#medieval-mysticism

[ follow ]
History
fromMedievalists.net
55 minutes ago

New Medieval Books: The Life of St. Othmar - Medievalists.net

The Life of St. Othmar recounts the life, imprisonment, and miracles of Othmar, the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
4 days ago

Using the Absurd: How Erasmus Challenges His Students

Erasmus utilized humor, particularly absurdity, as a motivational tool in teaching Latin, enhancing engagement and challenging students.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 days ago

Three Heresiologists of the 12th-century: Zigabenos, Kamateros, and Choniates, with Alessandra Buccosi, Niccolo Zorzi, Marco Fanelli, and Ottavia Mazzon - Medievalists.net

Three twelfth-century heresiological texts are examined, focusing on publication challenges and their presentation in a museum exhibition.
Arts
fromArtnet News
1 week ago

Who Created the Book of Kells? A Master Craftsman Takes on the Mystery

New evidence suggests the Book of Kells may originate from Portmahomack, challenging the long-held theory of its creation at Iona.
History
fromOpen Culture
5 days ago

How Everything in a Medieval Castle Worked, from Its Moats to Its Dungeons

Medieval castles were complex structures designed for defense, featuring elements like barbicans, moats, and parapets.
History
fromMedievalists.net
5 days ago

Judas in the Middle Ages: The Making of an Anti-Hero - Medievalists.net

Judas Iscariot symbolizes despair and damnation in medieval thought, evolving from a biblical figure to a powerful moral myth.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 week ago

New Medieval Books: Light on Darkness - Medievalists.net

Liturgy is central to Western cultural history, rich in artistic expression and emotional depth, influencing society for over a thousand years.
fromThe Conversation
3 weeks ago

Notions of 'Christendom' often miss the mark - medieval Europe's ideas about faith and power were not so simple

Some citizens might see themselves as Christian nationalists simply because they are Christian and patriotic. Others, however, assert that the United States is rightfully a Christian nation that ought to be governed by Christian leaders, ethics and laws. As a historian, I'm aware that Christian nationalism relies upon a selective and often distorted view of American history.
Philosophy
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 week ago

Medieval Goths and Goth Music: The Surprising Connection - Medievalists.net

The Goths influenced modern goth music, linking a historical Germanic tribe to contemporary cultural styles.
OMG science
fromNature
1 month ago

Daily briefing: Galileo's notes discovered in the margins of an ancient book

Tectonic plates moved 3.3 billion years ago with higher oxygen levels; Galileo's annotations discovered in 400-year-old Ptolemy text; rotator cuff degeneration common in older adults regardless of symptoms.
fromMedievalists.net
1 week ago

How Many Workers Built a Medieval Cathedral? - Medievalists.net

The financial accounts kept by the fabrique for Girona Cathedral provide exceptionally detailed records, allowing historians to calculate the total number of workers and the average employed per year.
History
Medicine
fromArs Technica
1 month ago

What we can learn from scientific analysis of Renaissance recipes

16th-century people used scientific experimentation to create personalized home remedies, leaving protein traces on medical manuals that researchers now analyze to understand Renaissance knowledge construction.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 weeks ago

When Charlemagne Became a Thief: A Medieval Tale Retold - Medievalists.net

Charlemagne's legacy includes tales of his youth, notably an adventure involving a thief named Basin, showcasing his character and moral lessons.
Science
fromOpen Culture
1 month ago

How Medieval Cathedrals Were Built Without Science, or Even Mathematics

Medieval cathedral builders engineered complex structures like Sainte-Chapelle without mathematics or formal science, using practical techniques and empirical methods instead.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 weeks ago

Medieval Chess Reveals a More Diverse Middle Ages, Study Finds - Medievalists.net

Medieval chess functioned as a rare intellectual arena where people from different cultures and races engaged as equals, challenging assumptions about rigid medieval social hierarchies.
History
fromMedievalists.net
3 weeks ago

Heresiology in the Twelfth Century, with Alessandra Bucossi - Medievalists.net

Twelfth-century Byzantine preoccupation with heresy prompted production of extensive anti-heretical treatises addressing theological deviations in Latin and Armenian Churches from Constantinople's orthodoxy.
fromMedievalists.net
3 weeks ago

Lost Archimedes Page from Medieval Manuscript Discovered in France - Medievalists.net

The newly identified leaf corresponds to page 123 of the Palimpsest and contains part of Archimedes' treatise On the Sphere and the Cylinder, specifically Book I, Propositions 39 to 41. Much of the mathematical text remains legible, despite later alterations to the manuscript.
History
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
1 month ago

The apocrypha, Christianity's 'hidden' texts, may not be in the Bible - but they have shaped tradition for centuries

Apocryphal texts, though excluded from official biblical canons, significantly shaped early Christian tradition and provide valuable insights into early religious practices and beliefs.
fromMedievalists.net
3 weeks ago

Political Borders Shaped the Spread of Medieval Chant, Study Finds - Medievalists.net

Tropes were additions inserted into established Gregorian chants. They could include new words, new melodies, or a combination of both, expanding the original liturgical piece and sometimes offering additional theological or rhetorical commentary. In many cases, tropes circulated long before they were recorded in writing. Their melodies and texts were transmitted orally for centuries before being preserved in medieval manuscripts, creating a complex web of regional variants across Europe.
History
Arts
fromdesignyoutrust.com
1 month ago

Amazing Baroqueinspired Sorcerers, Gothic Arches And Ornate Backdrops in Paintings by J. Henry

A wide-ranging collection of contemporary visual art and human-interest projects showcases diverse techniques, social themes and playful reinterpretations across painting, illustration, sculpture, photography, public acts.
fromMedievalists.net
3 weeks ago

New Medieval Books: Approaching Records of the Household and Wardrobe - Medievalists.net

The Household and Wardrobe Accounts are English records that document the daily needs of the king and his family. This book serves as a guide to these sources, showing how they can be used and what valuable insights they offer into medieval government.
History
Miscellaneous
fromArchitectural Digest
9 years ago

The 11 Most Beautiful Gothic Cathedrals Around the World

Gothic cathedrals, built 12th–16th centuries, prioritize height and light using pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses to create taller, stronger stone structures.
Mindfulness
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

A binge and a prayer: Italian monks told to avoid Netflix and social media

Monks at the Camaldoli hermitage should avoid social media and streaming, preserving their rooms for prayer, sacred reading, and contemplative life.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: Silence of the Gods - Medievalists.net

Europe's last pagan peoples underwent Christian conversion from the 14th to 20th centuries while maintaining their indigenous religious traditions despite political pressure to adopt Christianity.
fromUntapped New York
1 year ago

How Museum Artifacts in NYC Inspired a Novel About a Medieval Witch - Untapped New York

While working on a graduate school paper on the mystical powers of coral, gemologist Anna Rasche ventured deep into the archives of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum's library. Coral is the most powerful material to ward off the evil eye-a belief Italians have held since ancient times. Romans often gifted newborns coral amulets to prevent sickness and bad luck.
Books
fromHyperallergic
1 month ago

All About Love From a Black Medieval Angel

Looking to the Middle Ages for answers to the perennial puzzles of life can seem quaint, even artificial, a long reach across centuries marked by violence, hierarchy, and exclusion. And yet medieval culture offers a way of thinking about love that still speaks to the present. If love is most urgently tested in moments of strain and upheaval, then it is in those moments - where care is stressed or obscured - that its meaning comes most clearly into view.
Arts
fromNature
2 months ago

A history of hocus pocus: witchcraft down the ages

A book about witches casts a spell, and arguments about whether blue-green algae should be called blue-green bacteria, in this week's pick from the Nature archive.
Science
fromOpen Culture
2 months ago

Cats in Medieval Manuscripts & Paintings

Renais­sance artist Albrecht Dür­er (1471-1528) nev­er saw a rhi­no him­self, but by rely­ing on eye­wit­ness descrip­tions of the one King Manuel I of Por­tu­gal intend­ed as a gift to the Pope, he man­aged to ren­der a fair­ly real­is­tic one, all things con­sid­ered.
Arts
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: The Taifa Kingdoms - Medievalists.net

The eleventh-century collapse of the Umayyad caliphate fragmented al-Andalus into rival taifa kingdoms, initiating the centuries-long process that ended Islamic rule in Iberia by 1492.
Philosophy
fromPhilosophynow
2 months ago

Ancient Synergy

Roman Mithraism integrated Stoic virtues of wisdom, courage, and self-control, shaping rituals, social roles, and strong appeal among Roman soldiers.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

The Survival of Roman Education in Early Medieval Britain - Medievalists.net

Roman cultural practices persisted in Britain for generations after AD 410, with aristocrats maintaining traditional education and Christian learning similar to their Gallic counterparts.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Encyclopedia Highlights Medieval Women's Writing Around the World - Medievalists.net

A new encyclopedia centers women's medieval writing globally across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia from 500-1500 CE, challenging traditional literary history that dismissed or erased women's voices.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

Discovery links Medieval Mosque to Roman Temple - Medievalists.net

A newly discovered Greek inscription at the Great Mosque of Homs suggests the medieval mosque may stand on the remains of a Roman-era Temple of the Sun, resolving a long-standing scholarly debate about the site's sacred history.
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: The Medieval Moon - Medievalists.net

In this book of moons, I am writing for people for whom the medieval world and its literatures and arts may be unfamiliar. I hope that in telling the stories of medieval moons, I also introduce these readers to the wonderful, mesmerising realm of medieval texts and images. But I also hope that this book may be useful to those with greater familiarity with medieval languages, literatures, and arts.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: A Demon Spirit - Medievalists.net

Abū Nuwās's poetry is sheer joy: it never fails to delight, surprise, and excite. His diwan, his collected poems, encompasses the principal early Abbasid poetic genres: panegyrics ( madīḥ), renunciant poems ( zuhdiyyāt), lampoons ( hijāʾ), hunting poems ( ṭardiyyāt), wine poems ( khamriyyāt), love poems ( ghazaliyyāt) to males ( mudhakkarāt) and females ( muʾannathāt), and transgressive verse ( mujūn).
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Interconnected Traditions - Medievalists.net

This open-access book brings together more than thirty essays on languages and the ways they develop, interact, and influence one another. Its main focus is the Middle East, where Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic long existed side by side and often overlapped in everyday use, scholarship, and culture. In line with Geoffrey (Khan)'s commitment to the maximally accessible dissemination of research, this Festschrift has been published in both open-access digital editions and affordable printed formats.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Online Course: Medieval Education: From Schools to Universities - Medievalists.net

Explore the history of education in the Middle Ages through the development of schools, curriculums, the growth of universities, and the diverse individuals who were involved in teaching and learning during this 1000 years of history. Class begins on Saturday, January 24th. This six-week course includes live 90-minute sessions with Ryder Patzuk-Russell each week from 12:00 to 1:30 pm EST.
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: Celtic Magic - Medievalists.net

Ancient and medieval Celtic-speaking peoples maintained distinctive magical beliefs and practices whose evidence appears in inscriptions, classical accounts, medieval manuscripts, charms, and medical recipes.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

When were the Middle Ages? - Medievalists.net

The Middle Ages lack a single, natural start or end; appropriate boundaries depend on whether political, religious, economic, or cultural changes are prioritized.
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: A Crusade Against the Turks as a Means of Reforming the Church - Medievalists.net

This project will focus on the Camaldolese hermits' proposal for achieving what they considered to be the most crucial task in the repair of the church, eliminating Islam and all Muslims. Our study will begin with an examination of the recipient of the Libellus, Giovanni de' Medici, who would become Pope Leo X. Next will be an exploration into the backgrounds of Paolo Giustiniani and Pietro Querini,
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: The Forsaken 14th Century - Medievalists.net

In this volume, the authors aim to provide a truly global overview of the 14 century, with each region given approximately the same space. It is obviously impossible to cover every event in every country of the world in a single volume, just as you would not be able to visit every city in every country if you traveled around the world for a year.
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: Blessed Mary and the Monks of England - Medievalists.net

English Benedictine and Cistercian monks (1000–1215) shaped medieval Mariology by deepening Marian devotion, theological reflection, and using Mary as a model for Christian life.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Ten Medieval Discoveries That Shaped How We Understand Sleep - Medievalists.net

Medieval Arabic and Persian physicians developed clinical observations and treatments of sleep, including recovery indicators, comparative treatment testing, and detailed descriptions like sleep paralysis.
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

The End of the World in Images: The Picture Book of the Life of St John and the Apocalypse - Medievalists.net

Picture Book of the Life of St John and the Apocalypse is a unique and visually striking example of the picture-book Apocalypse - a distinctive group of medieval manuscripts that present the apocalyptic visions of the Book of Revelation primarily through images. Centred on the visions of St John and often framed by episodes from his legendary life, these manuscripts transform the biblical text into a continuous pictorial narrative.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Rules of a Medieval Library - Medievalists.net

When universities began to emerge in Europe during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, they soon became important centres of knowledge. Their libraries could hold hundreds of books, and many of the most valuable volumes were kept under close control - sometimes even chained to desks. We have few details about how medieval university libraries operated, but a revealing set of rubric headings survives from the University of Angers in western France.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Talking Templars: Assassins versus Templars - Medievalists.net

The Assassins and the Knights Templar have become two of the most iconic groups of fighters from the period of the Crusades. In recent times, they have been popularised through the video game and movie franchise, Assassin's Creed. But who were they really and how did they interact in the Holy Land? It's an intriguing story that Dr Steve Tibble and Tony McMahon investigate in the first episode of their new podcast series, Talking Templars.
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: A Medieval Case for Islam's Superiority - Medievalists.net

An eighth-century Abbasid letter to the Byzantine emperor defends Islam, critiques Christian misunderstandings, and reflects Abbasid-Byzantine diplomacy and Baghdad's intellectual life.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: The Horse in History - Medievalists.net

Eleven studies examine horse equipment, training, folklore, and material culture across time and Europe, emphasizing archaeological evidence and diverse methodological approaches.
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript - Medievalists.net

This is a book about a book: the small, cropped, somewhat ragged but brightly illustrated volume now known formally, and rather forbiddingly, as British Library MS Cotton Nero A.x/2. The fame and beauty of its four Middle English poems have given it sobriquets beyond the shelfmark, however, which are more familiar and intimate: it is also the Gawain-Manuscript or, as I will call it, the Pearl-Manuscript.
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Online Course: Medieval Europe 870 - 1300 - Medievalists.net

10-week course starting January 15 offers a panoramic overview of European history (9th–13th centuries), covering politics, economics, gender, technology, warfare, society, and external relations.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

10 Medieval Studies' Articles Published Last Month - Medievalists.net

Local populations in Anatolia used spolia to assert cultural continuity with the ancient and Byzantine past, challenging exclusive Western claims to that heritage.
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

10 Medieval Studies' Articles Published Last Month - Medievalists.net

In this paper we investigate whether infant and childhood feeding practices influenced the imbalanced adult sex ratio reported in medieval Europe from historical and osteological evidence. First, we examine hypotheses for the observed imbalanced sex ratios in Europe and the evidence presented to support these hypotheses. We then use stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of incremental dentine in 64 first molars from adults at three medieval sites (Aulla, Badia Pozzeveri, and Montescudaio) in north-western Tuscany (11th-15th c. CE).
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

Previously Unknown Medieval Chronicle Discovered - Medievalists.net

A previously unknown 8th-century Maronite chronicle (dated 712–13 CE) offers early Christian perspective on Arab-Islamic expansion and Late Antique religious-political change.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Reading in Byzantium: Literacy, Books, and a World of Texts - Medievalists.net

Byzantine reading was communal and performative, woven into religious, educational, and administrative life while preserving classical learning within a Christian intellectual framework.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Impossible Recovery - Medievalists.net

Julian of Norwich's illness and visions show how sickness and revelation intertwine, shaping personal recovery and the subsequent expression and theorization of experience.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: Ipomedon - Medievalists.net

A twelfth-century Anglo-French romance about Ipomedon, an incognito prince tested by adventures, tournaments, and ironic narration exploring chivalry, humour, and social values.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Military Education in Early Medieval Europe: Learning from Books - Medievalists.net

Early medieval military leaders learned warfare from books—Roman manuals, handbooks, and case studies—informing campaigns, sieges, and logistical planning.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

25 Tips from the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net

Medieval practical literature provided specific everyday guidance on posture, hygiene, conversation, remedies, and social behavior, blending useful tips with odd, superstition-based methods.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Online Course: The Americas during the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net

An online six-week course examines indigenous peoples of North America and Mesoamerica (500–1500 CE), emphasizing diverse peoples, environments, lifestyles, and pre-contact historical trends.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Medieval Maps of Britain - Medievalists.net

Medieval cartography depicted Britain variably, evolving from vague island outlines to clearer, labeled representations showing towns, provinces, and classical influences.
[ Load more ]