Medieval News Weekly • 25 July 2026 Viking Silver, Hidden Viruses, Medieval Trade and a Castle Hiding in Plain Sight The Middle Ages continue to surprise us. A record-breaking silver hoard has emerged from the Finnish countryside, while genetic traces preserved in parchment are revealing diseases carried by the animals whose skins became medieval books.

10 Medieval Movies Based on True Stories Hollywood loves setting movies in the Middle Ages. Give a filmmaker a castle, a few hundred extras, some muddy fields, and enough swords to outfit a small army, and history can quickly become something rather flexible. Battles are moved. Characters are invented. Years of political turmoil get compressed

Pope John IV: The Dalmatian Pope Who Ransomed Captives and Fought Heresy Pope John IV never crowned an emperor, launched a crusade, or ruled long enough to become one of the famous names of the medieval Papacy. Yet during his brief pontificate, John confronted one of the most divisive theological controversies of the seventh century,

Taxation Under Medieval Kingship, any temporary taxes to protect the kingdom required the consent of those vassals paying the tax.1 Usually, vassals were willing to pay more during times of war so the lord could keep men in the field longer. Certain temporary taxes could be instituted, such as during an invasion as the king

Of Mud and Crown: A Young Author’s Journey Through Medieval Bohemia Playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance can send you down a rabbit hole of medieval history. For 13-year-old Erik Kitaev, playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance led to a fascination with medieval Bohemia with an unexpected outcome: he wrote a novel. The novel, Of Mud and Crown, is

Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God Kings could give commands but not make laws, and if his command fell outside his jurisdiction, he would face “universal”1 resistance. Under kingship, if a king or lord violates the law and becomes tyrannical, his vassals and others under his authority are no longer bound to give fealty

The Viking invasion collapses at Stamford Bridge, Jerusalem comes under siege, Edward II dies under mysterious circumstances, and Christendom fractures in the Western Schism.

10 Medieval Historical Novels That Bring the Middle Ages to Life I love reading a good book. My main genres are fantasy, sci-fi and historical fiction. While sci-fi isn’t really medieval a case could be made for fantasy. And I’ll make that case at a later time. But historical fiction set in the Middle Ages,

Pope Sergius III: Murder, Scandal, and the Dark Age of the Papacy If the story of Pope Stephen VI and the Cadaver Synod seems like the moment the medieval Papacy reached rock bottom, Pope Sergius III offers an uncomfortable counterargument. His reign has nearly everything you could ask for in a medieval political thriller: disputed

The Medieval King: Powerful or Pitiful? The Medieval king, as opposed to the monarchs who emerged during the 14th century and the pre-Christian pagan emperors, was quite weak. He was unable to create law, and he was a servant to his people, who owned their customs. The people’s customs and laws ruled everyone equally, including

Ever since watching the movie The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe, I have admired and been fascinated by feudal Japan and the samurai. The movie, based on various historical figures and events from 19th-century Japan, portrays the contrast between traditionalism and modernity. On one hand, you had the traditional warrior samurai, living

A little-known aspect of history revolves around the Christian Samurai of medieval Japan. Some might know that Pope Francis beatified the feudal medieval Japanese daimyo Justo Takayama Ukon (1552-1615), who was persecuted and exiled from Japan for his faith as the country’s rulers became hostile to Christians, forcing their conversion or expulsion. Few emulated Takayama,

For those who lived in medieval Europe, identifying one another was not a given. No modern identity cards, no photographs, or standardised uniforms to identify everyone with certainty in an instant; no records on a computer for immediate verification of who someone was. It got even more complicated on a battlefield. Knights were armored from

Pope John XV: Politics, Power, and the First Papal Canonization Pope John XV ruled the Catholic Church from 985 to 996, during one of the most politically fragile periods in medieval papal history. The papacy of the late tenth century was not the commanding institution it would later become under reforming popes like Gregory VII.

Pope Pelagius I Pope Pelagius I inherited one of the most difficult papacies of the sixth century. Rome was still recovering from the Gothic Wars, much of Italy lay in ruins, and the Church remained bitterly divided over imperial theology. His election was controversial from the beginning, with many believing he owed his position to

Pope Gregory XI: The Pope Who Returned to Rome Pope Gregory XI’s reign marked the end of the Avignon Papacy, bringing the papal court back to Rome after nearly seventy years in southern France. Although his return restored the papacy to its traditional home, it also set the stage for one of the greatest crises

After more than a year of anticipation, Focus Features has released the first trailer for The Uprising, director Paul Greengrass’ historical drama based on the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. The movie stars Andrew Garfield as Wat Tyler along with Jamie Bell as John Ball, Thomasin McKenzie, Katherine Waterston, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander and Woody Norman

Medieval News Weekly • 17 July 2026 Bayeux, Forgotten Churches, Medieval Builders & More Discoveries from the Middle Ages The Middle Ages continue to surprise us. Nearly a thousand years after castles dominated the landscape, monks copied manuscripts, and kings fought for power across Europe, new discoveries and research continue to reveal a more complex

Pope Innocent IV: The Pope Who Challenged Emperors and Encountered the Mongols By the middle of the 13th century, the Crusader states in the Holy Land were under pressure, the Byzantine Empire was weakened after the Fourth Crusade, and from the eastern steppes came reports of a new power unlike anything Europe had ever encountered.

Lead Up to the Battle of Largs By the middle of the thirteenth century, the Kingdom of Scotland was determined to bring the Hebrides and the Western Isles under Scottish control. The islands had long been ruled by the Norwegian crown through local lords, but King Alexander III believed they rightfully belonged to Scotland. Alexander

Medieval News Weekly • 03 July 2026 Vikings, Notre-Dame, Otto the Great & More Medieval Finds The Middle Ages remain remarkably relevant in the modern world, as new discoveries and research continue to reshape our understanding of the medieval past. Every week, archaeologists, historians, and scientists uncover new evidence that changes our understanding of the

Pope Paschal II: The Pope Who Tried to End the Investiture Controversy Paschal II reigned as pope from 1099 to 1118, inheriting a Church still deeply embroiled in the Investiture Controversy. A former monk shaped by the ideals of reform and asceticism, he believed that the Church’s spiritual mission had been compromised by its wealth

The Battle of Bouvines (1214): The Day France Was Born and England Lost an Empire On Sunday, 27 July 1214, near the small village of Bouvines in northern France, one of the most consequential battles of the Middle Ages unfolded. Often overshadowed by famous clashes such as Hastings, Agincourt, or the battles of the Crusades,

Pope Benedict XII: The Monk Who Became the Hammer of Heresy and the Architect of a Papal Fortress In the mid-fourteenth century, the Papacy moved away from Rome to Avignon, France, a period called the Avignon Papacy. This period, later criticized by writers such as Petrarch as the “Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” saw the

The Siege of Neuss (1474–1475): The Siege That Broke Burgundy Charles the Bold’s Dream of a Middle Kingdom In the 1470s, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, was among the most formidable rulers in Europe. Although, technically a vassal of both the French crown and the Holy Roman Empire, his wealth rivaled kings. His territories

Pope Martin V Introduction In the early 15th century, the Catholic Church was divided between rival popes. Not one, not two, but three claimants to the throne of St. Peter. Each declared himself the rightful Pope. Each denounced the others as impostors. Kings, princes, bishops, and entire kingdoms chose sides, turning what should have been

The Siege of Kaifeng (1232–1233) The Last Capital of the Jin Dynasty By the early thirteenth century, the Jin dynasty was fighting for its survival. Founded by the Jurchen people in 1115, the Jin had conquered northern China and ruled a powerful empire for more than a century. At its height, the dynasty controlled vast

Pope Leo IX: The Pilgrim Pope Who Split the Christian World In the year 1048, the Papacy was in a state of terminal decay, a local prize for Roman noble families, bought and sold like a piece of real estate. Everything changed with the arrival of one man: Bruno of Egisheim, who would become Leo

The Siege of Rochester, 1215: When Stone Walls Fell to Fire and Ingenuity In the autumn of 1215, England was on the edge of civil war. King John, politically weakened and deeply unpopular, had no intention of honoring the Magna Carta that his barons had forced him to accept only months earlier. When he secured

Pope Stephen VI: The Pope Who Put a Corpse on Trial Few figures in medieval history embody the chaos and brutality of the late ninth-century Papacy quite like Pope Stephen VI. His reign lasted barely a year, yet it produced one of the most infamous events in Church history: the Cadaver Synod, a grotesque trial

The Battle of Maldon (991): The Bridge of Fatal Honor The Return of the Raiders By the late tenth century, the glory days of Kings Alfred the Great and Æthelstan were fading into memory. A new generation of Viking raiders returned to England’s shores, seeking silver, slaves, and plunder. In 991, a fleet reportedly numbering

Arundel Castle to Host Grand International Medieval Jousting Tournament in July 2026 One of England’s most spectacular living-history events returns this summer as Arundel Castle prepares to host its International Medieval Jousting Tournament from Tuesday, July 21 through Sunday, July 26, 2026. The six-day event will transform the historic Norman stronghold into a full-scale celebration

Pope Celestine V: The Pope Who Walked Away In the long and turbulent history of the medieval Papacy, few figures are as unusual (or as tragic) as Pope Celestine V. Unlike ambitious cardinals who spent lifetimes maneuvering for power, Celestine never wanted the throne of Saint Peter at all. A hermit who preferred caves to

The Battle of Legnano (1176) In the late 12th century, northern Italy had become one of the wealthiest and most dynamic regions in Europe. Cities like Milan, Piacenza, Brescia, and Ferrara were thriving centers of trade, banking, and manufacturing. Their prosperity gave them growing confidence, and with confidence came a desire for greater independence. This

Greece’s Rhodes will deploy drones and patrols to secure its Medieval City following incidences of violence within its historic walls.

Pope Sixtus VI The Renaissance Pope Who Transformed Rome If any pope symbolizes the transition from the medieval world into the age of the Renaissance, it’s Pope Sixtus IV. Born Francesco della Rovere, Sixtus IV rose from humble beginnings as a Franciscan friar to become one of the most ambitious and controversial popes in history.

The Battle of Brunanburh (937): The Battle That Forged England A Kingdom on the Brink In 937, the fate of Britain seemed to hang on a single battlefield whose exact location remains lost to history. The Battle of Brunanburh was a colossal struggle between rival kings, cultures, and ambitions, a clash that helped determine whether