leidenmedievalistsblog — page 6

“My object is truth”: An Old English Homilist and Religious Polemics in Nineteenth-Century Britain

In today's society, public discourse often loses sight of the commonsensical ‘middle of the road’. The nineteenth century was not much different. Only, back then, Europe's great minds were drawn into debating the intricacies of early medieval Christian doctrine, rather than the mysteries of Crypto. 

The Hinterlands of Medieval Chalcis Project Unearths a Medieval Landscape in Rural Greece

Hinterlands of Medieval Chalcis Project (Archaeology, Leiden) has a successful third year of fieldwork in Greece.

Echoes of the Divine: Auditory Perception in Sufi Mysticism

How does mysticism transform sensory perception into a gateway to the Divine?

Health and Healing in the Norse World: A Glimpse into Medieval Scandinavian Medicine

The Vikings, often romanticized as fearsome raiders, were also adept navigators, traders, and settlers. But beyond the swords and sails lies another fascinating aspect of their lives: how they understood and managed health and healing.

Cultural History · Art History · Manuscript Studies

What has Cleopatra to do with the Crusades?

What does a picture of a dark-skinned Cleopatra do in a fourteenth-century manuscript produced at the papal court in Avignon?

Legal History · Architecture · Economic History

The Measure of Things: on the Size of a Loaf or the Length of a Poniard

Although easily overlooked, the facades of many churches and public buildings show up iron rods or studs, carved shapes like the contours of feet or daggers, and even representations of bricks and floor tiles. These signs hark back to a time when standard measures differed from place to place.