Articles written by Paula Stiles

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, let's look at medieval Africa and its allegedly obscure history before European colonialism.

Jan 15, 2007 - Paula Stiles

Christmas Day in a Templar convent was anything but quiet.

Dec 25, 2006 - Paula Stiles

On this darkest night of the year, let's discuss where Christmas originated.

Dec 22, 2006 - Paula Stiles

You'd be surprised what they were singing at Christmas in the Middle Ages.

Dec 16, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Not all "medieval" Christmas carols are medieval in origin.

Dec 16, 2006 - Paula Stiles

What is a saint in monotheistic medieval tradition? It's not just about being a good person.

Dec 8, 2006 - Paula Stiles

December has many traditions going back to medieval and even ancient times.

Dec 2, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole star in this epic treatment of the medieval English martyr, Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Nov 14, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Since the early Middle Ages, Halloween has been part of a trio of major Church feasts. But what are these feasts and what do they commemorate?

Nov 7, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Disney's animation classic, "Fantasia", has put on film one of the most terrifyingly imagined witches' sabbats ever.

Nov 6, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Medieval witches were more unusual than many may think. But once the witchcrazes took hold, they swept through Europe with a vengeance.

Oct 28, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The Witchfinder General is a classic of the "medieval" witchcrazes that shows why the witchcrazes weren't so medieval.

Oct 24, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The arrest and trial of the Templars destroyed the first military religious order. But they lived on in legends of divine retribution.

Oct 13, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Medievalesque commercials tend to repeat the same narrow set of themes and images of the Middle Ages.

Sep 27, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Much ado has been made about Pope Benedict XVI's quoting of late 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus. But who was Manuel II?

Sep 25, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Since Benedict XVI quoted him in a speech on September 12, 2006, Manuel II's words have been closely examined. But what about the motivations behind them?

Sep 25, 2006 - Paula Stiles

A Knight's Tale is a boisterous film, but anachronistic perhaps more than intended.

Sep 19, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Sibylla has come down to us more as a silly and fickle woman than as a reigning queen. But was she as silly as all that?

Sep 15, 2006 - Paula Stiles

In The Return of Martin Guerre, Gerard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye explore the life of a peasant impostor in 16th-century France.

Sep 10, 2006 - Paula Stiles

One of the most contested rulers of England, Matilda won her throne in the end--in a fashion.

Sep 8, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren attempt to humanize 10th century Spanish mercenary Rodrigo Diaz in the 1961 epic "El Cid".

Sep 3, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Urraca of Castille and Léon was an unexpected queen of the 12th century and one of the most successful Spanish medieval rulers.

Aug 31, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the most famous women of the Middle Ages. Intelligent and colorful, she was Queen of both France and England and ruler of her own domain.

Aug 24, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Cyril of Alexandria is one of those embarrassing saints that the Church tries to squirrel away into a corner once their utility has finished.

Aug 17, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Antonio Banderas battles cavemen in medieval Russia. And other Hollywood silliness.

Aug 13, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Theories abound for the lack of European documentary evidence for the Supernova of 1054. But are any of them true?

Aug 11, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Got a question about the Middle Ages? Want to know the difference between feudalism and infidels? Ask here.

Aug 5, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The idea of the Middle Ages as a Dark Age is popular today. But it all began somewhere, with a 14th century Italian poet named Petrarch.

Aug 3, 2006 - Paula Stiles

In this version of Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder put a medieval spin on a 19th century ghost story.

Jul 30, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Wallachian Prince Vlad III Dracul (the Dragon) had such a fearsome reputation that in later legends, he became a vampire.

Jul 27, 2006 - Paula Stiles

This week, we look at Kenneth Branagh's antiwar masterpiece, Henry V, made from one of Shakespeare's most jingoistic and humorless plays.

Jul 23, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr was the last major threat to English political power in medieval Wales.

Jul 20, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The Egyptian film "Saladin" is about one of Medieval History's greatest military leaders and the Crusaders' greatest Muslim enemy.

Jul 16, 2006 - Paula Stiles

This week's outlaws, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, come from late 13th and early 14th century Scotland.

Jul 6, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Many people remember how Rome fell in 476 C.E. But fewer know that the Roman Empire survived until 1453 as the Byzantine Empire.

Jun 29, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula in 711 seemed complete by 718. But some of their Christian neighbors had other ideas.

Jun 22, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Welcome to the first installment of Medieval History's Sunday Afternoon at the Movies. Today, it's French action flick Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse.

Jun 18, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The Reconquest of Spain (711-1492) was the first major conflict between Islam and Christianity where Christianity eventually won.

Jun 15, 2006 - Paula Stiles

Columbus wasn't the first European to reach the New World or explore it. The Vikings beat him to it.

Jun 8, 2006 - Paula Stiles

From Rome to London, people believed that the Apocalypse had come. It was 1348 and Europe was being devastated by the worst plague in known history: the Black Death.

Jun 1, 2006 - Paula Stiles

The Templars were famous long before Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" cast them as goddess-worshipping protectors of the secret of the Grail. But who were they?

May 25, 2006 - Paula Stiles