Dogs being taken care of in an image from Livre de la Chasse (Book of the Hunt).
The Morgan Library and Museum/Faksimile Verlag Luzern
The place of dogs in society changed when hunting became an aristocratic pastime, rather than a necessity.
Many foods eaten at Easter have links to medieval times.
Tim Gainey/Alamy
Many Easter treats hark back to medieval times.
Roses are red, thieving birds are blue. My neck is aching, are you uncomfortable too?
Universitatbibliothek Heidelberg
The view of Valentine’s Day as a day for lovers can be traced back to two medieval poets who stood up for romance and the freedom to choose.
Christine in her study with the three virtuous ladies as the construction of the city begins.
London, British Library, Harley MS 4431, fol. 290r
Christine de Pizan’s 15th-century feminist narrative has particular resonance today.
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.
Reporting dreary weather for many centuries.
Shutterstock/ahupepo
How science has been used to predict wind and rain for over 1,000 years.
Notre Dame circa 1475.
Master of Anthony of Burgundy/Public domain
The coercive Christian rule under which Notre Dame was sanctioned drove a wide exploitation of nature. Let it stand as a reminder of our environmental sins and a call to action.
Alexander Gold/Shutterstock
From speaking out over domestic abuse in medieval times to telling the realities of war, these female poets present a very different version of Welsh life.
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.
milliganpuss
We’ve never needed Oculus Rift to provide immersive experiences – they’ve been around for as long as we have.
CRS PHOTO/Shutterstock.com
How do different species have sex? Medieval illuminated manuscripts contain some surprisingly varied depictions.
Detail of figures from the Dance Macabre, Meslay-le-Grenet, from late 15th-century France.
Ashby Kinch
For medieval cultures, the dying process and death itself was a ‘transition,’ not a rupture.