The tales of King Arthur and his knights are some of the most well-known stories around the world, subject to many interpretations and adaptations, with one of the best adaptations being that of John Steinbeck, author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Having admired Sir Malory’s arthurian tales as a child, Steinbeck began…
Category: Medieval
Council of Nicaea, 2024
In 325, the Council of Nicaea met under the guiding hand of newly Christian Emperor Constantine I, and put together a Creed that would define what it is to be a Christian for centuries to come. The Nicene Creed established the doctrine of the trinity presented by the Alexandrian school—that the Father, the Son, and…
Sapphic Romance in Medieval Islamic Literature
The Islamic Golden Age is known for the explosion of scientific and artistic innovation produced by Muslim communities in the Medieval Era. Not only did this period of inspiration lead to advances in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine, it also saw the blossoming of Islamic literature. Just like many of us, people in the tenth century…
A Crash Course on Ancient Delaware
What comes to mind when you think of prehistoric civilizations in North America? The Aztec pyramids in Mexico? Or maybe the cities carved into stone cliff faces in Colorado? While those are stunning examples of pre-modern architecture (in the most literal sense of the term), there is one region of the continent that is often…
Fake it ‘Til You Make It: Trade in the Medieval Mediterranean
Merchants did it, royals did it…Time to dive into fraudulence in the medieval Mediterranean!
Studying Archaeology Abroad in Ireland
“‘Here I am,’ I thought, ‘climbing around in an ancient tomb in a country I have always dreamed of visiting. I know this tomb, and I know what I’m looking at. This is what I want to do. Everything in my life is coming together.'”
Damned or Commiserated? The Fate of Classical Heroes in Medieval Poetry
How do two of the most prominent medieval poets approach the fate of Greek heroes of old?
Don’t Underestimate Pollen, It Might Record Your Death!
What does pollen have to do with Black Death mortality rates? Read about a new study and find out!
Hozier: Intersecting the Modern and the Mythological
Whether praising or condemning it, Hozier brings the love he writes about into a grander mythos of gods and death, paradise and grief.
Medieval Mongols: An Empire of Fragments
While myth and bias have long misrepresented these medieval steppe people, the true story of the Mongols remains imprinted in the cultures they once ruled