Queer lives give rise to a vast array of objects: the things we fill our houses with, the gifts we share with our friends, the commodities we consume at work and at play, the clothes and accessories we wear, and the analogue and digital technologies we use to communicate with one another. But what makes an object queer? The sixty-three chapters in Queer Objects consider this question in relation to lesbian, gay and transgender communities across time, cultures and space. In this unique international collaboration, well-known and newer writers traverse world history to write about items ranging from ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and Roman artefacts to political placards, snapshots, sex toys and the smartphone. Fabulous, captivating, transgressive. -- .

Fruits of the most recent research into the "long" thirteenth century. The twin themes of authority and resistance are the focus of this volume, explored through topics such as landholding and secular politics, the church and religious orders and contemporary imagery and its reception. Together, thepapers combine to illustrate the variety of ways in which historians of the "long" thirteenth century are able to examine the practices and norms through which individuals and institutions sought to establish their authority, andthe ways in which these were open to challenge. JANET BURTON is Professor of Medieval History at University of Wales: Trinity Saint David; PHILLIPP SCHOFIELD is Professor of Medieval History at Aberystwyth University; BJORN WEILER is Professor of History at Aberystwyth University. Contributors: Helen Birkett, Richard Cassidy, Judith Collard, Peter Coss, Ian Forrest, Philippa Hoskin, Jennifer Jahner, Melissa Julian Jones, Fergus Oakes, John Sabapathy, Sita Steckel.

Contemporary descriptions of objects no longer extant examined to reconstruct these lost treasures. Surviving accounts of the material culture of medieval Europe - including buildings, boats, reliquaries, wall paintings, textiles, ivory mirror cases, book bindings and much more - present a tantalising glimpse of medieval life, hinting at the material richness of that era. However, students and scholars of the period will be all too familiar with the frustration of trying to piece together a picture of the past from a handful of fragments. The "material turn" has put art, architecture, and other artefacts at the forefront of historical and cultural studies, and the resulting spotlight on the material culture of the past has been illuminating for researchers in many fields. Nevertheless, the loss of so much of the physical remnants of the Middle Ages continues to thwart our understanding of the period, and much of the knowledge we often take for granted is based on a series of arbitrary survivals. The twelve essays in this book draw on a wide array of sources and disciplines to explore how textual records, from the chronicles of John of Worcester and Matthew Paris and inventories of monastic treasuries and noble women to Beowulf and early English riddles, when combined with archaeological and art-historical evidence, can expand our awareness of artistic and cultural environments. Touching on a broad range of issues around how we imaginatively reconstruct the medieval past and a variety of objects, both precious and ephemeral, this volume will be of fundamental interest to medieval scholars, whatever their disciplinary field. Contributors: Katherine Baker, Marian Bleeke, Deirdre Carter, Laura Cleaver, Judith Collard, Joshua Davies, Kathryn Gerry, Karl Kinsella, Katherine A. Rush, Katherine Weikert, Beth Whalley, Victoria Yuskaitis