The Lost Women of Prémontré: Finding and Following the Footsteps of Medieval Women
In the mid-12th century, the chronicler Herman of Tournai wrote that there were more than 10,000 Premonstratensian sisters spread across northern France.
Why medieval people were fasting on Fridays
In British Library MS Harley 2253, there exists a short passage which explains ‘Reasons for Fasting on Friday’
Bartered Bodies: Medieval Pilgrims and the Tissue of Faith
The journey disciplined and dirtied the body, exposed the travellers to danger and death, and denied their normal comforts.
Haunting Matters: Demonic Infestation in Northern Europe, 1400-1600
This dissertation will show the ways in which learned writings about demons reveal insights into the cultural and intellectual history of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century western Europe.
The Papacy, Inquisition and Saint Guinefort the Holy Greyhound
The legend of St Guinefort the Holy Greyhound reveals the medieval Church engaged in a familiar struggle: to balance popular piety with orthodox teaching.
Windows on a medieval world: medieval piety as reflected in the lapidary literature of the Middle Ages
The lapidary literature of the Middle Ages has been overlooked as a source for the study of medieval Christian piety.
The Shroud of Turin was in the Byzantine Empire before 1204 AD, researchers suggest
Could the Shroud of Turin have been displayed in the Byzantine Empire before the thirteenth-century? A pair of Italian scholars suggest so, basing their theory on micro-particles of gold found on the famous cloth
The Holy Spirit in Female Form: Medieval Tales of Faith and Heresy
The stories of Guglielma of Milan and Na Prous Boneta of Montpelier – how they became associated with the Holy Spirit – and how the Catholic Church responded to them.
Visionary “Staycations”: Meeting God at Home in Medieval Women’s Vision Literature
However, with a touch of irony of my own, I would like to argue that something akin to the “staycation” does have currency in medieval religious literature.
So You Want to Be a Medieval Priest
It might seem like one of the more glamorous professions in the Middle Ages – as a priest you could run a church and offer moral leadership to your parishioners. But here are a few drawbacks to being a medieval priest.
Eve’s Sin, Woman’s Fault: A Medieval View
The fall of Adam and Eve has been a favourite theme in literary and religious literature down through the ages both with Christian and non-Christian authors.
Religion on the Frontier: Identity and Ritual Adaptations after the Anglo-Saxon migration
This paper will explore what it meant to practice religion on a frontier compared to the core, where the religion was based, by contrasting Anglo-Saxon ritual practices in Britain and the Continent.
Why are dragons and monsters carved into Norway’s stave churches?
The richly decorated portal at Urnes stave church in Norway has often been interpreted in light of paganism. That’s wrong, according to a new stave church study.
What was the fate of the ‘True Cross’ in the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars?
Despite the fact that there is a relative abundance of contemporary or near contemporary sources on Heraclius’ campaigns, it is hard – if not impossible – to retrace the chronology of the events leading up to the restoration of the Cross.
Protecting Against Child-Killing Demons: Uterus Amulets in the Late Antique and Byzantine Magical World
This doctoral dissertation examines medicinal-magical amulets pertaining to the uterus and the protection of women and children, the accompanying tradition of magical texts, and the mythology and folktales of demons believed to kill children and parturient women.
Ecstatic Pain: manifestations of physical pain in the visions of Julian of Norwich and their implications for imitatio Christi
This thesis explores the manifestations of bodily pain in two visions received by the late medieval English mystical writer Julian of Norwich (c.1342-1416).
Bodies of Parchment: Representing the Passion and Reading Manuscripts in Late Medieval England
In a diverse range of late-fourteenth- and fifteenth-century devotional literature, Christ’s body is metaphorically related to a book or a document at the moment of his crucifixion.
Saint Birgitta of Sweden: paving the way for female writers and philosophers
The Legacy of Birgitta of Sweden. Women, Politics, and Reform in Renaissance Italy project tracks the impact of the 14th century mystic and founder of the Bridgettines on later generations.
“Thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns”: The Biblical Unicorn in Late Medieval Religious Interpretation
We do not usually think of the unicorn as a ‘biblical creature,’ but it can indeed be found in Bible translations from Late Antiquity.
Built on a True Dream: The Medieval Church and Its Representation in Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth
This thesis aims to illustrate the way in which Follett has depicted the medieval Church of the twelfth century and answer the question of whether this depiction is a historical accurate representation.
The Story of Christmas: Medieval Extended Edition
Ludolph of Saxony’s 14th century work The Life of Christ offers an extended version of the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus.
The Medieval Ritual Landscape: Archaeology and Folk Religion
This lecture explores the value of archaeology in reconstructing lived religion as it was practised and experienced by medieval people.
Virgin Sacrifice in the 12th century: The Hortus Deliciarum
If you put a group of bookish virgins up against a monster bent on devouring the world, what do you get? Something approximating salvation, right?
Art and Devotional Practices in the Byzantine Village: The Long View
In this talk, Gerstel will look at devotional art in several Greek villages and will also discuss how engaging with art in the village may provide opportunities for medievalists to move beyond the strict chronological confines of our field to take a more activist stance in approaching buildings and their communities.