Nestled in the 5th Arrondissement of Paris, France and constructed on what remains of a Roman thermal bath house, one will find the Musée de Cluny—or the National Museum of the Middle Ages—a less frequented but still impressive museum. Among its extensive collection of medieval and ancient pieces is a collection of tapestries known as…
Category: Features
Religion in Medieval Ireland: A Talk by John Soderberg by Matthew Pheneger
The AMRS Department was pleased to welcome Denison University Professor of Sociology/Anthropology John Soderberg at the end of February. Though his work covers a range of disciplines, his presentation centered on religion in Early Medieval Ireland from an archaeological point of view. The big question his research focuses on—in Soderberg’s own words—is, “What does it…
Medieval Castles in a Modern Context by Kyle Rabung
When the average person looks for medieval cas- tles, they are left with two options: to look at ruins, or to look at a castles that survived into modernity. Yet, these both often inspire similar reactions. We, as moderns, look at castles and see huge defensive structures and envisionmassive movie-like sieges that must have dominated…
Where Are They Now?: All the World’s A Stage by Jordan Waterwash
“Want to know my first experience with Shakespeare?” Hannah Simpson, actor and recent OWU alum, says with a mischievous grin. “Definitely,” I respond eagerly. “My brother was more of a theatre kid than I was at the time, so we watched a production of Macbeth. When Duncan’s bloody ghost came on and went BLAAAH! I…
Characters of War: The Iliad and The Song of Roland by Matthew Pheneger
We’d expect literary works from differing cultures to mirror that in their writing, however, The Iliad and The Song of Roland are more similar than expected. In their most basic explanations, both texts retell deeds—both good and wicked—that were carried out by men who fought in wars. It is through the innovation of the poets…
Luther’s Act by Christopher Shanley
This Halloween marks the 499th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg castle. Luther’s theses were against the act of indulgences which were certificates one could buy from the church to skip part of the penitential process. An extremely pious man, Luther was deeply troubled by his…
The Renaissance Festival: A Home for All by Ashley Vassar
On September 5th 2016, I attended my 13th Renaissance Festival and 9th Ohio Renaissance Festival. The Ohio Renaissance Festival is located in Waynesville, Ohio and this year, it ran from September 3rd to October 23rd. Since my friends and I dress up, we usually wait until October when the weather has cooled to attend. This…
On the Work of Petronius by Merritt Ver Steeg
Petronius Arbiter was a Roman who lived during the reign of Nero, and—according to most historians—the author of The Satyricon. We don’t know much about Petronius’life, but according to Tacitus,“His days he passed in sleep, and his nights in the business and pleasures of life. . . Indolence had raised him to fame, as energy…
Who Runs the World? Shakespeare’s Girls by Hannah Simpson
“It’s always fun to talk about Shakespeare,” quipped Caroline Bicks at the start of her lecture, “Incited Minds, Rethinking Shakespeare’s Girls.” I couldn’t agree more. Much like the title of her lecture indicates, Bicks’ talk centered on stereotypes that surround adolescent girls and how the strong-Willed (pun intended) females of Shakespeare’s plays defy them. After…
LaRP Or MARRCA? by Josephine DiNovo
Have you ever seen people on the grassy hill in front of Hayes wielding swords or quarterstaffs? Do you stop to snicker at the “LARPers” whenever you spy them? Have you ever really thought about what this group does? This group—often mistaken for role-players unafraid of the public—is MARRCA. MARRCA stands for Medieval and Renaissance…