imagining the apocalypse

Some images from my recent lecture on the Apocalypse in the Middle Ages

breathtaking

Why didn't I see this before my lectures on medieval architecture?

The Vatican and Oxford University are digitizing manuscripts

this is truly an exciting venture, with so many potential benefits. I might never leave my computer again.

Beowulf - Grendel's Ambush - Bagby

http://www.youtube.com/v/E806VmFC8io?version=3&autohide=1&feature=share&autoplay=1&autohide=1&attribution_tag=12NdIhFCQEC-DG1_HalVxA&showinfo=1

 Part of Benjamin Bagby's performance of Beowulf.  Very interesting and entertaining.  Lovely to have him on campus. 

laramie project and the formation of a persecuting society at ole miss

Recently at University of Mississippi, a student production of the Laramie Project was interrupted when members of the audience began yelling homophobic slurs and other insults at the cast. Although the university administration reacted responsibly, the student body appears to have been virtually unmoved by this event. Why such an apathetic response? Perhaps it is because of the students themselves: they are not engaged, they are more interested in rush, they don't want to make waves... Or perhaps it is because most of them were raised in an atmosphere that either marginalized or denounced homosexuals. Even if the students wouldn't personally have shouted insults, they did not want to be seen defending homosexuals. Even if they have not yet decided their own beliefs about homosexuality, they felt too much ambivalence and discomfort to openly support it. Coincidentally, my class on the Early and High Middle Ages was also reading The Formation of a Persecuting Society, by R.I. Moore. This book details the increased persecution of three marginal groups in the Middle Ages: Jews, heretics, and lepers. It traces the way narratives were created around these groups that emphasized their malignancy, spiritual degeneracy, and potential to spread. These narratives combined biblical explication, folklore, the patristic writings of the Church fathers, and science. They resemble at several points contemporary narratives regarding homosexuality, and its potential threat to the moral and physical health of our society, from destroying families to spreading AIDS. The power of the narrative to create feelings of fear and discomfort is also the same. As I attempted to point this out to my students, the blank stares I received in response informed me that while unjust oppression is extremely easy to see from a distance, it is much more difficult to recognize in one's own life.

prophecy as political language

I stole the title of this blog from Felicitas Schmieder, but the idea is close to my heart. One may indeed interpret the medium of prophecy as a political language, a flexible language which has the ability to shift codes depending on context. I was thinking of the different ways that a prophecy can be political. It can overtly predict or attempt to influence political outcomes. Or it can be more subtle, endowing certain people, objects, places, or events with eschatological meaning. A prophecy can also create expectations, make a framework for perceiving events. Finally, it can give certain people, the "prophets" among us, a unique authority and influence.

Medievalista Blue Chair Lectures have begun!

In my ongoing attempts to humanize and democratize knowledge, I've been working on a series of online lectures about aspects of the Middle Ages. These are meant for a general audience. Everything you ever wanted to know about medieval society. With pictures of peasants skinny dipping. I'm so excited to share the first one. Check it out.

Medievalista Lecture Series: Medieval Society from Courtney Kneupper on Vimeo.

fearful spirits

What's on my desk at the moment? I'm looking forward to delving into Michael Bailey's new book: Fearful Spirits, Reasoned Follies: The Boundaries of Superstition in Late Medieval Europe, recently published by Cornell Press. According to the book description, "Bailey shows ... authorities were far more sophisticated in their reasoning than one might suspect, using accusations of superstition in a calculated way to control the boundaries of legitimate religion and acceptable science." The contested boundaries of legitimate religion and acceptable science are of express interest to me, and this promises to be a nuanced exploration of this transitional period in European History.

the amazing astrolabe

current projects

I thought it was time for an update about some current projects:

Joint project: Edition of the Dietrich von Zengg Prophecy, in its Medieval and Early Modern copies.  This is a prophecy regarding the political and spiritual fate of the German Empire, with a special role for the Habsburg imperial line.  The prophecy appears to have been composed in the mid fifteenth century in Austria.  It features an avenging Emperor, the reform of Christendom, and widespread violence in Europe and Bohemia.  I am pursuing this project with Jonathan Green.

Medievalista: The Blue Chair Lecture Series.
The first of these will be completed soon.  These are video lectures that use images and lectures (in a more informal setting) to introduce viewers to medieval society. 

“Future things are hidden from mankind and ought not be known”: Contesting Knowledge of the Future in Late Medieval German-speaking Europe.  
This project was begun during my time in Erlangen at the IKGF.  I explore the raging debate among theologians and scholars in the Late Middle Ages regarding access to and authority over knowledge of the future. The central controversy focused on the spiritual authority of clerics and the access of laity and women to supernatural categories of knowledge.  My thesis is that this contest over knowledge of the future engaged larger questions about knowledge, authority, and spiritual legitimacy.

resigning popes

Still reeling from the news that Benedict XVI is going to step down.  This is, of course, virtually unheard of.  And while people keep insisting that the last pope to resign was Gregory XII, this is only true to a point.  Gregory resigned as a result of pressure from the Council of Constance, in order for the schism in the Church to be healed.  This is not quite the same sort of resignation, is it?

Perhaps Celestine V's resignation in 1294 is a better comparison, since Celestine left office (as far as we know) of his own volition.

The resignation of Celestine was believed to have apocalyptic implications, so we will have to see what comes next.  Here is an image of Celestine V from the Vaticinia de summis pontificibus, or "Pope Prophecies" from the Kremsmünster Stiftsbibliothek.  Notice the wolf who is after his tiara.  Not good.



At any rate, it is shocking.  Popes don't resign.  The fact that we know of one, or possibly two, popes who have simply resigned in 1600+ years demonstrates the magnitude of this event.

This transforms the position of the pope, who, as representative of Christ on earth, is infallible according to current doctrine.  While the resignation of a pope for health reasons does not contradict this position, it underlines the difference between the man and his office.  This distinction opens the way for a reconsideration of the role of the papacy and the nature of its office.