Welcome to my episode with medieval scholar, writer, and speaker Dr. Grace Hamman. She is the author of the book Jesus through Medieval Eyes, a fascinating and accessible introduction to the bizarre, profound, and contradictory spirituality and culture of medieval people.

In this episode we speak about Christianity during medieval times, their complex views of women, sex, birth, and death, the spiritual relationship to fear and suffering, and the corruption of the church during its most powerful era. We compare modern cultural hypocrisies to those of the medieval age and speak about what wisdom we can gain from studying medieval culture. We talk about female hermits, and compare the complex views of womanhood in that time to ours. We also speak about the medieval relationship to art, the anonymity of artists, and the medieval veneration of beauty in comparison to modern utilitarianism. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Show Links: Substack: http://simoneleon.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simone.leon/

Grace’s Links:

Website: gracehamman.com

Substack: gracehamman.substack.com

Podcast: oldbookswithgrace.wordpress.com/podcast

Instagram: instagram.com/oldbookswithgrace

Jesus Through Medieval Eyes (book): https://bookshop.org/a/15851/9780310169123

Ask of Old Paths (book available for preorder): https://bookshop.org/a/15851/9780310167204

Mentioned in this episode:

New York Times Trends for 2025 (gift link): https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/29/style/trends-predictions-2025.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QU8._hpi.lUgnVZ_0f3Gp&smid=url-share

Music and editing by Simon Linsteadt: www.simonvictorlinsteadt.com

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