Middle Ages

The medieval tournament is one of the enduring images of the Middle Ages, with knights fighting to impress beautiful and unattainable ladies. In reality,...

Living conditions in the Middle Ages contributed to weakened immune systems that led to premature death when disease and pestilence ravaged communities. Poor hygiene and...

Rape is a crime of violence that modern, enlightened society has chosen to punish strenuously. Rape is also a sexual crime resulting in the...

English monks began the manuscripts that comprise the Chronicles during the reign of King Alfred (871-899). The Chronicles are unusual because they were written...

In 330 BC an explorer Pytheas of Massalia tried to sail from today's Marseilles to the north in order to find how far the...

The Viking society of the seventh to eleventh centuries, when Viking raids and ocean explorations were at their height, was a largely pagan society...

The Church in the Middle Ages forged a context to preserve integrity and structure. The rise and growth of Christianity in the Mediterranean world...

The Norman Conquest brought huge changes for the ruling and landowning classes of medieval England. But for poorer people, there were fewer changes. Although...

The term Normans (latin Normanni) in Middle Ages used for members of Germanic tribes that coming from the "north" especially from Scandinavia. In 8 and 9...

Gregory the Great became pope in AD 590 at a time the western Church was desperate for a strong, wise leader. Under Pope Gregory...

Viking society had several different tiers, ranging from the king, through to powerless slaves. Each person had a defined role in a society defined...

Medieval monks and nuns lived by rules that demanded three vows: chastity, obedience and poverty. Problems arose with all three at times, and oft...