First full-length collection on one of the most significant and influential historians of the medieval period. The Gesta Normannorum ducum and Historia ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis are widely regarded as landmarks in the development of European historical writing and, as such, are essential sources of medieval history forstudents and scholars alike. The essays here consider Orderic's life and works, presenting new research on existing topics within Orderic studies and opening up new directions for future analysis and debate. They offer fresh interpretations from across the disciplines of medieval manuscript studies, English-language studies, archaeology, theology, and cultural memory studies; they also revisit established readings. Charles C. Rozier gained hisPhD from the University of Durham; Daniel Roach gained his PhD from the University of Exeter; Giles E.M. Gasper is Senior Lecturer in History, University of Durham; Elizabeth van Houts is Honorary Professor of Medieval European History, University of Cambridge. Contributors: William M. Aird, Emily Albu, James G. Clark, Vincent Debiais, Mark Faulkner, Giles E. M. Gasper, Veronique Gazeau, Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, Elisabeth Megier, Thomas O'Donnell, Benjamin Pohl, Daniel Roach, Thomas Roche, Charles C. Rozier, Sigbjorn Olsen Sonnesyn, Kathleen Thompson, Elisabeth van Houts, Anne-Sophie Vigot,Jenny Weston

First full-length collection on one of the most significant and influential historians of the medieval period. The Gesta Normannorum ducum and Historia ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis are widely regarded as landmarks in the development of European historical writing and, as such, are essential sources of medieval history forstudents and scholars alike. The essays here consider Orderic's life and works, presenting new research on existing topics within Orderic studies and opening up new directions for future analysis and debate. They offer fresh interpretations from across the disciplines of medieval manuscript studies, English-language studies, archaeology, theology, and cultural memory studies; they also revisit established readings. CHARLES C. ROZIER gained hisPhD from the University of Durham; DANIEL ROACH gained his PhD from the University of Exeter; GILES E.M. GASPER is Senior Lecturer in History, University of Durham; ELIZABETH VAN HOUTS is Honorary Professor of Medieval European History, University of Cambridge. Contributors: William M. Aird, Emily Albu, James G. Clark, Vincent Debiais, Mark Faulkner, Giles E. M. Gasper, Veronique Gazeau, Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, Elisabeth Megier, Thomas O'Donnell, Benjamin Pohl, Daniel Roach, Thomas Roche, Charles C. Rozier, Sigbjorn Olsen Sonnesyn, Kathleen Thompson, Elisabeth van Houts, Anne-Sophie Vigot,Jenny Weston

Bring home the magical experience of a child's first trip to the aquarium, with it's scary sharks, touchable tide pools, and brightly coloured marine life. One quick glance will make every child want to dive right into the "Under The Sea Poster Book". Thirty full-colour, pull-out portraits of fantastic sea creature feature ocean residents from Whales to Octopi, plus all the fun facts that make each creature unique and exciting. Did you know, for example, that the Sarcastic Fringe Head fish looks like it's smiling, but it's really quite grouchy? Or that the Jellyfish doesn't have a brain or a heart? Actually, it isn't even a fish! Designed to be read like book, individual pages can then be pulled out to post and create an enticing deep-water environment in any child's room.

A New Literary History of the Long Twelfth Century offers a new narrative of what happened to English language writing in the long twelfth century, the period that saw the end of the Old English tradition and the beginning of Middle English writing. It discusses numerous neglected or unknown texts, focusing particularly on documents, chronicles and sermons. To tell the story of this pivotal period, it adopts approaches from both literary criticism and historical linguistics, finding a synthesis for them in a twenty-first century philology. It develops new methodologies for addressing major questions about twelfth-century texts, including when they were written, how they were read and their relationship to earlier works. Essential reading for anyone interested in what happened to English after the Norman Conquest, this study lays the groundwork for the coming decade's work on transitional English.