From Jongleur to Icon: The Making of St Francis
From bodily performance to sacred image: how the living Francis of Assisi was transformed after his death through memory, hagiography and visual culture. Read the essay here…
Modern biographies of St. Francis
03/10/2026From Sabatier to Leppin, modern biographers have repeatedly reconstructed the “real” Francis, each revealing as much about their own age as about the saint Read more
From Jongleur to Icon: The Making of St Francis
03/10/2026From bodily performance to sacred image: how the living Francis of Assisi was transformed after his death through memory, hagiography and visual culture. Read more
MEDIEVAL SOURCE: Portrait of St. Francis of Assisi
01/10/2026St. Francis of Assisi was a short man, with dark eyes and large ears. He was definitely also a charming man. Read more
Medieval Poggibonsi and Surroundings
07/04/2017Heavily bombarded during WW2Poggibonsi’s charm resides in the suburbs and its hidden gems: an open-air museum, a medieval inn and a nearby castle Read more
Liturgy, Books and Franciscan Identity in Medieval Umbria
01/11/2015New book explores the Franciscans and their relationship with manuscript production networks operating in Umbrian the 13th and 14th centuries Read more
Franciscan Women – Medieval and Beyond
10/09/2015Franciscan Women: Medieval & Beyond is a conference designed to frame a mutually enriching conversation between academic scholars and franciscan women of today Read more
Franciscan Art in Florence
24/06/2015Franciscan art flourished in the Late Middle Ages as the religious movement spread all over Europe as well as Asia. This summer the Accademia in Florence shows a spectacular selection Read more
Newly found life of St. Francis published
24/06/2015A small notebook of obvious Franciscan origin was recently shown to contain a hitherto unknown Vita of St. Francis, written by Thomas di Celano. It has now been edited Read more
Romita di Cesi – Experience the true Franciscan Spirituality
23/06/2015The Romita de Cesi is a hermitage located on Mount Torre Maggiore near the Town of Cesi in Terni. Difficult to find, it offers a spiritual tranquillity reminiscent of the early Franciscans Read more
The Garden of St. Francis
22/06/2015St. Francis is known for his devotion to nature and generally recognised at the patron saint for the environment. But was he also a gardener? Read more
What Did St Francis Mean by “Laudato Si’”? The Canticle of Creation and Pope Francis
18/06/2015The title of the papal encyclical Laudato Si’ is taken from the refrain of the Canticle of Creation by Francis of Assisi. But what did the saint really mean by using this phrase? Read more
The Making of Assisi
29/01/2015‘The making of Assisi’ explores the history behind and meaning of the famous cycle of frescoes from the upper Church in the Basilica in Assisi Read more
The Restoration of the Tomb and Reburial of Otto the Great
10/09/2026In January 2025, a major programme of conservation and research began on the tomb of Otto the Great in Magdeburg Cathedral as serious deterioration had been discovered Read more
Did Otto the Great Die from a Stroke?
09/09/2026Not only do we possess what is likely an eyewitness account from AD 973 of the death of Emperor Otto the Great, but recent studies of his remains might fit the description. Read more
The Emperor’s Marble
08/09/2026Was the great antique marble slab covering Otto the Great’s tomb brought from Ravenna as imperial spolia – and chosen to evoke the world of Charlemagne? Read more
New Exhibitions
The Golden Treasure from Vindelev
17/02/2026Travelling to Denmark in 2026? Don’t miss the opportunity to see the magnificent golden treasure from Vindelev, dated to around AD 450–49 Read more
In the Italian Manner: Spain and Mediterranean Gothic 1320–1420
29/01/2026In spring 2026, the Prado in Madrid will offer a spectacular exhibition inviting us into the artistic world of Mediterranean Gothic, 1320–1420. Read more
Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages at the Metropolitan
12/11/2025Fluid and queer sex is featured in a new medieval exhibition at the Met Cloisters in New York during winter 2025-26 Read more
New Research
The Emperor’s Marble
08/09/2026Was the great antique marble slab covering Otto the Great’s tomb brought from Ravenna as imperial spolia – and chosen to evoke the world of Charlemagne? Read more
From meat and milk to sheep and grain
08/09/2026New research traces a millennium of changing animal husbandry and cereal production in medieval England Read more
Pox on the Sheep…
07/09/2026Medieval parchment tells a story of how murrains among sheep must have been recurring scourges, threatening the livelihoods of peasants and lords alike. Read more
Viking Ships and Fleets – How Large Were They?
25/06/2026Impressive new research sheds light on the size of the Viking fleets operating in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean between c. 750 and 1100. Read more
New Books about the Middle Ages
Transregnal Kingship? Or Regal Kings?
13/08/2026How did medieval rulership over multiple kingdoms and lordships work out? A new book explores the political, but also the practical, challenges of rulership in the fluid territorial reality of the 13th century, while floating a new concept: “transregnal”. What might this mean? Read more
The World of the Angevins
09/08/2026New book on the Angevin World circumvent a touchy English question. Was there ever an “Angevin Empire”? Read more
The Maritime Kingdom of Denia
26/07/2026The Medieval Mediterranean was a contested site crisscrossed by fleets and armies operating in a Maritime world. New book explores the Identities, iolence, and networks in the Mediterranean using both Latin and Arabic primary sources while focusing on the Taifa of Denia in Spain. Read more
Medieval European Embroidery
26/07/2026In 2020, Musée de Cluny organised an exhibition on “The Art of Embroidery in the Middle Ages” (L’art en broderie au Moyen Âge). In connection with the exhibition, a catalogue was published. Now, six years later, the proceeding for the scientific conference in January 2020 have been published. Regards sur… Read more