Geneticist Turi King tells Jim Al-Khalili how she confirmed that the 500-year-old skeleton found underneath a car park in Leicester was the body of Richard III. BBC Radio 4
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Category: Off-site News
Medieval cures for lung disease, gout and vertigo
Even after the Normans conquered England, Old English (the oldest form of the vernacular) continued to be spoken throughout the country. It continued to be used in books produced in monasteries there for at least a century after William the Conqueror’s invasion.
One excellent example of this is found in the Old English Illustrated Herbal. Originally made in Canterbury in the early 11th century, this manuscript contains Old English translations of a collection of Latin remedies, illustrated with numerous paintings of plants and animals. blogs.bl.uk
Europe’s Oldest Intact Book Is Discovered Inside the Coffin of a Saint
Europe’s oldest intact book has been discovered after being closed inside a hermit monk’s coffin for over 400 years. It will go on display at the British Library as part of an exhibition featuring prized manuscripts like the Lindisfarne Gospels and Beowulf. The show is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see how medieval Anglo-Saxons depicted their own culture through early writings. MyModernMet.com
Ruins of Holyrood Church
Now a memorial to merchant sailors and Titanic victims, this medieval church was destroyed by bombing raids in 1940.
The Holyrood Church ruins are on the corner of High Street and Bernard Street. Southampton has numerous other medieval relics spread throughout the otherwise modern city, and it’s worth taking the time to seek them out. AltasObscura.com
Rindoon, Lecarrow, Ireland
Wander among the abandoned ruins of this once-powerful medieval town.
On a sleepy, off-the-beaten-track peninsula jutting into Ireland’s River Shannon, you can wander through Rindoon, one of Ireland’s most enigmatic deserted medieval towns. Though it was once one of the area’s most important towns, it has slept undisturbed for centuries. AtlasObscura.com
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries
This long-hidden space above Westminster Abbey now displays the battle gear of the legendary King Henry V. AtlasObscura.com
This Archive Captures Centuries of British Crime, From Cheese Theft to Murder
In 1580 in the British diocese of Ely, an Englishman named William Sturns went down in history for an unusual crime. His alleged malfeasance? Stealing not one, not two, but three cheeses. Ultimately, he was found not guilty, but this alleged felony was dutifully recorded in an archive spanning 200 years of crimes in Ely. AtlasObscura.com
‘Tragic death’ of medieval Paston family’s daughter revealed
The “short life and tragic death” of a young girl has been uncovered after the discovery of a medieval memorial brass.
Archaeologist Matt Champion discovered the memorial in Oxnead church near Aylsham in Norfolk on 28 May. bbc.com
Archaeologist Found 12th century Medieval castle in England
The greatest Archeological and historical discoveries are often found in the most unlikely of places. This was the case on December 2015, when construction laborers were left in awe while renovating a men’s prison in Gloucester, England.
Back around the year 1110, the rulers of Gloucester built an impressive castle ”similar to the Tower of London,” It had 3 chapels, 2 drawbridges, and walls that were a solid 12 feet wide. histecho.com
Why Were Medieval Europeans So Obsessed With Long, Pointy Shoes?
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
Richard III Society 