Books by Veronica Menaldi
Routledge, 2021
This book explores the complexity of Iberian identity and multicultural/multi-religious interacti... more This book explores the complexity of Iberian identity and multicultural/multi-religious interactions in the Peninsula through the lens of spells, talismans, and imaginative fiction in medieval and early modern Iberia. Focusing particularly on love magic—which manipulates objects, celestial spheres, and demonic conjurings to facilitate sexual encounters—Menaldi examines how practitioners and victims of such magic as represented in major works produced in Castile. Magic, and love magic in particular, is an exchange of knowledge, a claim to power and a deviation from or subversion of the licit practices permitted by authoritative decrees. As such, magic serves as a metaphorical tool for understanding the complex relationships of the Christian with the non-Christian. In seeking to understand and incorporate hidden secrets that presumably reveal how one can manipulate their environment, occult knowledge became one of the funnels through which cultures and practices mixed and adapted throughout the centuries.
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Papers (Journal Articles and Book Chapters) by Veronica Menaldi
Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies, 2024
Asados, Argentine cook-outs or barbecues, to this day have a prestigious reputation within Argent... more Asados, Argentine cook-outs or barbecues, to this day have a prestigious reputation within Argentine identity often due to its lasting association with the Gauchos—rural Argentine cowboys—who flourished in the nineteenth century shortly after the country’s independence from Spain. However, what is less known is how this quintessential dish, especially the well-done slow-cooked nature of the meat, is a rarely explored window to the past. I stipulate that the transatlantic, transcultural, and even transtemporal importance of this dish preserved by the Gauchos since the nineteenth century places them and their descendants as the hidden heirs of clandestine Moriscos—mostly crypto-Muslims forcedly converted to Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula—who settled in the least monitored area of Spain’s American colonies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Moriscos knew how to mask certain actions while still holding strong to some former cultural and culinary practices. So too did the Gauchos as they were originally coined rebellious outlaws who did not want to fully conform and assimilate to the dominant culture. Perhaps in viewing their shared cooking styles we can see the often ignored history of Andalusi influence via Morisco practices in the Southern Cone.
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Global Food History, 2023
This case study of Ibn al-Durayhim al-Mawsilī’s fourteenth-century compilation Kitaīb Manaīfiʻ al... more This case study of Ibn al-Durayhim al-Mawsilī’s fourteenth-century compilation Kitaīb Manaīfiʻ al-Ḥayawaīn (Book of Animal Uses) demonstrates the magical uses of olive oil for the enhancement or impediment of sex when combined with certain animal by-products. These uses mirror similar details in other Mediterranean treatises on agriculture, food, magic, medicine, poetry, or religion, whether produced in the Abbasid Caliphate or al-Andalus. Olive oil was not necessarily the item that made certain dishes or objects magical, but rather it was a necessary binding medium that allowed the resulting products to enchant. Beyond this, olive oil as a liquid ingredient also serves as a metaphor for understanding the malleable and adaptable Mediterranean nature of those who used and consumed it. This approach allows contemporary scholars to uncover a richer understanding of the fluid and shifting Mediterranean cultural identity especially considering the manuscript’s varied provenance across the Sea throughout the centuries.
[print version forthcoming Summer 2024, published online Sept. 2023
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Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, 2023
This article explores the use of food as an essential fictional trigger of time-bending enchantme... more This article explores the use of food as an essential fictional trigger of time-bending enchantments in two Iberian exempla from frametale narratives—Don Juan Manuel's Castilian fourteenth-century El Conde Lucanor and Isaac Ibn Sahula's Hebrew thirteenth-century Mešal Haqadmonī (a possible source for Don Juan Manuel).. In both "Exenplo XI" and "The Crow's Story" a knowledgeable student seeks out a teacher adept in the magical arts. The students are hospitably greeted by their prospective teachers and either offered or promised a certain food item—roasted partridges or wine—before they descend into a subterranean space unknowingly entering an illusionary reality meant to test their moral fiber. This article compares the use of food in the two stories and illuminates the particularity of the differences connected to the cultural complex of partridges.
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La corónica , 2022
Open Access Article in La corónica vol 49 no 3, 2022 [© Summer 2021] (special issue: Food Studies... more Open Access Article in La corónica vol 49 no 3, 2022 [© Summer 2021] (special issue: Food Studies Medieval and Early Modern Period)
Premodern esoteric traditions and occult practices emphasize the seemingly-hidden powers of common-day objects made possible via invisible forces and interactions. The wisdom of how to use and channel these powers is potentially accessible everywhere—provided one knows how and where to look—and even the most common objects can reveal hidden truths. I argue that a closer look at food practices and their prescribed uses in premodern occult lore recorded in Iberia can contribute to a deeper understanding of the central role food played in natural philosophy, i.e. the understanding of man's relationship to the material world. Here, I explore the uses of apples in the only extant fifteenth-century copy of the Iberian Sefer Ahavat Nashim (Book of Women's Love) as a metaphoric extension of the theoretical understanding of the Sefirot, which in the Kabbalah are the ten attributes of God. Two of these, Binah (understanding) and Hokhmah (wisdom) are directly mentioned in the first folio of the manuscript as the main ingredients necessary to complete properly and preform the contained magical formulas for love, sex, beautification, and conception. By understanding food's transformative prosperities, possibly communicated covertly by way of food in magical formulas, trained practitioners could reach a higher consciousness and better appreciate the inherent interconnectedness of premodern Iberian practices, thoughts, and cultures.
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Brill, 2021
“Enchanting Go-Betweens: Mediated Love Magic in the Libro de buen amor and Iberian Grimoires,” A... more “Enchanting Go-Betweens: Mediated Love Magic in the Libro de buen amor and Iberian Grimoires,” A New Companion to the Libro de buen amor. Edited by Ryan D. Giles and José Manuel Hidalgo, Brill, 2021, pp. 75-88.
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La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures , 2020
This article examines a sixteenth-century Aragonese Aljamiado transliteration of the medieval wor... more This article examines a sixteenth-century Aragonese Aljamiado transliteration of the medieval work, the Historia de los amores de París y Viana. This Aljamiado version likely drew from earlier Iberian translations of a presumed fifteenth-century French original. This article explores how the qualities of the work’s protagonist, including his adaptability and his linguistic and social skills, would have particularly appealed to the Moriscos of Iberia who, over the course of the sixteenth century, faced increasing regulation of their customs, languages and religious practices. París’s ability to adopt the customs and languages of the people of the Muslim East would have resonated with Moriscos, many of whom sought to preserve their language and culture in the face of assimilatory pressures.
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Chapter in: Forging Communities: Food and Representation in Medieval and Early Modern Southwester... more Chapter in: Forging Communities: Food and Representation in Medieval and Early Modern Southwestern Europe. Edited by Monserrat Pierra, Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press. Food and Foodways. 2018. 69-81.
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Chapter in:
Mélanges Abdejelil Temini: En homage à l’oeuvre réalisée en moriscologie. Edited by L... more Chapter in:
Mélanges Abdejelil Temini: En homage à l’oeuvre réalisée en moriscologie. Edited by Luce López Baralt and Ridha Mami, vol. 64. Tunis: Centre d’Etudes et de Traduction Morisques, 2017. 351-384.
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Chapter in:
Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time. The Occult in Premo... more Chapter in:
Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time. The Occult in Premodern Sciences, Medicine, Literature, Religion, and Astrology. Edited by Albrecht Classen, vol. 20, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017. 421-435. Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture.
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Papers (Pedagogical/Promotional/Public Outreach) by Veronica Menaldi
RENCEP, 2024
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Food, Culture, & Society, 2024
This article argues for the continued collaboration of food studies and second language studies. ... more This article argues for the continued collaboration of food studies and second language studies. By introducing a variety of food related concepts in language courses, particularly upper-level content courses, students are more likely to realize the possible interdisciplinary connections of their own studies and interests. I use my 300-level university Spanish Special Topics course on food as the anchor to this article to demonstrate some ways in which this overlap is both fruitful and effective. My hope is that this will inspire more food focused courses in language departments thus strengthening the reach food studies can have across fields, universities, and perhaps even advanced high school courses while simultaneously enforcing the value of second language studies for both language learners and heritage speakers.
[print version forthcoming Summer 2024, published online Feb. 2024, DOI: 10.1080/15528014.2024.2313875]
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Psyche, 2024
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A short video contribution to the Cervantes Society of America's The Past and Present of a Cervan... more A short video contribution to the Cervantes Society of America's The Past and Present of a Cervantine Protagonist video collection.
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My contribution to Middle Ages for Educations from 2020.
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Revista Asomante, 2022
En homenaje a la “Embajadora Cultural de Puerto Rico” Luce López-Baralt y la Escuela Aljamiada y ... more En homenaje a la “Embajadora Cultural de Puerto Rico” Luce López-Baralt y la Escuela Aljamiada y Morisca de Puerto Rico, special issue of Revista Asomante, March 2022 [© 2020], pp. 177-190
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Islamic Occult Studies on the Rise, 2021
Post based on November 2021 presentation for Islamic Occult Studies on the Rise. It is a preview ... more Post based on November 2021 presentation for Islamic Occult Studies on the Rise. It is a preview of a work-in-progress research avenue on the use of Hebrew in Arabic-Aljamiado spells and amulets produced and circulated among Moriscos.
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Ars Magica: The Societas Magica Blog, 2021
A blog entry for the Ars Magica (Societas Magica blog) on medievalism in the Harry Potter series ... more A blog entry for the Ars Magica (Societas Magica blog) on medievalism in the Harry Potter series in light of my new publication.
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La corónica Commons, 2021
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La corónica Commons, 2020
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Books by Veronica Menaldi
[Uploaded here is a flyer and discount code]
Papers (Journal Articles and Book Chapters) by Veronica Menaldi
[print version forthcoming Summer 2024, published online Sept. 2023
Premodern esoteric traditions and occult practices emphasize the seemingly-hidden powers of common-day objects made possible via invisible forces and interactions. The wisdom of how to use and channel these powers is potentially accessible everywhere—provided one knows how and where to look—and even the most common objects can reveal hidden truths. I argue that a closer look at food practices and their prescribed uses in premodern occult lore recorded in Iberia can contribute to a deeper understanding of the central role food played in natural philosophy, i.e. the understanding of man's relationship to the material world. Here, I explore the uses of apples in the only extant fifteenth-century copy of the Iberian Sefer Ahavat Nashim (Book of Women's Love) as a metaphoric extension of the theoretical understanding of the Sefirot, which in the Kabbalah are the ten attributes of God. Two of these, Binah (understanding) and Hokhmah (wisdom) are directly mentioned in the first folio of the manuscript as the main ingredients necessary to complete properly and preform the contained magical formulas for love, sex, beautification, and conception. By understanding food's transformative prosperities, possibly communicated covertly by way of food in magical formulas, trained practitioners could reach a higher consciousness and better appreciate the inherent interconnectedness of premodern Iberian practices, thoughts, and cultures.
Mélanges Abdejelil Temini: En homage à l’oeuvre réalisée en moriscologie. Edited by Luce López Baralt and Ridha Mami, vol. 64. Tunis: Centre d’Etudes et de Traduction Morisques, 2017. 351-384.
Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time. The Occult in Premodern Sciences, Medicine, Literature, Religion, and Astrology. Edited by Albrecht Classen, vol. 20, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017. 421-435. Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture.
Papers (Pedagogical/Promotional/Public Outreach) by Veronica Menaldi
https://www.rensep.org/private/medieval-iberian-magic-in-modern-fiction-exploring-hybridity-in-leigh-bardugos-the-familiar/
[print version forthcoming Summer 2024, published online Feb. 2024, DOI: 10.1080/15528014.2024.2313875]
See https://psyche.co/ideas/after-mom-died-i-found-great-comfort-in-a-medieval-andalusi-tale for digital version.
https://lcc.ku.edu/open-access/imana_roundtable_kzoo2021/
[Uploaded here is a flyer and discount code]
[print version forthcoming Summer 2024, published online Sept. 2023
Premodern esoteric traditions and occult practices emphasize the seemingly-hidden powers of common-day objects made possible via invisible forces and interactions. The wisdom of how to use and channel these powers is potentially accessible everywhere—provided one knows how and where to look—and even the most common objects can reveal hidden truths. I argue that a closer look at food practices and their prescribed uses in premodern occult lore recorded in Iberia can contribute to a deeper understanding of the central role food played in natural philosophy, i.e. the understanding of man's relationship to the material world. Here, I explore the uses of apples in the only extant fifteenth-century copy of the Iberian Sefer Ahavat Nashim (Book of Women's Love) as a metaphoric extension of the theoretical understanding of the Sefirot, which in the Kabbalah are the ten attributes of God. Two of these, Binah (understanding) and Hokhmah (wisdom) are directly mentioned in the first folio of the manuscript as the main ingredients necessary to complete properly and preform the contained magical formulas for love, sex, beautification, and conception. By understanding food's transformative prosperities, possibly communicated covertly by way of food in magical formulas, trained practitioners could reach a higher consciousness and better appreciate the inherent interconnectedness of premodern Iberian practices, thoughts, and cultures.
Mélanges Abdejelil Temini: En homage à l’oeuvre réalisée en moriscologie. Edited by Luce López Baralt and Ridha Mami, vol. 64. Tunis: Centre d’Etudes et de Traduction Morisques, 2017. 351-384.
Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time. The Occult in Premodern Sciences, Medicine, Literature, Religion, and Astrology. Edited by Albrecht Classen, vol. 20, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017. 421-435. Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture.
https://www.rensep.org/private/medieval-iberian-magic-in-modern-fiction-exploring-hybridity-in-leigh-bardugos-the-familiar/
[print version forthcoming Summer 2024, published online Feb. 2024, DOI: 10.1080/15528014.2024.2313875]
See https://psyche.co/ideas/after-mom-died-i-found-great-comfort-in-a-medieval-andalusi-tale for digital version.
https://lcc.ku.edu/open-access/imana_roundtable_kzoo2021/
https://lcc.ku.edu/journal/volume-49-3-table-of-contents/