That Time a Woman Rode Aristotle Around Like a Horse
In the Middle Ages, the legend of Aristotle and Phyllis exemplified the “Power of Women” trope.
Trial by Combat? Trial by Cake!
The medieval tradition of deciding legal cases by appointing champions to fight to the death endured through 1817, unlike its tastier cousin.
How to Create a Human Being
The Book of Stones, a central alchemical text, contained formulae with the power to create living tissue from ordinary matter, supposedly.
The Medieval Castle That Pranked Its Visitors
At Hesdin, in France, the idyllic beauty of the grounds met the sadistic slapstick of the castle’s “engines of amusement.”
Where Witch Hunts Began
Although witch hunts are associated with 17th-century Salem, tens of thousands of "witches" were killed in Europe from the 13th century on.
The San Zeno Astrolabe Tracked Time by the Stars
The astrolabe was a revolutionary tool for calculating celestial positions and local time. The device's design dates back to Islamic antiquity.
When People Thought Charitable Donations Would Save Their Souls
As the Middle Ages progressed, monasteries became a major engine of economic activity in European communities.
When Societies Put Animals on Trial
Animal trials were of two kinds: (1) secular suits against individual creatures; and (2) ecclesiastic cases against groups of vermin.
Ruth Mazo Karras
Ask a Professor offers an insider’s view of life in academia. Up this month: Ruth Mazo Karmas, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.
Why America Went Medieval
In the middle of the nineteenth century, upper-class America went gaga over a vision of the medieval. Carpenter’s Gothic ...