From the category archives:

Church History

The busy Posthumous life of Genevieve

Thumbnail image for The busy Posthumous life of Genevieve

By David Powell
In November 1793, the oldest victim of the Reign of Terror went quietly to her fate. She had already been dead for nearly thirteen centuries, but that did not mollify the revolutionaries who had exhumed Saint Genevieve of Nanterre from the crypt beneath the Parisian abbey that bore her name.
Her ornate, early [...]

Read the full article →

Who were the Guise?

Thumbnail image for Who were the Guise?
Read the full article →

Of Jews, the Devil, and Blood Libels

Thumbnail image for Of Jews, the Devil, and Blood Libels

By Michelle Cameron
The legacy of the suspect Jew – the evil and mysterious stranger plotting evil in the midst of true believers – has a lengthy provenance. Back in the Middle Ages, long before Hitler’s minions created films equating Jews to rats, they were pictured as goats. Why goats? Because goats were said to [...]

Read the full article →

Holy Foreskin!

Thumbnail image for Holy Foreskin!

By David Farley
When I first heard about the Holy Foreskin, I thought—like a lot of people—it was a joke, either the title of a foreskin fetish magazine or something straight from the mind of a perverted Batman fan.
I’d majored in history—focusing on the medieval and Renaissance periods in Europe—and I had a particular interest [...]

Read the full article →

Galileo Goes to Jail

Thumbnail image for Galileo Goes to Jail

By Holly Tucker
There are some books that are just too good not to mention. Galileo Goes To Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion, edited by Ronald L. Numbers, is one of them.
Just out from Harvard University Press, Galileo tackles some of the enduring legends in the history of science.
The book debunks 25 [...]

Read the full article →

Let’s Drink Like a Pope!

Thumbnail image for Let’s Drink Like a Pope!

By Roger Collins
Not long after his death in 1342 Benedict XII had his life written by a French monk, who took the precaution of remaining anonymous, as what he had to say about the pope was not flattering. ‘Hard’, ‘mean’, ‘hating friars’ and thinking all of his cardinals were liars, were just some [...]

Read the full article →

Sacred Relic or Heavenly Accessory?

Thumbnail image for Sacred Relic or Heavenly Accessory?

By Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz
Since the beginning of time women have understood the importance of a well-chosen accessory. Think Cleopatra’s asp, Jackie Kennedy’s pearls, Coco Channel’s hat. Even the Mother of God, it seems, was not immune to the accessory’s allure.
Indeed, the Sacred Belt of the Blessed Virgin may be the only fashion accessory [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries