Weekly Video 1 (2015)

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Magic in the Middle Ages

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Universitat de Barcelona

Magic in the Middle Ages

726 classificações

Magical thought has always attracted human imagination. In this course we will introduce you to the Middle Ages through a wide conception of magic. Students will have an approach to medieval culture, beliefs and practices from the perspective of History and History of Science. Popular magic, as well as learned magic (alchemy, geomancy and necromancy) will be addressed. Moreover, we will also deal with how eastern practices and texts influenced western culture. In July 2016, the course will contain a brand-new module devoted to astrology. Magic in the Middle Ages offers a captivating overview of medieval society and promotes reflection about certain stereotypes associated with this period. At the end of the course, the students: a) will have overcome the usual prejudices about the Middle Ages, b) will be able to analyze historical documentation from the Middle Ages and recognize the most common patterns of juridical documents regarding witchcraft, and c) will be capable of distinguishing between popular magic and the magic of the learned people; will have a notion of which spiritual practices were allowed in medieval Europe and which ones were related to the devil, and will be aware of the link between a cultural product and the society that produced it. This course is taught in English, although subtitles in English, Catalan and Spanish will also be provided. COURSE SYLLABUS Week 1. Introduction to medieval magic (Pau Castell). Week 2. Magic & Heresy (Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel). Week 3. From Magic to Witchcraft (Pau Castell). Week 4. Magic in Islam (Godefroid de Callataÿ and Sébastien Moureau). Week 5. Astrology & Geomancy (Theo Loinaz, Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel, Godefroid de Callataÿ and Blanca Villuendas). © Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany Magic in the Middle Ages by Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL MAGIC

Introduction2:35

The Idea of Magic3:33

The Ancient Precedents5:26

Magic and Superstition in Christian Europe6:56

The Decline of Magic7:30

Weekly Video 1 (2015)5:22

Conheça os instrutores

Godefroid de Callataÿ - University of Louvain
Professor
Oriental Institute (University of Louvain)
Dr Pau Castell Granados
Research and Teaching Scholar at University of Barcelona
Sébastien Moureau - University of Louvain
Chargé de recherches du F.R.S.-FNRS
Institut Orientaliste (CIOL)
Dr Gemma Pellissa Prades
Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of the Classics, Harvard
Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel
BSc, BA, MA
Dept. of Medieval History, Palaeography & Diplomatics, Institute for Research on Medieval Cultures, University of Barcelona
Blanca Villuendas
PhD Candidate
Instituto de Lenguas y Culturas del Mediterráneo y Oriente Próximo, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

Hello everybody. I hope you have enjoyed this first week of magic in the Middle Ages.

Today, is a sunny day in Barcelona,

and I am here at the cluster of the faculty of letters,

to record this first weekly video,

in order to discuss some of the topics that have appeared in the forums.

First of all, let me tell you that we are very

glad to see the interest that the course has aroused.

There are currently several thousands of students enrolled in the course,

and that generates a lot of activity in the forums as you have already seen.

Also, you must know that this is the first move for our team, and therefore,

we are very thankful for your comments and critics,

to point the little problems that may appear on the course,

and to help us improve.

So, one of the topics that has generated quite a debate in the forums,

is the concept of superstition.

Its etymology, its pejorative meaning,

or its use along history,

and in present day times.

In fact, from antiquity to the present,

various beliefs and behavior patterns have been characterized as superstitious.

We know that the word superstition comes from the Latin term

superstitio, although its exact translation is disputed.

There is currently no consensus among scholars about its original meaning,

but it seems that the Latin term is up to some extent,

synonymic to the ancient Greek term, deisidaimonia.

Both terms Latin superstidio and Greek desidaimonia,

implied a sort of excessive fear of numinous powers,

and they were also used to refer to the beliefs and practices of alien religions.

Be as it may, the Latin term was adopted

by the Roman's languages and English during medieval times,

and was used to designate those beliefs and rituals,

and not approved by the official theological hierarchy,

and thus considered irrational and true.

During the most part of the Middle Ages,

division that prevailed was that of Saint Augustine,

which he developed in his famous work,

The City of God.

This father of the Church understood superstition,

not only as an elicit cult to the true God,

but also as the cult given to the false gods from the ancient pagan religion.

So, for many centuries,

the term superstition was in some way,

a synonym for paganism.

When it was used by Christian authors,

it usually referred to the reliance on amulets,

on dreams, and visions,

on charms, fortunetelling, sorcery,

necromancy, prodigies, portents, soothsaying,

spells, and so on.

Many of these were in fact survivals of pagan beliefs and rites,

and the clergy condemned them as such.

A superstitious mind, was generally ascribed to an educated laypeople,

especially the country fall or rustics.

But often, the same so-called superstitions,

existed among the upper classes, as well.

In that sense, we could define medieval superstition,

as a set of beliefs and rites,

co-existing with but disapproved of,

by the official religion.

In fact, along history,

the term superstition has been used by many social groups,

to refer to any sort of beliefs in a pejorative way.

The specific content of this invariably pejorative term,

depends only on the beliefs of the definers,

on their own cultural framework.

So, right thinking Romans for example,

qualified Christianity as superstitious,

while Christians expressed the same opinion about Judaism, or pagan religion.

During early modern times,

reformed theologians denounced many aspects of

Catholic faith and piety, as superstitious.

In a similar way,

as some current day Western scientists,

define as superstitious, are wide range of beliefs,

which are not sanctioned by modern science.

Currently, however, a growing sensitivity to

the clearly negative connotations and

implicit cultural arrogance connected with the term,

prevents many scholars from using the word superstition in the works,

when talking about beliefs and practices,

which are just different from their own.

Well, I hope this has been useful,

and I invite you to take a look at the bibliography provided at the end of this video,

and to keep giving your insight on the matter,

through the different forums.

This next week, we will undertake an approach to the subject of magic and heresy,

by the hand of Delfi Nieto,

and then I will join you again in the third unit,

to talk about witchcraft. See you soon.

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