Daily Medieval

Kassia was born to a wealthy family in Constantinople sometime between 805 and 810 CE. By 843 she had founded a convent and was its first ab...

In yesterday's post we saw how Emperor Theophilos got his bride, Theodora the Blessed, in a bride show . Afterward, Theophilos' step...

The first part of the Second Council of Nicaea—in which I discuss the agenda of the first three sessions—is here . The fourth session was to...

The Second Council of Nicaea (24 September - 13 October 787) was the last of seven ecumenical councils that took place with participation fr...

Pope Leo IX's actions in 1054 (through his delegate Cardinal Humbert, actually) were the catalyst for the great East-West Schism between...

Technically, there were two of these synods, both held in Constantinople. One of them was called by Emperor Basil I, with the cooperation of...

The  Opus Caroli regis contra synodum  ("The work of King Charles against the Synod"), also known as  Libri Carolini  ("Charl...

In order to preserve Western Europe for Christendom and repel the Muslim invasions, Charles Martel enlisted the aid of Liutprand, King of t...

After the Rashidun Caliphate came the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 CE, with a dynastic rule starting with Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor ...

John of Damascus was born into a well-to-do Arab-Christian family in Damascus around 675 CE. His father was an official serving the Umayyad ...

We have talked about the Council of Nicaea before, but always the First Council in 325. There were several ecumenical councils. The seventh...

17th century painted icon (ironically) representing the "Not Made by Human Hands" tradition; the Greek letters in the halo ind...

(photo credit Conor Hogan, 2014) The picture here is medieval, although not from the Middle Ages. It's of the dome of Our Lady of V...

The word "iconoclast" today usually denotes someone who challenges tradition, but the origin of the word was in the religiously ...