The Medieval Python

The impetus for this volume lies in the expansion of interest in Post Medieval archaeology in university, commercial, and voluntary sectors. The study of Post Medieval archaeology is a relatively new

For a period of nearly eight hundred years, Perso-Islamic kingship was the source for the dominant social and cultural paradigms organising Indian political life. In the medieval world of South Asia, Persian kingship took the form of a hybridized and adaptive political expression. The Persian king embodied the values of justice, military heroics, and honor, ideals valorized historically and transculturally, yet the influence of the pre-Islamic Persian past and Persian forms of kingship has not yet been fully recognised. In this book, Blain Auer demonstrates how Persian kingship was a transcultural phenomenon. Describing the contributions made by kings, poets, historians, political and moral philosophers, he reveals how and why the image of the Persian king played such a prominent role in the political history of Islamicate societies, in general, and in India, in particular. By tracing the historical thread of this influence from Samanid, Ghaznavid, and Ghurid empires, Auer demonstrates

This book provides the first global analysis of the relationship between trade and civilisation from the beginning of civilisation 3000 BC until the modern era 1600 AD. Encompassing the various networks including the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade, Near Eastern family traders of the Bronze Age, and the Medieval Hanseatic League, it examines the role of the individual merchant, the products of trade, the role of the state, and the technical conditions for land and sea transport that created diverging systems of trade and in the development of global trade networks. Trade networks, however, were not durable. The book focuses on the establishment and decline of great trading network systems, and how they related to the expansion of civilisation, and to different forms of social and economic exploitation. Case studies focus on local conditions as well as global networks until the sixteenth century when the whole globe was connected by trade.

This study describes and explains the revolutionary changes which transformed the agricultural life of the Islamicized world in the four centuries following the early Arab conquests. Professor Watson discusses eighteen crops - from sorghum and rye to the watermelon - which spread through the Near East and North Africa during this period. Their origins, diffusion and uses are reviewed. The book investigates the mechanics of diffusion, the routes by which plants spread, and the processes by which they were acclimatized in their new environment. The social and economic history of agriculture in the medieval Islamic world is assessed in a review of wide importance. Professor Watson sets out to refute the view that the early Islamic period was one of agricultural decline in the Near East. He shows that, in contrast to the late Roman and Sasanian periods, it was a time of agricultural and demographic expansion. Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world will be of interest to economi

Originally published in 1983, this was the first comprehensive study of the French sacred theatre during the crucial transition from the medieval to the modern conception of drama. Although some hundreds of sacred plays were written between 1550 and 1650, the genre was largely ignored by subsequent critics, deterred by deliberately non-naturalistic styles. The author explores the use of techniques which were not consecrated by later critical opinion, extending to other styles the reassessment of the humanist theatre occurring at the time of publication. He examines the functions that these conventions were intended to serve, and the effects that the dramatists sought in adopting one or another style: the result is a fresh appraisal of the dramatic forms then current, ranging from the medieval through the humanist and the baroque to the flowering of French Classicism. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in theatre.

In the early ninth century, a critical time in Rome's transformation from ancient capital to powerful bishopric to new state capital, Pope Paschal I undertook a building campaign to communicate his authority and Rome's importance as an ancient and contemporary seat of power. Combining analysis of contemporary chronicles and documents, architecture, mosaics and new archaeology of medieval Rome, Caroline J. Goodson examines Paschal's urban project, revealing new patterns of popular saint veneration in resplendent new churches built using traditional architectural vocabularies. These transformations connect the city and the pope to the past and the present, in the same league as the Byzantine and Carolingian capitals and their emperors. By examining the relationships between the material world and political power in early medieval Rome, this innovative study reveals the importance of Rome's sacred and urban landscape in constructing papal rule and influence both in the city and beyond.

Originally published in 1937, this book presents a study regarding the development of language, composition and style in English prose from the late medieval period through to the first half of the nineteenth century. The text is organised chronologically with each chapter containing a series of passages from a specific era and a commentary on prose characteristics. Detailed notes are incorporated throughout. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in literary criticism and the development of English literature.

M. R. James (1862–1936) is probably best remembered as a writer of chilling ghost stories, but he was an outstanding scholar of medieval literature and palaeography, who served both as Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and as Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, and many of his stories reflect his academic background. First published in 1930, this volume contains a guide to many historical places of interest in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. James concentrates mainly on the medieval history of these counties, weaving fascinating details of personalities and daily life with surviving examples of churches, monasteries and manors. In this tour around the two counties, the history of rich monastic foundations such as Bury St Edmunds and Norwich is discussed together with lesser-known historical sites in a clearly written and richly illustrated volume, which remains a valuable source for medieval scholars and historians.

Musica Naturalis delivers the first systematic account of speculative music theory as a discursive horizon for literary poetics. The title refers to the late medieval French poet Eustache Deschamps, w

In The Making of Romantic Love, William M. Reddy strikes out on an international exploration of love, contrasting the medieval development of romantic love in Europe with contemporaneous eastern tradi

Huot (medieval French literature, Pembroke College, Cambridge) tackles the enigmatic thirteenth-century poem Roman de la Rose. Begun by one author and completed by another, it has been considered porn

The Speculum humanae salvationis (Mirror of Human Salvation), a medieval book recounting in forty-five chapters the story of human redemption within the larger context of the Virgin Mary's life, was s

An excavation in 2010-12 on the site of the former Ministry of Defence (MoD) Headquarters in Durrington, Wiltshire, revealed evidence spanning the post-glacial to the post-medieval periods. It lies im

The Communal Age in Western Europe, c. 1100-1800 offers a fresh interpretation of the significance of towns, villages and parishes in the medieval and early modern period. Drawing on a wide range of p

Son (Japanese Zen) has been the dominant form of Buddhism in Korea from medieval times to the present. A Handbook of Korean Zen Practice: A Mirror on the Son School of Buddhism (Son'ga kwigam) was the

Saracens and Franks in 12th - 15th Century European and Near Eastern Literature examines the tension between two competing discourses in the medieval Muslim Mediterranean and medieval Christian Europe

Rome, Pollution and Propriety brings together scholars from a range of disciplines in order to examine the historical continuity of dirt, disease and hygiene in one environment, and to explore the development and transformation of these ideas alongside major chapters in the city's history, such as early Roman urban development, Roman pagan religion, the medieval Church, the Renaissance, the unification of Italy and the advent of Fascism. This volume sets out to identify the defining characteristics, functions and discourses of pollution in Rome in such realms as disease and medicine, death and burial, sexuality and virginity, prostitution, purity and absolution, personal hygiene and morality, criminality, bodies and cleansing, waste disposal, decay, ruins and urban renovation, as well as studying the means by which that pollution was policed and controlled.

Rome, Pollution and Propriety brings together scholars from a range of disciplines in order to examine the historical continuity of dirt, disease and hygiene in one environment, and to explore the development and transformation of these ideas alongside major chapters in the city's history, such as early Roman urban development, Roman pagan religion, the medieval Church, the Renaissance, the unification of Italy and the advent of Fascism. This volume sets out to identify the defining characteristics, functions and discourses of pollution in Rome in such realms as disease and medicine, death and burial, sexuality and virginity, prostitution, purity and absolution, personal hygiene and morality, criminality, bodies and cleansing, waste disposal, decay, ruins and urban renovation, as well as studying the means by which that pollution was policed and controlled.

In this 2003 study, Edson Armi offers a fresh interpretation of Romanesque architecture. Armi focuses on buildings in northern Italy, Switzerland, southern France and Catalonia, the regions where Romanesque architecture first appeared around 1000 AD. He integrates the study of medieval structure with an understanding of construction, decoration and articulation in an effort to determine the origins and originality of medieval architecture and the formation of the High Romanesque style, especially in Burgundy, at sites such as Cluny III. Relying on a close analysis of the fabric of key buildings, Armi's in-depth study reveals a lot about design decisions in the early Middle Ages. It also demonstrates that the mature Romanesque of the twelfth century continues many of the applications created and perfected over the previous one hundred years.

In this 2003 study, Edson Armi offers a fresh interpretation of Romanesque architecture. Armi focuses on buildings in northern Italy, Switzerland, southern France and Catalonia, the regions where Romanesque architecture first appeared around 1000 AD. He integrates the study of medieval structure with an understanding of construction, decoration and articulation in an effort to determine the origins and originality of medieval architecture and the formation of the High Romanesque style, especially in Burgundy, at sites such as Cluny III. Relying on a close analysis of the fabric of key buildings, Armi's in-depth study reveals a lot about design decisions in the early Middle Ages. It also demonstrates that the mature Romanesque of the twelfth century continues many of the applications created and perfected over the previous one hundred years.

By focusing on the works and intellectual network of the Timurid historian Sharaf al Dīn 'Alī Yazdī (d.1454), this book presents a holistic view of intellectual life in fifteenth century Iran. İlker Evrim Binbaş argues that the intellectuals in this period formed informal networks which transcended political and linguistic boundaries, and spanned an area from the western fringes of the Ottoman State to bustling late medieval metropolises such as Cairo, Shiraz, and Samarkand. The network included an Ottoman revolutionary, a Mamluk prophet, and a Timurid occultist, as well as physicians, astronomers, devotees of the secret sciences, and those political figures who believed that the network was a force to be taken seriously. Also discussing the formation of an early modern Islamicate republic of letters, this book offers fresh insights on the study of intellectual history beyond the limitations imposed by nationalist methodologies, established genres, and recognized literary traditions.

In the early ninth century, a critical time in Rome's transformation from ancient capital to powerful bishopric to new state capital, Pope Paschal I undertook a building campaign to communicate his authority and Rome's importance as an ancient and contemporary seat of power. Combining analysis of contemporary chronicles and documents, architecture, mosaics and new archaeology of medieval Rome, Caroline J. Goodson examines Paschal's urban project, revealing new patterns of popular saint veneration in resplendent new churches built using traditional architectural vocabularies. These transformations connect the city and the pope to the past and the present, in the same league as the Byzantine and Carolingian capitals and their emperors. By examining the relationships between the material world and political power in early medieval Rome, this innovative study reveals the importance of Rome's sacred and urban landscape in constructing papal rule and influence both in the city and beyond.

In the formation of the modern law of nations, peace treaties played a pivotal role. Many basic principles and rules that governed and still govern relations between states were introduced and elaborated in the great peace treaties from the Renaissance onwards. Nevertheless, until recently few scholars have studied these primary sources of the law of nations from a juridical perspective. In this edited collection, specialists from all over Europe, including legal and diplomatic historians, international lawyers and an International Relations theorist, analyse peace treaty practice from the late fifteenth century to the Peace of Versailles of 1919. Important emphasis is given to the doctrinal debate about peace treaties and the influence of older, Roman and medieval concepts on modern practices. This book goes back further in time beyond the epochal Peace of Treaties of Westphalia of 1648 and this broader perspective allows for a reassessment of the role of the sovereign state in the mo

A group of leading scholars examine numerous manuscripts from China and Central Asia to understand sophisticated multi-cultural communities along the Silk Road in the medieval period.

Building on Heinrich Harke’s influential research on burial archaeology and early medieval migrations, this book sets a new agenda for mortuary archaeology. Using archaeological data, the essays explo

In Stoic philosophy, the writing of the Early Church Fathers, and in its allegorical interpretations in medieval and renaissance mythologies, Sisyphus is the archetypal model of human perfectibility.

Where medieval Denmark and Scandinavia as a whole has often been seen as a cultural backwater that passively and belatedly received cultural and political impulses from Western Europe, Professor Micha

Despite increased interest in recent years, the study of medieval Scandinavia and Eastern Europe is still confined mainly to local monographs. This compilation, stemming from a 2008 conference held in

St Edmund's Abbey was one of the most highly privileged and wealthiest religious houses in medieval England, one closely involved with the central government; its history is an integral part of Englis

The Medieval Worldview that Regarded Human Beings as at the Center of God's plans for His universe has long been regarded as obsolete; its synthesis of Christian theology and Greek philosophy having c

What do a demanding colony of porcupines, an upscale restaurant run by hyenas, and a famous medieval knight have in common? They are all part of one of the most entertaining and instructive books on c

The Variae of Cassiodorus have long been valued as an epistolary collection offering a window into political and cultural life in a so-called barbarian successor state in sixth-century Italy. However, this study is the first to treat them as more than an assemblage of individual case studies and to analyse the collection's wider historical context. M. Shane Bjornlie highlights the insights the Variae provide into early medieval political, ecclesiastical, fiscal and legal affairs and the influence of the political and military turbulence of Justinian's reconquest of Italy and of political and cultural exchanges between Italy and Constantinople. The book also explores how Cassiodorus revised, updated and assembled the Variae for publication and what this reveals about his motives for publishing an epistolary record and for his own political life at a crucial period of transformation for the Roman world.

The Variae of Cassiodorus have long been valued as an epistolary collection offering a window into political and cultural life in a so-called barbarian successor state in sixth-century Italy. However, this study is the first to treat them as more than an assemblage of individual case studies and to analyse the collection's wider historical context. M. Shane Bjornlie highlights the insights the Variae provide into early medieval political, ecclesiastical, fiscal and legal affairs and the influence of the political and military turbulence of Justinian's reconquest of Italy and of political and cultural exchanges between Italy and Constantinople. The book also explores how Cassiodorus revised, updated and assembled the Variae for publication and what this reveals about his motives for publishing an epistolary record and for his own political life at a crucial period of transformation for the Roman world.

Get a jump start on using Azure HDInsight and Hadoop Ecosystem components. As most Hadoop and Big Data projects are written in either Java, Scala, or Python, this book minimizes the effort to learn an

Byzantine and Medieval historian Stathakopoulos, currently researching medicine and society in the Palaiologan period, examines Late Antiquity from the perspective of subsistence crises and epidemic d

The popular romances of medieval England are fantasy stories of love at first sight; brave knights seeking adventure; evil stewards; passionate, lusty women; hand-to-hand combat; angry dragons; and mi

Academic Director and General Editor: Christine Carpenter This volume follows its predecessor numerically, but it initiates a new series to complete the calendars of medieval Inquisitions Post Mortem

The Arabic manuscript collection now in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford includes some the oldest and most important scientific and medical medieval manuscripts preserved today. Emili

Of particular interest to scholars concerned with medieval technology and technology as well as those interested in medieval art and architecture, this is a "special publication" in the series publish

Some four centuries ago, thousands of Christians died because they refused to join the state church in medieval Europe. This book tells the courageous stories of these people of faith. Some