In Illuminating Jesus in the Middle Ages, editor Jane Beal and other scholars analyse the reception history of images and ideas about Jesus in medieval cultures (6th-15th c.). They consider representations of Jesus in the liturgy of the medieval church, Psalters and psalm commentaries, bestiaries, the Glossa ordinaria, and Middle English vitae Christi as well as among the English, the Irish, and Europeans, adherents to the cult of the Holy Name, participants in the Feast of Corpus Christi, and medieval contemplatives, including Bede, Theophylact of Ochrid, Saint Francis, Gertrude the Great, Dante, Julian of Norwich, and medieval English and European visionaries, among others. Contributors are Jane Beal, George Hardin Brown, Aaron Canty, Tomas O Cathasaigh, Thomas Cattoi, Andrew Galloway, Julia Bolton Holloway, Michael Kuczynski, Rob Lutton, Vittorio Montemaggi, Paul Patterson, Linda Stone, Lesley Sullivan Marcantonio, Larry Swain, Donna Trembinski, Nancy van Deusen, and Barbara Zimbalist.

Who is the Pearl-poet? How do ideas about his life and interpretations of his poems shape our understanding of his work in late-medieval England-and beyond? In Becoming the Pearl-Poet: Perceptions, Connections, Receptions, readers can explore the world of this extraordinary, fourteenth-century writer. In Part I, "Perceptions," five scholars give insightful literary analyses of the narrative poems attributed to the poet: Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and St. Erkenwald. In Part II, "Connections," six scholars examine connections between these diverse poems, focusing on authorship, ecology, material culture, sartorial adornment, shields, and the poet's pastoral theology. In Part III, "Receptions," scholars consider the illustrations of the Pearl Manuscript (British Library MS Cotton Nero A.x), the poet's cultural situatedness in the Northwest Midlands and Ricardian court, his religious contexts, later translations and paraphrases of his work, and his medieval and modern audiences. Intended for students and scholars alike, this book encourages readers to gain a deeper understanding of the Pearl-poet and his world, learning many new things and enjoying old things in a new way.

The annual volume of new work on all aspects of the fourteenth century, including England's overseas interests, from English and American scholars. New research on aspects of the politics and culture of fourteenth-century England includes close studies of political events such as the quarrel of Edward II and Thomas of Lancaster and Bishop Despenser's Crusade, fresh considerations of the political and cultural context of English royal tombs and the Wilton Diptych, a number of important analyses of regional politics and regional culture in Bristol, East Anglia and Winchester - all with implications forthe bigger picture - and a discussion of late medieval French attitudes to the deposition of Richard II; that and studies of the war with France and the Bishop of Norwich's attack on Flanders carry the focus beyond the shores ofEngland. Contributors: MARK ARVANIGIAN, JANE BEAL, KELLY DEVRIES, ALASTAIR DUNN, DAVID GREEN, ANDY KING, CHRISTIAN D. LIDDY, LISA MONNA, ANTHONY MUSSON, MARK PAGE, DAVID M. PALLISER, CRAIG D. TAYLOR, KRIS TOWSON,

This book enhances our understanding of the exquisitely beautiful, fourteenth-century, Middle English dream vision poem Pearl. Situating the study in the contexts of medieval literary criticism and contemporary genre theory, Beal argues that the poet intended Pearl to be read at four levels of meaning and in four corresponding genres: literally, an elegy; spiritually, an allegory; morally, a consolation; and anagogically, a revelation. The book addresses cruxes and scholarly debates about the poem's genre and meaning, including key questions that have been unresolved in Pearl studies for over a century: * What is the nature of the relationship between the Dreamer and the Maiden? * What is the significance of allusions to Ovidian love stories and the use of liturgical time in the poem? * How does avian symbolism, like that of the central symbol of the pearl, develop, transform, and add meaning throughout the dream vision? * What is the nature of God portrayed in the poem, and how does the portrayal of the Maiden's intimate relationship to God, her spiritual marriage to the Lamb, connect to the poet's purpose in writing? Noting that the poem is open to many interpretations, Beal also considers folktale genre patterns in Pearl, including those drawn from parable, fable, and fairy-tale. The conclusion considers Pearl in the light of modern psychological theories of grieving and trauma. This book makes a compelling case for re-reading Pearl and recognizing the poem's signifying power. Given the ongoing possibility of new interpretations, it will appeal to those who specialize in Pearl as well as scholars of Middle English, Medieval Literature, Genre Theory, and Literature and Religion.

This book enhances our understanding of the exquisitely beautiful, fourteenth-century, Middle English dream vision poem Pearl. Situating the study in the contexts of medieval literary criticism and contemporary genre theory, Beal argues that the poet intended Pearl to be read at four levels of meaning and in four corresponding genres: literally, an elegy; spiritually, an allegory; morally, a consolation; and anagogically, a revelation. The book addresses cruxes and scholarly debates about the poem's genre and meaning, including key questions that have been unresolved in Pearl studies for over a century: * What is the nature of the relationship between the Dreamer and the Maiden? * What is the significance of allusions to Ovidian love stories and the use of liturgical time in the poem? * How does avian symbolism, like that of the central symbol of the pearl, develop, transform, and add meaning throughout the dream vision? * What is the nature of God portrayed in the poem, and how does the portrayal of the Maiden's intimate relationship to God, her spiritual marriage to the Lamb, connect to the poet's purpose in writing? Noting that the poem is open to many interpretations, Beal also considers folktale genre patterns in Pearl, including those drawn from parable, fable, and fairy-tale. The conclusion considers Pearl in the light of modern psychological theories of grieving and trauma. This book makes a compelling case for re-reading Pearl and recognizing the poem's signifying power. Given the ongoing possibility of new interpretations, it will appeal to those who specialize in Pearl as well as scholars of Middle English, Medieval Literature, Genre Theory, and Literature and Religion.

The fourteenth-century Middle English poem Pearl is one of the best dream vision poems ever written, yet its Language (the North-west Midlands dialect of late-medieval England) and literary allusions (to biblical, mythological, and medieval works) make it difficult for modern readers to understand. This new dual-Language of Pearl provides the original Middle English with a facing-page modern English translation. It includes a comprehensive introduction, annotations of key words and ideas, reproduction of the four manuscript Illustrations, a literary sourcebook, and lists of biblical sources, significant liturgical dates, and the concatenation words. Literary and biblical sources for the poem are provided as appendices.

This collection of 40 psalm-poems includes praises and laments as well as psalms of creation, psalms of ascent, and a black-and-white reproduction of the medieval Psalter Map. A study guide for small groups seeking to relate their poetry reading to scripture and their spiritual lives follows the main text. Enjoy!

A collection of poems about birth in the U.S., Uganda, and the Philippine Islands -- in homes, hospitals, and birth centers -- addressed to babies from the perspective of the midwife who helped to welcome them into the world

A collection of poetry about childhood, a blended family, children, friendships with women, relationships with men, and the most important connection of all: the shining one between the poet and her God

A collection of poems reflecting on the intimate moments of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding ...on the bringing forth of new life in America and around the world, the grieving over childbearing losses, and the memory of the mythic births ...and on the joy of babies, mothers, fathers, families and the work of midwives

A collection of poems about journeying from the midwest to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado--attentive to birds and birth, to love, loss and new life--in awareness of the Presence of the Holy One

This poetry collection celebrates soulmaking, the journey of transformation, by following the path of the butterfly: greening as a caterpillar, cocooning in chrysalis, opening to the world, flying in the air, and sky-dancing-in-sunlight.

a collection of haibun and haiku celebrating the life of birds and their spiritual significance in our shared human experience

a sonnet sequence by poet Jane Beal meditating on the life of birds and the life of the spirit ...beautifully illustrated with 10 black-and-white plates of flying birds by illustrator Barbara Holthuis