Daily Medieval

Written by Honorius Augustodunensis  (c.1080 - c.1140) in the late 11th century, the Elucidarium  was intended to make clear various things ...

Yesterday I briefly mentioned the Elucidarium . Its name signified that it was intended to elucidate the details of Christian theology and ...

Early Anglo-Saxon texts show the Old English term ælf , which morphed into our Modern English  elf . The word was cognate with the Old Icela...

The witches of yesterday's post were just a small part of the rich folklore found in Icelandic literature and history. Because Iceland ...

In the sixth season of the TV show Vikings , a whale has washed up on shore. One character, Kjetill, claims it for his own. Others insist th...

Speaking of medieval whaling , let's talk about Iceland's approach. As an island in the North Atlantic—with a relatively small strip...

Yesterday's post referred to Ohthere of Hålogaland supporting himself partially through whaling. Whaling centuries ago should not be a ...

When King Alfred the Great asked for an Anglo-Saxon translation of Orosius' Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII , or "Seven Boo...

The History written by Paulus Orosius in the 5th century carried influence for a thousand years afterward: "The exceptionality of the...

Orosius  wrote an influential book on the history of the world, Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII , or "Seven Books of History Aga...

Yesterday's post mentioned one of the most influential books on history that formed the foundation of the medieval era's understand...

Yesterday we talked about the medieval attitude toward Noah , mostly from the Jewish viewpoint. Another group that spent a significant amoun...

There is much more to be said about the story of Noah than an ark, a dove, and animals two-by-two (especially since the command was to colle...

Over 600 years before the birth of Jesus, who went on at the age of 30 to challenge the status quo of his faith and developed a major religi...

The ideas put forth by Nestorius survived him and his condemnation as a heretic, mostly in the East. Those who disagreed with the Council o...

It is time to talk about Nestorianism, the man who started it, and the fact that even though it was declared heretical it lasted in areas un...

The pull of a religious and contemplative life drew many men and women to it from many spheres. Maximus (c.580 - 662), for instance, was a c...

John Scotus Eriugena (c.815 - c.877) was a philosopher, theologian, poet, and master of the palace school of Aachen under the Carolingians....

Alcuin of York is celebrated as a learned man and the head of the palace school of Aachen under Charlemagne, but one of his successors at Aa...

When Charles the Bald visited the abbey of New Corvey in 843, he said he would like to have the Eucharist explained to him. In response, th...

About 831CE, a Carolingian monk at the monastery of New Corvey in Westphalia wrote De Corpore et Sanguine Domini , "On the Body and Blo...

After Berengar of Tours avoided what he assumed was a council to condemn him further (he had already been excommunicated for his denial of ...

A controversial figure who was widely respected by some and strongly denounced by others, Berengar was born in the early 11th century, proba...

I'm going to start with a quotation from a website about transubstantiation and Paul to the Corinthians: Evidently Paul believed that th...

Peter of Bruys is known to us because of the writings of two of his enemies. He was born in southeastern France and became a Roman Catholic ...

After being slapped down at the Council of Pisa in 1135, Henry of Lausanne refused an invitation to join St. Bernard at Clairvaux, opting ...