How Severed Heads and Fingernails Became Medieval Sacred Treasures
The veneration of relics was a cornerstone of religious life in medieval Europe, intertwining faith,…
The Great Famine: Europe’s Forgotten Catastrophe
The early 14th century in Europe is often remembered for the Black Death, but before…
How a Tiny Sect Toppled Rome’s Gods
The story of Christianity’s rise from a small, marginalized sect in the eastern provinces of…
Slaughter in the Name of God: The Albigensian Crusade’s Shocking Atrocities
The Albigensian Crusade, a dark chapter in medieval European history, was a brutal campaign that…
The Rule of the Harlots: A Turbulent Chapter in Papal History
The “Rule of the Harlots,” also known as the Saeculum obscurum or Pornocracy, marks one of the…
The Viking King Who Became an English Saint: St. Olaf’s Legacy
Few figures from the Viking Age have left a legacy as complex and enduring as…
The English Pope Who Sparked 800 Years of Irish Pain
Nicholas Breakspear, known to history as Pope Adrian IV, holds the unique distinction of being…
The Clever Political Manoeuvre That Won The Pope A Kingdom
The year 754 CE marked a crucial moment in Dark Ages European history, as it…
Archbishop Thomas Becket: the Most Infamous Murder in Medieval England
The assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170, was a…
The Dark, Dirty, and Dangerous Reality of Early Medieval Europe
Life in early medieval Europe was, for most people, a daily struggle against hunger, disease,…
The Knights Hospitallers: From Jerusalem To Acre, Cyprus, Rhodes Then Finally Malta
The year 1113 marked a pivotal moment in medieval history when Pope Paschal II officially…
The Death and Rebirth of the Language of the Roman Empire
By the end of the 5th century AD, Latin – the language used for the…
From Viking to Crusader
Sigurd I Magnusson holds a unique place in history as the first European king to…
The Plague of Justinian: The First Pandemic
In the mid-6th century, a devastating pandemic swept across Europe and the Mediterranean, leaving death…
The Great Countess, Defender of Popes
Matilda of Tuscany, also known as La Gran Contessa (The Great Countess), was one of…
