St Æthelthryth and the Virgin Mary Through the Ages

I'm experimenting with methods of putting up presentations. This one is put up through slideshare. Its conversion function doesn't seem to have liked all of my text as you can see from the title page. This is the presentation I gave at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo in May 2010. If you...

The Mortality of Children, Ireland 683-685

683 The beginning of the children's plague in the month of October (AT, AU, AI), which lasted for three years in Ireland. (FAI); A plague was in Ireland (AC) 684: The plague of youths, in which all the chieftains and nearly all the young Irish noblemen perished. (FAI); The mortality of little ones (AT) / children...

Plague in a time of war

One of the oddities of the plague in Britain and Ireland is the absence of any visible impact on political history. The few kings who died of plague were apparently replaced peacefully from within their kingdom, if not their dynasty. The effects of the plague on the church, particularly in the loss of bishops, may...

Iurminburgh’s Warning

Still working on Bede's Life of Cuthbert --  I've been thinking about  Cuthbert's prediction on Ecgfrith's last campaign, and I find myself wondering about his warning to Queen Iurminburgh. "But he immediately said to the queen, and secretly addressing her, it being Saturday, said: "See that you mount your chariot early on Monday -- for...

Benedict Biscop

I've gained a new appreciation for Benedict Biscop this week after rereading the History of the Abbots and the Life of Ceolfrith, along with Ian Woods' contribution to the new Cambridge Companion to Bede. What follows is a little musing on Biscop and questions his life open up. I used to think of Biscop as...

Ecgfrith’s Heir

During a fall when I've been too busy for blogging, I got a great medieval surprise in my snail mailbox. For the first time I can remember the Jarrow Lecture has been published in the year it was given! Kudos to Barbara Yorke! She gave a very interesting and thought provoking lecture. So thought provoking...