In the Christian part of the Iberian Peninsula, the 11th century saw the rise of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, the birth of Portugal, the dominance of the county of Barcelona over the other Catalan counties, the adventures of El Cid, and the opening of the Way of St. James. In the Muslim zone, […]
Middle Ages
Posted inMiddle Ages, Travel
Dunluce, the Spectacular Irish Castle Entirely Surrounded by Cliffs
Perched on a basalt cliff on the rugged coast of Northern Ireland, Dunluce Castle is an imposing ruin that dominates the horizon of County Antrim. Isolated by its steep cliffs and surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic, Dunluce has been, over the centuries, a symbol of power, a strategic refuge, a home to influential […]
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Byzantine Emperor Basil II Ordered the Blinding of Thousands of Prisoners Taken at the Battle of Kleidion
In an era long before any concept of dignified treatment for defeated enemies, during a time when losing on the battlefield often opened the door to the most bloodthirsty barbarities, in the Middle Ages, there was an event that even exceeded the norm and echoed throughout history as a chilling reminder of that brutal reality […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Oldest Alliances in the World: Portugal-England and Scotland-France
Although geostrategic interests change throughout history, for many centuries, some alliances have defied the passage of time, remaining stable and renewing themselves as if they were unaffected by changing circumstances. Which are the oldest? At least in Europe, there are two that stand out. One is very well known, the Anglo-Portuguese alliance, established in 1373; […]
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How Björn, the son of Ragnar, attacked Seville and other places in the Iberian Peninsula in his expedition to the Mediterranean
In the popular TV series Vikings, it’s Ivar the Boneless who perhaps steals the spotlight with his peculiar personality, reminiscent of the classic – and stereotypical – image of Caligula or Nero. However, Ubbe, Hvitsärk, and Björn also have their moments. In this article, we will focus on Björn and, more specifically, the expedition he […]
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Vikings and North American Natives met and traded ivory in remote parts of Greenland
A recent study led by Lund University in Sweden has shed new light on the ancient trade routes between Viking Norse settlers and Arctic Indigenous peoples. By examining ancient walrus DNA, the researchers have reconstructed the trade networks of the Viking Age, discovering that the Norse and Arctic Indigenous peoples likely interacted and exchanged walrus […]
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Belisarius, the General Who Upheld Justinian’s Empire and Refused to Be Emperor of the West
I entrusted the care of arms to my Belisarius, and so favorable did the divine hand show itself to him that it gave me the security to live peacefully. These words, which Dante Alighieri places in the mouth of Justinian I, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, in canto VI of the Divine Comedy, refer […]
Posted inMiddle Ages, Science
When the Venerable Bede Established That a ‘Moment’ Lasted 90 Seconds
Most historical civilizations, such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Chinese, Babylonians, Greeks, Mayans… used natural measures of time. These include the day, the solar year, or the phases of the moon. The Egyptians were among the first to divide the day into equal parts, using sundials for daylight hours and merjets, a type of plumb line […]
Posted inMiddle Ages, Science
Mysterious plant mentioned in the Bible is resurrected by germinating a 1,000-year-old seed found in a desert cave
An international team of researchers has successfully germinated and analyzed an ancient seed, uncovering secrets that may shed light on a plant species mentioned in ancient texts like the Bible, which may have been extinct in the southern Levant region. The study, recently published in the journal Communications Biology, details how a seed recovered during […]
Posted inAntiquity, Middle Ages
The Tribute of the Three Cows, the oldest treaty still in force in Europe, may have started as a sanction for supporting the invasion of the Cimbri in 125 BC
For six and a half centuries, a peculiar ceremony has been held every July 13 at the Ernaz pass and the San Martín stone, a mountain pass in the Pyrenees that serves as a border point between the Foral Community of Navarra (Spain) and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department (France). The event consists of the delivery of […]
