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Sophie Page
University College London, History, Faculty Member
- I joined UCL History as a permanent lecturer in 2002 after studying at the Warburg Institute, UCL and Cambridge. My P... moreI joined UCL History as a permanent lecturer in 2002 after studying at the Warburg Institute, UCL and Cambridge. My PhD at the Warbug Institute was on 'Magic at St. Augustine’s, Canterbury, in the Late Middle Ages.' At UCL I teach courses on Late Medieval Europe; the Medieval Universe; Animals, Demonology and Witchcraft; and Magic in the Middle Ages.
My book Magic in the Cloister. Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe (Penn State Press) will be published in October 2013.
In addition I have published an edited collection, The Unorthodox Imagination in Late Medieval Britain (Manchester University Press), articles on learned magic, astrology and the cultural history of animals, and two books with the British Library: Astrology in Medieval Manuscripts and Magic in Medieval Manuscripts.
I'm currently working on a book on animals and demons in the Middle Ages and an article on diagrams in medieval magic texts.
I welcome applications from students wishing to study for a PhD on topics relating to my research expertise. Please see my UCL History webpage for details of current and past supervision.edit
"Magic in the Cloister offers a fascinating picture of learned monks reading and even putting into practice magical texts that were kept in the library of their monastery. St Augustine's, Canterbury, offered not only a haven for prayer... more
"Magic in the Cloister offers a fascinating picture of learned monks reading and even putting into practice magical texts that were kept in the library of their monastery. St Augustine's, Canterbury, offered not only a haven for prayer but also a laboratory for occult activity.” —
Charles Burnett, The Warburg Institute, University of London—School of Advanced Study
During the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries a group of monks with occult interests donated what became a remarkable collection of more than thirty magic texts to the library of the Benedictine abbey of St Augustine’s in Canterbury. The monks collected magic texts that provided positive justifications for the practice of magic, and books in which works of magic were copied side by side with works of more licit genres. In Magic in the Cloister, I use this collection to explore the gradual shift to more positive attitudes to magical texts and ideas in Medieval Europe. I examine what attracted monks to magic texts in spite of the dangers involved in studying condemned works, and how they combined magic with their intellectual interests and monastic life. By showing how it was possible for religious insiders to integrate magical studies with their orthodox world view, Magic in the Cloister contributes to a broader understanding of the role of magical texts and ideas and their acceptance in the late Middle Ages.
Charles Burnett, The Warburg Institute, University of London—School of Advanced Study
During the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries a group of monks with occult interests donated what became a remarkable collection of more than thirty magic texts to the library of the Benedictine abbey of St Augustine’s in Canterbury. The monks collected magic texts that provided positive justifications for the practice of magic, and books in which works of magic were copied side by side with works of more licit genres. In Magic in the Cloister, I use this collection to explore the gradual shift to more positive attitudes to magical texts and ideas in Medieval Europe. I examine what attracted monks to magic texts in spite of the dangers involved in studying condemned works, and how they combined magic with their intellectual interests and monastic life. By showing how it was possible for religious insiders to integrate magical studies with their orthodox world view, Magic in the Cloister contributes to a broader understanding of the role of magical texts and ideas and their acceptance in the late Middle Ages.
"The unorthodox imagination in late medieval Britain explores how medieval people responded to images, stories, beliefs and practices which were at odds with the normative world view, from the heretical and subversive to the marvellous... more
"The unorthodox imagination in late medieval Britain explores how medieval people responded to images, stories, beliefs and practices which were at odds with the normative world view, from the heretical and subversive to the marvellous and exotic.
The chapter by Jean-Claude Schmitt examines why some unorthodox images were viewed as provocative and threatening and explores how successfully ecclesiastical authorities contained their impact. The power of unorthodoxy to provoke wonder, scepticism or disapproval provides an opportunity to view medieval culture from fresh perspectives. The essays in this volume show that unorthodoxy was embedded in mainstream medieval culture, from stories of fairies and witches which promoted orthodox moral values to the social conformity of practitioners of ritual magic.
This book provides a guide to understanding medieval unorthodoxy and the roles played by experience and imagination in medieval encounters with the unorthodox. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the exotic, provocative and deviant in medieval culture.
http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9780719078354
The chapter by Jean-Claude Schmitt examines why some unorthodox images were viewed as provocative and threatening and explores how successfully ecclesiastical authorities contained their impact. The power of unorthodoxy to provoke wonder, scepticism or disapproval provides an opportunity to view medieval culture from fresh perspectives. The essays in this volume show that unorthodoxy was embedded in mainstream medieval culture, from stories of fairies and witches which promoted orthodox moral values to the social conformity of practitioners of ritual magic.
This book provides a guide to understanding medieval unorthodoxy and the roles played by experience and imagination in medieval encounters with the unorthodox. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the exotic, provocative and deviant in medieval culture.
http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9780719078354
Magic existed in diverse forms in the Middle Ages, from simple charms to complex and subversive demonic magic. Its negative characteristics were defined by theologians who sought to isolate undesirable rituals and beliefs, but there were... more
Magic existed in diverse forms in the Middle Ages, from simple charms to complex and subversive demonic magic. Its negative characteristics were defined by theologians who sought to isolate undesirable rituals and beliefs, but there were also many who believed that the condemned texts and practices were valuable and compatible with orthodox piety.
"Magic in Medieval Manuscripts" explores the place of magic in the medieval world and the contradictory responses it evoked, through an exploration of images and texts in British Library manuscripts. These range from representations of the magician, wise-woman and witch, to charms against lightning, wax images for inciting love, and diagrams to find treasure. Most elaborate of all the magical practices are rituals for communicating with and commanding spirits. Whether expressions of piety, ambition, or daring, these rituals reveal a medieval fascination with the points of contact between this world and the celestial and infernal realms.
"Magic in Medieval Manuscripts" explores the place of magic in the medieval world and the contradictory responses it evoked, through an exploration of images and texts in British Library manuscripts. These range from representations of the magician, wise-woman and witch, to charms against lightning, wax images for inciting love, and diagrams to find treasure. Most elaborate of all the magical practices are rituals for communicating with and commanding spirits. Whether expressions of piety, ambition, or daring, these rituals reveal a medieval fascination with the points of contact between this world and the celestial and infernal realms.
In the Middle Ages the art of predicting earthly events and human characteristics from the movements of the stars and planets was a scientific branch of learning with a philosophical basis. Its influence extended to natural philosophy and... more
In the Middle Ages the art of predicting earthly events and human characteristics from the movements of the stars and planets was a scientific branch of learning with a philosophical basis. Its influence extended to natural philosophy and cosmology, medicine, agriculture, weather-forecasting and alchemy. Yet astrology was never an entirely acceptable practice, attracting both religious and scientific objections. This volume is intended to be a brief introduction to the medieval art of astrology, explored through a wide range of British Library manuscripts.
A single object can tell fascinating stories. The Thing Is... is a series of events at Wellcome Collection in which specially selected speakers unveil ‘mystery objects’ in the Wellcome Collection. In this talk I explored what magic... more
A single object can tell fascinating stories. The Thing Is... is a series of events at Wellcome Collection in which specially selected speakers unveil ‘mystery objects’ in the Wellcome Collection.
In this talk I explored what magic was, why it attracted both fascination and repulsion, and what its practice tells us about the attitudes of medieval people to their universe and the invisible and sacred forces inhabiting it.
The mystery object unveiled during the event was 'Miscellanea Alchemica XII' (Wellcome Library MS 517), a late-15th-century manuscript in Dutch and Latin that is one of only a few surviving medieval manuscripts that include demonic magic. The manuscript also includes cautious notes by later readers who didn't approve of some items in the text.
In this talk I explored what magic was, why it attracted both fascination and repulsion, and what its practice tells us about the attitudes of medieval people to their universe and the invisible and sacred forces inhabiting it.
The mystery object unveiled during the event was 'Miscellanea Alchemica XII' (Wellcome Library MS 517), a late-15th-century manuscript in Dutch and Latin that is one of only a few surviving medieval manuscripts that include demonic magic. The manuscript also includes cautious notes by later readers who didn't approve of some items in the text.