Describes the development of a database on medieval manuscripts. Includes information on the design of an architecture for the database and problems encountered in its construction and use. (JDH)

Describes the propaganda techniques used by ecclesiastical authorities in the Middle Ages. Argues that emerging monarchies of the period transformed these techniques to their own use and thus contributed to the birth of nationalisms. (MS)

Describes problems faced by late medieval libraries during period of transition from the manuscript to the printed book. A translation of a manual created for a Swiss monastery circa 1520 provides information on librarian's duties, arrangement of the library, procedures for inventorying and cataloging, circulation, and public services. (31…

Fifty children, eight to twelve years old, took part in a summer Medieval Arts Workshop in which they studied and produced art, music, and drama typical of that era. (Author/SJL)

Discusses various scholarly views of education and learning in the early middle ages and identifies some problems confronting scholars investigating this period. Points out new perspectives relative to the role of education during this time. Asserts that future study of early medieval education will benefit from focusing on the minds of masters…

The medieval writer, the nun Hildegard von Bingen, learned Latin without any formal instruction in it. Her case is described as an example of language acquisition by hearing it read, sung, and expounded and by visualizing it as though it were written down in a kind of phonetic script. (21 references) (Author/LB)

Presents an historical perspective of astronomy. Discusses how Columbus' discovery of America demonstrated the incompleteness of the ancient knowledge of the world and paved the way for unorthodox astronomical ideas, including the sun-centered cosmology of Copernicus. (MCO)

The article discusses the relationship between the ancient traditions of dialectics and rhetoric and the transformations they underwent through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, particularly because of the emergence of Humanism. The French philosopher Pierre de la Ramee (1515-1572) played an essential role in this transformation. The logic…

This paper describes the development, use, and analysis, of an educational tool inspired by the history of the optical mechanism of vision. We investigated 12-year-old students' reasoning about vision. Most of them explain it as the result of something coming either from the object or from the eye. Moreover, some of them think that light…

The events that occurred during the Crusades, the encounter of Western and Eastern civilisations, led to certain modes of thinking and representations that are still evident today, overtly or subliminally. By revisiting some of the Western and Eastern chronicles of the first Crusade, we hope to capture the source of some of these images and to see…

Discusses pollution in medieval times, focusing on pollution related to: (1) wood; (2) coal; (3) tanning; and (4) lead. (JN)

The author discusses the role of women in medieval universities with special emphasis on the social relations between men and women students and its implications for today. (RP)

Interest of students in ecology can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Despite their unhygienic habits, students organized resistance many times for improving sanitation, noise pollution and other environmental conditions. (PS)