James T Palmer on the Early Middle Ages and Other Things
Just before Christmas, a new volume of essays was published on conversion in the early Middle Ages. The subject is an old one and a good one. Moreover, it is timely. Stories about conversion are not what everyone considers crucial about the Middle Ages. Indeed, I was once commissioned to write a short piece on… Continue reading Why Conversion Histories Matter
In December 2014 a conference was held in Berlin, called 'East and West in the Early Middle Ages: The Merovingian Kingdoms in Mediterranean Perspective'. This guest post, kindly supplied by leading early medieval palaeographer David Ganz, provides an overview of the topics discussed at the event. With many of the current leading figures in Merovingian… Continue reading The Merovingian Kingdoms in Mediterranean Perspective (by David Ganz)
The town is bustling; there are new faces everywhere. It is the beginning of semester in St Andrews – a good time to reflect on what it is I’m actually trying to teach my students. Medievalists are often haunted at least a little by the ghost of ‘relevance’. Guy Halsall at York was more than… Continue reading Teaching Power and Identity After Rome
Back in 2009, it was the 1300th anniversary of the death of St Wilfrid. Or the 1299th. But still. There were two conferences held, one in Manchester and one York, and the combined proceedings are now out as N. J. Higham (ed.), Wilfrid: Abbot, Bishop, Saint (Donington, 2013). It is available direct from Shaun Tyas.… Continue reading New Book on St Wilfrid
