Farming with Charms in the Middle Ages
By Kathryn Walton When medieval farmers were faced with a particularly difficult problem, they would turn to magic for a solution. Medieval farmers used…
Cannibalism in the Icelandic Sagas: a bad habit or an ancient magical practice?
In Icelandic sagas, giants are described as awkward, evil and uncivilized, and curiously their diet mainly consists of two elements: horse meat and human flesh.
The World of Miracles: Science, and Healing in Caesarius of Heisterbach’s Dialogus miraculorum (ca.1240) in Competition with Magic
This paper offers a close reading of some of the miracle tales dedicated to the Virgin Mary as contained in Caesarius of Heisterbach’s Dialogus miraculorum (ca. 1240)
How to become an EVIL wizard – medieval magic from Picatrix
Could you learn magic and become a powerful and evil wizard? In the Middle Ages you could, if you had a copy of Picatrix.
Magic and the Warding-off of Barbarians in Constantinople, 9th – 12th Centuries
What remains to be seen is how the populace of the middle-Byzantine Constantinople tried to ward off “barbarians” by resorting to the “magical properties” of bewitched statues.
Love Sex Magic in Medieval Europe: The archaeological evidence
Love magic was used for a variety of purposes connected to love, sex and reproduction in the Middle Ages. It was most often used to arouse love or sexual desire, or to impede it by causing hatred or impotence.
Protecting Against Child-Killing Demons: Uterus Amulets in the Late Antique and Byzantine Magical World
This doctoral dissertation examines medicinal-magical amulets pertaining to the uterus and the protection of women and children, the accompanying tradition of magical texts, and the mythology and folktales of demons believed to kill children and parturient women.
5 Magic Spells from Medieval Iceland
Here are five spells from the Galdrabók, which range from helpful to cruel!
Medieval Magical Spells against Theft
You can find dozens of examples of spells and charms from medieval manuscripts to help prevent you from being a victim of theft, or to catch a thief.
How to Become Invisible
Here are two completely different medieval methods you can use to render yourself invisible, so you can choose whichever one works best for you.
New Medieval Books: Hocus pocus
We add a little magic to this week’s list of new books about the Middle Ages.
Magic, Technology and New Categories of Knowledge in the Central Middle Ages
This article proposes to discuss the extent to which medieval sources differentiate between an idea of applied technological knowledge, which could be close to our modern notion of science, and actual magic.
Curse or Blessing: What’s in the Magic Bowl?
I intend to look at magic bowls in order to see how and for what purpose they were used, and to get a glimpse at the way they worked and what hidden treasures can be found within them.
BOOK REVIEW: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau
Joanna Stafford, our intrepid ex-Dominican super sleuth is at it again. This time, she’s hurled straight into the midst of plotting and deception at Henry VIII’s court.
Courtly Magic in the Middle Ages
The possibility of the everyday use of magic by courtiers is emphasized by the employment of magic advisors and, very frequently, astrologists. The medieval court was a place for the elite, and thus the educated sector of society at this time.
Mystery, Secrets and Magic
When I decided to put pen to paper for a Tudor historical fiction story, I had no idea what I wanted to write. The subject has been analyzed and romanticized for five hundred years. What could I do that would be an original slant on this iconic subject matter? After having a look around I noticed that no one appears to have the exact moment of her execution. From there, the story began to slowly develop and present itself to me.
Medieval Black Magic
Sins of evil black magic, as listed by the medieval theologian Burchard of Worms in the 11th century.
Magic in the Cloister
St. Augustine’s Abbey can be viewed as a centre of magical studies in the late Middle Ages because of the large and diverse collection of magic texts present in the library, the number of monks interested in unorthodox studies and the ways in which magic was integrated within the monastic context
Christian Ritual Magic in the Middle Ages
This article gives a brief introduction to the area of medieval ritual magic, outlining the main kinds of texts likely to be understood as belonging to the category – image magic, necromancy, and theurgy or angel magic.
Crafting the witch: Gendering magic in medieval and early modern England
This project documents and analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.
The Unwritten Chapter: Notes towards a Social and Religious History of Geniza Magic
How might the historian of religions write a social and religious history of Jewish magic in the medieval Islamicate world?
Demonic Magic in the Icelandic Wizard Legends
Saemund Sigfusson is the earliest of the Icelandic wizards. According to the annals he was born in the year 1056. He was educated in France and returned to Iceland in 1076 or 1078.
Using Gems in Medieval Spells
David Porreca examines how the magical spells found in the Picatrix made use of precious gems.
Medieval Magic Tricks
How to turn water into wine, make a cross turn by itself, or have worms appear on cooked meat – some fun medieval magic tricks!
