[The Baking Typewriter] From a Lake Monster to Snow White... Medieval Stories That Still Feel Alive

Every year, March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, a Catholic feast day honoring St. Patrick, who brought Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century.

St. Patrick was born on the island of Britain, then under the rule of the Roman Empire, in what is now the United Kingdom. At around 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and spent about six years in slavery before escaping and returning home. He later became a clergyman and went back to Ireland, where he had been enslaved, to begin missionary work. He made a major contribution to spreading Christianity in Ireland, where native beliefs had deep roots.

In Lough Derg in northwestern Ireland lies Station Island, a small island about the size of two soccer fields. Associated with legends of St. Patrick, it is now one of Ireland's leading Christian pilgrimage sites.

Lough Derg means "red lake" in Irish. Long ago, a giant serpent-like monster that preyed on people and animals was said to have lived in the lake. According to Irish legend, a hero named Conan deliberately allowed himself to be swallowed to defeat the monster, then tore his way out and killed it. The monster's blood is said to have flowed into the lake and turned it red.

In another version of the legend, St. Patrick takes the place of the hero who defeats the monster. The story was joined by another legend, that St. Patrick discovered a cave leading to purgatory. Together, these tales helped establish Lough Derg and Station Island as major pilgrimage sites in medieval Christianity.

Station Island is one of 17 historic sites featured in Reading Medieval History in European Cities. Like a storyteller recounting an old tale, the book engagingly explores the legends surrounding St. Patrick and shows how memories of native beliefs combined with Christian tradition to take on new meaning.

Co-written by 16 historians affiliated with the Korean Society for Western Medieval History, the book introduces intriguing medieval stories associated with cities and places across Europe. Alongside familiar cities such as Paris, Rome and London, it features less familiar places, including Station Island, Worms and Naumburg, sparking readers' curiosity.

The German city of Worms is a major setting in the medieval German epic poem The Song of the Nibelungs. It is also a landmark of the Reformation: in 1521, Martin Luther refused to recant his views at the Diet of Worms, attended by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Naumburg Cathedral in Germany was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018. Construction began in the 11th century, and its main sections were completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is renowned for its masterpieces of medieval sculpture. The west choir features 12 statues depicting the cathedral's founders and patrons. The best-known is a statue of Uta von Ballenstedt, a German noblewoman. It is said to have inspired the appearance of the evil queen in Walt Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The Middle Ages, then, are not simply a thing of the past. A monster from Celtic mythology was reborn as part of a Christian saint's legend, while a 13th-century sculpture inspired a 20th-century animated character. In many forms, the legacy of the Middle Ages continues to this day.

The authors view the Middle Ages as a period in which Europe developed into a shared civilization founded on common religion and culture. People in Western Europe at the time shared a sense of belonging to a single community through their common Christian faith. Christianity served not only as a religion but also as a powerful ruling ideology and a means of social control.

At the same time, the Middle Ages were a period in which different peoples and regions developed their own identities. This is reminiscent of the European Union (EU) today, which pursues integration while facing conflicts arising from the differing interests of its member states. By showing how the medieval experience left a deep imprint on Europeans' historical consciousness and identity, the book offers an intriguing perspective on understanding Europe today.

Reading Medieval History in European Cities | Written by Seong Baek-yong and 12 others | Pureun Yeoksa | 408 pages

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.