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In Medieval Britain, If You Wanted to Get Ahead, You Had to Speak French
The study of modern languages in British secondary schools is in steep decline. The number of students taking French and German GCSE has more than halved in the last 16 years. But as the UK prepares to...
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1,000-Year-Old Norman Cathedral Ruins Unearthed Beneath Church in England
The foundations of a Norman cathedral have been found under just 3ft (90cm) of soil during excavations at St Albans Abbey, the oldest place of continuous Christian worship in England. They are dated to...
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Two Wolves Entwined: What did this Viking Ring Symbolize?
In the autumn of 2015, a unique Viking Age spiral ring with two wolf heads was found in Goa in Randaberg, Western Norway. Does the ring show Odin’s two wolves, Geri and Freki – or is it the Fenris...
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Parallel Worlds – Events in Game of Thrones Based on Real Historical Events
The television series, Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, has been praised for its gritty realism and epic storyline. G.R.R. Martin has been referred to...
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New Study Reveals that London was the Most Violent Place in Medieval England
A new study suggests that medieval London was notorious for its excessive violence. The overall findings suggest that violence affected many parts of medieval London, although predictably it...
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Divine, Demonic, or Something In-Between: How the Changing Face of Elves...
Just as human culture has changed over the centuries, supernatural creatures also change with time. For example, elves were originally a type of nature spirit similar to Nymphs in Greek mythology.Read...
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Putting the Sex Back in Wessex: The Scandalous Reign of Queen Elgiva & Her...
The Queens of England (as in the consorts of Kings) during the early Medieval periods of English history rarely receive any coverage in the history books. Hands up anyone who can name the wife of...
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Watch Your Step! Don’t Tread on the Caltrop, A Weapon with a Pointed History
There is a cunning and deadly device that used by armies in the past, and up to the present day. It’s a weapon mostly overlooked but is yet brilliantly effective—the caltrop. The caltrop (or calthrop)...
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Dance Macabre: How the Dead Danced with the Living in Medieval Society
In the Halloween season, American culture briefly participates in an ancient tradition of making the world of the dead visible to the living: Children dress as skeletons, teens go to horror movies and...
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Puzzling Medieval Runes Found on Stone in Norway
A rare find of a stone bearing engravings of runes that date back to the Middle Ages has been unearthed recently at an excavation near Oslo. The relic is a whetstone which was a tool used for...
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Monumental Mongolian Burial Discovered Includes 14 Giant Inscribed Pillars
A joint excavation team from Osaka University and the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences discovered the ruins of a unique monument surrounded by 14 large stone...
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Eltz Castle: A Majestic Medieval Pile Owned by the Same Family for 800 Years
Eltz Castle is a majestic castle situated on the top of a rock within a small wooded valley in Germany. Be it through luck or strategy, the castle has been mostly spared from the ravages of war. Apart...
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Locked into a Relationship: The Medieval Remedy for Divorce Still Requested...
Global divorce rates are on the rise. Some people see this as a social issue. But the small Romanian village of Biertan has a unique method to remedy this problem. They follow a tradition which has...
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Amateur Treasure Hunter Will Make Thousands of Dollars from a Medieval Gold Ring
An amateur treasure hunter has made an exciting discovery in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The young man unearthed an engraved 20-carat gold ring dating to the medieval period. The find may...
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New Study Answers the Question - Did Medieval People Reach Old Age?
An Australian archaeologist has decided to take a different approach to looking at the lives of past society. Instead of focusing on the rich, young, and beautiful (all popular groups by today’s...
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The Hurdy Gurdy Was Essential Medieval Entertainment Enjoyed by Merrymakers...
The hurdy gurdy is a musical instrument, or more precisely, a string instrument, that traces its origin to the Middle Ages of Europe. The hurdy gurdy was initially used to play sacred music, before...
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What Comforting Items Did Vikings Have That Are Still the Height of Luxury...
In the largest and most richly equipped Viking burial mounds discovered in Norway there are usually found beds and several types of bird feathers and down from pillows and duvets, including eagle-owls’...
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Erotic Medieval Runic Inscriptions Found in Bergen
A runic inscription found in Bergen is quite long and the author must have had a lot of “erotic energy” when he carved these runes into the 33 centimeter-long (13 inches) wooden stick: “I love that...
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Richly Adorned Arabic Influenced Chess Piece Unearthed in Norway
Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) have recently discovered a rare and richly decorated Arabic-inspired chess piece in Tønsberg.Read moreSection:...
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Bayeux and Brexit: What the tapestry says about the UK’s shared European...
The Bayeux Tapestry is finally coming to England, or so the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has promised. There have long been calls to bring the work to England, such as for the Queen’s coronation...
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