Daily Medieval

Among the groups in history that have long since disappeared, there are the Pechenegs. They were a semi-nomadic group that spoke a Turkic l...

St. Fructuosus on Braga Cathedral It is not unknown for rulers who have been harsh to try to "buy their ay into Heaven" near ...

In the 7th century, the Kingdom of the Visigoths covered much of the Iberian peninsula and a good chunk of what is now southern France. A G...

Recent posts have talked about the sons of William the Conqueror: how he left the kingdom to his second son, William Rufus; how the eldest,...

A copy of the Coronation Charter of Henry I/Charter of Liberties When William Rufus died, his younger brother Henry assumed the throne....

The Battle of Tinchebray When Ralph Flambard escaped from the Tower of London, he fled to Normandy to the court of its duke, Robert Cur...

Ralph Flambard was born in Bayeux, Normandy six years before William the Conqueror crossed the English Channel and became King of England. ...

When William the Conqueror died in 1087, he decided to leave the throne of England to his second eldest, William Rufus. To his eldest, Robe...

Yesterday's post mentioned Henry becoming king of England upon the death of his brother, William Rufus. Their father was William the C...

The phrase "Father of His Country" is usually reserved for George Washington, first President of the United States, for his role ...

Saluzzo, a town and principality in northern Italy, had some interesting connections to England. It was a simple tribal city-state in Roman...

Bread has all the characteristics of a staple food: the plant is easy to grow, the product is relatively easy and cheap to produce, and it ...

Memorial to Battle of Näfels Military engagements between England and France were a large part of the 14th century in Europe, but those...

It is the first of April, and while you might expect something about pulling pranks and acting the fool, instead we are going to talk about...

This is worth knowing. A bear hunter hugging a bear? Early 16th c. German "Geese Book" Sarah Laseke, writer of a medieva...

King Louis IX of France could not convince any of the rulers of Europe to accompany him on a Crusade to free Jerusalem, which had been reca...

In 1244, allies of the Egyptian Mamluks, retreating westward from the advancing Mongols, stopped at Jerusalem long enough to recapture it f...

Saint Isabella, at a church in Paris Isabella of France (1224 - 1270) was the daughter of King Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile. Her b...

Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, that has been inhabited since Neolithic times. A recent post discussed the discovery of ...

In 1977-79, a shipwreck off the southern coast of Turkey was investigated. It was determined to have sunk about 1025. The ship's hold c...

A 1568 German woodcut showing a shoe shop Which guilds were the biggest? Not the most powerful, but those with the most members? Let...

Women weaving Guilds in the Middle Ages seemed to exist for every conceivable occupation (except, perhaps,  midwifery ). What about wom...

Guilds, companies of folk who follow the same occupation, are associated with the Middle Ages. They actually existed in the Roman Empire. C...

Everyone knows about the Templars, or Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. Their avowed goal was to protect travele...

One of the very first posts on this blog years ago was about the collapse of the powerful Florentine banking corporation, the Bardi . One o...

The Cathars, mentioned yesterday, were a largely peaceful group that attempted to lead lives of Christian simplicity, rejecting the materia...

The Cathar symbol The Cathars were a heretical sect that first appeared in historical records of Europe about 1143. In truth, the term ...

When Guy de Chauliac mentioned midwives in his great work on surgery, it was only a mention: he declined to express details because the ...

Copy of the Pact [ source ] The Pact of Umar is a document that outlines rights and restrictions for Christians living in Muslim-held ...

...Onager, Mangonel, Springald, Polybolos—all words for devices that propelled heavy objects toward an enemy; not to mention Cheiroballista...

We note with sadness the passing of Ray Tomlinson  on 7 March 2016, whose name and history are unknown to the general populace but whose in...