The Middle Ages is a periodisation of European history, encompassing the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the Renaissance in the 15th century.
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572 views
What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
I know that wheat, barley, rye, onions, lettuce-like plants and turnips were common but how common were other things like meat or cheese? I've heard the "plowman's lunch" was a concoction of the dairy ...
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2answers
336 views
Why were universities created in the 11th-12th century?
I am specifically interested in information related to: the University of Bologna, the University of Paris, and the University of Oxford.
From what I have been able to find so far universities were ...
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1answer
73 views
Who besieged Karl IV at Siena?
According to Wikipedia article about the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV:
His second journey to Italy took place in 1368, when he had a meeting with Pope Urban VI at Viterbo, was besieged in his ...
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1answer
223 views
What were the acceptance criteria in universities of medieval Europe?
Did they have entrance tests?
Were certain groups officially banned from entering?
How much did one have to pay?
Did they have scholarships for talented studends?
How these criteria differed between ...
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2answers
169 views
Middle east and North africa population during the high middle ages
I am looking for this information everywhere, but I can't seem to find the population of anyone else but the Europeans during the middle ages.
We know that the population of the European countries ...
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122 views
Why are there so many depictions of pre-Christian gods built in Medieval and Renaissance Rome? [closed]
I wonder why Church officials not only allowed but also endorsed and paid for depictions of pre-Christian gods.
Examples include Pietro Bracci's Oceanus, which was funded by the Pope,
and multiple ...
13
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2answers
346 views
How was life in the Iron Age different from life in the Middle Ages?
Let's say you were from the Middle Ages, 1200s England or Germany, and you got thrown back in time to the Iron Age. It's still the same place, but it's 400 BC. Apart from the language, what would ...
12
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5answers
516 views
Is there any evidence that the catholic church reduced innovation during the middle ages?
I often hear that the rate of innovation was very high during ancient times in Greece and the Roman empire. I've also heard that the rate of innovation was reduced once the Catholic Church gained ...
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445 views
How did Medieval Armies survive the use of mail armor in the deserts of the Middle East?
Something that has long puzzled me is the use of full mail hauberks and the like in the Crusades. How did Crusaders and their various enemies avoid cooking inside their armor? I know many of them did ...
10
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1answer
126 views
When did European building interiors partitioned into rooms become commonplace?
My visit to Versailles many years ago confronted me with an alien concept of interior architecture: everything was a large hall, including the bedchambers, and getting to another part of the palace ...
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3answers
829 views
Is there any proof that Robin Hood existed?
Is there any written proof/documentation that Robin Hood ever existed? Did he ever get arrested and got his name written in the prison books or something like that?
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1answer
151 views
Who first combined the lateen and square sails that led to the carrack?
In the middle ages the square sail was used in the Atlantic cogs, whereas in the Mediterranean the lateen sail was used due to its more flexible use.
The combination of both sails into one ship ...
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58 views
Gylfaginning a redacted worldview of Norse beliefs?
Intro
Gylfaginning - a part of the Younger Edda, is one of the most important scriptural sources in defining the Norse worldview.
Background
Gylfe, a mythical king of Sweden, wondered how the ...
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1answer
90 views
How was food produced in Europe/Germany prior to the industrial revolution?
I'd appreciate any pointer to books or other medias that cover the production of food prior to the industrial revolution (with the regional focus being in Europe or even more narrowly in ...
8
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1answer
87 views
What sorts of games of chance/skill and other events would a Middle-ages/renaissance festival have?
I am a DM/GM for a role playing game, and I want to plan a large festival for the game. I want to have it as authentic as possible, but don't know where to start. From the various fiction sources ...
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2answers
655 views
What was the life expectancy in Medieval Britain?
I'm working on doing background research for one of my novels and I'm looking for roughly how old a male in the peasant class would've lived around 5th or 6th century Britain.
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2answers
286 views
Who should be the king/queen of England?
If you start from 1066, the last direct line legitimate monarch was Richard III.
Then you have the Tudors with a fairly weak claim, then they handed it on to the Stuarts with an even weaker claim. ...
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2answers
121 views
Animal “blood lust”
I remember reading in some older books about ancient combat that animals would sometimes get "into the fight" so to speak. For lack of a better term, this was evidenced by horses actually attacking ...
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1answer
122 views
How did Magnus IV of Sweden come of age at 15?
According to the Wikipedia article Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus was declared to have come of age at 15 in 1331. This caused resistance in Norway, where a statute from 1302 made clear that kings came ...
8
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4answers
697 views
How did a besieged city/castle defend itself vs. catapulting diseased dead bodies into it?
I was a bit shocked to read that diseased dead bodies/animals where catapulted into besieged castles/towns. Biological warfare in the middle ages. But this "method" of warfare had probably alot ...
8
votes
1answer
212 views
Captured nobles in medieval times, were they always ransomed?
Was watching the directors cut of Kingdom of Heaven, and one of the scenes had an actor playing what seemed to be a nobelman stating that he is according the privilege of ransom. While I remember that ...
10
votes
1answer
137 views
Are there examples of well known medieval battles with very little archaeological evidence?
When I was researching the history of The Battle of Kulikovo (битва на Куликовом поле), I was struck by the seemingly complete dearth of available archaeological evidence at the site of the battle ...
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2answers
165 views
Who gave King Richard I the title Coeur de Lion?
When King Richard I went to the Holy land during the Third Crusade, he was given the title coeur de lion (French for lion heart). Who gave him that title? I Imagine that it was a French person.
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4answers
270 views
Was there any way to deal with infections in pre-modern times?
Today, an infection isn't usually too serious of a problem, with so many kinds of antibiotics available.
Was there any way to deal with infections in pre-modern times? Let's say before 1700.
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2answers
694 views
Why did the Moors invade the Iberian peninsula?
Almost all of the information that I can find with regards to the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula simply states when the Moors invaded. There seems to be very little on what the motivation ...
15
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1answer
329 views
When did the Knights Templar dissolve and why?
The Knights Templar were a medieval chivalric organization within the Roman Catholic Church.
When did they dissolve, and what ultimately led to the dissolution of the Templars?
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2answers
472 views
Where did the term “Middle Ages” come from?
Where did the term "Middle Ages" come from? Who was the first known person to use that term?
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1answer
71 views
Why was the Håndfæstning forced on Erik V of Denmark?
Håndfæstning was the name for charters forced upon the Scandinavian kings by their nobility, not unlike Magna Carta in Britain. Erik V of Denmark was the first to sign such a document. What were the ...
9
votes
2answers
182 views
Is there evidence of extensive Viking presence in North America?
They appear to have had two long-lasting communities in Greenland, and a site has been found at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland.
But is there any solid evidence that the Vikings had a more ...
8
votes
3answers
335 views
What Was “Courtly Love” (Amour Courtois?)
My understanding was that it was a form of "extramarital" romance for knights and nobles in Europe during the Middle Ages. Was it ever an "institution" anywhere, and what (if any) impact did it have ...
8
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1answer
179 views
Was Frederick II of Hohenstaufen really a medieval Dr. Mengele?
According to legend, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who was intelligent (spoke six languages) and influential, also purportedly used cold-blooded methods to further his "scientific" inquiries. ...
4
votes
1answer
417 views
What was the reason for inflation in Britain after the Black Death?
According to the Wikipedia article Ordinance of Labourers 1349
During this outbreak [of Black Death], an estimated 30-40% of the population died. The decline in population left surviving workers ...
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1answer
144 views
What particularly watershed events led to the War of the Roses?
What were the key events that led to the War of the Roses occurring in England during the 15th century. Was there any particular event that was the tipping point?
