Christmas in the Middle Ages was celebrated slightly differently than it is today. Perhaps the most notable difference is the sheer size of the Christmas feast. In 1213, King John of England held a feast that included 1,000 chickens, 10,000 salted eels, 100 pounds of almonds and nearly 6,000 bottles worth of wine. Even peasants…
Capstone Corner: A Closer Look at Renaissance Witchcraft by Jordan Waterwash
As a senior Renaissance major with a frankly disturbing obsession with witchcraft and the occult, I considered nothing but the magical and the mystical for my capstone project. Witch- craft, however, is a tricky con- cept to nail down. The misconceptions and stereotypes oftentimes get in the way of sources that took witchcraft seriously, and…
The Lady and the Unicorn by Matthew Pheneger
Nestled in the 5th Arrondissement of Paris, France and constructed on what remains of a Roman thermal bath house, one will find the MusĂ©e 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…
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…
Capstone Corner: Mesuline and the Fae by Ashley Vassar
I initially became acquainted with the subject matter for my capstone thesis in the English Department during my Senior Seminar with Dr. Demarco. In this seminar, I encountered the concepts of liminality, otherness, and other themes surrounding the blurred lines of animality and humanity. One of the works we read was Le Roman de Melusine….
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…
An Early Medieval Church Site on the Dingle Peninsula by Colin McGarry
This weekend, I was lucky enough to visit a few of the Ring of Kerry historical sites with my archaeology class, checking out a few Early Medieval sites on the Dingle coast. We started off our day visiting the two ring-forts of the local king, and could see out onto the island where the Vikings…
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…