The Vercelli Map, one of the largest maps to survive from the Middle Ages, has not received the attention it merits (Plate IV). This is likely the result of its very poor state of preservation, which has been a constant theme in what little has been published on it.’ There are several studies that make brief mention of the map, and a few studies…[Read more]

In Order to understand what a “global Middle Ages” might be, we need to define “global” in and in relation to the “Middle Ages.” To do so, I turn to medieval (Christian) maps. Their construction of the world-the most, maybe all, others-was founded on inclusion and exclusion. In seeking to construct a global Middle Ages, the authors in this volume…[Read more]

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein shows us how to use the Hebrew language as a model for understanding the differences between similar words

Manuscript culture in Icelandic immigrant communities in North America is examined through the case study of an immigrant-scribe, Albert Jóhannesson (1847–1921), who left Iceland as an adult in 1884 and eventually settled in the community of Hecla Island, Manitoba, Canada. Albert Jóhannesson is one of the last known individuals in the Ice…[Read more]

I was intrigued by the title of this book. Finally, I thought, the Western academia has come to terms with the incorporeality of the individual soul as presented in Indian philosophy. Richard Swinburne’s introduction dispelled my delusions. He proposes that individuals are not bodies but are souls and implies that these souls have properties and t…[Read more]

Zusammenfassung – Prä-Astronautik oder Paläo-SETI präsentiert sich als grenzwissenschafliche Forschung über außerirdische Einflussnahme auf die menschliche Entwicklung. Sie beansprucht für sich, Anomalien in der Geschichte besser zu erklären als die einschlägigen Wissenschafen wie z. B. die Archäologie oder Indologie. Die Schrifen Erich von Dä…[Read more]

Ancient astronaut speculation (also called paleo-SETI), often labeled pseudoscience or modern myth, still awaits in-depth research. Focusing on Erich von Däniken and reconstructing his views on god and cosmology from scattered statements throughout his books, this article analyzes his attitudes toward science and religion as well as his concepts…[Read more]

Inhaltsverzeichnis, Einleitung und Literaturverzeichnis meiner Dissertation // table of contents, introduction and literature sections of my PhD.
https://www.lit-verlag.de/publikationen/psychologie/71842/g-ouml-tter-astronauten

Description of Paleo-SETI (ancient astronaut/ ancient alien narratives and theories) as a field of anomalistic inquiry, providing short summaries of its history, basic assumptions, methods, and problems

Throughout this book, Hernández Sandoval emphasizes the schism between the leadership of different Catholic parishes that supported conservative, anti-communist, and even military governments, and the missionaries who worked directly among the citizenry and who defied prevailing structural and political restraints and at times participated…[Read more]

Review article on five recent books relating to late Latin poetry

An article that contrasts the role of gift giving in Old English poems like Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

This volume presents a case for how and why people in archaic and classical Greece worshipped Underworld gods.

These gods are often portrayed as malevolent and transgressive, giving an impression that ancient worshippers derived little or no benefit from developing ongoing relationships with them. In this book, the first book-length study that…[Read more]

This paper will look at the way the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem have utilised the theological narrative of marginalisation in their quest for identity and self-determination. The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem are an expatriate black American group who have lived in Israel since 1969, when their spiritual leader, Detroit-born…[Read more]

From 1990 to 1999 MTV promoted a series of 288 music videos called “Buzz Clips”, designed to highlight emerging artists and genres. Such promotion had a measurable impact on an artists’ earnings and record sales. To date, the kinds of musical and visual practices MTV promoted have not been quantitatively analyzed. Just what made some videos Buzzw…[Read more]

Ritual-magical divination in manuscript Hs. 3227a of the Germanische Nationalmuseum Nuremberg

A consideration of 14 collaborative music videos by Emil Nava and Calvin Harris, closing with a close analysis of their work on Rihanna’s “This is What You Came For” (2016).

This conference aims to bring together researchers applying network analysis to pre-modern manuscripts and manuscript texts. Key topics include:

• Theoretical reflections on the challenges and advantages of applying network analysis, including social network analysis, to pre-modern written cultures;
• Application of network analysis to cor…[Read more]