The Myth of Parisian Scholars’ Opposition to the System of Papal Provision (1378–1418)
It is clear, however, that Parisian scholars did repeatedly and vehe- mently call for the suppression of Benedict XIII’s powers of papal provision. They advocated this policy as early as 1395.
“The World on the End of a Reed”: Marguerite Porete and the annihilation of an identity in medieval and modern representations – a reassessment
Central to the aims of this thesis is the question “how did Porete „fit‟ the religious landscape of her period?” A seeming obstacle to this pursuit are claims from within the scholarship that Porete did not „fit‟ at all, but was, rather, as an aberration amidst other female mystics of the period.
Penda the Pagan: Royal sacrifice and a Mercian king
Regicide was a common occurrence in the early Middle Ages. It was a fairly routine way for a victorious usurper or conqueror to rid himself of a potential source of trouble. Penda’s reputation in this field would almost certainly have been viewed with some approval had he been a Christian, and his foes pagan…
“Neither Mine Nor Thine”: Communist Experiments in Hussite Bohemia
Because of such circumstances the intoxicating influence of idealism and utopia continued to be pressed forward. One pervasive ideal was communism.
Retroactive Heresy: The influence of early Christian heresies on the identification and reaction to heretical sects
The medieval Church viewed itself as Defender of the Faith, the destroyer of the unbelievers, the wrong believers. These heretics were to be reviled and feared as perverters of God’s word. The perverters of orthodoxy were, ultimately, not to be distinguished from one another, but rather known by catchphrases.
The Ars Moriendi: An examination, translation, and collation of the manuscripts of the shorter Latin version
The Ars Moriendi is a Mediaeval Christian death manual that appeared around the middle of the fifteenth century. Though no-one is certain who the author was, there is no doubt that Jean Gerson was the major inspiration through his Opusculum Tripartitum.
The Urbanization of Hell in Medieval Infernal Literature: “WhenTungdali met Lucyfer”
Hell was considered a grim reality accessible in special circumstances to a chosen few, through various forms of journeys.
Be My Medieval Valentine?: Five Fabulous Books on Love!
Five fabulous books to enjoy with your Abelard or Heloise! Happy Valentine’s Day Medievalverse!
The Liturgical Context of Ælfric’s Homilies for Rogation
To search out Ælfric’s sources is also to inquire into his method of composition, to guess at the principles that guided him to some sources and away from others. Malcolm Godden has provided a remarkably full list of Ælfric’s sources, and suggests that Ælfric relied on relatively few volumes to compose his homilies.
Roman Architectural Spolia
My charge is to say something about spolia that illuminates the theme “Rome: The Tide of Influence.” “Influence” is another term requiring definition.
In a spin: the mysterious dancing epidemic of 1518
As the dance turned epidemic, troubled nobles and burghers consulted local physicians. Having excluded astrological and supernatural causes, the members of the medical fraternity declared it to be a ‘natural disease’ caused by ‘hot blood’.
The Place of the Papacy in the Ecclesial Piety of the 11th-century Reformers
In the tenth century, it was still the Ecclesia rather than the pope which constituted the fundamental reality. The men of the Gregorian reform, in contrast, saw the Church as dependent upon the pope and derived in some way from papal power.
Writers in religious orders and their lay patrons in late medieval England
Critics have long recognized that the religious orders played an important part in the production of vernacular devotional literature in late medieval England. The orders were well suited to this task. Reading and writing were an important part of the life of those who lived under a rule.
The Saints of Epilepsy
It will be seen below that many of the legendary happenings on which belief in the curative powers of saints was based were ridiculously improbable or impossible.
Reconquista and convivencia: Post-conquest Valencia during the Reign of Jaime I, el Conquistador: Interaction between Christians and Muslims (1238-1276)
This study will focus on just one aspect of the transition from Muslim kingdom to medieval Christian state. In 1238, Ciudad de Valencia, the most important urban center in the Muslim kingdom of Valencia would fall to Jaime I, el conquistador, king of Christian Aragon and Catalonia, opening up a vast region to Christian influence.
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.
Colmcille and the Battle of the Book: Technology, Law and Access to Knowledge in 6th Century Ireland
Nowadays people can get heavily fined or even jailed for copyright infringement7 but it is not generally a capital offence. So how could a holy man, of all people, derive such a sense of righteousness and glory from the carnage of war, especially one apparently triggered by something as innocuous as the copying of a single manuscript?
L’église Saint-Martin de Luxeuil-les-Bains (Haute-Saône). Première campagne
À ce stade de la fouille, nous avons pu définir provisoirement huit grandes phases. La première construction reconnue pourrait être une domus urbaine du IIe siècle après J.-C., abandonnée dans la première moitié du IVe siècle et à laquelle succède une occupation tardo-antique.
An Investigation into a French Fifteenth-Century Book of Hours
Louisiana State University proudly owns an authentic medieval manuscript called a Book of Hours. Celebrated as the university’s two millionth volume, this exquisitely illuminated manuscript is thought to be the only Book of Hours in a public collection in Louisiana.
The Culture of Death in late Medieval and early Renaissance Italy
An attempt will be made to show that it is precisely during this period that certain fundamental changes in the conception of and attitudes towards death took place, changes that can be seen as the starting points of a long process that would eventually lead to the medical and utterly despiritualized view of death prevalent in the contemporary Western world.
Popular Piety in the Middle Ages: What is Popular?
To speak, then of a ‘Learned faith’ of the Middle Ages (or, for that matter, of any age) over and against a ‘Popular faith,’ as though it were a higher, purer form of faith, is hardly correct.
The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065-1109
The reign of Alfonso VI was also to be the setting within which León-Castilla joined in the emergence of a new western Europe and itself also assimilated the new norms and structures that were being erected everywhere there.
The medieval monastery as franchise monopolist
This paper continues a line of inquiry begun by Ekelund, HCbert and Tollison, (hereafter, E-H-T) which uses the theories of monopoly, rent seeking, and industrial organization to explain the economics of the medieval monastery…
Dancing with the Dance of the Dead : cemetery of the Innocents and the ramifications of the Macabre
Glaring at us from the pages of illuminated manuscripts, royal sepulchers, and frescoes of Late Medieval churches and cemeteries, macabre cadavers, with their gaping, vermin-infested torsos, emaciated bodies, and grimacing faces, shock and repel.