The medieval pike, around 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) in weight and just under 5 meters (16.4 feet) in length, was a weapon supposedly invented in Turin, Italy in 1327 AD. However, its history was...
In early medieval art and literature fluffy white rabbits, bunnies, and hares were typically motifs of innocence, venerability, and purity. However, more in sync with these animals’ rate of...
In 2020 construction workers in the Netherlands made a gruesome discovery. While working in the city of Vianen they came across an enigmatic mass burial. Were the 82 skeletons victims of war, a...
In the Middle Ages, animals were put on trial just like human beings. A wide range of crimes could be committed by these animals including murder, being an accomplice in bestiality , and damage of...
Believe it or not, but the use of prosthetics is actually not a modern phenomenon. In fact, the creation of man-made devices to replace missing body parts was already in use several thousand years...
People in Europe in the Middle Ages boosted libidinal sexual intimacy through the use of medieval aphrodisiacs, some of which are truly bizarre. Dr. Eleanor Janega, a medieval historian based in...
It has long been assumed by historians that medieval English royals consumed a heavily meat-based diet. But a new bioarchaeological study proposes that, before the arrival of the Vikings, Anglo-Saxon...
Out on his daily constitutional, a dog in Poland unexpectedly struck gold, or rather, silver. The dog was being taken for a walk by his owner near the city of Wałbrzych in southwestern Poland when he...
Qalhat, an ancient city located in a northeastern region of the country of Oman, has an interesting history behind it. Located just north of Sur, the capital of the Ash Sharqiyah South Governorate,...
If you find the term ‘bollock dagger’ too crude, you could rightfully call this weapon a ‘kidney dagger.’ But that’s how the Victorians attempted to mask the true nature of this horrendous invention...
The House of Trastámara was a royal dynasty that ruled over Spain during the Late Middle Ages. The dynasty was a cadet branch of the House of Burgundy, and initially ruled over the Crown of Castile...
A team of Norwegian scientists have been tracking the evolution of diseases in medieval bodies. Not only have they added to the understanding of how diseases become pandemics, but they’ve revealed...
Fittingly, archaeologists who explore landscapes exposed by glacial melt are known as glacial archaeologists. In 2018, a team of these specialized experts were dispatched to the ice-covered mountains...
One would think that a church is a place of refuge, of spiritual comfort and protection - where violence has no place to exist. Usually, this is exactly the case and throughout the world churches are...
Illuminated manuscripts are manuscripts that are covered with painted ornaments presented under several forms. These documents are perhaps most commonly associated with the European Middle Ages...
A UK metal detectorist has unearthed a rare 1,400-year-old Anglo-Saxon sword harness pyramid crafted in gold and garnet from India or Sri Lanka. This tiny, bejeweled treasure was discovered in April...
The oldest known stained-glass windows in the world are traditionally associated with the late 11th century Augsburg Cathedral in Bavaria, Germany. Now, researchers from University College London (...
The remains of an ancient hunter-gatherer unearthed long ago at the Rinnukalns archaeological site in Latvia, has tested positive for Yersina pestis, which is better known as the bacteria behind the...
In the Middle Ages being dead wasn’t a guarantee you would rest in peace. Researchers have found hundreds of examples of people re-opening graves in cemeteries from Transylvania to southern England...
The practice of preserving and enshrining the remains of saints and heroes, or other items associated with their life or death, has been ongoing for thousands of years dating back well into the pre-...
Archaeologists digging below the floors of the spectacular Stavanger Cathedral on Norway’s southwestern coast unearthed new evidence revealing more about the church site’s complex past. While...
Penance has played a prominent role in religions all over the world. And the interesting thing is there are documents spanning the globe which discuss penance and provide clear opportunities to find...
The Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle is a fortress located in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi, in the western part of Ukraine. According to written sources, the city existed as early as the 12th century,...
With deeply-spiritual origins, and an important function in the religious framework of medieval England, Coventry's medieval Charterhouse priory was all but destroyed in the Reformation. But now,...
