How would you value the magical thought today in comparison to magic in the Middle Ages? Do you think we have prejudices regarding this period? Are we still under the legacy of the Renaissance artists, who introduced themselves as the ‘light’ after some ‘Dark Ages’ for ‘marketing purposes’?

Let me begin by saying that I believe in magic – because the world is cynical without wonderment. What I call magic is called miracles by some and science by others. I’ve always wanted to believe in magic, but I think it was my study of hard sciences that made me realize they are one and the same. The conception and birth of a child can be seen as a miracle. The odds are stacked against conception, yet it happens all the time. There is more space within an atom than surrounding it – I don’t remember exact measurements, but it’s mind-boggling. The fact that we live in the “Goldilocks Zone”, where water is liquid, we have atmosphere, oxygen, et cetera, is a scientific wonder. The idea that the universe started out as mere particles and star dust, which have found their way into planets, people, objects… Or consider physics: you cannot place your hand on top of a table. It is not that simple. The atoms of your hand interact with the atoms of the table, so on a molecular level, your hand and the table are one. How did the universe start? Where did those initial particles which became atoms and elements come from? Is the universe cyclical in nature? My point is that we have just as many unknowns now as we did in the Middle Ages, but instead of using “magic” to describe phenomena, we use “science”. I think, from a mathematical perspective, they are one and the same: the odds of any of these things happening are astronomical.

I don’t know that there are many others that see things the way I do. I think many people today view magic as impossible or trickery, something like Santa Claus or a magician’s sleight of hand. So, for them, I suspect they don’t value magic very much and relegate it to children’s fantasy. I highly value magic. I want to believe in magic because it makes the world more amazing. My logical, scientific brain tells me otherwise, but I would love to believe in fairies and wood nymphs. I’d like to believe that unicorns existed and we haven’t discovered their bones yet. Why dragons seen as magical, but dinosaurs aren’t? Simply because we found fossil evidence of the latter? Magic means so many different things to different people, so placing a value on magical thought today seems nearly impossible.

On the other hand, it feels rather easy to say that magic was held in high regard during the Middle Ages because the practices were so commonplace. Magic then is valued as holistic medicine is today, in a way. Both have skeptics in their time, but both can be supported by anecdotal evidence and as an explanation for the curious events that surround us. Many people across the world practice holistic medicine today and have for thousands of years. It’s considered medicine – not magic. Yet, skeptics would disagree on that terminology.

As far as the two latter questions in this assignment, I don’t think we are necessarily prejudiced against this period. Many people regard the beliefs of the time as ignorant or false, but at the same time, many people are intrigued, curious, and caught up in the stories of the time, which is why this academic field is so popular and why we have so many movies based in this period. I think, if anything, prejudices are unintended and mixed. I believe we do fall victim to the legacy of the “Enlightenment” following the “Dark Ages”, but I attribute that to the way we are taught as children in school. I didn’t realize the “Dark Ages” were so full of excitement, discoveries, and rich history until many years later (partly because my husband is a history major). When I was a child, I thought the Dark Ages meant that during that period, there was no light. That, somehow, it was always night and people were uncivilized heathens because they had “lost” the knowledge of earlier civilizations. How we teach this history affects how people understand its significance.