Download or read book Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture written by Gail Ashton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-03-12 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With contributions from 29 leading international scholars, this is the first single-volume guide to the appropriation of medieval texts in contemporary culture. Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture covers a comprehensive range of media, including literature, film, TV, comics book adaptations, electronic media, performances, and commercial merchandise and tourism. Its lively chapters range from Spamalot to the RSC, Beowulf to Merlin, computer games to internet memes, opera to Young Adult fiction and contemporary poetry, and much more. Also included is a companion website aimed at general readers, academics, and students interested in the burgeoning field of Medieval afterlives, complete with: - Further reading/weblinks - 'My favourite' guides to contemporary medieval appropriations - Images and interviews - Guide to library archives and manuscript collections - Guide to heritage collection See also our website at https://medievalafterlives.wordpress.com/.

Download or read book Aesthetics and the Incarnation in Early Medieval Britain written by Tiffany Beechy and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2023-06-15 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This rich study takes Insular art on its own terms, revealing a distinctive and unorthodox theology that will inevitably change how scholars view the long arc of English piety and the English literary tradition. Drawing on a wide range of critical methodologies, Aesthetics and the Incarnation in Early Medieval Britain treats this era as a “contact zone” of cultural clash and exchange, where Christianity encountered a rich amalgam of practices and attitudes, particularly regarding the sensible realm. Tiffany Beechy illustrates how local cultures, including the Irish learned tradition, received the “Word that was made flesh,” the central figure of Christian doctrine, in distinctive ways: the Word, for example, was verbal, related to words and signs, and was not at all ineffable. Likewise, the Word was often poetic—an enigma—and its powerful presence was not only hinted at (as St. Augustine would have it) but manifest in the mouth or on the page. Beechy examines how these Insular traditions received and expressed a distinctly iterable Incarnation. Often disavowed and condemned by orthodox authorities, this was in large part an implicit theology, expressed or embodied in form (such as art, compilation, or metaphor) rather than in treatises. Beechy demonstrates how these forms drew on various authorities especially important to Britain—Bede, Gregory the Great, and Isidore most prominent among them. Beechy’s study provides a prehistory in the English literary tradition for the better-known experimental poetics of Middle English devotion. The book is unusual in the diversity of its primary material, which includes visual art, including the Book of Kells; obscure and often cursorily treated texts such as Adamnán’s De locis sanctis (“On the holy lands”); and the difficult esoterica of the wisdom tradition.

Download or read book Nowhere in the Middle Ages written by Karma Lochrie and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Literary and cultural historians typically cite Thomas More's 1516 Utopia as the source of both a genre and a concept. Karma Lochrie rejects this origin myth of utopianism along with the assumption that people in the Middle Ages were incapable of such thinking. In Nowhere in the Middle Ages, Lochrie reframes the terms of the discussion by revealing how utopian thought was, in fact, "somewhere" in the Middle Ages. In the process, she transforms conventional readings of More's Utopia and challenges the very practice of literary history today. Drawing on a range of contemporary scholarship on utopianism and a broad premodern archive, Lochrie charts variant utopian strains in medieval literature and philosophy that diverge from More's work and at the same time plot uncanny connections with it. Examining works such as Macrobius's fifth-century Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, Mandeville's Travels, and William Langland's Piers Plowman, she finds evidence of a number of utopian drives, including the rejection of European centrality, a desire for more egalitarian politics, and a rethinking of the division between animals and humans. Nowhere in the Middle Ages insists on the relevance and transformative potential of medieval utopias for More's work and positions the sixteenth-century text as one alternative in a broader historical phenomenon of utopian thinking. Tracing medieval utopianisms forward in literary history to reveal their influences on early modern and modern literature and philosophy, Lochrie demonstrates that looking backward, we might extend future horizons of utopian thinking.

Download or read book The Arthurian World written by Victoria Coldham-Fussell and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 744 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection provides an innovative and wide-ranging introduction to the world of Arthur by looking beyond the canonical texts and themes, taking instead a transversal perspective on the Arthurian narrative. Together, its thirty-four chapters explore the continuities that make the material recognizable from one century to another, as well as transformations specific to particular times and places, revealing the astonishing variety of adaptations that have made the Arthurian story popular in large parts of the world. Divided into four parts—The World of Arthur in the British Isles, The European World of Arthur, The Material World of Arthur, and The Transversal World of Arthur — the volume tracks the legend’s movement across temporal, geographical, and material boundaries. Broadly chronological, each part views the unfolding Arthurian story through its own lens, while temporal and geographical overlaps between the sections underscore the proximity of these developments in the legend’s history. Ranging from early Latin chronicles and Welsh poetry to twenty-first century anime and political conspiracies, this comprehensive and illuminating book will be of interest to anyone researching Arthurian literature or tracing the evolution of medievalism through literature, the visual arts, and popular culture.

Download or read book Mass Market Medieval written by David W. Marshall and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2007-04-11 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning in 1976 with the first issue of the journal Studies in Medievalism, all things medieval and the concept of medievalism became a hot topic in culture studies. Medievalism examines how different groups, individuals, or eras use and shape the image of the Middle Ages, differentiating between historical knowledge of the Middle Ages and what we have made the period out to be. The 13 essays in this book explore the medieval invasion of today's media and consider the various ways--from film and print to websites and video games--that the Middle Ages have been packaged for consumption. Essays encompass diverse theoretical perspectives and are grouped loosely around distinct functions of medievalism, including the exposure of recent social concerns; the use of medieval images in modern political contexts; and the medieval's influence on products of today's popular culture. The legitimization of the study of medievalism and the effect of medievalism on the more traditional subject of medieval studies are also discussed. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Download or read book A Future to Fight For written by Mindy Obenhaus and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All their dreams will come true… if they can work together. Widow Paisley Wainwright’s so close to taking her Texas event-planning business to the next level by turning Renwick Castle into a wedding venue. Only one thing stands in the way: her longtime rival, Crockett Devereaux, who wants the building to become a museum. When the building’s owners insist they collaborate to implement both plans, can Paisley and Crockett put their differences aside…and fight for their dreams together? From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope. Bliss, Texas Book 1: A Father's Promise Book 2: A Brother's Promise Book 3: A Future to Fight For Book 4: Their Yuletide Healing

Download or read book Medieval Afterlives in Popular Culture written by G. Ashton and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-12-10 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is concerned with our ideological, technical and emotional investments in reclaiming medieval for contemporary popular culture. The authors illuminate both medieval and contemporary popular culture in surprising and productive ways while interrogating the many ways in which metamedievalism reinterprets and reconceptualises the medieval.

Download or read book Once Human written by Steve Tomasula and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning new collection of stories by a master fictionist, Once Human shows the ways to go beyond standard maps of simple understanding

Download or read book Parody in the Age of Remix written by Ragnhild Brøvig and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-06-27 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The art of mashup music, its roots in parody, and its social and legal implications. Parody needn’t recognize copyright—but does an algorithm recognize parody? The ever-increasing popularity of remix culture and mashup music, where parody is invariably at play, presents a conundrum for internet platforms, with their extensive automatic, algorithmic policing of content. Taking a wide-ranging look at mashup music—the creative and technical considerations that go into making it; the experience of play, humor, enlightenment, and beauty it affords; and the social and legal issues it presents—Parody in the Age of Remix offers a pointed critique of how society balances the act of regulating art with the act of preserving it. In several jurisdictions, national and international, parody is exempted from copyright laws. Ragnhild Brøvig contends that mashups should be understood as a form of parody, and thus be protected from removal from hosting platforms. Nonetheless, current copyright-related content-moderation regimes, relying on algorithmic detection and automated decision making, frequently eliminate what might otherwise be deemed gray-area content—to the detriment of human listeners and, especially, artists. Given the inaccuracy of takedowns, Parody in the Age of Remix makes a persuasive argument in favor of greater protection for remix creativity in the future—but it also suggests that the content-moderation challenges facing mashup producers and other remixers are symptomatic of larger societal issues.

Download or read book Gothic Mash Ups written by Natalie Neill and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-03-14 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gothic Mash-Ups explores the role of intertextuality in Gothic storytelling through the analysis of texts from diverse periods and media. Drawing on recent scholarship on Gothic remix and adaptation, the contributors examine crossover fictions, multi-source film and comic book adaptations, neo-Victorian pastiches, performance magic, monster mashes, and intertextual Gothic works of various kinds. Their chapters investigate many critical issues related to Gothic mash-up, including authorship, originality, intellectual property, fandom, commercialization, and canonicity. Although varied in approach, the chapters all explore how Gothic storytellers make new stories out of older ones, relying on a mix of appropriation and innovation. Covering many examples of mash-up, from nineteenth-century Gothic novels to twenty-first-century video games and interactive fiction, this collection builds from the premise that the Gothic is a fundamentally hybrid genre.

Download or read book The Wandering Mind What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction written by Jamie Kreiner and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2023-01-03 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revelatory account of how Christian monks identified distraction as a fundamental challenge—and how their efforts to defeat it can inform ours, more than a millennium later. The digital era is beset by distraction, and it feels like things are only getting worse. At times like these, the distant past beckons as a golden age of attention. We fantasize about escaping our screens. We dream of recapturing the quiet of a world with less noise. We imagine retreating into solitude and singlemindedness, almost like latter-day monks. But although we think of early monks as master concentrators, a life of mindfulness did not, in fact, come to them easily. As historian Jamie Kreiner demonstrates in The Wandering Mind, their attempts to stretch the mind out to God—to continuously contemplate the divine order and its ethical requirements—were all-consuming, and their battles against distraction were never-ending. Delving into the experiences of early Christian monks living in the Middle East, around the Mediterranean, and throughout Europe from 300 to 900 CE, Kreiner shows that these men and women were obsessed with distraction in ways that seem remarkably modern. At the same time, she suggests that our own obsession is remarkably medieval. Ancient Greek and Roman intellectuals had sometimes complained about distraction, but it was early Christian monks who waged an all-out war against it. The stakes could not have been higher: they saw distraction as a matter of life and death. Even though the world today is vastly different from the world of the early Middle Ages, we can still learn something about our own distractedness by looking closely at monks’ strenuous efforts to concentrate. Drawing on a trove of sources that the monks left behind, Kreiner reconstructs the techniques they devised in their lifelong quest to master their minds—from regimented work schedules and elaborative metacognitive exercises to physical regimens for hygiene, sleep, sex, and diet. She captures the fleeting moments of pure attentiveness that some monks managed to grasp, and the many times when monks struggled and failed and went back to the drawing board. Blending history and psychology, The Wandering Mind is a witty, illuminating account of human fallibility and ingenuity that bridges a distant era and our own.

Download or read book The Rancher s Baby Surprise and The Cowboy s Unexpected Baby written by Kat Brookes and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Family in an instant! The Rancher's Baby Surprise by Kat Brookes Since losing his childhood sweetheart, cowboy Garrett Wade has avoided emotional entanglements. But when he comes across pregnant Hannah Sanders stuck in a flash flood—and in labor—it’s Garrett to the rescue. He becomes fiercely protective of the single mom and her son. Inviting her to stay at his family ranch seems natural, but can Garrett release the heartache of his past? The Cowboy's Unexpected Baby by Stephanie Dees Rancher and lawyer Garrett Cole wants a family—eventually. Until he finds a sweet newborn abandoned on his doorstep. If it weren’t for Abby Scott, the social worker temporarily working in his office, he’d be lost. But when their attraction grows deeper, can this cowboy dad risk his heart on a woman who might not be in town for good?

Download or read book Horrible Histories Measly Middle Ages New Edition written by Terry Deary and published by Scholastic UK. This book was released on 2015-12-03 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers can discover all the foul facts about the MEASLY MIDDLE AGES, including why chickens had their bottoms shaved, a genuine jester's joke and what ten-year-old treacle was used for. With a bold, accessible new look, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans.

Download or read book Empires and Communities in the Post Roman and Islamic World C 400 1000 CE written by Walter Pohl and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Empires are not an under-researched topic. Recently, there has been a veritable surge in comparative and conceptual studies, not least of pre-modern empires. The distant past can tell us much about the fates of empires that may still be relevant today, and contemporary historians as well as the general public are generally aware of that. Tracing the general development of an empire, we can discern a kind imperial dynamic which follows the momentum of expansion, relies on the structures and achievements of the formative period for a while, and tends to be caught in a downward spiral at some point. Yet single cases differ so much that a general model is hardly ever sufficient.There is in fact little consensus about what exactly constitutes an empire, and it has become standard in publications about empires to note the profusion of definitions.Some refer to size-for instance, 'greater than a million square kilometers', as Peter Turchin suggested. Apart from that, many scholars offer more or less extensive lists of qualitative criteria. Some of these criteria reflect the imperial dynamic, for instance, the imposition of some kind of unity through 'an imperial project', which allows moving broad populations 'from coercion through co-optation to cooperation and identification'"--

Download or read book The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin written by Jonathan Phillips and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engaging biography that offers a new perspective on one of the most influential figures of the Crusades In 1187, Saladin marched triumphantly into Jerusalem, ending decades of struggle against the Christians and reclaiming the holy city for Islam. Four years later he fought off the armies of the Third Crusade, which were commanded by Europe's leading monarchs. A fierce warrior and savvy diplomat, Saladin's unparalleled courtesy, justice, generosity, and mercy were revered by both his fellow Muslims and his Christian rivals such as Richard the Lionheart. Combining thorough research with vivid storytelling, Jonathan Phillips offers a fresh and captivating look at the triumphs, failures, and contradictions of one of the Crusades' most unique figures. Bringing the vibrant world of the twelfth century to life, this book also explores Saladin's complicated legacy, examining the ways Saladin has been invoked in the modern age by Arab and Muslim leaders ranging from Nasser in Egypt, Asad in Syria, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq to Osama bin Laden, as well as his huge appeal across popular culture in books, drama, and music.

Download or read book Postmodern Poetry and Queer Medievalisms Time Mechanics written by David Hadbawnik and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2022-06-06 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume builds on recent scholarship on contemporary poetry in relation to medieval literature, focusing on postmodern poets who work with the medieval in a variety of ways. Such recent projects invert or “queer” the usual transactional nature of engagements with older forms of literature, in which readers are asked to exchange some small measure of bewilderment at archaic language or forms for a sense of having experienced a medieval text. The poets under consideration in this volume demand that readers grapple with the ways in which we are still “medieval” – in other words, the ways in which the questions posed by their medieval source material still reverberate and hold relevance for today’s world. They do so by challenging the primacy of present over past, toppling the categories of old and new, and suggesting new interpretive frameworks for contemporary and medieval poetry alike.

Download or read book The Road Goes Ever On and On written by Jeb Smith and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2023-04-12 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Engrossing...Tolkien's principles--patriotism, Medievalism, localism, Catholicism--are certainly out of fashion today. And yet they're the foundation for all his books, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies. Mr. Smith does a wonderful job of explaining why modern readers are so enthralled by Tolkien's reactionary vision. Whether you're a casual Lord of the Rings fan or a serious Tolkien scholar, every page of Mr. Smith's book will delight and fascinate. And if anyone ever tells you that fairy-tales are only for children, hand him this book. Tolkien ought to be regarded as one of the great social critics of our time, as Mr. Smith so masterfully demonstrates. -Michael Warren Davis is an editor for Sophia Institute Press and the author of The Reactionary Mind: Why Conservative Isn't Enough. You can find him on his blog, The Common Man. As the popularity of Tolkien's work continues to endure, the importance of Jeb Smith's work continues to grow. This is because of a prolonged siege against Tolkien's work: the attempt to dislodge it from its Christian and Biblical foundations. Jeb Smith's insights are immensely helpful to this and future generations of Tolkien admirers. Scott L. Smith, author of Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth has captured the imaginations of millions of readers around the world for generations. He is considered the father of modern fantasy, but few understand how Tolkien's worldview impacted his mythology. The Road Goes Ever On and On is the first book of its kind to place Tolkien within his proper context, giving the reader a deeper understanding of Tolkien and Middle-earth. Smith takes us on a quest through a wide range of Tolkien's writings to unlock Tolkien's perspective--a perspective that, like the elves who have sailed into the West leaving Middle-earth, has faded away from our world. You will gain an in-depth knowledge of Tolkien's views on politics, environmentalism, religion, and much more. From the Valar to Hobbits, the free peoples closely follow Tolkien's sentiments. In contrast, forces under the Shadow represent what Tolkien believed was immoral. Covering a wide range of topics, The Road Goes Ever On and On is filled with breathtaking illustrations bringing Middle-earth to life like never before, making this the 'one book to rule them all.'