Medieval History

Produced for the purpose of facilitating the learning of Greek, Johannes Crastonus’s Greek and Latin edition of the Psalms was printed in Milan in 1481. This article is a first investigation into Crastonus’s methods. On the basis of Psalm 1 and some additional examples, it explores how he employed the layout and changed the Latin text in order to achieve his goal. Furthermore, this article argues that the combination of works produced by Crastonus and his publisher Bonus Accursius were designed to provide a complete corpus for self-instruction in Greek.

""Recent scholarship has started to address underexplored questions concerning the regulative and organisational structures of religious orders in the Middle Ages. Volumes have been dedicated, for instance, to the orders’ economic thought and organisation as well as questions of obedience. While a great amount of research has been dedicated to the Franciscans, the Cistercians and the Cluniacs, the Order of Preachers has been sidelined, despite the wealth of material that is available.

This conference will focus exclusively on the Order of Preachers and seeks to examine attempts to introduce order in any area of Dominican life by means of rules and regulations. Among the questions this conference aims to explore are: What circumstances led to the introduction of new legislation and how was it enforced? Which (possibly unexpected) results, in turn, did new legislation bring about? What intellectual discussions preceded or followed from these processes? Papers might also examine definitions of obedience, individual cases of disobedience and consequences of breaking the rules.

This conference is interdisciplinary and open to scholars working in any field of medieval studies. Possible sources include legislative texts issued by the Order of Preachers, to intellectual debates within and outside the Order as well as regulations introduced by other institutions or secular and ecclesiastical rulers aimed specifically at the Dominicans.
The proceedings of the conference will be published.


The conference will be held at the German Historical Institute London on 6 to 8 March 2014.  Standard travel costs and accommodation for the duration of the conference will be covered.
Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words and a CV by Saturday, 31 August 2013.
All enquiries and proposals should be sent to Cornelia Linde: linde@ghil.ac.uk "


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This article examines the goals, methodology and sources of the twelfth-century Hebraist Nicolaus Maniacoria’s Suffraganeus bibliothece. A summary of his statements concerning the aims and purpose of his work is followed by an examination of his main Latin sources as well as his methods for explaining difficult words and passages in the Bible. The next section offers some observations on his knowledge of Hebrew and his use of Jewish exegesis. By means of textual evidence, it is shown that Maniacoria not only tried to learn Hebrew, but that he was in all likelihood in direct contact with Abraham ibn Ezra. Maniacoria’s exegetical focus on the literal sense is traced back to the influence of Hugh of St Victor and Abraham ibn Ezra.

The German Historical Institutes in London and Washington, D.C., are pleased to announce the ninth Medieval History Seminar, to be held in Washington, D.C., from October 15 to 17, 2015. The seminar is designed to bring together Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D. recipients (2013-2014) in medieval history from American, British and German universities for three days of scholarly discussion and collaboration.
The Medieval History Seminar welcomes proposals from all areas of medieval history. Participation is not limited to historians working on German history or German-speaking regions of Europe. Nor is a particular epoch or methodological approach preferred. Applications from neighbouring disciplines are welcome if the projects have a distinct historical focus.

The seminar is bi-lingual, and papers and discussions will be conducted both in German and English. Participants must have a good reading and aural comprehension of both languages. Successful applicants must be prepared to submit a paper of approximately 5000 words by September 1, 2015. They also are expected to act as commentator for other papers presented in the seminar.

The GHI will cover the travel and lodging expenses of the participants.
Applications should include:
- CV
- description of proposed paper (4-5 pages, double-spaced)
- one letter of recommendation

Deadline for submissions is 31 January 2015.

For more details, see pdf file.

Call for papers: Workshop on Medieval Germany, German Historical Institute, 17 Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2NJ, Friday 5 May 2017

Organised by the German Historical Institute London in co-operation with the German Historical Institute Washington and the German History Society, to be held at the GHIL

A one-day workshop on Medieval Germany will be held at the German Historical Institute, Bloomsbury Square, London, on Friday 5 May 2017. It will provide an opportunity for researchers in the field from the UK, continental Europe, and the USA to meet in a relaxed and friendly setting and to learn more about each other’s work. Proposals for short papers are invited from researchers at all career stages with an interest in any aspect of the history of medieval Germany (generously defined). Papers should be 10-15 minutes in length, and will be followed by discussion.

Contributors are encouraged to concentrate upon introducing current work in progress, focusing on research questions, approaches, and still-unresolved problems.  Attendance is also warmly invited from anyone with an interest in medieval German history wishing to hear the papers and participate in the discussion. Further details of times and programme will be posted in due course. 

The workshop is sponsored by the German History Society and the German Historical Institute London in cooperation with the GHI Washington. Participation is free, including lunch. However, participants will have to bear costs for travel and accommodation themselves. 

Doctoral students from North America (USA and Canada) who wish to present at the workshop can apply for two travel funding grants provided by the GHI Washington. Please indicate your interest in this grant in your application.

Support for postgraduate and early career researchers from the United Kingdom and The Republic of Ireland is available on a competitive basis, subject to eligibility requirements. Postgraduate members of the German History Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, and those who have completed a PhD within two years of the deadline for application but who have no other institutional sources of funding may apply for up to £150 for travel and accommodation expenses. Please see the GHS website (http://www.germanhistorysociety.org/postgraduates/) for further information and application deadlines. 

Please send proposals (title and ca. 200-word abstract), by Monday 9 January 2017, to Dr Cornelia Linde at the German Historical Institute: (linde@ghil.ac.uk)

Informal inquiries regarding all aspects of the workshop should be sent to Len Scales (l.e.scales@durham.ac.uk) 

All students and academic researchers interested in medieval German history are very welcome to attend. There is no charge for attendance but due to limited space booking is essential. Please RSVP to Carole Sterckx: sterckx@ghil.ac.uk