Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer who joined the Narvaez Expedition (1527) to explore the Americas. The most intriguing aspect of the book is Cabeza de Vaca’s portrayal of the Indians. … More Cabeza de Vaca’s Adventures of America
The Black Death marked the beginning of the decline in the cultural assurance of God’s sovereignty over history, at least in the West. People began doubting His providence, and that manifested itself in The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales. Instead of describing events as providentially ordained, both writers describe a world governed by whimsical chance, without any sense of ethical causation. … More Renaissance Literature: A Rebirth of What?
The Pardoner’s Tale is one of the many short stories in Chaucer’s renowned Canterbury Tales. The narrator in the story is the Pardoner, a man endowed by the Catholic Church to sell indulgences. One of the key characters in the story is Death. He is a character surrounded by ambiguity, leaving fear in all the … More Canterbury Tales: Death in the Pardoner’s Tale
Many Greek and Roman classics start their fascinating—and often debaucherous—tales by invoking one or more gods, and Boccaccio does something similar in The Decameron. His book, which is a Renaissance classic, chronicles the stories told by ten people who survived the Black Death. With all their colleagues killed, they temporarily moved to the country for … More Why Did Boccaccio Invoke God in The Decameron?
The Little Flowers of St. Francis is a biographical book following the ministry of St. Francis. It focuses on the piety of the Friars Minors—the religious order Francis created—and the many miracles they did. They functioned as a monastic order without a monastery, traveling from town to town preaching the gospel. The road to salvation … More Little Flowers of St. Francis: The Road to Salvation
The discrepancies within The Song of Roland make the entire poem laughable. It is a wonder why anyone takes the book seriously. Though the book is filled with fascinating betrayals and gripping battles, the author repeatedly contradicts himself throughout the book, begging the question of why it lasted the test of time as a Western … More Discrepancies in the Song of Roland
The Song of Roland is a Frankish military poem written during the Middle Ages. It follows Charlemagne’s conquest of Islamic Spain. However, there was a gross betrayal within the Christian military ranks right as he approached victory. Counts Roland and Oliver were treacherously attacked following a peace deal between King Marsilie of Saragossa and Frankish … More Song of Roland: Military Objectives
The Christian literature from the early Middle Ages ranges from the accounts of the martyrs, Justin Martyr’s First Apology, St. Augustine’s City of God, and various hymns. By examining those writings, an astute reader can deduce what the Church believed regarding various topics. There were some differences of opinion. For example, they disagreed on who … More Early Medieval Literature on Christian Political Involvement
Saint Augustine of Hippo lived during the Roman Empire’s collapse. It had already been a politically Christian nation, so its fall was alarming for the Church. To much of the world, it appeared that Christianity was toppling over, and without Rome, there was no hope for the Christians. However, Saint Augustine set out to disprove … More Augustine’s Message to Christian Americans
Hell is a universal fear across all cultures. It is a large incentive for moral conduct in various religions, including Christianity. Even non-religious American atheists who reject the belief in an afterlife acknowledge how terrifying it would be for them if such a place existed. The Christian martyrs during the early persecutions in the Roman … More Polycarp and Perpetua on Hell
Asher Sisneros 