Magic in the Middle Ages: "What?", "How?", and "Why?".

Magic in the Middle Ages was a multi-faceted phenomenon that continues to fascinate students, scholars, and the general public alike. It has one foot in the history of science, another in the history of religion, another in the history of art, and yet another in the history of philosophy. This proverbial four-footed beast loomed large in the minds of medieval peasants, rulers, and scholars alike. David Porreca's presentation will attempt first to define this surprisingly slippery concept, then address some of the practical modalities of how it was practiced, and finally offer an explanation of why belief in its efficacy has been so persistent over the centuries.