A wall relief from the British Museum shows three scribes amid a military campaign of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III, in Babylonia (Iraq).
WikiCommons
All cultures have communicated their knowledge in diverse and marvellous ways throughout time. Failing to see the significance of this is racist and lazy.
Pope Urban II giving marching orders ahead of the First Crusade.
Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
From the crusades of the medieval period to racial violence today, mankind has sought ways to ‘sanctify’ harmful actions, explains a scholar of religion.
The abbey of St Genevieve in Paris was destroyed during the French revolution.
Nicolas Ransonnette (1745-1810). Dessinateur (illustrator) - Bibliothèque nationale de France
Stephen of Tournai wanted Denmark to pay damages for Viking raids on France three centuries before.
The Bishop’s Palace of Chrysopolitissa (Paphos, Cyprus), possibly destroyed by an earthquake in the medieval period.
Paolo Forlin
Medieval disaster response was not so different to the measures we use today.
In this 1470 illustration, the radical priest John Ball galvanizes the rebels.
The British Library
With the plague decimating the ranks of laborers, surviving workers started pining for higher wages. When the monarchy responded by enacting taxes and restrictive labor laws, the peasants rebelled.
The biblical book of Ezekiel describes a vision of the divine that medieval philosophers understood as revealing the connection between religion and science.
By Matthaeus Merian (1593-1650)
Those experiencing stress and uncertainty amid the coronavirus may find guidance in medieval responses to plagues, which relied on both medicine and prayer.
© Magnus Elander
The Baltic crusades had a long term impact on the local environment – 700 years later, the details of this are clear.
The Four Questions (Ma Nishtana) from the Sarajevo Haggadah, c.1350.
Wikimedia Commons
In medieval Europe Passover was a touchpoint for violence and libel against Jews.
The Black Death inspired medieval writers to document their era of plague. Their anxieties and fears are starkly reminiscent of our own even if their solutions differ.
(Shutterstock)
During the Black Death of the 1300s, medieval writers struggled to make sense of the disease just as we are now during the COVID-19 pandemic
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Effects of Good Government fresco, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena.
Wikimedia Commons
In the aftermath of the plague, division and discord spread in medieval cities.
Two manuscripts of the visionary, writer and composer St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) survived the Dresden bombings after a librarian stashed them in a bank vault.
(Avraham Pisarek/Deutsche Fotothek/Wikimedia)
Two precious manuscripts hidden in a bank vault survived the Allied bombing of Dresden, but one wound up in Soviet hands — until it was smuggled home.
Comedian, writer, historian: Terry Jones was a man of many parts and well loved in all his fields.
Sean Dempsey/PA Wire/PA Images
The Monty Python star was also a highly respected author on Chaucer and the writer of a series of children’s history books.
Conny Skogberg via Shutterstock
Founded on Christmas Day 1119 and disbanded in 1307, this religious order has been misunderstood ever since.
Physician letting blood from a patient. Attributed to Aldobrandino of Siena: Li Livres dou Santé. France, late 13th Century.
British Library, London, UK
A handful of manuscripts remain which give researchers valuable insights into medieval science.
Vera Petruk via Shutterstock
In medieval England using magic was a bit like drug use today: against the law and seen as immoral, but still widespread across society.
Holy Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus Christ is presented for in a special service at Notre Dame Cathedral, June 2017.
Damann via Shutterstock
One of the most sacred relics in the Christian world was saved from the Notre Dame fire. Here is its history.
‘American Progress’ by John Gast.
Wikipedia
Progress, in historical terms, has so often meant clearing places of their native inhabitants – both human and non-human.
British Library MS Harley 4379, fol. 182v
From Scarecrow to Scabby William, what can medieval names tell historians today?
Codex Manesse, circa 1305-1315.
Meister Johannes Hadlaub, UB Heidelberg
In his text Fire of Love, Rolle has a few interesting things to say about medieval gender relations.
Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald.
Jaap Buitendijk, photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
The latest film from the wizarding world JK Rowling echoes ancient themes of covens and devil worship.