How did people name their children in the Middle Ages? Why did we start using surnames? And what were the most popular names? HistoryExtra content director Dr David Musgrove chats to Dr James Chetwood about the way people’s personal names changed dramatically over the course of the Middle Ages, and what this tells us about medieval society. HistoryExtra.com
In 1463, London outlawed the shoes of its fanciest men. These dapper lords had grown ridiculous in their dapperness, and had taken to ambling streets shod in long, carrot-shaped shoes that tapered to impish tips, some as long as five inches beyond the toe. These shoes were called “crakows” or “poulaines” (a term also used to refer to the tips alone), and the court of King Edward IV eventually found them offensive enough to pass a sumptuary law prohibiting shoe tips that extended over two inches beyond the toe. AtlasObscura.com
After a night ravaged by bedbugs, it’s said King John ordered this weather-vane constructed. AtlasObscura.com
Next meeting: 22nd August 2020 (the 535th anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth).
Due to the way the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed here in Western Australia over the past months, I am pleased to be able to announce our August meeting can go ahead!
Our Local Council (City of Belmont) have confirmed the use of our meeting room (subject to their cleaning requirements), and we will still be abiding by all recommendations/restrictions put in place by the Federal and State governments.
For more information, please email Richard3inWA@gmail.com.
Professor Louise Wilkinson, a medievalist at the University of Lincoln talks about her research into the household accounts of Eleanor de Montfort, a key figure in the mid-13th century civil war. The conversation particularly discusses what these accounts tell us about day-to-day life in an aristocratic household – what people ate and drank, what they wore, and what they did on a daily basis – as well as how they inform us about the ramifications of the political upheavals that occurred at the time.
Dr Elena Woodacre is an expert on medieval and early modern queens and queenship at the University of Winchester. In this podcast, she answers the most popular listener and internet search questions about medieval queens, in our ‘Everything you want to know’ series. Who was the most beautiful queen, how much power did queens have, and how did they balance motherhood and royal life, are just some of the questions posed.
Does a millennium-old manuscript hold the key to hidden, awe-inspiring places? AtlasObscura.com
In the Middle Ages, who you were and what you did for a living had great bearing on what you were allowed to eat – and when. Here, Professor Chris Woolgar explains medieval mealtimes… HistoryExtra.comhttps://www.historyextra.com
What was it like to be taken captive during a medieval battle, and what happened to you afterwards? Historian Rémy Ambühl explains to David Musgrove… HistoryExtra.com
Just because good science is meticulous doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. At least that’s what a northern Italian illustrator decided when he went about drawing and coloring nearly 200 botanical specimens on parchment paper back in the 15th century. AtlasObscura.com
Richard III Society 