Take me to the Church
The medieval parish church was the meeting point of many different things, both sacred and secular.
Religion
Whose Authority?
The separation of politics and religion has its roots in discourses over whether or not Pontius Pilate could be held guilty of having ordered ‘the death of God’.
Luther & Co.
Confronting Martin Luther’s ugly side.
Blood, Stones and Holy Bones
The spiritual power of medieval relics meant that Jerusalem, or a dragon, could be remade anywhere.
Popes: Power to the People
In the aftermath of the Reformation, the authority of the pope depended ever more upon the will of the people.
Zombies, Cannibals and Werewolves
The complexities of Haiti’s religious culture were misunderstood and exploited by imperial powers.
Celibacy, Misogyny, and Sodomy
The medieval insistence on clerical celibacy had dangerous and long-lasting consequences.
Pilgrims Processed
Muslims from Asia who wished to travel to Mecca on the Hajj were exploited by a trade in human cargo that grew with the opening of the Suez Canal.
Abbots Ascendant
William Chester Jordan’s study of one of medieval Europe’s great monastic rivalries suggests that social mobility may have been more common in the Middle Ages than historians previously thought.
Calvin’s Legacy
Kathryn Hadley examines the life and enduring influence of the French theologian 500 years after his birth.