This episode, we go into more depth with the legend of St. Kenelm (Cynehelm) and his jealous sister Quendrida (Cwenthryth). We also learn what it means to “crab the parson.”
Today’s Text
“The Legend of St. Kenelm.” Translated by John Amphlett in A Short History of Clent, Parker and Co., 1890, pp. 177-193. Google Books.
References
Brand, John. Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain: Chiefly Illustrating the Origin of Our Vulgar and Provincial Customs, Ceremonies, and Superstitions, edited, revised, and expanded by Henry Ellis, vol 1, Henry G. Bohn, 1859. Google Books.
Cross, Tom Peete. “Witchcraft in North Carolina.” Studies in Philology, vol. 16, no. 3, Jul. 1919, pp. 217-287. Google Books.
Rollason, D. W. “The Cults of Murdered Royal Saints in Anglo-Saxon England.” Anglo-Saxon England, vol. 11, 1983, pp. 1-22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44510759
Whitelock, Dorothy, editor and translator. “From the Report of the Legates to Pope Hadrian (786).” English Historical Documents: ca. 500-1042, vol. 1, Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1955,pp. 770-774. Archive.org.
We continue on from last episode’s look at the Green Children of Woolpit with a further consideration of what it meant to wonder at a marvel in the middle ages, with additional illustration of some wondrous things from William of Malmesbury.
Today’s Texts
Gervase of Tilbury. Otia Imperialia. Edited and translated by S.E. Banks and J.W. Binns, Clarendon Press, 2002.
Isidore of Seville. The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville. Translated by Stephen A. Barney, W.J. Lewis, J.A. Beach, and Oliver Berghof with Muriel Hall, Cambridge UP, 2006.
William of Malmesbury. Chronicle of the Kings of England. Edited by J.A. Giles, translated by John Sharpe and J.A. Giles, George Bell & Sons, 1895. Google Books.
References
Bynum, Caroline Walker. “Wonder.” Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion. Zone Books, 1992.
Audio Credits
“Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel.” In “22 Short Films about Springfield,” The Simpsons, season 7, episode 21, written by Richard Appel et al., 14 April 1996.
“The Boy Who Knew Too Much.” The Simpsons, season 5, episode 20, written by John Swartzwelder, 5 May 1994.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Directed by Mel Stuart, screenplay by Roald Dahl, Paramount Pictures, 1971.
This Halloween marks our 10th anniversary, and we observe it by hearing the earliest written accounts of one of the most well-known pieces of medieval weird history: the Green Children of Woolpit — and also hear the other less famous prodigies their story was originally presented alongside.
Today’s Texts:
Radulphi de Coggeshall. Chronicon Anglicanum. Edited by Joseph Stevenson, Longman & Co., 1875. Google Books.
William of Newburgh. The History of William of Newburgh. The Church Historians of England, vol. IV, part II, translated by Joseph Stevenson, Seeleys, 1856, pp. 395–670. Google Books.
References:
Clark, John. “The Green Children: A Cautionary Tale.” 1999. Academia.edu.
Clark, John. “‘Small, Vulnerable ETs”: The Green Children of Woolpit.” Science Fiction Studies, vol. 33, no. 2, July 2006, pp. 209-229. JSTOR.
Dutton, Paul Edward. “An Incident: The Strange Case of the Green Children.” Micro Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 11-53.
In this episode, we explore the tradition of contemptus mundi with a text all about how horrible it is to be a human being, On the Misery of the Human Condition, written by Pope Innocent III (when he was but Cardinal Lotario di Segni).
Lothario Dei Segni [Pope Innocent III]. On the Misery of the Human Condition. Edited by Donald R. Howard, translated by Margaret Mary Dietz. Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1969. Archive.org.
Moore, John C. “Innocent III’s De Miseria Humanae Conditionis: A Speculum Curiae?” The Catholic Historical Review, vol. 67, no. 4, Oct. 1981, pp. 553-564. JSTOR.
We continue from our last episode into the years 1212-1214 in the Melrose Chronicle, where we come to the end of the interdict, and perhaps the prophesized end of King John’s true sovereignty. Along the way, we also cover some of the more common ecclesiastical offices and check the accuracy of the chronicle’s battlefield accounting.
Today’s Texts:
The Chronicle of Melrose. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 4, part 1, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.
Ranulf Higden. Polychronicon. Vol. 8. Edited by Joseph Rawson Lumby, translated by John Trevisa, Longman and Co., 1882. Google Books.
Roger of Wendover. Flowers of History. Vol. 2. Translated by J.A. Giles, Henry G. Bohn, 1849. Google Books.
References:
Chronica de Mailros. Edited by Joseph Stevenson, Typis Societatis Edinburgensis, 1835. Google Books.
We return to the Melrose Chronicle with a notably nasty run of years from 1205 to 1211. We also consider why people — medieval and modern — are so captivated by bad news.
Today’s Texts:
The Chronicle of Melrose. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 4, part 1, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.
References:
Baumeister, Roy F., Ellen Bratslavsky, Catrin Finkenauer, and Kathleen D. Vohs. “Bad is Stronger than Good.” Review of General Psychology, vol. 5, no. 4, Dec. 2001, pp. 323-370, doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323
Robertson, Claire E., Nicolas Pröllochs, Karou Schwarzenegger, et al. “Negativity Drives Online News Consumption.” Nature Human Behavior, vol. 7, 16 March 2023, pp. 812–822, doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01538-4
Rozin, Paul, and Edward B. Royzman. “Negativity Bias, Negativity Dominance, and Contagion.” Personality and Social Psychology Review, vol. 5, no. 4, 2001, pp. 296-320, doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0504_2
Trussler, Marc, and Stuart Soroka. “Consumer Demand for Cynical and Negative News Frames.” The International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 19, no. 3, 2013, pp. 360-379, doi.org/10.1177/1940161214524832
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