Medieval Studies Commons^™

Penitential Systems In The Latin West And Byzantine East, Elijah C. Dodson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the development and organization of penitential discipline in early medieval Christianity through a comparison of the penitential tradition associated with Theodore of Canterbury in the Latin West and the canons attributed to John the Faster in the Byzantine East. The study focuses on how these texts regulated sexual sin and what their structures reveal about the institutional role of the Church in different historical contexts. The analysis is based on a comparative reading of penitential texts, supported by patristic writings and modern scholarship. By examining how specific categories of sexual misconduct are classified and disciplined, this study …

From Maldon To Mordor: Hobbits And The Lord-Retainer Relationship In The Lord Of The Rings, Samuel A. Masters

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Content warning: this paper discusses suicide and suicidal thoughts.

Tolkien’s interest in Old Germanic heroism had a profound impact upon the hobbits of The Lord of the Rings, and the Christianised form of heroism that they represent. In his essays, ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (1936) and ‘The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son’ (1953), Tolkien praises the loving, paternalistic relationship between a lord and his retainers in Old English poetry; this aspect of medieval heroism is retained in Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin However, Tolkien also highlights several shortcomings of the Old Germanic ‘Northern Courage’. In …

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

Tolkien's Joyful Sorrow, The "Gift Of Tears" Of Medieval Mysticism, And John Donne's Sermon "Jesus Wept", Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Journal of Tolkien Research

At the field of Cormallen, the emotion of joy felt by the victorious Hobbits is so great that Sam wonders whether everything sad will come untrue. At the same time, their joy is so great that it is described as "poignant as grief". Dimitra Fimi in 2017 pointed out Tolkien's probable indebtedness to Christian Orthodox tradition of "charmolype", or joyful sorrow. Another relevant parallel of the intermingling of joy and sorrow is the eleventh century Norman monk and abbot John of Fécamp's notion of the "Gift of Tears" (Gratia lacrymarum) from God, which brings true happiness. …

Theatre And Dance As Divine Purpose: Liberating The Christian Performer In Pursuit Of Artistic Worship, Abby Owen

Dance (MFA) Theses

This study examines the historical relevance of theatre and dance alongside religious forms of worship, with a particular emphasis on their integration into Christian churches of the Middle Ages, in comparison to the current Western era. Beginning with their origin, this research examines the creation of theatre and dance in Ancient Greece as a means of connecting with spiritual deities, tracing their recorded transition into accepted acts of everyday worship by Christian leadership. At the same time, this research scrutinizes contemporary congregations’ lack of artistic incorporation, denouncing the rise of restricted worship in response to present-day condemnation of the female …

Analyzing Early Medieval Perspectives Of Fetal Development, Nivedha Srinivasan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines early medieval perspectives of fetal development by analyzing two manuscripts: British Library, Cotton Tiberius A III and Leiden University, Vossianus lat. Q69. This study will investigate how knowledge of pregnancy was shared throughout England before the establishment of universities. Interest in medieval reproductive language has piqued in importance in recent years, especially due to modern legal debates surrounding reproductive rights. By examining descriptions of the nine months of fetal development in these two manuscripts, as well as in widely known earlier medical texts like Pliny’s Natural History and Vindicianus’ Gynaecia, this research explores how monastic writers in …

“Pride And Despair”: Denethor’S Struggles Against His Self-Woven Death, Ali Mirzabayati

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper examines Denethor, Steward of Gondor, as a central figure illustrating the interplay of pride, fear, and mortality in The Lord of the Rings. It analyzes how his Númenórean heritage, grief over the loss of his sons, and obsession with control shape his decisions, leading to passivity, mistrust, and self-destruction. Drawing on Northern literary traditions, including the Danes’ prayers to the Gastbona in Beowulf and Boethian reflections on pride and despair, the study situates Denethor’s downfall within a broader cultural and philosophical context. By exploring how his fear of death undermines judgment and heroic potential, the paper highlights …

Beowulf And Théoden: Differing Teaching Methods Of Hrothgar And Gandalf, Ali Mirzabayati

Journal of Tolkien Research

Most studies on the character of Théoden in The Lord of the Rings center on Germanic heroic themes like courage and oath-keeping, often emphasizing his renewal by Gandalf at Meduseld and his death at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. This perspective overlooks Théoden's growth in wisdom and hope between these events. During this period, Théoden learns about the various forces in Middle-earth and contemplates his role in the broader world, leading to a profound sense of humility. Building on Tolkien's inspiration from Beowulf, this paper compares Théoden and Beowulf to explore their learning processes and heroic outcomes. This comparison …

Hemispheres Of Faith: Mapping The Global Journey Of An Ivory Rosary Bead At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Mary M. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Hemispheres of Faith reattributes a carved ivory rosary bead in the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Quito School in 18th-century Ecuador. Through examining the trade history of the Manila Galleons, material analysis, and iconographic study, Hemispheres of Faith challenges the bead's European origins and reveals the object as a product of global exchange, devotional practice, and colonial artistic collaboration within the Spanish Empire.

Divine Ecstasy And Erotic Submission: Pauline Réage’S Story Of O And The Medieval Mysticism Of Mechthild Of Magdeburg And Margery Kempe, Lauren A. Crawford

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the thematic and conceptual intersections between Pauline Réage’s Story of O and the medieval mystical writings of Mechthild of Magdeburg and Margery Kempe, focusing on the intertwined dynamics of divine ecstasy and erotic submission. By analyzing the textual representations of bodily suffering, erotic desire, and female submission, this study argues that Story of O—a modern work of literary erotica—engages with a mystical-erotic tradition that echoes the visions and devotional experiences of medieval women mystics. Through close readings, this project examines how both Réage’s protagonist and medieval mystics navigate the paradox of submission as a pathway to …

“The Atmosphere That Supports Life On Earth”: An Ecocritical Approach To Tolkien’S Arda, Elizabeth Anne Turello

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Ecocriticism speaks to the relationship between the environment and literature, a progressively vital topic of discussion. What is often overlooked, however, is the necessity of the theory’s applicability to stories of speculative fiction; that is, ones existing outside the realm of the real world or, as is the case with the father of modern-day fantasy J.R.R. Tolkien, a mythology set in the ancient days of our world (“Arda”). At first, it may seem contradictory to learn about our surroundings through fictionalized ones seemingly irrelevant to Earth’s own; this apparent contradiction is not valid, though, as the relationship between humans and …

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Beowulf: Rowling’S Beowulfian Allusions, Analogues, And Inversions, Mark-Elliot Finley

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

In this essay, I suggest Rowling’s Goblet of Fire literarily echoes the Old English epic poem Beowulf, while simultaneously updating the medieval epic to reflect the novel’s place within the modernized, Christian-influenced fantasy tradition. While cursory popular links have been made between the Old English epic with Rowling’s novel, this essay presents a sustained dialogue between Beowulf and Goblet of Fire. Both heroes engage in one-to-one combat (Beowulf with Grendel and Harry with Voldemort), venture into an unknown watery abyss (Beowulf diving into Grendel’s mother’s underwater cave and Harry rescuing Ron and Gabrielle from the merpeople in Hogwarts’s …

Theological Rituals Of Death: An Archaeological Case Study Of A Thirteenth Century Christian Burial Site, Makayla J. Bowman

Research and Creativity Symposium

This study examines the theological principles reflected in the burial practices of El Corral de los Condes, a thirteenth-century cemetery associated with the Knights of Calatrava at Zorita de los Canes, Spain. Founded during the Crusades, the Knights combined monastic vows with military service, emphasizing poverty, chastity, and obedience. Archaeological evidence from El Corral de los Condes reveals burials devoid of grave goods, consistent with Christian ideals of renouncing earthly possessions at death, as exemplified in Athanasius’ Life of Antony. The orientation of burials along an East/West axis, with heads facing east, aligns with early Christian eschatology, symbolizing the …

Mythos And Meaning: Medieval Appropriations Of Mythological Types In The Consolation Of Philosophy And Later Western Literatures, Francis J. Hunter

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Often referred to as the last Roman and first medieval, Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy, has been widely received as an unoriginal philosopher who sought to preserve Platonic thought as the Western Roman Empire fell. However, this essay features an investigation into the literary originality of Boethius who initiates a line of Christian and Platonic literatures to follow in the medieval European tradition. Boethius demonstrates himself to be a poet who makes great use of philosophy rather than as a philosopher writing poetry. Boethius’ poetic influence is felt most strongly in major aspects of Dante’s Divine Comedy and …

Vision, Repetition And Redemption: Envisioning Universal Salvation In A Group Of Six Carolingian Ivory Book Covers, Valerie Thai

Theses and Dissertations

Six Carolingian ivory plaques share almost identical imagery. This thesis focuses on the figures of Synagoga and the rising dead repeated in the compositions. As the ivories are Gospel covers used in Mass, this study demonstrates how these motifs appeal to the congregation, conveying the Christian tenet of universal salvation.

Orpheus And The Harrowing Of Hell In The Tale Of Beren And Lúthien, Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Critics have observed that Beren and Lúthien’s tale is a Christian retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The “Harrowing of Hell” tradition is widespread in Italy as attested by the mosaic of San Marco among others, but it is in France that the Ovid Moralized reconnects it to Orpheus who descended into the Underworld to save Eurydice (an already late antique parallel) and therefore attests a happy ending version of the story that can be found in medieval England and also in various classical sources, perhaps even in the original legend of Orpheus. The apocryphal Harrowing is also …

Res Historica, Volume 3, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2024 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Johnathan Sorce, and Samuel Sanders.

Visualizing Ancient Empire In Tudor England: Imperial Monarchy, Reformation, And The Antique Soldier In The Title Page To Richard Grafton’S Large Chronicle (1569), Peter Nicholas Otis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis analyzes the iconography and visual sources of the title page to the first volume of A chronicle at large and meere history of the affayres of Englande (1569) by the Tudor author Richard Grafton. Representing the visual synthesis of several distinct but interrelated currents that developed in the preceding century, the title page to the Large Chronicle offers a rare glimpse into a transitional moment in the middle Tudor perception and visual representation of the British past. These currents include imperializing royal iconography, with origins in antecedent representations in the late fifteenth century; the entry of the ‘classicizing’ …

Il Digiuno Delle Donne Religioso Durante Il Rinascimento, Alessia Nicosia

Italian Renaissance Foodways

Mio advanced integration project è trovare la connessione tra religione e la cultura italiana. Il digiuno ha una relazione per dimostrare la dedizione a Dio, le donne religiosi avevano. Può vedere la intersezione tra religione e cultura con i libri di Laura Giannetti, Caroline Bynum, e Rudolph Bell, per scoprire l'identità italiana e la spiritualità di queste donne religiosi (in particolare Caterina di Benincasa (Catherine of Siena), Beata Colomba di Rieti (olumba of Rieti) e Santa Clare of Assisi) il ruolo il cibo aveva con loro, per esempio nel il digiuno e la eucaristia.

The Fight Against The Threat Of Witchcraft And Paganism In Anglo-Saxon England, Russell I. Knapp

Lux et Fides: A Journal for Undergraduate Christian Scholars

Unlike the general assumption that England was completely Christianized after Augustine’s mission to the island, witchcraft and paganism thrived all throughout the Christian period of Anglo-Saxon history. Sources condemning witchcraft and paganism increased during the Danish raids in the mid-ninth century and beyond due to an increased sense of a perceived threat of paganism. King Alfred himself reacted to this threat by doing everything he could to strengthen his people in their Christian beliefs through education reform and his law code. The Church battled against the perceived threat through penitentials–which they used to discourage pagan practices. Lay-people fought against …

Legends Of Light: Crafting Middle Grade Fantasy In The Tradition Of Catholic Philosophy And Medieval Visual Culture, Bernadette Lamb

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This essay promotes the writing and illustrating of middle grade literature that mirrors the wonder-inducing experiences of leafing through an illuminated manuscript and stepping into a Gothic cathedral. An examination of Catholic medieval visual culture moves into a discussion on its underlying philosophy and theology, which are profoundly centered on relational healing and the dignity of the human person. Christian writers including St. Pope John Paul II, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Josef Pieper, Madeline L’Engle, Dr. Bob Schuchts, Makoto Fujimura, and Andrew Peterson inform an exploration of mercy, forgiveness, and love as self-gift in the context of illustration and storytelling …

Teresa Of Avila's Inward Journey To Spiritual Growth, Anne Cahill

Obsculta

This essay describes the basic structure of Teresa's understanding of spiritual growth as depicted in her seven "dwelling places" in the Interior Castle. It places emphasis upon where God invites our cooperation (cooperative grace) and where God acts alone(operative grace). It includes how this spiritual growth affects our prayer, and our relationships with other people.

The Role Of Darkness And Trial In Spiritual Growth As Described In The Cloud Of Unknowing, Carrie O'Neil-Smith

Obsculta

This essay was written in Professor Michael Rubbelke's class titled "Growing into God: Spiritual Development in the Christian Tradition." The piece looks at darkness and trial and three resulting fruits of spiritual growth: humility, knowledge of one's true nature, and an experience of God's pure love as described in the fourteenth century work The Cloud of Unknowing.

A Friend Who Does Me No Good: Aphorism In Matteo Ricci’S On Friendship, Maximilian Chan Weiher

Asian Languages and Cultures Honors Projects

This paper argues that Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) designed his aphoristic compilation, Jiaoyou Lun 交友論–On Friendship (1595)–to serve the Jesuit mission of converting the Chinese to Catholicism and express the conflict he may have felt exploiting friends to forward the Jesuit mission. Utilizing friendships to allow for greater social influence was central to the Jesuit proselytization strategy in China. However, Ricci’s moral education from youth taught him to judge utilitarian friendships as immoral. The extant scholarship regarding Ricci’s On Friendship fails to acknowledge the significance of the aphoristic form to this work. To illuminate the value of aphorism …

Res Historica, Volume 2, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2023 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg. Johnathan Sorce, and Helen Smith. Cover art for this volume by Helen Smith.

The Afterlife Of Ludolph Of Saxony's Vita Christi, Emily Ransom

Printing and the Book During the Reformation: 1450-1650, an NEH Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers

Spreadsheet of printed editions of Ludolph of Saxony's Vita Christi down to 1660.

Ritual, Spectacle, And Theatre In Late Medieval Seville (Chapter 1), Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

From the fall of Islamic Išbīliya in 1248 to the conquest of the New World, Seville was a nexus of economic and religious power where interconfessional living among Christians, Jews, and Muslims was negotiated on public stages. From out of seemingly irreconcilable ideologies of faith, hybrid performance culture emerged in spectacles of miraculous transformation, disciplinary processionals, and representations of religious identity. Ritual, Spectacle, and Theatre in Late Medieval Seville reinvigorates the study of medieval Iberian theater by revealing the ways in which public expressions of devotion, penance, and power fostered cultural reciprocity, rehearsed religious difference, and ultimately helped establish Seville …

Elite Women In The Mediterranean 31 Bc – 1380 Ad: An Investigation Into Female Agency, Identity, And Patriarchy Across Classical And Christian Paradigms, Julia Maurer

Capstone Showcase

This paper explores the responses of elite women to patriarchal regimes across the Classical Pagan and Medieval Christian paradigms in the Mediterranean from 31 BC to 1380 AD. While the current historiography acknowledges the radical differences between the two worldviews fundamental to the core values of Western Civilization, an investigation of three women that can be taken to be emblematic examples of the periods in which they lived reveals a striking continuity in the nuanced social roles available to women. This continuity contradicts expectations of significant changes reflective of this revolutionary paradigm shift.

I utilize Julia Augusti, Vibia Perpetua, and …

The Womb In Labour: Representing The Woman’S Body As An Active Vessel In Hildegard Of Bingen’S Cause Et Cure, Minji Lee

Department of Religion Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Hildegard of Bingen was a German nun who wrote medical treatises in the Middle Ages that interpreted the female body as a positive and purifying agent of God’s creation and salvation at a time when negative connotations of female physicality prevailed in medicine. In particular, she described the female body as an active vessel, in opposition to the predominant image of the female body as passive. Her explanations of conception, pregnancy and childbirth in her medical book Cause et Cure represent the female body as actively advancing, nourishing, purifying and caring for future generations in the form of the baby, …

The Levant: France’S Colonial Crucible, Michael Adelson

French Summer Fellows

In the medieval era of religious and political tumult that culminated with the Crusades, (mostly) Roman Catholic Western European citizens from all walks of life committed themselves to conquer Jerusalem and wrest control of historically Christian lands from the Muslim polities that claimed the region. The historical Kingdom of France was a major contributor to the Crusades, and as such, the feudal realms established in the Levant in the wake of the First Crusade were dominated by former French crusaders and citizenry. The geographic boundaries and demography of these Crusader States are reminiscent of French hegemony in the Middle East …