Browse Items (167 total)

This piece, made from steel, brass, textile and leather, is traditionally what a knight’s horse wore during the joust.  It was important for the horse to be protected. Horses were expensive, for one; in the film A Knight’s Tale (2001), in the joust,…

This illumination is an artist’s interpretation of the accompanying text of Hildegard’s third vision, which concerned the form of God and the Cosmos. The cosmos are depicted as one womb or seed-like entity, with the Earth and the Moon at the center.…

After delivering a verdict on this case, Jean de Coras considered it so peculiar that he published his own account of the proceedings and description of the parties in his book Arrest Memorable. The judges had a tough time deliberating a case of…

This manuscript image relates to The Sword in the Stone because it showcases a joust. Preparing for the joust is what Sir Kay and Arthur are working on at the beginning of the tournament. There is a scene in the movie where Sir Kay is preparing for…

This manuscript image depicts Arthur’s coronation, a scene which occurs at the end of The Sword in the Stone. This image shows the barons crowning Arthur and Merlin is nowhere in sight, whereas in The Sword in the Stone Merlin is the one that crowns…

This excerpt comes from chapter IV of book I of Le Morte D’Arthur written by Thomas Malory in 1485. Malory drew from previous Arthurian romances as a way to link the various legends of King Arthur together. The work spans from the circumstances of…

This image depicts the moments right before the execution of the Archbishop Thomas Becket. Becket is pictured praying, with his executioners standing over him. Becket is painted with a halo over his head, displaying his saintliness. The image also…

Cassius Dio (155-235 AD) is probably the most important source on the reign of Commodus (r. 177-192 AD). Dio was himself an eyewitness to much of what he recorded, as he was a Senator during the time Commodus was Emperor. Several plot points from the…

In this excerpt, it can be seen how descendants of different families came together to plot against Muhammad, deciding on a despicable plan to murder him in his sleep. This plan shows the type of society in which Muhammad was trying to spread his…

The filmmakers behind The Little Hours (2017) drew inspiration from The Decameronby Giovanni Boccaccio; specifically, stories one and two told on the third day. The Decameron was written in the mid-fourteenth century and focuses on a group of ten…