Books of Knowledge in Late Medieval Europe
Books of Knowledge in Late Medieval Europe

Author: Pavlina Cermanova

Publisher:

Published: 2021-06-30

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 9782503594637

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This book provides a series of studies concerning unique medieval texts that can be defined as 'books of knowledge', such as medieval chronicles, bestiaries, or catechetic handbooks. Thus far, scholarship of intellectual history has focused on concepts of knowledge to describe a specific community, or to delimit intellectuals in society. However, the specific textual tool for the transmission of knowledge has been missing. Besides oral tradition, books and other written texts were the only sources of knowledge, and they were thus invaluable in efforts to receive or transfer knowledge. That is one reason why texts that proclaim to introduce a specific field of expertise or promise to present a summary of wisdom were so popular. These texts discussed cosmology, theology, philosophy, the natural sciences, history, and other fields. They often did so in an accessible way to maintain the potential to also attract a non-specialised public. The basic form was usually a narrative, chronologically or thematically structured, and clearly ordered to appeal to readers. Books of this kind could be disseminated in dozens or even hundreds of copies, and were often available (by translation or adaptation) in various languages, including the vernacular. In exploring these widely-disseminated and highly popular texts that offered a precise segment of knowledge that could be accessed by readers outside the intellectual and social elite, this volume intends to introduce books of knowledge as a new category within the study of medieval literacy.

Condottiere 1300–1500
Condottiere 1300–1500

Author: David Murphy

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-12-23

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 1472855108

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Originally contracted by wealthy Italian city states to protect their assets during a time of ceaseless warring, many condottieri of the Italian peninsula became famous for their wealth, venality and amorality during the 14th and 15th centuries. Some even came to rule cities themselves. Lavishly illustrated with contemporary depictions and original artwork, this title examines the complex military organization, recruitment, training and weaponry of the Condottieri. With insight into their origins and motivations, the author, Dr David Murphy, brings together the social, political and military history of these powerful and unscrupulous men who managed to influence Italian society and warfare for over two centuries.

Medieval Literature 1300-1500
Medieval Literature 1300-1500

Author: Pamela King

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2011-03-24

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0748634614

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Medieval literature can be daunting. This critical guide is designed to help readers to relax in the company of diverting and entertaining voices from that 'other country' that is the past.Medieval Literature 1300-1500 offers close readings of Middle English texts placed within the culture with which they interact. Famous works, like The Canterbury Tales, are discussed alongside lesser-known poems, prose, and plays, in five thematically-organised chapters, accompanied by helpful critical apparatus. Reflecting the proliferation of user-friendly editions, many available on-line, this book extends the range of Middle English writing for which there is accessible up-to-date critical support, enabling the student, the general reader, the course designer, and the aspirant specialist, to read widely and with enjoyment in the medieval period.

Global Medieval Contexts 500 – 1500
Global Medieval Contexts 500 – 1500

Author: Kimberly Klimek

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-06-30

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 1351593080

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Global Medieval Contexts 500–1500: Connections and Comparisons provides a unique wide-lens introduction to world history during this period. Designed for students new to the subject, this textbook explores vital networks and relationships among geographies and cultures that shaped medieval societies. The expert author team aims to advance a global view of the period and introduce the reader to histories and narratives beyond an exclusively European context. Key Features: Divided into chronological sections, chapters are organized by four key themes: Religion, Economics, Politics, and Society. This framework enables students to connect wider ideas and debates across 500 to 1500. Individual chapters address current theoretical discussions, including issues around gender, migration, and sustainable environments. The authors’ combined teaching experience and subject specialties ensure an engaging and accessible overview for students of history, literature, and those undertaking general studies courses. Theory boxes and end-of-chapter questions provide a basis for group discussion and research. Full-color maps and images illustrate chapter content and support understanding. As a result, this text is essential reading for all those interested in learning more about the histories and cultures of the period, as well as their relevance to our own contemporary experiences and perspectives. This textbook is supported by a companion website providing core resources for students and lecturers.

Medieval Christianity
Medieval Christianity

Author: Kevin Madigan

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2015-01-01

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13: 0300158726

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A new narrative history of medieval Christianity, spanning from A.D. 500 to 1500, focuses on the role of women in Christianity; the relationships among Christians, Jews and Muslims; the experience of ordinary parishioners; the adventure of asceticism, devotion and worship; and instruction through drama, architecture and art.

The Medieval British Literature Handbook
The Medieval British Literature Handbook

Author: Daniel T. Kline

Publisher: Continuum

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13:

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One-stop resource for courses in medieval literature, providing students with a comprehensive guide to the historical and cultural context; major texts and movements; reading primary and critical texts; key critics, concepts and topics; major critical approaches and directions of new research.

The Medieval Girdle Book
The Medieval Girdle Book

Author: Margit J. Smith

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781584563686

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Between the 14th and 16th centuries a little-known book format, now called the girdle book, was used throughout various European countries. 'The girdle book' is distinguished by a cover that extends beyond the limits of the book itself and may end in a knot, hook or ring, or may be left ungathered. By this extension the book was hung from the belt with its head down, so when swung up it could be read without detaching it from the belt.0Today there are only twenty-six known examples identified and documented in collections worldwide. In 'The Medieval Girdle Book', the author provides a comprehensive look at these extremely rare books. A study of this scope, which contributes significantly to the information available has been lacking until now and makes this the first thorough treatment of all so far known girdle books. 0The author has examined each book in detail, documented its historical context, provenance, owner(s) or institutions associated with it, and described each from the bookbinder's perspective, including the materials and processes of their construction. Contrary to previous assumptions that only clerics and the religious used girdle books, 'The Medieval Girdle Book' shows they also contain legal, medical, and philosophical contents.

Sex and the New Medieval Literature of Confession, 1150-1300
Sex and the New Medieval Literature of Confession, 1150-1300

Author: Pierre J. Payer

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13:

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This volume rounds out an important trilogy of studies by Pierre Payer on the topic of sex in the ecclesiastical thought and writings of the middle ages that began with Sex and the Penitentials: The Development of a Sexual Code, 550-1150 (1984) and continued with The Bridling of Desire: Views of Sex in the Later Middle Ages (1993). In every way the equal of the two magisterial studies that preceded it, this third volume examines the treatment of sex in the 'new' literature of penance and confession. Composed by canon lawyers and by theologians for the instruction of priests, it is one of the most popular genres of writing of the later middle ages, although it remains largely unknown and underutilized as a historical source. Pierre Payer guides readers through this varied and heterogenous corpus with great patience and erudition. His analysis ranges over the origin and development of the idea of lechery as one of the capital sins and the distinction between natural and unnatural acts, and explores the moral consequences of sexual beahviour even within marriage, providing us much insight into the act, and art, of confession and the intimate relationship between priest and penitent that underlies it.