A few weeks ago I was delivering a lecture on the Mongols, and noted how Chinggis Khan ruled over the "largest land empire in history," a phrase that gets bandied about all over the internet. I asked students to reflect on this: why do we care if an
Welcome back to my monthly installment of new releases in medieval studies. Medieval is being used very expansively here, so expect some books dealing with Late Rome or the Renaissance if they look particularly interesting. Now, I don't have the time or resources to read all of these
When we think about the past, or people, we are often told to desire ideological coherence or internal unity of thought. Rarely, however, is that actually possible. One need only look at the median American voter to realize that our ideas are not part of some grander ideological scheme. Claims
Welcome back to my monthly installment of new releases in medieval studies. Medieval is being used very expansively here, so expect some books dealing with Late Rome or the Renaissance if they look particularly interesting. Now, I don't have the time or resources to read all of these
Spend enough time on the internet and it's likely you've come across the sentiment that "history that makes you comfortable isn't history but propaganda." Sometimes it is expressed more bluntly as "history should make you uncomfortable." I've always
I am back in the US after attending the annual International Medieval Congress held at the University of Leeds. For many medievalists this is a high point of the year, because it is massive (around 2,500 attendees this year) which provides ample opportunity to chat with other scholars, attend
Welcome back to my monthly installment of new releases in medieval studies. Medieval is being used very expansively here, so expect some books dealing with Late Rome or the Renaissance if they look particularly interesting. Now, I don't have the time or resources to read all of these
While sitting through my PhD defense one of my examiners set a question to me: "is your dissertation a work of revisionist history?" I hadn't really thought about it before, partially because of the negative connotations associated with "revisionism." As I began answering the
My dissertation spent a whole lot of time on Arnulf and how he fit into the broader constellation of Carolingian politics and tradition, but I had relatively little time to spend on things from the perspective of the local and regional elite. This was partially a function of time and
Welcome back to my monthly installment of new releases in medieval studies. Medieval is being used very expansively here, so expect some books dealing with Late Rome or the Renaissance if they look particularly interesting. Now, I don't have the time or resources to read all of these
This post was prompted by a brief interaction I saw on Bluesky a while back, where someone proudly shared they were starting an ancient history podcast geared towards sharing their expertise in a more public way. Someone jumped in to bemoan how the title of the podcast and the topics
Recently my first article was accepted for publication in the journal Early Medieval Europe. If you have been reading Among the Ruins for a while it will be wholly unsurprising that my first article would be about two things: Arnulf of Carinthia and charters. Originally this material started its life