Table of contents: Martha Bayless, 'Merriment and Entertainment in Anglo-Saxon England: What is the Evidence?'; Christopher Crane, 'Taking Laughter Seriously: The Rhetoric of Humor in Middle English Drama, Sermon Exempla and Spiritual Instruction'; Paul Hardwick, 'Making Light of Devotion: The Pilgrimage Window at York Minster'; Dana Symons, 'Comic Pleasures: Chaucer and Popular Romance'; Christian Sheridan, 'Funny Money: Puns and Currency in the Shipman's Tale'; Laurel Broughton, 'From Buttfaces to Turd Bowling: Physical Humor in the Margins'; Sandra M. Hordis, 'Gender and Dialogic Laughter in Malory's Morte Darthur'; Miriamne Ara Krummel, 'Getting Even: Uneasy Laughter in The Play of the Sacrament'; Peter G. Beidler, 'Realistic Stage Comedy in Chaucer's Miller's Tale'; Elaine C. Block, 'Fooling Apes and Aping Fools on Misericord Carvings'.

Death and rebirth was of vital importance to early Christians in late antiquity. In late antiquity, death was all encompassing. Mortality rates were high, plague and disease in urban areas struck at will, and one lived on the knife's edge regarding one's health. Religion filled a crucial role in this environment, offering an option for those who sought cure and comfort. Following death, the inhumed were memorialized, providing solace to family members through sculpture, painting, and epigraphy. This book offers a sustained interdisciplinary treatment of death and rebirth, a theme that early Christians (and scholars) found important. By analysing the theme of death and rebirth through various lenses, the contributors deepen our understanding of the early Christian funerary and liturgical practices as well as their engagement with other groups in the Empire.

Celebrating the work of Brian J. Levy in the realm of comedy and humour in the Middle Ages, this collection of twenty essays explores unusual, unexpected or unacknowledged elements of humour in medieval literature and art. Scholars from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the USA, Denmark, and the Netherlands consider comic elements taking an unusual form; a comic presence in unexpected places; comic elements intentionally / unintentionally hidden; comic elements surprisingly vaunted; a comic presence in standard contexts which stands out for a particular reason; comic elements which are for some reason controversial; comic elements as yet unidentified or unacknowledged; a commonly acknowledged comic presence which is in fact no such thing. Essays in English and French deal with a broad range of subjects. If the Roman de Renart is particularly well represented amongst these essays, other subjects make up the majority of the book. These include: Cicero's De Oratorei; the Mannekin pis; late medieval wall paintings; German and French Drama; fabliaux; vernacular pious tales and dits; the romance epic Richard Coeur de Lyon; Les Quinze joyes de mariage; bestiaries; and misericords. Sometimes shocking, often surprising, and always intriguing, the medieval comic presence rarely corresponds to our expectations and assumptions. This book shows that in numerous cases the medieval joke is actually on the modern scholar.

Reads the imagined history of the long term relationship between pagan and Christian through quasi-factual fifteenth-century Middle English writings, from Lydgate's Troy Book to the hagiographies of Bokenham, Barclay and Capgrave and Mandeville's Travels. SHORTLISTED for the 2020 Katharine Briggs Award. Late medieval English culture was fascinated by the figure of the pagan, the ancestor whose religious difference must be negotiated, and by the pagan's idol, an animate artefact. In romances, histories and hagiographies medieval Christians told the story of the pagans, focussing on the absence or presence of pagan material culture in the medieval world to ask whether the pagan era had completely ended or whether it might persist into the Christian present. This book reads the imagined history of the long term relationship between pagan and Christian through quasi-factual fifteenth-century Middle English writings. John Lydgate's Troy Book describes the foundation of a Troy that is at once London's ancestor and a vision for its future; he, John Capgrave and Reginald Pecock consider how pagans were able to build idols that attracted spirits to inhabit them. The hagiographies of Osbern Bokenham, Alexander Barclay, Capgrave and Lydgate describe the confrontation of saint and idol, and the saint's appropriation for Christians of the city the pagans built. Traces of the pagan appeared in the medieval present: Capgrave, Lydgateand John Metham contemplated both extant and lost artefacts; Lollards and orthodox writers disputed whether Christian devotional practice had pagan aspects; and Mandeville's Travels sympathetically imagined how pagans mightexplain themselves. Dr SARAH SALIH is Senior Lecturer in Medieval English, King's College London.

In the Middle Ages, religious crusaders took up arms, prayed, bade farewell to their families, and marched off to fight in holy wars. These Christian soldiers also created accounts of their lives in lyric poetry, putting words to the experience of personal sacrifice and the pious struggle associated with holy war. The crusaders affirmed their commitment to fighting to claim a distant land while revealing their feelings as they left behind their loved ones, homes, and earthly duties. Their poems and related visual works offer us insight into the crusaders' lives and values at the boundaries of earthly and spiritual duties, body and soul, holy devotion and courtly love. In The Subject of Crusade, Marisa Galvez offers a nuanced view of holy war and crusade poetry, reading these lyric works within a wider conversation with religion and culture. Arguing for an interdisciplinary treatment of crusade lyric, she shows how such poems are crucial for understanding the crusades as a complex cultural and historical phenomenon. Placing them in conversation with chronicles, knightly handbooks, artworks, and confessional and pastoral texts, she identifies a particular "crusade idiom" that emerged out of the conflict between pious and earthly duties. Galvez fashions an expanded understanding of the creative works made by crusaders to reveal their experiences, desires, ideologies, and reasons for taking up the cross.

This study analyzes late medieval paintings of personified death in Bohemia, arguing that Bohemian iconography was distinct from the body of macabre painting found in other Central European regions during the same period. The author focuses on a variety of images from late medieval Bohemia, examining how they express the imagination, devotion, and anxieties surrounding death in the Middle Ages.

A picture-driven account of this important period in the proven successful format of Egypt -- 4000 Years of Art (Phaidon 2003). Presenting 300 artworks from the years 240 to 1453, The Glory of Byzantium and Early Christendom encapsulates the development of art in eastern Europe and eastern Mediterranean from the very early days of Christianity to the fall of Constantinople. From architecture to jewellery, from coins to paintings, from mosaics to book illuminations, Byzantine art in all its forms is explored. Unique not only for its extensive variety of art forms, the book also has a vast geographic scope, including art from Britain to Syria, from Spain to Turkey, from Egypt to Georgia. A sumptuous volume with stunning illustrations and concise descriptions, it places each artwork in its social, religious and political context, with an informative survey of its significance in this history of Byzantine art. A book for dipping into, as well as an inspiring, authoritative appraisal of this magnificent millennium of artistic culture.

This is the first book to examine the full range of the evidence for Irish charms, from medieval to modern times. As Ireland has one of the oldest literatures in Europe, and also one of the most comprehensively recorded folklore traditions, it affords a uniquely rich body of evidence for such an investigation. The collection includes surveys of broad aspects of the subject (charm scholarship, charms in medieval tales, modern narrative charms, nineteenth-century charm documentation); dossiers of the evidence for specific charms (a headache charm, a nightmare charm, charms against bleeding); a study comparing the curses of saints with those of poets; and an account of a newly discovered manuscript of a toothache charm. The practices of a contemporary healer are described on the basis of recent fieldwork, and the connection between charms and storytelling is foregrounded in chapters on the textual amulet known as the Leabhar Eoin, on the belief that witches steal butter, and on the nature of the belief that effects supernatural cures.

In "Believing and Seeing", Roland Recht argues that preoccupation with vision as a key to religious knowledge profoundly affected a broad range of late medieval works. In addition to the great cathedrals of France, Recht explores key religious buildings throughout Europe to reveal how their grand designs supported this profusion of images that made visible the signs of scripture. Reimagining these works as a link between devotional practices in the late Middle Ages and contemporaneous theories that deemed vision the basis of empirical truth, Recht provides students and scholars with a new lens through which to view Gothic art and architecture.

This is the fifth in a series of catalogues that present descriptions and complete cycles of illustrations of all existing manuscripts of the "Commentary on the Apocalypse" written by the 8th-century Spanish monk Beatus. The entire corpus, which spans the 9th to the 13th century, constitutes the greatest single tradition of Apocalyptic writing in the Middle Ages. All illustrations in these six manuscripts are reproduced and each catalogue entry discusses the location of production, the work of the outstanding illuminators and scribes, as well as details of codicology. A short introduction places the manuscripts in their historical context and analyzes the style of the miniatures. The volume includes a bibliography, relevant tables, and an index.

This is a fascinating look at one of the world's most important and renowned 12th-century manuscripts. The St. Albans Psalter is one of the most important, famous, and puzzling books produced in 12th-century England. It was probably created between 1120 and 1140 at St. Albans Abbey. The manuscript's powerfully drawn figures and saturated colours are distinct from those in previous Anglo-Saxon painting and signal the arrival of the Romanesque style of illumination in England. Although most 12th-century prayer books were not illustrated, the St. Albans Psalter includes more than 40 full-page illuminations and over 200 historiated initials. Decorated with gold and precious colours, the psalter offers a display unparalleled by any other English manuscript to survive from the time. In 2012, scholars conservators, and scientists at the J. Paul Getty Musesum conducted a close examination of the Psalter, gathering new evidence challenging several prevailing assumptions about this richly illustrated manuscript.

One of the major examples of 14th-century English illumination, the Psalter of Robert de Lisle is among the outstanding treasures in the British Library. The new paperback edition includes the complete illustration cycle reproduced in colour, each miniature being accompanied by the same detailed introductory text as in the original edition. The illustrations are preceded by a compre- hensive introduction treating the style and iconography of the miniatures in the context of contemporary English painting, analysing the pictorial and textual components of the unusual and elaborate moral and theological dia- grams, and offering conclusions about patronage, date and provenance. An appendix provides a handlist of more than thirty manuscripts containing the same group of diagrams, known as the Speculum theologie, with a group of additional copies research since the first edition. This edition also has a new preface and postscript which evaluate recent research bearing on the manuscript, as well as an updated bibliography. 'The Psalter is one of the masterpieces of English Gothic Illumination from the first half of the four- teenth century ... Sandler's book is a welcome contribution to the Literature.' The new paperback edition on one of the major examples of 14th-century English illumination, the Psalter of Robert de Lisle, includes the complete illustration cycle reproduced in colour, as well as a comprehensive introduction treating the style and iconography of the miniatures in the context of contemporary English painting.

One of the most admired medical books of the Middle Ages, Medicina Antiqua is a compendium of popular Late Antique texts brought together in the 6th century. It contains writings on herbs and materia medica by authors heavily reliant on the works of Pliny and Dioscorides. Of the 50 surviving copies of this influential miscellany produced before the end of the Middle Ages, the present manuscripts is one of the most enticing. Executed in Southern Italy in the firt half of the 13th century, it is beautiful illustrated in vibrant body colour with plants, animals and scenes of medical treatments, faithfully drawn after late antique models. The facsimile of the complete manuscript is followed by an essay which sets the manuscript in the context of the history of medicine. Codicological information is also provided and all plants and animals are identified.

This text explains, historically and with illustrations, the origins and momentum of the German art movement of Ottonian book illumination. It shows through this movement how religion and political ideology were intertwined in Ottonian culture from about 950 to 1050.;Besides dealing with such great imperial books as the "Gospel Book of Otto III" and the "Pericopes Book of Henry II", as well as other liturgical manuscripts, this volume discusses the great art-loving bishops like Egbert of Trier and Bernard of Hildesheim, whose aims and personalities are expressed in the books they commissioned. The most important art centres of the Ottonian Empire - Reichenau, Cologne, Fulda and Corvey - are also discussed.

This text explains, historically and with illustrations, the origins and momentum of the German art movement of Ottonian book illumination. It shows through this movement how religion and political ideology were intertwined in Ottonian culture from about 950 to 1050.;Besides dealing with such great imperial books as the "Gospel Book of Otto III" and the "Pericopes Book of Henry II", as well as other liturgical manuscripts, this volume discusses the great art-loving bishops like Egbert of Trier and Bernard of Hildesheim, whose aims and personalities are expressed in the books they commissioned. The most important art centres of the Ottonian Empire - Reichenau, Cologne, Fulda and Corvey - are also discussed.

The Utrecht Psalter, one of the great survivals of the Carolingian Renaissance, was made about 820-835 at the Benedictine monastery of Hautvilliers and decorated with 166 dynamic, almost impressionistic pen drawings which are masterly interpretation of the Psalter text. In 1996 it was exhibited in Utrecht, alongside related manuscripts such as the Aachen and Ebbo Gospels, the Byzantine Khludov Psalter and the later English Harly and Eadwine Psalters, copied in Canterbury when the Utrecht Psalter was for some centuries in England. Five scholarly essays, designed for a wide-ranging readership, include a discussion of Carolingian cultural achievements; an analysis of the Psalter itself and its place in the history of book production; an overview of medieval Psalter illustration in both Byzantium and the West; and an exa- mination of the English copies of the Utrect Psalter in the later Middle Ages. This publication focuses on the Utrecht Psalter and incorporates five scholarly essays, designed for a wide-ranging readership, including a discussion of Carolingian cultural achievements; an analysis of the Psalter itself and its place in the history of book production; an overview of medieval Psalter illustration in both Byzantium and the West; and an examination of the English copies of the Utrect Psalter in the later Middle Ages. 'This is a hugely rewarding book, beautifully produced, scholarly and extre mely readable. It not only serves as an excellent guide to the complexities of the Utrecht Psalter, but is an interesting contribution to the continuing debate on the nature of the relationship between text and image in medieval art.' The Art Book.

This collection of drawings and watercolours of the mosaics and wallpaintings of early medieval churches in Rome forms an important part of the paper Museum, since it sheds much light on the nature and scope of antiquarianism in Italy at the time of the Counter-Reformation. The drawings and watercolours catalogued and illustrated here are all in the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, and are mostly by the artist Antonio Eclissi. The reproductions are generally in full colour, and frequently accompanied by illustrations showing the actual decoration in situ. The introductory essays outline the important phases of Cassiano dal Pozzo's career, discuss the history and significance of the 'Paper Museum', and explore the Christian tradition in seventeeth-century Rome. The Catalogue Raisonnee analyses each drawing in the greatest detail. This volume, the first to appear in the series, will be of special interest to archaeologists and medievalists engaged in the study of Rome's Early Christian churches, since many of the buildings, mosaics and paintings are now no longer extant. This collection of drawings and watercolours of the mosaics and wallpaintings of early medieval churches in Rome forms an important part of the Paper Museum, since it sheds much light on the nature and scope of antiquarianism in Italy at the time of the Counter-Reformation.

This book offers an opportunity to understand one man's view of a moment in medieval history. Professor Sandler identifies the compiler and scribe of the 1100-folio encyclopaedia, written and illustrated in the third quarter of the 14th century. James le Palmer's vast compilation of medieval learning, taken from different sources, covers topics such as theology, canon law, natural sciences, history of man, liberal arts, etc., and entries are arranged alphabetically.;Not only does this book discuss in detail the compiler, the contents, organization, sources and sequence of production of this manuscript, but the catalogue also lists every entry, and reproduces the illustration, usually as a historiated initial, where it occurs in the manuscript.

This study provides an in-depth examination of the art and meaning of the ivory-carved Cloisters Cross. Created in a 12-century English workshop, the Cross is widely recognized as a masterpiece of English Romanesque art. This book seeks to provide information on questions of its origins and stylistic connections, its complex iconographical programme and its inscriptions. The authors seek to give a new perspective to the cultural and intellectual background against which artistic patronage in England was exercised and the theological and liturgical considerations which influenced the execution of the Cross. The book also aims to make a significant contribution to the literature on medieval history.

This beautiful illuminated manuscript, now in Vienna, Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, is one of the earliest surviving examples of a unique group of Bibles containing the most extensive cycles of biblical illustrations juxtaposed with theological and allegorical interpretative images. The present moralized Bible was produced in Paris in the first half of the 13th century, and contains over 1000 exquisitely illuminated medallions accompanied by textual extracts and commentaries that act as captions to the illustrations and thus reveal, by word and image, the relevance of the Bible to contemporary life. They reflect the rapidly-changing world of the thirteenth century and highlight the many ideological problems prominent in the intellectual and political milieu of the time. It is a book that has long fascinated both historians and art-historians, since it stands out not only as one of the major artistic achievements of its time, but also as an important historical document for an understanding of medieval Europe. All illuminated pages of Codex 2554 are reproduced in full colour in this volume. In his commentary to the manuscript, Gerald Guest explains the origins of this type of Bible manuscript; he compares the work with other surviving examples, examines the style and meaning of the illuminations, poses the likely patrons and puts the creation of the moralized Bible in its intellectual and artistic context. The author has also translated all the French texts that accompany the illuminations into English.

The Virgin and Child Hodegetria was a widely venerated Byzantine image depicting the Virgin holding and pointing to her son as the way to salvation. In this book, Jaroslav Folda traces the appropriation of this image by thirteenth-century Crusader and central Italian painters, where the Virgin Mary is transformed from the human mother of god, the Theotokos, of Byzantine icons, to the resplendent Madonna radiant in her heavenly home with Christ and the angels. This transformation, Folda demonstrates, was brought about by using chrysography, or golden highlighting, which came to be used on both the Virgin and Child. This book shows the important role played by Crusader painters in bringing about this shift and in disseminating the new imagery to Central Italy. By focusing on the Virgin and Child Hodegetria, Folda reveals complex artistic interchanges and influences extending across the Mediterranean from Byzantium and the Holy Land to Italy.

This study provides an historical context for the origin and evolution of the Spanish tradition of Apocalpyse imagery. The volumes in this series include an introductory text and catalogue raisonnee in chronological sequence in which concise codicological descriptions of each item are given, as well as critical discussions of date and orgin. All the illustrations of each manuscript are reproduced forming a corpus of nearly 2000 illustrations.;The following manuscripts are catalogued and fully illustrated in this volume: the Silos fragment; the Morgan Beatus; Madrid Vitrina 14-1; the Volladolid Beatus; the Tabara Beatus; the Girona Beatus; and the Madrid 14-2 fragment. All inscriptions are transcribed and translated.