Anglo-saxon manuscripts, like the 8th century Vespasian Psalter pictured here, frequently used the color yellow. It was reminiscent of gold, but much less expensive than gold leaf. And gold was a favorite of these Early Medieval people. Anglo-Saxon writers liked to talk about the beauty of the way gold flickered and glimmered in the firelight.
The Verspasian Psalter Read More »
Cats hunting for mice in a medieval manuscript. Although most medieval written records about cats viewed them in purely functional terms, many nuns and monks kept small animals as pets that they felt affectionate for.
Medieval Cats Manuscript Read More »
Charlemagne (d.814), ruler of much of Western Europe, wanted to revive learning in his lands. So he gathered scholars from all over the place to cultivate an intellectual circle. Sadly, even though he wanted to be educated, he was unable to learn how to use a stylus and never could write. (His contemporary and biographer
Charlemagne and Education Read More »
This map shows a likely location for the Irish forest of Focluth, where St. Patrick was brought as a slave before his escape to eventually become a missionary. The slave trade into Ireland was robust in Patrick’s fifth-century world. Slaves were the lowest members of a relatively poor society, living alongside clan chieftains (Tuath) and
Map of Irish Forest of Focluth Read More »
A page from the _Etymologiae_ by the 6th-century scholar Isidore of Seville. In the Middle Ages, this was considered one of the most important books written. Isidore tried to cram in every bit of knowledge he thought was important. Although this book preserved a lot of Ancient Roman and Greek knowledge, the book’s popularity ironically
Etymologiae From Isidore of Seville Read More »
Bald’s Leechbook is an Anglo-Saxon medical text from the 9th century. In 2015 one of the recipes (it used garlic, a bronze pot, and bile from a cow, among other things) was found to be successful in treating MRSA.
Magical incantation bowl written in Jewish Aramaic. Bowls like these were designed as protective magic against demons.
Jewish Magical Incantation Bowl Read More »
They don’t look sexy, but this is the hottest medieval couple in medieval history. Peter Abelard (in his 30s) seduced the young (17) and brilliant Heloise by deliberately making her his private student. They had a physically, intellectually, and emotionally intense affair before Heloise’s uncle had Peter castrated in revenge for the seduction.
Peter Abelard and Heloise Read More »
Harold, the last king before the Norman Conquest of England, getting stabbed to death with an arrow. This depiction on the Bayeux Tapestry has been challenged by some historians, but I still side with this version of the story.
King Harold’s Death Read More »
These are Jewish pendants of protection against the demon Lilith. In “The Alphabet of Ben Sirach”, a medieval Jewish text, the legend appeared of Lilith as the first wife of Adam who refused to have sex in a submissive position – because she chose to leave Adam rather than submit, 100 of her demon children
Medieval Jewish Pendants Read More »
This is a geek-post for Medievalist nerds like me! In 735, one of the most important writers of the Early Middle Ages died in the northern hinterlands of England at a monastery called Jarrow. He had spent most of his life as a monk, coming from the aristocracy of the area and sent by his
New Discoveries of Early Medieval Author Bede’s Handwriting Read More »
It’s really difficult for me, dear readers, not to love the Whore of Babylon, the metaphor and shibboleth from the New Testament Book of Revelations. As a reminder, here are some lines from that apocalyptic book: “‘Come, I will show you the judgement of the great whore who is seated on many waters, with whom
Medieval people drank wine, and a lot of it. Some speculate that it would have tasted much worse than today’s drink, because it wasn’t stored in glass bottles, and corks hadn’t been invented. This might have made older wines murky with dead yeasts, and easily spoiled. The best wines likely were the newer ones which
Winemaking in Medieval Europe Read More »
We’ve all heard the term “rune,” but mostly in contemporary culture we think about runes being magical symbols, perhaps fitting into the worlds of JRR Tolkien. So I’m here to deliver some bummer history news to fight this stereotype and argue that runes could be much more mundane. However, this lead plaque (dating between the
Old English Runes and Their Magical and Ordinary Purposes Read More »
Here you see the Medieval 12th century ruins of the monastery at Lindisfarne. These remains, old as they are, predate Saint Cuthbert, whose cult grew up around this area after his life of preaching and asceticism in the seventh century (see Medieval illumination of Cuthbert on the second slide). But 300 million years before the
St Cuthbert’s beads Read More »
