mediaeval life
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Humans have always kept pets…or so it seems to me, anyway. We simply like to have certain animals around us. I can’t imagine that the likes of rhinos, bulls or camels were ever on anyone’s list of must-have pets, but there have always been cats, dogs, birds and so on. “…. Pets were a rarity…
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An amusing mockup of what the front page of Medieval Parent Magazine would have looked like…Particularly liking the Quiz…”Is your Childe a changeling or just ugly?’ With thanks to Maks Viktor Antiquarian Books.. Artist Gemma Correll.
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Death bed of Richard Whittington…London 1442-1443. A link to an interesting article covering all things about the medieval bed including childbed, deathbed and much, much more …
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The above illustrations show two royal widows. On the left Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, mother of both Edward IV and Richard III. On the right an imagined meeting between Edward IV and the widow he was to marry, Elizabeth Woodville. In this modern age, when we are striving to live longer and longer, it’s…
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The following article is from here. It is a light-hearted look at the things our medieval sisters did to make themselves look beautiful:- Longing to know how to hide your devil’s marks and dissolve your hairline? Step this way! Strictly speaking, the Middle Ages extend from the 5th to the 15th century, but here,…
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The above book, Stolen Women in Medieval England, by Caroline Dunn, is subtitled Rape, Abduction and Adultery 1100-1500. This subtitle is well earned, because all three activities become very tangled indeed in those records that survive of cases that reached courts. The general impression the modern world has of medieval women is that they were…
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A link to an interesting article on medieval hygiene touching on chamberpots and privies, the usefulness of nosegays, laundry and makeup among other things.
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If, like me, you become puzzled or just downright confused by all the different offices, posts, departments and so on of English medieval government (many of which still exist today), then the site below is very helpful for clearing the confusion. After all, is it not bewildering to find that ‘in the king’s presence’ doesn’t…
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How did St Valentine become the patron saint of lovers? The answer to that is the stuff of legends. One story has it that he was a peaceful man, as well as a great peacemaker, and while tending the roses in his garden, he heard a couple quarrelling violently. He cut a rose and…
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As we take down our Christmas trees and put away our recordings of “Santa Baby,” perhaps some of the readers of the Murrey and Blue are preparing to stroll forth on Twelfth Night to sing the charming “Gloucestershire Wassail” song for friends and neighbors this January 5th of the new year 2017. This is the traditional day…
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