Download or read book The Middle Ages in the Modern World written by Bettina Bildhauer and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2017-08-10 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle Ages continue to provide an important touchstone for the way the modern West presents itself and its relationship with the rest of the globe. This volume brings together leading scholars of literature and history, together with musicians, novelists, librarians, and museum curators in order to present exciting, up-to-date perspectives on how and why the Middle Ages continue to matter in the 20th and 21st centuries. Presented here, their essays represent a unique dialogue between scholars and practitioners of 'medievalism'. Framed by an introductory essay on the broad history of the continuing evolution of the idea of 'The Middle Ages' from the 14th century to the present day, chapters deal with subjects as diverse as: the use of Old Norse sagas by Republican deniers of climate change; the way figures like the Irish hero Cu Chulainn and St Patrick were used to give legitimacy to political affiliations during the Ulster 'Troubles'; the use of the Middle Ages in films by Pasolini and Tarantino; the adoption of the 'Green Man' motif in popular culture; Lady Gaga's manipulation of medieval iconography in her music videos; the translation of medieval poetry from manuscript to digital media; and the problem of writing national history free from the 'toxic medievalism' of the 19th and 20th centuries. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the Middle Ages and its impact on recent political and cultural history. It is dedicated to the memory of Seamus Heaney, who gave his last overseas lecture in St. Andrews in 2013, the year this book was conceived, and whose late poetry this book also discusses.
Download or read book Incarceration and Slavery in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age written by Albrecht Classen and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People in the Middle Ages and the early modern age more often suffered from imprisonment and enslavement than we might have assumed. Incarceration and Slavery in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age approaches these topics from a wide variety of perspectives and demonstrates collectively the great relevance of the issues involved. Both incarceration and slavery were (and continue to be) most painful experiences, and no one was guaranteed exemption from it. High-ranking nobles and royalties were often the victims of imprisonment and, at times, had to wait many years until their ransom was paid. Similarly, slavery existed throughout Christian Europe and in the Arab world. However, while imprisonment occasionally proved to be the catalyst for major writings and creativity, slaves in the Ottoman empire and in Egypt succeeded in rising to the highest position in society (Janissaries, Mamluks, and others).
Download or read book The Middle Ages in the Modern World written by Bettina Bildhauer and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle Ages continue to provide an important touchstone for the way the modern West presents itself and its relationship with the rest of the globe. This volume brings together leading scholars of literature and history, together with musicians, novelists, librarians, and museum curators in order to present exciting, up-to-date perspectives on how and why the Middle Ages continue to matter in the 20th and 21st centuries. Presented here, their essays represent a unique dialogue between scholars and practitioners of 'medievalism'.
Download or read book Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All societies are constructed, based on specific rules, norms, and laws. Hence, all ethics and morality are predicated on perceived right or wrong behavior, and much of human culture proves to be the result of a larger discourse on vices and virtues, transgression and ideals, right and wrong. The topics covered in this volume, addressing fundamental concerns of the premodern world, deal with allegedly criminal, or simply wrong behavior which demanded punishment. Sometimes this affected whole groups of people, such as the innocently persecuted Jews, sometimes individuals, such as violent and evil princes. The issue at stake here embraces all of society since it can only survive if a general framework is observed that is based in some way on justice and peace. But literature and the visual arts provide many examples of open and public protests against wrongdoings, ill-conceived ideas and concepts, and stark crimes, such as theft, rape, and murder. In fact, poetic statements or paintings could carry significant potentials against those who deliberately transgressed moral and ethical norms, or who even targeted themselves.
Download or read book Pleasure and Leisure in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2019-08-05 with total page 764 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jan Huizinga and Roger Caillois have already taught us to realize how important games and play have been for pre-modern civilization. Recent research has begun to acknowledge the fundamental importance of these aspects in cultural, religious, philosophical, and literary terms. This volume expands on the traditional approach still very much focused on the materiality of game (toys, cards, dice, falcons, dolls, etc.) and acknowledges that game constituted also a form of coming to terms with human existence in an unstable and volatile world determined by universal randomness and fortune. Whether considering blessings or horse fighting, falconry or card games, playing with dice or dolls, we can gain a much deeper understanding of medieval and early modern society when we consider how people pursued pleasure and how they structured their leisure time. The contributions examine a wide gamut of approaches to pleasure, considering health issues, eroticism, tournaments, playing music, reading and listening, drinking alcohol, gambling and throwing dice. This large issue was also relevant, of course, in non-Christian societies, and constitutes a critical concern both for the past and the present because we are all homines ludentes.
Download or read book Chess in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age written by Daniel E. O'Sullivan and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-07-30 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The game of chess was wildly popular in the Middle Ages, so much so that it became an important thought paradigm for thinkers and writers who utilized its vocabulary and imagery for commentaries on war, politics, love, and the social order. In this collection of essays, scholars investigate chess texts from numerous traditions – English, French, German, Latin, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, and Catalan – and argue that knowledge of chess is essential to understanding medieval culture. Such knowledge, however, cannot rely on the modern game, for today’s rules were not developed until the late fifteenth century. Only through familiarity with earlier incarnations of the game can one fully appreciate the full import of chess to medieval society. The careful scholarship contained in this volume provides not only insight into the significance of chess in medieval European culture but also opens up avenues of inquiry for future work in this rich field.
Download or read book East Meets West in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2013-09-03 with total page 828 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new volume explores the surprisingly intense and complex relationships between East and West during the Middle Ages and the early modern world, combining a large number of critical studies representing such diverse fields as literary (German, French, Italian, English, Spanish, and Arabic) and other subdisciplines of history, religion, anthropology, and linguistics. The differences between Islam and Christianity erected strong barriers separating two global cultures, but, as this volume indicates, despite many attempts to 'Other' the opposing side, the premodern world experienced an astonishing degree of contacts, meetings, exchanges, and influences. Scientists, travelers, authors, medical researchers, chroniclers, diplomats, and merchants criss-crossed the East and the West, or studied the sources produced by the other culture for many different reasons. As much as the theoretical concept of 'Orientalism' has been useful in sensitizing us to the fundamental tensions and conflicts separating both worlds at least since the eighteenth century, the premodern world did not quite yet operate in such an ideological framework. Even though the Crusades had violently pitted Christians against Muslims, there were countless contacts and a palpitable curiosity on both sides both before, during, and after those religious warfares.
Download or read book Medievalism in the Modern World written by Richard J. Utz and published by Brepols Publishers. This book was released on 1998 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twenty-six essays in this volume examine the process of creating the Middle Ages. In doing so, they honour Leslie Workman, who has led the revival of the study of medievalism in the past two generations, and leads this sub-discipline towards the comprehensiveness that Lord Acton as early as 1859 had promised: 'Two great principles divide the world, and contend for the mastery: antiquity and the Middle Ages. These are the two civilizations that have preceded us, the two elements of which ours is composed. All political as well as religious questions reduce themselves practically to this. This is the great dualism that runs through our society.` While using differnt approaches and discussing topics in a variety of specialised fields, the contributions clearly centre on negotiating the reception of medieval culture in the Early Modern, Modern and Contemporary periods, thus presenting a broad and representative picture of current research in medievalism. Contributors include: Tabula Gratulatoria (Leslie Workman); Richard Utz and Tom Shippey, 'Medievalism in the Modern World: Introductory Perspectives'; Theresa Ann Sears, 'The Anxiety of Authority and Medievalizing the New World'; Richard Osberg, 'Humanist Allusions and Medieval Themes: The Receyving of Queen Anne, London, 1533'; John Simons, 'Christopher Middleton and Elizabethan Medievalism'; Bernard Rosenthal, 'Medievalism and the Salem Witch Trials'; Clare Simmons, 'Absent Presence: The Romantic-Era Magna Charta and the English Constitution'; R.J. Smith, 'The Swanscombe Legend and the Historiography of Kentish Gavelkind'; David Barclay, 'Representing the Middle Ages: Court Festivals in Nineteenth-Century Prussia'; Ulrich Muller, 'Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles? Walther von der Vogelweide, Hoffman von Fallersleben and the Song of the Germans: Medievalism, Nationalism and/or Racism'; Roger Simpson, 'St. George and the Pendragon'; Tom Shippey, 'The Death-Song of Ragnar Lodbrok: A Study in Sensibilities'; Alice Chandler, 'Carlyle and the Medievalism of the North'; Werner Wunderlich, 'Medieval Images: Joseph Viktor von Scheffel's Ekkehard and St. Gall'; Felicia Bonaparte, 'The (Fai)Lure of the Aesthetic Ideal and the (Re)Formation of Art: The Medieval Paradigm that Frames The Picture of Dorian Gray'; William Calin, 'Dante on the Edwardian Stage: Stephen Phillips' Paolo and Francesca; Kathleen Verduin, 'Medievalism, Classicism, and the Fiction of E.M. Forster; William D. Paden, 'Reconstructing the Middle Ages: The Monk's Sermon in The Seventh Seal; Rosemary Welsh, 'Theorizing Medievalism: The Case of Gone with the Wind; Gwendolyn Morgan, 'Gnosticism, the Middle Ages, and the Search for Responsibility: Im
Download or read book Mysteries of the Middle Ages written by Thomas Cahill and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2010-04-28 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the national bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization—a fascinating look at how medieval thinkers created the origins of modern intellectual movements. “Intoxicating.... Cahill's command of rich historical detail makes medieval cities and their colorful characters come to alive.” —The Los Angeles Times After the long period of decline known as the Dark Ages, medieval Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today, from the entry of women into professions that had long been closed to them to the early investigations into alchemy that would form the basis of experimental science. On visits to the great cities of Europe-monumental Rome; the intellectually explosive Paris of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas; the hotbed of scientific study that was Oxford; and the incomparable Florence of Dante and Giotto-acclaimed historian Thomas Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world.
Download or read book Why the Middle Ages Matter written by Celia Chazelle and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-02-20 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The word "medieval" is often used in a negative way when talking about contemporary issues; Why the Middle Ages Matter refreshes our thinking about this historical era, and our own, by looking at some pressing concerns from today's world, asking how these issues were really handled in the medieval period, and showing why the past matters now. The contributors here cover topics such as torture, animal rights, marriage, sexuality, imprisonment, refugees, poverty and end of life care. They shed light on relations between Christians and Muslims and on political leadership. This collection challenges many negative stereotypes of medieval people, revealing a world from which, for instance, much could be learned about looking after the spiritual needs of the dying, and about integrating prisoners into the wider community with the emphasis on reconciliation between victim and criminal. It represents a new level of engagement with issues of social justice by medievalists and provides a highly engaging way into studying the middle ages for students"--
Download or read book Imagination and Fantasy in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-08-24 with total page 820 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notions of other peoples, cultures, and natural conditions have always been determined by the epistemology of imagination and fantasy, providing much freedom and creativity, and yet have also created much fear, anxiety, and horror. In this regard, the pre-modern world demonstrates striking parallels with our own insofar as the projections of alterity might be different by degrees, but they are fundamentally the same by content. Dreams, illusions, projections, concepts, hopes, utopias/dystopias, desires, and emotional attachments are as specific and impactful as the physical environment. This volume thus sheds important light on the various lenses used by people in the Middle Ages and the early modern age as to how they came to terms with their perceptions, images, and notions. Previous scholarship focused heavily on the history of mentality and history of emotions, whereas here the history of pre-modern imagination, and fantasy assumes center position. Imaginary things are taken seriously because medieval and early modern writers and artists clearly reveal their great significance in their works and their daily lives. This approach facilitates a new deep-structure analysis of pre-modern culture.
Download or read book Urban Space in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2009 with total page 769 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the city as a central entity did not simply disappear with the Fall of the Roman Empire, the development of urban space at least since the twelfth century played a major role in the history of medieval and early modern mentality within a social-economic and religious framework. Whereas some poets projected urban space as a new utopia, others simply reflected the new significance of the urban environment as a stage where their characters operate very successfully. As today, the premodern city was the locus where different social groups and classes got together, sometimes peacefully, sometimes in hostile terms. The historical development of the relationship between Christians and Jews, for instance, was deeply determined by the living conditions within a city. By the late Middle Ages, nobility and bourgeoisie began to intermingle within the urban space, which set the stage for dramatic and far-reaching changes in the social and economic make-up of society. Legal-historical aspects also find as much consideration as practical questions concerning water supply and sewer systems. Moreover, the early modern city within the Ottoman and Middle Eastern world likewise finds consideration. Finally, as some contributors observe, the urban space provided considerable opportunities for women to carve out a niche for themselves in economic terms.
Download or read book Toward a Global Middle Ages written by Bryan C. Keene and published by Getty Publications. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important and overdue book examines illuminated manuscripts and other book arts of the Global Middle Ages. Illuminated manuscripts and illustrated or decorated books—like today’s museums—preserve a rich array of information about how premodern peoples conceived of and perceived the world, its many cultures, and everyone’s place in it. Often a Eurocentric field of study, manuscripts are prisms through which we can glimpse the interconnected global history of humanity. Toward a Global Middle Ages is the first publication to examine decorated books produced across the globe during the period traditionally known as medieval. Through essays and case studies, the volume’s multidisciplinary contributors expand the historiography, chronology, and geography of manuscript studies to embrace a diversity of objects, individuals, narratives, and materials from Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas—an approach that both engages with and contributes to the emerging field of scholarly inquiry known as the Global Middle Ages. Featuring more than 160 color illustrations, this wide-ranging and provocative collection is intended for all who are interested in engaging in a dialogue about how books and other textual objects contributed to world-making strategies from about 400 to 1600.
Download or read book Flaying in the Pre modern World written by Larissa Tracy and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 2017 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The practice and the representation of flaying in the middle ages and after are considered in this provocative collection.
Download or read book Food and Feasts in the Middle Ages written by Lynne Elliott and published by Crabtree Publishing Company. This book was released on 2004 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides an overview of food, hunting, and cooking in the Middle Ages.
Download or read book Friendship in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-03-29 with total page 813 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although it seems that erotic love generally was the prevailing topic in the medieval world and the Early Modern Age, parallel to this the Ciceronian ideal of friendship also dominated the public discourse, as this collection of essays demonstrates. Following an extensive introduction, the individual contributions explore the functions and the character of friendship from Late Antiquity (Augustine) to the 17th century. They show the spectrum of variety in which this topic appeared ‐ not only in literature, but also in politics and even in painting.
Download or read book The Bright Ages written by Matthew Gabriele and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The beauty and levity that Perry and Gabriele have captured in this book are what I think will help it to become a standard text for general audiences for years to come….The Bright Ages is a rare thing—a nuanced historical work that almost anyone can enjoy reading.”—Slate "Incandescent and ultimately intoxicating." —The Boston Globe A lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself. The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today. The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics. The Bright Ages contains an 8-page color insert.
