A rare document bearing the signature of Richard III before he was king was auctioned recently, bringing nearly UK£35,000. The document signed "R. Gloucestre" was written when the duke was in his twenties and involves a "land dispute between Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, and some of his tenants."

The discovery of the remains of King Richard III of England has led to the discussion of the king's scoliosis, "a lateral or side-to-side curvature of the spine," easily seen in the skeleton, and the techniques that would have been available to "cure" it.

Now that Richard III's body has been identified, experts are probing his mind. In a paper presented March 2, 2013 at the University of Leicester, Professor Mark Lansdale and forensic psychologist Dr Julian Boon offered an analysis of Richard III's character.

History has recorded that the ransom of kings and nobles was a popular way for armies to raise money during the Middle Ages, but new research shows that the practice may have also been popular among common soldiers.

Experts have long speculated that a Norse Solarsteinn, or sunstone, was used to help Viking mariners find their way west through cloudy weather, and the discovery of such an artifact on a sunken, 16th century English warship may prove it.

Most people believe that identify theft is a modern concept, but the Renaissance also had its share of frauds and pretenders. In a new book Renaissance Impostors and Proofs of Identity, author Miriam Eliav-Feldon of Tel Aviv University's Department of History looks at men and women of the time who played loosely with the rules of identity.

In the Middle Ages, the period after Christmas was a time for looking ahead to the new year. Practices included superstitions and methods to predict weather for the coming year. The clergy accepted some of the age-old rituals, but were loathe to allow others. A recent article for Phys.org looks at Christmas Day fortune telling.

One of the theories about the demise of Viking settlers on Greenland was that the Norse were unable to adapt to the island's harsh climate, but Danish and Canadian researchers believe that was not the cause.

Archaeologists, historians and royalists are waiting with bated breath for the determination of the identity of a skeleton found in Leicester, England. The skeleton is believed to be that of King Richard III, but they may have a long wait for the test results.

Like Anglo Saxon poetry? The University of Exeter will soon have an app for that! An article for Phys.org writes, "The University of Exeter's Modern Languages department is working in collaboration with Antenna International to create the App which will reveal the secrets of medieval literature to a new audience."

For over 400 years, rumours have surrounded the death of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, including one which suggested that Brahe was murdered using mercury by his assistant Johannes Kepler. Now, after two years, evidence from the scientist's exhumed body disproves the theory.

Dr Tarrin Wills, from the Centre for Scandinavian Studies, believes that Vikings used their understanding of human psychology to "profile" possible trouble-makers. He recently presented his research at the British Science Festival.

Economic historians at Queen Mary, University of London have discovered Italian banking records dating to the early 15th century half covered by English coats of arms in a book of British heraldry.

A team of experts from the University of London, Royal Holloway, and the British Library and Reading University has discovered documents to prove that 16th century Italian Academies created networks to share information.

"This is the first hoard of gold coins that we have in Israel that we can date to the Crusader period," said Oren Tal, director of the excavation of the 13th century Crusader castle of Arsur, where a hoard of 108 gold coins was recently discovered.

In 1904, archaeologists discovered a Viking grave, containing wooden artifacts including a richly decorated ceremonial wagon, at Oseberg near the Oslo fjords. Since then, the wood fibers have begun to disintegrate, causing worry among officials at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, who have decided to use state-of-the art technology to save the artifacts.

Experts from the Stonehenge Riverside Project have concluded that "Stonehenge was built as a monument to unify the peoples of Britain, after a long period of conflict and regional difference between eastern and western Britain."

A US$3.17 million , four-year project, funded by the Polonsky Foundation, will make available for the first time materials from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford.

For over 1,000 years, a farmland estate in the northeastern Sicilian village of Torrenova was in constant use, according to archaeologists from the University of Vienna. The land is believed to have hosted a Roman villa in late antiquity and a monastery throughout the Middle Ages. (photo)

Israeli and Korean scientists have teamed up to study the remains of a Korean child, dating to the 16th century Joseon Dynasty, which show evidence of the hepatitis B virus. The results led to the map of the entire ancient hepatitis B viral genome.

A pair of professors from Oxford University believe they have confirmed William Shakespeare's collaborator, at least for the comedy All's Well that Ends Well. They believe it is Thomas Middleton, who worked with the Bard on Timon of Athens.

Most medieval societies faced with plague or natural disasters relied on flexibility to save their cultures, but new research shows that the "people of medieval Iceland survived disaster by sticking with traditional practices."

Many articles have been written about excesses in eating during Tudor and Elizabethan times. An article posted recently on phys.org entitled Take thirty Eggs, fifteen whites, beat them well? looks at some excessive egg recipes from the 17th century.

Modern scientists hope to study global weather patterns with the help of ancient scholars. Using writings from 9th and 10th century Iraq, a team of scientists from the Universidad de Extremadura hope to learn about climate change by comparing ancient and modern data.

The world seems to be changing very quickly with climate change, economic turmoil and culture wars taking place around the globe. Scientists studying global change believe much can be learned from the Vikings and how they adapted to their turbulent world.

The magic of Valentine's Day was felt recently at the Bodleian Library In Oxford, England with an exhibition celebrating "the stories of medieval romance and how they have influenced culture, literature and art over the last thousand years."

Dr. Jonathan Hope believes that the key to William Shakespeare's success was not the words that he used, but the way in which he used them. In a chapter in his new book on the English language, Hope finds that the Bard's grammar and word ordering are what set him apart from other writers.

Milan, Italy is one of Western Europe's most polluted city, and art historians fear for the survival of Leonard daVinci's Last Supper located on a wall of the refectory of Santa Maria Delle Grazie Church.

As the Christmas season draws near, the colors red and green can be found everywhere, but who decided that these two colors should be associated with Christmas? Cambridge research scientist Dr Spike Bucklow believes he knows.

15 years ago, George Greenia discovered a 13th century medieval Spanish document, missing for centuries, in the archives at the University of Virginia’s Alderman Library. Now the contents and story of discovery of the document have been disclosed.