Ecclesiastical indigestion: The filioque controversy
The phrase processio spiritus sancti ex patre filioque, translated from Latin as ‘the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son’, represented a turning point in the history of Christianity.
U.S. National Archives releases videos on Magna Carta project
The National Archives in Washington D.C. has released a short documentary video, ‘The Encasement of Magna Carta.’ The video is part of the ongoing series Inside the Vaults.
Review: The Countess
The Countess is a 2009 film about Elizabeth Báthory. It is the Julie Delpy’s third directorial effort. Julia casts her self in the starring role as Erzsébet Báthory.
Christian Marriage in Byzantium: The Canonical and Liturgical Tradition
All Byzantine Christians were offered a choice between celibate asceticism and married life, but in either case they were called to anticipate in their lives the eschatological Kingdom of God.
Objects of Devotion: The Material Culture of Italian Renaissance Piety, 1400–1600
Why did Renaissance shoppers fill their baskets with rosaries, crucifixes, Christ-dolls and devotional paintings? A new study by historian Dr Mary Laven investigates the significance of Catholic clutter, as she explains.
‘Have This Horse’: The Role of Horses and Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Literature
Sir Thomas Malory takes advantage of the horse, and horsemanship in general, to illustrate the upheavals brought about within his culture, and also within the individual, by violence and warfare.
‘Low’ culture, laymen, and what we can learn from history
Historical evidence shows strong interaction between philosophy and the emancipation of the common man or the rise of popular culture in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages and Early Modernity
Seeking the Supernatural: The Exorcisms of John Darrell and the Formation of an Orthodox Identity in Early Modern England
This thesis examines the questions raised by Darrell‘s exorcisms and the ways in which they were shaped by relations of power. I hope that it will shed new light on the ways in which people formed their religious and ideological identities in this pivotal period in English history.
Sex Differentials in Frailty in Medieval England
The sample used for this study comes from the East Smithfield Black Death cemetery in London. The benefit of using this cemetery is that most, if not all, individuals interred in East Smithfield died from the same cause within a very short period of time.