The Medieval Python

The mouth, responsible for both physical and spiritual functions - eating, drinking, breathing, praying and confessing - was of immediate importance to medieval thinking about the nature of the human being. Where scholars have traditionally focused on the mouth's grotesque excesses, Katie L. Walter argues for the recuperation of its material 'everyday' aspect. Walter's original study draws on two rich archives: one comprising Middle English theology (Langland, Julian of Norwich, Lydgate, Chaucer) and pastoral writings; the other broadly medical and surgical, including learned encyclopaedias and vernacular translations and treatises. Challenging several critical orthodoxies about the centrality of sight, the hierarchy of the senses and the separation of religious from medical discourses, the book reveals the centrality of the mouth, taste and touch to human modes of knowing and to Christian identity.

The papers in this volume, which were presented in 2011, at the first conference the British Archaeological Association held in Poland, explore the medieval art, architecture and archaeology of the ci

The papers in this volume, which were presented in 2011, at the first conference the British Archaeological Association held in Poland, explore the medieval art, architecture and archaeology of the ci

Jews and Christians in Medieval Castile examines the changes in Jewish-Christian relations in the Iberian kingdom of Castile during the pivotal period of the reconquest and the hundred years that foll

This 1982 collection of essays examines Ireland's relations with the rest of western Europe between AD 400 and 1200. They show the idiosyncratic ways in which Ireland responded to external stimuli and illustrate the view that early Irish history, religion, politics and art should be seen not in isolation but as vital contributors to the development of European culture. This was the firmly held opinion of Kathleen Hughes, to whose memory these essays, specially commissioned from leading scholars in the field, are dedicated. The range of essays reflects the diversity of early Ireland's history and the extent of her influence upon other cultures. The ecclesiastical tradition and hagiography form one area of study; political expansion and diplomatic history, as well as literary and artistic influences, are also discussed. The subjects are variously introduced as they affect Ireland's relations with Scotland, Anglo-Saxon England, Merovingian Gaul, the Scandinavians and the Welsh.

Nizami Ganjavi is one of the foremost figures in Persian poetry, living in Azerbaijan in the second half of the twelfth century. One of the oldest Western poets in Persian literature, he is acclaimed for his five masnavis which are assembled to form the Khamsa (Quintet). His reputation is that of a difficult and refined poet, who introduced into his verse vocabulary, expressions and allusions to the then-known sciences. This study considers all his verses containing allusions to trees and their fruit. The scientific contents of these allusions are then checked with the help of Arabic and Persian medieval scientific treatises, ranging from the ninth to the seventeenth century. As a result, this study not only proposes a better understanding of nature imagery in the work of a seminal Persian poet, but provides a useful insight into the breadth and depth of the education of medieval poets and their readers.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF IRELAND is an authoritative and fully illustrated survey that encompasses the period from the early Middle Ages to the end of the 20th century. The five volumes explore all asp

The essays in this volume look at the mechanics of debt, the legal process, and its economics in early medieval England. Beneath the elevated plane of high politics, affairs of the Crown and internati

Before the advent of printing, the preaching of the friars was the mass medium of the middle ages. In this edition of marriage sermons, David D'Avray reveals what famous preachers had to say about mar

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics had a profound influence on generations of later philosophers, not only in the ancient era but also in the medieval period and beyond. In this book, Anthony Celano explores how medieval authors recast Aristotle's Ethics according to their own moral ideals. He argues that the moral standard for the Ethics is a human one, which is based upon the ethical tradition and the best practices of a given society. In the Middle Ages, this human standard was replaced by one that is universally applicable, since its foundation is eternal immutable divine law. Celano resolves the conflicting accounts of happiness in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, demonstrates the importance of the virtue of phronesis (practical wisdom), and shows how the medieval view of moral reasoning alters Aristotle's concept of moral wisdom.

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics had a profound influence on generations of later philosophers, not only in the ancient era but also in the medieval period and beyond. In this book, Anthony Celano explores how medieval authors recast Aristotle's Ethics according to their own moral ideals. He argues that the moral standard for the Ethics is a human one, which is based upon the ethical tradition and the best practices of a given society. In the Middle Ages, this human standard was replaced by one that is universally applicable, since its foundation is eternal immutable divine law. Celano resolves the conflicting accounts of happiness in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, demonstrates the importance of the virtue of phronesis (practical wisdom), and shows how the medieval view of moral reasoning alters Aristotle's concept of moral wisdom.

Jessica Rosenfeld provides a history of the ethics of medieval vernacular love poetry by tracing its engagement with the late medieval reception of Aristotle. Beginning with a history of the idea of enjoyment from Plato to Peter Abelard and the troubadours, the book then presents a literary and philosophical history of the medieval ethics of love, centered on the legacy of the Roman de la Rose. The chapters reveal that 'courtly love' was scarcely confined to what is often characterized as an ethic of sacrifice and deferral, but also engaged with Aristotelian ideas about pleasure and earthly happiness. Readings of Machaut, Froissart, Chaucer, Dante, Deguileville and Langland show that poets were often markedly aware of the overlapping ethical languages of philosophy and erotic poetry. The study's conclusion places medieval poetry and philosophy in the context of psychoanalytic ethics, and argues for a re-evaluation of Lacan's ideas about courtly love.

Jessica Rosenfeld provides a history of the ethics of medieval vernacular love poetry by tracing its engagement with the late medieval reception of Aristotle. Beginning with a history of the idea of enjoyment from Plato to Peter Abelard and the troubadours, the book then presents a literary and philosophical history of the medieval ethics of love, centered on the legacy of the Roman de la Rose. The chapters reveal that 'courtly love' was scarcely confined to what is often characterized as an ethic of sacrifice and deferral, but also engaged with Aristotelian ideas about pleasure and earthly happiness. Readings of Machaut, Froissart, Chaucer, Dante, Deguileville and Langland show that poets were often markedly aware of the overlapping ethical languages of philosophy and erotic poetry. The study's conclusion places medieval poetry and philosophy in the context of psychoanalytic ethics, and argues for a re-evaluation of Lacan's ideas about courtly love.

Medieval dynasties frequently relied upon the cult of royal saints for legitimacy. After the early medieval emergence of this type of sainthood, in the central Middle Ages most royal dynasties had saints in their family: Edward the Confessor, Olaf, Canute, Louis IX, Charlemagne, the Emperor Henry II, and Wenceslas are some of the best-known examples. Within this context the saints of the Hungarian ruling dynasty - the Arpadians - constitute a remarkable sequence: St Stephen, St Emeric, St Ladislas, St Elizabeth, St Margaret and other central European blessed princesses, whose convents mirrored the Court of Heaven. This sequence of dynastic saints provide an example of the late medieval evolution of royal and dynastic sainthood. Building upon a series of case studies from Hungary and central Europe, Gábor Klaniczay proposes a synthesis of the multiple forms and transformations of royal and dynastic sainthood in medieval Europe.

"A wonderful introduction to those new to the subject as well as a welcome contribution to the debate on the nature of the medieval nobility."--Medieval Review

Following the destruction of Kyoto during the civil wars of the late fifteenth century, large-scale panoramic paintings of the city began to emerge. These enormous and intricately detailed depictions

Medieval Europe was a world of kings, but what did this mean to those who did not themselves wear a crown? How could they prevent corrupt and evil men from seizing the throne? How could they ensure that rulers would not turn into tyrants? Drawing on a rich array of remarkable sources, this engaging study explores how the fears and hopes of a ruler's subjects shaped both the idea and the practice of power. It traces the inherent uncertainty of royal rule from the creation of kingship and the recurring crises of royal successions, through the education of heirs and the intrigue of medieval elections, to the splendour of a king's coronation, and the pivotal early years of his reign. Monks, crusaders, knights, kings (and those who wanted to be kings) are among a rich cast of characters who sought to make sense of and benefit from an institution that was an object of both desire and fear.

More than 700 greater houses of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries survive in England and Wales, of which nearly two-thirds are in continuous occupation. Yet they have been little-studied in comparison with the country's medieval castles, cathedrals and abbeys. This book, first published in 1996, surveys the houses in detail. It is an illustrated record of the surviving residences of the Crown, the greater and lesser nobility, and church leaders - the 'movers and shakers' of medieval society. All major and most lesser houses are appraised in detail, concentrating on their architectural development and historical relevance. They are grouped by region, prefaced by short introductions which establish their historical and architectural context. The topic will be covered in three volumes - on northern England, central England and Wales, and southern England. When complete the volumes will be the first and only comprehensive survey of the subject. Volume 1 (on northern England) describes

The art of the object reached unparalleled heights in the medieval Islamic world, yet the intellectual dimensions of ceramics, metalwares, and other plastic arts in this milieu have not always been ac

'Probably the best "buy" among recent works for one who comes to medieval history for the first time.' History (about the second edition) Consisting of two parts, this book successfully conveys the

During the Middle Ages, castles and other fortified buildings were a common feature of the European landscape. As central powers rose and fell, the insecurity of the times inspired a revival of forti

This selection of articles, published for the 50th anniversary of the author's doctorate at GA?ttingen, opens with studies on his teacher, Percy Ernst Schramm, and his contribution to the study of the

A careful analysis of Luther’s thought in the context of his age, this volume examines Luther’s links with later medieval Thomism. The study is organized on the theme of theological anthropology—the s

A skeptical and critical reassessment of the Reconquest of Castile from the Moors in the 15th century, so often idealized by historians and patriots alike. Explores the land and climate of northern Ca

Performing women takes on a key problem in the history of drama: the 'exceptional' staging of the life of Catherine of Siena by a female actor and a female patron in 1468 Metz. Exploring the lives and

This volume consists of original papers first read at King's College, Cambridge, in 1979 at an international conference on medieval and Renaissance music. The contributors are distinguished in a wide variety of musicological interests but all are concerned in one way or another with pursuing the most urgent and promising directions for research in early music history. The result, far from being merely a further collection of essays applying well-tried approaches to familiar material, constantly seeks to expand the scope of musicology itself, and many of the contributions arc inter-disciplinary in method. The four main topics of the conference were carefully chosen, with some editorial control exercised for each session. This is reflected in four sections of closely related papers in the book. Two of these are concerned with the patronage of music: by the Church in fifteenth-century England, Italy and France, and in a broader context in Italy from 1450 to 1550. A group of essays on sixt

The Japanese provincial city of Ichijōdani was destroyed in the civil wars of the late sixteenth century but never rebuilt. Archaeological excavations have since uncovered the most detailed late medieval urban site in the country. Drawing on analysis of specific excavated objects and decades of archaeological evidence to study daily life in Ichijōdani, Reading Medieval Ruins in Sixteenth-Century Japan illuminates the city's layout, the possessions and houses of its residents, its politics and experience of war, and religious and cultural networks. Morgan Pitelka demonstrates how provincial centers could be dynamic and vibrant nodes of industrial, cultural, economic, and political entrepreneurship and sophistication. In this study a new and vital understanding of late medieval society is revealed, one in which Ichijôdani played a central role in the vibrant age of Japan's sixteenth century.

What was an “advocate” (Latin: advocatus; German: Vogt) in the Middle Ages? What responsibilities came with the position and how did they change over time? With this groundbreaking study, Jonathan R. Lyon challenges the standard narrative of a “medieval” Europe of feudalism and lordship being replaced by a “modern” Europe of government, bureaucracy and the state. By focusing on the position of advocate, he argues for continuity in corrupt practices of justice and protection between 750 and 1800. This book traces the development of the role of church advocate from the Carolingian period onward and explains why this position became associated with the violent abuse of power on churches' estates. When other types of advocates became common in and around Germany after 1250, including territorial and urban advocates, they were not officeholders in developing bureaucracies. Instead, they used similar practices to church advocates to profit illicitly from their positions, which calls into que

The present volume collects seventeen case studies that characterize the various kinds of "translations" within European culture over the last two millennia. Intellectual identities establish themselv

Medieval England’s specific political and linguistic history encompasses a great number of significant changes, some of the most disruptive of which were occasioned by the Norman Conquest. The alliter

This book covers all aspects of the manufacture of "artillery," the shooting styles and the uses of medieval and Renaissance archery based upon contemporary manuscripts, preserved artif

"This collection offers a range of interdisciplinary viewpoints on the occupation of space and theories of place in Britain and Ireland spanning the medieval and early modern periods. The contribution

A Companion to Medieval Christian Humanism explores Christian humanism in the writings of key medieval thinkers. It explores questions pertaining to human dignity, the human person’s place in the cosm

This book deals with two different pragmatic approaches to textual communication: (i) the mainstream approach followed by the 'Ash'ari s, Hanafi s and Mu'tazili s, (ii) the salafite approach followed

The fourteenth-century alliterative poem Piers Plowman was widely popular in its own day. The number of its surviving manuscripts ranks just below that of Chaucer’sCanterbury Tales. Although the poem

Mystical Bodies, Mystical Meals is the first book-length study of mystical eating practices and experiences in the kabbalah. Focusing on the Jewish mystical literature of late-thirteenth-century Spain

The fourteenth-century alliterative poem Piers Plowman was widely popular in its own day. The number of its surviving manuscripts ranks just below that of Chaucer’sCanterbury Tales. Although the poem

Thoroughly exploring the history of the conflict between Christians and Jews from medieval to modern times, this wide-ranging volume includes newly uncovered material from the recently opened post-Sov

This book deals with two different pragmatic approaches to textual communication: (i) the mainstream approach followed by the 'Ash'ari s, Hanafi s and Mu'tazili s, (ii) the salafite approach followed

Objects of Translation offers a nuanced approach to the entanglements of medieval elites in the regions that today comprise Afghanistan, Pakistan, and north India. The book--which ranges in time from