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.
In cities and towns across northern Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a new type of religious woman took up authoritative positions in society, all the while living as public recluses ...in cells attached to the sides of churches. In Lives of the Anchoresses, Anneke Mulder-Bakker offers a new history of these women who chose to forsake the world but did not avoid it. Unlike nuns, anchoresses maintained their ties to society and belonged to no formal religious order. From their solitary anchorholds in very public places, they acted as teachers and counselors and, in some cases, theological innovators for parishioners who would speak to them from the street, through small openings in the walls of their cells. Available at all hours, the anchoresses were ready to care for the community's faithful whenever needed. Through careful biographical studies of five emblematic anchoresses, Mulder-Bakker reveals the details of these influential religious women. The life of the unnamed anchoress who was mother to Guibert of Nogent shows the anchoress's role as a spiritual guide in an oral culture. A study of Yvette of Huy shows the myriad possibilities open to one woman who eventually chose the life of an anchoress. The accounts of Juliana of Cornillon and Eve of St. Martin raise questions about the participation of religious women in theological discussions and their contributions to church liturgy. And the biographical study of Margaret the Lame of Magdeburg explores the anchoress's role as day-to-day religious instructor to the ordinary faithful.
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.
The volume explores the hitherto uncharted late medieval religious landscape of Northern Germany. Through discussion of a rich, varied selection of mystical and devotional texts, also translated into ...English, a fascinating regional "mystical culture" with a far-reaching impact is revealed.
What do the physical characteristics of the books acquired by elite women in the late medieval and early modern periods tell us about their owners, and what in particular can their ...illustrations-especially their illustrations of women-reveal? Centered on Anne, duchess of Brittany and twice queen of France, with reference to her contemporaries and successors,The Queen's Libraryexamines the cultural issues surrounding female modes of empowerment and book production. The book aims to uncover the harmonies and conflicts that surfaced in male-authored, male-illustrated works for and about women. In her interdisciplinary investigation of the cultural and political legacy of Anne of Brittany and her female contemporaries, Cynthia J. Brown argues that the verbal and visual imagery used to represent these women of influence was necessarily complex because of its inherently conflicting portrayal of power and subordination. She contends that it can be understood fully only by drawing on the intersection of pertinent literary, historical, codicological, and art historical sources. InThe Queen's Library, Brown examines depictions of women of power in five spheres that tellingly expose this tension: rituals of urban and royal reception; the politics of female personification allegories; the "famous-women"topos; women in mourning; and women mourned.
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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