Leiden Medievalists Blog

Cultural History

Pious women and warrior queens. Female role models in the late medieval period

Medieval women were considered unfit for public tasks such as governance and warfare. Nonetheless, many princesses wielded power, as a result of their dynastic position and personal ambition. Female role models of the late medieval period seem to reflect the ambiguity of their position.

Margreet Brandsma • 18-09-2020

Cultural History · Socio-Economic History

Play piggy games, win piggy prizes: Swine entertainment in medieval Europe

At medieval carnivals and country fairs, various games involving pigs took place. This blog post discusses four instances of this remarkable swine entertainment in medieval Europe.

Thijs Porck • 04-09-2020

Manuscript Studies · Book History

Why did Antonio de Nebrija draw faces into a Dutch book from 1480?

The humanist Antonio de Nebrija (c. 1444-d.1522) was a serious scholar, renowned for his work on the Spanish language. His hidden talent for drawing expressive faces, however, is less well known.

Anna Dlabacová • 21-08-2020

Archaeology

Setting the early medieval world on fire

Early medieval cremation burials have long been seen as the remains of non-Christian peoples. Recent research shows this narrative does not comfortably fit the archaeology of that period.

Femke Lippok • 07-08-2020

Cultural History · Literature

Where is Gogo? Friendship and poetry at the Austrasian court

In a poem, Venantius Fortunatus wonders where his friend Gogo could be. The answers reveal the activities and friends of an Austrasian magnate in sixth-century northern Gaul.

Jip Barreveld • 24-07-2020

Cultural History

Makeup and female beauty standards in Renaissance Italy

In Renaissance Italy, the female beauty ideal included features such as blonde hair and a pale skin. Women tried their best to live up to these expectations, but elaborate makeup and beauty routines were not without risk.

Marlisa den Hartog • 10-07-2020

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