Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 19 - 2025 i Medieval World Culture & Conflict Magazine

What will happen at the end of times was an ongoing preoccupation for people in the Middle Ages, and it remains so for us today. Different religions from across the globe advanced their own views, predictions, and calculations, as well as the unfolding of significant events and the reappearance of key holy figures on the day of judgement. Among the key texts of apocalyptic literature, dealing with the end of all things, the Book of Revelation (or John's Apocalypse) was the most influential. It inspired various interpretations and vivid renditions in medieval art in all media. We still do not know what will happen when the world comes to an end, but prophecies, numerology, astronomy, and weather events, among others, continue to incite speculations today as they did during the…

In images of Water-Moon Guanyin, every detail carries meaning. She often sits on a rocky outcrop, grounded in a landscape shaped by moonlight and rippling water. A vase filled with sweet dew is usually placed beside her, symbolizing her power to soothe suffering and offer spiritual nourishment. Lotus blossoms, rising clean from muddy water, signal spiritual awakening, while the moo's reflection on a rippling surface speaks to the Buddhist notion of illusion and impermanence. This vase, along with the willow branch — used to sprinkle purifying water — appears frequently across other Guanyin forms. Guanyin is said to have thirty-three manifestations, each adapted to the needs of different beings. These include the Child-Giving Guanyin, guardian of mothers and children; the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, able to help countless beings at once; and…

One of the most obvious examples of the female shaping of medieval culture is in the growth of the literary form known as romance. The early chivalric tales — the so-called epics — focused almost exclusively on the actions of warriors and kings, and dealt with matters of fealty, loyalty, war, and politics. A woman's touch The romances, which were popularised in the central and southern French court of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Marie de Champagne, introduced new motifs and plots: life at court, magical beasts and quests, and much more nuanced relationships between men and women. Female characters became fully-rounded figures in their own right, acting in their own interests and motives. They could be intelligent, duplicitous, wise, commanding, and powerful. The women of Arthurian romance inspired, coerced, and…

Coptic textiles are some of the best-preserved examples of late antique and early medieval art, in part due to the dry climate of the region. Woven or embroidered and made of linen and wool, these textiles feature various weaving techniques and types of religious and everyday scenes, ranging from figures and narratives to geometric and vegetal motifs. Most also bear Christian symbols like crosses and saintly figures, reflecting the spread of Coptic Christianity. The surviving examples reveal various clothing styles, as well as church and household furnishings. Many of these objects have survived in burial sites, being interred with the deceased, and in numerous corners of the medieval world — in Western, Byzantine, and Islamic contexts — via trade routes. Coptic textiles offer a window into the religious, cultural, and…

The seven-headed Dragon that attacks the cosmic Woman clothed with the Sun and standing on the moon (Rev. 12) typifies this powerful imagery. The twelfth-century Silos Apocalypse depicts a huge twisting Dragon with a tail that sweeps down a third of the stars from heaven. Its seven heads harass a cosmic Woman, clothed with the sun and standing on the moon. As shown on the upper right, her child is given up to heaven, while the Dragon, depicted as Satan, is chained in hell below. This image at the center of Revelation exemplifies how the Apocalypse spans all history, from the past fall of the rebel angels to the present persecution of the Church to the future end of time. Apocalypse imagery informed Christian symbolism throughout the Middle Ages. Near…

Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age By Eleanor Barraclough ISBN: 978-1324089230 W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2024 $32.99 www.wwnorton.com Embers of the Hands is another entry in the steady stream of recent book releases about the history of the Viking Age. Consequently, the question that immediately comes to mind is: what might set it apart from other recent titles that engage with the topic? As its subtitle suggests, the book is not a history about famous events such as the attack on Lindisfarne, the settlement of Normandy, or the establishment of the Varangian Guard. Nor is it a history about the major power-players who have achieved legendary status and tend to fill the pages of most history books about the Viking Age. Rather, Embers of the…

Askeland, Christian. ‘The Sahidic Apocalypse tradition in early Islamic Egypt.’ In Studien zum Text der Apokalypse, edited by Martin Karrer, Ulrich Schmid, Marcus Sigismund. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015. Carey, Frances, ed. The Apocalypse and the Shape of Things to Come. London: British Museum Press, 1999. Chazan, Robert. Barcelona and Beyond: The Disputation of 1263 and Its Aftermath. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992. Emmerson, Richard K. Antichrist in the Middle Ages: A Study of Medieval Apocalypticism, Art, and Literature. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1981. Emmerson, Richard K., and Ronald B. Herzman. The Apocalyptic Imagination in Medieval Literature. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992. Friedmann, Yohanan. Messianic Ideas and Movements in Sunni Islam. Oxford: Oneworld, 2022. Gumerlock, Francis X. The Day and the Hour: Christianity's Perennial Fascination with Predicting the…

A worshipper entering a Chinese Buddhist temple steps first into the main hall, where a central deity — or group of deities — faces the entrance. There, visitors kneel, burn incense, and cast silent wishes. After paying respects, they continue leftward around the altar and exit through the rear door, completing a ritual circuit. It is often at this moment — when formal worship has ended — that one encounters Water-Moon Guanyin, seated in reverse, facing the rear door. Not framed for grand display, she gazes calmly from a side alcove or behind the altar, offering a quiet, unexpected moment of reflection, intimacy, and spiritual presence beyond the main ritual.…

Emperor Frederick Barbarossa supposedly led 15,000 knights before the gates of Milan in the summer of 1158. The city had refused to submit to his judgement and thus had to pay the price. Yet, it was spared the storming of its walls, the burning of its houses, and the looting of its possessions because the Milanese yielded. According to the chronicler Vincent of Prague, their city leaders led them to their symbolic submission to the emperor: “Afterwards, twelve elected consuls of Milan, carrying their swords upon their necks, walked barefoot — in spite of offering a large sum of money to be allowed to perform this act of penance with shoes, they could in no way achieve this — in their prescribed order, and in the presence of so many…

The Lamb represents Christ, and in particular his sacrificial death. The Dragon is a symbol for Satan, the enemy of humanity and God. The Beast from the Sea is associated with corrupt political power. Beast from the Earth (False Prophet) represents deceptive religious or ideological power that supports the first Beast. The Number 666 — the “number of the beast” — has been traditionally understood as symbolic of imperfection (falling short of God's number, 7). Babylon the Great is a symbol of corrupt worldly power, wealth, and idolatry. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse symbolize the destructive forces that plague humanity: white horse – conquest; red horse – war; black horse – famine; pale horse – death.  The Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls are a series of judgements unleashed on the…

Built in the seventh century in the Lower Nubian city of Pachoras (later Faras), the Faras Cathedral served as the seat of the bishopric in the region and was closely linked with the Coptic Church. The cathedral reflects the cultural connections between the Nubian, Egyptian, and Byzantine cultural spheres in the early Middle Ages, and preserves one of the richest records of African Christianity before the Islamic conquest. It once boasted vivid wall paintings of biblical scenes, saints, and angels, as well as Nubian bishops, queens, and kings. In the early 1960s, the Polish archaeologist Kazimierz Michałowski and his team excavated the ruined cathedral, removed the frescoes, and prevented the destruction of the site from the flooding expected from the construction of the Aswan High Dam. This effort was part…

Although Jesus is recorded as saying: “You do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42), this did not deter certain medieval writers from conjecturing about which day of the week the Second Coming would take place. Christ will return on a Sunday The Second Coming, they asserted with some confidence, will take place on a Sunday. According to medieval scholars, the idea that Jesus would return on a Sunday was related to a “widespread medieval belief that all the significant events in Biblical history occurred on a Sunday.” These events included the creation of the heavens and earth, the resting of the ark after the Flood, the parting of the Red Sea, the Annunciation, Christ's baptism, his feeding of the five thousand, and his resurrection. Thus, for…

Islamic teaching recognizes Jesus (’Īsā in Arabic) as a uniquely holy man sent by God. Jesus is recognized, like Muhammad, as a human prophet, albeit one with a miraculous birth. Around ten Qur'anic verses refer to Jesus with the title “the Messiah” (al-Masīh), although this is used and understood in a different way from Jewish and Christian conceptions. Early Islamic tradition developed the idea that he is also expected to return from Heaven at the end of time to lead people in prayer and restore the true religion of Islam before God's (not his) judgement of all. The doctrine of the return of Jesus was, for many medieval Muslims, fused with the doctrine of the Mahdī, a divinely inspired leader who would come in a future time to restore religion…

Traditionally, Buddhist deities appear in formal poses — dignified, still, and distant from the earthly world. But one manifestation of Guanyin broke from this formality. Known as Water-Moon Guanyin, she sits in graceful ease, one arm resting casually on a bent knee, her body leaning gently, entirely at home among moonlight and rippling water — a vision that has captivated artists and viewers from, and beyond, China for over a millennium. Origins Legends surrounding Water-Moon Guanyin reflected how compassion, beauty, and spiritual presence intertwined in the Chinese imagination. During the twelfth century, as the Song and Jin dynasties clashed, a story emerged in the southern city of Gusu. It tells of Guanyin appearing in the form of a beautiful woman, seated beside a lake, holding a willow branch and a…

Legal experts of rather modest origins emerged to dominate the Milanese consular elite toward the middle of the twelfth century. Apart from their education, they shared another trait. One of them was Girardo Cagapisto. And yes — that surname roughly means “shit-pesto” or “crumb-shitter.” This is no joke, but rather a symptom of the time. Nicknames turned into family names, and especially in Milan, the political leadership included many names beginning with Caga- or Caca-. Alongside the consul-brothers Gregorio and Guilielmo Cacainarca (‘shit-in-a-box’) and the two-time consul Arderico Cagainosa (‘shit-in-your-pants’), families such as the Cacainbasilica (‘shit-in-the-church’) were controlling the fate of their city. “The earthy sensibility shown by local naming […] is one of the major Milanese contributions to the ‘civic’ culture of the twelfth century” (Wickham, 2015). It was…

Located at the crossroads of Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, Egypt was a meeting point of different cultures and religions during the Middle Ages. By the mid-fifth century, the region was deeply Christian. The seventh-century confrontations between the Arab-Muslims and the Byzantines, however, brought Islamic governance and law to Egypt, although the faith of the majority remained predominantly Christian. Reading Revelation Whereas John's Apocalypse featured prominently in Western European contexts, early Byzantine and Syriac manuscripts omitted the controversial text. Coptic Christians were the exception to this rule on the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Coptic Christians read the Book of Revelation liturgically at length during the Easter celebrations and at the consecration of churches; the whole thing, all at one time. First, they read it on Bright Saturday…

The majority of medieval believers, lacking the Latin education of the clergy, discovered and digested the Bible outside of the book itself. From as early as the twelfth century, social communities collaborated in tracing and sharing the stories of the sacred page in public dramas. In large cities, trade organisations took the leading role in the production and performance of these plays, building the stage, buying the props, and recruiting the players. Although the surviving scripts show signs of clerical learning, the complete drama was a communal enterprise, a rare instance of collaboration between local clergy and the laity they served. Sequences of plays presented the Bible's account of humanity's relationship with God from the book of Genesis to the Apocalypse (i.e. the Book of Revelation). They were put on…

Jews and Christians were mostly ignorant of each other's beliefs and literature, before a greater familiarity beginning fueled debates about respective messianic ideas and interpretations of the chronology of the world in the twelfth century. The return of the king The concept of the “Messiah” grew out of ancient Near Eastern beliefs about royal divinity. Jewish beliefs about the Messiah reflected the biblical representation of God's relationship with King David. The term māshīah, meaning “anointed one” (indicating one ceremonially or symbolically marked with oil for office), occurs thirty-nine times in the Hebrew Bible. Early uses sometimes refer to the anointing of existing kings (such as Saul, David, Solomon, and even Cyrus of Persia) and sometimes in reference to a future kingly figure who would liberate the Israelites and Judaeans from…

A look at the Medieval Murder Maps for London, York, and Oxford (medievalmurdermap.co.uk) reveals these results: London — 84 murders with a short or long knife, 18 with a sword; York — 95 murders with a short or long knife, 8 with a sword; Oxford — 38 murders with a short or long knife, 9 with a sword. The available data indicates that more murders were committed with knives. In part, this may be because swords were difficult to bring and carry inside the city walls. There were legal restrictions due to social status, and restrictions placed on townsfolk by guilds or municipal authorities. Permits to carry a sword could be granted to those in military orders, but it is unlikely that a member of the public would be walking…

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer was one of medieval England's most popular books. It circulated widely in manuscript form, generated buzz amongst all sorts of readers, made its way quickly into print, and has never been out of circulation. The reason for this wide appeal can be found in the structure of The Tales which features both a concrete, entertaining core narrative, and a sequence of tales so varied that any reader can find one to appeal just to them. Like many popular narratives, The Canterbury Tales brings an unlikely collection of travelers together on a journey. For this medieval bestseller, however, it is not the journey, that makes the story. It is the tales the travelers tell along the way. The journey The Canterbury Tales begins with a…

Last Things: Death and the Apocalypse in the Middle Ages Edited by Caroline Walker Bynum et al. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999 ISBN: 978-0812217025 The Book of Revelation and Its Interpreters Edited by Ian Boxall and Richard Tresley Rowman and Littlefield, 2016 ISBN: 978-0810861534 The Apocalyptic Imagination By John J. Collins Eerdmans, 1998 ISBN: 978-0802843715 Apocalypse Illuminated By Richard K. Emmerson Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018 ISBN: 978-0271078656 The Apocalypse in the Middle Ages Edited by Richard K. Emmerson et al. Cornell University Press, 1993 ISBN: 978-0801495502 Messianism among Jews and Christians By William Horbury Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016 ISBN: 978-0567662743 The End(s) of Time(s) By Hans-Christian Lehner Brill, 2021 ISBN: 978-9004461024 The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism Edited by Catherine Wessinger Oxford University Press, 2012 ISBN: 978-0190611941…