuvigild on one of his campaigns detail from an ivory reliquary, 11th c. Liuvigild was mentioned yesterday as the Visigothic King in t...

Commentary on Job being given from Pope Gregory to Bishop Leander of Seville St. Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 4 April 636) has been ment...

Christopher Columbus is about as late as a "medieval" blog should deal with, but to me it seems appropriate. The world that Colu...

Later depiction of Benjamin of Tudela One of the greatest historical puzzles is the disappearance of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Af...

A city without bells is like a blind man without a stick. —Rabelais Rabelais (c.1494-1553) was a little late for this blog, but his state...