Nicene Creed at 1700: Vatican Releases New Document
The Vatican’s International Theological Commission has released a new document ahead of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, reflecting on the ongoing significance of the Nicene Creed.
The Evolution of Papal Authority: Plenitudo Potestatis and Sovereignty in Medieval Canon Law
How did medieval canon law shape the idea of absolute papal authority? This article traces the evolution of key legal concepts—plenitudo potestatis, potestas absoluta, and pro ratione voluntas—from Pope Innocent III to Hostiensis, revealing their lasting impact on theories of sovereignty.
Medieval Christianity Was More Connected Than You Think: The Ethiopian Monk’s Story
One Ethiopian monk’s bold attempt to reshape his church’s hierarchy offers a striking example of how Christian communities across the medieval world were deeply interconnected.
Why Being a Medieval Priest Wasn’t as Easy as You Think
Here are a few drawbacks to being a medieval priest.
New Medieval Books: Women and the Reformations
From queens like Elizabeth I to mystics such as Teresa of Ávila, women held pivotal roles in the religious struggles that shaped Christianity during the late Middle Ages and Early Modern period. This book examines the Reformation and Counter Reformation through several leading female figures, both within and outside of Europe.
New Medieval Books: The Latin Lives of St Laurence of Dublin
Lorcán Ua Tuathail, known in English as Laurence O’Toole, was a 12th-century Archbishop of Dublin. This book presents editions of four texts about his life, two of which are also translated into English
New Medieval Books: The Roman Curia
How is the Papacy structured? This book delves into the intricate government and administration of the Papacy and Vatican City, tracing many of its foundational elements back to their medieval origins.
New Medieval Books: Medieval Iceland
Explore Iceland’s distinct medieval journey, from its ninth-century settlement to the upheavals of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Amid secular and ecclesiastical power struggles, this remote island experienced its own share of strife and transformation.
New Medieval Books: On the Deeds of Gerald
This biography about the famous 13th-century writer Gerald of Wales was actually written by Gerald himself. Writing in the third-person, Gerald narrates his career in the Church, his efforts to become a bishop, and his time in the courts of the Kings of England.
New Medieval Books: Monasticism in Ireland
This book explores the functioning of monasteries in Ireland during the High Middle Ages and their integral role in the country’s religious life. It addresses the key question: ‘How monastic was the monastic church, and what was its relationship to the church of the laity?’
New Medieval Books: Laetentur Caeli
A set of translated documents from the mid-15th century related to inter-Christian relations and attempts to bring a union between the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic and Ethiopian churches.
New Medieval Books: Defining Nature’s Limits
Focusing on the 16th century, this book looks at how the Catholic Church tried to enforce their religious thinking when it came to science and magic in the late Middle Ages and early modern period.
New Medieval Books: Saints and Sinners on Horseback
A collection of 11 essays dealing with horses and their riders in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Era. They range from those animals mentioned in saints’ lives to those who were just being stolen in the English countryside.
Andrew of Fleury and the Peace League of Bourges
One of the most extraordinary episodes in the development of the Peace movement was the formation by Archbishop Aimo of Bourges of a militia, composed of both clergy and “unarmed” (that is under-class) lay people, to enforce the knights’ compliance with the oaths taken in that diocese.
Religious Responses to Social Violence in Eleventh-Century Aquitaine
The late tenth and early eleventh centuries were a time of political anarchy and social disorder in southern France.
Dioskouros of Alexandria, Or the Making of a Church Villain, with Volker Menze
A conversation with Volker Menze about the fifth-century patriarch Dioskouros of Alexandria, what we really know about him, and why he was demonized in the western traditions. A close reading of the Council Acts suggests a different picture: a bishop who thought he was doing right by the established creed and following the directives of the emperor suddenly found himself in the hot seat.
New Medieval Books: The Medieval Clergy, 800-1250
More than 70 sources are translated here to offer readers a look into the lives of priests, bishops and other clergy in the Middle Ages. It is a wide-ranging book, covering topics from how to do baptisms to bishops getting involved in wars.
The Corrupt Archbishop: The Story of Alexander Bicknor
Corruption by powerful officials is a familiar tale throughout history, where men and women succumb to the temptation of greed. One notable instance occurred in the 14th century with an Archbishop of Dublin, who orchestrated an elaborate plot of embezzlement and forgery.
Medieval church building-boom took place in the 12th century, study finds
A recent study looking at the construction history of churches during the Middle Ages has found that a building boom took place in Western Europe during the 12th century.
New Medieval Books: The Borgarthing Law and the Eidsivathing Law
Translations of two law codes that were made in eastern Norway during the fourteenth century. These law codes focus on rules related to the Christian Church, ranging from baptisms to the paying of tithes.
New Medieval Books: Rome and the Invention of the Papacy
A look at how the Papacy in Rome developed in the Early Middle Ages through the Liber pontificalis, a series of biographies of popes. This text is crucial to understanding how the Papacy came to dominate the Christian religion in Western Europe.
Five Warrior Bishops in the Middle Ages
Here are five medieval bishops who, against the expectations of their ecclesiastical positions, found themselves personally involved in actual battles.
Shifty Greeks, Arrogant Latins: Polemical authors and the schism of the Churches, with Alessandra Bucossi
A conversation with Alessandra Bucossi about the text “Against the Greeks” and “Against the Latins” that were produced by writers taking sides in the Schism of the Churches (Rome and Constantinople, of Greek and Latin, or Catholic and Orthodox, as we would call them today). There are many of these texts and they contain fascinating material, but have yet to receive the attention they deserve. Alessandra is our guide through the jungle.
San Clemente: Man, Legend, Church
By Chris Petitt San Clemente is one of the Roman tituli, the twenty-some late antique churches that continue to animate the modern landscape of…
