Hundreds of books are published in the field of medieval studies each year. Many offer new and interesting insights into the period and are generally well-received. However, there are also books that can cause a stir among medievalists. Some topics, such as the Crusades or Richard III, often generate considerable debate. Other books have found controversy for different reasons – sometimes bringing in new ideas that have changed the way we think about the Middle Ages, while others have been met with scorn and criticism.

It is not too difficult to find a public washroom in a modern city – local authorities usually require that a restaurant, shopping mall, or office complex provide easily accessible toilets and sinks. The situation for people in medieval cities would be different. Where could they find a public toilet in the Middle Ages?

What are the most beautiful medieval manuscripts? We asked an expert: Giovanni Scorcioni, co-founder of Facsimile Finder, the leading provider of facsimile editions of medieval manuscripts and books.

Playing games with “alternative history” – what might have happened? – is always a tricky business because the simple answer is nearly always that we will never know. History is messy and the alteration of a single event – even a small one – can have innumerable unforeseeable repercussions. So how then can we go about tackling a counter-factual question such as “Could the Crusader States ever have survived”?

From the mid-10th century onward, in cases of illness, the Japanese aristocracy relied on new Buddhist healing methods based on spiritual possession techniques. This essay examines the features and procedures according to which monks and mediums operated the healing. This method, of Indian origin, was imported in Japan through Esoteric Buddhism, and was adapted in order to fit healing purposes. The author focuses his analysis on the role played by an invisible “spirit” who acted to catch the ill-causing demon within the patient’s body and expelled this malign entity from it. The article ends with a translation of a unique ritual text entitled Genja sahō 驗者作法, which describes these rituals in detail.

‘When he heard of this, the Lord King Charles rushed to the place with all the Franks he could gather on short notice and advanced to where the Aller flows into the Weser. Then all the Saxons came together again, submitted to the authority of the Lord King, and surrendered the evildoers who were chiefly responsible for this revolt to be put to death – four thousand five hundred of them. The sentence was carried out.’

Joyeux 14 juillet à tous les Français !

Je viens de Pologne et j'aime beaucoup votre pays. J'essaie d'apprendre votre langue mais c'est difficile haha. J'aime beaucoup votre histoire et votre culture. Je supporte votre équipe de football depuis 1998 :)

Salutations !

Ask for a baker's dozen of donuts, bagels, or any baked treat, and you'll get 13 items in your order — one more than the 12 you'd expect from a typical dozen. But how did a baker's dozen become a common term?