Online course: Magic in the Middle Ages

Dates: any time

Duration: 9 hours

Rating: 4.6 / 5.0 out of 1300 ratings (see top rating courses here)

Participating countries: any country

Apply here: Application form

Organizer: Universitat de Barcelona at Coursera

Cost:

  • FREE
  • $49 with sharable certificate

Magic in the Middle Ages

Magical thought has always attracted human imagination. In this course we will introduce you to the Middle Ages through a wide conception of magic. Students will have an approach to medieval culture, beliefs and practices from the perspective of History and History of Science. Popular magic, as well as learned magic (alchemy, geomancy and necromancy) will be addressed. Moreover, we will also deal with how eastern practices and texts influenced western culture. In July 2016, the course will contain a brand-new module devoted to astrology. Magic in the Middle Ages offers a captivating overview of medieval society and promotes reflection about certain stereotypes associated with this period.

At the end of the course, the students:

a) will have overcome the usual prejudices about the Middle Ages,
b) will be able to analyze historical documentation from the Middle Ages and recognize the most common patterns of juridical documents regarding witchcraft, and
c) will be capable of distinguishing between popular magic and the magic of the learned people; will have a notion of which spiritual practices were allowed in medieval Europe and which ones were related to the devil, and will be aware of the link between a cultural product and the society that produced it.

This course is taught in English, although subtitles in English, Catalan and Spanish will also be provided.

COURSE SYLLABUS

Week 1. Introduction to medieval magic (Pau Castell).

Week 2. Magic & Heresy (Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel).

Week 3. From Magic to Witchcraft (Pau Castell).

Week 4. Magic in Islam (Godefroid de Callataÿ and Sébastien Moureau).

Week 5. Astrology & Geomancy (Theo Loinaz, Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel, Godefroid de Callataÿ and Blanca Villuendas).

© Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany
Magic in the Middle Ages by Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Instructors

 

 

Programme

WEEK 1: 1 hour to complete

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL MAGIC

Introduction
The Idea of Magic
The Ancient Precedents
Magic and Superstition in Christian Europe
The Decline of Magic

WEEK 2: 1 hour to complete

UNIT 2: MAGIC & HERESY

Church versus Magic: The Early Middle Ages (8:04)
The Rise and Fall of Natural Magic (5:56)
Persecution Unleashed (6:23)
The Tale of the Not-So-Evil Inquisitor (7:18)
Necromancy: When Demons Spoke Latin (7:11)
Optional video I: Eastern Jewish Communities: A Bit of Context (7:45)
Optional video II: The Jewish Idea of Magic (6:38)

WEEK 3: 2 hours to complete

UNIT 3: FROM MAGIC TO WITCHCRAFT

The Medieval Origin of the Crime of Witchcraft
Witchcraft and Maleficent Magic
The Mythology of Witchcraft
Medieval Witchcraft Trials
Optional video: Medieval Sources on Witchcraft

WEEK 4: 2 hours to complete

UNIT 4: MAGIC IN ISLAM

The Varieties of Magic in Islam
How Was Magic Received in Islam?
The Ikhwān al- Ṣafā’ on Magic and the Occult
The Science of the Letters
Alchemy I: Arabic Alchemy
Alchemy II: Arabo-Latin Alchemy
Weekly Video 4 (2015)

WEEK 5: 3 hours to complete

UNIT 5: ASTROLOGY & GEOMANCY

Medieval Astrology: Between Science and Magic
The Melting Pot of Medieval Astrology
Early Medieval Astronomy: the Moon, the Zodiac, Thunders and Dreams
Horoscopes and World Events: the Doings of High-End Astrology
Geomancy
Optional video-On World Cycles 1: The Great Year Doctrine in Antiquity
Optional video-On World Cycles 2: The Great Year Doctrine in the Middle Ages