Podcast - Episode 45: The Secret Best Seller: Misery

Shocking as it may be, a medieval bestseller was misery. That text, On the Misery of the Human Condition, is the subject of our podcast today. It was written by a soon-to-be Pope and remained wildly popular for five hundred years before mysteriously dropping out of favor. This text is filled with insights into the Medieval perspective through the meditations of Pope Innocent III, and our manuscript, TM557, is a classic example of the popularity of the Misery throughout time. It is an important historical record and a must-read text for anyone interested in medieval history and life. 

Resources:

TM 557, On the Misery of the Human Condition https://www.textmanuscripts.com/medieval/lotarius-segni-illuminated-60461

On the success of Latin texts in the Middle Ages
http://fama.irht.cnrs.fr/en/en/more
Robert E. Lewis, ed. and tr., Lotario dei Segni (Pope Innocent III), De miseria condicionis humane, Athens, Georgia, 1978
John C. Moore, Pope Innocent III (1160/61-1216). To Root up and Plant, Leiden, 2003
John C. Moore, “Innocent III’s De miseria humanae conditionis: A Speculum curiae,” Catholic Historical Review 67 (1981), pp. 553-564