Uhtred of Bamburgh: Heroic Defender of Durham

When King Malcolm II of Scotland set out for Durham in 1006, no one expected that…

Blot-Sweyn: Pagan Uprising and Blood Sacrifice in Sweden

At the end of the 11th century, Sweden witnessed a dramatic conflict between Christianity and paganism,…

Tautvilas and Mindaugas: Betrayal in Medieval Lithuania

In 13th-century Lithuania, the path to power was paved with the corpses of close relatives. Tautvilas,…

Mindaugas: Lithuania’s Only King Exposed

In the 13th century, a new kingdom appeared on the map of Europe—one that would last…

Gregory of Tours: Chronicler of the Merovingians

Gregory of Tours, born as Georgius Florentius around 538 CE, went down in history as the…

The Fate of Holigost: England’s Forgotten Warship

In the 1420s, a dramatic episode unfolded at the mouth of the River Hamble near Southampton.…

Wives of Casimir the Great

Casimir the Great, as the last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty, is known not…

Medieval hygiene. Did people really never wash?

Surely, each of us has heard stories about people of the Middle Ages who did not…

Miecław, the Most Dangerous Rival of the Piasts

Kazimierz, grandson of Bolesław the Brave, managed to hold power for only three years. In 1037,…

The Art of War of the Pomeranians

In the early Middle Ages, Pomerania attracted the attention of its neighbours, who sought to enrich…