leidenmedievalistsblog — page 2

Manuscript Studies

Authority as a Connection: Medieval Scribes and Contemporary Academics

Manuscripts lie behind the academic study of any Sanskrit text. It may seem easy enough to just read a manuscript, note down what it says, and interpret it. However, studying manuscripts is more complex and authoritative decisions become necessary.

Bigger isn’t Better: Why a large house doesn’t mean more wealth, an Early Medieval example from the central Netherlands

Shrinking byrehouses in early medieval Ede reveal more than changing architecture: they signal a fundamental shift in livelihood, from self-contained communities to outward-oriented households dependent on new forms of exchange and land use, and new social ties.

Blogging the Middle Ages: Leiden Medievalists Blog #200

On the occasion of the 200th “bloggiversary”, the current editors of the Leiden Medievalists Blog take a retrospective look at the blog’s history.

Military History

Military Metamorphosis? Warfare in the Northern Netherlands, 1400-1560.

From knights to mercenaries, from catapults to cannons, and from civic levies to professional armies: in my PhD I will examine the radical changes warfare in the Northern Netherlands underwent during the late Middle Ages.

‘Langs diplomatieke weg’: over het lenen van een manuscript in oorlogstijd

Negentiende-eeuwse geleerden die middeleeuwse manuscripten bestudeerden, waren vaak afhankelijk van bibliotheken die bereid waren tot uitleen. Hoe zorgde men dat een manuscript veilig werd verzonden en terugkeerde in een politiek instabiele situatie?

Archaeology

Tracing syphilis and mercury in skeletal remains from a late medieval Dutch infirmary

Syphilis, one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), continues to affect millions worldwide. Thanks to antibiotics, the prognosis for infected individuals has vastly improved, but in the past it was a life-threatening and stigmatized disease with widely feared treatment methods.