Audiences all over the world can't get enough of medieval stories. Novels, graphic novels, video games, movies, tv shows - we love to imagine ourselves back to a time when everything was epic and anything seemed possible. But no matter what medium you're using, one thing is true:

It's hard to create a medieval story that feels authentic when you're not an expert. 

No one wants to be the person who gets a million tweets about the ahistorical petticoats lifted in their romance novel, or the person who drew gargoyles on Notre Dame de Paris in the wrong century. But how are you supposed to find out what's true and what's not? 

You can spend hours on YouTube, searching for a video that shows you what medieval combat looks like, only to find out that the person who created it doesn't know any more than you do about it. You can order books online and spend hours reading them only to find that they don't contain that small detail you needed - what does it actually look like to cut into medieval food?


Introducing The Medieval Masterclass for Creators


This six-week course is specifically designed for those people who are creating medieval stories in both visual and textual media: the people who need reliable, visual, expert content.

With expert classes, visual demonstrations, and reliable resources, The Medieval Masterclass for Creators will give you the launch you need to let your imagination fly.

Get confident and inspired.

You don't have time to get a quick BA in medieval history, so let me save you some of the legwork and give you the visual, 3D content you can't find in a textbook. Here's what you'll get in just six weeks:

  • exclusive, premium content focused on daily life, not kings and dates

  • live and pre-recorded lectures

  • demonstrations by experts

  • a bibliography vetted by experts and tailored to your project

  • a community of fellow creators for support and the exchange of ideas

  • access to Danièle for questions and help with your project

  • images and resources to download

Meet Your Instructor

Danièle Cybulskie

Writer, professor, TEDx speaker, and podcaster, Danièle has been making the Middle Ages fun, entertaining, and accessible for over a decade. She is the author of Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction, The Five-Minute Medievalist, and the forthcoming How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life. Danièle is also the creator and host of The Medieval Podcast, a weekly show on which she interviews experts on the Middle Ages about a wide variety of topics. Her writing, videos, and podcast have been used as resources in elementary schools, secondary schools, and universities across North America. When she’s not reading, writing, or recording, Danièle can be found drinking tea, doing Krav Maga, or sometimes building a backyard trebuchet.

Helen Castor

Historian and Presenter

"Danièle Cybulskie knows the medieval world like the back of her hand, and she’s the perfect guide - warm, witty, and very, very wise."

Dan Jones

Bestselling author of The Templars

"One of the brightest young historians around."

Charles Spencer

Historian, Author, 9th Earl Spencer

"Brilliant, ego-free and utterly charming".

Candace Robb

Author of the Owen Archer series

"With wit and a keen eye for the telling detail, Danièle cuts through cliches about medieval Europe. She knows her stuff!"

Elizabeth Kingston

Author of Desire Lines

"There's no one I'd rather have as my guide to the medieval world! Danièle has the perfect blend of broad knowledge, deep empathy, and endless enthusiasm to bring the era and its people to vivid life."

Featured Experts

Fencing Master

Ken Mondschein

Ken is a highly qualified authority on classical and historical fencing (holding the credential of Maître d'Armes Historique from the United States Fencing Coaches Association) and modern fencing instructor (Prévôt in foil and épée). He has a quarter-century of experience, and has lectured and published widely, as well as taught at institutions such as the Higgins Armory Museum. His aim is, as Burt S. Hall wrote in his review of Ken's translation of Camillo Agrippa's 1553 Trattato di Scienza d'Arme, "demystifying all Renaissance fencing treatises and enhancing their standing as texts." In addition to his academic work, Ken currently teaches privately as the lead instructor of Massachusetts Historical Swordsmanship.

Food Historian

Beth Rogers

Beth Rogers is an instructor and PhD student at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík, Iceland, studying food history and medieval Icelandic culture. With an MA in Medieval Icelandic Studies and an MA.Ed in secondary education, Beth has taught various subjects in Asia, the US and Iceland, including the first MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) for the University of Iceland, called Medieval Icelandic Sagas. She has written more than 30 popular and academic articles on such varied topics as Viking dairy culture, salt in the Viking Age and medieval period, food in the Russian Primary Chronicle and the literary structure of Völsunga saga. She was also a historical consultant for an episode of the BBC Channel 4 show Food Unwrapped featuring Icelandic spirits in 2019. Beth's other research interests include: medieval literature (especially sagas), military history, emotions in literature, Old Norse mythology and folklore, and cultural memory.

Textile Archaeologist

Katrin Kania

Dr. Katrin Kania is a textile archaeologist with a strong crafts focus. Upon seeing a historical textile, she instantly wants to figure out how it was made - and consequently she has researched a number of textile techniques and processes, from spinning to gold embroidery. She wrote her PhD about the cut and construction of medieval garments, has designed and run a spinning experiment, and organises the European Textile Forum, a conference designed to connect crafters and researchers. Katrin is also teaching various textile crafts, does reconstruction work for museums and offers hard to find tools and materials for historical textile techniques in her online shop. Together with Dr. Gillian Polack, she has authored "The Middle Ages Unlocked", and has also written an instruction book about gold embroidery.

Blacksmith

Thomas B. Timbrell

While obtaining his history degree at the University of Leicester, Tom decided that office work was not for him and gave blacksmithing a try (naturally). Both during and since his time studying Blacksmithing and Metalworking at Warwick College, Tom has provided demonstrations at Mary Arden's Farm in Stratford-Upon Avon and across the UK, showing the life and craft of blacksmiths from the Early Iron Age to the Victorian Era. In his private blacksmithing business, Tom continues to make both modern and historical knives, as well as other weapons based on the measurements and style of archaeological finds. He also does artistic work and just about anything else - as long as it's not horseshoes.

Bibliographer

Peter Konieczny

Along with being a co-founder and c​ontributor at​ Medievalists.net, Peter is the ​editor of Medieval​ Warfare​ Magazine, and the web admin at De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History. He has been working to spread knowledge about the Middle Ages online for over 15 years. Peter lives near Toronto, Canada, and enjoys all the books publishers send to him. When he is not reading about medieval history, you can find him trying to keep up with his son in Minecraft.

Curriculum

Week 1: Daily Life in Objects with Danièle Cybulskie (live via Zoom)

Week 2: Medieval Food with Beth Rogers

Week 3: Combat with Ken Mondschein

Week 4: Blacksmithing with Thomas B. Timbrell

Week 5: Medieval Textiles with Katrin Kania

Week 6: Architecture, Landscapes, Soundscapes with Danièle Cybulskie (live via Zoom)

Pricing options

You can choose to pay all at once, or in three separate instalments - whatever is easiest for you.

FAQ

  • How is this different from a normal history course?

    In a regular history course, you're taught about political facts and historical figures. This is very useful! But you can find this information almost anywhere. The Medieval Masterclass for Creators shows you the details that are hard to research: the look and movement of textiles, or the colour and texture of food, for example. You're also given a bibliography vetted by experts and tailored to your project. All of this will save you time and effort in researching your medieval project.

  • How long will I be able to access the content?

    You will be able to access the content for six months following the beginning of the course. This time limit is long enough for you to revisit the information many times, but short enough to help you stop procrastinating and get working on your project - a challenge we all struggle with!

  • Will you be offering this course again?

    Yes. This course will be offered on a regular basis, beginning in January, 2021.

  • What if I can't attend the live classes?

    No problem. There are two classes in this course which will be live in order to build community, but these will both be recorded, so that they can be accessed later. You'll still be able to watch these classes and ask questions later, and you'll still be able to build community with your classmates through our chat platform.

  • I'm an armchair historian, not a creator. Would I still enjoy this class?

    Yes! Although this class is aimed at creators, if you're into the serious minute details of the medieval world, you will still enjoy this class.

  • Where is the banner image from?

    So glad you asked! This image is from British Library Additional 10294 f. 68. It's a picture of Lancelot in combat.