Mysticism and Medieval Society: Stories and Their Impact

The Middle Ages was a time when mysticism often overtook reality. Creatures such as witches, dragons, and sciapods were thought to be real, and people took precautions against them. While tales of these creatures entertain us today, their presence in the minds of the medieval society in which they developed had dangerous consequences. The myth of witches allowed for the persecution of people who defied the social order and committed innocent acts that were rebranded as heresy. The myth of dragons was used to alienate supposed enemies of the Christian religion. These myths were so influential that their images have come to pervade modern day popular culture, where they have been depicted as both good and evil figures and have inspired many well-known characters. This study considers the way in which these myths developed, particularly during the Middle Ages, and how they have come to influence the world of today, while taking care to understand the power such tales can have.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2023fall/1059/thumbnail.jp