medievalists.net

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/7976448...

Monsters haunt the physical and imaginative remains of the Middle Ages. They stalk the pages of manuscripts, peer out from cathedrals and castles, and even appear in the most historical of literary genres, medieval chronicles. But monsters weren’t just decorative. Ideas about monstrosity were fundamental to ancient and...

One of the largest databases of medieval manuscripts has added 61 new items to its collection. They include manuscripts from the Franciscan order as well as fragments dating back to the eighth century.

People in the Middle Ages did keep pets – dogs, cats, birds, monkeys and many other kinds of animals. Although they often had particular duties – i.e. hunting or catching rats – there are many accounts that showed affection and love between these pets and their owners.

Today few people would know the name ʿArīb al-Ma’mūnīya. But during her lifetime, she may have been the most famous person in the world....

This entry for the year 782 in the Royal Frankish Annals is one of the most debated topics of Charlemagne’s reign. Did the ‘Massacre of Verden’ actually happen with 4500 people being killed in a single day?

An in-depth analysis of the 12th century work Ajaib al-Makhluqat wa Gharaib al-Mawjudat, or Marvels of Things and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing by Zakariyya al-Qazwini, and the Arabian and Mesopotamian legends surrounding the djinn.

Weirdly this article doesn’t mention the three volume Yu Sumei translation which came out a few year earlier. It’s an unabridged translation.