The article analyzes studies of bone assemblages of birds of prey from medieval and post‐medieval archaeological sites in the Volga River basin territory. We provide data on the presence of birds of ...prey: Accipitriformes (hawks and eagles), Falconiformes (falcons), and Strigiformes (owls) within the Volga region during the Middle Ages and post‐Middle Ages (4th–18th centuries AD) in bird communities from 15 archaeological sites. Archaeological bird of prey remains from the Volga basin could contribute to the understanding of the interaction between different ethnic groups in the region within the context of human–nature interaction. In quantitative terms, the clear predominance of the northern goshawk and white‐tailed sea‐eagle, as well as the high proportion of the Eurasian sparrowhawk and relatively high species diversity of falcons and owls observed in medieval time, indicates social or environmental context has changed in a short period of time. The use of birds of prey by the various ethnic groups in the Volga River basin was multifaceted, including for falconry/hawking practice, feathers, amulets, or ornaments and for religious/politics ceremonies.
The petitions received and the letters sent by the Papal Chancery during the Late Middle Ages attest to the recognition of disability at the highest levels of the medieval Church. These documents ...acknowledge the existence of physical and/or mental impairments, with the papacy issuing dispensations allowing some supplicants to adapt their clerical missions according to their abilities. A disease, impairment, or old age could prevent both secular and regular clerics from fulfilling the duties of their divine office. Such conditions can, thus, be understood as forms of disability. In these cases, the Papal Chancery bore the responsibility for determining if disabled people were suitable to serve as clerics, with all the rights and duties of divine services. Whilst some petitioners were allowed to enter the clergy, or – in the case of currently serving churchmen – to stay more or less active in their work, others were compelled to resign their position and leave the clergy entirely. Petitions and papal letters lie at intersection of authorized, institutional policy and practical sources chronicling the lived experiences of disabled people in the Middle Ages. As such, they constitute an excellent analytical laboratory in which to study medieval disability in its relation to the papacy as an institution, alongside the impact of official ecclesiastical judgments on disabled lives.
Thomas Izbicki presents a new examination of the relationship between the adoration of the sacrament and canon law from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. The medieval Church believed Christ's ...glorified body was present in the Eucharist, the most central of the seven sacraments, and the Real Presence became explained as transubstantiation by university-trained theologians. Expressions of this belief included the drama of the elevated host and chalice, as well as processions with a host in an elaborate monstrance on the Feast of Corpus Christi. These affirmations of doctrine were governed by canon law, promulgated by popes and councils; and liturgical regulations were enforced by popes, bishops, archdeacons and inquisitors. Drawing on canon law collections and commentaries, synodal enactments, legal manuals and books about ecclesiastical offices, Izbicki presents the first systematic analysis of the Church's teaching about the regulation of the practice of the Eucharist.
The Secret Within Riehle, Wolfgang; Scott Stokes, Charity
03/2014
eBook
Spiritual seekers throughout history have sought illumination through solitary contemplation. In the Christian tradition, medieval England stands out for its remarkable array of hermits, recluses, ...and spiritual outsiders, from Cuthbert Godric of Fichale and Christina of Markyate to Richard Rolle, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe. In The Secret Within, Wolfgang Riehle offers the first comprehensive history of English medieval mysticism in decades, one that will appeal to anyone fascinated by mysticism as a phenomenon of religious life.
In considering the origins and evolution of the English mystical tradition, Riehle begins in the twelfth century with the revival of eremitical mysticism and the early growth of the Cistercian Order in the British Isles. He then focuses in depth on the great mystics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: Richard Rolle (the first great English mystic), the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Walter Hilton, Margery Kempe, and Julian of Norwich. Riehle carefully grounds his narrative in the broader spiritual landscape of the Middle Ages, pointing out both prior influences dating back to Late Antiquity and corresponding developments in mysticism and theology on the Continent. He discusses the problem of possible differences between male and female spirituality and the movement of popularizing mysticism in the late Middle Ages. Filled with fresh insights, The Secret Within will be welcomed especially by teachers and students of medieval literature as well as by those engaged in historical, theological, philosophical, cultural, even anthropological and comparative studies of mysticism.
John Tolan, Mahoma el europeo: percepciones occidentales del Profeta del islam desde la Edad Media a nuestros días, Cáceres, Universidad de Extremadura, 2021, 265 págs. Sin embargo, el 'individuo ...histórico' tampoco debería confundirse, al menos por completo, con la visión islámica, que ha desarrollado una visión fuertemente idealizada y arquetípica de la figura del profeta, por más que el 'individuo histórico' sea inseparable de la versión islámica, al igual que el 'individuo histórico' Jesús es inseparable de su versión cristiana original. Obviamente, tradiciones tan diversas han producido versiones muy diferentes de Mahoma, de tal manera que, aunque 'una gran parte de los escritos que se le han dedicado' son 'hostiles', sin embargo la animosidad contra el islam no ocupa toda la atención del autor, ya que 'Muhammad ocupa un lugar tan ambivalente como esencial en la imaginación europea' (p. 13-14). A este respecto, tal vez se echa en falta una mayor atención a los espacios europeos en los que el islam ha tenido una mayor presencia desde una perspectiva histórica (península ibérica, Sicilia, países balcánicos, Grecia) y en los que, por lo tanto, cabe presumir que lo islámico ha dejado una huella más perceptible en distintos aspectos.
Abstract This article addresses the claims that the idea of a flat earth was an essential part of the dominant cosmological paradigm in the Middle Ages. After examining the origin and transmission of ...the main arguments that ancient science passed on to medieval scholars with respect to the signs and evidence of the earths (almost) spherical shape, we will also explore both ancient and medieval advocates of alternative models, only to conclude that throughout the Middle Ages the standard scientific paradigm involved the notion of a spherical earth. The (inaccurate) belief that medieval science generally upheld the flat earth paradigm seems to be part of a widespread prejudice held in contemporary times against the Middle Ages writ large. En el cine, en series y otros programas de televisión, en novelas, historietas, videojuegos y otros medios de la cultura de masas, la misma idea se ha reflejado una y otra vez, con distintos grados de distorsión, más o menos completa y sugerida o expresada con mayor o menor claridad.
Women commonly became pilgrims in Latin Christendom in the later Middle Ages, despite the opposition of contemporary critics. This book explores women's participation in many forms of pilgrimage, and ...also their construction of positive interpretations of that participation.
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