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 ...
The Battle of Hastings and the Ongoing Fight for Britain
Nine hundred and fifty years ago, Normans sailed across the English Channel, landing on England on September 27, 1066. The Norman Conquest had begun.
Inside the Alchemist’s Workshop
What tools would an alchemist use in the quest to transmute other elements into gold?
Why Did the Plague Continue to Reemerge After the Middle Ages?
New research suggests alarming details about the plague, which repeatedly devastated populations across Europe, Asia, and Africa over the centuries.
Licoricia of Winchester, Jewish Widow and Medieval Financier
The story of Licoricia of Winchester illustrates just how much wealth and influence a Jewish woman could accumulate.