MEMO - Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture Online

Mephistopheles: Here, take this key. Faust: That tiny thing! Mephist.: Seize and esteem it, see what it may bring! Faust: It’s growing in my hand! It flashes, glows! Goethe, Faust II, 6257–60.[1] 1. Introduction This article[2] covers a rare and curious case in the cultural history of the late Middle Ages, as it focuses on … Preaching against Phallic Glasses in Fifteenth-Century Vienna„>Continue reading Preaching against Phallic Glasses in Fifteenth-Century Vienna

Das Mittelalter war die Jugend der heutigen Welt, und eine lange Jugend. Was uns lebenswert ist, wurzelt dort. (Jacob Burckhardt, 1818-1897) ~~~ Introduction and Aims of the Project In January 2020 the FWF (Austrian Science Fund) and the DFG (German Research Foundation) approved a project proposal entitled “Beyond East and West: Geocommunicating the Sacred Landscapes of … On the Crossroads between East and West: Geocommunicating Medieval Sacred Landscapes in Today’s Montenegro„>Continue reading On the Crossroads between East and West: Geocommunicating Medieval Sacred Landscapes in Today’s Montenegro

Agency of material things Public and academic conceptions of agency are currently undergoing a major shift. The view of agency as the sole preserve of humans, which has dominated modern western thought since Descartes, is challenged by recent events such as the climate emergency and the Coronavirus pandemic. We are increasingly forced to acknowledge the … The Non-Human Agency of a Thing in ‚Orendel or The Grey Robe‘„>Continue reading The Non-Human Agency of a Thing in ‚Orendel or The Grey Robe‘