A 12th-century manuscript contains the oldest known European Medieval food recipes, according to new research. The recipes, which include both food and medical ointment concoctions, were compiled and written in Latin. Someone jotted them down at Durham Cathedral’s monastery in the year 1140. It was essentially a health book, so the meals were meant to…
While reading online, do you sometimes find yourself going from reading articles on, say, politics, to poetry, to humor? If so, your experience is rather medieval, according to Arthur Bahr, an associate professor of literature at MIT whose first book, “Fragments and Assemblages: Forming Compilations of Medieval London“ was just released by University of Chicago…
Today we have a review of the book Buying Manorial Titles in England: a simple guide to the pitfalls by David Maximilian Cathmoir Nicoll. The book is described as a short guide to “educated layman to ensure they understand the key issues in current English law regarding their ownership rights”. Being from the States I…
Liverpool University Press, the UK’s third oldest university press, has finalized an agreement with the University of Exeter Press to acquire its Medieval Studies, Classics and Ancient History, History, Archaeology and Landscape Studies lists, with immediate effect. The acquisition includes the following book series: Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies, Exeter Studies in Medieval Europe, Exeter…
2012 was a great year for medieval books! No matter where your interest lies in the medieval era there is a good chance a book was published on the subject. The books range in subjects from kings, castles, war, and disease. Here at Medieval Archives we were honored to interview two authors and review several…
University of South Carolina English professor Scott Gwara had sorted through 32 lots of medieval books and manuscripts in a London auction house when he pulled out box 33 and discovered a pristine prayer book that he hoped would round out USC’s collection of 15th-century religious texts. “I pulled this off the shelf and I…
A very rare mid-14th century legal manuscript written in Medieval Welsh is being auctioned at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday. Almost certainly taken to the US by Welsh settlers in the 1700s, The Laws Of Hywel Dda ranks among the earliest medieval documents in that country. Read the full story and see the video on…
The most heavily worn payer in the manuscript was dedicated to St. Sebastian, who was thought to be efficacious against the bubonic plague. Image courtesy of the University of St. Andrews When medieval Europeans read religious texts, what were their favorite prayers? Which sections did they return to time and time again, and which parts…
It is like taking a step inside the restricted section of the Hogwarts’ library – rows and rows of chained up books and manuscripts line the tall wooden shelves secured in place on thick metal rods. Hereford Cathedral’s chained library dates back to 1611 and it is not hard to imagine how it looked in…
England and Wales are full of beautiful medieval churches. From the famous like Christ Church cathedral to the lesser-known like Dorchester Abbey, they offer breathtaking architecture and decoration, and since many are free, they make good budget travel destinations. Some even preserve fragile paintings from the Middle Ages, like this one photographed by Roger Rosewell,…
Fatal Colours: Towton 1461: England’s Most Brutal Battle is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson at £20.00 – in anticipation of the 550th calendar anniversary on 29 March 2011 and the 550th traditional Palm Sunday anniversary on 17 April 2011. Participate A gripping account of the Wars of the Roses Battle of Towton – arguably the…
Helen Castor’s very readable “She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth” is, she writes, “the kind of book I loved to read before history became my profession as well as my pleasure.” It’s full of beautiful, imperiled ladies; fearless knights; and remarkable, often unbelievable turns of fortune. Pause a moment if you feel this…
Today the internet was buzzing about the publication date for A Dance with Dragons. In case you missed it the book will be released on 12 July 2011. I had my doubts until King George himself confirmed the date on his website. If you have any doubts about the hype surrounding Martin’s books I would…
The macabre encounter of skeletons mocking the living has haunted Case Western Reserve University art historian Elina Gertsman’s imagination since childhood walks with her grandfather through the St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn (now the Art Museum of Estonia). That childhood fascination led to Gertsman’s newly published book, The Dance of Death in the Middle Ages:…
Albrecht Classen set out more than six years ago on a major effort to compile a reference handbook about contemporary research on medieval studies. During that time, Classen, a University of Arizona professor, developed and strengthened international ties with researchers, gathered articles and manuscripts and managed an expansive Website of worldwide resources. He has since…
