1+ week, 1+ day ago  (1035+ words) In medieval societies, manure became a precious economic commodity. Here's how " and why " it got put to use When you think about the driving forces that contributed to progress in medieval Britain, you might think about the likes of mercantilism,…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago  (1365+ words) A fresh re-reading of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests that King Harold Godwinson didn't race south by land after Stamford Bridge, but instead used a coordinated naval strategy. What does that mean for how we should understand the events of 1066? Alongside…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago  (882+ words) In ancient Rome, putting on theatrical plays was not just a form of entertainment " it became a powerful tool of propaganda Lysistrata by Aristophanes; Antigone by Sophocles; Medea by Euripides. Each is a play from ancient Greece, still performed on…...

3+ week, 11+ hour ago  (913+ words) From lost silver coins to fossilised faeces, medieval cesspits have become some of the richest archives of everyday life in the Middle Ages A cesspit isn't where most people would choose to look to learn more about the story of…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago  (1046+ words) At the turn of the 12th century, two men from a Staffordshire village died suddenly. A few days after they were solemnly laid to rest, they were spotted walking around the village, with their coffins on their backs. John Blair investigates…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago  (987+ words) Pliny the Elder was an intellectual powerhouse of ancient Rome. Though not a physician, in describing the ideal daily routine of a Roman gentleman he revealed how the ancient elite believed health could be improved In the first century AD,…...

4+ week, 14+ hour ago  (1012+ words) Whether in medieval castles or monasteries, toilets in the Middle Ages were more varied than you might expect Walk through a busy European town in the 14th century, and numerous powerful and distinct smells would assail your nostrils. Horses trot along,…...