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Portal:Middle Ages

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The Middle Ages portal

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A medieval stained glass panel from Canterbury Cathedral, c. 1175 – c. 1180, depicting the Parable of the Sower, a biblical narrative

The Middle Ages, or medieval period, spanned roughly from 500 to 1500 AD and traditionally represents the central chapter of European history, bridging classical antiquity and the modern era. This era is traditionally divided into the early, high, and late Middle Ages, with each period marking significant changes in social structure, economy, and political power. The period saw agriculture as the primary economic force, a society built on intrapersonal power relations, and a decentralised system of government with limited administrative reach.

Prior to the early Middle Ages, Western Europe experienced the decline of centralised Roman authority and the beginning of Germanic tribal migrations, leading to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This transition period, sometimes called the Dark Ages, saw the establishment of new kingdoms, a reduced tax system, and land-based military financing. The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, remained although it lost significant territories to Early Muslim conquests. By the 9th century, the Carolingian Empire briefly unified parts of Western Europe before breaking into fragmented, competitive states.

The high Middle Ages, from 1000 onward, were characterized by population growth, agricultural innovation, and economic expansion. Feudalism emerged as a dominant social structure, with knights serving lords in exchange for land. The Catholic Church grew in authority, but it faced conflicts with secular rulers over control. Scholasticism and the establishment of universities fostered new intellectual pursuits, while architectural innovations in Romanesque and Gothic architecture flourished. However, the Late Middle Ages brought challenges, including famine, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' War, which led to social upheaval and significant population decline. By the end of this period, Renaissance ideas began to emerge, setting the stage for the Age of Discovery. (Full article...)

Selected article

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London, is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) meet. The palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to other government buildings in Whitehall. The palace's layout is intricate: its existing buildings contain around 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) of corridors. Although the building mainly dates from the 19th century, remaining elements of the original historic buildings include Westminster Hall, used today for major public ceremonial events such as lyings in state, and the Jewel Tower.Control of the Palace of Westminster and its precincts was for centuries exercised by the Queen's representative, the Lord Great Chamberlain. By agreement with the Crown, control passed to the two Houses in 1965. Certain ceremonial rooms continue to be controlled by the Lord Great Chamberlain.After a fire in 1834, the present Houses of Parliament were built over the next 30 years. They were the work of the architect Sir Charles Barry (1795–1860) and his assistant Augustus Welby Pugin (1812–52). The design incorporated Westminster Hall and the remains of St Stephen's Chapel.The Palace of Westminster site was strategically important during the Middle Ages, as it was located on the banks of the River Thames. Buildings have occupied the site since at least Saxon times.

Selected biography

Tamar the Great (Georgian: თამარი, also transliterated as T'amar or Thamar) (c. 1160 – 18 January 1213), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy. Her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mep'e ("king"), commonly afforded to Tamar in the medieval Georgian sources.

Tamar was proclaimed heir apparent and co-ruler by her reigning father George III in 1178, but she faced significant opposition from the aristocracy upon her ascension to full ruling powers after George's death. Tamar was successful in neutralizing this opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuqid and the Byzantine empires. Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death.

Tamar was married twice, her first union being, from 1185 to 1187, to the Rus' prince Yuri, whom she divorced and expelled from the country, defeating his subsequent attempts at coup. For her second consort Tamar chose, in 1191, the Alan prince David Soslan, by whom she had two children, George and Rusudan, the two successive monarchs on the throne of Georgia.

Tamar's association with the period of political and military successes and cultural achievements, combined with her role as a female ruler, has led to her idealization and romantization in Georgian arts and historical memory. She remains an important symbol in Georgian popular culture and has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church as the Holy Righteous Queen Tamar (წმიდა კეთილმსახური მეფე თამარი), with her feast day commemorated on 14 May (O.S. 1 May). read more . . .

Did you know...

  • ...that a paillasse is a thin mattress filled with hay or sawdust and was commonly used in the middle ages?
  • ...that a barbican is a tower or other fortification defending the drawbridge, usually the gateway?
  • ...that a coif is a type of armored head-covering made out of chain-mail and worn under the helmet for extra protection?
  • ...that a heriot is a payment owed to the lord of the manor by a serf’s family upon the serf’s death; usually the family’s best animal, such as a cow, horse or most commonly ox?
  • ...that before 1066, it was noted in the Domesday Book, if one Welshman killed another, the dead man’s relatives could exact retribution on the killer and his family (even burning their houses) until burial of the victim the next day?
  • ...that buboes are pus-filled egg-sized swellings of the lymph glands of the neck, armpits, and groin; typically found in cases of bubonic plague?
  • ...that laws passed in the late 1300s aimed at maintaining class distinctions by prohibiting lower classes from dressing as if they belonged to higher classes?
  • ...that Pier Gerlofs Donia, a 15th century Frisian freedom fighter of 7 feet tall was alleged to be so strong that he could lift a 1000 pound horse?
  • ...that Edgar Ætheling was the last of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of England, but was only proclaimed, never crowned?

Selected image

Credit: Eadfrith of Lindisfarne

The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated Latin manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The manuscript was produced on Lindisfarne in Northumbria in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and is generally regarded as the finest example of the kingdom's unique style of religious art, a style that combined Anglo-Saxon and Celtic themes, what is now called Hiberno-Saxon art, or Insular art.

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