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The first full edition and English translation of the RA I.34
Firework Book. Produced from the early fifteenth century onwards,
Firework Books are, broadly speaking, manuals on how to use
gunpowder, witnessing a major development in warfare. Surviving in
a corpus of some 65, each text has different content and
components, but core elements are present throughout. An important
example is a manuscript in the collection of the Royal Armouries
(RA I.34), written in Early New High German, and (unlike many other
manuscripts) still in what appears to be its original format and
binding; it also, unusually, contains a number of illustrations.
This volume provides the first full edition and English translation
of the material, with a detailed analysis of its content and
context. It positions the Firework Books at a crucial stage in the
development of gunpowder artillery, offering an unparalleled
insight into fifteenth-century gunpowder technology at a critical
juncture of military and technological change at the end of the
Middle Ages.
Women with fish tails are among the oldest and still most popular
of mythological creatures, possessing a powerful allure and
compelling ambiguity. They dwell right in the uncanniest valley of
the sea: so similar to humans, yet profoundly other. Mermaids: Art,
Symbolism and Mythology presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary
and beautifully illustrated study of mermaids and their influence
on Western culture. The roots of mermaid mythology and its
metamorphosis through the centuries are discussed with examples
from visual art, literature, music and architecture—from 600 BCE
right up to the present day. Our story starts in Mesopotamia,
source of the earliest preserved illustrations of half-human,
half-fish creatures. The myths and legends of the Mesopotamians
were incorporated and adopted by ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman
cultures. Then, during the early medieval period, ancient
mythological creatures such as mermaids were confused, transformed
and reinterpreted by Christian tradition to begin a new strand in
mermaid lore. Along the way, all manner of stunning—and sometimes
bizarre or unsettling—depictions of mermaids emerged. Written in
an accessible and entertaining style, this book challenges
conventional views of mermaid mythology, discusses mermaids in the
light of evolutionary theory and aims to inspire future studies of
these most curious of imaginary creatures.
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