Medievalists.net » Superstition http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 19:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 How Witches Looked in Medieval Art http://www.medievalists.net/2014/12/13/witches-looked-medieval-art/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/12/13/witches-looked-medieval-art/#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2014 06:30:39 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=54760 I recently visited the British Museum and enjoyed their Witches and Wicked Bodies exhibit which runs until January 11th, 2015. It displays art depicting witches from the middle ages up to the late nineteenth century. This post looks at a few late medieval interpretations of witches and the artists behind these works.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/12/13/witches-looked-medieval-art/feed/ 0 Crafting the witch: Gendering magic in medieval and early modern England http://www.medievalists.net/2014/11/02/crafting-witch-gendering-magic-medieval-early-modern-england/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/11/02/crafting-witch-gendering-magic-medieval-early-modern-england/#comments Sun, 02 Nov 2014 19:01:47 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=53829 This project documents and analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/11/02/crafting-witch-gendering-magic-medieval-early-modern-england/feed/ 0 10 Terrifying Reads for Halloween! http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/23/10-terrifying-reads-halloween/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/23/10-terrifying-reads-halloween/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2014 10:47:16 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=53522 Here are some spooky medieval books for you to celebrate with over Halloween!

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/23/10-terrifying-reads-halloween/feed/ 0 INTERVIEW: A Conversation with SD Sykes about Plague Land http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/03/interview-conversation-sd-sykes-plague-land/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/03/interview-conversation-sd-sykes-plague-land/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:20:52 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=53019 My interview with fiction author, SD Sykes about her fantastic medieval crime novel, Plague Land.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/10/03/interview-conversation-sd-sykes-plague-land/feed/ 0 BOOK REVIEW: Plague Land by SD Sykes http://www.medievalists.net/2014/09/04/book-review-plague-land-sd-sykes/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/09/04/book-review-plague-land-sd-sykes/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2014 13:47:12 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=52323 My review of SD Sykes brilliant medieval thriller, Plague Land.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/09/04/book-review-plague-land-sd-sykes/feed/ 0 The Apple in Early Irish Narrative Tradition: A Thoroughly Christian Symbol? http://www.medievalists.net/2014/06/15/apple-early-irish-narrative-tradition-thoroughly-christian-symbol/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/06/15/apple-early-irish-narrative-tradition-thoroughly-christian-symbol/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2014 10:45:45 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=50414 The tensions which existed between the indigenous pagan tradition and the nascent Christian Church in Ireland are evident in this tale. We are faced with ‘the opposition of two philosophies, the first being the native, the druidic, the doomed... The other embodies a prophecy of the coming of Christianity’.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/06/15/apple-early-irish-narrative-tradition-thoroughly-christian-symbol/feed/ 0 The Military Use of the Icon of the Theotokos and its Moral Logic in the Historians of the Ninth-Twelfth Centuries http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/15/military-use-icon-theotokos-moral-logic-historians-ninth-twelfth-centuries/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/15/military-use-icon-theotokos-moral-logic-historians-ninth-twelfth-centuries/#comments Sat, 15 Feb 2014 18:20:11 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=47599 Starting at least by the late tenth century, Byzantine emperors took icons of the Mother of God with them on campaign. This article examines the appearance of such icons in the narratives of historical texts.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/15/military-use-icon-theotokos-moral-logic-historians-ninth-twelfth-centuries/feed/ 0 Society and the Supernatural: A Medieval Change http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/24/society-and-the-supernatural-a-medieval-change/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/24/society-and-the-supernatural-a-medieval-change/#comments Sun, 24 Nov 2013 19:06:37 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=45204 The supernatural has become what Renan said it was: 'The way in which the ideal makes its appearance in human affairs.'

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/24/society-and-the-supernatural-a-medieval-change/feed/ 0 Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets and Their Tradition http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/24/medieval-byzantine-magical-amulets-and-their-tradition/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/24/medieval-byzantine-magical-amulets-and-their-tradition/#comments Sun, 24 Nov 2013 16:11:53 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=45173 A diverse yet distinctive group of magical amulets has periodically attracted the attention of scholars from Renaissance times to the present. The amulets take many forms, including engraved gems and cameos, enamel pendants, die-struck bronze tokens, cast or engraved pendants of gold, silver, bronze, and lead, and rings of silver and bronze.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/24/medieval-byzantine-magical-amulets-and-their-tradition/feed/ 0 Blood beliefs in early modern Europe http://www.medievalists.net/2013/06/29/blood-beliefs-in-early-modern-europe/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/06/29/blood-beliefs-in-early-modern-europe/#comments Sun, 30 Jun 2013 00:54:43 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=41855 This thesis focuses on the significance of blood and the perception of the body in both learned and popular culture in order to investigate problems of identity and social exclusion in early modern Europe.

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