Forbidden Fruit: Male-Female Relations in the Medieval Cloister
Medieval monks and nuns lived by rules that demanded three vows: chastity, obedience and poverty. Problems arose with all three at times, and oft...
A History of Rushen Abbey, an Important Manx Religious Site
The medieval abbey is still the subject of research and speculation, with excavations ongoing at the abbey. Since the abbey came under the ownership...
Animals in Medieval Human History
The seemingly now-separate categories of person and animal have never been stable, but medieval people lived in a shifty world of monsters, manifestations and...
A Brief History of Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture in Europe and Great Britain grew out the Crusades. The rounded arches in churches soon evolved to the strong arch and Gothic...
Modern and Medieval Thought
To understand and assess rational thought and its importance to Christianity, medieval thinkers investigated the literature of Plato and Aristotle. The outcome of their...
Could Anthrax Have Caused The Black Death?
While most people believe that the Bubonic Plague was the cause of the Black Death, there is some evidence that Anthrax might have...
The Importance of the Horse in Medieval French Farming
The horse, at least in medieval times, was seen first and foremost as a military tool, it wasn’t until the eleventh or twelfth centuries...
Bath and Wells, a Cathedral, an Abbey, a Bishop and lots of water
It is no coincidence that both Bath and Wells have names relating to water. Bath stands on the River Avon, the name deriving from...
How Historically Accurate is the Film ‘Braveheart’?
Mel Gibson has a reputation for the historic blockbuster and Braveheart is his best. Since the screenplay was written by Randall Wallace, a descendant...
Catholic Attitudes to Slavery in the Middle Ages
In the world in which the church was born slavery was ubiquitous and endemic. Roman and Greek society thrived on it, and the Germanic...