ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. Memory was fundamental to medieval religious and secular life. Philosophers debated the role of memory in the processes of the mind and arts of memory' propounded techniques for memorization and invention, while communities honoured individuals, groups or events through rituals of commemoration. Thus, as scholars have increasingly come to recognize, the study of memory and commemoration can open windows upon the diversity and complexity of medieval culture and the respective roles of philosophy, rhetoric, religious beliefs and practices, and familial and community norms. Memory was central to the medieval understanding of the human mind, since medical discourse posited that memory was controlled by the vital spirit', located in the third ventricle at the rear of the brain. According to this model, the quality of both the vital spirit and the ventricle affected the power of memory.
