https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/religious-history/RSS feed for Religious HistoryenTue, 20 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-searching-for-evidence-of-a-norse-church-in-greenland-have-found-the-smoking-gu-near-erik-the-reds-settlement-180989716/The site was first identified as a possible church decades ago, but researchers did not confirm that hunch until they found human remains there this summer. It could offer another clue to the Viking's unexplained 15th-century disappearanceTue, 20 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-searching-for-evidence-of-a-norse-church-in-greenland-have-found-the-smoking-gu-near-erik-the-reds-settlement-180989716/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-community-led-archaeology-dig-on-a-tiny-scottish-isle-has-unearthed-a-medieval-monastery-of-international-importance-180989654/The settlement, founded by an early Christian saint in the 500s, is "far more than a small island church." It may have played a larger role in the Christianization of Britain than historians once realizedFri, 09 Oct 2026 14:35:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-community-led-archaeology-dig-on-a-tiny-scottish-isle-has-unearthed-a-medieval-monastery-of-international-importance-180989654/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/henry-viii-relied-on-this-courtier-to-enforce-his-orders-during-the-english-reformation-behind-the-scenes-the-tudor-politician-defied-his-king-by-secretly-saving-a-catholic-text-180989541/A newly discovered fragment suggests that John Gage preserved a 15th-century religious manuscript, keeping it "safe when he was meant to destroy books precisely like this one"Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:08:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/henry-viii-relied-on-this-courtier-to-enforce-his-orders-during-the-english-reformation-behind-the-scenes-the-tudor-politician-defied-his-king-by-secretly-saving-a-catholic-text-180989541/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-ruins-of-a-long-lost-medieval-convent-have-been-discovered-just-a-few-feet-beneath-a-soccer-field-180989506/St. Clare's Convent closed in the 16th century, and researchers assumed all traces of it had been lost. But a new ground-penetrating radar survey revealed surprisingly intact remains of pillars, rooms, cloisters, a courtyard and a churchWed, 16 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-ruins-of-a-long-lost-medieval-convent-have-been-discovered-just-a-few-feet-beneath-a-soccer-field-180989506/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/russia-sends-the-centuries-old-remains-of-a-medieval-warrior-prince-to-its-front-line-in-ukraine-hoping-to-spiritually-strengthen-troops-180989501/A reliquary containing part of the right hand of Dmitry Donskoy, whose crypt was discovered in August, has been dispatched to DonetskTue, 15 Sep 2026 18:41:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/russia-sends-the-centuries-old-remains-of-a-medieval-warrior-prince-to-its-front-line-in-ukraine-hoping-to-spiritually-strengthen-troops-180989501/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/six-ways-that-people-of-the-past-used-magic-to-protect-their-homes-from-witch-bottles-to-mystical-symbols-180989493/Throughout history, humans around the world have employed protective talismans such as special stones, herbs and plants, and decorative demon tilesTue, 15 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/six-ways-that-people-of-the-past-used-magic-to-protect-their-homes-from-witch-bottles-to-mystical-symbols-180989493/