Daily Medieval

The growing power and importance of Sicily in the Middle Ages was mentioned here . But the solution they found didn't quite last; co...

There is a lot more to say about Trial by Combat than can be put into a brief post. The history includes interesting anecdotes and surpri...

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

The dueling area was typically 60 feet square. One of the things "everyone knows" about the Middle Ages is the idea of Trial ...

Cosmati floor, Westminster Abbey church, during a recent cleaning. When discussing the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey yesterday, I me...

I started this here with the origins of what we now call " Westminster Abbey ." A major rebuilding campaign began about 1245 by...

Panel from Bayeaux Tapestry; Edward's body carried to Westminster. The Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster was begun on ...

Bronze-Iron Age buttons as ornament. [ source ] Although evidence of buttons exists as far back as the classical era, it appears that th...

Hildegard of Bingen shown with a psaltery. One of the oldest known composers of liturgical music—and perhaps the earliest medieval drama...

Praise the northern tribes of Europe and their tendency to give descriptive names to significant people, so that we can remember them in our...

Edward I receiving homage; Lord Borchard de Herle is on the far right Does a diplomat owe his loyalty to his monarch or his mission? Can...

When your religion is centered on a holy text, and a majority of the population cannot read, how do you bridge the gap between a devoti...

The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was mentioned last year over a five-day span , but the events in London weren't the only expression of ...

King John I of Portugal weds Philippa of Lancaster, 1386 ( Chronique de France et d'Angleterre,  Jean Wavrin, 15th c .) When Edward ...

Tiffany window of Charlemagne and Alcuin at LaFayette College (1898) Alcuin of York has been mentioned before, primarily in his relat...

Speaking of the monastic life... Today (13 May) is the feast day of John the Silent (452-558), who took living a private life to an extr...

St. Anthony the Great is credited with being the first monk in that he did not just live an ascetic life, but also he removed himself fro...

Anthemius of Tralles (c.474-c.557) was mentioned as one of the builders (along with Isidore of Miletus) of the new Hagia Sophia . We know m...

The greatest church in the eastern Mediterranean was the Hagia Sop hia [Greek Ἁγία Σοφία - "Holy Wisdom"] in  Constantinople. Th...

Dimashq. دمشق. Dimishe'. al-Sh ām. The City of Jasmine. "Oldest continuously inhabited city in the world." Damascus. I...

Henry being offered the position of King of Germany, while working with his nets. (1900, Hermann Vogel) Richard Wagner's opera, Lo...

One Latin form of Augustine was "Austinus" Augustine of Hippo (354-430), pious man and brilliant theologian, has been mention...

The Council of Constance (illustrated here) in 1414 has been mentioned before—or, at least, its outcomes. It was at this, the 16th ecumenica...

Romsey Abbey was, for a brief time, the home of Matilda of Scotland and her sister Mary. It is called "Romsey" because it was or...

Seal of Queen Matilda When King William II died mysteriously in 1100, his brother immediately ascended the throne. Needing a queen, he ...

(I apologize if the title—or the topic—is too crude for some.) The poor fellow to the right (the one half showing) is suffering from an an...

The "Beast of Provence" (also known as the "Giant of Provence" or "Bald Mountain") is actually Mont Ventoux [M...

Let's see...so many to choose from. The Feast Day of St. George , patron saint of England (who certainly did not exist) Anniversary of...

Recent events in Boston have underscored what Americans do not know about world geography. The news that the alleged bombers were Chechen, f...