Dr. Katelyn Mesler

Edited books

Elisheva Baumgarten, Ruth Mazo Karras, and Katelyn Mesler, eds. Entangled Histories: Knowledge, Authority, and Jewish Culture in the Thirteenth Century. Jewish Culture and Contexts. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. 356 pp.

Forthcoming articles

“Accusations of Jewish Magic and Sorcery in Premodern Latin and Greek Sources.” Accepted for inclusion in A Handbook of Jewish Magic, edited by Ortal-Paz Saar and Siam Bhayro. Brill.

Published articles (Peer-Reviewed)

Gad Freudenthal, Michael McVaugh, and Katelyn Mesler, “Twelfth-Century Latin Medicine in Hebrew Garb: Doeg the Edomite as a Cultural Intermediary.” Medieval Encounters 26 (2020): 226–84.

“The Jurisdiction of Medieval Inquisitors over Jews and Muslims: Nicholas Eymeric’s Contra infideles demones invocantes.” In The Sacred and the Sinister: Studies in Medieval Religion and Magic, edited by David J. Collins. University Park: Penn State Press, 2019. pp. 163–99.

“The Latin Encounter with Hebrew Magic: Problems and Approaches.” In The Routledge History of Medieval Magic, edited by Sophie Page and Catherine Rider. London: Routledge, 2019. pp. 85–98.

“An Unknown Iberian Manuscript from the Cairo Genizah: The Aphorisms of Hippocrates with the Commentary of Maimonides.” Ginzei Qedem: Genizah Research Annual 14 (2018): 43*–69* (print version) and 43*–85* (digital version).

Elisheva Baumgarten, Ruth Mazo Karras, and Katelyn Mesler. “Introduction.” In Entangled Histories, 2017. pp. 1–20, 263–67.

Kati Ihnat and Katelyn Mesler. “From Christian Devotion to Jewish Sorcery: The Curious History of Wax Figurines in Medieval Europe.” In Entangled Histories, 2017. pp. 134–58, 303–9.

“The Medieval Lapidary of Techel/Azareus on Engraved Stones and Its Jewish Appropriations.” Aleph: Historical Studies in Science and Judaism 14, no. 2 (2014): 75–143.

“The Three Magi and Other Christian Motifs in Medieval Hebrew Medical Incantations: A Study in the Limits of Faithful Translation.” In Latin-into-Hebrew – Studies and Texts, vol. 1: Studies, edited by Resianne Fontaine and Gad Freudenthal. Leiden: Brill, 2013. pp. 161–218.

“The Liber iuratus Honorii and the Christian Reception of Angel Magic.” In Invoking Angels: Theurgic Ideas and Practices, Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries, edited by Claire Fanger. University Park: Penn State Press, 2012. pp. 113–50.

“The Epistle of Merlin on the Popes: A New Source on the Late Medieval Notion of the Angel Pope.” Traditio: Studies in Ancient and Medieval History, Thought, and Religion 65 (2010): 107–76.

“John of Rupescissa’s Engagement with Prophetic Texts in the Sexdequiloquium.” Oliviana: Mouvements et dissidences spirituels, XIII^e-XIV^e siècles 3 (2009). oliviana.revues.org/index331.html

Robert E. Lerner and Katelyn Mesler. “Selective Bibliography of Studies and Editions of High and Late Medieval Latin Eschatological Prophecies, Excluding Works by Joachim of Fiore: 1990–2008.” Oliviana: Mouvements et dissidences spirituels, XIII^e-XIV^e siècles 3 (2009). oliviana.revues.org/index347.html

“Imperial Prophecy and Papal Crisis: The Latin Reception of The Prophecy of the True Emperor.” La Rivista di storia della Chiesa in Italia 61, no. 2 (2007): 371–415.

Book Reviews

Review of Béatrice Delaurenti, La Puissance des mots, «Virtus verborum»: Débats doctrinaux sur le pouvoir des incantations au Moyen Âge. In Médiévales 57 (2009): 165–67. medievales.revues.org/5821

Online essays

“The Long Art: T-S AS 144.331.” In Fragment of the Month, December2016, Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, University of Cambridge. Posted Dec. 14, 2016. www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/taylor-schechter-genizah-research-unit/fragment-month/fragment-month-9

“If You Find an Engraved Stone: The Transmission of Science and Magic.” In 13th Century Entanglements: Judaism, Christianity & Islam, Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania (2013). www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/cajs/fellows13/cajs2013.html

Solicited for display on the homepage of The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, Oct. 13, 2013. Now at schoenberginstitute.org/2013/10/03/13th-century-entanglements-part-2/

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013-2015

HIST: Women and Heresy in Medieval Christianity (Graduate Seminar)

HIST: The Black Death in Medieval Europe

REL: Medieval Jewish-Christian Relations (Graduate Seminar)

REL: Magic and Witchcraft in Medieval Europe (Graduate Seminar)

The University of Pennsylvania, 2012-2013

JWST: Graduate Modular Seminar

JWST/REL: Magic and Sorcery in Medieval Jewish and Christian Cultures

Northwestern University, 2005-2008

REL: Genesis 1-3 in Jewish and Christian Imagination (co-taught)

REL: Teaching Assistant: Religion in Human Experience Introduction to Hinduism
Introduction to the New Testament Introduction to Judaism

 

Professional Development

2006 – 2009 Graduate Teaching Certificate Program, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence

Service

• Manuscript Reviewer: The Journal of Jewish Studies Médiévales

  Aleph: Historical Studies in Science and Judaism Mediaevalia

• 2016 Served as an expert to identify 35 textual fragments for the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University.
• 2014 – 2015 Fellow, Young Scholars Forum, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• 2010 Served as an expert to examine and describe manuscript 22 (Hebrew) at the Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas
• 2008 – 2013 Secrétaire de rédaction, Oliviana: mouvements et dissidences spirituels, XIII^e-XIV^e siècles
• 2005 – 2007  Graduate Liaison to the Faculty, Department of Religion, Northwestern University
• 2005 – 2006  Student Liaison for Northwestern University, The American Academy of Religion

Conference Organization

• 2017 Coordinator, Visual and Material in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Culture, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster (Jul. 17-20, 2017).
• 2012 – 2013  Conference Planning Committee, Patterns of Relation: Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Thirteenth Century, University of Pennsylvania (Apr. 29-30, 2013).
• 2011 Session Organizer (with Ortal-Paz Saar) for “‘Intelligences without Matter’? Angels in Pre-Modern Jewish Thought and Culture,” Association for Jewish Studies 43^rd Annual Conference (Dec. 18, 2011)
• 2008 – 2009  Conference Planning Committee, Religion and Identity, Northwestern University (Apr. 24-25, 2009)
• 2007 – 2008 Session Organizer for Societas Magica panels, The 43^rd International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, May 2008)

Invited Talks

“Three Lapidaries in the Leipzig Hebrew-French Glossary.” Paper presented at Les textes allographes français et italiens au moyen âge, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien, Heidelberg, Jun. 4, 2024.

“Le rôle du latin dans la culture du manuscrit hébraïque médiéval : langue, livre, et texte.” Paper presented at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Paris, Mar. 29, 2018 and Meudon, Apr. 12, 2018.

“Representation and Identity: Rachepuppen in Medieval Jewish Sources.” Paper presented at Visual and Material in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Culture, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Jul. 18, 2017.

“Saints, Sorcerers, and Assassins: Christians, Jews, and the Curious History of Effigies in the Middle Ages.” Paper presented at the University of New Hampshire, Feb. 5, 2016.

“‘In the Language of the Christians’: On the Role of Latin among Late Medieval Sephardic Jews.” Paper presented at Harvard University, Feb. 1, 2016.

“Beyond the Trachtenberg Paradigm: New Approaches to Popular and Learned Traditions of Magic in Medieval Europe.” Paper presented at ERC Project “Calendars in Antiquity and the Middle Ages” Workshop: Science Versus Popular Culture in Medieval Jewish Society, University College London, Nov. 9, 2015.

“Magic in Medieval Manuscripts: On the Meeting of Latin and Hebrew Cultures.” Paper presented at the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies, Apr. 27, 2015.

“Saints, Sorcerers, and Assassins: Jews and Envoultement in Medieval Europe.” Paper presented at New York University, Mar. 2, 2015.

 “Effigies, Sorcery, and Mock Crucifixions in Medieval Jewish-Christian Relations.” Paper presented at Columbia University, Apr. 3, 2014.

“Conjuring up Jewish Magic: The Role of Jews and Judaism in Fourteenth-Century Sorcery Trials.” Paper presented at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Feb. 17, 2014.

“Let God Be the Judge? Cheating the System in Medieval Trials by Combat and Ordeal.” Paper presented at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jan. 1, 2014.

“Saints, Sorcerers, and Assassins: The Role of Wax Figurines in Medieval Jewish-Christian Relations.” Paper presented at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Nov. 28, 2013.

“Philosophies arabes et hébraïques : la médiation invisible de la culture latine et le rôle des apocryphes.” Paper presented at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Meudon, Apr. 4, 2013.

“The Invisible Other? Rethinking the Transmission of Magic in Late Antique Judaism.” Paper presented at the University of California, Davis, Mar. 7, 2013.

 “Medieval Jews’ Encounter with Christian Incantations: The Evidence of the Medical Tradition.” Paper presented at the University of Pennsylvania, Nov. 8, 2012.

“Medieval Medicine as a Medium of Exchange: Incantations, Talismans, and Occult Virtues.” Paper presented at The Ruth Meltzer Seminar, Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Sep. 24, 2012. 

“Research Exchange: Award-winning Graduate Research.” Roundtable at Northwestern University, Feb. 29, 2012. 

“Medieval Inquisitors and the Problem of Jewish Sorcery.” Paper presented at Northwestern University, Jan. 19, 2012.

“The Jewish Sorcerer on Trial: Accusations of Magic in Medieval Christian Courts.” Paper presented at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jan. 12, 2012.

“Past, Present, or Future? The Shifting Perspectives of Writers, Readers, and Redactors of Prophecy.” Paper presented at The Making of Prophecy: Methods of Rewriting – Rewriting of Methods, Prague, Jul. 9, 2010.

“Magical Practice and the Myth of Jewish Sorcery.” Paper presented at The Fulbright Enrichment Seminar, Amman, Jordan, May 3, 2010.“Jewish Translators, Christian Charms, and the Limits of Faithful Translation in Medieval Europe.” Paper presented at Latin into Hebrew: The Transfer of Philosophical, Scientific, and Medical Lore from Christian to Jewish Cultures in Southern Europe (12^th–15^th Centuries), Paris, Dec. 8, 2009.

“A Michaelist Commentary on Spiritual Franciscan Prophecies.”  Paper presented at Prophecy Contextualized (XII to XV c.), Budapest, Jun. 8, 2009.

“Entre magie et médecine: Recettes, remèdes et segouloth dans leur contexte manuscrit méridional médiéval.” Paper presented at Science et magie du Moyen Âge au XVII^e siècle: Séminaire international, Paris, Feb. 6, 2009.

“The Nature and Fortunes of the Prophetic Text Merlinus, De summis pontificibus.” Paper presented at Letteratura profetica, oracolare e sibillina fra XIII e XV secolo, Modena, May 27, 2008.

Conference Papers

“Did Medieval European Jews Practice ‘Envoultement’?” Paper presented at The European Association for Jewish Studies, Paris, Jul. 21, 2014.

 “From Christian Devotion to Jewish Sorcery: The Curious History of Wax Figurines in the Middle Ages.” Paper presented at The Sixteenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Jul. 29, 2013.

 “The Invocation of Angels in Medieval Sephardic and Italian Sources.” Paper presented at The Association for Jewish Studies, Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2011.

“In the Shadow of Trachtenberg: The Study of Medieval European Jewish Magic, 72 Years Later.” Paper presented at The 46^th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, May 13, 2011.

“Demons and Angels in the Papacy: The Early Formation of the Idea of the Angel Pope.” Paper presented at The International Medieval Congress, Leeds, Jul. 15, 2009.

“The Notion of Purity in Medieval Jewish and Christian Magic.” Paper presented at The44^th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, May 8, 2009. 

“Crafting Productive Classroom Discussion about Religion.” Paper presented at The Midwest American Academy of Religion, Dominican University, River Forest, IL, Mar. 31, 2007.

“Jewish Angels and Christian Magic: Cultural Adaptation in the Late Middle Ages.” Paper presented at The Renaissance Society of America, San Francisco, Mar. 23, 2006.

“The Christianization of Angel Magic in the Late Middle Ages.” Paper presented at TheAmerican Academy of Religion, Philadelphia, Nov. 20, 2005.

“Angels of God, Servants of Man: Jewish and Islamic Influence on the Medieval Christian Magical Tradition.” Paper presented at The 2005 Annual Graduate Conference in Medieval Studies at Princeton University: Reception, Transmission, and Adaptation, Princeton, Apr. 9, 2005.

Public Outreach

“At the Crossroads of Culture: The Role of Magic among Medieval Jews.” Paper presented at the Main Line Reform Temple, 2013 Penn Lectures in Judaic Studies, Wynnewood, PA, Feb. 11, 2013.

Presiding Chair

“Science and Mysticism in the Middle Ages.” Panel at The Sixteenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Aug. 1, 2013.

“Paris: Authority, Control, and Conflicts in the Production of Knowledge.” Panel at Cultural Cityscapes: Institutionalization, Authority, and Piety in Thirteenth-Century Urban Centers, Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Dec. 12, 2012.