Ilsa is a passionate woman. Her life is a story of adventure, bravery, compassion, learning, leadership, triumph, and loss. She is a soul on a journey, learning many lessons as well as she can, living in an ancient Celtic world. The society where she lives is ruled by a spiritual government that espouses strong green values and respect for Mother Earth in all its forms; it is a place where people strive for peace and harmony in their lives. It is a very different world from the modern, high tech, and materialistic culture in which we inhabit today. However, even though this story is set in the more primitive past, there are many values in the lifestyle Ilsa and her friends live which could be applicable to our life today and could help us to move forward to a better future. All is not well in the land. There are threats of war and invasion, and Ilsa is confronted with personal struggles with some of those closest to her. Ilsa would wish to make everything right with everyone she meets, and she tries her utmost to do this. But sometimes, even the strongest and most determined souls meet limits to what they are able to do, and the lesson for her is about acceptance and letting go. However, Ilsa is not one to surrender, and her own fierce nature leads her on when, for others, all would seem lost. It is with this passion that she finally finds peace in this moving tale.

Works of art in enamel are among the most attractive, colourful and revealing objects of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Enamel was employed to embellish a broad array of objects, including reliquary caskets, crosses, book-covers, croziers, censers and pyxes for the church and a wide range of tableware for the secular market. The Wyvern Collection comprises many pieces of prime importance from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Among the highlights in this volume are two extremely rare Romanesque enamels of c. 1160-70 from the Meuse Valley: the celebrated reliquary triptych probably originally belonging to the Bishop of Liege, and a beautiful phylactery (a reliquary designed to be suspended) with scenes from the story of the True Cross, said to have come from the famous abbey of Lobbes. Limoges enamels of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are particularly well represented, the 65 pieces making up what is undoubtedly now the finest and most comprehensive collection in private hands. The later painted enamels of Limoges, from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, include remarkable examples of the work of the principal enamellers, most notably Pierre Reymond, and the spectacular horn of St Hubert, dated 1538 and signed by Leonard Limosin, which once belonged to Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill. The catalogue additionally includes other outstanding works of art such as an important Anglo-Carolingian chrismatory of the ninth century, a small group of enigmatic twelfth-century drinking-cups and sumptuous examples of German late medieval goldsmiths' work. Stained and painted glass roundels, Italian Renaissance ceramics, luxurious textiles and tapestries, and German and Italian armour are also catalogued. An appendix presents several important pieces, recently acquired, which supplement those published in the first two volumes. With more than 250 objects, all specially photographed, this is more than a handbook to an especially rich part of one of the greatest private collections. It is a detailed and authoritative guide to medieval and Renaissance enamels and other works of art, a stimulus to further research and a feast for the eyes. With 400 illustrations in colour

This catalogue of the Wyvern sculpture collection, which is not open to the public, comprises outstanding European sculptures of the medieval period, as well as some Late Antique and Byzantine pieces and related works of the post-medieval era. Objects are made from wood, stone (including alabaster and marble) and terracotta. Also included are medieval works of art in metal, mostly consisting of crucifix figures (corpora), and other functional metalware such as aquamanilia (water vessels for the washing of hands) and candlesticks. This sumptuous publication will interest all those concerned with the material culture of the Middle Ages.

This volume, the second catalogue of the Wyvern Collection, celebrates an outstanding group of medieval ivory carvings and small sculpture, the finest assemblage of its kind in private hands. The book has pieces from every period of the Middle Ages, including rare examples from the Early Christian era; spectacular panels from the workshops of tenth-century Constantinople; objects produced by the celebrated carvers active in south Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; and several important pieces from the Romanesque period. At the heart of the collection is an outstanding group of Gothic ivories whose highlights include one of the most important secular medieval ivories discovered in recent years. The collection also features a number of small amber, hardstone, jet, wood and mother-of-pearl carvings. In addition to their virtuoso craftsmanship, many of these objects have illustrious histories as part of famous aristocratic or ecclesiastical collections. This is a precious opportunity to study these miniature masterpieces.

Ilsa is a passionate woman. Her life is a story of adventure, bravery, compassion, learning, leadership, triumph, and loss. She is a soul on a journey, learning many lessons as well as she can, living in an ancient Celtic world. The society where she lives is ruled by a spiritual government that espouses strong green values and respect for Mother Earth in all its forms; it is a place where people strive for peace and harmony in their lives. It is a very different world from the modern, high tech, and materialistic culture in which we inhabit today. However, even though this story is set in the more primitive past, there are many values in the lifestyle Ilsa and her friends live which could be applicable to our life today and could help us to move forward to a better future. All is not well in the land. There are threats of war and invasion, and Ilsa is confronted with personal struggles with some of those closest to her. Ilsa would wish to make everything right with everyone she meets, and she tries her utmost to do this. But sometimes, even the strongest and most determined souls meet limits to what they are able to do, and the lesson for her is about acceptance and letting go. However, Ilsa is not one to surrender, and her own fierce nature leads her on when, for others, all would seem lost. It is with this passion that she finally finds peace in this moving tale.

An excellent collection of twenty two essays mostly on Anglo-Saxon painting and sculpture, based on a 1985 Courtauld Institute Symposium. Includes papers on documentary sources (R. Gem), Monkwearmouth and Jarrow (R. Cramp), Heysham (J. Higgit), Winchester Old and New Minsters (M. and B. Biddle), St Oswald, Gloucester (C. M. Heighway), Nether Wallop (P. Tudor-Craig), Colchester Castle (P. J. Drury), Northumbrian Sculpture (J. Lang), SE Sculpture (D. Tweddle), Sculpture at Wells (W. Rodwell) and others.

"There is no competing work that matches "Them That Believe"; it is both original and stimulating. The scholarship is superior, and reflects well the 15 years the authors have worked on this project. This is an outstanding work."--Margaret Poloma, author of "Main Street Mystics: The Toronto Blessing and Reviving Pentecostalism"
"This book provides one of the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched reports on serpent handling Christians ever written. The use of multiple methodological lenses (e.g., sociology, ethnographic participant-observation, phenomenological psychology) adds a depth and richness not seen in other works. The book is very well written and arranged, and the scholarship is excellent."--Stephen Parker, author of "Led by the Spirit: Toward a Practical Theology of Pentecostal Discernment and Decision Making"

This book presents a new psychological framework for understanding religious fundamentalism, one that distinguishes fundamentalist traditions from other faith-based groups and helps explain the thinking and behavior of believers. Steering clear of stereotypes, the highly regarded authors offer respectful, historically informed examinations of several major fundamentalist groups. Focusing primarily on Protestant sects, including the Church of God (a Pentecostal denomination), the serpent handling sects of Appalachia, and the Amish, the book also discusses Islamic fundamentalism. Addressed are such key themes as the role of the sacred text within fundamentalism; how beliefs and practices that many find difficult to comprehend actually fit into coherent meaning systems; and how these meaning systems help meet individuals' needs for purpose, value, and self-worth.