Medieval lives followed the ebb and flow of the Church calendar. Charlotte Hodgman and Nicholas Orme share some of the festivals and feast days celebrated in the Middle Ages… HistoryExtra.com
The medieval church calendar: a guide to the holy days
Author: r3wa
Archaeologists make ‘almost unheard of’ discoveries at site of Yorkshire medieval farm with links to Rievaulx Abbey
An archaeological dig in the North York Moors National Park has uncovered a ‘wealth’ of finds from the site’s days as a ‘high-status’ medieval farm with close links to Rievaulx Abbey. YorkshirePost.co.uk
Waldseemüller’s 1507 World Map
This groundbreaking 16th-century map is known as “America’s birth certificate.”
The Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building houses the largest collection of maps in the world. Their Geography & Map Division manages over 5.5 million maps, 80,000 atlases (including a significant collection of Ptolemy atlases), 500 globes, reference materials, raised relief models, and a huge digital library.
One of the most notable items is the only surviving copy of Martin Waldseemüller’s world map from 1507. It is the first map to depict the Western Hemisphere as a distinct continent, surrounded by water and not connected to Asia. AtlasObscura.com
Medieval excommunication: eternal damnation or no big deal?
In Christian-dominated medieval Europe, what did it mean to be excommunicated? How much of an earth-shattering punishment was it, and what can excommunications tell us about the attitudes of people in the Middle Ages? In this episode, Dr Felicity Hill of the University of St Andrews explains all to David Musgrove. HistoryExtra.com
Why Henry VI’s reign was such a disaster
In Westminster Abbey, the tomb of Henry V is hard to miss. Towering above the mosaic-encrusted tomb of St Edward the Confessor and his royal successors, for centuries Henry’s final resting place was topped by a shield, helm and warhorse’s saddle. All are symbols of the martial glory of a man many still consider to be the best English king of the Middle Ages.
Meanwhile, in the Lady Chapel behind, tucked away and noticed by almost no one, is a small wooden pew-end representing Henry V’s successor, and only child, Henry VI. Can anything more aptly demonstrate the reputations of this father and son? Henry V loomed over his offspring from the grave, and in his father’s shadow Henry VI grew up stunted, emotionally and politically. HistoryExtra.com
The Veterinary Magic of the Middle Ages
Medieval healers treated animals’ ailments with a mix of faith, tradition and science
The year is 1266, and your horse is acting strange. It started with a fever. But then weeping pustules appeared all over its body, and fluids poured forth from every orifice. Not long after, the horse stabled next to it came down with the same sickness. You’ve heard of this before. It’s the dreaded disease called farcy—and you’ll need more than medicine to make your animals well again. SmithsonianMag.com
Officeholders for 2023
Congratulations to our new, and to our returning officeholders for 2023:
President – Anita Bentley
Vice President – Jenny Gee
Secretary – Alison Carman
Treasurer – Jo-Ann Koh
Loyaulte me lie!
Medieval childhood: a historical A-Z
What games did children play during the Middle Ages? What bedtime stories did they listen to? And what happened when they got into trouble? Speaking on the HistoryExtra Podcast, Emily Joan Ward uncovers the medieval childhood experience, offering an A to Z of growing up in the Middle Ages… HistoryExtra.com
Why there’s no such thing as a typical medieval peasant
If modern film and TV depictions are anything to go by, ordinary people in the Middle Ages either enjoyed lives of rural bliss or unrelenting drudgery. Yet, writes Duncan Hardy, the truth is far more complex (and fascinating) than that. HistoryExtra.com
Amateur Treasure Hunter Unearths Missing Centerpiece of Henry VIII’s Crown
The gold figurine, valued at roughly £2 million, depicts 15th-century English king Henry VI
Standing just 2.5 inches tall, the statuette may have once formed the centerpiece of a dazzling Tudor crown. As historian Leanda de Lisle wrote on her website this past December, researchers had long thought that the diadem—worn by Henry VIII during processions marking the Feast of the Epiphany and by his five immediate successors during their respective coronations—was lost, its precious metals melted down to make coins and its jewels sold piecemeal following the fall of the British monarchy in 1649. Smithsonianmag.com
Richard III Society 