Book Impressions: God's Philosophers

God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam

God’s Philosophers is a superb book, with erudite discussions on the many misconceptions about the Middle Ages with regard to science and technology. Hannam shows that, rather than a few centuries where nothing much happened and the church suppressed all knowledge as heresy, the Middle Ages were a vibrant time during which much was learned and developed. The chapters range from “The Rise of Reason”, “Heresy and Reason” and “Magic and Medicine” to chapters concerning Roger Bacon, “The Merton Calculators” and “Galileo and the New Astronomy”.

God's Philosophers by J. Hannam

The volume follows a largely chronological order, which makes for an easy understanding of this dense text. Hannam further shows how religious and political views and interpersonal relationships contributed to scholarly pursuits or worked to the detriment thereof. The influence of the Renaissance, Enlightenment, etc. on the general view of the Middle Ages we still (largely) hold today is also tackled. This is what I enjoyed the most about Hannam’s work; he takes the time to show a multitude of different viewpoints, thoughts, and actions, instead of an overused caricature of an uncivilised, backward and ignorant time.

This book will be enjoyed by those interested in history in general, the Middle Ages, and the history of science.

Visit James Hannam's website for more information about this and his other books. 

Hannon, James (2009) God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations ofModern Science. Icon Books.

I bought this book at a local bookstore, but it is also available at online retailers. 

Really Big News and Zombies

On 6 January I wrote a post called “Big News and Zombies” about a medieval symposium being held later this year. Well, I read, researched, wrote, edited, wrote again, changed my mind, started from the beginning and at last handed in a proposal for the theme “Mortality and Imagination: The Life of the Dead in the Middle Ages andRenaissance”.

This week I heard that “The Walking Dead of Fróðá” has been accepted! (Did happy dance and had a celebratory coffee, of course.)

So, in the next couple of months (the conference is at the end of August) I will be working full-speed ahead on this as well to try and get it perfect (and short enough to fit into 20 minutes).

But, for now, I can tick off one task from my “Finish Year” list and stare at the beautiful pictures of Mont Fleur, where the conference will be held. 

Mont Fleur, South Africa

Big news... and Zombies

Drum roll, please (or vuvuzela if you are so inclined, but I would prefer drums. Or bagpipes)…

The big news I have is that a big medieval and renaissance studies symposium is being held later this year – and my study leader has asked if I would like to propose a paper to read there. (I did a happy dance and then, very professionally said ‘yes’.)

To top it off, the theme for this year is “Mortality and Imagination: The Life of the Dead in the Middle Ages and Renaissance”. Of course I will have to do something with all the dead, undead and ghosts you find in the Icelandic sagas! I’m leaning towards the Eyrbyggja saga (Saga of the Ere-dwellers), in which many ghosts, corpses and undead feature. The zombie apocalypse, saga style. And, like another professor once said: “Gore can also be fun”[1].

For instance, take this quote from the saga (Chapter 53):

But when two weeks of winter were worn, the shepherd came home on a night, and went straight to his bed and lay down, and in the morning when men carne to him he was dead. So he was buried at the church there.

A little after that great hauntings befell; and on a night as Thorir Wooden-leg went out for his needs,

and turned off aside from the door, when he would go in again, he saw how the shepherd was come

before the door. Then would he go in again, but the shepherd would nowise have it so; and Thorir was

fain to get away, but the shepherd went at him, and got hold of him, and cast him homeward up against the door. At this he was affrighted exceedingly; yet he got him to his bed, and he was by then grown coal-blue all over.

Now from this he fell sick and died, and was buried there at the church; but ever after were the twain,

the shepherd and Thorir Wooden-leg, seen in company, and therefrom were folk full of dread, as was

like to be.[2]

This is also big news for me because, if my paper gets chosen, it will be the first one which I give at such an academic get-together. And sometimes you just need someone to believe in you enough to ask something like this to make you believe that you can actually do it. 

So, for the next year, there will probably be a lot more mythology, sagas and folklore posts on the blog. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

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[1] We were busy with Frankenstein as part of Literary Theory and one student asked why we were doing such a “gory book”. In her dry way the professor simply smiled and said “because gore can also be fun”. And then people wonder why I love my studies…

[2] Translation by William Morris. This and other Icelandic Sagas can be read and downloaded at the Icelandic Saga Database: http://sagadb.org/