Mermaids

Women with fish tails are among the oldest and still most popular of mythological creatures, possessing a powerful allure and compelling ambiguity. They dwell right in the uncanniest valley of the sea: so similar to humans, yet profoundly other. Mermaids: Art, Symbolism and Mythology presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and beautifully illustrated study of mermaids and their influence on Western culture. The roots of mermaid mythology and its metamorphosis through the centuries are discussed with examples from visual art, literature, music and architecture—from 600 BCE right up to the present day. Our story starts in Mesopotamia, source of the earliest preserved illustrations of half-human, half-fish creatures. The myths and legends of the Mesopotamians were incorporated and adopted by ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman cultures. Then, during the early medieval period, ancient mythological creatures such as mermaids were confused, transformed and reinterpreted by Christian tradition to begin a new strand in mermaid lore. Along the way, all manner of stunning—and sometimes bizarre or unsettling—depictions of mermaids emerged. Written in an accessible and entertaining style, this book challenges conventional views of mermaid mythology, discusses mermaids in the light of evolutionary theory and aims to inspire future studies of these most curious of imaginary creatures.

Moral Visions in Medieval Muslim Interpretations of Sūra 102 Al-Takāthur: Warnings against Pride, Wealth, or Pleasure?

This article focuses on sūra 102 al-Takāthur of the Qur’ān which addresses those preoccupied with al-takāthur (competition for superiority in number, or accumulation of wealth), warning them of the punishment of Hell in the Hereafter and of their interrogation about al-na‘īm (the worldly pleasures) on the Day of Judgement. The grave eschatological implications of engaging in al-takāthur and al-na‘īm, conveyed in this sūra, have triggered attempts by Muslim scholars to determine the intended meanings of these notions and the scope of their reference. This article examines the interpretations of al-takāthur and al-na‘īm in medieval commentaries on sūra al-Takāthur with the aim of identifying and analysing various interpretative trends regarding these two notions and exploring their connection with the moral orientations among Muslims in the medieval period of Islamic history.

Medieval Interpretation of Phonation Through the Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri

The anatomic and medical knowledge of people throughout history is unexpectedly evident in some of the poems and texts written by intellectuals of the time. This article attempts to understand the conception of laryngology in the Middle Ages by analyzing the Divine Comedy, written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) at the beginning of the 14th century. In the text, Dante mentions the throat several times. He recognizes that the larynx has the dual functions of allowing respiration (dead souls recognize that the poet is alive through movement of his throat when breathing) and speech (souls with their throat cut cannot speak). However, Dante does not seem to know of the existence of vocal cords, thinking that it is the tongue that allows for word formation. In general, Dante’s poem indicates that the anatomy and function of the throat were known during the medieval period, although this knowledge was not precise.

Jesuit Sanctity: Hypothesizing the Continuity of a Hagiographic Narrative of the Modern Age

The introduction to this special issue provides some considerations on early modern sanctity as a historical object. It firstly presents the major shifts in the developing idea of sanctity between the late medieval period and the nineteenth century, passing through the early modern construction of sanctity and its cultural, social, and political implications. Secondly, it provides an overview of the main sources that allow historians to retrace early modern sanctity, especially canonization records and hagiographies. Thirdly, it offers an overview of the ingenious role of the Society of Jesus in the construction of early modern sanctity, by highlighting its ability to employ, create, and play with hagiographical models. The main Jesuit models of sanctity are then presented (i.e., the theologian, the missionary, the martyr, the living saint), and an important reflection is reserved for the specific martyrial character of Jesuit sanctity. The introduction assesses the continuity of the Jesuit hagiographical discourse throughout the long history of the order, from the origins to the suppression and restoration.

Amakusa Shirō, la Rebelión de Shimabara y el cristianismo en el manga Makai tenshō (1987)

RESUMEN: El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la imagen del cristianismo en el manga de Ishikawa Ken Makai tenshō (1987), adaptación libre de la novela de ficción histórica de mismo nombre compuesta en 1967 por Yamada Fūtarō. Ambientado a finales del Japón medieval, tiene como punto de partida un famoso acontecimiento en la historia del archipiélago, la Rebelión de Shimabara, que puso punto final al llamado "siglo cristiano" de Japón. Uno de los protagonistas de la obra es el líder de esa rebelión, el joven cristiano Amakusa Shirō, convertido en los últimos decenios en un personaje frecuente en la cultura de consumo popular japonesa. La representación del cristianismo en Makai Tenshō, publicado en un periodo de fuerte presencia de nacionalismo japonés en el manga seinen, recoge algunos elementos de la imagen de los misioneros cristianos desarrollada en el Periodo Edo como legitimación del shogunato Tokugawa; entre otros, la naturaleza demoniaca de los misioneros, similares a los tengu, demonios del folclore japonés, su asociación con la magia y la medicina y su objetivo, frustrado por Tokugawa Ieyasu, de invadir y someter Japón. ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to analyze the image of Christianity in Ishikawa Ken's manga Makai Tenshō (1987), adapted freely from Yamada Fūtarō's historic fiction novel of the same name published in 1967. The manga is set at the end of Japan's medieval period, beginning with a famous event in Japanese history, the Shimabara Rebellion, which is considered the end of the "Christian century" of Japan. One of the main characters of the work is the leader of that rebellion, Amakusa Shirō, a very frequent character in recent Japanese pop culture. The representation of Christianity in Makai Tenshō, published in a period of strong presence of Japanese nationalism in seinen manga, derives partly from some characteristics of the image of the Christian missionaries developed in Edo Period as legitimation of Tokugawa shogunate; among others, their demonic nature, close to the tengu, demons in Japanese folklore, their association with magic and medicine and their intention, frustrated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, of invading and subduing Japan.

On Wine, Wandering, and Wisdom: Musar and Adab in Medieval Sepharad

This article focuses on three Hebrew narrative works written in medieval Sepharad: Yosef ibn Zabarah’s Sefer ša‘ašu‘im [The book of delights], Yehudah al-Ḥarizi’s Sefer taḥkemoni [The book of Taḥkemoni], and Mišle he-‘araḇ [The sayings of the Arabs], by one Yiṣḥaq ha-Qaṭan. It takes their chapters on wine, traveling, and wisdom as a point of departure for examining the genre of musar or traditional ethical literature. It also reveals the multifaceted nature and function that this Hebrew genre acquired in the medieval period thanks to its contact with the Arabic tradition and in the context of the wide geographic diffusion of adab literature.

Post-medieval Pottery in Mazovia and Podlachia (16th–18th Century) – a Preliminary Report

The text is dedicated to the question of traditions and innovations in post-medieval pottery manufactured and used in the territory of today’s Mazovia and Podlachia in Poland. It focuses on the distribution of waregroups in the assemblages from selected sites dated to the mid-16th – late 18th centuries. The list includes both capital cities in the province (Warsaw, Płock) and local towns (Ciechanów, Płońsk, Przasnysz), as well as royal and aristocratic residences, gentry manors and villages. Among the most characteristic features worthy of note are the long lasting of early medieval manufacturing traditions, the widespreaduse of greyware, the relatively small proportion of whiteware and glazed vessels, as well as the sporadic (excluding Warsaw) occurrence of fineware (porcelain, faience). The analysis points to the specificity of Mazovian pottery in 16th–18th centuries, in relation to both other Polish lands and our notions on trends in pottery manufacture and use in the post-medieval period.