Questions tagged [middle-ages]
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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How did the Hansa organize river trade in the 14th and 15th centuries?
How did the Hansa accommodate the transition from sea to river trade along a trade route? Would river travel have been controlled by one group of people, e.g., Guild of the River Oder Merchants? Would ...
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How did (riverine) toll castles operate?
Toll Castle
A toll castle (WP) was a castle built either on a river, lake, or road intended to guard that trade route:
Such castles were usually placed at strategic locations, such as border ...
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What did the English people during the Peasants' Revolt know about the Ciompi Revolt?
The Ciompi revolt started in Florence in June 1378 and the Peasants' Revolt started in England in May 1381, just three years later.
Did the news about Ciompi Revolt reach England in three years?
Did ...
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How were cities administered in the early Byzantine Empire?
First of all, I would just like to note that I am not looking for an answer concerning Constantinople, but rather how other cities were governed (e.g. Thessaloniki, Adrianapole, Nicaea, Smyrna, ...
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Do these depictions of hunt in medieval Catholic churches have the same symbolic meaning? If not, what is it?
I have come across 3 depictions of a hunt in Catholic churches.
The first two are tiles that were on the floors of an English abbey and a church not far from Reims, France; I could not find any ...
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How did philosophical and scientific knowledge in Christian Europe in 1085 compare to the body of knowledge contained in the library of Toledo?
In 1085, Moorish Toledo was conquered by Alfonso VI.
According to prof. Robert Sapolsky (he is a primatologist and neurobiologist, but usually all information he gives is very reliable), at the time ...
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What percentage of the population were serfs by region/year?
Where can I find statistics on the percentage of the population that were serfs, ideally broken down by country/region and by year? Even very rough estimates would be helpful, but unfortunately I've ...
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How historically accurate Is this replica "15th century hand and a half" sword?
Sorry, not a plug, but this sword at this shop called The Medieval Store has a 15th century hand and a half sword and I am curious the historical significance of it. What makes it 15th century? Can ...
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How did private property work in medieval France?
Were you required to purchase a land deed to get permission from the ruler of the area, or could you build wherever you wanted? If the latter is how it worked throughout Europe for the most part, I ...
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What was the point of hanging in “hanging, drawing, and quartering”?
As I understand it, “hanging, drawing, and quartering” was specifically designed in order to be torturous and frightening. Certainly drawing (whether referring to dragging by a horse, or ...
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What are the historical equivalents of cooperative storytelling like modern role-playing games?
I understand the direct history of RPGs mostly coming from Dungeons and Dragons, which had grown out of the combat game Chainmail, but I am wondering if there were any close equivalents in older ...
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Who were the first "businessmen" to rival the kings throughout the world? [closed]
The merchants seem to have existed for as long as human history. But when did they begin to "take over" the kings? By that I mean, by the time of the "tycoons" like the Oil and Train people of the ...
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What are some good books about middle ages plague? [closed]
Could someone recommend some good books on the plague epidemics during the middle ages?
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How was Christmas celebrated in early Byzantium?
I haven't been able to find any information regarding Christmas in Eastern Rome from before the tenth century. Literally any information regarding the celebration of Christmas in the fifth and sixth ...
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To what extent did the medieval European peasantry know their extended family?
It may not be possible to find a definitive answer to this question, as I know the answer to this would have varied from family to family and culture to culture, but I am curious to know to what ...
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How did gong farmers see when cleaning out cesspits?
As in the title, how did gong farmers of medieval(500-1500AD) England, France, etc. see when cleaning out cesspits when their job requires them to work at night with minimal light. Since cesspits are ...
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Were there any travel restrictions during the Black Death pandemic?
From the Wikipedia article Black Death:
The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence, Great Bubonic Plague, the Great Plague or the Plague, or less commonly the Great Mortality or the Black Plague,...
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What is an Odalbönder and Heathguard?
I saw and heard these words in a video in my history class last year but my teacher didn't elaborate on what they meant. In the context of the video, it sounded as if they were social positions or ...
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Did medieval archers shoot from both sides of the bow?
Most modern archers are taught to shoot with Mediterranean style; that is, putting the arrow on the left side of the bow (if they're right handed) and pulling the string with 3 fingers. Some claim ...
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How would “distraint of knighthood” law in medieval England fit with the fact that all knights must be of noble birth?
I've read recently about “distraint of knighthood” law in medieval England started by Henry III but I found it very strange indeed.
This law forced all rich people who has 40 £ or more to be knighted ...
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Are there thirteenth century sources linking the Fifth Crusade to the Book Of Daniel?
Are there any thirteenth century sources (Christian, Islamic, or Jewish) linking (the timing of) the fifth crusade to a possibly self-fulfilling prophecy1 from (the eighth chapter2 of) the Book of ...
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What did the term "Parage" mean in middle ages Langued'oc?
In the book "Massacre at Montsegur" Zoé Oldenbourg mentioned the term "Parage" that was used in that time in the area:
It was the honour of the Occitan nobilty, so humiliated
by these Northern ...
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How was the Pandidakterion organised?
How was the Pandidakterion organised?
Wikipedia:Pandidakterion states that the Pandidakterion lacked 'corporative structure'. I do not understant exactly what the corporative structure is and how was ...
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What was the point of horse armour?
From my knowledge (and please correct me if I'm wrong), horse armour wasn't very thick (0.4mm-1.9mm) according to the paper in the link: How thick was late medieval horse armor?
Even without ...
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Was it possible to "aim for the epaulette boys" during the Middle Ages?
During the American Revolution, American troops were often told to "aim for the epaulette boys,"* that is, to first shoot at officers wearing epaulettes, on the theory that killing an officer would ...
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Did healers in medieval Europe use moldy bread in poultices for wounds?
In a Song of Ice and Fire, injured characters are frequently given a poultice made of, amongst other things, moldy bread.
We drowned the wound with boiling wine, and closed you up with a poultice ...
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How would a king's servants prove that they are on a task given by the king?
How would servants of kings, lords or so on, prove that they are on some task given by their lord if someone were to question them?
I imagine a letter written by a ruler would be enough for those who ...
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How much power and influence could a child monarch have?
As I understand, if a monarch died before his heir reached adulthood, the heir would still become a king or queen regardless of age, but the country would be temporarily governed by a regent. I want ...
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What authority did the Catholic Church have over European monarchs from 900–1450?
I recently described the Catholic Church as a superpower during the Middle Ages and was surprised a respected member of the board (LangLangC) objected to that characterization and thought the Catholic ...
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What actually happened during the elephant duel (Songkram Yutahatti) between King Naresuan of Ayutthaya/Siam and Mingy Swa of Hongsawadee/Burma?
Before we start, I just want to say that I find Thai history and the history of Southeast Asia in general to be extremely fascinating and interesting. I think that it’s just as interesting as Chinese ...
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How was the vast Khazar fortress of Sarkel destroyed?
I understood that Sarkel was a vast Khazar hilltop limestone-bricks fortress of the type of a fortified town, located in the present-day Rostov Oblast of Russia, on the left bank of the lower Don ...
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How did the roots of European knightly culture transfer from ancient Iran to European Middle Ages? [closed]
I have come across a reference in a German guide book on Iran that suggests the roots of knightly culture in European Middle Ages may be found in the Sassanian Empire (224 to 651 AD; translation ...
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What is this consistent symbol in the Spanish coat of arms? [closed]
I have been reading Spanish history today, and have noticed a very distinct commonality in the flags and coat of arms for various periods, but I haven't been able to find precise explanations of the ...
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Where does the Kurrent letter-form for E come from?
The old German cursives, both Suetterlin and Kurrent, have several peculiar features compared to modern German cursive handwriting. One is a double-stroke letter-shape for E. Most introductory ...
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How were the Burmese able to sack Ayutthaya when it was one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in Asia at the time? [closed]
So I’m “watching” (more like skipping to the interesting scenes) the Thai lakorn/historical drama Sri Ayodhaya and in one episode, this one professor said that Ayutthaya was an incredibly wealthy and ...
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Who was the medieval author who addressed readers 1000 years in the future?
I'm trying to remember the author of a quotation, where the author addresses the reader in the far future. It's says something like "if you are reading this in 100 or perhaps 1000 years I hope the ...
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What are the precursors of the Bayeux Tapestry?
Background from Wikipedia: Bayeux Tapestry is one of a kind, cr. 70 metres long, narrative embroidery depicting the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England, and culminating in the Battle ...
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Does anyone know of a good source on French folk customs?
I have been looking into French culture and was wondering if anyone knows of a book or collection of documents, etc... That contain prayers, customs, etc... That the French practiced. Kinda like a ...
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Were medieval and renaissance era jesters commonly disabled?
In Hilary Mantel's famous historical fiction Wolf Hall, she implies more than once that the court fools of figures in the era of Henry VIII often had some form of learning difficulty. Indeed in one ...
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How did William the Conqueror consolidate his military victory?
Seems to me once you have won the war, your troubles are just beginning.
You've got a small number of men few that can speak the local language. How do you go about putting your men in charge, ...
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How often would monks leave their monasteries in the Middle Ages?
I have been reading about medieval monasteries, and I recently read that monks could sometimes act as village priests. This confused me as I had read that monks couldn't leave their monasteries. Was ...
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Is this medieval picture of hanging 5 royals showing an historical event?
I was reading up on medieval hanging and came across this picture. It shows five royals (kings? princes?) being hanged from trees, but the articles I read don't mention any royal hangings.
I had a ...
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Who were the social elites of the European middle ages?
I have recently been reading into the European Middle Ages, where one of the challenges is the limited sources available. I have often seen seen this described as a source bias towards the elite ...
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What was the aftermath of a battle in the Middle Ages? How did wounded soldiers proceed?
The Red Cross was founded by 1859 over these circumstances:
Until the middle of the 19th century, there were no organized and/or well-established army nursing systems for casualties and no safe and ...
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What does "two ells within the selvages" mean in the Magna Carta?
Clause 35 of the Magna Carta defines some standard weights and measures to be used throughout the realm. The first part is straightforward: the standard weight/mass used for wine, ale and corn is the ...
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Were Jews cut off from the Babylonian Geonim?
This is the view that I'm familiar with about the decline of the Geonim:
The Mesopotamian Gaon reached the height of its prestige in the 10th
century- with Saadia Gaon (d. 945), but the ...
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How would you address a merchant in the High Middle Ages?
If you were to address a powerful and affluent noble with a wide monopoly over trade in the 11th-13th centuries, what would you call them? (Assuming you are of lesser rank to them) Would it be Sir, ...
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Is The King (2019) historically realistic? [closed]
The King (2019) by Netflix is about king Henry V.
A few aspects of the movie struck me as either unbelievable, or contradicting what little even I know about history.
In no particular order:
The ...
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How effective was medieval horse armor?
Medieval longbows seem now to have been only marginally effective against armoured knights of early fifteenth century although Henry Fifth was wounded in the face at Shrewsbury in 1403 with a limited ...
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Did medieval stores have names?
Re-posting this question of mine from the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange:
I know it's common for shops and stores to be named in D&D and other fantasy settings, but how common was that practice in ...
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