Overview

This volume presents new research in medieval conceptions of magic, science, and the natural world, bringing not only medicine but also meteorology and navigation into the discussion. Ground-breaking theoretical chapters on theology, natural sciences, and the writing of history are presented by established experts in their fields. These are accompanied by case studies of interactions between magic, science, and natural philosophy. Each chapter offers new findings while contributing to a comprehensive survey of the shifting boundaries between natural and supernatural across both space and time. Emerging areas, such as the study of prognostics, are represented by challenging new work. This collection will prove fascinating to everyone engaging with this expanding field.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carolina Escobar-Vargas (Head of the Department of History, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medellin)) ,  Anne Lawrence-Mathers (Professor of Medieval History, University of Reading)
Publisher:   Arc Humanities Press
Imprint:   Arc Humanities Press
Edition:   New edition
ISBN:  

9781802700411

ISBN 10:   1802700412
Pages:   252
Publication Date:   31 July 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements “Introduction,” by Carolina Escobar-Vargas Chapter 1: “Rhythms of the (Super)Natural World: Timing Instructions in Early Medieval Medical Recipes,” by Claire Burridge Chapter 2: “Time and Tide: The Creation of a Sea Travel Network in the Severn Region in the Early Middle Ages,” by Caroline Bourne Chapter 3: “Astral Forces and Arthurian Dragons in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae,” by Humma Mouzam Chapter 4: “Natural and Non-Natural: Weather, Seasons, and Place in the Medicine of Constantine of Africa,” by Anne Jeavons Chapter 5: “Matthew Paris, William of Conches, and the Use of Diagrams to Observe the World,” by Judith Collard Chapter 6: “Astrology: Science or Divination? The Example of Astro-Meteorology,” by Anne Lawrence-Mathers Chapter 7: “Magic and Science in the Middle Ages: The Building of the Boundaries between Natural Magic and Necromancy, ca. 1230–ca. 1310,” by Sebastià Giralt Chapter 8: “Witchcraft and Weather: The Problem of Magical Control of the Weather,” by Carolina Escobar-Vargas Chapter 9: “The Boundaries of Magic and Medicine in Medieval Theology,” by Victoria Burns-Price Chapter 10: “Between Natural and Demonic? Onomantic Divination in the Later Middle Ages,” by Joanne Edge Chapter 11: “Late-Medieval Brontologies: Popular Superstition or Astrological Medical Guide?,” by Janet Walls Chapter 12: “Wonder and Wonder Working in Middle English Romance: The Prose Merlin,” by Victoria Flood Chapter 13: “Alchemical Poetry, Alchemical Practice,” by Zachary Matus Chapter 14: “Encountering the Wonder in Nature: The Science of the Sacred in the Early-Modern Construction of the Natural World,” by Helen Parish Index

Reviews

[O]ne of the most recent trends in the history of medieval magic, the study of positive astral magic or angel magic, which complicated the perceived boundaries between demonic invocation and other forms of putatively natural magic considerably, is not a major focus in this volume, although important medieval texts, like Picatrix, and seminal modern studies, like those of Claire Fanger, are cited. In general, however, the breadth of coverage among the chapters is admirable. The volume is also solidly interdisciplinary, with several chapters focusing on literature; for example, the depiction of magic in the late-medieval Prose Merlin, by Victoria Flood, and Zachary Matus’s examination of several alchemical poems from late-medieval England. For those looking for analysis of change over time, many of the chapters adopt the broadest chronological framework possible within the boundaries of the Middle Ages, tracing treatment of their particular topics from early Christianity (often Augustine) to the scholastics and beyond.[...] What does define this volume is a rich variety of topically focused chapters that all serve to illustrate the convoluted and frequently contested boundaries between magic and the natural world. In this, the volume absolutely succeeds in demonstrating the proposition with which it began. -- Michael D. Bailey * The Medieval Review (Jan 2026), no. 26.01.11 *

Author Information

Carolina Escobar-Vargas is the current Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs at the Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medellin) and former head of the Department of History in the above faculty. Anne Lawrence-Mathers is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Reading, and the author of The True History of Merlin the Magician and Medieval Meteorology.

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