This is one of the most iconic scenes in Medieval art history: the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 which sealed the deal for the Norman conquest of England. The embroidery here is of course the famous Bayeux Tapestry, created about a decade after that famous battle. And academics have […]
The Death of King Harold Read More »
This is Chief Oshkosh (ca. 1795-1858) of the Menominee Indigenous Americans, who occupied 10 million acres of land around Wisconsin until the US government forced a takeover. The Menominee had sided against the US in the War of 1812, but later helped the American government in a confrontation with the American Indigenous leader Black Hawk
Menominee Chief Oshkosh Read More »
_Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror_ is one of the world’s most famous films. Released as a silent movie with a musical soundtrack background, its portrayal of Count Orlok as the rat-faced, hulking vampire who brings death to the fictional village of Wisborg, Germany, is still easily recognized over 100 years later. (In fact, a remake
Nosferatu and World War I Read More »
“Greek Fire,” the famous naval weapon of the Byzantine Empire, was a liquid projectile that burst into flames after spewing out of pressurized nozzles, and kept burning as it floated on water. This is a twelfth-century illustration of Greek Fire in action. The eleventh-century historian Anna Komnene has a great description of the theatrics involved
Greek Fire by the Byzantine Empire Read More »
Structures known as Irish Round Towers, built from the late 8th-12th centuries CE, dotted the island in medieval centuries. The only monumental stone buildings in Ireland to come before the Normans invaded, the towers used to be thought to function as lookouts for Viking invasions. Historians now ascribe less martial functions to the buildings, thinking
Irish Round Towers Read More »
Great disoveries in mathematics and sciences ought to be celebrated, but a challenge for most of us non-specialists is understanding what exactly it is that we are supposed to be admiring. Amalie “Emmy” Noether (d. 1935) was, according to many great minds (such as Albert Einstein), the most important female mathematician in history. Her accomplishments
The Three Phases of Amalie “Emmy” Noether Read More »
“The Priestess of Delphi,” by John Collier (1891). This haunting painting of one of the famous oracles from Ancient Greece – known as the Sibyls – is reflective of the lack of certainty modern scholars have about what specific prophecies the oracles pronounced. We know that the Romans truly believed that one of the Sibyls
Importance of Sibyls Oracles in the Ancient World Read More »
Suicide has been met with approbation, criticism, horror, or distain, depending on the culture and circumstance of the act. In the Ancient Mediterranean world, elite people who were condemned to death by the state – or facing eminent death by political opponents – thought of suicide as a more honorable path. Pictured here is “Sofonisba
Suicide in the Ancient Mediterranean World Read More »
Sometimes the distant past seems exotic and remote, and sometimes it feels like today’s news headlines. The Ancient Greek myth of the prophetess Cassandra brings out both tendencies. Born into the Trojan royalty, beautiful Cassandra was cursed by the God Apollo after she changed her mind about sleeping with him. Although every utterance she predicted
Ancient Greek Myth of Cassandra Read More »
Here you can see the grim and chaotic scenes of battle depicted in the Ludovici Battle Sarcophagus, made in the Roman Empire mid-third century CE. The horrifying conditions that Ancient Roman soldiers experienced have led to a debate as to whether PTSD extended farther back in time than the late 19th-century. Some of the symptoms
Ancient Roman Battles and PTSD Read More »
In April of 1943 as Hitler’s forces and the Allied powers struggled for dominance, a Spanish fisherman discovered a corpse with documents labeling the man as a British military official (Major Martin’s ID card is the first photo) who seemed to have drowned off the coast. This set in play the most successful ruse in
Operation Mincemeat from World War II Read More »
This gladiator mural was unveiled just last week from the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii. The unusually graphic depiction of a bleeding fighter — holding his thumb up, a gesture to signal for mercy — was found by archaeologists in a building thought to have been a bar and brothel. Since we know that gladiators
Gladiator Mural from Ancient City of Pompeii Read More »
I would like to introduce one of “my” Medieval research area queens: Urraca, ruler of much of Spain from 1109-1126. I like her for many reasons, but one of my favorite things about Urraca was her tenacity. She really steered an unlikely trajectory, and kept reasserting her own life’s ambitions despite the ways her plans
Medieval Queen Urraca of Spain Read More »
Here is a grim piece of testimony concerning the horrific ways that anti-Semitism played out in Medieval Europe, especially as the period went on. This is an illustration of the Third Crusade of Pastoureaux, or Shepherds’ Crusade, which happened in northern France in 1320. Trapped in a burning tower, Jews (identified by badges they were
The Third Crusade and Anti-Semitism Read More »
The Morgan Picture Bible, a.k.a. “The Crusader Bible” is one of the pinnacles of 13th-century French Gothic illumination. Regardless whether it was commissioned by the saint-king Louis IX of France, as many art historians have argued, the 283 gorgeously painted illustrations certainly characterize the zeal of the crusader movement in Europe. In it, artists have
The Morgan Picture Bible Read More »
Look closely, and you’ll see if you squint . . . Not the holy hand grenade, but the Holy Lance! You know — the artifact that in the Christian Gospel of John was used by a Roman soldier to pierce the side of Jesus after he had died on the cross? (John 19:34). A quick
The Holy Lance of the First Crusade Read More »
The imposing walls of the Masyaf castle in Syria speak to the formidable command of its Medieval occupants. This was one of the fortresses run by the Nizari Ismaili sect of Muslims — better known as the Assassins.Run by a charismatic leader sometimes called “The Old Man of the Mountain” (also Hasan-e Sabbah), the Assassins
The Masyaf Castle of the Assassins Read More »
In the southeastern part of Pennsylvania, a range of mountains that make up part of the Tuscarora State Forest (see second photo) run in a crescent shape from the nine o’clock to the twelve o’clock position. And running from south to north on the western side of these mountains is route 522, which goes across
The Dark History of the Kittanning Trail Read More »
Here you see a physical manifestation of the phrase “bite the bullet.” These two lead bullets came from a hospital serving soldiers wounded in the U.S. Civil War’s famous Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863). In an age preceding anesthetics, patients were told to bite down on these so-called “Hospital” or “Pain Bullets” before surgery was
Biting the Bullet During the Civil War Read More »
This image of the famous ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi (aka Lao Tzu) dates to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and shows the semi-legendary Lao Tzu as an old man, peacefully riding atop a bull. It is a fitting image for one of the most famous figures in the history of Doaism/Taoism, which emphasizes cultivating an ability
Chinese Philosopher Laozi Read More »
