On December 29, 1170, Henry II of England accidentally murdered his former best friend, Thomas Becket. The Anarchy As always, to understand a historical tale, you need to understand some of the context. Henry’s entire childhood developed in the context of a 18-year civil war known as the Anarchy, andContinue Reading
I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with this blog when I started it. Honestly, my first thought was steampunk. I’m sure I will eventually get around to it, but it clearly hasn’t been my focus. I am a medievalist. I am greatly enjoying writing about thatContinue Reading
This little gem comes from Grumpy Eleanor of Aquitaine on Facebook. My apologies for not knowing the original source. Grumpy Eleanor doesn’t list them. Often I can Google them, but finding appropriate keywords for this one is difficult. I am guessing it’s a 15th century something. Rarely is there soContinue Reading
These Astronomical Clocks Were a Wonder of the Medieval World. I have a wee bit of an issue with an article that talks about these devices being around for over 1000 years and then not giving an example older than the 14th century, but the pictures are nevertheless marvelous andContinue Reading
Marginalia is any content existing within the margins of a book. In more modern books, marginalia is generally the notes an owner has scribbled to himself. Books with the marginalia of famous thinkers can become quite valuable. In the Middle Ages, however, marginalia was an art form. It was plannedContinue Reading
There are two major types of historical art I like The really good stuff, about which I am really picky, and The really awful stuff. It gets bonus points if it is medieval, and it usually is. Hence, Vampire Monkey Christ. I giggle every time I look at it. CanContinue Reading
For whatever reason, that’s always the pronunciation I hear in my head when I look at this thing. In the early Middle Ages, status was gained almost exclusively through combat. As such, it they were going to hold up a figure like, say, Jesus Christ, being a pacifist really didn’tContinue Reading