The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade brings together a rich and diverse range of medieval sources to examine key aspects of the growth of heresy and dissent in southern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the Church's response to that threat through the subsequent authorisation of the Albigensian crusade. Aimed at students and scholars alike, the documents it discusses - papal letters, troubadour songs, contemporary chronicles in Latin and the vernacular, and inquisitorial documents - reflect a deeper perception of medieval heresy and the social, political and religious implications of crusading than has hitherto been possible. The reader is introduced to themes which are crucial to our understanding of the medieval world: ideologies of crusading and holy war, the complex nature of Catharism, the Church's implementation of diverse strategies to counter heresy, the growth of papal inquisition, southern French counter-strategies of resistance and rebellion, and the uses of Latin and the vernacular to express regional and cultural identity. This timely and highly original collection not only brings together previously unexplored and in some cases unedited material, but provides a nuanced and multi-layered view of the religious, social and political dimensions of one of the most infamous conflicts of the High Middle Ages. This book is a valuable resource for all students, teachers and researchers of medieval history and the crusades.

The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade brings together a rich and diverse range of medieval sources to examine key aspects of the growth of heresy and dissent in southern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the Church's response to that threat through the subsequent authorisation of the Albigensian crusade. Aimed at students and scholars alike, the documents it discusses - papal letters, troubadour songs, contemporary chronicles in Latin and the vernacular, and inquisitorial documents - reflect a deeper perception of medieval heresy and the social, political and religious implications of crusading than has hitherto been possible. The reader is introduced to themes which are crucial to our understanding of the medieval world: ideologies of crusading and holy war, the complex nature of Catharism, the Church's implementation of diverse strategies to counter heresy, the growth of papal inquisition, southern French counter-strategies of resistance and rebellion, and the uses of Latin and the vernacular to express regional and cultural identity. This timely and highly original collection not only brings together previously unexplored and in some cases unedited material, but provides a nuanced and multi-layered view of the religious, social and political dimensions of one of the most infamous conflicts of the High Middle Ages. This book is a valuable resource for all students, teachers and researchers of medieval history and the crusades.

Samson and Delilah in Medieval Insular French investigates several different adaptations of the story of Samson that enabled it to move from a strictly religious sphere into vernacular and secular artworks. Catherine Leglu explores the narrative's translation into French in medieval England, examining the multiple versions of the Samson narrative via its many adaptations into verse, prose, visual art and musical. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, this text draws together examples from several genres and media, focusing on the importance of book learning to secular works. In analysing this Biblical narrative, Leglu reveals the importance of the Samson and Delilah story as a point of entry into a fuller understanding of medieval translations and adaptations of the Bible.

A revisionist approach to Eleanor of Aquitaine and the political, social, cultural and religious world in which she lived. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204) is one of the most important and well-known figures of the Middle Ages; she exercised a huge influence on both the course of history, and on the cultural life, of the time. The essays in this collection use her as a point of entry into wider-ranging discussions of the literary, social, political and religious milieux into which she was born, and to which she contributed; they address many of the misconceptions that have grown around both Eleanor herself and the medieval Midi in general, and open up new areas of debate. Topics explored include the work of the troubadours and the importance to them of patronage; perceptions of southern France and itsinhabitants by outsiders; the early history of the Templars in southern France; cultural contacts between the Midi and other parts of the Latin world; the uses of ritual and historical myth in the expression of political power; and attitudes towards women. Contributors: Catherine Leglu, Marcus Bull, Richard W. Barber, Daniel F. Callahan, Malcolm Barber, John B. Gillingham, Linda Paterson, Ruth Harvey, Daniel Power, Laurent Mace, William Paden.

Essays examining both the theory and practice of medieval translation. Engaging and informative to read, challenging in its assertions, and provocative in the best way, inviting the reader to sift, correlate and reflect on the broader applicability of points made in reference to a specific text orexchange. Professor Carolyne P. Collette, Mount Holyoke College. Medieval notions of translatio raise issues that have since been debated in contemporary translation studies concerning the translator's role asinterpreter or author; the ability of translation to reinforce or unsettle linguistic or political dominance; and translation's capacity for establishing cultural contact, or participating in cultural appropriation or effacement.This collection puts these ethical and political issues centre stage, asking whether questions currently being posed by theorists of translation need rethinking or revising when brought into dialogue with medieval examples. Contributors explore translation - as a practice, a necessity, an impossibility and a multi-media form - through multiple perspectives on language, theory, dissemination and cultural transmission. Exploring texts, authors, languages and genres not often brought together in a single volume, individual essays focus on topics such as the politics of multilingualism, the role of translation in conflict situations, the translator's invisibility, hospitality, untranslatability and the limits of translation as a category. EMMA CAMPBELL is Associate Professor in French at the University of Warwick; ROBERT MILLS is Lecturer in History of Art at University College London. Contributors: William Burgwinkle, Ardis Butterfield, Emma Campbell, Marilynn Desmond, Simon Gaunt, Jane Gilbert, Miranda Griffin, Noah D. Guynn, Catherine Leglu, Robert Mills, Zrinka Stahuljak, Luke Sunderland

The expression of cultural differences in medieval courtly literature explored. Cultural differences in medieval European literary practice are reflected in many different ways, as this volume illustrates. The essays cover a whole range of courtly topics, in particular questions of context, genre and poetic voice. The five sections explore contexts for courtliness, especially the position of the vernacular poet at or near the court; the ways in which courtly values and political aspirations are reflected in the work of medieval chronicle and romance writers; questions of register, convention, gender, and narrative technique; problems of literary production and reception, particularly the transmission of courtly and quasi-courtly texts among widely differing medieval audiences; and broader issues such as the clues to the courtly mentality provided by peripheral narrative details, the blurring of conventional courtly boundaries, and the perennial fascination of tales with strong folklore or fabliau elements. Dr EVELYN MULLALLY and Dr JOHN THOMPSON are Senior Lecturers at the Queen's University of Belfast. Contributors: GEAROID MAC EOIN, NOLLAIG O MURA-LE, RUPERT T. PICKENS, FRANCOISE LE SAUX, CATHERINE LEGLU, BARBARA N. SARGENT-BAUR, AD PUTTER, MICHEL ZINK, DONALD MADDOX, JEANBLACKER, SARA STURM-MADDOX, MICHELLE SZKIILNIK, THEA SUMMERFIELD, HELEN COOPER JOHN SCATTERGOOD, JUNE HALL MCCASH, JOAN BRUMLIK, LESLIE C. BROOKMAUREEN BOULTON, JESSICA COOKE, DIANE M. WRIGHT, G. KOOLEMANS BEYNEN, LORI J. WALTERS, SYLVIA WRIGHT, FRANK BRANDSMA, CARTER REVARD, A S G EDWARDS, HEATHER COLLIER, TERENCE SCULLY, CHRISTOPHER KLEINHENZ, SARA I. JAMES, WILLIAM MACBAIN, SARA I. JAMES, MARY B. SPEER, YASMINA FOEHR-JANSSENS, CAROL J. HARVEY, BART BESAMUSCA, KEITH BUSBY

Parody marks the troubadour lyric from the outset, informing composition, performance and reception. This ground breaking study moves away from courtliness, the focus of most previous studies, and places troubadour parodic preactice int he context of the social and spiritual debates of 12th and 13th century Occitania. Leglu analyses the complex relationship between troubadour verse and the Aquitanian para-liturgical Latin corpus. She charts the development of a chain of texts linked by a common formal mode derived from this Latin sequence and traces patterns of rewriting, ranging from scurrilous attacks, through playful competition, to recuperation of the sacred content in serious parody.