History and Archaeology Books

Book SynopsisThis revised and updated edition of Aileen Smart's best-selling book paints a fascinating picture of those villages north of the Clyde that helped forge Glasgow into one of Britain's most energetic and vibrant cities. Although now subsumed within Glasgow proper, these places nevertheless maintain a tremendous sense of pride and identity. Each has its own story to tell, its own heroes and villains, its own myths and traditions. Packed with intriguing detail and enhanced with numerous maps and photographs, Villages of Glasgow is a stimulating introduction to Glasgow and those communities that have formed its lifeblood over the centuries.

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Book SynopsisThe history of the Middle Ages [in Ireland] is so neglected that the only figure of renown is Strongbow, the man who led the Norman Invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century … There is little written about the lives of majority of men, who held no title or land, and even less about women … Indeed, so neglected are these people in history that many of the stories and people recounted … haven’t been heard of in centuries. In a society born of conquest, beset with famines and plagues, and where the staples of life were everything from spies and corruption to witch trials and warfare, life in medieval Ireland was seldom dull. In Life in Medieval Ireland, Finbar Dwyer offers a unique portrait of life as it was lived in medieval Ireland. Against the backdrop of what was often a violent and chaotic period of history, Dwyer explores the personal stories of those whose recollections have been preserved, finding in them continual relevance and human interest.

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Book SynopsisThe Easter Rebellion of 1916 was one of the first comprehensively documented political rebellions in the twentieth century. A generation of extraordinary revolutionaries left behind iconic photographs, manuscripts, personal notebooks, letters of insurgents and civilians, and political cartoons. Now, for the first time, this material is gathered together in a riveting exploration of this violent and tragic event. By exploring some of the lesser-known dimensions, such as the role of Ireland's revolutionary women, the experience of the civilian population, and personal papers of ordinary volunteers, this sympathetic study does not obscure the grim realities of political violence.The indelible imprint of the events of Easter Week 1916 on Irish people across the world is authoritatively portrayed.Trade Review"A treasure trove of great visual primary sources." * Come Here To Me! blog *"It is not only replete with wonderful illustrations but is a meaty read." * The Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisWhy were both sides of the Civil War divide so evasive when it came to the death of Michael Collins? Why were they still trying to effect cover-ups as late as the 1960s? Determined to find the truth despite the trails of deception left by many of the key players, Gerard Murphy, a scientist, looked in detail at the evidence. Previous researchers have tended to concentrate on the reminiscences of survivors. Murphy instead focuses on information that appeared in the immediate wake of the ambush, before attempts could be made to conceal the truth. He also examines newly released material, and has carried out a forensic analysis of the ambush site based on photographic evidence of the aftermath recently discovered in a Dublin attic. These investigations have unearthed significant new evidence, overlooked for almost a century, that seriously questions the version of events currently accepted by historians.Trade Review'Well-written, well researched challenge to the consensus' -- Eoghan Harris * Sunday Independent *'A forensically persuasive argument' -- Damian Corless * independent.ie *

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Book SynopsisThe Picts were a sophisticated and powerful people who dominated much of what is now Scotland for hundreds of years, before uniting with the Gaels to form the nation of Alba (later Scotland). Their language has all but disappeared, but their cultural heritage survives, above all in the form of hundreds of incised and carved stones, many marked with their distinctive symbols. Pictish symbols have provoked much curiosity and prompted many interpretations, some more fanciful than others. They are still the subject of debate among experts. This extensively illustrated book explores all the available information on the Picts in an appealing, accessible and authoritative way. It also includes full guides to the important collections of Pictish carved stones at St Vigeans in Angus and Meigle in Perth & Kinross.

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Book SynopsisWho was St Columba? Why was Mary, Queen of Scots executed? When were the Jacobite risings? Where was the new Scottish Parliament built? Scotland’s vibrant and bloody past captures the imagination. But there is far more to Scottish history than murder and mayhem, tragedy and betrayal. In Scotland’s History, historian Fiona Watson looks back across thousands of years into the lives of the people of Scotland. She captures the critical moments and memorable personalities known throughout the world – from the Picts to Bonnie Prince Charlie, and from Macbeth to the Battle of Bannockburn – revealing the truth behind the myths. Trade Review'a superb book . . . Add to its portability its high production values and extensive, attractive and relevant illustrations and you have a book that is approachable, informative and enjoyable to read' * Undiscovered Scotland *

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Book SynopsisStanely G. payne here presents a full history of fascism in interwar Europe, as well as a survey of fascist theory and postwar fascism.The author examines all major fascist movements as well as other forms of authoritarian nationalism and provides a comprehensive work on generic fascism to date. The book traces the phenomenon of fascism through the history of ideas, previous political movements, and the events of the First World War. Although the focus is principally fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, the book also gives detailed attention to the Romanian Iron Guard, Franco's Spain, Japan and proto-fascist movements around the globe.The author explores the reasons for both the limits of fascism's appeal and the historical transcendence of the "fascist era".The inclusion of other forms of authoritarian nationalism lays a foundation for comparative analysis and leads to a more workable definition of authoritarianism.It should be useful reading for students studying the rise of totalitarianism in twentieth-century Europe and for those concerned about the rise of ultranationalism today.Trade Review'Invaluable ... likely to be the definitive study of its subject for a considerable time ... a model of historical narrative, analysis and interpretation.' - The New York TimesTable of ContentsFascism - A Working Definition Part 1: History: The Cultural Transformation of the Fin de Siecle Radical and Authoritarian Nationalism in Late 19th-century Europe The Impact of World War I The Rise of Italian Fascism, 1919-29 The Growth of Nonfascist Authoritarianism in Southern and Eastern Europe, 1919-29 German National Socialism The Transformation of Italian Fascism, 1929-39 Four Major Variants of Fascism The Minor Movements Fascism outside Europe? World War II - Climax and Destruction of Fascism Part 2: Interpretation: Interpretations of Fascism Generic Fascism Fascism and Modernization Elements of a Retrodictive Theory of Fascism Epilogue - Neofascism - A Fascism in our Future?

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Book SynopsisCommemorating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush, Stephen Bourne's War to Windrush explores the lives of Britain's immigrant community through the experiences of Black British women during the period spanning from the beginning of World War II to the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948.In those short years, Black British women performed integral roles in keeping the country functioning and set the stage for the arrival of other black Britons on the MV Empire Windrush. The book shows first-hand what life was like in Britain for black women through photography and evocative prose.War to Windrush retraces the history of those women who helped to build the great, multicultural Britain we know today. It is a celebration of multiculturalism and immigration, much needed in today's political climate.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Frank Watson Book Prize for the best book published on Scottish History Shortlisted for the Saltire Society History Book of the Year The legendary Scottish king Máel Coluim III, also known as ‘Malcolm Canmore’, is often held to epitomise Scotland’s ‘ancient Gaelic kings’. But Máel Coluim and his dynasty were in fact newcomers, and their legitimacy and status were far from secure at the beginning of his rule. Máel Coluim’s long reign from 1058 until 1093 coincided with the Norman Conquest of England, a revolutionary event that presented great opportunities and terrible dangers. Although his interventions in post-Conquest England eventually cost him his life, the book argues that they were crucial to his success as both king and dynasty-builder, creating internal stability and facilitating the takeover of Strathclyde and Lothian. As a result, Máel Coluim left to his successors a territory that stretched far to the south of the kingship’s heartland north of the Forth, similar to the Scotland we know today. The book explores the wider political and cultural world in which Máel Coluim lived, guiding the reader through the pitfalls and possibilities offered by the sources that mediate access to that world. Our reliance on so few texts means that the eleventh century poses problems that historians of later eras can avoid. Nevertheless Scotland in Máel Coluim’s time generated unprecedented levels of attention abroad and more vernacular literary output than at any time prior to the Stewart era.Trade Review'Not just a biography but a fascinatingly detailed picture of the world in which he lived... this is a terrific book. McGuigan writes with a light touch that makes his story a lively and entertaining read.' -- Alistair Forbes * Lance and Longbow Society *'The depth and breadth of McGuigan’s analysis are very impressive throughout. McGuigan leaves no argument uninterrogated nor avenue unexplored' * The Medieval Review *'a major achievement... the writing style is engaging, the maps and genealogies are helpful, and the breadth of scholarship and depth of analysis on display across so many disciplinary and temporal divides is impressive' * Speculum *'McGuigan has gone beyond the realms of biography to create a tangible vision of eleventh- century Scotland — and that is quite an achievement' -- Tom Fairfax * Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies *'This is a beautifully written book that tackles a period of profound change in Scottish history with admirable breadth and range' * The Frank Watson Book Prize *

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Book SynopsisThe archipelagic kingdoms of Man and the Isles that flourished from the last quarter of the eleventh century down to the middle of the thirteenth century represent two forgotten kingdoms of the medieval British Isles. They were ruled by powerful individuals, with unquestionably regnal status, who interacted in a variety of ways with rulers of surrounding lands and who left their footprint on a wide range of written documents and upon the very landscapes and seascapes of the islands they ruled. Yet British history has tended to overlook these Late Norse maritime empires, which thrived for two centuries on the Atlantic frontiers of Britain. This book represents the first ever overview of both Manx and Hebridean dynasties that dominated Man and the Isles from the late eleventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries. Coverage is broad and is not restricted to politics and warfare. An introductory chapter examines the maritime context of the kingdoms in light of recent work in the field of maritime history, while subsequent chronological and narrative chapters trace the history of the kingdoms from their origins through their maturity to their demise in the thirteenth century. Separate chapters examine the economy and society, church and religion, power and architecture.Trade Review'This is a splendid volume. It is a testament to the author’s expertise, built up over two decades of study, that he is able to bring coherence to such a complex history' -- Andrew Rabin * The Medieval Review *

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Book SynopsisThe Great Hunger in nineteenth-century Ireland was a major human tragedy of modern times. Almost a million perished and a further two million emigrated in the wake of potato blight and economic collapse. Acute famine also gripped the Scottish Highlands at the same time, causing misery, hardship and distress. The story of that lesser known human disaster is told in this prize-winning and internationally acclaimed book. The author describes the classic themes of highland and Scottish history, including the clearances, landlordism, crofting life, emigration and migration in a subtle and intricate reconstruction based on a wide range of sources. This book should appeal to all those with an interest in Scottish history, the emigration of Scottish people and the Highland Clearances.Trade Review'This book is a major step forward in Highland historiography' * Northern Scotland *'Devine's history is total, sensitive and scholarly with something to say to anthropologists, sociologists and humanists as well as historians' * Choice USA: A Current Review for College Libraries *

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Book SynopsisCan a long-term perspective on human adaptations to climate change inform Ireland’s response to the crisis we face today? Climate and Society in Ireland is a collection of essays, commissioned by the Royal Irish Academy, that provides a multi-period, interdisciplinary perspective on one of the most important challenges currently facing humanity. Combining syntheses of existing knowledge with new insights and approaches, contributors explore the varied environmental, climatic and social changes that occurred in Ireland from early prehistory to the early 21st century. The essays in the volume engage with a diversity of pertinent themes, including the impact of climate change on the earliest human settlement of Ireland; weather-related food scarcities during medieval times that led to violence and plague outbreaks; changing representations of weather in poetry written in Ireland between 1600 and 1820; and how Ireland is now on the threshold of taking the radical steps necessary to shed its ‘climate laggard’ status and embark on the road to a post-carbon society. With contributions by Máire Ní Annracháin, Katharina Becker, David M. Brown, Lucy Collins, Lisa Coyle McClung, Bruce M.S. Campbell, Rosie Everett, Benjamin Gearey, Raymond Gillespie, Seren Griffiths, James Kelly, Francis Ludlow, Meriel McClatchie, Conor Murphy, Simon Noone, Aaron Potito, Gill Plunkett, Phil Stastney, Graeme T. Swindles, John Sweeney, Graeme Warren.Trade Review"The authors and editors of these essays have produced an excellent compilation volume. The variety of the themes is only surpassed by the amount of research and data comparison that has been achieved in many of the chapters. I highly recommend the book and I really enjoyed dipping in and out of the variety of material it contains". -- Peter Coxon * Holocene Book Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Constructing the history of climate and society in Ireland (pp. i-x) James Kelly and Tomás Ó Carragáin Climate change and hunter gatherers in Ireland: problems, potentials and pressing research questions (pp. 1-22) Graeme Warren Tracing environmental, climatic and social change in Neolithic Ireland (pp. 23-50) Meriel McClatchie and Aaron Potito A question of scale? A review of interpretations of Irish peatland archaeology in relation to Holocene environmental and climate change (pp. 51-81) Phil Stastney Siccitas magna ultra modum: examining the occurrence and societal impact of droughts in Prehistoric Ireland (pp. 83-104) Gill Plunkett, David M. Brown and Graeme T. Swindles On the brink of Armageddon? Climate change, the archaeological record and human activity across the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition in Ireland (pp. 105-128) Benjamin Gearey, Katharina Becker, Rosie Everett and Seren Griffiths Cultural change and the climate record in final prehistoric and early medieval Ireland (pp. 129-158) Lisa Coyle McClung and Gill Plunkett Climate, disease and society in late-medieval Ireland (pp. 159-252) Bruce M.S. Campbell and Francis Ludlow Climate, weather and social change in seventeenth-century Ireland (pp. 253-271) Raymond Gillespie Climate, weather and society in Ireland in the long eighteenth century: the experience of the later phases of the Little Ice Age (pp. 273-324) James Kelly ‘Nature herself seems in the vapours now’: poetry and climate change in Ireland 1600–1820 (pp. 325-347) Lucy Collins https://doi.org/10.3318/priac.2020.120.10 Seeing the natural world: Comhbhá an Dúlra (pp. 349-364) Máire Ní Annracháin Reconstruction of hydrological drought in Irish catchments (1850–2015) (pp. 365-390) Simon Noone and Conor Murphy Climate and society in modern Ireland: past and future vulnerabilities (pp. 391-409) John Sweeney

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Book SynopsisThe Tudor Book of Days is a beautifully produced perpetual diary inspired by The Tudor Book of Hours, designed for keeping important dates, events and seasonal notes in a personal day book. Important events from Tudor history are listed alongside each day and at the start of each month, with ample space for all of your own notes and reminders throughout the year.

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Book SynopsisGreat Britain has just left one Union, after years of bitter argument and divisive posturing. But what if the island's future lies in another Union altogether, with some of its former colonial “kith and kin” across the seas? Why be in a Union with your immediate neighbours, when you could instead be in a trans-oceanic super-state with our old friends in Canada, Australia and New Zealand? Welcome to the strange world of the 'CANZUK Union', the name for a quixotic but apparently serious plan to reunify the white-majority 'Dominions' of the British Empire under the flag of low taxes, strong borders and climate change denialism. Artificial Islands tests the idea that Britain's natural allies and closest relations are in these three countries in North America and the Antipodes, through a good look at the histories, townscapes and spaces of several cities across the settler zones of the British Empire. These are some of the most purely artificial and modern landscapes in the world, British-designed cities that were built with extreme rapidity in forcibly seized territories on the other side of the world from Britain. Were these places really no more than just a reproduction of British Values planted in unlikely corners of the globe? How are people in Auckland, Melbourne, Montreal, Ottawa and Wellington re-imagining their own history, or their countries' role in the British Empire and their complicity in its crimes? And do they have any interest in a union with us?Trade Review"A rich cliché-busting book, a model of how to think critically about empire and its contemporary relevance." - David Edgerton, author of The Rise and Fall of the British Nation "Hatherley carries the narrative with an opinionated and entertaining style." — Rob Greer, The Idler "Hatherley’s accounts of walking Dominion cities display the intuitive feel for place, epigrammatic flair and caustic impatience for cant which make him a successor to the great urban explorers." — The Critic

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Book SynopsisThe British Campaign for Soviet Jewry 1966-1991: Human Rights and Exit Permits is the first full length study of the movement based on primary sources. The book tells the story of one of the three or four most significant events of twentieth century Jewish history. Almost 1.5 million Jews left the Soviet Union mainly for Israel and the United States. According to Natan Sharansky, the international human rights campaign was the most successful such movement in history. It was one of the principal props of the Soviet dissidents campaigning, and an important factor that led to the humbling of the regime and the eventual disintegration of the Soviet Empire. It was also a rare example of the reversal of an attempt at Cultural Genocide, that the Soviet Union had intended to inflict on its Jewish citizens. The book attempts to weave the exciting story of the British movement in its international context in a fluent and readable manner. It focusses on its various components – the women and students and the National Council for Soviet Jewry; and differentiating it from its American counterparts, and the Israeli government, which attempted to guide its over-all strategy. While it covers the changing attitude of the British government to human rights from Harold Wilson to Margaret Thatcher, it also details the trials and tribulations of a countless number of Jewish and other dissidents and their supporters overseas. They bravely defied not only Stalin and his successors but the secret police and enabled the mass migration of Soviet Jewry to happen.

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Book SynopsisIn the Middle Ages, wrestling was practiced as both pastime and self-defense by every level of society - nobles, townsman and peasants alike - and was regarded as the foundation of all other martial arts. And no medieval wrestler's name looms as large as that of the Jewish master Ott, 'wrestler to the noble Princes of Austria', whose treatise is included in over a dozen fencing manuscripts. In this first of its kind book, Jessica Finley of the renowned medieval martial arts association, the Selohaar Fechtschule, guides the reader on a journey that begins with the historical background of Ott's wrestling and culminates in step-by-step instruction for practicing the techniques of this ancient fighting art. Both the lover of history and the wrestler on the mat will find this work an invaluable resource. Trade Review Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Martial Arts of Medieval Germany Chapter 2: Master Ott, the Baptised Jew Chapter 3: Organization of Ott's Treatise Chapter 4: Ott's Prologue and Fight Theory Chapter 5: Basic Wrestling Chapter 6: Stance and Grips Chapter 7: Treatment of the Techniques Appendix A: Ott's Wrestling from the Von Danzig Fechtbuch Appendix B: Ott's Treatise across Manuscripts Appendix C: Drills and Class Notes Bibliography Primary Sources

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Book SynopsisThe Late Middle Ages (c.1350 - 1500) provides us with many of our stock, childhood images of the 'Middle Ages': the knight in shining armour, the joust, lords and ladies dressed in rich, voluminous robes and elegant dresses. Yet it is a paradox, for at the start of the period, Europe had endured the worst pandemic of recorded history: the Black Death, the climate was rapidly cooling, causing massive crop failures and France and England were locked in the brutal, dynastic struggle of the Hundred Years War. Meanwhile, in the second half of the period, intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe, seeking new wealth in Asia and Africa, and launching what has been called the 'Age of Discovery' while a new interest in Classical culture would give birth to the Renaissance. All of these elements have long intrigued and inspired writers, researchers and reenactors to take a trip through the looking glass to this lost world. In the Book of Historic Fashion: A Newcomer's Guide to Medieval Clothing (1300 - 1450), authors Allen and Mele provide a visual snap shot of the courtly elegance and common wear of the period. Filled with hundreds of sketches taken from original sources, mechanical drawings and detailed 'layer drawings' demonstrating how the clothing was worn, this entrée both introduces the period and helps newcomers find their way forward in the study of primary and secondary sources. Whether you are a teacher or professor who wants your students to understand what the clothing of the day really looked like, a costume designers working in theater, TV and film looking for visual reference or just new to medieval reenacting who wants guidance on what to wear in order to be appropriately dressed at events, this volume is for you. Trade Review Table of ContentsIntroduction Part One: A World in Chaos - the Tumultuous Fourteenth Century Period Overview Men's Fashions The Pen of History: Gaston Phebus and the Book of the Hunt Women's Fashions The Pen of History: Jean, Duc de Berry Headgear, Footwear and Accessories Part Two: Old Glories Re-Imagined - the Fifteenth Century and the Waning of the Gothic Era Period Overview Men's Fashions The Pen of History: King Rene d'Anjou Women's Fashions Headgear, Footwear and Accessories Part Three: Arming Clothes and Military Fashion Period Overview Arming Clothes The Pen of History: How a Man Shall be Armed Appendix: Fabrics, Furs and Fashions 1300-1450 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn insightful, nuanced account that highlights the present multitude of currents at play in Europe' - Peter PomerantsevThe Baltics are vital democracies in North-Eastern Europe, but with a belligerent Vladimir Putin to their east plotting his war on Ukraine and expansionist' NATO to their west, these NATO members have increasingly been the subject of unsettling headlines in both Western and Russian media. But beyond the headlines, what is daily existence like in the Baltics, and what does the security of these frontline nations mean for the world? Based on her extensive research and work as a journalist, Aliide Naylor takes us inside the geopolitics of the region. Travelling to the heart of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania she explores modernity in the region, investigates smuggling and troop movements in the borderlands, and explains the countries' unique cultural identities. Naylor tells us why the Baltics have been vital to the political struggle between East and West, and how they pTrade ReviewIn this riveting debut, Naylor combines lyrical personal observations with insightful political analysis to offer a timely and comprehensive picture of the complex societies, economies, and political landscapes of this frequently overlooked region. * The Moscow Times *[A] captivating depiction of the relationship between domestic politics, geopolitics, socioeconomic issues and generational differences. * New Eastern Europe *An insightful, nuanced account that highlights the present multitude of currents at play in Europe, while showing how Russia has used the near-abroad as a laboratory for methods later deployed elsewhere. A mix of travelogue, social and political analysis, Naylor tells the stories and dynamics of the region from the inside, which is really the only way to understand them. * Peter Pomerantsev, author of This is not Propaganda and Nothing is True and Everything is Possible *Over the last six years, as Russia showed the world that it could, at will, seize territory on its Western border, the Baltic states were thrust into limbo, perpetually braced to become the next Ukraine. Aliide Naylor offers us a much-needed look at the netherworld that is the Baltics, an in-between space where anti-Putin intellectuals and shadowy money have sought shelter. Naylor, whose own relatives escaped West from Estonia, is an engaging companion, guiding us through pagan rites, cigarette smugglers' routes, and the lingering secrets of the Nazi occupation. Naylor takes us inside a swath of Europe in a state of suspended animation, forced to serve as a testing ground for a war that may never come. * Ellen Barry, Chief International Correspondent at The New York Times *Table of ContentsChapter 1: The past in the present Chapter 2: Tangible evidence Chapter 3: The view from Russia Chapter 4: Russia in the Baltics Chapter 5: The Baltics in the 21st century Chapter 6: The Baltic states in Europe Conclusion Index

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Book SynopsisWinner of Saltire Scottish History Book of the Year They would be better dead, they said, than set adrift upon the world. But set adrift they were - thousands of them, their communities destroyed, their homes demolished and burned. Such were the Sutherland Clearances, an extraordinary episode, involving the deliberate depopulation of much of a Scottish county. What was done in the course of that episode was planned and carried out by a small group of men and one woman. Most of those involved wrote a great deal about their actions, intentions and feelings, and much of it has been preserved. There are no equivalent collections of material from those whose communities ceased to exist. Their feelings and fears are harder to access, but they are by no means irrecoverable. In this book James Hunter tells the story of the Sutherland Clearances. His researches took him to archives in Scotland, England and Canada, to the now deserted straths of Sutherland, to the frozen shores of Hudson Bay. The result is a gripping, moving, definitive account of a people's struggle for survival in the face of tragedy and disaster which includes experiences which have not featured in any previous such account.Trade Review'a moving, gripping, definitive account of a struggle for survival' * Scots Magazine *'Rarely have the clearances been written about so evocatively. Hunter’s method and his empathy with those involved speaks to us with elegant restraint in an account that sweeps from the Sutherland straths to the struggles of those forced to seek new lives in North America' * Saltire Society *'Hunter unravels and leads us through [the clearances] with the sharpest of eyes for telling details. His account is detailed and unsparing. His fellow-feeling for the cleared people is unmistakable…[he] is careful to present the evidence for all he records. No assertion is left unqualified' * London Review of Books *'[Hunter’s] scholarship is breathtaking' * The Herald *'The best Scottish book I've read, not just in 2016, but probably in recent years. Hunter weaves a narrative which crosses continents and centuries as, in his own recent journey, he follows in the footsteps of cleared Sutherland emigrants to Winnipeg and onwards to the frozen expanses of Hudson Bay in what is a very compelling narrative underpinned by the authority of meticulous research' * Bottle Imp, Best Book of 2016 *

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Book SynopsisWho was Merlin? Is the famous wizard of Arthurian legend based on a real person? In this book, Merlin's origins are traced back to the story of Lailoken, a mysterious 'wild man' who is said to have lived in the Scottish Lowlands in the sixth century AD. The book considers the question of whether Lailoken belongs to myth or reality. It looks at the historical background of his story and discusses key characters such as Saint Kentigern of Glasgow and King Rhydderch of Dumbarton, as well as important events such as the Battle of Arfderydd. Lailoken's reappearance in medieval Welsh literature as the fabled prophet Myrddin is also examined. Myrddin himself was eventually transformed into Merlin the wizard, King Arthur's friend and mentor. This is the Merlin we recognise today, not only in art and literature but also on screen. His earlier forms are less familiar, more remote, but can still be found among the lore and legend of the Dark Ages. Behind them we catch fleeting glimpses of an original figure who perhaps really did exist: a solitary fugitive, tormented by his experience of war, who roamed the hills and forests of southern Scotland long ago.Trade Review'Tim Clarkson should be congratulated on producing a book which marries together painstaking and detailed research with common-sense and open-minded analysis ... The book that emerges succeeds in cutting through centuries of confusion and complexity in a way that is deeply impressive' - Undiscovered Scotland

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Book SynopsisHomilies collects seven sermons delivered by Sophronios during his short tenure as patriarch of Jerusalem, which coincided with the Holy City’s capitulation to the Arab army in 638 CE. Based on a completely new edition of the Byzantine Greek text, this is the first English translation of the homilies of Sophronios.

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Book SynopsisWas there ever such a thing as Byzantium? Certainly no emperor ever called himself Byzantine. While the identities of eastern minorities were clear, that of the ruling majority remains obscured behind a name made up by later generations. Anthony Kaldellis says it is time for the Romanness of these so-called Byzantines to be taken seriously.Trade ReviewRomanland is brilliant. With great lucidity, Anthony Kaldellis challenges us to set aside an immense tradition of misdirection. He excavates the conceits by which the West created ‘Byzantium’—and itself—and then demolishes them. Only then do we see what was in fact there all along: a community of Romans, and a polity of remarkable creativity and endurance. This is tremendous scholarship. -- Clifford Ando, author of Roman Social ImaginariesEthnicity in the later Roman empire has been highly contested and immensely controversial, from medieval times to the present. Like a Hercules cleaning the Augean stables, Kaldellis is purging the field of the nationalistic contentions and prejudices that have beset scholarship, starting with the artificial name ‘Byzantium.’ This blockbuster of a book performs for ‘Byzantine’ Studies the service that Edward Said’s Orientalism did for Arabic and Islamic Studies. Romanland offers a clean slate for serious and sophisticated study, with love and empathy, of the history of these societies. -- Dimitri Gutas, author of Greek Thought, Arabic CultureIn his most persuasive work to date, Kaldellis calls an astonishing number of medieval witnesses to testify that they were Romans, rather than the ‘Byzantines’ scholars have wanted them to be. This extraordinary book should shift the ground under Byzantine studies. -- Leonora Neville, author of Guide to Byzantine Historical WritingFascinating…Kaldellis’s scholarship is always learned, but also fiercely iconoclastic, tearing down orthodoxies that have stood for centuries…[An] innovative and eye-opening book by one of the most important Byzantinists working today. -- Thomas F. Madden * New Criterion *

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Book SynopsisAn encyclopedic selection of original documents from the Austrian capital's pathbreaking, progressive interwar period, translated and with contextualizing introductions and commentaries. The current blockbuster German TV series Babylon Berlin introduces viewers to the tumultuous period in German history known as the Weimar Republic. Critics have praised the series for its relevance to the present: it showsdark populist forces undermining a fragile democracy. While Weimar Germany makes a fascinating backdrop, its story does not inspire much hope for our present-day political and cultural woes. A fascinating contrast is the Austrian capital, Vienna. After the First World War the former imperial city elected a Social Democratic majority that persisted into the 1930s. "Red Vienna" undertook large-scale experiments in public housing, hygiene, and education,while maintaining a world-class presence in music, literature, art, culture, and science. Though Red Vienna eventually fell victim to fascist violence, it left a rich legacy with potential to inform our own tumultuous times. The Red Vienna Sourcebook provides scholars and students with an encyclopedic selection of key documents from the period, carefully translated and introduced. The thirty-six chapters include primary works from canonical names such as Sigmund Freud and Arthur Schnitzler but also introductions to lesser-known figures such as sociologist Käthe Leichter and health-policy pioneer Julius Tandler. The documents will be of interest to such diverse disciplines as economics, architecture, music, film history, philosophy, women's studies, sports and body culture, and Jewish studies.

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Book SynopsisWide-ranging examination of women's achievements in and influence on many aspects of medieval culture. Medieval women were normally denied access to public educational institutions, and so also denied the gateways to most leadership positions. Modern scholars have therefore tended to study learned medieval women as simply anomalies, and women generally as victims. This volume, however, argues instead for a via media. Drawing upon manuscript and archival sources, scholars here show that more medieval women attained some form of learning than hitherto imagined, and that women with such legal, social or ecclesiastical knowledge also often exercised professional or communal leadership. Bringing together contributors from the disciplines of literature, history and religion, this volume challenges several traditional views: firstly, the still-prevalent idea that women's intellectual accomplishments were limited to the Latin literate. The collection therefore engages heavily with vernacular writings (in Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, French, Dutch, German and Italian), and also with material culture (manuscript illumination, stained glass, fabric and jewelry) for evidence of women's advanced capabilities. But in doing so, the contributors strive to avoid the equally problematic view that women's accomplishments were somehow limited to the vernacular and the material. So several essays examine women at work with the sacred languages of the three Abrahamic traditions (Latin, Arabic and Hebrew). And a third traditional view is also interrogated: that women were somehow more "original" for their lack of learning and and dependence on their mother tongue. Scholars here agree wholeheartedly that women could be daring thinkers in any language; they engage readily with women's learnedness wherever it can be found.Trade ReviewThe team of scholars who pulled this collection together have rendered us a great service. . . . Each contributor is a gifted and concise writer. Younger scholars will find much here to expand their own research and thinking; so will graduate students in many fields. The book is especially valuable in its modeling of effective collaboration among interdisciplinary fields. * Magistra *The readers will find it helpful to have the introductory sections focus on the wider methodological framework and scholarship for each of the approaches taken, while the didactic setup makes this book an ideal tool for teaching purposes. The overall introduction and epilogue are superb in setting the scene, warning of pitfalls, and identifying new avenues of research. Above all, they remind the reader that the women discussed in this volume constitute probably only the tip of an iceberg and for this reason they encourage us to continue digging in archives and libraries to identify more of them. * Church History *Women Intellectuals and Leaders in the Middle Ages is an impressive volume of essays that ranges across academic disciplines, countries, time periods, and sources in order to contribute to key debates about women's history and role in intellectual life throughout the medieval period. The editors, Kathryn Kerby-Fulton, Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis, and John Van Engen, set out to "tak[e] early women intellectuals and leaders seriously," as the title of Kerby-Fulton's introduction puts it, and in this aim it absolutely succeeds. * Journal of British Studies *Table of Contents"Taking Early Women Intellectuals and Leaders Seriously" - Kathryn Kerby-Fulton "Authorship and Intellectual Life: Jewish and Muslim Women" - Ruth Karras "Gender, Scholarship, and the Construction of Authority in the Pre-Modern Muslim World" - Asma Afsaruddin "The Historiography of Absence: Preliminary Steps Towards a New History of Andalusi Women Poets" - S.J. Pearce "Medieval Anglo-Jewish Women at Court" - Adrienne Williams Boyarin "Intellectuals, Leaders, Doctores" - David Wallace "Agnes of Harcourt as Intellectual: New Evidence for the Composition and Circulation of the Vie d'Isabelle de France" - Sean L. Field "Catherine of Siena, Auctor" - F Thomas Luongo "Christine de Pizan on the Jews, in Three Texts: The Heures de contemplation sur la Passion de Nostre Seigneur Jhesucrist, the Fais et bonnes meurs du sage roy Charles V, and the Mutacion de Fortune" - Thelma Fenster "Walking in Grandmothers' Footsteps: Mary Ward and the Medieval Spiritual and Intellectual Heritage" - Gemma C.J. Simmonds "New Solutions to Old Problems" - Kathryn Kerby-Fulton "A Woman Author? The Middle-Dutch Dialogue between a 'Good-willed Layperson' and a 'Master Eckhart'" - John Van Engen "Recovery and Loss: Women's Writing around Marie de France" - Jocelyn Wogan-Browne "The Visions, Experiments, and Operations of Bridget of Autruy (fl. 1305-15)" - Nicholas Watson "Methodological Innovations for the Study of Women's Authorship and Agency" - Nicholas Watson "Written with Her Own Hand: Perpetua's Representation of Non-Binary Gender in Old English Hagiography" - Leanne MacDonald "The Materialization of Knowledge in Thirteenth-Century England: Joan Tateshal, Robert Grosseteste, and the Tateshal Miscellany" - Anna Siebach-Larson "Networks of Influence: Widows, Sole Administration, and Unconventional Relationships in Thirteenth-Century London" - Amanda Bohne "Religious Women in Leadership, Ministry, and Latin Ecclesiastical Culture" - John Van Engen "Bede's Abbesses" - Sarah Foot "Women's Latinity in the Early English Anchorhold" - Megan J. Hall "The Treatment of Ordination in Recent Scholarship on Religious Women in the Early Middle Ages" - Gary Macy "Saint Colette de Corbie (1381-1447): Reformist Leadership and Belated Sainthood" - Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski "Women Priests at Barking Abbey in the Late Middle Ages" - K.A. Bugyis "Laywomen as Leaders" - Dyan Elliott "Women Donors and Ecclesiastical Reform: Evidence from Camaldoli and Vallombrosa, c. 1000-1150" - Maureen C. Miller "Laywomen's Leadership in Medieval Miracle Cults: Evidence from Britain, ca. 1150-1250" - Rachel Koopmans "Mechthild of Magdeburg at Helfta: A Study in Literary Influence" - Barbara Newman "Positioning Women in Medieval Society, Culture, and Religion: An Epilogue" - John Van Engen

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Book SynopsisAn invaluable compendium of sources relating to the Great ExhibitionTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Origins and organisation 2 Display 3 Nation, empire and ethnicity 4 Gender 5 Class 6 Afterlives Index

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Book SynopsisContaining an urgently needed archival database of historical evidence, this volume includes both a consolidated presentation of the documentary records of black people in Tudor and Stuart England, and an interpretive narrative that confirms and significantly extends the insights of current theoretical excursus on race in early modern England. Here for the first time Imtiaz Habib collects the scattered references to black people-whether from Africa, India or America-in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England, and arranges them into a systematic, chronological descriptive index. He offers an extended historical and theoretical interpretation of the records in six chapters, which serve as an introductory guide to the index even as they articulate a specific argument about the meaning of the records. Both the archival information and interpretive scholarship provide a strong framework from which future historical debates on race in early modern England can proceed.Trade Review'Imtiaz Habib's meticulous examination of English sources, both manuscript and printed, will profoundly reshape the ongoing arguments about "race" in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. For decades to come, scholars in many fields will gratefully mine Habib's chronological chart of 448 records of "black people" between 1500 and 1677 and debate his extensive analysis. Black Lives in the English Archives is a major contribution.' Alden T. Vaughan, Columbia University, USA '...A valuable reference for ethnic historians, archivists, and Anglophiles...Recommended.' Choice ’Imtiaz Habib has done us a great service by providing this accessible database of references to Africans, Indians and Americans in early modern England, some never published before.’ Times Literary Supplement '[Habib's] book is a detailed and sophisticated study that makes a significant contribution towards filling the yawning gap in our knowledge, a gap that apparently we did not know was there. ...[an] important contribution to advancing historical understandings of race and colonialism in early modern England.' ParergonTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Missing (Black) Subject1 Early Tudor Black Records The Mixed Beginnings of a Black Population2 Elizabethan London Black RecordsThe Writing of Absence3 Black Records of Seventeenth-Century LondonABenign Neglect and the Legislation of Enslavement4 Black People outside London, 1558–1677The Provincial Backdrop5 Indians and OthersThe Protocolonial DreamAfterword

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA timely reminder of the intellectual tradition deployed by Republican politicians in the U.S. when they join the loose coalition of conspiracy theorists across the Atlantic gleefully demonizing George Soros. It is both salutary and depressing to be reminded of how enduring the trope of an exploitative global Jewish conspiracy against pure, humble and selfless nationalists really is…A century after the end of the first world war, we have, it seems, learned very little. -- Mark Mazower * Financial Times *One of the great merits of Paul Hanebrink’s A Specter Haunting Europe is its demonstration of how Europe’s most pervasive and powerful twentieth-century manifestation of anti-Semitic thought—the myth of Judeo-Bolshevism—emerged before the rise of National Socialism and has continued to have a curious life long after the Holocaust and the defeat of Nazi Germany. -- Christopher R. Browning * New York Review of Books *Magisterial…Hanebrink’s book covers this dark history with insight and skill. He has the linguistic ability to bring Eastern Europe fully into the narrative, and the vision to include American and Western European debates, too. The end result is a major intervention into our understanding of 20th-century Europe and the lessons we ought to take away from its history. -- James Chappel * The Nation *Outstanding…Makes clear that Judeo-Bolshevism was far from an afterthought; it was a—perhaps the—central catalyst in driving forward the Nazi genocidal project…The most exhaustive account to date of the Nazi obsession with Judeo-Bolshevism, but also of the other sites and eras in Europe in which the myth of Judeo-Bolshevism flourished. -- David N. Myers * Los Angeles Review of Books *This masterful interpretation of the origins and trajectory of the Judeo-Bolshevik myth is far more than a new classic in the canon of the writing of twentieth-century history. With the politics of exclusion and Islamophobia now sweeping Europe, alongside the election of Donald Trump in the United States, Paul Hanebrink’s reconstruction of the conspiratorial imagination that led shadowy others to be blamed—and worse—is an indispensable warning for our own time. -- Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal WorldHanebrink follows the myth’s twisted course from its European origins in the immediate aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, through the jaundiced politics of the interwar period, to its devastating culmination in Nazi Germany…He argues that it survives today in the resurgent right-wing nationalism cropping up in many Western countries. From the start, the fantasy held that an alien element—the Jews—aimed to subvert the cultural values and national identities of Western societies. As Hanebrink points out, this theme is echoed in modern anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. The writers, politicians, and shills whose poisonous ideas he exhumes have many contemporary admirers. -- Robert Legvold * Foreign Affairs *Thoughtful and informative…In addition to examining the origins and influence of the Judeo-Bolshevik myth in the period from 1917 to 1945, Hanebrink attempts to show that it is still an important element in anti-Semitism, both in Europe and beyond…While Judeo-Bolshevism may have lost its resonance, Paul Hanebrink is right to insist that its history still matters, both as a key to understanding the tragic fate of Europe’s Jews in the first half of the twentieth century and as a reminder of how myths can open the way to political and moral catastrophe. -- James J. Sheehan * Commonweal *A masterful attempt to dissect the origins and the development of the idea of Judeo-Bolshevism in different cultural and political settings across twentieth-century Europe, and to explain why and how this canard came to shape the intentions of the leaders of so many parties and organizations, and dominate the minds of intellectuals as well as of average players in the Age of Extremes… Hanebrink’s close study of the way in which Nazism refashioned Judeo-Bolshevism is magisterial in the detailed assessment of how different European countries and organizations responded to Germany’s acclaimed mission to lead Europe against the common enemy… [A] tour de force… [A] definitive history of Judeo-Bolshevism. -- Elissa Bemporad * Marginalia *As Paul Hanebrink demonstrates in this masterly account, the myth of Judaeo-Bolshevism rose on a tide of hysteria whipped up by the chaos in central Europe that marked the end of the Great War…This in turn fed easily into a vicious racist rhetoric that characterized much of the discourse of the political right in Europe between the two world wars and which was of course a cornerstone of the Nazi enterprise. -- Geoffrey Alderman * Times Higher Education *An edifying new book that serves as a valuable addition to the corpus of scholarship on the long history of antisemitism. -- Tibor Krausz * Jerusalem Post *Remarkably lucid and disturbingly relevant…An explicit response to the continued use of Judeo-Bolshevism among far-right movements…The scope of Hanebrink’s achievement here should not be underestimated. -- Sean Martin * Russian Review *During World War II the phantom idea of Judeo-Bolshevism fueled genocides that killed millions of Jews and East Europeans, but, as Paul Hanebrink tells us, we hear its echoes anytime politicians stir fears about outsiders threatening civilization—whether they call it European, Western, or Christian. Hanebrink’s tour de force is rare in its brilliance and originality, but also urgent in its message for our time. -- John Connelly, author of From Enemy to Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, 1933–1965Hanebrink has written a remarkable study…[He] successfully blends the political history of twentieth-century Eastern Europe—with Germany figuring prominently in his narrative—with an originally conceived intellectual history of the Judeo-Bolshevik myth and various echoes that it spawned in public discourse…His book is too good and too rich to be summarized. It should be read. -- Jan T. Gross * American Historical Review *Tremendous…Could not be more timely…These are dangerous times and we need to know as much about the history and politics of the far-right as we can. Hanebrink’s book is a challenging and important contribution helping to develop that understanding. -- John Newsinger * Socialist Review *Superb…Argues cogently that the Judeo-Bolshevism peril was constructed from ‘the raw materials of anti-Judaism, recycled and rearranged to meet new requirements.’ -- Sheldon Kirshner * Times of Israel *A tour de force…This is a first-rate, innovative study not only of a crucial chapter in European history, but also of vicious forces still at play in the present. -- Michael Stanislawski * Journal of Modern History *[An] absorbing work. -- Diane Cypkin * Martyrdom & Resistance *[A] historical tour de force…A Specter Haunting Europe is a masterful work and essential reading for both scholars and students of modern European history, antisemitism, and Jewish Studies. -- Jonathan Zisook * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisFirst Published in 1989. Tackling the problem of Germany's role in the history of world politics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is one of the most interesting tasks of historiography. Furthermore, the relationship between Britain and Germany is of central significance in understanding this role.Table of ContentsPart 1 The European Order between German Unification and the First World War; Chapter 1 Great Britain and the foundation of the German Reich; Chapter 2 Lord Clarendon, Bismarck and the problem of European disarmament, 1870.; Chapter 3 Between alliance and antagonism.; Chapter 4 The crisis of July 1914; Part 2 The Revolution in the International Order in the Twentieth Century; Chapter 5 Hitler’s policy towards France until 1936; Chapter 6 War in peace and peace in war.; Chapter 7 The German Resistance and its proposals for the political future of Eastern Europe; Part 3 The Federal Republic and its Policies towards East and West; Chapter 8 The provisional state and ‘eternal France’.; Chapter 9 Adenauer and Soviet Russia, 1963–7.; Chapter 10 The German Eigenweg;

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Book SynopsisBenvenuto Cellini was a celebrated Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith - a passionate craftsman who was admired and resented by the most powerful political and artistic personalities in sixteenth-century Florence, Rome and Paris. He was also a murderer and a braggart, a shameless adventurer who at different times experienced both papal persecution and imprisonment, and the adulation of the royal court. Inn-keepers and prostitutes, kings and cardinals, artists and soldiers rub shoulders in the pages of his notorious autobiography: a vivid portrait of the manners and morals of both the rulers of the day and of their subjects. Written with supreme powers of invective and an irrepressible sense of humour, this is an unrivalled glimpse into the palaces and prisons of the Italy of Michelangelo and the Medici.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represeTable of ContentsAutobiographyIntroductionA Chronology of CelliniAutobiographyNotes Select BibliographyIndex

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