Mysteries of the Middle Ages

by Thomas Cahill

  Permissions Acknowledgments

  The author has endeavored to credit all known persons holding copyright or reproduction rights for passages quoted and for illustrations reproduced in this book, especially:

  Anvil Press Poetry for the passages from Dante: The Divine Comedy, translated by Peter Dale, copyright © 1996 by Peter Dale.

  New City Press, Hyde Park, N.Y. (www.newcitypress.com), for the passages from Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume 1: The Saint, Volume 2: The Founder, Volume 3: The Prophet, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 by the Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure, New York.

  Oxford University Press for The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen, Volumes I, II, III, translated by Joseph L. Baird and Radd K. Ehrman, copyright © 1994, 1998, 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

  Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, New Jersey (www.paulistpress.com), for the passages from Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias, translated by Mother Columba Hart and Jane Bishop (in the Classics of Western Spirituality series), copyright © 1990 by the Abbey of Regina Laudis: Benedictine Congregation of the Strict Observance, Inc.

  Penguin Group, UK, for the passages from The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, translated by Betty Radice (Penguin Classics, 1974), copyright © Betty Radice, 1974.

  Photography Credits

  1.4 Hildegard von Bingen, Wisse Die Wege “Scivias” © Otto Müller Verlag, 9. Auflage Salzburg 1996

  1.5 Hildegard von Bingen, Wisse Die Wege “Scivias” © Otto Müller Verlag, 9. Auflage Salzburg 1996

  1.6 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  1.7 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  1.8 © J. Schwanke / Alamy

  1.9 St. Peter’s, Louvain, Belgium / Bridgeman Art Library

  1.10 akg-images / Schütze / Rodemann

  1.11 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  1.12 Marka / age fotostock

  1.13 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  1.14 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  1.15 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  1.16 © François Guénet

  1.17 Peter Willi / Bridgeman Art Library

  1.18 © François Guénet

  1.19 The Art Archive / Dagli Orti

  1.20 age fotostock / SuperStock

  2.1 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  2.2 Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

  2.3 akg-images / Amelot

  2.5 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  2.6 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  5.1 Musee National du Moyen Age et des Thermes de Cluny, Paris / Bridgeman Art Library

  5.2 Index S.A.S.

  5.3 Index S.A.S.

  5.4 The Art Archive / San Clemente Basilica Rome / Dagli Orti (A)

  5.5 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.1 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  6.2 The Art Archive / Dagli Orti

  6.3 Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

  6.4 Giraudon / Bridgeman Art Library

  6.5 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.6 Index S.A.S.

  6.7 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.8 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.9 Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

  6.10 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.11 The Art Archive / San Francesco Assisi / Dagli Orti (A)

  6.12 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.13 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.14 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.15 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.16 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.17 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.18 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.19 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.20 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.21 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.22 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.23 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  6.24 Scala / Art Resource, NY (detail)

  6.26 Cameraphoto / Art Resource, NY

  6.27 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  6.28 Alinari / Art Resource, NY

  6.29 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  7.2 Courtesy Achim Bednorz

  7.3 © Alessandro Chiarini / Alamy

  7.4 © Archivo Iconografico, S.A. / CORBIS

  7.5 Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy / Bridgeman Art Library

  8.1 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  8.2 Scala / Art Resource, NY

  Details of the Apse of San Clemente pages itr.2, itr.3, 1.2, 2.5a, 2.6a, 2.6b, 2.7a, and 3.1: Index S.A.S.

  Index

  Italicized references indicate illustrations.

  A

  Abbey of Saint Hildegard of Bingen

  Abelard, Peter, 4.1, 5.1, 8.1

  Bernard of Clairvaux and

  death of

  Héloïse and

  persecution for heresy

  philosophy of

  physical appearance and personal qualities

  writings, 4.1, 4.2

  Absolute authority

  Adams, Henry, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1

  Adela of Champagne

  “Adeste Fideles” (Wade)

  “Adoro te devote, latens Deitas” (Thomas Aquinas)

  Adrian V, Pope

  Adultery, culture of, 2.1, 2.2

  Aenor, duchess of Aquitaine, 2.1, 2.2

  Albert the Great, Count, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 8.1

  Albigensians

  Alchemy, 5.1, 5.2

  Alcuin

  Alexander, brother of Philo

  Alexander III, Pope

  Alexander IV, Pope, 3.1, 3.2

  Alexander the Great, fm2.1, fm2.2, fm2.3, itr.1

  Alexandria, fm1.1, fm2.1, fm2.2, itr.1

  Alfred the Great, king of the West Saxons, 3.1, 8.1

  Alix, Princess, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  Anastasius IV, Pope

  Anchorites, 1.1, 1.2

  Andreas Capellanus

  Anekdota (Procopius)

  Anselm de Laon

  Antipopes

  Antony, Mark

  Apathics

  Aquinas. See Thomas Aquinas

  Aquitaine

  Architecture

  cathedrals, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

  Giotto’s works, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

  Arezzo, 6.1, 6.2

  Aristarchus of Samos

  Aristotle, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

  philosophy of, 4.1, 4.2

  Thomas Aquinas and, 4.1, 4.2

  Arius, fm2.1, fm2.2

  Arnold, Matthew

  Arnolfo di Cambio

  Ars Amatoria (Ovid), 2.1, 2.2

  Art

  beginning of Western art

  crucifixion art, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4

  eucharistic messages in

  Francis of Assisi’s influence, 6.1, 6.2

  fresco technique

  happiness, demonstrations of

  ikonic tradition, itr.1, 6.1, 6.2

  Madonna and Son imagery, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6

  stained-glass windows, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 5.1

  statuary, 1.1, 1.2

  storytelling with pictures

  three-dimensionality in painting, 6.1, 6.2

  See also Giotto di Bondone

  Arthur, British king, 2.1, itr.1

  Arthur of Brittany

  Assisi

  Assisi basilica paintings (Giotto), 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7

  Astralabe, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

  Astrology

  Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, fm2.1, fm2.2

  Attila the Hun

  Augustine (monk), itr.1, itr.2

  Augustine of Hippo, itr.1, itr.2, 1.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 8.1

  Augustus, Caesar, fm2.1, itr.1, itr.2

  Autobiography

  Ave Maria, 2.1, 2.2

  Averroës

  B

  Bacon, Roger, fm2.1, 6.1, 6.2, 8.1

  Franciscan order, membership in

  life and work

  Ballad of the White Horse, The (Chesterton)

  Baptism, salvation through

  Baptistery of San Giovanni, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4

  Barbarians, itr.1, itr.2, itr.3, it
r.4

  Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua

  Basilica of Santa Maria (Trastevere), 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 6.1

  Becket, Thomas, fm1.1, 1.1

  Benedictines

  Benedict of Nursia, Saint, 1.1, 8.1

  Benedict XVI, Pope

  Benigni, Roberto

  Bernardo, Oportulo de

  Bernard of Clairvaux, 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, 8.1

  Abelard and

  Dante’s portrayal of

  Eleanor of Aquitaine and, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  Hildegard of Bingen and, 1.1, 1.2

  Second Crusade, 2.1, 2.2

  Bernardone, Pietro di, 2.1, 2.2

  Bertolf, Abbot

  Bestiaries

  Bible

  Bishoprics

  Black Death

  Blanche of Castile

  Boccaccio, Giovanni, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 8.1

  Bogomils

  Bohemund

  Bonaventure, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.1, 8.1

  Boniface, Saint

  Boniface VIII, Pope, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 8.1

  Book of Marvels, The (Polo)

  Book of Wisdom

  Bouts, Dirk

  Boyce, Frank Cottrell

  Brendan the Navigator

  Brown, Peter, fm2.1, fm2.2

  Brunelleschi, Filippo, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3

  Buber, Martin

  Buddhism, fm2.1, itr.1

  Bulgaria

  Buridan, Jean

  Bush, George W.

  Byzantine empire, itr.1, itr.2

  C

  Cacciaguida

  Caesar, Julius, fm2.1, fm2.2, itr.1

  Calendars

  Caligula, Roman emperor

  Call to Action

  Campanile di Giotto, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

  Canonical hours

  Canterbury

  Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)

  “Canticle of the Creatures, The” (Francis of Assisi)

  Carmina Burana

  Carraia Bridge, 6.1, 7.1

  Cassiodorus

  Castrillon Hoyos, Cardinal Dario

  Cathars

  Cathedrals, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

  Catherine of Aragon

  Catherine of Siena, 8.1, 9.1

  Catullus

  Cavafy, Constantine

  Cavalcanti, Guido

  Cavallini, Pietro

  “Celestial Omnibus, The” (Forster)

  Celestine III, Pope

  Celestine V, Pope

  Charlemagne, itr.1, 1.1, 4.1, 8.1, 8.2, 9.1

  Charles de Valois

  Charles of Anjou

  Chartres Cathedral, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10

  Chaucer, Geoffrey, fm1.1, fm1.2, fm1.3, 2.1, 8.1, 8.2

  Chemistry

  Chesterton, G. K., 3.1, 4.1, 8.1, 9.1

  Chiarini, Marco

  Chrétien de Troyes

  Christianity

  Abelard’s views on

  abuse of power by Christian leadership

  anchorites, 1.1, 1.2

  antipopes

  Aristotelianism and, 4.1, 4.2

  baptism, salvation through

  barbarians and, itr.1, itr.2

  bishoprics

  canonical hours

  Catholic Church of today

  Christmas celebrations

  Christmas Martyrology

  clerics

  conversion of classical Greeks and Romans to

  Dante’s conception of. See Divine Comedy, The

  The Da Vinci Code and

  deicide charge against Jews

  education for clergy

  Eucharist, mystery of, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1

  Francis of Assisi’s career, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 6.1

  friars, 4.1, 6.1

  God in

  guilt and

  heretical sects

  Holy Grail

  Incarnation (Word becoming flesh), itr.1, itr.2

  Inquisition

  interdict punishment

  Limbo, doctrine of

  liturgy and prayer

  magi tradition

  manners for Christians

  monasticism, 1.1, 1.2, 9.1

  mysteries of, 4.1, 5.1

  Original Sin, doctrine of, 4.1, 4.2

  Orthodoxy

  papacy, itr.1, 7.1

  Philo’s influence

  Platonism and, 4.1, 4.2

  political and legal issues

  Purgatory concept

  rationalism and, 5.1, 6.1

  reformation sensibility

  Roman civilization and, itr.1, itr.2

  Rome’s rebuilding into Christian shrine

  the rosary

  royals’ piety

  sacrifice, tradition of

  sexual attitudes in, fm2.1, fm2.2

  storytelling with pictures

  theological controversies of early church, fm2.1, itr.1

  Thomas Aquinas’s career

  Trinity concept, fm2.1, itr.1

  unbelievers

  women, attitudes toward

  See also Hildegard of Bingen; Jesus of Nazareth; Virgin Mary cult

  Christmas celebrations

  Christmas Martyrology

  Christ Sein (Kung)

  Chronica Majora (Paris)

  Chronicle of Touraine

  Cicero, fm2.1, itr.1, itr.2

  Cimabue, Giovanni, 2.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 8.1

  Circumcision

  Cistercians

  Clare of Assisi, 2.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3

  Class system, 1.1, 4.1

  Claudius, Roman emperor

  Clement V, Pope

  Clement of Alexandria, fm2.1, fm2.2, fm2.3, itr.1, itr.2

  Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, fm2.1, fm2.2

  Clerics

  Cligés (Chrétien de Troyes)

  Color preferences

  Conrad III, German emperor

  Constantine I (the Great), Roman emperor, fm2.1, itr.1, itr.2, itr.3, itr.4, itr.5, 7.1, 8.1

  Cosmopolitanism of medieval Europe

  Craft guilds

  Crèche tradition, 6.1, 6.2

  Crucifixion

  Crucifixion art, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4

  Crucifix of San Damiano, 2.1, 2.2

  Crusades

  First, 1.1, 2.1

  Second, 1.1, 2.1

  Third, 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  Fourth

  Fifth

  Children’s Crusade

  Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, fm2.1, fm2.2

  D

  Dale, Peter, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3

  Dancing

  Dangerosa

  Dante Alighieri, 7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3

  banishment from Florence, 7.1, 7.2

  death of

  exile experience, 7.1, 7.2, 8.1

  Florentine identity

  physical appearance, 7.1, 7.2

  political views, 8.1, 8.2

  sexual attitudes

  theology of

  writings, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3. See also Divine Comedy, The

  Da Vinci Code, The (book)

  De Amore (Andreas Capellanus)

  Death, ideas about

  Death penalty

  De natura rerum (Albert the Great)

  Denmark

  De Sica, Vittorio

  Disibod, Saint

  Disibodenberg, 1.1, 1.2

  Divine Comedy, The (Dante), 7.1, 7.2, 7.3

  on bitterness of exile

  Dante’s assignments to the afterlife

  Dante’s intentions regarding

  Dante’s personal story and

  English translations

  Inferno, 7.1, 7.2

  language of

  moral dimension, 7.1, 8.1

  Paradiso, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5

  pilgrimage theme

  Purgatorio, 7.1, 7.2

  rhyme scheme

  structure of

  Dominicans, 4.1, 6.1, 6.2

  Dominic de Guzmán, Saint, 2.1, 6.1

  Donati, Corso, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3

  Donati, For
ese

  Donation of Constantine, 7.1, 7.2

  Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4

  E

  Eco, Umberto

  Education. See Universities

  Egan, Cardinal Archbishop Edward

  Einstein, Albert

  ElBaradei, Mohamed

  Eleanor, queen of Castile

  Eleanor of Aquitaine, 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, 8.1

  Bernard of Clairvaux and, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  Crusade experience, 2.1, 2.2

  dream vision

  early years, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  education of

  family history, 2.1, 2.2

  feminism and

  final years, 2.1, 2.2

  generosity of

  Guinevere’s story and

  imprisonment of

  letters

  marriage to Henry II of England

  marriage to Louis VII of France

  as mother, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  physical appearance, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  Raymond of Poitiers and

  as reigning monarch of Plantagenet territories

  religious attitudes

  Elements (Euclid)

  Eliot, T. S.

  Encratites, fm2.1, fm2.2, fm2.3

  Epictetus the Stoic

  Epicureanism

  Erasistratus, fm2.1, fm2.2

  Eratosthenes, fm2.1, fm2.2

  Etruscans

  Eucharist, mystery of, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1

  Eucharist, The (Schillebeeckx)

  Euclid, fm2.1, fm2.2, 1.1

  Eugene III, Pope, 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

  F

  Female body, social attitudes toward

  Feminism, 2.1, 8.1

  adultery and, 2.1, 2.2

  Eleanor of Aquitaine and

  Hildegard of Bingen and, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

  Virgin Mary cult and

  Ferdinand III, king of Castile

  Feudalism

  Flat-earthers

  Florence, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

  Dante and

  Flores d’Arcais, Francesca

  Florin coins

  Forster, E. M., fm2.1, fm2.2, 7.1

  Franciscans, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 6.1, 6.2

  Francis of Assisi, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 8.1

  art, influence on, 6.1, 6.2

  change of character

  Cimabue’s portrait of