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Medicine and Hope: A Natural Theology of Human Caretaking (Philosophy and Medicine #149)
by Richard SherlockThis book expands, in a modest way, the discussion of hope and does so by focusing on a field where it is at the core of care-taking: medicine. The three great religious virtues of medieval theology were faith, hope, and love. An enormous literature exists about faith and love, but much less exists about hope. Doctors often know what they want to do for a patient but do not know whether they are able to have a good result. If they fail, will the result be worse? They must hope they can succeed. In other cases, they know what they can do but they are uncertain whether they should. If they do not undertake action, will the patient try to do it themselves with a much worse result? Questions such as these raise the issue of the importance of hope in medicine. This book builds on an insight from the first modern textbook of medical ethics, Thomas Percival’s 1803 classic Medical Ethics. There Percival says that the doctor is a “minister of hope to the sick”. This book analyses this concept, which is central to the practice of medicine.
Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert: My Life among the Navajo People
by Erica M. Elliott• Details the author&’s time living with the Navajo people as a teacher, sheepherder, and doctor and her profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits • Shows how she learned the Navajo language to bridge the cultural divide • Reveals the miracles she witnessed, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck • Shares her fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting &“skin walker&” and how she fulfilled a prophecy by returning as a doctor In 1971, Erica Elliott arrived on the Navajo reservation as a newly minted schoolteacher, knowing nothing about her students or their culture. After a discouraging first week, she almost leaves in despair, unable to communicate with the children or understand cultural cues. But once she starts learning the language, the people begin to trust her, welcoming her into their homes and their hearts. As she is drawn into the mystical world of Navajo life, she has a series of profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits of Canyon de Chelly that change her life forever.In this compelling memoir, the author details her time living with the Navajo, the Diné people, and her experiences with their enchanting land, healing ceremonies, and rich traditions. She shares how her love for her students transformed her life as well as the lives of the children. She reveals the miracles she witnessed during this time, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck. She survives fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting &“skinwalker.&” She learns how to herd sheep, make fry bread, and weave traditional rugs, experiencing for herself the life of a traditional Navajo woman.Fulfilling a Navajo grandmother&’s prophecy, the author returns years later to serve the Navajo people as a medical doctor in an underfunded clinic, delivering numerous babies and treating sick people day and night. She also reveals how, when a medicine man offers to thank her with a ceremony, more miracles unfold. Sharing her life-changing deep dive into Navajo culture, Erica Elliott&’s inspiring story reveals the transformation possible from immersion in a spiritually rich culture as well as the power of reaching out to others with joy, respect, and an open heart.
Medicine and Religion in the Life of an Ottoman Sheikh: Al-Damanhuri’s "Clear Statement" on Anatomy (Religious Cultures in the Early Modern World)
by Ahmed RagabIn 1768, Aḥmad al-Damanhūrī became the rector (shaykh) of al-Azhar, which was one of the most authoritative and respected positions in the Ottoman Empire. He occupied this position until his death. Despite being a prolific author, whose writings are largely extant, al-Damanhūrī remains almost unknown, and much of his work awaits study and analysis. This book aims to shed light on al-Damanhūrī’s diverse intellectual background, and that of and his contemporaries, building on and continuing the scholarship on the academic thought of the late Ottoman Empire. The book specifically investigates the intersection of medical and religious knowledge in Eighteenth-Century Egypt. It takes as its focus a manuscript on anatomy by al-Damanhūrī (d. 1778), entitled "The Clear Statement on the Science of Anatomy (al-qawl al-ṣarīḥ fī ʿilm al-tashrīḥ),". The book includes an edited translation of The Clear Statement, which is a well-known but unstudied and unpublished manuscript. It also provides a summary translation and analysis of al-Damanhūrī’s own intellectual autobiography. As such, the book provides an important window into a period that remains deeply understudied and a topic that continues to cause debates and controversies. This study, therefore, will be of keen interest to scholars working on the "post-Classical" Islamic world, as well as historians of religion, science, and medicine looking beyond Europe in the Early Modern period.
Medicine and Religion: A Historical Introduction
by Gary B. FerngrenExplores the interplay of medicine and religion in Western societies.Medicine and Religion is the first book to comprehensively examine the relationship between medicine and religion in the Western tradition from ancient times to the modern era. Beginning with the earliest attempts to heal the body and account for the meaning of illness in the ancient Near East, historian Gary B. Ferngren describes how the polytheistic religions of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have complemented medicine in the ancient, medieval, and modern periods.Ferngren paints a broad and detailed portrait of how humans throughout the ages have drawn on specific values of diverse religious traditions in caring for the body. Religious perspectives have informed both the treatment of disease and the provision of health care. And, while tensions have sometimes existed, relations between medicine and religion have often been cooperative and mutually beneficial. Religious beliefs provided a framework for explaining disease and suffering that was larger than medicine alone could offer. These beliefs furnished a theological basis for a compassionate care of the sick that led to the creation of the hospital and a long tradition of charitable medicine.Praise for Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity, by Gary B. Ferngren"This fine work looks forward as well as backward; it invites fuller reflection of the many senses in which medicine and religion intersect and merits wide readership."—JAMA"An important book, for students of Christian theology who understand health and healing to be topics of theological interest, and for health care practitioners who seek a historical perspective on the development of the ethos of their vocation."—Journal of Religion and Health
Medicine and the Saints: Science, Islam, and the Colonial Encounter in Morocco, 1877-1956.
by Ellen J. AmsterThe colonial encounter between France and Morocco took place not only in the political realm but also in the realm of medicine. Because the body politic and the physical body are intimately linked, French efforts to colonize Morocco took place in and through the body. Starting from this original premise, Medicine and the Saints traces a history of colonial embodiment in Morocco through a series of medical encounters between the Islamic sultanate of Morocco and the Republic of France from 1877 to 1956. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources in both French and Arabic, Ellen Amster investigates the positivist ambitions of French colonial doctors, sociologists, philologists, and historians; the social history of the encounters and transformations occasioned by French medical interventions; and the ways in which Moroccan nationalists ultimately appropriated a French model of modernity to invent the independent nation-state. Each chapter of the book addresses a different problem in the history of medicine: international espionage and a doctor’s murder; disease and revolt in Moroccan cities; a battle for authority between doctors and Muslim midwives; and the search for national identity in the welfare state. This research reveals how Moroccans ingested and digested French science and used it to create a nationalist movement and Islamist politics, and to understand disease and health. In the colonial encounter, the Muslim body became a seat of subjectivity, the place from which individuals contested and redefined the political.
Medicine as Ministry: Reflections on Suffering, Ethics, and Hope
by Margaret E. MohrmanIn this profoundly theological reflection on illness, healing, and the doctor-patient relationship, pediatrician Margaret Mohrmann bridges the sometimes disparate worlds of medicine and faith, of high technology and ultimate concern. Drawing on her two decades of experience treating children who suffer from disease and dysfunction, Mohrmann movingly reveals the temptations of idolatry that beset our understanding of health and life, the intrinsic connectedness underlying all medical encounters, and the difficulties and riches of using scripture as a moral resource. In clear, accessible language Mohrmann emphasizes the importance of interpreting the lives of the suffering as meaningful and ongoing stories - stories that require all of us to respond in healing ways. Uncovering insights from such diverse sources as the apostle Paul, Alasdair MacIntyre and Flannery O'Connor, she suggests that what is required for a truly human life is not the absence of pain, but the presence of others. Both pastoral and prophetic, Medicine as Ministry is a challenge to rethink the purposes of health care - and to better discern the human condition.
Medicine in the Talmud: Natural and Supernatural Therapies between Magic and Science
by Jason Sion MokhtarianDespite the Talmud being the richest repository of medical remedies in ancient Judaism, this important strain of Jewish thought has been largely ignored—even as the study of ancient medicine has exploded in recent years. In a comprehensive study of this topic, Jason Sion Mokhtarian recuperates this obscure genre of Talmudic text, which has been marginalized in the Jewish tradition since the Middle Ages, to reveal the unexpected depth of the rabbis’ medical knowledge. Medicine in the Talmud argues that these therapies represent a form of rabbinic scientific rationality that relied on human observation and the use of nature while downplaying the role of God and the Torah in health and illness. Drawing from a wide range of both Jewish and Sasanian sources—from the Bible, the Talmud, and Maimonides to texts written in Akkadian, Syriac, and Mandaic, as well as the incantation bowls—Mokhtarian offers rare insight into how the rabbis of late antique Babylonia adapted the medical knowledge of their time to address the needs of their community. In the process, he narrates an untold chapter in the history of ancient medicine.
Medicine of the Cherokee: The Way of Right Relationship
by Michael Tlanusta Garrett J. T. GarrettDiscover the holistic experience of human life from the elder teachers of Cherokee Medicine. With stories of the Four Directions and the Universal Circle, these once-secret teachings offer us wisdom on circle gatherings, natural herbs and healing, and ways to reduce stress in our daily lives.
Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean (500 BCE–600 CE): A Sourcebook
by Kristi Upson-SaiaThis sourcebook provides an expansive picture of medicine, health, and healing in ancient Greece and Rome. Covering a wide array of fascinating topics—such as ancient diagnostic practices using the pulse and urine, gynecological theories of women’s illness, treatments involving drugs and surgery, the training and work of physicians, the experiences of patients, and various sites where healing took place—this volume will engage readers interested in the rich history of health and healthcare. The volume brings together textual sources—many hard to access and some translated into English for the first time—as well as artistic, material, and scientific evidence, including: Medical treatises Case studies Artistic works Material artifacts Archaeological evidence Biomedical remains Funerary monuments Miracle narratives Spells and magical recipes With substantial explanation of these varied materials—through background chapters, introductions to the thematic chapters, a timeline, and a glossary—the volume is accessible to a broad audience. Readers will come away with a nuanced understanding of the illnesses people in ancient Greece and Rome experienced, the range of healers from whom they sought help, and the various practices they employed to be healthy.
Medicine, Magic and Art in Early Modern Norway: Conceptualizing Knowledge (Palgrave Historical Studies In Witchcraft And Magic )
by Ane OhrvikTraces conceptual ideas of knowledge in Norway from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.<P> Assesses how magic and medicine were viewed as practical and sacred in early modern Europe.<P> Utilises a wide range of early modern manuscripts from 1650 -1850, known as Black Books.<P> This book addresses magical ideas and practices in early modern Norway. It examines a large corpus of Norwegian manuscripts from 1650-1850 commonly called Black Books which contained a mixture of recipes on medicine, magic, and art. Ane Ohrvik assesses the Black Books from the vantage point of those who wrote the manuscripts and thus offers an original study of how early modern magical practitioners presented their ideas and saw their practices. The book show how the writers viewed magic and medicine both as practical and sacred art and as knowledge worth protecting through encoding the text. The study of the Black Books illuminates how ordinary people in Norway conceptualized magic as valuable and useful knowledge worth of collecting and saving despite the ongoing witchcraft prosecutions targeting the very same ideas and practices as the books promoted. Medicine, Magic and Art in Early Modern Norway is essential for those looking to advance their studies in magical beliefs and practices in early modern Europe as well as those interested in witchcraft studies, book history, and the history of knowledge.
Medicine, Magic and Religion: The Fitzpatrick Lectures Delivered Before The Royal College Of Physicians In London In 1915-1916 (Routledge Classics)
by W.H.R. RiversOne of the most fascinating men of his generation, W.H.R. Rivers was a British doctor and psychiatrist as well as a leading ethnologist. Immortalized as the hero of Pat Barker's award-winning Regeneration trilogy, Rivers was the clinician who, in the First World War, cared for the poet Siegfried Sassoon and other infantry officers injured on the western front. His researches into the borders of psychiatry, medicine and religion made him a prominent member of the British intelligentsia of the time, a friend of H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw and Bertrand Russell. Part of his appeal lay in an extraordinary intellect, mixed with a very real interest in his fellow man. Medicine, Magic and Religion is a prime example of this. A social institution, it is one of Rivers' finest works. In it, Rivers introduced the then revolutionary idea that indigenous practices are indeed rational, when viewed in terms of religious beliefs.
Medicine, Miracles, & Manifestations: A Doctor's Journey Through the Worlds of Divine Intervention, Near-Death Experiences, and Universal Energy
by John L. Turner“A fascinating real-life voyage through medicine and beyond. . . . Intensely human and readable. Full of hope and wonder. A truly heartwarming page turner.” —Robert Bruce, author of Astral Dynamics and Energy WorkMedicine, Miracles, and Manifestations is a nonfiction narrative about the surgical career and spiritual quest of neurosurgeon Dr. John L. Turner and his journey into the field of Integral Medicine. During his career as a board-certified surgeon, Dr. Turner’s curiosity drove him to explore nontraditional healing techniques that broadened the scope of recovery for his patients, including energy healing, chanting and meditation (approaches historically found in religious practices), soul travel, and astral projection. In this fascinating book, you will discover:• How metaphysical events such as remote viewing, telepathy, consciousness, and life after death are all verifiable manifestations of the way the human brain interfaces with the universal consciousness.• That consciousness persists after the death of the physical body• That our life is carefully planned before birth but there is an element of free will.• That we can interface with a spiritual world and a collective human unconscious.“I admire Dr. Turner for having the courage to share his life and truths with us. I truly recommend this book to every health professional and those willing to open their minds and accept the true nature of life. You will be touched by the stories he shares; his book can help you open your mind and become aware of new and exciting aspects of true healing and curing.” —Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and Prescriptions For Living
Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England: Richard Napier's Medical Practice (Magic in History)
by Ofer HadassThe astrologer-physician Richard Napier (1559-1634) was not only a man of practical science and medicine but also a master of occult arts and a devout parish rector who purportedly held conversations with angels. This new interpretation of Napier reveals him to be a coherent and methodical man whose burning desire for certain, true knowledge contributed to the contemporary venture of putting existing knowledge to useful ends.Originally trained in theology and ordained as an Anglican priest, Napier later studied astrological medicine and combined astrology, religious thought, and image and ritual magic in his medical work. Ofer Hadass draws on a remarkable archive of Napier’s medical cases and religious writings—including the interviews he claimed to have held with angels—to show how Napier’s seemingly inconsistent approaches were rooted in an inclusive and coherent worldview, combining equal respect for ancient authority and for experientially derived knowledge. Napier’s endeavors exemplify the fruitful relationship between religion and science that offered a well-founded alternative to the rising mechanistic explanation of nature at the time.Carefully researched and compellingly told, Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England is an insightful exploration of one of the most fascinating figures at the intersection of medicine, magic, and theology in early modern England and of the healing methods employed by physicians of the era.
Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England: Richard Napier's Medical Practice (Magic in History)
by Ofer HadassThe astrologer-physician Richard Napier (1559-1634) was not only a man of practical science and medicine but also a master of occult arts and a devout parish rector who purportedly held conversations with angels. This new interpretation of Napier reveals him to be a coherent and methodical man whose burning desire for certain, true knowledge contributed to the contemporary venture of putting existing knowledge to useful ends.Originally trained in theology and ordained as an Anglican priest, Napier later studied astrological medicine and combined astrology, religious thought, and image and ritual magic in his medical work. Ofer Hadass draws on a remarkable archive of Napier’s medical cases and religious writings—including the interviews he claimed to have held with angels—to show how Napier’s seemingly inconsistent approaches were rooted in an inclusive and coherent worldview, combining equal respect for ancient authority and for experientially derived knowledge. Napier’s endeavors exemplify the fruitful relationship between religion and science that offered a well-founded alternative to the rising mechanistic explanation of nature at the time.Carefully researched and compellingly told, Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England is an insightful exploration of one of the most fascinating figures at the intersection of medicine, magic, and theology in early modern England and of the healing methods employed by physicians of the era.
Medicines of the Soul: Female Bodies and Sacred Geographies in a Transnational Islam
by Fedwa Malti-DouglasIn Medicines of the Soul, the autobiographical writings of three leading women in today's Islamic revival movement reveal dramatic stories of religious transformation. As interpreted by Fedwa Malti-Douglas, the autobiographies provide a powerful, groundbreaking portrayal of gender, religion, and discourses of the body in Arabo-Islamic culture. At the center of each story is a lively female Islamic spirituality that questions secular hierarchies while reaffirming patriarchal ones.
Medienvielfalt - Religionsvielfalt: Facetten der Transformation von Medien und Religion (Medien • Kultur • Kommunikation)
by Anke OfferhausAusgehend von der kommunikativen Konstruktion von Religion analysiert der Band die grundlegende Fragen, welchen Stellenwert Medien für die Konstruktion religiöser sozialer Wirklichkeiten haben und in welchem Verhältnis dabei Medienwandel und der Wandel von Religion stehen. Der interdisziplinäre Sammelband zielt vor dem Hintergrund des Mediatisierungsansatzes auf die Zusammenführung der bislang wechselseitig wenig zur Kenntnis genommenen sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschungen renommierter deutschsprachiger Wissenschaftler/innen. Darüber hinaus widmet er sich einem in allen Disziplinen bislang wenig diskutiertem Zusammenhang, nämlich dem Verhältnis von Medien und Religion im sozialen Wandel.
Medieval 'Artes Praedicandi'
by Siegfried WenzelBetween the early thirteenth and late fifteenth centuries, theologians and preachers in Western Europe adopted a distinct and rigidly structured sermon format. The scholastic sermon, as it was known, was taught through technical treatises known as artes praedicandi, of which approximately 230 survive.A dense and complicated arrangement, modern scholars often find the scholastic sermon challenging to understand and interpret. In this concise text, Siegfried Wenzel focuses on the main features of the sermon, from the initial thema to the concluding prayer. Medieval Artes Praedicandi also includes an annotated list of forty-two major surviving artes praedicandi, discussing the evolution of the genre, and a structural analysis of a sample sermon (from Worcester Cathedral Library Ms. F.10), which shows how the prescriptions of the artes were applied.Written by a leading expert on the late medieval scholastic sermon, Medieval Artes Praedicandi is an essential resource for scholars and advanced students interested in using scholastic sermons in their research.
Medieval Canon Law (The Medieval World)
by James A BrundageIt is impossible to understand how the medieval church functioned -- and in turn influenced and controlled the lay world within its care -- without understanding the development, character and impact of `canon law', its own distinctive law code. However important, this can seem a daunting subject to non-specialists. They have long needed an attractive but authoritative introduction, avoiding arid technicalities and setting the subject in its widest context. James Brundage's marvellously fluent and accessible book is the perfect answer: it will be warmly welcomed by medievalists and students of ecclesiastical and legal history.
Medieval Canon Law (The Medieval World)
by James A. Brundage Melodie H. EichbauerIt is impossible to understand how the medieval church functioned and, in turn, influenced the lay world within its care without understanding "canon law". This book examines its development from its beginnings to the end of the Middle Ages, updating its findings in light of recent scholarly trends. This second edition has been fully revised and updated by Melodie H. Eichbauer to include additional material on the early Middle Ages; the significance of the discovery of earlier versions of Gratian’s Decretum; and the new research into law emanating from secular authorities, councils, episcopal acta, and juridical commentary to rethink our understanding of the sources of law and canon law's place in medieval society. Separate chapters examine canon law in intellectual spaces; the canonical courts and their procedures; and, using the case studies of deviation from orthodoxy and marriage, canon law in the lives of people. The main body of the book concludes with the influence of canon law in Western society, but has been reworked by integrating sections cut from the first edition chapters on canon law in private and public life to highlight the importance of this field of research. Throughout the work and found in the bibliography are references to current literature and resources in order to make researching in the field more accessible. The first appendix provides examples of how canonical texts are cited while the second offers biographical notes on canonists featured in the work. The end result is a second edition that is significantly rewritten and updated but retains the spirit of Brundage’s original text. Covering all aspects of medieval canon law and its influence on medieval politics, society, and culture, this book provides students of medieval history with an accessible overview of this foundational aspect of medieval history.
Medieval Christianity in Practice (Princeton Readings in Religions #36)
by Miri RubinMedieval Christianity in Practice provides readers with a sweeping look at the religious practices of the European Middle Ages. Comprising forty-two selections from primary source materials--each translated with an introduction and commentary by a specialist in the field--the collection illustrates the religious cycles, rituals, and experiences that gave meaning to medieval Christian individuals and communities.This volume of Princeton Readings in Religions assembles sources reflecting different genres, regions, and styles, including prayer books, chronicles, diaries, liturgical books, sermons, hagiography, and handbooks for the laity and clergy. The texts represent the practices through which Christians conducted their individual, family, and community lives, and explores such life-cycle events as birth, confirmation, marriage, sickness, death, and burial. The texts also document religious practices related to themes of work, parish life, and devotions, as well as power and authority. Enriched by expert analysis and suggestions for further reading, Medieval Christianity in Practice gives students and general readers alike the necessary background and foundations for an appreciation of the creativity and multiplicity of medieval Christian religious culture.
Medieval Christianity: A New History
by Kevin MadiganAn &“engaging narrative history&” of the medieval church, with new attention to women, ordinary parishioners, attitudes toward Jews and Muslims, and more (Publishers Weekly, starred review). For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign—an often brutal and seemingly irrational time of superstition, miracles, and strange relics. The aggressive pursuit of heretics and attempts to control the &“Holy Land&” might come to mind. Yet the medieval world produced much that is part of our world today, including universities, the passion for Roman architecture and the development of the gothic style, pilgrimage, the emergence of capitalism, and female saints. This new narrative history of medieval Christianity, spanning the period 500 to 1500 CE, attempts to integrate the familiar with new themes and narratives. Elements of novelty in the book include a steady focus on the role of women in Christianity; the relationships among Christians, Jews, and Muslims; the experience of ordinary parishioners; the adventure of asceticism, devotion, and worship; and instruction through drama, architecture, and art. Kevin Madigan expertly integrates these areas of focus with more traditional themes, such as the evolution and decline of papal power; the nature and repression of heresy; sanctity and pilgrimage; the conciliar movement; and the break between the old Western church and its reformers. Illustrated with more than forty photographs of physical remains, this book promises to become an essential guide to a historical era of profound influence. &“Compelling . . . a picture of medieval Christianity that is no less lively for being well-informed and carefully balanced.&” —Commonweal
Medieval Church Architecture
by Jon CannonBy the end of the medieval period, Britain's churches already had an architectural heritage of one thousand years, much of which remains on view today. This guide by architectural historian Jon Cannon uses high-quality photographs and diagrams to help us to analyze the leading changes in style from the Anglo-Saxon period, through the Romanesque as far as Gothic and Perpendicular. By identifying various clues left by each period, he enables us to date architectural features and styles, and explains the technical terms applied to them. If you have ever wondered how your church or cathedral developed, and want to know your triforium from your blind arcade or your vault from your hammerbeam, all the answers are here.
Medieval Considerations of Incest, Marriage, and Penance (The New Middle Ages)
by Linda Marie RouillardMedieval Considerations of Incest, Marriage, and Penance focuses on the incest motif as used in numerous medieval narratives. Explaining the weakness of great rulers, such as Charlemagne, or the fall of legendary heroes, such as Arthur, incest stories also reflect on changes to the sacramental regulations and practices related to marriage and penance. Such changes demonstrate the Church's increasing authority over the daily lives and relationships of the laity. Treated here are a wide variety of medieval texts, using as a central reference point Philippe de Rémi's thirteenth-century La Manekine, which presents one lay author's reflections on the role of consent in marriage, the nature of contrition and forgiveness, and even the meaning of relics. Studying a variety of genres including medieval romance, epic, miracles, and drama along with modern memoirs, films, and novels, Linda Rouillard emphasizes connections between medieval and modern social concerns. Rouillard concludes with a consideration of the legacy of the incest motif for the twenty-first century, including survivor narratives, and new incest anxieties associated with assisted reproductive technology.
Medieval European Pilgrimage, c.700–c.1500
by Diana WebbMedieval pilgrimage was, above all, an expression of religious faith, but this was not its only aspect. Men and women of all classes went on pilgrimage for a variety of reasons, sometimes by choice, sometimes involuntarily. They made both long and short journeys: to Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago on the one hand; to innumerable local shrines on the other. The routes that they followed by land and water made up a complex web which covered the face of Europe, and their travels required a range of support services, including the protection of rulers (who were themselves often pilgrims). Pilgrimage left its mark not only on the landscape but also on the art and literature of Europe. Diana Webb's engaging book offers the reader a fresh introduction to the history of European Christian pilgrimage in the twelve hundred years between the conversion of Emperor Constantine and the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. As well as exploring this multi-faceted activity, it considers both the geography of pilgrimage and its significant cultural legacy.
Medieval Exegesis and Religious Difference: Commentary, Conflict, and Community in the Premodern Mediterranean (Bordering Religions: Concepts, Conflicts, and Conversations)
by Ryan SzpiechJews, Christians, and Muslims all have a common belief in the sanctity of a core holy scripture, and commentary on scripture (exegesis) was at the heart of all three traditions in the Middle Ages. At the same time, because it dealt with issues such as the nature of the canon, the limits of acceptable interpretation, and the meaning of salvation history from the perspective of faith, exegesis was elaborated in the Middle Ages along the faultlines of interconfessional disputation and polemical conflict. This collection of thirteen essays by world-renowned scholars of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam explores the nature of exegesis during the High and especially the Late Middle Ages as a discourse of cross-cultural and interreligious conflict, paying particular attention to the commentaries of scholars in the western and southern Mediterranean from Iberia and Italy to Morocco and Egypt.Unlike other comparative studies of religion, this collection is not a chronological history or an encyclopedic guide. Instead, it presents essays in four conceptual clusters (“Writing on the Borders of Islam,” “Jewish-Christian Conflict,” “The Intellectual Activity of the Dominican Order,” and “Gender”) that explore medieval exegesis as a vehicle for the expression of communal or religious identity, one that reflects shared or competing notions of sacred history and sacred text. This timely book will appeal to scholars and lay readers alike and will be essential reading for students of comparative religion, historians charting the history of religious conflict in the medieval Mediterranean, and all those interested in the intersection of Jewish,Christian, and Muslim beliefs and practices.