St. Martin of Tours was one of the central saints of the medieval monastic tradition. He had been a soldier, monk, and then bishop of Tours in his lifetime. This essay argues that because Martin was portrayed as the exemplary miles Christi or warrior for Christ in his monastic biography, he was an ideal for... Continue Reading →
Late antique monks and nuns believed their true utopia would come later in heaven, while on Earth they had to strive for perfection through virtue. One of the things this involved was being free of material possessions that could distract them so they could imitate Christ. Monks were often wealthy people who sold their possessions... Continue Reading →
Generally, Charlemagne’s campaigns against the Saracens in the Iberian Peninsula have been understood as secular due to the general lack of evidence showing their religiosity as opposed to Charlemagne’s other religious wars. However, the author argues against this using primary and secondary sources from the Carolingian period. His thesis is that the observers of Charlemagne’s... Continue Reading →
Perhaps no other time in history is more misunderstood and underappreciated than the Middle Ages. In popular culture, the Middle Ages is depicted as a backward time with constant warfare and plagues where barely any great inventions were produced. On the other hand, the classical antiquity period of Ancient Greece and Rome is seen as... Continue Reading →
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