The modern history of Western Europe is defined by opposition. Europe is presented as a beacon of civilisation facing down the barbarous masses that populated the rest of the world, and one of the ...

A vintage engraving of Medieval fashions. Today, the Middle Ages are a sort of paradox; the myth of the “Dark Ages,” which survives quite ably in popular culture, allows space for it to be whatever ...

Medieval Europe’s diverse regional cultures were balanced by a conscious attempt to create a unified view of the world that embraced religious and social ideals, Latin and vernacular literature, and ...

An illustration, based on a 15th century author’s imagining, of the court of the Great Khan in the 1200s. Credit: National Library of France On January 4, 1254, a French monk named William of Rubruck ...

This week saw more than 2,500 scholars of the Middle Ages descend on the University of Leeds (England) for the 25th annual International Medieval Congress. There, over the course of 4 days and more ...

Leah DeVun, associate professor of history and vice chair for undergraduate education at Rutgers University, discussed her new book, “The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance ...

The Middle Ages, usually dated from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, were a period of striking contrasts. Castles rose across Europe, knights pledged their loyalty to their owners, and entire ...