scholarly journals Alchemical symbols on Stećak tombstones and their meaning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amer Dardagan
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Tree Of Life ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Apophatic Theology ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Decorative Motifs ◽  
Special Relationships ◽  
Medieval Spirituality ◽  
Essential Knowledge ◽  
The Middle Ages

In order to truly be able to understand the phenomenology of Stećak tombstones in its total complexity, the Stećak primarily needs to be viewed through philosophy (Neoplatonism), theology (Cataphatic and Apophatic theology) and through the practice of theurgy and alchemy (work on stone and metal). It is very difficult to understand the symbols on Stećak tombstones without the essential knowledge of the basic principles and philosophy of Neoplatonism and Hermeticism, so even the most dedicated researchers of Bosnian Middle Ages observed Stečak symbols only as a decorative motifs denying the tombstones' enormous amount of "philosophical and spiritual content" that greatly can help in the study of the religious character of the Bosnian Church in the Middle Ages. To understand the meaning of many symbols of alchemy and theurgy on Stećak tombstones, a researcher of Bosnian medieval spirituality has to relate himself with one world in which mystery and spirituality are central. For example alchemical imagination constantly reminds us that opposing forces in nature have to unite thus forming a special relationships in a way that through their unification the mysterious "third" occurs (Alchemical "Egg","Philosopher's Stone", "Tree of Life") that transcends an ordinary existence.

Introduction: Ancient Medical and Healing Systems: Their Legacy to Western Medicine

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 7-24
Author(s):  
Rosalie David
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Pharmaceutical Preparations ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Classical Antiquity ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Healing Environments ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Middle Ages

Ancient medical and healing systems are currently attracting considerable interest. This issue includes interdisciplinary studies which focus on new perceptions of some ancient and medieval medical systems, exploring how they related to each other, and assessing their contribution to modern society. It is shown that pre-Greek medicine included some rational elements, and that Egyptian and Babylonian medical systems contributed to a tradition which led from classical antiquity through the Middle Ages and beyond. The reliability of sources of evidence is considered, as well as the legacy of the ancient healing environments (temples and healing sanctuaries) and disease treatments (including surgical procedures and pharmaceutical preparations). Finally, where documentation survives, the legacy of social attitudes to health and disease is considered. Overarching principles directed policies of social medicine and healthcare in antiquity and the Middle Ages: for example, the causes and transmission routes of infectious diseases, as well as the basic principles of sterilization, were unknown, but nevertheless attempts were made to improve sanitation, provide clean water, and ensure access to trained physicians. In some cases, the need to limit the size of the population prompted the use of contraceptive measures, and surviving information also illuminates attitudes to deformity, disability and the treatment of the terminally ill.

scholarly journals Lectio divina, meditatio, imitatio as Basic Categories of Medieval Spirituality

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Kirill Karpov
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Spiritual Practice ◽  
Lectio Divina ◽  
Medieval Spirituality ◽  
The Middle Ages

Mysticism is one of the most vague concepts in religious studies. In what follows I propose to boil down mysticism to spirituality and provide an analysis of lectio divina (a spiritual practice which originated in the Middle Ages and still exists). I will also show how we can understand spirituality and how people can produce ‘spiritual knowledge’.

scholarly journals O vício capital da inveja na visão de Ramon Llull

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Armando Alexandre Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Catalan Literature ◽  
Medieval Spirituality ◽  
Ramon Llull ◽  
The Middle Ages

Resumo: Exposição do pensamento de Ramon Llull acerca do vício capital da inveja, inserida na cultura e na espiritualidade da Idade Média, destacando, de um lado, sua conformidade com a doutrina espiritual e teológica acerca do assunto, e de outro lado sua extrema originalidade na aplicação prática dessa doutrina.Palavras-chave: inveja, vício capital, espiritualidade medieval, literatura catalã, Ramon Llull.Abstract: Exposition of Ramon Llull’s thought about the capital vice of envy, inserted in the culture and spirituality of the Middle Ages, highlighting its conformity with the spiritual and theological doctrine on the subject, and at the same time his extreme originality in the application practice of that doctrine.Keywords: envy, capital vice, medieval spirituality, catalan literature, Ramon Llull

Popular and Monastic Pastoral Issues in the Later Middle Ages

1987 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-332
Author(s):  
Dennis D. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
God's Love ◽  
Spiritual Theology ◽  
Medieval Spirituality ◽  
Assurance Of Salvation ◽  
The Middle Ages

A number of scholars have pointed recently to Ecclesiastes 9:1 as the epitome of medieval and late medieval spirituality: “No one knows whether he is worthy of God's love or hatred.”1The quest for assurance of salvation constituted a major pastoral problem in the Middle Ages. It is no surprise, therefore, that catechetical handbooks as well as handbooks of spiritual theology offer signs by which one can gain some indication whether one is in the grace of God or not.

scholarly journals Theurgical ritual of making stecak tombstones in medieval Bosnia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amer Dardagan
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Religious Discourse ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
The World ◽  
Basic Purpose ◽  
Mystical Theology ◽  
The Middle Ages

The practice of theurgy in Late antiquity and Middle Ages can be understood correctly and comprehensively only if we take into account the basic principles of Neoplatonist philosophy and theology as the basis of medieval mysticism. In order to understand the basic purpose and goal of the theurgical ritual of making stone tombstones with appropriate symbols in medieval Bosnia (Stećak) it is necessary for us to know the basic postulates of Neoplatonist philosophy (creation of the world, emanation and reversion of the Good, the Virtue) and Neoplatonist theology within the religious discourse of the Middle Ages (allegorical reading of the Scripture, the mystical theology of affirmation and negation). Theurgy as an expression of ritual mysticism puts an emphasis on experience and "living religion“. Every aspect of the imbalance in the soul can be purified through a theurgical ritual where the appropriate "theurgical token" (sunthemata) balances the soul and prepares it for the ascent. Philosophy is purifying, religion illuminating, but theurgy is uplifting.

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