Going Medieval

A collection of rants about medieval history, pop culture, and the points at which they intersect.

[goingmedieval]

On No Nut November

My loves, I am very sorry, but we have to talk about No Nut November. Why, you may ask, would I say something like that to you? And you would be right to do so. Why would I ask you to contemplate a…

[goingmedieval]

On cuckolding – a thing

The world around us has become so persistently unhinged that it’s sometimes hard to focus on just one terrible/weird thing at a time at this point. There’s a sexual assaulting game show host as pr…

[goingmedieval]

Considering bad motherfuckers: Hildegard of Bingen and Janelle Monáe

I, like all the best people, have spent the last month or so being absolutely amazed that there was a time before Janelle Monáe’s ‘Dirty Computer’ existed, and that apparently there was music befor…

[goingmedieval]

On Incels and Courtly Love

Because the world is a garbage place, unfortunately this week suddenly a few more people are aware of what Incels are, and that said Incels are capable of killing people because they are simultaneo…

[goingmedieval]

On sex work and the concept of ‘rescue’

My lovely lambs, if you are not on Twitter, I mean first of all congrats for not getting involved in that hellsite? Second of all, however, you may have been missing out on SWARM (the twitter of th…

[goingmedieval]

On Mike Pence, Holocaust Memorial Day, and Christian interpretations of Jewish utility

If, like me, your primary form of entertainment is reading the news, becoming angry, yelling, and then drinking to try to forget about what you just read, you may be aware of the stupid offensive b…

[goingmedieval]

On Courtly Love, Sexual Coercion, and Killing Your Idols

Presumably, there will come a time when we will no longer need think pieces on how courtly love as a construct has poisoned romantic and sexual interactions – especially straight ones. Unfortunatel…

[goingmedieval]

On Jerusalem and the Apocalypse, or, why you should be deeply unsettled right now

Ever since Constantine the Great converted to Christianity, it has not been possible to simultaneously be both a Westerner and view Jerusalem as simply a city. Part of this, obviously, has to do wi…

[goingmedieval]

My loves, we are now, as ever, surrounded by basics and their whack-ass understanding of medieval history. As a Lady Historian™ I am often subjected to tirades from Nice Guys lamenting how I, a lad…

[goingmedieval]

On the Ideal Form of Women

Because I have watched the Lemon video roughly three trillion times in the past week, I have also been doing a lot of thinking about how society defines what the ideal form for women is. Obviously,…

[goingmedieval]

So because it is 2017, we are currently living through a cruel time in which people are attempting to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This, in and of itself is problematic as he…

[goingmedieval]

Today, I was asked what I thought about a blog post written by a self-professed non-historian about the medieval period this morning. Friends – I thought it was garbage. Here is a link to the wrong…

[goingmedieval]

Look up – this church is judging you

So, I went to Rouen last week in order to be the Biggest Geek in the World ™. I have returned with a video showing you how to catch churches judging the fuck out of you for being sinful. In p…

[goingmedieval]

Please consider – if you believe that Alexander the Great was, in fact, Great, but think that Genghis Khan was not one of the greatest men who ever lived, you are uncritically accepting racist – and discredited and outmoded – historical narratives. 

 Assigned reading:  Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (Three Rivers Press, 2005)  Jon Man, Genghis Khan, His Heirs, and the Making of Modern China (Corgi, 2015)  Frank McLynn, Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World (The Bodly Head Ltd, 2015) Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Quest for God: How the World’s Greatest Conqueror Gave Us Religious Freedom (Viking: 2016) Or maybe just take Hark A Vagrant’s and my word for it:

[goingmedieval]

Yo everyone - on this day in 1227 Genghis Motherfucking Khan died. I am still upset about it. Remind yourselves about how amazing he was.

[goingmedieval]

History is a Discipline, Not a Virtue

There has been much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth over the past few days on the part of white supremacists who suddenly have a heart-felt attachment to the ‘history’ of Confederate…

[goingmedieval]

I’m super delighted to have written a piece for Bish (insert fan-girling here) on the History of Penis in Vagina Sex as Default Sex. Come for an explanation of why the Church are total haters…

[goingmedieval]

On the Concept of the Renaissance and Outkast’s Hey Ya

Being a medieval historian means quite a few things. Among other things, it means you get irrationally irked by the popular usage of medieval as a pejorative, make literally no money at all ever (…