Today it is one of the quieter corners of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but hundreds of years ago the ‘Prison of Christ’ was one of the must-see spots for medieval Christian pilgrims.
The Global Side of Medieval at the Getty Centre: Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts
March 26, 2016 by
Los Angeles correspondent, Danielle Trynoski takes through the, ‘Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts’ exhibut at the Getty Museum.
Friendship, Betrayal, War: “Soldier of God” Movie Review
March 6, 2016 by
A Templar and a Muslim; their strange friendship is the premise of this week’s movie based in the 12th century immediately after the disastrous Battle of Hattin.
The Church as a Woman: The Gendered Rhetoric of the Feminine Divine
January 7, 2016 by
This study investigates just a small aspect of the subject, namely Hildegard’s use of gendered rhetoric in her portrayal of the personified church.
Epiphany: Three Kings Day
January 6, 2016 by
A look at the history behind Epiphany and Twelfth Night.
How did people sleep in the Middle Ages?
January 3, 2016 by
A recent book on the history of sleeping shows that during the Middle Ages people typically slept in two periods during the night.
Care of relics in early medieval Rome
December 17, 2015 by
Hidden in a dark corner of St. Peter’s shrine, Pope Sergius I (687–701) found a silver box so blackened with age that he was at first unsure whether it was indeed made of silver.
The Story of Exodus: The Anglo-Saxon Version
December 12, 2015 by
The clever authors of these Anglo-Saxon biblical poems knew their audiences, engaging readers and listeners by retelling Old Testament stories in an epic way that was both familiar and beloved.
Walk this Way: Two Journeys to Jerusalem in the Fifteenth Century
November 7, 2015 by
This paper appraises place pilgrimage to Jerusalem in two late-medieval English texts: The Itineraries of William Wey and The Book of Margery Kempe.
Ring Out the Old: Medieval Bells in England
November 4, 2015 by
Of the bells that survive, the oldest may be in St. Chad’s Church in Claughton in Lancashire.
Sacrificial Magic and the Twofold Division of the Irish Ritual Year
October 31, 2015 by
The historical development of St. Martin’s Day in Ireland, and its relationship with the more ancient festival of Samhain is examined, revealing circumstances that saw much of the ritual nature of Samhain being adopted within a Christian context in the medieval period.
The End of the Ancient Other World: Death and Afterlife between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
October 29, 2015 by
Peter Brown gives lectures on ‘Gloriosus Obitus: Death and Afterlife 400-700 AD’ and ‘The Decline of the Empire of God: From Amnesty to Purgatory’
Necromancy from Antiquity to Medieval and Modern Times
October 28, 2015 by
In the Old Norse saga there is peculiar technique of divination called utiseta that is practised on burial mounds.
Priests found spiritual satisfaction by serving nuns, Stanford medieval historian says
September 29, 2015 by
A study of medieval texts and imagery by Stanford history Professor Fiona Griffiths counters commonly held beliefs about misogynistic practices in medieval Europe. Griffiths’ research reveals how some male clergy acknowledged and celebrated the perceived religious superiority of nuns.
Kissing Heaven’s Door: the Medieval Legend of Judas Iscariot
September 19, 2015 by
When we consider Judas Iscariot as he appears in the Bible in modern terms, we might think along the lines of a pantomime villain.
Demon Possession in Anglo‐Saxon and Early Modern England: Continuity and Evolution in Social Context
August 26, 2015 by
Sometime between around 687 and 700, a distraught father brought his raving son, in a wagon, to the island of Lindisfarne, where the holy relics of Saint Cuthbert were kept.
Medieval Pilgrimages: It’s All About the Journey
August 20, 2015 by
For medieval people, faith was more than just an abstract idea, it was tangible in the works they made to glorify God, and the relics they could see with their own eyes. An integral part of this tangible form of faith was the pilgrimage: a spiritual journey to visit a holy site.
How to destroy gods
August 16, 2015 by
In the year 1168 a Danish bishop destroyed three pagan gods. The story is told in Gesta Danorum, by Saxo Grammaticus, which has recently been entirely translated into English for the first time.
What is a Psalter?
August 13, 2015 by
Because they didn’t contain the entire Bible, psalters were nice and portable, making good girdle books for the devout – or those concerned with showing off – to carry with them.
Portable Christianity: Relics in the Medieval West (c.700–1200)
August 7, 2015 by
Relics thus typify the characteristic dynamic of medieval Christianity—a repeated refreshing and renewing of an ancient tradition that was endlessly culturally creative.
Can We Talk About Religion, Please? Medievalism’s Eschewal of Religion, and Why it Matters
August 2, 2015 by
With this essai I would like to advocate for a reconsideration of religion as an essential topic for medievalism studies.
Performing the Seven Deadly Sins: How One Late-Medieval English Preacher did it
July 28, 2015 by
Some preachers, it is true, shunned certain of the rhetorical embellishments characteristically recommended in the artes predicandi.
Medieval Jews on Christianity
July 27, 2015 by
Whatever medieval Jews said, or thought, about Christianity, one may be sure that very little of it was good.
Margery Kempe and her Autobiography
July 22, 2015 by
Margery Kempe was a self-proclaimed holy woman, visionary, mystic and medieval pilgrim. She is also unique because although she was not proficient at reading and writing, she was determined to record her visions, journeys and spiritual experiences
How you can Follow Us!