In an article for the New York Times Magazine, Dashka Slater asks the question: "Is jousting the next extreme sport?" The "violent sport" is attracting attention at jousting competitions around the world such as the Gulf Coast International Jousting Championships near Pensacola, Florida.

That traditional jar of pickles on the list table is not just a superstition or a tasty snack. It turns out that, as athletes have long believed, pickle juice is effective at relieving exercise-induced muscle cramps.

At Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, visitors can see the results of a new excavation in a remote corner of southeastern Georgia.

For 400 years, the people of Oberammergau have staged the Passion Play once a decade as a thanksgiving for being spared from the Black plague. Now, a new kind of plague is testing the faith of performers and audiences .

“Uneasy Communion: Jews, Christians and the Altarpieces of Medieval Spain”  opened recently at the Museum of Biblical Art near New York's Lincoln Center. The exhibition takes a historical approach to Jewish contributions to Christian art in the two centuries before they were expelled from Spain by Queen Isabella in 1492.

New Yorkers and visitors to the city will have an unusual opportunity to see the Magna Carta throughout May at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan.

In October of 2009, Robin Hood fans and foes gathered for the International Association for Robin Hood Studies, a three-day conference at the University of Rochester in New York. The conference "featured a series of events that highlighted Robin Hood’s status as a creature of the media."

The concept of a museum to view art and antiquities was unknown until 16th century Venice when wealthy families designed buildings to showcase Roman statuary. Now the Palazzo Grimani, one of the pioneering museums of the city, has restored and reopened to the public.

Historians have long debated the motives and actions of the medieval crusaders who took the Holy Land by force in the 11th century. New York Times reviewer Eric Ormsby has a review.

At Tell Zeidan in Syria, a few hours' drive from Aleppo, archaeologists believe they will find rich discoveries about the culture that flourished there before the first cities appeared further south. 

A New York Times article by Matthew Fishbane tells the story of the author's trip to Kaifeng in search of remnants of of one China's medieval Jewish communities.

The Lady in the Tower, a new book by Tudor scholar Alison Weir, looks at the last four months in the life of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. Janet Maslin of the New York Times has the review.

Fighting heroically, while looking good and living well, seems to be the theme of an exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868 runs through January 10 , 2009. (photos)

The Battle of Agincourt took place on St. Crispin’s Day, October 25, 1415, and the details of the victory of the English over the French has been debated since that time. In a recent article for the New York Times, James Glanz looks at the controversy which continues to this day.

Scientist Maurizio Seracini believes there is s lost Da Vinci painting hidden inside a wall in Florence’s city hall, and he wants to use high tech techniques to find it. The Battle of Anghiari, the largest painting Leonardo ever undertook, was never completed, but was studied "as an unprecedented study of anatomy and motion."

English historian Catherine Brown, whose documentary Made in Scotland aired recently on British television, claims that haggis "was originally an English dish."

Travelers to Germany who want a special experience might want to consider staying in one of the 50 castles and stately homes serving as hotels. Deborah Kolben of the New York Times looks at the experience of living the life of German nobility. (slideshow)

Negotiations between the Spanish government and Jewish leaders concluded recently with the reburial of more than 100 medieval Jews whose final resting places were disturbed during construction of a school in Toledo, Spain.

Pennsic attendees may want to take a side trip to Washington D.C. to view an exhibit of Spanish art and ceremonial armor. The Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits From Imperial Spain will be on display at the National Gallery of Art through November 1, 2009. (photos)

How did the modern currency system develop? Ann Althouse of the University of Wisconsin Law School and Douglas Rushkoff, author of Life Inc., discuss the medieval origins of money in a short video from The New York Times.

On May 20, 1609, the first collection of Shakespeare's sonnets was published in London. On his book blog Paper Cuts, New York Times reviewer William S. Niederkorn looks at the impact of some of the world's most famous poetry.

A EU3.3 million wooden crucifix, bought recently at auction by the Italian government, may or may not have been created by Michelangelo. The newly-purchased piece made its debut in December at the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, and was visited by the Pope.

Were two of the sculptures in Andrea del Verrocchio's silver altar panel Beheading of the Baptist actually created by the artist's student assistant Leonardo da Vinci? Gary M. Radke, a professor of the humanities at Syracuse University, thinks so. The work will be on exhibit at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA.

Visitors to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will be treated to a small exhibit of ceramic jars, lacquer boxes, and scroll paintings from 15th - 17th century Korea when they encounter Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600. (photos)

A new production of Shakespeare's Henry V at the New Victory Theater, the family-friendly theater in New York City, co-produced by the Acting Company and the Guthrie Theater, offers fast-paced staging aimed at the theater's young audience. Charles Isherwood of the New York Times has a review.

Bart Simpson would have a field day if he visited England with some of its "unfortunate" place names such as Pratts Bottom, a village in Kent, or Crapstone in Devon. Hazel Thompson of the New York Times looks at some historic names which might bring a snicker.

Many of China's historic buildings have been torn down, and others are scheduled for demolition, in an effort to provide room for a growing economy. Some citizens, like hospice administrator Li Songtang, are trying to save what little is left.

The New York Times reports that the Morgan Library and Museum in New York plans to create a digital copy of one of its Gutenberg Bibles and post it on the library's website.

On the blog Proof for the New York Times, Iain Gately ponders the history of hangovers and the euphemisms used to deal with them.

Travelers to London looking for a day trip may want to consider Salisbury in Wiltshire, a medieval city complete with impressive cathedral, museums and historic houses, and restaurants and pubs. Jennifer Conlin of the New York Times has a travel review.