The Medieval Python

The Wheel of Rebirth is one of the most basic and popular images in Buddhist visual culture. For nearly two thousand years, artists have painted it onto the porches of Buddhist temples; preachers have

The overwhelming majority of people living in medieval European societies spent their entire lives on farms and other rural settings, but until recently they did not receive much scholarly attention.

The Lotus Sutra has been the most widely read and most revered Buddhist scripture in East Asia since the third century. The miracles and parables in the "king of sutras" inspired a variety of images i

Drawing from a variety of legal and literary sources, Butler (medieval history, Loyola U. New Orleans) develops a nuanced perspective of the acceptability of marital violence at a time when social exp

Farmer (social sciences, Amarillo College, Texas) has synthesized ideas of many other scholars of ideology, Islam, and politics in the Islamic realm, into what he hopes is a fair and accurate account

In Confession and Resistance, Katherine C. Little cautions that medieval selfhood should not be understood merely in terms of confessional practice. She points to the controversy over confession and,

Material culture is not static: objects are created, used and re-used, sometimes for centuries, and their lives interact with those of the people who made and used them. The essays in this book discus

This work offers the first systematic and interdisciplinary study of the poetics of the twelfth-century medieval Greek novel. This book investigates the complex ways in which rhetorical theory and pra

What was it like to be poor in the Middle Ages? In the past, the answer to this question came only from institutions and individuals who gave relief to the less fortunate. This book, by one of the top

Art historical and literary perspectives on the place of women in the medieval church.

Helen L. Parish presents an innovative new study of Reformation attitudes to medieval Christianity, revealing the process by which the medieval past was rewritten by Reformation propagandists. This fa

This striking publication features important works of medieval art ranging from the early Christian era to the later Middle Ages, from both Western Europe and Byzantium. An introductory essay by Chris

Helen L. Parish presents an innovative new study of Reformation attitudes to medieval Christianity, revealing the process by which the medieval past was rewritten by Reformation propagandists. This fa

Egyptology: The Missing Millennium brings together for the first time the disciplines of Egyptology and Islamic Studies, seeking to overturn the conventional opinion of Western scholars that Moslims/A

The Book Unbound presents important contributions to the discussions surrounding the editing of medieval texts, including the use of digital technology with historical and literary documents, while of

Gender analysis is one of the most probing ways to understand both power and cultural strategies in pre-industrial societies. In this book, sixteen scholars on the cutting edges of their disciplines explore the ideas and expressions of gender that characterised the centuries from c.300 to 900 in milieux ranging from York to Baghdad, via Rome and Constantinople. Deploying a variety of disciplines and perspectives, they draw on the evidence of material culture as well as texts to demonstrate the wide range of gender identities that informed the social, political and imaginary worlds of these centuries. The essays make clear that the fixed point in the gender systems of the period was constituted by the hegemonic masculinity of the ruling elite, marginalised groups often invisible as historical subjects in their own right were omnipresent in, and critical to, the gendered discourses which buttressed assertions of power.

Few figures have captured Hollywood's and the public's imagination as completely as have medieval heroes. Cast as chivalric knight, warrior princess, "alpha male in tights," or an amalgamation, and as

More than depicting the patron saint of poverty, peace, ecology, and animals, this book shows Francis, who wrestled with opposing personalities his whole life, as a holy model for becoming fully onese

The Baronial Research Group, an informal association of Scottish medieval historians interested in the kingdom's aristocratic elite, offers a third volume of studies. Nine essays explore the developme

Arabic culture was a central and shaping phenomenon in medieval Europe, yet its influence on medieval literature has been ignored or marginalized for the last two centuries. In this ground-breaking bo

The figuration of the Virgin Mary was often contradictory in medieval texts and theological, philosophical and social perceptions of her greatly influenced both sacred and secular literature. In this

Sela's (biblical studies and philosophy, Bar-Ilan U. and interdisciplinary studies, Tel-Aviv U.) earlier book on the Spaniard Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) was written in Hebrew and focused on his biblical com

In medieval Europe, the word fama denoted both talk (what was commonly said about a person or event) and an individual's ensuing reputation (one's fama). Although talk by others was no doubt often fea

More than any other topic, prophecy represents the point at which the Divine meets the human, the Absolute meets the relative. How can a human being attain the Word of God? In what manner does God, wh

For many years English-language scholarship on late medieval and early modern Italy was largely dominated by work on Florenceas a city, culture, and economic and political entity. During the past few

For many years English-language scholarship on late medieval and early modern Italy was largely dominated by work on Florenceas a city, culture, and economic and political entity. During the past few

The eleven essays of this collection provide detailed examples of how geometry was used in the creation of several medieval cathedrals. Some of the essays give an overview to the use of geometry, with

The first encounter between Plato's concept of the philosopher king and Jewish political tradition came in Hellenistic-Roman times, but Melamed (Jewish philosophy, U. of Haifa) focuses on its renewal

This book is based on some 1400 individuals who lived in three northern English towns during the later middle ages. It analyses the many aspects of merchant society visible to the historian: achievements in politics, attitudes towards religion, the family, wider circles of friends and business acquaintances, and the nature and conduct of trade at every level. Merchants were at the core of urban society, accumulating more wealth than most other townsfolk and developing a distinctive outlook and entrepreneurship in response to the opportunities and pressures of long-distance trade. They played a central role in the development of urban mentalité using political rhetoric to promote a corporatist view of urban society, while their spending on charity, on public works, and on religious observance shaped social attitudes.

An exploration of Boccaccio's Filocolo--its cultural and historical context--and a defense against modern criticism

Europe's Inner Demons is a fascinating history of the irrational need to imagine witches and an investigation of how those fantasies made the persecutions of the middle ages possible. In addition, Nor

In this book, the author explores medieval society's fascination with the cross-dressed woman. The author examines a wide variety of religious, literary, and historical sources, which record interpret

Women often appear invisible in what is widely perceived as the male-oriented society of Islam. Women in the Medieval Islamic World seeks to redress the balance with a series of original essays on wom

This book is based on some 1400 individuals who lived in three northern English towns during the later middle ages. It analyses the many aspects of merchant society visible to the historian: achievements in politics, attitudes towards religion, the family, wider circles of friends and business acquaintances, and the nature and conduct of trade at every level. Merchants were at the core of urban society, accumulating more wealth than most other townsfolk and developing a distinctive outlook and entrepreneurship in response to the opportunities and pressures of long-distance trade. They played a central role in the development of urban mentalité using political rhetoric to promote a corporatist view of urban society, while their spending on charity, on public works, and on religious observance shaped social attitudes.

Seldom heard from in modern times, those on the margins of Medieval Europe have much to tell us about the society that defined them. More than just a fascinating cast of characters, the visionaries an

This volume provides a genealogy of the modern historiography of medieval philosophy up to the present, rediscovers fifty years of German scholarship, criticizes what has become the standard approach,

Draws women from behind the veil of male-oriented society in the pre-modern phase of Islamic history with 23 original essays, challenging the assumption that Moslem women have no history. Among the f