Have Your or A Loved One (Usually a Woman) Dabbled in Witchcraft?

    "70. Have you believed that there is any woman who can do that which some, deceived by the devil, affirm that they must do f necessity or at his command, that is, with a throng of demons transformed into the likeness of women, (she whom common folly calls the witch Hulda), must ride on certain beasts in this infidelity, you should do penance for one year on the appointed fast days..." (Kors/Peters pg 64)

This quote, as well as the 20 or so others all sound like one of those financial compensation commercials. But, instead of getting money in return you get told to repent for believing your next door neighbor, Miriam, is riding beasts into the night but might also actually be Hulda in disguise. Or 3 demons in a trench coat riding a goat. You'll never really know but to cure you of this totally-not-delusion, you must repent on specific fasting days. From a modern mind this seems trippy but for that time, you couldn't trust anyone. Not even your goat.

Why It Gotta Be Green???

The Green Knight is very, well, green! There isn't much more about him so far that we know about the guy. But, what we do have so far from is that he's super GREEN. Why though? Why is the Green Knight green? What is so significant about the color green when he comes to the Christmas/New Years kickback of King Arthur and his Round Table buddies? Is there symbolism with the color green? What are they? We shall discuss ;).

Harry Potter in the News!

A curious bit of news this weekend...Harry Potter is still encountering challenging and is being removed from libraries, over a DECADE after the last book came out! This time, they books were removed from a Catholic grammar school in Nashville, based on consultation with "'several' exorcists."

Here's a story in The Guardian that sums up the events quite well.

And here's the quote I thought we might want to consider as part of our discussion today:

“These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception,” Rev Dan Reehil wrote. “The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”

Hmm.

 

Welcome!

Welcome to our course blog for Medieval Magic and Mysticism!

Over the course of the next few months, we'll be diving into a number of challenging and controversial topics. We'll not only be thinking about magic, religion, and science, but also considering the ways these categories are tied up with issues of gender, class, and morality. Along the way, we will also be thinking about the ways that medieval understandings of magic continue to influence the pop culture of today.

It will be an exciting semester, and I look forward to beginning the journey with you all!

The Fellowship of the Ring, image archived @ hidefninja.com forums