Icons of Space: Advances in Hierotopy brings together important scholars of Byzantine religion, art, and architecture, to honour the work of renowned art historian Alexei Lidov. As well as his numerous publications, Lidov is well known for developing the concept of hierotopy, an innovative approach for studying the creation of sacred spaces. Hierotopy and the related concepts of 'spatial icons' and 'image-paradigms' emphasize fundamental questions about icons, including what defines them as structures, spaces, and experiences. Chapters in this volume engage with the overarching theme of icons of space by employing, contrasting, and complementing methods of hierotopy with more traditional approaches such as iconography. Examinations of icons have traditionally been positioned within strictly historical, theological, socio-economic, political, and art history domains, but this volume poses epistemological questions about the creation of sacred spaces that are instead inclusive of multi-layered iconic ideas and the lived experiences of the creators and beholders of such spaces. This book contributes to image theory and theories of architecture and sacred space. Simultaneously, it moves beyond colonial studies that predominantly focus on questions of religion and politics as expressions of privileged knowledge and power. This book will appeal to scholars and students of Byzantine history, as well as those interested in hierotopy and art history.

First full examination of the medieval livery collar, form, function, and significance. The livery collar had a pervasive presence in late-medieval England. Worn about the neck to denote service to a lord, references to the collar abound in government records, contemporary chronicles and correspondence, and many depictions of the collar can be found in illuminated manuscripts and on church monuments. From the fifteenth century the collar was regarded as a powerful symbol of royal power, the artefact associating the recipient with the king; italso played a significant function in the construction and articulation of political and other group identities during the period. This first book-length study of the livery collar examines its cultural and political significance from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries, in particular between 1450 and 1500, the period associated with the Wars of the Roses. It explores the principal meanings bestowed on the collar, considers the itemin its various political contexts, and places the collar within the sphere of medieval identity construction. It also investigates the motives which lay behind its distribution, shedding new light on the nature and understanding of royal power at the time.

Scholarship often treats the post-Roman art produced in central and north-western Europe as representative of the pagan identities of the new 'Germanic' rulers of the early medieval world. In this book, Matthias Friedrich offers a critical reevaluation of the ethnic and religious categories of art that still inform our understanding of early medieval art and archaeology. He scrutinises early medieval visual culture by combining archaeological approaches with art historical methods based on contemporary theory. Friedrich examines the transformation of Roman imperial images, together with the contemporary, highly ornamented material culture that is epitomized by 'animal art.' Through a rigorous analysis of a range of objects, he demonstrates how these pathways produced an aesthetic that promoted variety (varietas), a cross-cultural concept that bridged the various ethnic and religious identities of post-Roman Europe and the Mediterranean worlds.

The Council of Trent was a major event in the history of Christianity. It shaped Roman Catholicism's doctrine and practice for the next four hundred years and continues to do so today. The literature on the Council is vast and in numerous languages. This Companion, written by an international group of leading researchers, brings together the latest scholarship on the principal issues treated at the Council: the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, original sin, justification, the sacraments (Baptism, Penance, Confirmation, Eucharist, Holy Orders, Marriage, and the Annointing of the Sick), sacred images, sacred music, and its reform of religious orders, the training of the clergy, the provision of pastoral care in the parish setting, and the implementation of its decrees. The volume demonstrates that the Council unwittingly furthered the papal centralization of authority by allowing the interpretation of its decrees to be the exclusive prerogative of the Holy See, and entrusting it with their implementation.

Originally published in 1978, Medieval Music explores the fascinating development of medieval western music from its often obscure origins in the Jewish synagogue and early Church, to the mid-fifteenth century. The book is intended as a straightforward survey of medieval music and emphases the technical aspects such as form, style and notation. It is illustrated by nearly one hundred musical examples, the majority of which have been transcribed from original sources and many of which contains chapters on Latin chant and other forms of sacred monophony, secular song, early polyphony, the ars antiqua, French and Italian fourteenth-century music, English music, and fifteenth-century music. Each chapter is followed by a classified bibliography divided into musical sources, literary sources and modern studies; in addition to a comprehensive bibliography.

Originally published in 1948, The Medieval Foundations of England is a chronological framework of the history of ideas and action during the medieval period. The book discusses the fundamental problems of medieval life in England, examining the agricultural foundation of England, the impact of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian civilizations, the feudalization of society, and the interpenetration of Anglo-Saxon and Norman civilizations. The book also examines the issues faced by the 'New Monarchy' of Henry II and the development of Parliament, it also examines how the intellectual Renaissance of the twelfth century affected medieval society. The book critically examines the historical sources of information and provides a reading list for each chapter.

This book examines the status that rulers of one faith conferred onto their subjects belonging to a different one, how the rulers handled relationships with them, and the interactions between subjects of the Muslim and Christian religions. The chronological arc of this volume spans from the first conquests by the Arabs in the Near East in the 630s to the exchange between Turkey and Greece, in 1923, of the Orthodox Christians and Muslims residing in their territories. Through organized topics, Berto analyzes both similarities and differences in Christian and Muslim lands and emphasizes how coexistences and conflicts took directions that were not always inevitable. Primary sources are used to examine the mentality of those who composed them and of their audiences. In doing so, the book considers the nuances and all the features of the multifaceted experiences of Christian subjects under Muslim rule and of Muslim subjects under Christian rule. Christians under the Crescent and Muslims under the Cross is the ideal resource for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in the relationships between Christians and Muslims, religious minorities, and the Near East and the Mediterranean from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century.

This book explores the inconsistent literary representations of motherhood in diverse texts ranging from the fourth to the twentieth centuries. Mary Beth Rose unearths plots startling in their frequency and redundancy that struggle to accommodate -or to obliterate-the complex assertions of maternal authority as it challenges traditional family and social structures. The analysis engages two mother plots: the dead mother plot, in which the mother is dying or dead; and the living mother plot, in which the mother is alive and through her very presence in the text, puts often unbearable pressure on the mechanics of the plot. These plots reappear and are transformed by authors as diverse in chronology and use of literary form as Augustine, Shakespeare, Milton, Oscar Wilde, and Tony Kushner. The book argues that, insofar as women become the second sex, it is not because they are females per se but because they are mothers; at the same time the analysis probes the transformative political and social potential of motherhood as it appears in contemporary texts like Angels in America.

The thousand years explored in this book witnessed developments in the history of Ireland that resonate to this day. Interspersing narrative with detailed analysis of key themes, the first volume in the Cambridge History of Ireland presents the latest thinking on key aspects of the medieval Irish experience. The contributors are leading experts in their fields, and present their original interpretations in a fresh and accessible manner. New perspectives are offered on the politics, artistic culture, religious beliefs and practices, social organisation and economic activity that prevailed on the island in these centuries. At each turn the question is asked: to what extent were these developments unique to Ireland? The openness of Ireland to outside influences, and its capacity to influence the world beyond its shores, are recurring themes. Underpinning the book is a comparative, outward-looking approach that sees Ireland as an integral but exceptional component of medieval Christian Europe.

Engaging the Crusades is a series of volumes which offer windows into a newly emerging field of historical study: the memory and legacy of the crusades. Together these volumes examine the reasons behind the enduring resonance of the crusades and present the memory of crusading in the modern period as a productive, exciting, and much needed area of investigation. Crusading was a part of the rich tapestry of family history, with tales of crusading developed as evidence of heroic endeavour to enhance family prestige. Lists of crusaders were published to satisfy this market and heraldry was a visible means of displaying such lineage. Drawing on extensive research and previously untapped sources, this book charts continuing British interest in the crusades, focusing on the nineteenth century. The volume discusses what was available to read on the subject and how this was discussed in numerous journals. Set in the British context of growing local and regional interest in history and archaeology, the study also considers the physical artefacts associated with the crusades. Tales of the Crusaders - Remembering the Crusades in Britain is the ideal resource for students and scholars of the history of memory and crusades history in a British context.

Originally published in 1981, Middle English Prose is an edited collection providing an index of research and scholarship on Middle English prose. The book is split into specific thematic areas of scholarship covering such areas as editorial technique and middle English mystical prose, as well as focusing more in detail on specific prose such as Nicholas Love's Myrrour of the Blessed Lyf of Jesu Christ. Each chapter contains a collection of useful sources and an editorial analysis and description on each source. Even today, this will provide a useful and valuable resource for researchers of the medieval period.

This book surveys current archaeological and historical thinking about the dimly understood characteristics of daily life in Great Britain during the fifth and sixth centuries. Arthurian legends are immensely popular and well known despite the lack of reliable documentation about this time period in Britain. As a result, historians depend upon archaeologists to accurately describe life during these two centuries of turmoil when Britons suffered displacement by Germanic immigrants. Daily Life in Arthurian Britain examines cultural change in Britain through the fifth and sixth centuries-anachronistically known as The Dark Ages-with a focus on the fate of Romano-British culture, demographic change in the northern and western border lands, and the impact of the Germanic immigrants later known as the Anglo-Saxons. The book coalesces many threads of current knowledge and opinion from leading historians and archaeologists, describing household composition, rural and urban organization, food production, architecture, fashion, trades and occupations, social classes, education, political organization, warfare, and religion in Arthurian times. The few available documentary sources are analyzed for the cultural and historical value of their information. Presents maps and illustrations of Britain during the relevant time periods Includes a bibliography of major print and quality internet resources accessible to the public Provides an index of key concepts, sites, historic persons, events, and materials Contains an appendix on the nature of archaeological evidence

This important exploration of the reign of Edward I - one of England's most lionised, feared and successful monarchs - presents his kingship in a radical new light. Through detailed case studies of Shropshire, Warwickshire and Kent, Caroline Burt examines how Edward's governance at a national level was reflected in different localities. She employs novel methodology to measure levels of disorder and the effects of government action, and uncovers a remarkably sophisticated approach to governance. This study combines an empirical examination of government with an understanding of developing political ideas and ideological motivation, and contributes towards a greater understanding of the development of local government and politics in England in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Edward emerges as a king with a coherent set of ideas about the governance of his realm, both intellectually and practically, whose achievements were even more remarkable than has previously been recognised.

Anglo-Saxon England is the only publication which consistently embraces all the main aspects of study of Anglo-Saxon history and culture - linguistic, literary, textual, palaeographic, religious, intellectual, historical, archaeological and artistic - and which promotes the more unusual interests - in music or medicine or education, for example. Articles in volume 32 include: On argumentation in Old English philology, with particular reference to the editing and dating of Beowulf; Knowledge of the writings of John Cassian in early Anglo-Saxon England; The earliest manuscript of Bede's metrical Vita S. Cudbercti; An Anglo-Saxon runic coin and its adventures in Sweden; The sources of the Old English Martyrology; The Old English Benedictine Rule: Writing for women and men; The trick of the runes in The Husband's Message; A late Saxon inscribed pendant from Norfolk; Illustrations of damnation in late Anglo-Saxon manuscripts; The use of writs in the eleventh century; Bibliography for 2002.

This accessible and engaging book covers the full span of Serbia's history, from the sixth-century Slav migrations up to the present day. It traces key developments surrounding the medieval and modern polities associated with Serbs, revealing a fascinating history of entanglements and communication between southeastern and wider Europe, sometimes with global implications. This is a history of Serb states, institutions, and societies, which also gives voice to individual experiences in an attempt to understand how the events described impacted the people who lived through them. Although no real continuity between the pre-modern and modern periods exists, Dejan Djokic draws out several common themes, including: migrations; the Serbs' relations with neighbouring empires and peoples; Serbia as a society formed in the imperial borderlands; and the polycentricity of Serbia. The volume also highlights the surprising vitality of Serb identity, and how it has survived in different incarnations over the centuries through reinvention.

From Justinian to Branimir explores the social and political transformation of Dalmatia between c.500 and c.900 AD. The collapse of Dalmatia in the early seventh century is traditionally ascribed to the Slav migrations. However, more recent scholarship has started to challenge this theory, looking instead for alternative explanations for the cultural and social changes that took place during this period. Drawing on both written and material sources, this study utilizes recent archaeological and historical research to provide a new historical narrative of this little-known period in the history of the Balkan peninsula. This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in Byzantine and early medieval Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. It is important reading for both historians and archaeologists.

War in Eleventh-Century Byzantium presents new insights and critical approaches to warfare between the Byzantine Empire and its neighbours during the eleventh century. Modern historians have identified the eleventh century as a landmark era in Byzantine history. This was a period of invasions, political tumult, financial crisis and social disruption, but it was also a time of cultural and intellectual innovation and achievement. Despite this, the subject of warfare during this period remains underexplored. Addressing an important gap in the historiography of Byzantium, the volume argues that the eleventh century was a period of important geo-political change, when the Byzantine Empire was attacked on all sides, and its frontiers were breached. This book is valuable reading for scholars and students interested in Byzantium history and military history.

The life of Alexander the Great began to be retold from the moment of his death. The Greco-Roman authors used these stories as exemplars in a variety of ways. This book is concerned with the various stories of Alexander and how they were used in antiquity to promote certain policies, religious views, and value systems. The book is an original contribution to the study of the history and reception of Alexander, analysing the writings of over 70 classical and post-classical authors during a period of over 700 years. Drawing on this extensive range and quantity of material, the study plots the continuity and change of ideas from the early Roman Empire to the early Middle Ages.

The debate over clerical celibacy and marriage had its origins in the early Christian centuries, and is still very much alive in the modern church. The content and form of controversy have remained remarkably consistent, but each era has selected and shaped the sources that underpin its narrative, and imbued an ancient issue with an immediacy and relevance. The basic question of whether, and why, continence should be demanded of those who serve at the altar has never gone away, but the implications of that question, and of the answers given, have changed with each generation. In this reassessment of the history of sacerdotal celibacy, Helen Parish examines the emergence and evolution of the celibate priesthood in the Latin church, and the challenges posed to this model of the ministry in the era of the Protestant Reformation. Celibacy was, and is, intensely personal, but also polemical, institutional, and historical. Clerical celibacy acquired theological, moral, and confessional meanings in the writings of its critics and defenders, and its place in the life of the church continues to be defined in relation to broader debates over Scripture, apostolic tradition, ecclesiastical history, and papal authority. Highlighting continuity and change in attitudes to priestly celibacy, Helen Parish reveals that the implications of celibacy and marriage for the priesthood reach deep into the history, traditions, and understanding of the church.

This first translation of Claudian's works since 1922 offers an accessible, comprehensive overview of his varied works, with full English translations, detailed notes, and glossary.

The Age of Discovery explores one of the most dramatic features of the late medieval and early modern period: when voyagers from Western Europe led by Spain and Portugal set out across the world and established links with Africa, Asia and the Americas. This book examines the main motivations behind the voyages and discusses the developments in navigation expertise and technology that made them possible.
This second edition brings the scholarship up to date and includes two new chapters on the important topics of the idea of "discovery" and on biological and environmental factors which favoured or limited European expansion.

This volume presents a panorama of Syriac engagement with Aristotelian philosophy primarily situated in the 6th to the 9th centuries, but also ranging to the 13th. It offers a wide range of articles, opening with surveys on the most important philosophical writers of the period before providing detailed studies of two Syriac prolegomena to Aristotle's Categories and examining the works of Hunayn, the most famous Arabic translator of the 9th century. Watt also examines the relationships between philosophy, rhetoric and political thought in the period, and explores the connection between earlier Syriac tradition and later Arabic philosophy in the thought of the 13th century Syriac polymath Bar Hebraeus. Collected together for the first time, these articles present an engaging and thorough history of Aristotelian philosophy during this period in the Near East, in Syriac and Arabic.

Every human being knows that we are walking through life following trails, whether we are aware of them or not. Medieval poets, from the anonymous composer of Beowulf to Marie de France, Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried von Strassburg, and Guillaume de Lorris to Petrarch and Heinrich Kaufringer, predicated their works on the notion of the trail and elaborated on its epistemological function. We can grasp here an essential concept that determines much of medieval and early modern European literature and philosophy, addressing the direction which all protagonists pursue, as powerfully illustrated also by the anonymous poets of Herzog Ernst and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Dante's Divina Commedia, in fact, proves to be one of the most explicit poetic manifestations of the fundamental idea of the trail, but we find strong parallels also in powerful contemporary works such as Guillaume de Deguileville's Pelerinage de la vie humaine and in many mystical tracts.

Originally published in 1994. This surveys the origin and development of one of Chaucer's most problematic characters, Griselda, who through the centuries has challenged the horizon of expectations of many an audience. Starting with Boccaccio's Decameron and suggesting in turn its precursors in whole or in part, Bronfman goes on to summarize the reigning opinions of Chaucer's heroine and her situation. The advance of feminist perspectives on medieval literature had the result that for many the Clerk's Tale has political overtones where the Walter-Griselda marriage may serve as a metaphor for, among other things, the state or right order. This study looks at the story from a long view, from its sources to the flood of critical interpretations - the creative reception of Chaucer's story, outlining the many rewritings of Griselda from Chaucer to the twentieth century. A special chapter considers the Griselda story as represented in illustrations as well.

Originally published in 1988. The economic changes and the growth of commerce in fourteenth century England precipitated both social changes and a preoccupation with material wealth. This book examines Chaucer's treatment of economic and ethical value in The Canterbury Tales within the context of contemporary economic and social change and in relation to the scholastic economic theory that attempted to formulate ethical standards for commercial conduct. The importance of value and its determination and transformation is evident from the two enterprises that Chaucer defines as the motivating principles for his poem. The pilgrimage to St. Thomas's shrine should effect a transformation of their spiritual value. The story-telling competition that produces the tales themselves is established to judge the value of the pilgrims' literary productions. In the Middle Ages, economic value and ethical value were not perceived as unrelated phenomena. Chaucer's concern with the interrelationship of material and moral value is apparent in the number of pilgrims who are interested in material value at the obvious expense of moral value. This book examines this along with a discussion or money's growing importance in the late Middle Ages and the determination of its value.