Jewish Collaborators in Alfonso’s Scientific Work
What is remarkable about the Jewish translators whose work was sponsored by Alfonso, following an already old tradition of Jewish translation activity, was their concentration almost exclusively on scientific literature and their significant contribution to the development of the Spanish language.
“A Swarm in July”: Beekeeping Perspectives on the Old English Wið Ymbe Charm
At the same time, however, their differing responses to the remedy attest both to the variation of beekeeping practices and the multivalence of Wið Ymbe itself. The fact that two beekeepers interviewed within two days and two hundred miles of each other can respond differently to the charm’s advice on swarms suggests that we reevaluate unilateral assertions regarding what the text might have meant across the hundreds of years that we now know as the Anglo-Saxon period.
St. Isidore and mediaeval science
Did Isidore appear foolish to his contemporaries and immediate mediaeval successors, or is his foolishness a more recent discovery?
The Virtues of Balm in the Late Medieval Period
The nature of balsam and its qualities, especially the ability to act as an extraordinarily effective preservative, demands further inquiry. Is this Lydgate’s invention, or instead a reflection of late medieval ideas about a particular natural substance?
Science and the Medieval University
It is no exaggeration or distortion to claim that the curriculum of the medieval university was founded on science and largely devoted to teaching about the nature and operation of the physical world.
One World under the Sun: Cosmography and Cartography in the Liber Floridus
To a modern cartographer a map should represent geographic reality by means of coordinates such as latitude and longitude. Not one of the cartographic images in the Liber Floridus corresponds to this definition, yet not a single work on historical cartography omits the early-twelfth-century encyclopaedia
The Lived Experience of the Black Death
To appreciate the importance of the biological effects of disease on a society’s lived experience, it can be useful to look at modern examples. Polio provides an excellent example. Children who survive an infection of polio – and escape the neurological incapacitation that can result in disability up to paraplegia – have a fifty percent chance of suffering the similar effects of post-polio syndrome later in life.
The Mandrake Plant and its Legend
This study focuses on the mandrake legend and its growth in Western Europe.
Back to School Books! Medieval Education
Get back into the school groove with these books on medieval education!
On the shoulders of eastern giants: the forgotten contributions of medieval physicists
We learn at school that Isaac Newton is the father of modern optics, that Copernicus heralded the birth of astronomy, and that it is Snell’s law of refraction. But what is the debt these men owe to the physicists and astronomers of the medieval Islamic Empire?
Ancient DNA analysis indicates the first English lions originated from North Africa
Although the Royal Menagerie and its animals are known from documentary records, few physical re- mains survive (O’Regan et al., 2005). Amongst the rare exceptions are two lion skulls that were recovered from the moat of the Tower of London during excava- tions in 1936-1937. These skulls were recently radio- carbon-dated to AD1280-1385 and AD1420-1480.
Towards a Context for Ibn Umayl, Known to Chaucer as the Alchemist ‘Senior’
his article will present what we know of the life and times of an important alchemist, Ibn Umayl.
The Black in Medieval Science: What Significance?
How, for example, did an artist produce the staggeringly realistic portrait of a negro warrior in the mid 13th century on the cathedral at Magdeburg, and what ideas lay behind this?
The Art of the Science of Renaissance Painting
During this study we began to examine paintings for the presence of optical artifacts that could serve as supporting scientific evidence for these visual observations. Here we briefly describe some of the scientific evidence contained within three paintings that demonstrate lenses were in use by certain artists to project images as early as c1425. We present only a general discussion here, and refer interested readers to previous publications for details.
Doctors as Diplomats in the Sixth Century A.D.
In the Roman world the status of doctor as doctor was never high. When he did achieve repute or rank, that usually depended not upon his practice of medicine as such, but upon the social or political connections that accrued to him from his success in it.
Instruments and demonstrations in the astrological curriculum: evidence from the University of Vienna, 1500–1530
The University of Vienna presents something of a puzzle for his- torians of astronomy and astrology. During the fifteenth century the university was alma mater to Johannes de Gmunden, Georg von Peuerbach, and Johannes Regiomontanus, who were central to developments in astronomy and astrology throughout Europe. Yet there is little evidence of advanced instruction in astronomy or astrology by any of these masters.
BLACK DEATH: The Causes and Effects of a Pandemic
It requires an enormous burden of proof for any microscopic organism to be held responsible for killing roughly 30-40 percent of the population of Europe, or an estimated 17 to 28 million people from 1347-1352. Since the isolation and description of Yersinia pestis at the end of the “golden age” of microbiology in 1894, by the Swiss-French bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin, it is widely held that the small bacterium was responsible for the Black Death and several more pandemics that followed in Europe and Asia.
The Universe through Medieval Eyes
The way an educated person eight hundred years ago might think about the world. What did they think about space? What did they think the world was made of? What kind of creatures lived in the world?
Thomas Bradwardine: Forgotten Medieval Augustinian
In spite of this dearth of scholarly publications on Bradwardine, he deserves serious consideration. From a church historical perspective, he represents a resurgence of a relatively pure Augustinianism in the late Middle Ages.
Religious and Scientific Duality of Thought: How Ibn Rushd and al-Ghazili Set the Agenda for Medieval Scholastic Debates
Ibn Rushd’s response to al-Ghazili ’s rather specious use of logic introduces the differentiation of religious and “scientific” or philosophical truths: an important, necessary, and previously unarticulated distinction which reverberated in the cathedrals and universities of Europe and which remains relevant for contemporary thinkers faced with similar dilemmas.
From Pagan Cosmos to Christian Creation: A Historical Path from Late Antique Priscillianus to Medieval Hildegard
Why and how do ancient and medieval Christians look so different to the sky, future and world as the pagans did?
Contributions of contemporary science to Chaucer’s work
The thesis shows that the Medieval Sciences made a significant contribution to Chaucer’s mind and art, and that Chaucer shared the attitude of great scholars before and after him
An introduction to the investigation into the mental health of female medieval mystics
While the Medieval ascription to madness is known, in the light of recent psychological and medical insights, I will explore alternative explanations for the extreme behaviour of devout women in the Middle Ages.
Marsilio Ficino: Magnus of the Renaissance, Shaper of Leaders
This article describes the life and work of Marsilio Ficino, a philosopher and leader of 15th century Florence who helped spark the Renaissance and the relevance of his ideas for the challenges we face today.