Many folks will soon celebrate Easter, and so I invite you to fall down the best sort of rabbit’s hole and investigate — Medieval bunnies! And sex, purity, hermaphrodites, and the Virgin Mary, because those things all co-existed in Medieval and Early Modern culture. The painting here, the “Madonna of the Rabbit,” painted by Titian […]
Easter Bunnies and Fertility Read More »
The Dep*rtment of G*vernment Eff*ciency, or DOGE, is a (currently) temporary organization that is not a Cabinet-level department of the U.S. government. Read the news to catch up on that one, but it’s not an accident that M*sk has embraced this acronym. Unlike his boss, M*sk is smart, and it is extremely unlikely that the
Black History Month is a wonderful occasion to talk about the legacy of the “Black Madonna” in Western European Medieval art. You are looking at one of the most revered statues from Medieval Spain, known as the Virgin of Montserrat, located in Catalonia and probably dating to the 12th century. Her skin and that of
Here is an example of a heavy wheeled plow, and if you’re thinking “so what?,” that might be because the ubiquity of our modern technology has made us jaded to more ordinary-looking inventions. But this plow was responsible for allowing major agricultural change in the Middle Ages, as a recent study focusing on farmland in
Agricultural Technology in Medieval Denmark Read More »
“Sail to great Byzantium” (“Angels we have heard on high”)Sail to great Byzantium, eastern base of Ancient Rome.At the capital you’ll see St. Sophia’s massive dome.(Refrain): Goooooooooooold iconsBehold the great cityGoooooooooooold iconsHung up on the city wallsSilken robes the people wearFinest fabric anywherePurple color oh so rareRuler’s sign for those who bear(Refrain)Chariots in Blue and
“Sail to the great Byzantium” Christmas Carol Read More »
Sex and sin have a complicated history in Christian tradition. In the Middle Ages in Western Europe, Church theologians argued that sex itself was not evil, but enjoying it was. As Pope Gregory the Great wrote to Augustine of Canterbury around 600, “lawful intercourse should be for the procreation of offspring, and not for mere
Sex and Sin During the Middle Ages Read More »
Structures known as Irish Round Towers, built from the late 8th-12th centuries CE, dotted the island in medieval centuries. The only monumental stone buildings in Ireland to come before the Normans invaded, the towers used to be thought to function as lookouts for Viking invasions. Historians now ascribe less martial functions to the buildings, thinking
Irish Round Towers Read More »
This painting from 1494 is possibly a depiction of the famed Lucrezia Borgia appearing as Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The oxymoronic nature of such a depiction is obvious if we have heard of the many legends (incest, poisonings, etc) of this _femme fatale_. Of course, many of the tales are completely unproven, and probably can
The Powerful Lucrezia Borgia Read More »
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 »
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
The Flaying of Saint Bartholomew Read More »
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 »
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,
Negative Medieval Attitudes Towards Cats Read More »
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 »
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
Ancient Roman Map “Tabula Peutingeriana” 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
The Rumored Decline of Personal Hygiene Read More »
This nineteenth-century Tibetian painting is of a well-known deity in the Tantric Buddhist tradition, named Vajrayogini. Unlike some other Buddhist traditions which have neither Gods nor Goddesses, the Vajrayana Tantric tradition has both, as we can see here. Vajrayana Buddhism differs from many other religious traditions in its elevation of the female. The eleventh-century Tantric
Vajrayogini in Buddhist Tradition Read More »
