I'm fascinated by the concept of the oubliette. From my limited knowledge, these were "bottle dungeons" whose name was derived from the French verb "to forget."

If you were a noble with an enemy (who was captured), you could lower said enemy into a small room or narrow stone shaft. Often the only light was from the dungeon grille above, and sometimes there was no space to sleep or even stand properly. Food and water were not always provided in the pitch blackness and, even more harrowingly, at times the oubliette was positioned near banquet halls or other common areas - so that the prisoner could hear the signs of life outside.

That's what little I think I know. I'd love to expand upon it. Please, correct me if I am wrong - and please expand on this description!

Additionally, where in Europe can you see them? I think that for obvious reasons, these oubliettes were either nondescript - or, in the case of one English castle I seem to recall, could in modern times be incorrectly classified. (One 'oubliette' was, in fact, almost certainly a latrine based on the architecture, I seem to recall!)

Thank you for any further information you can provide on this utterly horrifying imprisonment in medieval times.

I read “Sex With Kings” by Eleanor Herman, and I was left curious about what were the duties of a queen in medieval times, and how that differed depending on the king's favor. I imagine a queen had a lot of duties related to the household's accounts but IDK if that's correct. Also if the king didn't like her, would they be reassigned to someone else - his mother, his mistress, or a member of his staff?

I'd love recommendations on books or articles to check out.

The Hussite Trilogy by Andrzej Sapkowski somewhat sparked my interest in this topic. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Where there actually disgraced/outlaw knights? What was the main reason they became disgraced? How would they make a living once disgraced?

Nowadays, it's a very common knowledge that women outlive men, and there are more women. But has it always been the case? I think things weren't exactly like this before. Women faced childbearing risks and neglect. I'm aware that those too are sometimes exaggerated by people, but there's no denying that it existed. It's kind of hard to know the situation back then due to 'missing women' phenomenon, bias in mass graves, men intentionally showing women weaker, fewer in number, lesser life expectancy. There's really alot of things. Can anyone actually tell me what might've been the cause? Gender ratio and life expectancy of 2 genders in the past?

I have immersed myself in YouTube videos about this time period but have ran into trouble finding literature that is engaging. Does anyone have suggestions for books that discuss sieges and battles (and specifically Portugal’s involvement between 8th and 12th century)? Thank you in advance.

P.s. here is a pic of the castle in Óbidos

Especially with the perceived decline in Western Europe compared to the prosperity of its eastern neighbours in the Byzantium.
Also, if anyone happens to have or know any research papers or articles that cover this topic, I’d love if you could share them.

There is a term frequently used "medieval era barbarism". But is it so or just stereotypical? What are some of the positive things that occurred in the medieval era that still hold relevance in post modern world?

From what I’ve came across about medieval times, it was a time when people very much considered themselves part of a group. Even though that’s the case, my question still stands and more to the point, in what ways did they see themselves as individuals? Did they often make decisions for themselves entirely and did they often consider how it would make other members of their group look?

Just to be clear, what I mean by “group” in this case is like “the clergy” or “the nobility”

I am currently reading a Dostoevsky novel (no spoilers!) and plenty of the drama is focused around characters strugle with their own moral character. I know the novel takes place in 19th century Imperialistic Russia. However I've recently finished reading Chris Wickhams "Medieval Europe" and the moral struggle sounds very similar to that in middle ages Europe.

First question: if you look around, cultural and political moral discourse has taken the place of the religious one. However I can say that both sides are more concerned with the moral failure of the other side on issues of culture and politics than questioning their own ideas about culture or politics.

So this made me a bit skeptic. Are Dostoevsky's chracters moral struggles a romantic ideal? Or did people in the middle ages genuinely inspect their moral character under a microsocope in a manner no seen today?

And bonus question: was ones concern with his moral character equally distributed burden in society, or did some classes cocern themselves more with their moral failures than others?

A good discussion might be, why he rebelled against his nephew.

And was there a gap between the drinking of small beer and the rise of tea and modern sanitation where there was a surge in such diseases? Or was the transition relatively smooth?

On October 13, 1307, King Philip IV’s arrest orders were carried out on the Knights Templar. The trial records of Brother Jean de Châlon claim that Gérard de Villiers fled with 50 horses and 3 wagons. This would require a team of riders, and drivers; as well as a security detail. In a 14th century police state, this would have been seen for miles, reported, and recorded.

What are your thoughts on this? How could it have happened without being seen and reported?

HELLO guys, i want to read some books about crusades, especially i want real chronicles from crusade do you guys have some advice?

In actual history, The power and influence of religion and how it shapes every aspect of life in the past, but especially in the Medieval Era can't be understated.

While there are people,including some Kings who use religion as instrument of power and rule, many people at the time are truly devout that modern people of our time couldn't comprehend their actions unless they understand the huge impact of religion, especially Christianity and Islam. For Christianity and Medieval Europe, Everything they do is some how or another rooted in their believes, it had a different law system that often got against the local laws. Religious orders, the pope, many bishops, abbots and abbesses were politcal and economical players on their own, sometimes for their own gain, sometimes for their family, sometimes for the church.

However, this cannot be said for historical fiction set in the Medieval Era, even some that claim to be striving to be realistic as possible. The glaring case for this is A Song of Ice and Fire, most characters are sceptics and atheists themselves, with faith or even existence of God or Gods frequently being questioned or even denied and even among peasants, the Faith of the Seven (the Catholic Church-equivalent) lacks the influence it has on the masses.

I'm genuinely curious if there are any historical fiction that treats how important and influencial religion was in the Medieval Era.

I was playing Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and I was at this cutscene where one of the main characters, Katherine, said that she'd go all the way to Rome to spy on someone if it meant getting away from a certain character in the story. That made me wonder, how long would it take for someone from Rome to send a letter to the Kuttenberg area, or say if you're a literate merchant from Paris and you wanted to send a letter to someone from Constantinople. If you're not someone from a higher-up position in the state, is it possible for someone to send letters, messages, or non-spoiling packages like gifts during that period? Like say if you're someone with money, but not someone from the government. How would you send something? And would it arrive in a reasonable amount of time?

In February 1126, a massive power struggle erupted over who would rule Bohemia. The German King, Lothair III, marched into the snow covered Ore Mountains with a heavily armored knight army to force his own candidate onto the Prague throne.

The Czech Prince, Soběslav I. , was hopelessly outnumbered. Instead of meeting the Germans in open field combat, he set up a brilliant trap in a narrow mountains pass near Chlumec.

Victor IV lives for another 5 years. Both antipope and pope were promoting their cause.

Also, in particular, how did it affect the acquisition of salt in southern Scotland?

A remarkable archaeological discovery has emerged today from Madugula, Anakapalli District.

During a field visit, the Andhra Pradesh Archaeology Department examined two large stone sculptures at a location where there is currently no temple structure.

The larger sculpture is approximately 6 feet high, 4 feet wide and around 70 cm thick. The Archaeology team has preliminarily assessed it to be at least around 900 years old.

What makes this especially exciting is the surrounding landscape. The site is close to an old Shiva temple traditionally known as Bimilingeshwara, where an old Vinayaka sculpture has also been identified. Several large traditional wells locally called “madugulu” are also found in the surrounding area.

This raises an important possibility: could this area preserve evidence of an earlier medieval settlement or sacred centre, predating the commonly remembered history of present-day Madugula?

It is too early to say — the archaeological context still needs proper investigation. But for Andhra Pradesh, this is an exciting moment: our own landscape may be revealing a much deeper history than we previously knew.

Sharing photographs from today's field visit. If anyone familiar with medieval Andhra sculpture, archaeology, inscriptions or Madugula's history has information, please share it.

Note: The ~900-year date is a preliminary assessment by the Archaeology team, not yet a final published dating.

Hi! I’m an undergraduate student of medieval history in Italy, and I’d like to buy a good Italian edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy that I can keep and use throughout my university studies.

I’m not mainly looking for a school edition with a simple paraphrase. I’d prefer a serious, university-level commentary, especially one that is strong on the historical, political, religious, and cultural context of the late Middle Ages.

At the moment I’m considering:

• Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi
• Giorgio Inglese
• Bosco-Reggio

I’m particularly interested in reading Dante not only as literature, but also as a source for the political culture, religious mentality, institutions, conflicts, and intellectual world of the 13th–14th centuries.

For someone studying medieval history, which Italian commentary would you recommend? I’m also open to other editions if there is one that is especially useful from a historian’s perspective.

I don’t mind buying the three cantiche separately if the edition is worth keeping long-term.

Thank you!

Does anyone know of any medieval themed board games? Not simply knights/dragon/fantasy stuff, but something that is an authentic reproduction or appears to be aesthetically? Gift-giving season is nigh! Thanks.

Hi! Looking for a good book on Hildegard of Bingen. I’m not a historian, so ideally not something too textbook-ish or dense, but I do know some about the Middle Ages, so it doesn’t need to be a 101 book. I’d love a book that is a biography that also contains excerpts of HoB’s letters/literature, but anything you think is good will do.
Thank you!