News & Events
February 25, 2026
5:15pm (ET)
MIT
Cambridge, MA
“Inside of Angelbert was Two Wolves, Both Feasting on Medieval Empire: Fontenoy, 841 CE”
At the end of the 8th century, the Franks under their new Carolingian kings built an empire that spanned Europe and inspired the respect of both emperor(s) in Byzantium and caliphs in Baghdad. But by the middle of the next century, the empire was in tatters. In June 841, a field outside Auxerre (in modern France) lay drenched in blood, as old friends killed one another, as brother fought brother. This talk will focus on the fateful battle of Fontenoy in June 841 and particularly the account of 1 participant – a warrior named Angelbert and the poem he wrote about the battle, detailing how an empire that seemed so secure, so tightly bound in its political and cultural consensus, could be destroyed so quickly by greed and vengeance over a disputed succession to power.
April 10, 2026
Time TBA
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
“Roland Between a Medieval Scribe and a Modern King: Medieval Holy Warrior to Modern Gunslinger”
Keynote at the 21st Annual MARCO Symposium
There are many Rolands, but perhaps the most famous stand in almost direct opposition to one another. There is the Roland of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series – a lone gunslinger out for personal revenge, populating a quasi-sci-fi Western that echoes the legend of King Arthur. Then, perhaps less well-known, but a glimmer at the edge of the (at least American) consciousness is the Roland of medieval epic – a doomed hero, betrayed by his stepfather, but one who selflessly sacrifices himself to save the great king and emperor Charlemagne and the rest of the Frankish people. This keynote will explore that distances, both great and small, between these two specific Rolands. Why do they both dwell in a porous medieval world that doesn’t seem to want to stay put in the past, and ultimately how do they embody or trouble our understandings of violence and heroism?
Teaching Medieval Europe in K-12 Classrooms
(Against the “Dark Ages”)
This is a webinar for the National Humanities Center on how to teach different, better versions of the history of medieval Europe for K-12 teachers. It’s now on YouTube. Hope you enjoy!