WELCOME TO OUR FIRST ISSUE OF 2022!

Conversion in the Middle Ages was a common occurrence as Christian rulers and the Church made a concerted effort to stamp out the last vestiges of a pagan past. However, this venture turned out to be a long, drawn-out (and often violent) process that spanned the breadth of the entire medieval period.

In this issue, we look at conversion across the Middle Ages from
its earliest days with Merovingian conversion and music in the late fifth century under Clovis I, to the forced conversion of Jews in late fourteenth-century Spain. We focus on the ways in which different cultures undertook the task of bringing pagans into the Christian
fold and see that not all conversion came at the end of a sword. The Byzantine saints Cyril and Methodius opted for a gentler literary approach with their foray into the Balkans by forming a linguistic connection with the local population that the Latin Church had failed to achieve.

Conversion presented challenges to Christian neophytes. Aside from the adoption of new practices and attire, dietary regulations were often a concern – and in some cases, a barrier – to full conversion, as we see in the case of Iceland and the consumption of horsemeat, and Louis IX’s Muslim converts and the consumption of pork. From the Church’s side, we examine the anxiety over religious recidivism and how authorities tried to prevent it through the implementation of harsh laws that prohibited mixing with one’s former religious community, threatened property loss, and, lastly, meted out death.

Outside of the theme, we look at a variety of chivalric practices in the Holy Land, France, and Spain, and we travel to South Africa to look at the centuries-old practices of the sangoma healers.

Enjoy!