For Valentine’s Day, we have a tale not so much of love, but of supernatural seduction. This is the story of a chaste young woman of the town of Dunwich stalked by a devil, as reported in The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich by Thomas of Monmouth. We also take a look at real and fictional Dunwich (a town of the Lovecraft mythos featured in “The Dunwich Horror”), and examine what exactly (or inexactly) an incubus was thought to be.
Today’s Text:
- The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth and translated by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James. Cambridge UP, 1896. [Available on Google Books.]
References:
- Bryant B.L. “H. P. Lovecraft’s ‘Unnamable’ Middle Ages.” Medieval Afterlives in Popular Culture, edited by Gail Ashton and Dan Kline, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, pp. 113-128.
- 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.
- van der Lugt, Maaike. “The Incubus in Scholastic Debate: Medicine, Theology, and Popular Belief.” Religion and Medicine in the Middle Ages, edited by Peter Biller and Joseph Ziegler, Boydell & Brewer, 2001, pp. 175-200.
Image: Poster for The Dunwich Horror (1970)
This episode we slither into spring with several tales of serpent shenanigans as well as science (or it’s medieval equivalent).
This Episode’s Texts:
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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.
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The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth and translated by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James. Cambridge UP, 1896. [Available on
Google Books.]
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Richard de Fournival. Master Richard’s Bestiary of Love and Response. Translated by Jeanette Beer, U of California P, 1986.
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Simeon of Durham.
Simeon’s History of the Church of Durham,
Church Historians of England, edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. 3, part 2, Seeley’s, 1855, pp. 619-711.
Google Books.
- Symeon of Durham. Libellus de exordio atque procursu istius, hoc est Dunhelmensis, ecclesie: Tract on the Origin and Progress of this the Church of Durham. Edited and translated by David Rollason, Oxford UP, 2000.
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Image: Snake encounter and world map from the Intellivision game Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.
On this episode, we’re back with Thomas of Monmouth’s
The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich to hear a tale of fire, fratricide, and fetters.
Today’s Text:
- The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth and translated by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James. London: Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1896. [Available on Google Books.]
Credits:
- This episode features original music by Chris Lane and a modified version of a recording by John Sayles.
Image:
Detail from of French bible, ca. 1200. Moulins BM, MS 0001 f. 316.
[Editor’s note: Apologies for the late episode — recording was completed a bit overschedule last week (and has last week’s date), but editing ended up taking even longer. Your patience is appreciated!]
In this episode we finally cut to the core of the story Thomas of Monmouth tells about the murder of William of Norwich. While Thomas thinks he’s telling the story of how William was murdered by Jewish citizens of Norwich, his actual text reveals quite plainly how mass hysteria and xenophobia drove such accusations.
This episode’s text:
- The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth and translated by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James. London: Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1896. [Available on Google Books.]
References:
- Bennet, Gillian. “Towards a Revaluation of the Legend of ‘Saint’ William of Norwich and its Place in the Blood Libel Legend.” Folklore 116.2 (Aug. 2005): 119-139.
- Cohen, Jeffery Jerome. “The Flow of Blood in Medieval Norwich.” Speculum 79.1 (Jan. 2004): 26-65.
- Langmuir, Gavin I. “Thomas of Monmouth: Detector of Ritual Murder.” Speculum 59.4 (Oct. 1984): 820-846.
- McCulloh, John M. “Jewish Ritual Murder: William of Norwich, Thomas of Monmouth, and the Early Dissemination of the Myth.” Speculum 72.3 (July 1997): 698-740.
Images:
Today, we continue with Thomas of Monmouth’s tales from the shrine of William of Norwich. This time, instead of miracle cures, we get an example of a miracle injury — in other words, a good old-fashioned smiting. On the way we get a visit from a sinister pig and learn that candles might be valued more than a life.
This episode’s texts:
- The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth and translated by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James. London: Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1896. [Available on Google Books.]
- Blick, Sarah. “Votives, Images, Interaction and Pilgrimage to the Tomb and Shrine of St. Thomas Becket, Canterbury Cathedral.” [Available at academia.edu]
Image: British Library MS Stowe 17 (The Maastricht Hours), f. 82r.
This episode we return to the
The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich to look at three cases of cures for toothache, followed by a glance at some actual medieval dental treatments. Get those worms out of your teeth!
This episode’s texts:
- The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich, written by Thomas of Monmouth and translated by Augustus Jessopp and M.R. James. London: Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1896. [Available on Google Books.]
- “Dental Treatment in Medieval England,” by T. Anderson (2004). Online at the British Dental Journal.
- The Anglo-Saxon Leech Book, as presented in a facing-page translation in Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, Vol. II. Edited by Oswald Cockayne. London: Longman, Green, Roberts, Longman, and Green, 1865. [Available on Google Books.]
Image: British Library MS Royal 6 E.VI, f. 503v.
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