De kater die een handschrift ruïneerde en andere verhalen: De Moderne Devotie voor een breed publiek Een leider die furore maakt als rondreizend prediker, een kloosteroverste die afgezet wordt vanwege haar mystieke aanleg, en een kater die ’s nachts in de schrijfzaal een handschrift ruïneert. Anna Dlabacová • June 08, 2018
A good guy with a sword. Weapons and communal culture in sixteenth-century Germany Despite its different ideological foundations, modern North American gun culture had precedents in late medieval and early modern Europe, when weapons played an important role in communities that regarded an armed citizenry vital to public safety. Johannes Müller • May 25, 2018
Fake news in fifteenth-century Rome: The miraculous discovery of the Titulus Crucis relic There is nothing new about "fake news", as this post about various reports on a "miraculous discovery" in fifteenth-century Rome reveals! Marianne Ritsema van Eck • May 11, 2018
In search of public water provision, particularly in Leiden (part 2) How did the people of medieval Leiden obtain their drinking water? Here is a second blog about this fascinating question. Roos van Oosten • April 26, 2018
The Moving Finger: Glimpses into the Life of a Persian Quatrain How did the Rubáiyát attributed to the medieval philosopher Omar Khayyam find its way on board of the R.M.S. Titanic, into a parody of Mark Twain, and even into a speech of President Bill Clinton? Asghar Seyed Gohrab • April 13, 2018
It’s all in the family In fifteenth century Guelders (grosso modo modern day Gelderland), the brothers of duke Arnold preyed on each other’s property – former princely possessions given to them – and took different sides in the civil war between the duke and his son. Jaap Ligthart • March 30, 2018
"Alber, I beseech thee": Healing magic from the grave Medieval textual amulets, made out of metal or parchment, were worn around the neck to ward off evil powers. Elizabeth den Hartog • March 16, 2018
“A pair of apples fashioned in ivory”: Female breasts and the male gaze in Renaissance Italy [Click here: naked women!] Modern advertising companies often use the female body, and breasts in particular, to attract attention. Renaissance artists and writers were rather preoccupied with the subject too. Marlisa den Hartog • March 02, 2018
Op kruistocht tegen de Turken! Vechten tegen een buitenlandse vijand voor steun in eigen land In 1594 namen twee ridderbroeders van de Duitse Orde deel aan de strijd tegen de oprukkende Turken. Deze herleving van de kruistochtgedachte mondde uit in een militaire mislukking, maar een binnenlandse agenda was er wel mee gediend. Jerem van Duijl • February 16, 2018