Medieval
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A Queer Past the Censorship, by Gabe
A record dated to January 1395 sees the ‘Examination of two men charged with immorality, of whom one implicated several persons, male and female, in religious orders’[1]. Arthur Hermann Thomas, the person who wrote that summary in 1932, skimmed very… Continue reading
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Mini medieval ‘grete pyes’, by Dr Ruth J. Salter
Back in November, during the drinks reception ahead of our annual Stenton Lecture, I got chatting to our social media maven, Chessie Baldwin. Talk turned to History’s blog and what we’d be doing as our Christmas series this year …… Continue reading
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Halloween: Our Childhood Traditions
It’s the spookiest day of the year! We asked some students and staff to share their favourite Halloween traditions. But first, some Halloween history… ‘The name Halloween itself is simply a contraction of All Hallows Eve. This derives from the… Continue reading
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The Sagas, the Solstice and the Supernatural, by Anne Lawrence-Mathers
As a medievalist it is always satisfying to point out that many traditions can be traced back to the medieval period – and this applies also to the custom of setting and telling tales of ghosts and monsters at the… Continue reading
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A Very Ghostly Christmas: St Nicholas, the Slaughtered Students and the Murdered Merchant, by Professor Anne Lawrence-Mathers
On the feast day of St Nicholas of Myra, we find out if the ‘Wondeworker’ Saint is a modern day Santa Claus or an early version of Sweeny Todd in these stories of ghostly apparitions, murder, and magic. Will there… Continue reading
READING HISTORY 