Mosaic Ark Rachel Fulton Brown, KJ Crilly, Kilts Khalfan, and Mel Wiggin

The Professor asked KC if she could come up with some really stupid questions about the Middle Ages. “Can I? And how!” she said. “Did people bathe more than once a year? Did sanitation exist? Did anyone live past the age of 30? What about witchcraft? Were women thought to be witches because they were folk healers? How many witches were burned at the stake? For those women not burned at the stake, how many were forced into marriage arrangements?” During this week’s Mosaic Ark, we discussed these questions and many more concerning life in the Middle Ages (and yes, including the question “Was Prima Nocta real?”) We also concluded that most people have the wrong idea about the time period they were taught to call “The Dark Ages,” and that those who spread those ideas have a lot to answer for (looking at you Mel Gibson!) —Streamed May 29, 2024

Is there hope for pagan America? What’s that? You didn’t know America was a pagan country?! If you’re like most people, you probably fall into one of two camps: you either think that America is a Christian country or that it is a secular country that practices a kind of religious pluralism, but both of those camps are wrong. John Daniel Davidson joined the ladies of the Mosaic Ark to discuss his new book, Pagan America. In his book, Davidson shows how some of the more disturbing trends in current American public life have direct correlations to the practices of pagan societies of the past, and that the rituals practiced then are also being practiced today, albeit under different names and (at least publicly) for different reasons. We discussed why this is happening, whether there is hope for Christians to live freely in a pagan America, and also whether there is hope for a true Christian America in the future. —Streamed May 22, 2024
Buy John's book: https://www.amazon.com/Pagan-America-Decline-Christianity-Dark/dp/1684514444/

When we think of encampments, we may have militaristic visions of Crusader Kings like Baldwin IV and his thousands marching under banners and flags; we might see the Mongol empire marching behind the great Genghis Khan or perhaps Napoleon on his march through Europe. Conversely, we might see peaceful medieval tournaments with their tents and banners, religious pilgrimages or even their more modern equivalent—music festivals! Two weeks ago, there was an encampment at the University of Chicago, around which much discussion has revolved on and off campus. What kind of encampment was it: peaceful or militaristic? Was it just a peaceful demonstration involving students exercising free speech, or was it an event purposefully planned to disrupt, polarize, and provoke a physical police response? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark continue last week’s discussion about the UChicago encampment and wonder if the general public could see the parallels from history. We invite you to listen and tell us what you see.
—Streamed May 15, 2024

“I heard my momma cry / I heard her pray the night Chicago died / Brother, what a night it really was / Brother, what a fight it really was / Glory be!”
This song about fights between gangs and cops in 1920s Chicago was all the rage back in the 1970s. There’s a lot of appeal to nostalgia in it. But were people nostalgic for violence, or were they longing to be in a dramatic moment—a moment that matters? Last week, the University of Chicago hosted an encampment of protestors who gathered in support of the Palestinians of Gaza and made demands that the University divest from Israel. But the encampment also attracted protestors of issues unrelated to that war, and eventually attracted counter-protestors. The mini “community” that sprang up in the encampment was forcibly (and thankfully, peacefully) dismantled one week later and neither they, nor the counter protestors, nor any police were hurt. Chicago didn’t die! As the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed these events, we kept returning to the same question: what attracts people to these types of events? Are they simply dedicated to their cause, or do they also long for something more—a connection with others, a feeling of collective purpose? Join us as we discuss. —Streamed May 8, 2024

Once upon a time in the Middle Ages, in a geographic area comprised of a patchwork collection of hundreds of separate Duchies ruled over by hundreds of Dukes, a loyalty was misplaced. Doesn’t sound like a very inspiring fairy tale, does it? But you must admit that it does sound similar to the current landscape of social media. There are hundreds of different platforms within larger platforms for social, news and entertainment media, each with their own “Duke” (or Duchess) demanding trust and loyalty of their followers. Which one do you trust? Are you loyal to any of them? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed how the misplaced trust of the eleventh century’s Hugh IV of Lusignan provided the perfect example of how trust and loyalty have always been a hotly contested issue even as it has always been demanded by people of power and influence. Please enjoy watching our lively discussion, or I’m afraid that Baldric shall have to be very severely beaten! —Streamed May 1, 2024
Agreement between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/agreement.asp

“A little learning is a dangerous thing.” Alexander Pope wrote these words in 1711 at the tender age of 22, and thereby created one of the understatements of the millennium. At least that is what the Dragon Common Room discovered as it began writing its first epic poem, Centrism Games. Join the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss our admiration for Pope’s skill in writing satire in iambic pentameter, how it inspired us to write Centrism Games in the same style, and how that style of writing had an almost magical ability to assist us in the focus and direction of the story we wrote. —Streamed April 24, 2024