December 2022

December 30, 2022

Of Mumblings and Carvings: How magical is the Old High German Word rûna (‘rune’) and its Derivations?

By Dr Aletta Leipold, Saxon Academy of Science and Humanities

The Old High German noun rûna does not denote a character, as one might erroneously assume based on the meaning of the German word Rune. The majority of words connected to rûna, rûnên and related derivates and compounds pertain to the semantic field of words such as ‘whisper’, ‘whispering’, ‘murmur’, and ‘murmuring’. This semantic range, associated with orality, was further expanded to include meanings related to ‘sorcery’ and ‘secret’. How much magic is in these Old High German words and what may we learn from them about medieval concepts of magic?
December 12, 2022

NetMAR Coordinator Stavroula Constantinou presents on the Sixth International Byzantine Seminar Lecture Series (2022) “Realism in Hagiography”

Sixth International Byzantine Seminar Lecture Series (2022) “Realism in Hagiography”   at the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC), Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China […]