Studies in Medievalism XXXI
Author: Karl Fugelso
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Published: 2022-05-06
Total Pages: 254
ISBN-13: 184384625X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEssays on the use, and misuse, of the Middle Ages for political aims.
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Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
Author: James A. Brundage
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2009-02-15
Total Pages: 714
ISBN-13: 0226077896
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis monumental study of medieval law and sexual conduct explores the origin and develpment of the Christian church's sex law and the systems of belief upon which that law rested. Focusing on the Church's own legal system of canon law, James A. Brundage offers a comprehensive history of legal doctrines–covering the millennium from A.D. 500 to 1500–concerning a wide variety of sexual behavior, including marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, concubinage, prostitution, masturbation, and incest. His survey makes strikingly clear how the system of sexual control in a world we have half-forgotten has shaped the world in which we live today. The regulation of marriage and divorce as we know it today, together with the outlawing of bigamy and polygamy and the imposition of criminal sanctions on such activities as sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus, and bestiality, are all based in large measure upon ideas and beliefs about sexual morality that became law in Christian Europe in the Middle Ages. "Brundage's book is consistently learned, enormously useful, and frequently entertaining. It is the best we have on the relationships between theological norms, legal principles, and sexual practice."—Peter Iver Kaufman, Church History
The Mere Wife
Author: Maria Dahvana Headley
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Published: 2018-07-17
Total Pages: 263
ISBN-13: 0374715548
DOWNLOAD EBOOKNew York Times bestselling author Maria Dahvana Headley presents a modern retelling of the literary classic Beowulf, set in American suburbia as two mothers—a housewife and a battle-hardened veteran—fight to protect those they love in The Mere Wife. This modern fantasy tale transports you from the ancient mead halls of the Geats to the picket-fenced, meticulously planned community of American suburbia, known as Herot Hall. In the expert hands of Maria Dahvana Headley, this vibrant retelling underscores the timeless struggle between the protected and the outsiders. Enter the confines of Herot Hall, a gated community sequestered from the wild surroundings by sophisticated security systems. Here, life is a series of cocktail hours and playdates for Willa, the charming wife of Herot's heir, and her son Dylan. Meanwhile, deep in a nearby mountain cave lives Dana, a hardened soldier and mother of Gren, a child of mysterious origin. Their worlds collide in a shocking turn of events when Gren breaks into Herot Hall and escapes with Dylan. A brilliant literary novel that effortlessly melds modern literature with ancient mythology, The Mere Wife is a captivating testament to unintended consequences, the brutality of PTSD, and the enduring power of motherhood.
The Fires of Lust
Author: Katherine Harvey
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Published: 2022-11-28
Total Pages: 297
ISBN-13: 1789144884
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAn illuminating exploration of the surprisingly familiar sex lives of ordinary medieval people. The medieval humoral system of medicine suggested that it was possible to die from having too much—or too little—sex, while the Roman Catholic Church taught that virginity was the ideal state. Holy men and women committed themselves to lifelong abstinence in the name of religion. Everyone was forced to conform to restrictive rules about who they could have sex with, in what way, how often, and even when, and could be harshly punished for getting it wrong. Other experiences are more familiar. Like us, medieval people faced challenges in finding a suitable partner or trying to get pregnant (or trying not to). They also struggled with many of the same social issues, such as whether prostitution should be legalized. Above all, they shared our fondness for dirty jokes and erotic images. By exploring their sex lives, the book brings ordinary medieval people to life and reveals details of their most personal thoughts and experiences. Ultimately, it provides us with an important and intimate connection to the past.
National Medievalism in the Twenty-First Century
Author: Matthias D. Berger
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Published: 2023-07-18
Total Pages: 271
ISBN-13: 1843846578
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHow ideas and ideals of an imagined, protean, national Middle Ages have once again become a convergence point for anxieties about politics, history and cultural identity in our time - and why. After a period of abeyance, the link forged in the nineteenth century between the Middle Ages and national identity is increasingly being reclaimed, with numerous groups and individuals mining an imagined medieval past to present ideas and ideals of modern nationhood. Today's national medievalism asserts itself at the interface of culture and politics: in literature and television programming, in journalism and heritage tourism, and in the way political actors of various stripes use a deep past that supposedly proves the nation's steady exceptionalism in a hectic globalised world. This book traces these ongoing developments in Switzerland and Britain, two countries where the medieval past has recently been much invoked in negotiations of national identity, independence and Euroscepticism. Through comparative analysis, it explores examples of reemerging stories of national exceptionalism - stories that, ironically, echo those of other nations. The author analyses depictions of Robert the Bruce and Wilhelm Tell; medievalism in the discourse surrounding Brexit as well as at the Welsh Senedd; novels like Paul Kingsnorth's The Wake; community-based art such as the Great Tapestry of Scotland; and elaborate public commemorations of Swiss victories (and defeats) in battle. Basing his critical readings in current theories of cultural memory, heritage and nationalism, the author explores how the protean national Middle Ages have once again become a convergence point for anxieties about politics, history and cultural identity in our time - and why.
The Meanings of Sex Difference in the Middle Ages
Author: Joan Cadden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1995-03-31
Total Pages: 332
ISBN-13: 9780521483780
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book examines how scientific ideas about sex differences in the later Middle Ages participated in cultural assumptions about gender.
Medieval Studies and the Computer
Author: Anne Gilmour-Bryson
Publisher: Elsevier
Published: 2014-05-19
Total Pages: 233
ISBN-13: 1483136361
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMedieval Studies and the Computer focuses on the use of computers in medieval studies and humanities research. Topics covered range from encoding and concording texts to the use of conceptual glossaries by medievalists, as well as the use of computers for compiling Middle English lexicography and the Wisconsin Dictionary of the Old Spanish Language. A computer analysis of metrical patterns in the epic Beowulf and of Notker Labeo's Old High German is also presented. Comprised of 26 chapters, this volume begins by discussing "contexts" in concordances and the set of conventions employed in text encoding. The reader is then introduced to the series of initiatives undertaken in Belgium to study Latin literature and linguistics; the use of conceptual glossaries by medieval scholars; and the use of the computer to make a word list of the Decretum Gratiani and to study Geoffrey Chaucer's vocabulary. Subsequent chapters discuss a computer program called KLIC (Key Letter In Context) for graphological analysis; a set of routines written in SAIL (Stanford Artificial Intelligence Language) for use by social historians in quantitative analysis or text processing; and the use of Mark IV, a general-purpose file management system, to analyze medieval charters. This book will be of interest to medievalists, social historians, students and scholars of humanities, and computer scientists.
Handbook of Medieval Studies
Author: Albrecht Classen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2010-11-29
Total Pages: 2822
ISBN-13: 3110215586
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis interdisciplinary handbook provides extensive information about research in medieval studies and its most important results over the last decades. The handbook is a reference work which enables the readers to quickly and purposely gain insight into the important research discussions and to inform themselves about the current status of research in the field. The handbook consists of four parts. The first, large section offers articles on all of the main disciplines and discussions of the field. The second section presents articles on the key concepts of modern medieval studies and the debates therein. The third section is a lexicon of the most important text genres of the Middle Ages. The fourth section provides an international bio-bibliographical lexicon of the most prominent medievalists in all disciplines. A comprehensive bibliography rounds off the compendium. The result is a reference work which exhaustively documents the current status of research in medieval studies and brings the disciplines and experts of the field together.
Sex Cultures
Author: Amin Ghaziani
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Published: 2017-04-03
Total Pages: 158
ISBN-13: 1509518584
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhy is it so hard to talk about sex and sexuality? In this crisp and compelling book, Amin Ghaziani provides a pithy introduction to the field of sexuality studies through a distinctively cultural lens. Rather than focusing on sex acts, which make us feel flustered and blind us to a bigger picture, Ghaziani crafts a conversation about sex cultures that zooms in on the diverse contexts that give meaning to our sexual pursuits and practices. Unlike sex, which is a biological expression, the word 'sexuality' highlights how the materiality of the body acquires cultural meaning as it encounters other bodies, institutions, regulations, symbols, societal norms, values, and worldviews. Think of it this way: sex + culture = sexuality. Sex Cultures offers an introduction to sexuality unlike any other. Its case-study and debate-driven approach, animated by examples from across the globe and across disciplines, upends stubborn assumptions that pit sex against society. The elegance of the arguments makes this book a pleasurable read for beginners and experts alike.
Handbook of Medieval Sexuality
Author: Vern L. Bullough
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-01-11
Total Pages: 449
ISBN-13: 1136512241
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLike specialists in other fields in humanities and social sciences, medievalists have begun to investigate and write about sex and related topics such as courtship, concubinage, divorce, marriage, prostitution, and child rearing. The scholarship in this significant volume asserts that sexual conduct formed a crucial role in the lives, thoughts, hopes and fears both of individuals and of the institutions that they created in the middle ages. The absorbing subject of sexuality in the Middle Ages is examined in 19 original articles written specifically for this "Handbook" by the major authorities in their scholarly specialties. The study of medieval sexuality poses problems for the researcher: indices in standard sources rarely refer to sexual topics, and standard secondary sources often ignore the material or say little about it. Yet a vast amount of research is available, and the information is accessible to the student who knows where to look and what to look for. This volume is a valuable guide to the material and an indicator of what subjects are likely to yield fresh scholarly rewards.
