Category Archives: religion

Papal Resignation: 13th Century Style

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

So both of my papers carried stories today about the historic resignation of the Pope. Definitely big news. And both of them referred to the occasion by mentioning the last time a Pope resigned, in 1415–when Pope Gregory XII stepped … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Characters of the Middle Ages, history, medieval, religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Infernal Politics: Dante and the Separation of Church and State

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

So I am reading up on 14th century Rome, as noted earlier, and also listening to a course on tape about epics, and both have suddenly converged on a curious note:  the Medieval origins of the separation of church and … Continue reading →

Posted in medieval, religion, research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Saints Alive!

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Newsweek magazine this week had a squib (a short article) about the politics of making saints, and in particular, the making of American saints.  Apparently, they’re still waiting on second miracles from folks like Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul. The … Continue reading →

Posted in history, medieval, relics, religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How much God is Enough in a Fantasy?

Posted on February 15, 2012 by

At my last convention, I was accused–by a member of my own writer’s group, no less!–of not having enough religion in my work.  The writer was going on about how *nobody* includes enough religion in their medieval fantasy!  Including you–(he points … Continue reading →

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Veronica’s Veil: Putting a Face on the Savior in the Middle Ages

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

Attended a talk yesterday about one of the most famed relics of the Catholic Church:  Veronica’s Veil, a cloth which bears the miraculous image of the face of Jesus.  As the story goes, when Jesus was carrying the cross, a … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, fiction, history, medieval, relics, religion, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments