Hypatia: Pagan Philosopher of Alexandria, Victim of Christian Violence
Hypatia is something of a footnote in history-most noted for her violent death at the hands of a saint’s mob of thugs. But since...
The 14th Century Military Revolution
The nature of warfare changed in the 14th C as battles moved from being won by knights, to being won by the effective...
Peeping Tom, Upper Crust and Other Sayings
Who hasn’t referred to the ‘real McCoy” or called someone nosy a ‘Peeping Tom’. Not surprisingly, all these saying have a historical background –...
Thomas Fuller and the Crusades
Perhaps before entering into any analysis of both the character and craft of Thomas Fuller, it would be a good idea to provide some...
Mnemonic Devices and Memory Treatises in the Medieval Church
Moving into scholastic theology, there was an increased need for the art of memory as knowledge increased. The schemes of moral theology became more...
Edward Gibbon and the Crusades
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) was very much a man of the Enlightenment and his view of the crusades is evident from his verdict of his...
Pirates All – Barbarossa, His Brothers and Their Successors
They were Ishaq, Aruj, Ilyas and the youngest and most famous, Khair ad Din, who became known to Europeans as Barbarossa, or Red Beard.
Prisoner...
The Glossators: The Revival of Roman Law in The High Middle Ages
The story of the rediscovery of Roman law by the Italian scholars of the High Middle Ages and their devotion to the Corpus Iuris...
The Lives of Monks in the Middle Ages
The life of a medieval monk followed a strict pattern. The days consisted of a routine of religious services, manual labour, and sleep,...
English Battle Tactics in the Middle Ages: Massed Archery and Defensive Deployment Led to...
From the 1290s onward, the armies of England began to use new military tactics which revolved around massed archery, defensive deployment, and dismounting their...