The Library Ghost

    This post mainly covers the period from 1100 CE to 1400 CE, when the Italian Renaissance escapes containment.  Strangely, there is not a lot of material out there from historians or living history organizations...  A lot of these links are from the Met and other art history sources. General information     Cambrian Chronicles . " The Prince of Wales: What Everybody Gets Wrong ." YouTube . Posted October 17, 2022.      HistoryExtra. " Why medieval peasants were REVOLTING | What really caused the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 ." YouTube . Posted March 10, 2025.      History Hit. " What Was Everyday Life Like In Medieval Britain? " YouTube . Posted July 6, 2022.     Norris, Michael. " Feudalism and Knights in Medieval Europe ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. Architecture and engineering     CBS Sunday Morning. " Building a medieval castl...

    Here begins the second part of my notes regarding Marjorie Rowling's Everyday Life in Medieval Times ; part one is here . CH. 5 PILGRIMS & CRUSADERS pilgrimages made by Xians to Rome & Jerusalem as early as 4th c. Santiago de Compostela becomes famous in 11th c. hostels established along pilgrimage routes Germany called "Duchelond" by 15th-cent. writer firearms were discharged while crossing the Alps to trigger small avalanches before entering a narrow pass pilgrims docked in the port of Jaffa had to get "safe conduct" from the Governor of Jerusalem before they could disembark (it required some tribute) by beginning of 15th c. French was more commonly known than Latin outside of Europe guardians of the Holy Sepulchre locked in all year except Easter weekend & 13–14 Sept. (Vigil of the Holy Cross) in 1395 Venice claimed to have St. George's arm, St. Nicholas' staff, St. Paul's ear, & one of the jars from the wedding in Cana whose ...

    Sadly, there do not seem to be many public-facing videos on pre-decimal coinage in Britain, nor the sou/solidus system in continental Europe.  Let me know if you know of any videos or articles that cover the topic! General information      Birchwood, Vasi. " I Slept on a Medieval Mattress for a Week ." YouTube . March 7, 2025.     Draper, Jenny. " Sometimes They're John, Sometimes They're Eleanor: A Genderqueer Sex Worker In Medieval London ." YouTube . February 23, 2022.      Rowe, Kaz. " Debunking 6 Lies You've Been Told About the Middle Ages ." YouTube . November 1, 2020. Arts and architecture      Birchwood, Vasi. " I Tried Medieval Pottery ." YouTube . December 19, 2025.     Donner, Morgan. " Dissecting the Medieval Bed (and making one *mostly* from scratch!) ." YouTube . February 24, 2023.     Draper, Jenny. " 700-Year-Old Palace Ruins In London: The London History Sho...

    These are old, occasionally sarcastic notes I took while reading Rowling's book on the daily lives of normal-ish people during the Middle Ages.  It's an excellent introductory text for those wishing to learn more about normal life in the medieval period, as opposed to list of battles or major political figures.  Here is the proper citation:     Rowling, Marjorie. Everyday Life in Medieval Times . New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1968.   NB: This post is not so much a Cliff Notes as a stream-of-consciousness piece.  It should not be taken as actual scholarship, and does not necessarily reflect the author's beliefs. INTRODUCTION picture opposite title page shows a building being demolished! looks like most pics will be French, some English, rarely Italian/German prob. most pics from illustrated manuscripts, e.g. Tres Riches Heures ? acknowledgement: Waddell, Helen. The Wandering Scholars . pub. pre-1968 CH. 1 CHARLEMAGNE & SOCIETY m...

     Some day I will stop complaining about the appalling lack of scholarly material treating Welsh-language sources for Arthurian legends, but it is not this day.  In the mean time, have some reference material! Alliterative Morte Arthure      Adler, Gillian. "'Ȝit þat traytour alls tite teris lete he fall': Arthur, Mordred, and Tragedy in the Alliterative Morte Arthure ." Arthuriana , Vol. 25, No. 3 (Fall 2015), pp. 3-21.      Benson, Larry D. ed. King Arthur's Death: The Middle English Stanzaic Morte Arthur and the Alliterative Morte Arthure . Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1994.      Crofts, Thomas H. "Perverse and Contrary Deeds: The Giant of Mont Saint Michel and the Alliterative Morte Arthure ." In The Erotic in the Literature of Medieval Britain , edited by Amanda Hopkins and Cory James Rushton. Rochester, NY: Boydell & Brewer, 2007, pp. 116-131.      Jefferson, Judith A. an...