The Battle of Didgori and the Rise of Georgia Under the white-capped peaks of the Greater Caucasus live the Kartvelians. Jason’s Argonauts found them on the balmy shores and hills, retreating from the Black Sea as an already ancient people. Modern scholars estimate their occupation dating well into the Neolithic when the Kartvelians first made wine in

How African Slaves Helped Break the Caliphate In the sweltering August heat of Southern Iraq, an army of slaves and Bedouins laid siege to the wealthy city of Basra. Over a month the besiegers tightened the noose around the city, burning outlying villages, and ambushing reinforcements and supply trains bound for the city. By September 7th, 871 AD the rebel army had gained a foothold in the city and…

How Viking Trade Revitalized Europe In 655 AD the first Muslim fleet met the Byzantine navy off the coast of Anatolia. The rough seas forced both sides to lash their ships to one another and the two great rafts collided in a fierce battle. Soldiers and sailors jumped from ship to ship in ruthless melee combat. As the day wore on the Muslim fleet gained the upper hand. When enemies closed …

How Geography Has Shaped Levantine Politics On a scorching July day in Palestine Ludolf of Tournai clambered over the battlements and scattered his Fatimid foes. Ludolf fought wildly, desperately, he had endured years of suffering on behalf of his God to reach the Holy City. He had survived the arrows of Turkish horsemen as he thirsted on the Anatolian Plateau. He had braved the treacherous footp…

A sneak peek inside a new project I’ve been in the US this week, working on a new story. All will be revealed in time. For now, though, I thought I would share a couple of little tidbits for you lovely subscribers.

Five things you have to see from Siena, the exhibition of the year so far In the late eighteenth century men with saws got to work on one of the masterpieces of medieval art. The Maestà of Duccio di Buoninsegna (usually, just plain Duccio) had for once been the high altarpiece of Siena Cathedral. It was a dizzying collection of panels centred on a huge image of the Virgin enthroned with Christ on her lap, around which were arranged dozens of scenes from her life and His.

Since I'm celebrating... Here’s something nice for the weekend. My narration of Henry V has been shortlisted for Book of the Year (Audiobook, Non Fiction) in the British Book Awards 2025.

Here's my current reading pile for spring 2025 I’m asked a lot what I’m reading, or what I’m looking forward to reading. Here is a look at my current stack. All of these books are available now for order or pre-order via your favourite bookseller.

A beautifully preserved medieval gold posy ring, dating from the 13th or 14th century, is set to be auctioned later this month.

The Icelandic sagas written after the year 1300 tend to get classified as being not as good as the more famous Family Sagas. However, this book explains why these ‘rogue sagas’ are also very interesting, especially their superhero characters and paranormal encounters.

This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Caroline Dunn about the lives of ladies in waiting.

The Roman Empire constructed an extensive road network that spanned the Mediterranean and much of Europe. This book explores the enduring legacy of these roads, including their significance during the Middle Ages.

In this issue, we explore how people learned duirng the Middle Ages: in the monastery or school room, at the training grounds, or even on the job. Theme: Medieval education and learning James G. Clark, "From monastery to university: The making of medieval education," 18-23. Lucie Laumonier, "Learning a trade: Medieval apprentices," 24-27. Robert Jones, "A schoolhouse for the sword: swordsmanship for the middle classes," 28-33. Gary Leiser, "Medieval Islamic education: The rise of colleges of law," 34-39. Jens Høyrup, "Algorism, abacuses, and computus: Medieval mathematics," 40-43. Features: Hal Dixon, "The Battle of Aljubarrota: Iberian warfare as told by Froissart," 8-11. Robert Jones, "The Chivalric Code: More a set of guidelines...," 12-13. Paul Martin Remfry, "Harlech Castle: Reappraising the sources," 14-17. Christopher Fletcher, "A rare book coffer: Mobile medieval manuscripts," 48-49. Conor Robison, "'For the killing of one another:' The alliance that broke the Aztecs," 50-53. Peter Konieczny, "Al-Hariri's Maqamat: A twelfth-century success," 54-55. Jonathan Jones, "Book review: Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King," 56. Gabrielle Storey, "Book review: Queens and Queenship," 57.

For those trying to win wars in the ancient world, large armies were a neccessity. However, the personal prestige earned from a victory in single combat was still unmatched. Theme: Single combat in antiquity Ross Cowan, 'An introduction to single combat - Honorable scars'. Owain Williams, 'Heroic duels of mass combat - Homeric warfare'. Valentine Belfiglio, 'Rome's greatest soldier - Lucius Siccius Dentatus'. Murray Dahm, 'Titus Manlius versus the Latins - Single combat with consequences'. Ross Cowan, 'Valerius, the Gaul, and the interpreter - Provocat per interpretem'. Lindsay Powell, 'The end of single combat - A final blow'. Features: Jasper Oorthuys, '100 times Ancient Warfare - Doing the homework'. Anneka Rene, 'Diomedes and prophecy - The hero's fate'. Juan Quiroz, 'The impact of political economy - Manpower crisis'. Velite Aquila, 'Roman socii in the Middle Republic - Etruscan style'. Pavel Vaverka, 'Asserting their independence - The Lamian War'. Jo Ball, 'Three standard-bearers' dedication - A parting gift'.  

Vikings Behaving Reasonably: Nordic Hóf in Civic and Legal Rhetoric was written to try and make sense of the rhetoric shown in the Icelandic family sagas, but I expanded its scope to look more at how the medieval Scandinavians dealt with conflicts in both the civic and legal arenas. I found through my research that the medieval Scandinavians had a native rhetorical tradition outside of Classical influence.

Exploring ancient people’s shifting beliefs about rearing and eating pigs