Medieval News

Writing about the Crusades and talking about a "meddlesome priest"

2017-06-08T21:10:00.001-04:00

The Middle Ages are in the news again, so here is a roundup of recent news articles. We start with three good reads from historians talking about the crusades

14th century Book of Hours depicting the murder of Becket

10 New Youtube Videos for Medieval Lovers - Volume 2

2017-03-06T21:06:00.002-05:00

We found 10 more new videos on Youtube about the Middle Ages.

Rediscovered: Medieval Books at Birkbeck

This video introduces University of London - Birkbeck's small collection of four medieval books: three fifteenth-century manuscripts and one printed book. The books had been forgotten, and unstudied, for many years, until they were rediscovered in late 2015. The books are very different: a French book of hours, an Italian book of statutes, an Italian book of classical wisdom, and a Venetian printed book of the history of the Trojan War. Professor Anthony Bale and Dr Isabel Davis talk about the books' story and introduce some aspects of the books' iconography and meaning.

Friendships from a Medieval Perspective

Anotenella Liuzzo Scorpo at the University of Lincoln spends 60 seconds to talk about friendships in the Middle Ages.

Medieval

Pisa: The city at the end of fourteenth century

A 3D reconstruction of Pisa by Professor Michele Berretta of the University of Bologna.

Transformations of the Knight's Hall at Häme Castle

Created by the University of Turku, Transformations of the Knights’ Hall is an augmented reality application located in the Häme Castle in Finland. It is designed as a museum guide experience describing the changes in one of the castle’s halls during past centuries. According to research the Knights’ Hall has assumed several different roles during its history: the residence of the head of the castle was there in the late medieval times, then around 18th century it has been used as a granary when the whole castle was decayed into a mere depot, and in the 19th and 20th centuries the castle acted as a prison. After 1950s the prison period ended and the castle was renovated. The hall got its present appearance, where remains of some of the old structures can still be seen.

Lutherfestdagene: The Reformation - a curse for church art?

A debate held at the conference on The Reformation and the Arts Around the North Sea, organized by the University Museum of Bergen and Bjørgvin diocese. The participants are Professor Andrew Spicer (Oxford), Associate Professor Henning Laugerud (University of Bergen) and Henrik von Achen (Bergen University Museum).

The Wealth of Anglo Saxon Mercia

The foundation of the power of Mercia - the dominant power of Anglo Saxon England - was its access to wealth. Their vast reserves of land in the fertile English Midlands and Mercian control of the Port of London funded the war bands which allowed the Kingdom to become the dominant power. This wealth is seen in the famous Staffordshire Hoard. Historian and Author, Dr John Hunt, describes this rise to power in his book Warriors, Warlords and Saints: The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia.

Staffordshire Hoard at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery

More Anglo-Saxon with this video promoting the Staffordshire Hoard at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.

University College Dublin Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture: Making, Understanding, Storytelling

Fly over some of the work being done by University College Dublin to understand the archaeology of Ireland.

Project Runway Medieval Style

So cute! Grahamwood Kindergarten CLUE students created medieval style garments for our very own Project Runway Medieval Style.

Alfred the Great: I'll Make Anglo-Saxons Of You King

Alfred sings to his army about why they really need to get better if they're going to defeat the Danes. The students of the Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic department of Cambridge University hold their Yule Play every year. To see more of their medieval-themed songs and sketches, check out their Youtube channel.

Click here to see our first set of medieval videos

St. Magnus, Chaucer and Donaeld the Unready - what's new in the Middle Ages

2017-02-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

In this week's news roundup of all things medieval, you can read about creating the face of St.Magnus, good reads about the Vikings, and someone having fun on Twitter.

Our image of the week - “Manuscript Leaf from a Missal” by Austrian via The Metropolitan Museum of Art is licensed under CC0 1.0

What's New With Vikings! and more medieval news

2017-02-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

We are back with doing roundups of the medieval news! Let's start with a few recent pieces for fans of all things Norse...

And our image of the week is this zodiac sign of Aquarius in a 13/14th century manuscript

Image from e-codices / Flickr

10 New Youtube Videos for Medieval Lovers

2017-01-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

A roundup of ten recent videos on Youtube for those interested in Medieval Studies

Andalusian Stories profiles Francisco Gutiérrez, who reproduces manuscripts and designs new miniatures applying the same techniques and materials used by master illuminators of the Middle Ages. You can also take a look at his website here.

Rowan Taylor, a blacksmith who works on the restoration and conservation of medieval iron wear, has uploaded this video showing how to create a medieval trowel.

Last year Jackson Crawford of the University of California at Berkeley began a series teaching about the Norse language and culture. His videos have been getting a strong number of viewers because of the great content and Crawford's straightforward style.

Richard Scott Nokes takes a look at the Saga of the Volsungs in his latest Professor Awesome video podcast

A pair of interviews with Christian Raffensperger, Associate Professor at Wittenberg University, about his books on medieval Rus.

Recording Archaeology has released dozens of videos in the last few weeks, covering a wide variety of topics related to Middle Ages. Here are three to check out.

And finally, our favourite band Stary Olsa, has released their cover of The Beatles song 'Yesterday'.

News Roundup - The 950th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings

2016-10-17T23:26:00.000-04:00

How the anniversary celebrations and the re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings at Battle Abbey was reported in the media...

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscripts digitized and more medieval news

2016-02-04T14:52:00.001-05:00

Our weekly roundup of medieval news starts with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle...

View the story "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscripts digitized and more medieval news" on Storify

Holy Wells, Lowercase Letters and Femfog: Medieval News Roundup

2016-01-27T09:14:00.001-05:00

What we came across in our web browsing over the last week or so that will be of interest to medievalists...

View the story "Holy Wells, Lowercase Letters and Femfog: Medieval News Roundup" on Storify

Our Photo of the Week shows 14th century stonework from the former portal of a carmelite convent of Barcelona.

Photo by Catalan Art and Architecture / Flickr

From Mass Surveillance to Haggis: Medieval News Roundup

2015-12-28T01:29:00.000-05:00

What we found this week in our online wanderings...

Our photo of the week comes from a Gospel book that was made at the Benedictine monastery of the Holy Savior at Helmarshausen, Germany, around 1120 to 1140. The image is part of the Getty's Open Content Program.

Castles, Vikings, Mongols, and more Castles! Medieval News Roundup

2015-12-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

What we found this week on our wanderings through the world wide web.

View the story "Castles, Vikings, Mongols, and more Castles! Medieval News Roundup" on Storify

Our photo of the week comes from Neil Williamson on Flickr, who took this picture of the Red Castle, which lies on the east coast of Scotland

The Witch Girl, Medieval Churches and 25 Things about the Vikings

2015-11-23T01:41:00.002-05:00

This week's medieval news round up...

View the story "The Witch Girl, Medieval Churches and 25 Things about the Vikings" on Storify

Our photo of the week comes Travelholic Path on Flickr, who took this image while at the Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal.

Unicorns, Selfies and How to Joust like a Knight: News for Medievalists

2015-11-05T10:22:00.003-05:00

The latest medieval news we discovered in our online ramblings...

View the story "Unicorns, Selfies and How to Joust like a Knight: News for Medievalists" on Storify

Our picture of the week is by Juha Remes on Flickr, showing Great Tower of Scarborough Castle and panoramic view to the headlands in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom.

Check out his Flickr page to see more.

The Battle of Agincourt in the News

2015-10-26T01:39:00.001-04:00

The 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt was noted by many British media outlets over the weekend. Here are some of the articles that looked at the battle:

Our image of the week comes from AJ Leon on Flickr, who drew his own take on the Battle of Agincourt:

Neurology, Nudity and Coconuts: Medieval News Roundup

2015-10-16T08:24:00.001-04:00

Our latest roundup of the news from the Middle Ages even goes into US Presidential Politics...

Our picture of the week shows the grand stained glass interior of Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, France. Photo by Joe Parks / Flickr

Chastity Belts, Mead and Wanted Vikings: Medieval News Roundup

2015-10-04T20:38:00.002-04:00

Our latest roundup of medieval news...

Our photo of the week comes from the 2015 White Truffle Fair in Alba, Italy, which included a historical reenactment. See more images from Giorgio Montersino's Flickr Album

From Viking School to Room 50A: Medieval News Roundup

2015-09-10T01:24:00.000-04:00

Our photo of the week is of Burt Castle, a 16th century fortress built in Ireland. Photo by Greg Clarke/ Flickr

Snobs, Bones and Baby Jesus': Medieval News Roundup

2015-08-25T22:10:00.001-04:00

A roundup of this week's news for medievalists...

You can also read more about the Middle Ages in our weekly digital journal - The Medieval Magazine. Click here to learn more.

What does +NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+ mean?

2015-08-12T16:37:00.000-04:00

The British Library is looking for help trying to solve an inscription on a medieval sword...

London Chaucer Conference 2015: All The Tweets #Chaucer2015

2015-08-12T15:29:00.005-04:00

All the tweets (in chronological order) from the Biennial London Chaucer Conference, held at Senate House Library, 10-11 July 2015. [Note: this captures only tweets using the official confernece hashtag #Chaucer2015]

Getting the Word Out: Medieval Manuscripts Now

2015-08-12T15:27:00.003-04:00

UCL Festival of the Arts, 21 May 2015, 18:30 to 19:30 - Live tweets from public discussion on the use and abuse of digital images of medieval books: #ManuscriptsNow

ANZAMEMS 2015 - Medieval Conference in Australia

2015-07-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

Kiera Naylor collected the tweets from the Australian and New Zealand Medieval Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies conference at University of Queensland in Brisbane. The conference was held from July 14-18, 2015.

Could the Vikings slay cancer? - Medieval News Roundup

2015-07-20T11:42:00.004-04:00

Our latest medieval news roundup takes a look at cancer research in Iceland, a new Byzantine research centre in Turkey, and the discovery of the remains of a boy in Siberia who lived back in the 12th century.

Photo credit: Yamalo-Nenets regional Museum and Exhibition Complex

Getting the Word Out: Medieval Manuscripts Now

2015-07-13T09:14:00.001-04:00

What's being found, what's being restored - Medieval News Roundup

2015-07-01T10:32:00.002-04:00

Recent news for medievalists, including the restoration of a 15th-century manuscript, and the discovery of a Norman castle. And check out the great video from the people behind Just for Laughs Gags:

View the story "What's being found, what's being restored - Medieval News Roundup" on Storify

Magna Carta Roundup

2015-06-16T23:19:00.001-04:00

The 800th anniversary of the creation of Magna Carta was a major event, and here is a roundup of how newspapers and other media covered it.

Her Majesty The Queen unveils a plaque commemorating 800 years of Magna Carta - Photo courtesy Surrey County Council