Wonder And Skepticism In The Middle Ages

The article discusses how medieval society responded to tales of marvels and the supernatural, with firm belief to outright rejection. It argues that the epistemological nature of medieval knowledge encouraged belief, as society was organised around orality and theological explanations were sought. However, there were still a great many who disbelieved, and in particular scholastic philosophers from the twelfth century whose work should be seen as the ideological development underpinning early modern scientific advances.

Wonder and Skepticism in the Middle Ages explores the response by medieval society to tales of marvels and the supernatural, which ranged from firm belief to outright rejection, and asks why the believers believed, and why the skeptics disbelieved. This work argues that the epistemological nature of medieval knowledge encouraged belief, a society organised around orality sought evidence and authority in people with status and theological explanations. However there were still a great many who disbelieved, and in particular scholastic philosophers from the twelfth-century whose work should be seen as the ideological development underpinning early modern scientific advances.