Professor Sophie Page: Entangled Magic in the Medieval Latin West

Why were medieval magic texts debated by intellectuals and collected by monks, and what new, rich and surprising views of the cosmos did they express?

This talk will introduce listeners to the dynamic history of magic in late medieval Europe. The focus will be on debates between supporters and critics of magic, who were often pondering similar questions about the nature of the universe, the meaning of rituals and what it was acceptable for a good Christian to do. This talk will trace how and why debates changed over time, with some producing categories of acceptable magic while others incited condemnation, censorship, and persecution.

Biography

Sophie Page is Professor of Medieval History with research interests in magic, science and religion, cosmology and approaches to nature. She is author of Magic in the Cloister (2013), editor of The Unorthodox Imagination in Late Medieval Britain (2011) and co-editor of the Routledge history of Medieval Magic (2019). Sophie was the curator of Spellbound: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft (Ashmolean Museum, August 2018 –January 2019) and has collaborated with the artists Ackryod&Harvey, Annie Cattrell, Katharine Dowson and Lucy Orta on projects including a film, sculptures and a mask making kit.