Images

Merlin showing King Vortigern (c. 5th Century CE) the dragons beneath his castle. From the Vulgate Cycle manuscript (1316 CE) in the British Library, London.

A stained glass window depicting St. Julian of Norwich (c. 1342 - c. 1416 CE) in prayer. From the Norwich Cathedral in England.

A statue of St. Julian of Norwich (c. 1342 - c. 1416 CE) in the Norwich Cathedral, England.

A page from The Book of Margery Kempe, probably copied from the original c. 1440 CE. This work was first dictated by Margery Kempe (c. 1373 - c. 1438 CE) in the mid 15th Century CE and may be the oldest surviving...

A detail of a miniature portraying God opening Hell, in which devils gather and plot to create an evil being by fathering a child on a mortal woman. This child, through baptism and blessings, is made...

A map of Gyaros, a barren island in the Cyclades. Gyaros' remote, desolate location inspired its use as a place of exile during Antiquity, and has been used for this purpose in more recent history.

A detail from an illustration of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c. 50 CE- c. 130 CE) as imagined in a 15th Century CE scientific manuscript. The manuscript recounts an anachronistic discussion between the Roman...

A detail of a 14th Century CE illustration of Roman de Brut, a legendary history by the Norman poet Wace (c. 1110 - c. 1170 CE). Merlin is depicted directing the giants to build Stonehenge. The Anglo-Norman...

A detail of an illustration from a 14th Century CE manuscript of Roman de Brut, a legendary history of Britain by the Norman poet Wace (c. 1110 - c. 1170 CE). The young Merlin is depicted, alongside his mother...

A depiction of St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179 CE) going to the monastery at Disibodenberg, where she meets St. Jutta of Sponheim, who was to be her tutor. From the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard...