In this paper, I will show how the ancient myths of Pan, Perseus, Dionysius, and Prometheus have an impact on Book I of Francis Bacon’s Novum Organum.
George Gemistos Plethon on God: Heterodoxy in Defense of Orthodoxy
September 3, 2012 By
The Emperor, John VIII Palaeologos, knew they were going to face some of the finest minds in the Roman Church on their own soil; he therefore wanted the best minds available in support of the Byzantine cause to accompany him. Consequently, the Emperor appointed George Gemistos as part of the delegation.
Re-forging the smith: an interdisciplinary study of smithing motifs in Völuspá and Völundarkviða
August 29, 2012 By
In this dissertation I examine key smithing motifs in the eddic poems Võluspá and Võlundarkviña in relation to the socio-cultural role of smithing techniques and sites in early medieval Scandinavia.
Hellenism and the Shaping of the Byzantine Empire
August 27, 2012 By
While the role of Byzantine Hellenism on the art, literature, and society of the Empire has been the subject of tremendous study, the question of its origins has, nonetheless, rarely been raised, and the strongly Hellenic Byzantine identity seems, to a large extent, to have been taken for granted historiographically.
The Triumphal Way of Constantinople and the Golden Gate
August 19, 2012 By
In Rome the term triumphus referred to an archaic and highly regulated rite that was decreed by the Senate upon the fulfilment of certain strict preconditions. Scholars have disagreed whether the triumphal procession, which could be held only in Rome, always followed the same itinerary, but the chances are that it did
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Portrayals of Vikings in “The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland”
August 15, 2012 By
Vikings had terrorised the coasts of Ireland from the end of the eighthcentury and began to play a role in Irish politics soon after. As a result, vikingsfigure prominently in ‘The Fragmentary Annals’.
Pagan traces in medieval and early modern European witch-beliefs
August 4, 2012 By
The aim of this research is to explore how pre-Christian beliefs, cults and popular traditions may have indirectly survived in early modern and medieval European witch-beliefs.
The orientation of pagan graves in Viking Age Iceland
July 24, 2012 By
It is commonly understood that Christian burials traditionally have a west-east orientation, with the head placed at the western end of the grave.
Paganism in Conversion-Age Anglo-Saxon England: The Evidence of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History Reconsidered
July 22, 2012 By
With the notable exception of R. I. Page, the attitude that historians and archaeologists alike have taken to Bede’s words about the religion(s) of the pre-Christian occupants of conversion-age Anglo-Saxon England has overwhelmingly been to accept what this eighth-century commentator has to tell us.
A Goliard Witness: The De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii of Martianus Capella in the Methamorphosis Golye Episcopi
July 13, 2012 By
Another twelfth-century poem in the same goliardic metre as the two lines just cited, the Methamorphosis go lye episcopi, goes far beyond this passing mention of Martianus and makes a most unexpected use of the De Nuptiis.
‘How Can His Word Be Trusted?’: Speaker and Authority in Old Norse Wisdom Poetry
July 8, 2012 By
This dissertation concerns the presentation of compilations of wisdom in Old Norse eddic poetry: how it was that the dozen poems one might classify, however tentatively, as wisdom poetry legitimized and put across their content.
Slavic Paganism
June 24, 2012 By
Before the advent of Christianity, the European population practiced various forms of paganism. Pagan beliefs were not centralized or codified; they exhibited specific regional characteristics that developed within relatively small territories (Afanas’ev). Slavic cities had differing pantheons comprised of deities whom the inhabitants considered to be most important.
Foundations of Byzantine late middle ages architecture thoughtfulness
June 24, 2012 By
Byzantine late Middle Ages and Byzantine Renaissance (1204-1453) are two final periods in the culture and architecture of that 1141 year lasting Empire.
Formation and Transformations of Dynastic Ties between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland from 1386–1501
June 23, 2012 By
JŪRATĖ KIAUPIENĖ is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Lithuanian History, Vilnius, Head of the Section on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Professor of History at the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas. She published numerous books and articles on this subject.
The Turning Point in the Battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald/Žalgiris) in 1410
June 22, 2012 By
SVEN EKDAHL is Assistant Professor of History at Gothenburg University and Professor of Medieval History at the Polish-Scandinavian Research Institute in Copenhagen. He has published extensively on the history of the Teutonic Order in Prussia as well as treated Polish, Baltic, and Scandinavian themes.
Natural Philosophy and Theology in the Late Middle Ages: A Surprising Relationship?
June 17, 2012 By
A significant problem in the early years of Christianity was what attitude to adopt toward traditional pagan learning. Should they shun it as potentially dangerous to the faith? Should they wholeheartedly embrace it as offering important knowledge and insights about the world? Or would it be more advantageous to adopt an intermediate position?
Types of physical exercise in Medieval Serbia (XII-XIV century)
June 17, 2012 By
It is often said of a nation that it is as rich as its history. All the efforts and desire to get to the roots of our past lead us inevitably to the Middle Ages and connect us to the spirit of the rule of the House of Nemanjić. A profound influence this dynasty exerted on the history of the people of Serbia points out their greatness and significance. Serbian army from the period of the Nemanjić reign was famed for its bravery, agility, endurance, persistence, wisdom and skillfulness varying by the type of warfare. Brave voivode and warriors were the apple of Serbia’s eye, which in turn caused heroism to become a lifestyle.
í víking : Norse who went plundering
June 10, 2012 By
Raids were commonplace among the Norse. They outfitted ships, plundered towns and monasteries, and sought adventure. Although they pursued far more peaceful pursuits much of the time, the summers saw them go í víking, plundering.
Saint Patrick and the Druids: A Window into Seventh-Century Irish Church Politics
May 31, 2012 By
Through an analysis of selected portions of Muirchú’s Life of Saint Patrick, this thesis will attempt to search out the hagiographer’s goals in writing as he did under the direction of Aed, Bishop of Sletty, during a critical time of debate in the Irish church. The primary method of accomplishing this will be through consideration of Patrick as a character in the hagiography.
Byzantine Intelligence Service
May 20, 2012 By
The basis on which the successful administration of the Roman Empire at its zenith was built was the cursus publicus, or the state post. This organization also made the service of intelligence more effective.
Why All the Fuss about the Body? A Medievalist’s Perspective
May 4, 2012 By
erhaps some help is to be found in the usual scholarly move of sur- veying the literature. What does the phrase mean in the rapidly increas- ing number of books with the body in the title-an increase only too apparent to anyone who walks these days into a bookstore?
Recreating Beowulf’s “Pregnant Moment of Poise”: Pagan Doom and Christian Eucatastrophe Made Incarnate in the Dark Age Setting of The Lord of the Rings
May 4, 2012 By
The following chapters will explore how Tolkien fuses themes and imagery from the pagan Norse apocalyptic myth of Ragnarök with Christian apocalyptic imagery and themes in a recreated Dark Age historical setting to create The Lord of the Rings.
The Runic System as a Reinterpretation of Classical Influences and as an Expression of Scandinavian Cultural Affiliation
April 22, 2012 By
Accompanying discussions of the runic system’s graphical origins are arguments concerning its geographical origins. Von Friesen’s theory that runes derived from Greek characters looked east to the Gothic territories, while scholars arguing for North Italic origins have pointed towards the Alps. Moltke, who looked to a largely Latin source for the runic characters, suggested a runic origin in Denmark.
Consorting with the other: Re-constructing scholastic, rhetorical and literary attitudes to pagans and paganism in the Middle Ages
April 11, 2012 By
My thesis suggests that Christian culture in the late antique to medieval period consciously adapted pagan cultures for its own ends, with a particular view to the usefulness of pagan cultures.
Representations of the Pagan Afterlife in Medieval Scandinavian Literature
April 5, 2012 By
I first address the question of the nature of Hel which, according to Snorri Sturluson’s thirteenth-century mythography, was the name both of an underworld home of the dead, and a goddess who presided over that realm.
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