Medieval Times Story Briefs

When knights and castles served kings and queens, a feudal system employed peasants and vassals. Uneducated people used art to learn stories they could not read for themselves. This collection is about life in the Middle Ages.

Around September of 1452, using his invention that changed the world, Gutenberg first released a publication from his movable-type printing press.

Johannes Gutenberg invented one of "the machines that made us."

In this image we see a castle in the town of Gyula, Hungary.  It is named after Gyula III, a Hungarian ruler.Gyula is located in the Great Hungar...

We know how Henry VIII and many of his contemporaries appeared thanks to the work of a prolific German artist known as Hans Holbein the Younger. Who w...

In this scene from Kenneth Branagh's version of Henry V, released in 1989, we see the English king and his men assessing both French and English losse...

To celebrate the birth of his son with Queen Catharine, Henry VIII holds a jousting tournament at Westminster on February 12, 1511.

In 1520, Henry VIII had two living children - Mary (his daughter with Catherine of Aragon) and Henry FitzRoy (his illegitimate son with Bessie Blount)...

During medieval times, a guilty verdict in a criminal trial could result in punishment so horrifying that today we can hardly comprehend the depths of...

This image depicts a page from the Illuminated Chronicle, also known as Manuscript (Cod. Lat. 404).  A national treasure for the country of Hunga...

What is an "indulgence," that slip of paper which played a role in the Reformation started by Martin Luther? Have a look and learn some background.

This image depicts a page from the trial of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc).

Johann Tetzel was a German Dominican friar who told people that if they bought indulgences, their sins would be forgiven.

Show tooltips