Beyond the texts on women’s medicine associated with the name of a 12th-century female medical practitioner from Salerno named Trota (or the title, “Trotula”), the most widely circulated texts were those deriving from the ancient Greek *Gynecology* of Soranus (2nd century CE). In particular, the Latin translation/adaptation by Muscio (or Mustio),…[Read more]

This essay exemplifies a cognitive approach to literary and film studies, with particular emphasis on fictional reimagining of legal institutions. It draws on research of cognitive scientists who study metacognition—specifically, the difference between reflective and intuitive beliefs—to suggest that courtroom dramas, such as Billy Wilder’s Witne…[Read more]

This document lays out a series of points in regard to a recently posted pre-print on the history of plague in late medieval and early modern Europe: Marcel Keller et al., “A Refined Phylochronology of the Second Plague Pandemic in Western Eurasia.” I am a historian of medicine and I am presenting these as historical questions. I have written it…[Read more]

Thijs Porck, “Runenoefeningen. De Oudgermanistiek in Leidse kinderschoenen”, in Tot publijcque dienst der studie: Boeken uit de Bibliotheca Thysiana, ed. Wim van Anrooij & Paul Hoftijzer (Hilversum: Verloren, 2023), 118-119

Thijs Porck, “Runenoefeningen. De Oudgermanistiek in Leidse kinderschoenen”, in Tot publijcque dienst der studie: Boeken uit de Bibliotheca Thysiana, ed. Wim van Anrooij & Paul Hoftijzer (Hilversum: Verloren, 2023), 118-119

Thijs Porck, “I can read Hollandsch very fairly. The Correspondence between James Murray (1837-1915) and Pieter Jacob Cosijn (1840-1899)”, in Language Use, Usage Guides, and Linguistic Norms, ed. Luisella Caon, Marion Elenbaas & Janet Grijzenhout (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021), 107-129.

Thijs Porck, “I can read Hollandsch very fairly. The Correspondence between James Murray (1837-1915) and Pieter Jacob Cosijn (1840-1899)”, in Language Use, Usage Guides, and Linguistic Norms, ed. Luisella Caon, Marion Elenbaas & Janet Grijzenhout (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021), 107-129.

La théorie du chaos n’est pas aussi complexe qu’on le prétend souvent Comme l’observe Robert Juliano, le principe sous-jacent est que “dans le caractère aléatoire apparent des systèmes complexes chaotiques, il existe des modèles sous-jacents, des interconnexions, des boucles de rétroaction constantes, la répétition, l’auto-similarité , fractales…[Read more]

Chaos theory is not as complex as it si often made out to be As Robert Juliano observes, the underlying principle is that “within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnectedness, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self-organization.”

“Chaos has been for…[Read more]

Historians have long argued that arbitration was the preferred means of
resolution for most disputes in later medieval England; but does this apply
also to the settlement of homicides? Despite the strenuous efforts of the
English legal system after the Norman Conquest to force homicides through
the royal courts, historians have argued that…[Read more]

Historians have long argued that arbitration was the preferred means of
resolution for most disputes in later medieval England; but does this apply
also to the settlement of homicides? Despite the strenuous efforts of the
English legal system after the Norman Conquest to force homicides through
the royal courts, historians have argued that…[Read more]

In 1894, Lord Alfred Douglas referred to homosexuality as “the love that dare not speak its name”, a phrase that describes the unmentionable nature of homosexuality in a period of time when sodomy was illegal. Even in the 21st century, there continues to be something unspeakable and forbidden about homosexuality. This paper equates the uns…[Read more]

In 1894, Lord Alfred Douglas referred to homosexuality as “the love that dare not speak its name”, a phrase that describes the unmentionable nature of homosexuality in a period of time when sodomy was illegal. Even in the 21st century, there continues to be something unspeakable and forbidden about homosexuality. This paper equates the uns…[Read more]

De entre las muchas y generosas lecciones que el maestro don Julio Valdeón ha brindado al medievalismo hispánico destacaremos aquella que fundamentará las páginas siguientes: la importancia de la propaganda ideológica favorable a la dinastía Trastámara durante la guerra civil castellana entre los años 1366 y 1371. Este conflicto fratric…[Read more]

De entre las muchas y generosas lecciones que el maestro don Julio Valdeón ha brindado al medievalismo hispánico destacaremos aquella que fundamentará las páginas siguientes: la importancia de la propaganda ideológica favorable a la dinastía Trastámara durante la guerra civil castellana entre los años 1366 y 1371. Este conflicto fratric…[Read more]

Aún en la actualidad, cinco siglos más tarde de que fuese escrito, todavía impresiona la honrada confesión con la que Juan Álvarez Gato cerraba su cancionero particular, rematando los folios en los que había recopilado todo su acervo lírico con una singular confidencia poética. A través de ella, el hombre maduro y el poeta veterano renegaba…[Read more]

Aún en la actualidad, cinco siglos más tarde de que fuese escrito, todavía impresiona la honrada confesión con la que Juan Álvarez Gato cerraba su cancionero particular, rematando los folios en los que había recopilado todo su acervo lírico con una singular confidencia poética. A través de ella, el hombre maduro y el poeta veterano renegaba…[Read more]

Quizá Don Eloy sea bastante ajeno a la admiración que despertaba entre los jóvenes estudiantes, allá por los años finales de la pasada centuria, uno de sus trabajos menores, entendiendo ‘menor’ no por lo que se refiere a su valía (que en absoluto es nimia), sino sólo para separarlo, en cuanto a extensión y objetivos, de su scripta maiora. Nos…[Read more]

Quizá Don Eloy sea bastante ajeno a la admiración que despertaba entre los jóvenes estudiantes, allá por los años finales de la pasada centuria, uno de sus trabajos menores, entendiendo ‘menor’ no por lo que se refiere a su valía (que en absoluto es nimia), sino sólo para separarlo, en cuanto a extensión y objetivos, de su scripta maiora. Nos…[Read more]