This photo of a Medieval staircase from Ballyhannon Castle in Ireland (c. 1490) shows a typical construction: the staircases were usually spiralled clockwise moving up, so that defenders could take the advantage using the center beam for protection, while attackers had a harder time using their sword-arms without exposing their bodies. An exception that proves
Medieval Clockwise Staircases Read More »
One of the earliest Medieval European depictions of an elephant as rendered by Matthew Paris in his Chronica Maiora II, 1235-1259. Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS 16 f. 151v.
Medieval European Elephant Depictions Read More »
My last post talked about Rapunzel’s Syndrome, in which unfortunate sufferers eat their own hair. Since hair cannot be digested, a mass forms in the patients’ stomachs, often requiring surgery. There is a fascinating but gruesome silver lining to situations such as these, however, which is that sometimes these masses can congeal and take shape
The Creation and Desire for Bezoars Read More »
Medieval people had such a different mindset from us that understanding their thoughts and perspectives can feel like trying to hold a conversation with someone who’s standing across a river bank. The illuminated manuscript shown here shows a bald man separated by a wide stream from a young person in white. It is the only
Middle English Poem “The Pearl” Read More »
The writings of the Medieval theologian Peter Damian (d. 1072) reinforce the idea that the Middle Ages were an era with such religious devotion that all other sensibilities were eclipsed. In learning about the disdain for which Peter seemed to hold nearly everything unconnected to Christian doctrine, we can imagine that even his contemporaries would
Peter Damian’s Medieval Theological Writings Read More »
Maybe if you just ate you should skip on past this post, and don’t squint too hard at the image along the way . . . On the other hand (no pun intended), if you’ve decided to keep reading, then you might notice that the bright red figure on the bed is actually having his
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This late 15th-c illustration shows a man preparing a mixture called “Theriac,” which for over a millennia was perhaps the most valued curative substance (or so it was advertised) across Eurasia. You can see the snakes unfurling under the man’s feet: they’re there representing the serpentine venom the ancient recipe demanded. Another crucial ingredient was
Mithridates and His Antidote Testing Read More »
One of the most important tools in the history of medical diagnosis has been urine. The examination of pee can legitimately be used to figure out whether a person is pregnant, or has diabetes, or kidney failure. For Medieval people, it was also thought to indicate widened “channels” into the kidney, which accidentally let blood
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Medieval Europeans lived far more isolated lives than we, and consequently, existed knowing there were vast tracts of lands and cultures to which they had no access. Tales about places necessarily depended on word-of-mouth, supplemented with rare but extremely popular travelogues. And so came to pass stories and legends about an unusual living thing, half-plant
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This is one of fifty copies left of the Gutenberg Bible, printed over 650 years ago. The volume symbolises a revolution in information transfer, because its movable type enabled the quick printing of books. Despite the forward-looking aspects of the Gutenberg Bible, it also symbolizes the Medieval culture from which it came. For instance, about
The First Mass Printed Medieval Book – The Gutenberg Bible Read More »
As the Middle Ages wore on, general attitudes about cats became increasingly negative. Although they continued to be kept as mousers and pets, they were associated with heresy, witchcraft, and the devil. Irina Metzler argues this was partly because even though they were domesticated, they wouldn’t obey their humans. In the early 15th century, Edward,
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Leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease, was a scourge for many throughout the European Middle Ages. Although it spreads slowly throughout a population, it was pervasive enough in England between the 11th and 15th centuries that at least 320 caretaking facilities for lepers were established during this time. In its advanced expression, leprosy causes lesions, sores, and
Leprosy During the European Middle Ages Read More »
The Middle Ages were a lot bawdier than most people imagine. Although modern society finds a Christian-infused culture abrasively at odds with a robustly sexual one, such was not the case in Western Europe 500 years ago . . . Into this conversation, may I introduce the Welsh poetess Gwerful Mechain (c. 1460-1502) Centuries before
Gwerful Mechain’s “Poem to the Vagina” Read More »
The “Exeter Book,” – aka Exeter, Cathedral Library, MS 3501 f. 112v – contains about 100 riddles in Old English. This example is number 45. If you are a Tolkein fan, you might remember Golem asking riddles at one point in _The Hobbit_: it was this genre that inspired Tolkein. The “Exeter Book” was recorded
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Medieval maps did not share modern objectives with cartography: the _mappae mundi_ (“maps of the world”) were not designed to find one’s way with landmass shown to scale, but rather to convey a schematic idea of the major parts of creation. The map here (Bartholomeus Anglicus, _De propriatatibus rerum_, Ahun 1480 (BnF@gallicabnf, Francis 9140, fol
Medieval T-O Maps – “De Propriatatibus Rerum” Read More »
Leaders in the European Middle Ages issued coins as a kind of aspirational statement of stable power. After all, currency is only as successful as a community’s faith in its worth. But what happens when a leader goes out of favor, or dies? This is a photo of coins issued by two English kings, one
European Middle Age Coins of Power Read More »
This is a section of a 13th-century copy of an Ancient Roman map from about 400 CE. Called the _Tabula Peutingeriana_, it depicts the intricate system of roads and passages that made up the official courier service connecting the Empire. This infrastructure was known as the _Cursus Publicus_, and lasted for centuries as the primary
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During the nearly half a millenia that the Ottoman Sultans governed their Empire, leaders’ talents of course varied, and predicting what sort of ruler the next Sultan might be could be guesswork. Two phenomena that developed at the top levels of state governance, however, tended to throw the odds in the negative direction. The first
Kafes of Future Ottoman Sultans Read More »
There is an idea that personal hygiene declined along with the fall of Rome in Western Europe. Unlike the Romans, this line of thinking goes, the Middle Ages constituted “a thousand years without a bath” (as one popular textbook summarizes). In fact, Medieval washing is a well documented practice, and you can read all about
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The term “swan song” comes from an Ancient notion that swans are mute throughout their lives, but sing a beautiful last melody as they are about to die. As far back as the Roman Pliny the Elder (in 77 CE), people have known this is not the case, but regardless, a swan song refers to
