Life in the Middle Ages

 People in the Middle Ages totally believed in the rule of law.  They were not always sure what the law was, and often they seemed to be mak...

 A lot of medieval manuscripts survive only in fragments.  There is indeed a whole field within medieval studies, fragmentology, dedicated t...

 Medieval people used coins, as had the Romans before them, and a surprising number of such old coins still survive.  Where do they come fro...

  We use signatures symbolically to indicate our agreement to something or to authorize it.  Go into the bank to set up an account or apply ...

 Reims cathedral is now considered one of the glories of Gothic architecture, built in the thirteenth century more or less to a single plan,...

Papyrus was considered the only proper writing material in late antiquity in the Mediterranean basin.  It was made from papyrus reeds, espec...

  "Invention of tradition" is a great term.  It was originally coined by Eric Hobsbawm, to mean a conscious effort to create a vis...