The object featured here – a box carved out of whale’s bone – comes from Britain in the early 700s, which was an age of fragmented states and political destabilization. The scene shown is a rendering of the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans, but to the onlooker the most obvious activity is that of […]
British Carved Whale Bone Box Read More »
One of the most entertaining saints in the biz, Sainte Foy was known as the trickster saint (a reliquary holding some of her remains is on the second slide). She had all the usual chops to star in a holy cult centered around her: allegedly killed by Romans when she refused to do pagan sacrifices,
Sainte Foy and the Heist by the Monks of Conques Read More »
You are looking at the most famous labyrinth in Medieval history: that of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres. In eleven concentric circles, the path wanders towards the center rosette. This labyrinth dates to about 1200, and is the most complete and largest of its type. The meaning of this maze has been debated —
The Cathedral of Notre Dame’s Labyrinth Read More »
“The Thunder, Perfect Mind” is a mesmerizing poem dating perhaps to the second century CE. It reflects the mingling of many different belief systems in the Roman Empire, such as those ideas popular with the Cult of the Egyptian Goddess Isis, shown here in a Roman-styled rendition.It takes the voice of a female divine being,
Isis in the Cult of the Egyptian Read More »
You are looking at a highly sophisticated mnemonic devise representing ideas about the nature of reality crafted by one of the most famous thinkers killed by the Catholic Church for heresy. Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) is well-known for refusing to recant his ideas in the face of the Inquisition. Many notions he favored ultimately found support
Mnemonic Devices on the Nature of Reality Read More »
Many who like history are drawn to a past that they can feel connected to. But some are drawn to the ways the past feels radically different. In the latter case, when faced with a totally alien world-view, we are constantly forced to recognize how powerful cultural ideals are in shaping the consciousness of human
The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa Read More »
In the Central Middle Ages, before the witch-hunt craze of the 16th century, more men than women were accused of sorcery. However, the association of women resorting to unscrupulous and un-Christian ways to fly had become well entrenched by 1500 CE.In a manuscript called the _canon Episcopi_, which might have been written in the late
The Waldensians – Flying Witches Read More »
We share the same genetic code with people from the Medieval past, and the basic way our brains take in sensory information is also the same. However, the cultural lens of the Middle Ages differs so greatly from our own that Medieval people interpreted the physical world in a vastly different way. This is true
Medieval Associations of Smells Read More »
Don’t feel too badly for Saint Catherine of Siena, shown here besieged by demons in a work from 1500. In the Late Middle Ages, a number of female saints became well-known for their mystical visions. Some of these were heavenly, but other times they were not. Frequently, the visions conveyed an idea that female sexuality
Saint Catherine of Siena and Female Saint’s Mystical Visions Read More »
There is a common misconception that Native American Indians had no exposure to alcohol before contact with the Europeans. This idea extends to imagining that AmerIndians were genetically less able to metabolize alcohol than the explorers from the Old World. In fact, neither of these ideas are true, as the laws and traditions of the
Indigenous Aztec’s and Their Alcohol Consumption Read More »
Carved out of marble in the first century CE, this Ancient Roman sculpture is one of the world’s most famous works of art. It showcases a tragic moment in the myth of Lacoon and his sons, when, in revenge for trying to alert the Ancient Trojans about a giant horse armed with secret enemies of
The Tragedy of Lacoon and the “Snake Detection Hypothesis” Read More »
This coin dates to the age of the Germanic ruler Clovis I (d 511 CE), and should immediately strike us with its mythological imagery — angels with swords aren’t things we actually see. We realize that the figure on the coin cannot correspond with a real-life person. A tricky thing about studying Early Medieval history,
Germanic Leader King Clovis I Read More »
Here lies the effigy of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine at Fontevraud Abbey. If Queen Eleanor were a Dungeons and Dragons character, she’d be like level fifty. At an imaginary dinner table of bad-ass women in history, Eleanor would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Cleopatra of Egypt, the Empress Irene of Byzantium, and Catherine the
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine Read More »
Here’s Sir Isaac Newton, sporting what looks like some pretty fantastic quarantine hair in his 46th year. Solitary, misanthropic, and quirky (he once experimented on optics by putting a needle deep into his eyesocket to see how his vision would change), Newton’s work on classical mechanics revolutionized how people understood the cosmos. We all can
Isaac Newton’s Blended Scientific and Occult World Views Read More »
This 17th-century design would make a perfect tattoo, except the meaning would say something pitiable about the wearer. It is a rose with the Latin word “CAUTE” beneath. The rose meant secrecy, and _caute_ means “cautiously.” The person who used this sign, Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677), did so because he had to constantly keep his
The Sign and Writings of Baruch de Spinoza Read More »
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 »
The bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism are those who believe that until everyone is free, no one is free. Although enlightened, they willfully choose to forgo nirvana, and instead allow themselves to be reincarnated into this mortal coil. They do this of course, because beings of such great compassion would only want nirvana
Bodhisattva Guanyin 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 »
The headline here says the world will end in 1843 — that’s Jesus you see up at the top of the page, literally returning to earth on some clouds to clean the world from sin.Of course, it didn’t happen. This was the belief of the American Baptist preacher William Miller, whose evangelical movement convinced as
American Baptist William Miller and the “Great Disappointment” Read More »
