We are likely familiar with the story of the Three Wise Men in the Christian cultural tradition — the visitors from the east whom the Gospel of Matthew says visited the infant Jesus to honor him with gifts. We might not realize, though, that the Gospel writer never indicated the number of _Magi_ (a Greek […]
The Wise Men of Christian Tradition Read More »
This post is about the juxtaposition of holiness and horror. The statue you see here is “the Vision of Constantine,” sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (d. 1680), one of history’s most talented artists. Bernini is famous for his beautiful marble renderings of the human form, and most of his beloved works were of well known
“The Visions of Constantine” – Holiness and Horror Read More »
In the remote grassy highlands of northern Ireland is the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. There, three disprate landmarks – a cross, a grave, and some special dirt – tell a story about hope for an end to suffering.From the Medieval past, the tenth-century Boho High Cross depicts scenes from the Biblical Book of Genesis
Northern Ireland’s Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Read More »
This week’s posts examine attitudes towards death in ancient and Medieval cultures. This engraving of “King Solomon in Old Age,” reflects the most famous Jewish monarch of Israel as wizened but not cheerful. The portrait is entirely in line with the musings of the author of the Biblical book _Ecclesiastes_, who, unlike any other Biblical
Ecclesiastes and its Attitude Towards Death Read More »
Dust bunnies on the ceiling out of control? No, this is an illustration of a Medieval dream, and it’s giving this character from a poem by Chaucer some anxiety. The interpretation of dreams could indeed be a cause for worry in these centuries.The Christian monks and bishops who wrote about dreams during the Middle Ages
The Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament was averse to using vulgarity. This applied to basic human anatomy: instead of having the word penis, for instance, it might record “member,” “side,” or “flesh.” Women’s labia could be referred to as “hand.” Why?, you may ask? It had to do with the high-falutin’ genre of the
Old Christian Testament Averse to Vulgarity Read More »
In light of the times we are a-livin’ in right now, I thought it might be interesting to do a series this week on the history of conspiracy theories. The first photo you see here is one that just won’t go away, no matter how much evidence gets stacked against it time and time again.
The Rumored Protocols of Zion Read More »
Here’s a very old conspiracy theory for you: the spurious accusations against the Knights Templars. As you can see from this late-15th century depiction, the charges were successful and many of the leaders were burned as a result.So if you don’t know, the Knights Templar was a religious order started to help protect Christians seeking
The Knights Templar Read More »
In our final conspiracy theory for the week, I feature early Christian cannibals!Not really. But partaking in cannibalism and sexual orgies were rumors that Ancient Romans persistently leveled at Christians. The Christians in this second-century Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome were not, in fact, devouring human flesh, but rather the bread in the ritual “agape
Christian Cannibals Conspiracy Theory Read More »
Hairstyles give a lot of information to others — sometimes even more than clothing, because they are both changeable but also part of the body. For Medieval men, having long hair meant high social status in many cultures. The English before the Norman Conquest of 1066 are a case in point — as you can
Medieval Men’s Hair and Their Social Status Read More »
Women’s hair troubled Medieval men. In art and literature, they loved to show women with long unbound tresses, even though in real life, married women usually bound their hair up or wore veils to cover it when they were in public (unless they were mourning, as I wrote about in yesterday’s post).Two types of women
The Trouble of Medieval Women’s Hair Read More »
“There never was a greater crime against humanity,” wrote the famed Byzantine scholar Sir Steven Runciman, “than the Fourth Crusade.” And although unfortunately untold numbers of atrocities could easily compete for this claim, certainly the sack of the glorious city of Constantinople marks a horrifyingly violent chapter in the history of Christianity.The city had been
The Horrific Tale of the Fourth Crusade Read More »
I am going to do a magic trick for you — take a look at the two photos here: one is a 15th century painting of a Locust, and the other is Ernie Chambers, the longest-serving state senator of Nebraska (46 years and counting). And my hocus pocus will be to show how these two
The Similarities of a Locust and Senator Ernie Chambers Read More »
Since it’s Christmastime, I’m taking up related topics for my theme this week. The being featured here is of course not Saint Nick, but the Greco-Roman God Asclepius — whose birth, life, and death stories were extremely popular during Jesus’ lifetime. Turns out, the two deities had a lot in common.The story of the Virgin
Similarities of Greco-Roman God God Asclepius and Jesus Read More »
Tonight on December 21 we have a conflation of two celestial events: the winter solstice and the much-rarer conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Although the fact that these events are both happening at the same time is super awesome, they are not causally related. Hundreds of years ago in the fourth century during
Relationship of Sol Invictus and the Christian Birth of Jesus Read More »
“What’s myrrh, anyway?,” declares the mother of Brian in the classic Monty Python sketch (see second image). Turns out, gold, frankincense and myrrh had a lot of meanings that modern readers might not recognize.The story of the “wise” men that visit the babe Jesus only appears in the Gospel of Matthew. The author does not
The Magi (Wise Men) of Christmas Tradition Read More »
Today’s Christmas-themed post is all about the mistletoe plant, which had special importance in pagan European times before it became attached to Christian holiday traditions.Mistletoe is a super fascinating species that evolved from sandalwood, and is a type of parasitic plant. It uses its host plant’s water and nutrients, but can also photosynthesize energy from
Christmas History – The Mistletoe Plant Read More »
Christmas traditions have a great many manifestations, and one of the most unusual is a practice from southern Wales surrounding the macabre figure of the Mari Lwyd, which is a horse skull decorated with glass eyes and bows, held up on a pole by a man under a white canvas sheet. (The first photo gives
Mari Lwyd and Traditional Christmas Customs of Southern Wales Read More »
The story of the Tower of Babel from the Hebrew Bible’s _Genesis_ is a famous myth that explains the origin of the world’s multiplicity of languages. Surprise surprise, there are a whole lot of interpretations about the meanings of this story. But the human fascination about why there are so many languages cuts across many
Multiplicity of Languages From the Tower of Babel Read More »
Killing in the name of God has been an unfortunate part of the legacy of Abrahamic religions, and we might wonder how people across the millennia have rationalized this. No need for much Biblical exegesis here, because I am hopeful that readers would all fall into the “no sh*t, Sherlock” camp at the mere suggestion
The Fourth Western European Crusade Read More »
