4 hours agoI’m Not Feeling the New Princes In The Tower EvidenceThere’s been a kerfluffle in medieval studies: The Richard III Society has commissioned a whole bunch of people in various European countries to comb the archives for mentions of King Edward V and his little brother, Richard, Duke of York (also known as the princes in the tower.) …History2 min readHistory2 min read
Nov 26Business Ethics: What Thou Sayeth?Between the years of 1404 and 1407, Christine de Pizan wrote a book for Prince Louis called ‘The Book of the Body Politic.’ I know: she is more famous for her ‘The City of Ladies’ and getting into the medieval equivalent of a Twitter beef over the ‘The Romance of…History3 min readHistory3 min read
Nov 20Medieval Zombie? Medieval Vampire? You DecideThis is a story recorded by William Parvus of Newburgh in Historia Rerum Anglicarium in 1198 AD: In Melrose Abbey, there was a priest known only as Hunderprest. …History Of Culture3 min readHistory Of Culture3 min read
Nov 12Quilts: Fancy Sleepy Covers That Are Older Than You ThinkIf there is one type of historical detail we tend to ignore, it is the details involving basic human needs. Where did people pee? What tools do people use to cook? People who are looking to history for these kinds of details can find themselves wandering in a vast dessert. …History Of Culture3 min readHistory Of Culture3 min read
Nov 6Disability in a Time of Low TechOr, What A Dead Hand Can Tell Us A construction company was doing pipeline work in Friesling, near Munich, when they dug up a very special skeleton this October. Or at least, I think it was. The Iron Hand The skeleton belonged to a man who had died sometime between 1450 and 1620…History3 min readHistory3 min read
Nov 2Cesarean Sections In the Middle Ages: A History In Maternal CareObstetrics has a complicated history that everyone always, for obvious reasons, takes personally. One of those highly personal things is the c-section. When did they become an option? What We Are Talking About These days, when we say C-section or cesarean operation, we mean an incision made on the abdominal wall and then the uterine…History5 min readHistory5 min read
Oct 25Dante’s InfernoIt is fast approaching Halloween around here, and also Dia De Los Muertos celebrations. That makes it great time to consider the existential fear of death. Both holidays, after all, have at their core something to say about the end of life. The Inferno lays out the afterlife as somewhere…Books3 min readBooks3 min read
Oct 20Thoughts On the book ‘Meditations’This is a copy from my website’s blog from when I borrowed the classic work by the emperor Marcus Aurelius, ‘Meditations.’ As you can see, I was less than impressed. I think I’ll go write about Lady Bigitte chasing kobolds now. Classics ain’t what they’re cracked up to be: Not A Good Library Book The…2 min read2 min read
Oct 13How To Perform An Autopsy in Medieval ChinaOr ‘How Bizarrely Violent Was 13th Century China?’ Yes! Finally a forensic book from roughly the time of my heroes’ life! Not from their country, however. The first European forensic manuscripts wouldn’t show up until 1595 when Battista Codronchi wrote ‘De Morbis Veneficiis.’ If you want a Medieval forensic manual…History Of Science5 min readHistory Of Science5 min read
Oct 4Coming Soon: The First Book Of ForensicsIt wasn’t as though using the physical sciences to solve crimes was unheard of before the late 1200’s. Surgeons and midwives regularly testified in court regarding the facts of case using their expertise well before this. …Books1 min readBooks1 min read
