Self-Help from the Middle Ages - What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living by Peter Jones

What can a twelfth-century monk teach us about burnout, envy, or despair?

In Self-Help from the Middle Ages, historian Peter Jones uncovers a forgotten psychology. Medieval thinkers treated the Seven Deadly Sins not simply as vices but as a map of the human mind—a guide to understanding emotion, behaviour, and how to live well.

Drawing on poetry, confession manuals, paintings, and manuscripts, Jones reveals how medieval writers explored problems we still recognise today: rage, addiction, narcissism, grief, and anxiety. He will be talking about this book with Simon Kinder, Head of History at Gresham’s.