Literary studies: ancient, classical Books

Book SynopsisWycliffite's theology and learning examined in the context of their physical appearance in contemporary books and manuscripts. The reform movement known variously as Wycliffism or Lollardy is now a familiar feature of the premodern intellectual and religious landscape. But even though "heresy" has migrated to the forefront of medieval studies in recent decades, Wycliffite biblical scholarship itself has escaped sustained attention, especially its different tiers of textual form and practice. This book examines Wycliffism as it moves from late scholastic discourses of academic biblical study to the material contexts of English book and manuscript production; it also considers changing notions of biblical materiality itself. Such a concern is not limited to the empirical analysis of the book-object itself, but extends to scripture's material forms and identites as they were imagined, theorised, and made the subject of far-reaching speculation in textual criticism and hermenutics. In addition to Wycliff's academic writing, the book also addresses the movement's most significant textual assemblages in a major contribution to reframing our understanding of a key moment in English religious and cultural history. David Lavinsky is Assistant Professor for the Department of English at Yeshiva University.Table of ContentsIntroduction "De Pellibus Bestiarum": Scripture, Realism, and Material Form "Stories of þe elde testament": Adherence, Supersession, and the "Proces" of Reading "We speke not of enke and parchemyn": Voice, Form, and Textual Supplement Rolle's "blessyd boke": Heresy, Interpolation, and the Material Text The "sentence of olde holy doctouris": Gospel Commentary and the Materialities of the Literal Sense Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisA pioneering approach to contemporary historical writing on the First Crusade, looking at the texts as cultural artefacts rather than simply for the evidence they contain. The First Crusade (1095-1101) was the stimulus for a substantial boom in Western historical writing in the first decades of the twelfth century, beginning with the so-called "eyewitness" accounts of the crusade and extending to numerous second-hand treatments in prose and verse. From the time when many of these accounts were first assembled in printed form by Jacques Bongars in the early seventeenth century, and even more so since their collective appearance in the great nineteenth-century compendium of crusade texts, the Recueil des historiens des croisades, narrative histories have come to be regarded as the single most important resource for the academic study of the early crusade movement. But our understanding of these texts is still far from satisfactory. This ground-breaking volume draws together the work of an international team of scholars. It tackles the disjuncture between the study of the crusades and the study of medieval history-writing, setting the agenda for future research into historical narratives about or inspired by crusading. The basic premise that informs all the papers is that narrative accounts of crusades and analogous texts should not be primarily understood as repositories of data that contribute to a reconstruction of events, but as cultural artefacts that can be interrogated from a wide range of theoretical, methodological and thematic perspectives. MARCUS BULL is Andrew W Mellon Distinguished Professor of Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; DAMIEN KEMPF is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Liverpool. Contributors: Laura Ashe, Steven Biddlecombe, Marcus Bull, Peter Frankopan, Damian Kempf, James Naus, Léan Ní Chléirigh, Nicholas Paul, William J. Purkis, Luigi Russo, Jay Rubenstein, Carol Sweetenham,Trade ReviewAn impressive volume that maintains a rare coherence across the twelve contributions to bring out the individuality and significance of these varied narratives. * THE HISTORIAN *This volume provides a fine introduction to the historiography of the First Crusade, both for those who consider themselves historians of that movement and for those who do not. * SPECULUM *The individual pieces are all excellent in their scholarly quality and acumen. * MEDIAEVISTIK 27 *[A]n essential work for crusade historians that will also edify and challenge the medieval scholarly community to reexamine their approaches to historical writing. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *The volume is an important milestone in a journey that, in many ways, has only just started. It should be of great use both to historians of crusades and to historians of medieval historiography for many years to come. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *Table of ContentsIntroduction - Marcus Bull and Damien Kempf Baldric of Bourgueil and the Familia Christi - Steven J. Biddlecombe Gilbert of Nogent, Albert of Aachen and Fulcher of Chartres: Three Crusade Chronicles Intersect - Jay C. Rubenstein Understanding the Greek Sources for the First Crusade - Peter Frankopan The Monte Cassino Tradition of the First Crusade: From the Chronica Monasterii Casinensis to the Hystoria de via et recuperatione Antiochiae atque Ierusolymarum - Luigi Russo Nova Peregrinatio: The First Crusade as a Pilgrimage in Contemporary Latin Narratives - Léan Ní Chléirigh What Really Happened to Eurvin de Créel's Donkey? Anecdotes in Sources for the First Crusade - Carol Sweetenham Porta Clausa: Trial and Triumph at the Gates of Jerusalem - Nicholas L. Paul The Historia Iherosolimitana of Robert the Monk and the Coronation of Louis VI - James Naus Towards a Textual Archaeology of the First Crusade - Damien Kempf Robert the Monk and his Sources[s] - Marcus Bull Rewriting the History Books: The First Crusade and the Past - William J. Purkis The Ideal of Knighthood in English and French Writing, 1100-1230: Crusade, Piety, Chivalry and Patriotism - Laura Ashe

Read more less

Book SynopsisDrawing on a wealth of sources from different disciplines, the essays here provide a nuanced picture of how medieval and early modern societies viewed murder and dealt with murderers. Murder - the perpetrators, victims, methods and motives - has been the subject of law, literature, chronicles and religion, often crossing genres and disciplines and employing multiple modes of expression and interpretation. As the chapters in this volume demonstrate, definitions of murder, manslaughter and justified or unjustified homicide depend largely on the legal terminology and the laws of the society. Much like modern nations, medieval societies treated murder and murderers differently based on their social standing, the social standing of the victim, their gender, their mental capacity for understanding their crime, and intent, motive and means. The three parts of this volume explore different aspects of this crime in the Middle Ages. The first provides the legal template for reading cases of murder in a variety of sources. The second examines the public hermeneutics of murder, especially theways in which medieval societies interpreted and contextualised their textual traditions: Icelandic sagas, Old French fabliaux, Arthuriana and accounts of assassination. Finally, the third part focuses on the effects of murder within the community: murder as a social ill, especially in killing kin. LARISSA TRACY is Professor of Medieval Literature at Longwood University. Contributors: Dianne Berg, G. Koolemans Beynen, Dwayne C. Coleman, Jeffrey Doolittle, Carmel Ferragud, Jay Paul Gates, Thomas Gobbitt, Emily J. Hutchison, Jolanta N. Komornicka, Anne Latowsky, Matthew Lubin, Andrew McKenzie-McHarg, Ben Parsons, Ilse Schweitzer VanDonkelaar, Hannah Skoda, Bridgette Slavin, Larissa Tracy, Patricia Turning, Lucas WoodTrade ReviewMakes for fascinating reading. * PARERGON *Thiswide-ranging and engaging volume will be of use to scholars from many disciplinesin medieval and early modern studies. * MEDIUM AEVUM *Tracy (Longwood Univ.) places medieval and early modern murder within the context of current scholarship in both law and literature. Recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Murder Most Foul Secret Killing and Murder by Magic in the Law of Adomnán - Bridgette Slavin Discursive Murders: The St Brice's Day Massacre, Beowulf and Morðor - Jay Paul Gates Mourning Murderers in Medieval Jewish Law - Pinchas Roth Treacherous Murder: Language and Meaning in French Murder Trials - Jolanta Komornicka 'Mordre wol out': Murder and Justice in Chaucer - Larissa Tracy Bringing Murder to Light: Death, Publishing and Performance in Icelandic Sagas - Ilse Schweitzer VanDonkelaar 'I Think This Bacon is Wearing Shoes': Comedy and Murder in the Old French Fabliaux - Anne Latowsky 'Chevaliers ocirre': Manslaughter, Morality and Meaning in the Queste del Saint Graal - Lucas Wood Murder, Manslaughter and Reputation: Killing in Malory's Le Morte Darthur - Dwayne Coleman Poisoning as a Means of State Assassination in Early Modern Venice - Matthew Lubin Defamation, a Murder More Foul?: The 'Second Murder' of Louis, Duke of Orleans [d. 1407] Reconsidered - Emily Hutchison 'A general murther, an universal slaughter': Strategies of Anti-Jesuit Defamation in Reporting Assassination in the Early Modern Period - Andrew McKenzie-McHarg Negotiating Murder in the Historiae of Gregory of Tours - Jeffrey Doolittle Poisoning, Killing and Murder in the Edictus Rothari - Thomas Gobbitt Murder, Foul and Fair, in Shota Rustaveli's The Man in the Panther Skin - G. Koolemans Beynen A Multiple Poisoning in the City of Valencia: Sanxo Calbó's Crime [1442] - Carmel Ferragud A Case of Mariticide in Late Medieval France - Patricia Turning Monstrous Un-Making: Maternal Infanticide and Female Agency in Early Modern England - Dianne Berg Imps of Hell: Young People, Murder and the Early English Press - Ben Parsons Conclusion - Hannah Skoda Select Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisEssays discussing the medieval book, its owners and its readers. Reading, writing, sharing texts, and book ownership in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and how they fostered social and intellectual links and networks between individuals, particularly among women: these are subjects whichthe pioneering work of Mary C. Erler has done so much to illuminate. The essays here, in this volume in her honour, build on her scholarship, engaging with Professor Erler's characteristic use of bibliography in the service of biography by investigating how the physical object of the book can enlighten our understanding of medieval readers and writers. They analyze, for example, what "reading" means in terms of the act itself (and the accessories, such asbookmarks, that helped to set the stage for reading), whether done aloud or silently, in such different venues as an aristocratic court, bourgeois household, village community, and monastic cloister. They also consider the culture of medieval reading practices, especially those of women, across social classes, and in terms of the transition between the pre- and post-Reformation periods; the fluidity of genre boundaries; and changes in devotional reading and writing in this liminal period. A wide variety of genres are covered, including secular romance, devotional texts, schoolbooks, and the illustrated Old Testament preface to the famous Queen Mary Psalter, which recasts the story and image of ancient Israelites to suit elite readerly taste. MARTIN CHASE is Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Fordham University; MARYANNE KOWALESKI is Joseph Fitzpatrick S.J. Distinguished Professor of History and Medieval Studies at Fordham University. CONTRIBUTORS: Allison Alberts, Caroline M. Barron, Heather Blatt, Martin Chase, Joyce Coleman, Sheila Lindenbaum, Joel T. Rosenthal, Michael G. Sargent, Kathryn A. Smith.Trade ReviewAn important contribution tobook history, adding further reflection on the way books were read, shared, depicted, and regarded in the medieval period. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES *Reading and Writing in the Middle Ages not only advances Mary Erler's research interests, it honors her by adding to her scholarship and expanding her fields. . . . Many of the articles are even suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate seminars. . . . In all, the quality of Reading and Writing in the Middle Ages is a tribute not only to Mary Erler, but to the editors and scholars who produced it. * SIXTEENTH CENTURY JOURNAL *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Bibliography in the Service of Biography "Withinne a Paved Parlour": Criseyde and Domestic Reading in a City under Siege Beatrice Melreth: A London Gentlewoman and Her Books How Intellectual Were Fifteenth-Century Londoners? Grammar versus Logic in the Citizens' Encounters with Learned Men Social Memory, Literacy, and Piety in Fifteenth-Century Proofs of Age Crafting the Old Testament in the Queen Mary Psalter Affective Reading and Walter Hilton's Scale of Perfection at Syon Book Accessories, Gender, and the Staging of Reading Enska Vísan: Sir Orfeo in Iceland? Reading the Real Housewives of John Foxe's Book of Martyrs The Writings of Mary Carpenter Erler

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst full-scale account of the use of the Arthurian legend in the long twelfth century. The precedent of empire and the promise of return lay at the heart of King Arthur's appeal in the Middle Ages. Both ideas found fullness of expression in the twelfth century: monarchs and magnates sought to recreate an Arthurian golden age that was as wondrous as the biblical and classical worlds, but less remote. Arthurianism, the practice of invoking and emulating the legendary Arthur of post-Roman Britain, was thus an instance of medieval medievalism. This book provides a comprehensive history of the first 150 years of Arthurianism, from its beginnings under Henry II of England to a highpoint under Edward I. It contends that the Plantagenet kings of England mockingly ascribed a literal understanding of the myth of King Arthur's return to the Brittonic Celts whilst adopting for themselves a figurative and typological interpretation of the myth. A central figure in this work is Arthur of Brittany (1187-1203), who, for more than a generation, was the focus of Arthurian hopes and their disappointment. CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL BERARD is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Providence College. He completed his PhD at the University of Toronto's Centre for Medieval Studies.Trade ReviewRich in both broad observations and textual details, [it] is as deeply informative as it is clear and readable...It is strongly recommended for anyone with an abiding interest in the ways 'Arthur' was used and in the ways those uses have continued down through subsequent literature and history. * ARTHURIANA *A good and admirable book which merits serious study. It is written clearly and brimmed full of original ideas. * HISTORY *It is difficult to imagine anyone doing a more thorough job in gathering such a wide range of material into a coherent, intriguing whole. * REVIEW OF ENGLISH STUDIES *A very useful survey. * PARERGON *Never reaching for simple answers, Berard allows complexities and indeterminate readings to co-exist. His is a rich study of the political ends to which elites deployed the Arthurian tradition. Arthurianism in Early Plantagenet England will appeal to anyone interested in medieval historiography, political discourse, and, of course, the Arthurian legend. * SPECULUM *Table of ContentsIntroduction Arthurianism during the reign of Henry II, 1154-1189 Arthurianism during the reign of Richard I, 1189-1199 Arthurianism during the reign of King John, 1199-1216 Arthurianism during the reign of Henry III, 1216-1272 Arthurianism during the reign of Edward I, 1272-1307 Conclusion Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first modern edition of a text which shows the suspicion with which Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain was received two decades after it first appeared. The history of the Yorkshire secular clerk, Alfred of Beverley (c.1148 x c.1151), an important primary source in Anglo-Norman historiography, supplies a history of Britain from its supposed foundation by Brutus down to the death of Henry I in 1135. Alfred's history is of particular interest in that it is the first Insular Latin chronicle to incorporate the legendary British history of Geoffrey of Monmouth (published c.mid 1130s) within a continuous account of the island's past. In attempting to fuse the radically new Galfridian account of the past with that of the conventional twelfth-century (Bedan) view, Alfred's use and manipulation of his sources is highly revealing and suggests a quite critical reception of Geoffrey's history, a mindset which by the end of the twelfth century appears almost entirely to have disappeared amongst chroniclers. Alfred's history is also an important, and presently undervalued, witness to the reception and dissemination of three of the most important Anglo-Norman histories: Symeon of Durham Historia Regum, The Chronicle of John of Worcester and Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, from which works it borrows extensively. In the manner of use of these sources, the author tells us much about the ecclesiastical and intellectual interests and outlook of the period.Trade ReviewIt is this last feature of Alfred's History which is Dr Slevin's argument as to why his work deserves a lot more attention. -- David Crouch * Northern History *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Abbreviations List of plates, figures and maps INTRODUCTION Alfred of Beverley - Man, Milieu & Memory Date and Circumstances of the History Sources i. Introduction ii. Henry of Huntingdon iii. Geoffrey of Monmouth iv. John of Worcester v. The Durham Historia Regum The Afterlife of Alfred Historical place, purpose and value Manuscripts Editions i. Previous Edition ii. This Edition TEXT AND TRANSLATION Appendices General Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisDrawing on a wealth of sources from different disciplines, the essays here provide a nuanced picture of how medieval and early modern societies viewed murder and dealt with murderers. Murder - the perpetrators, victims, methods and motives - has been the subject of law, literature, chronicles and religion, often crossing genres and disciplines and employing multiple modes of expression and interpretation. As the chapters in this volume demonstrate, definitions of murder, manslaughter and justified or unjustified homicide depend largely on the legal terminology and the laws of the society. Much like modern nations, medieval societies treated murder and murderers differently based on their social standing, the social standing of the victim, their gender, their mental capacity for understanding their crime, and intent, motive and means. The three parts of this volume explore different aspects of this crime in the Middle Ages. The first provides the legal template for reading cases of murder in a variety of sources. The second examines the public hermeneutics of murder, especially theways in which medieval societies interpreted and contextualised their textual traditions: Icelandic sagas, Old French fabliaux, Arthuriana and accounts of assassination. Finally, the third part focuses on the effects of murder within the community: murder as a social ill, especially in killing kin.Trade ReviewMakes for fascinating reading. * PARERGON *Tracy (Longwood Univ.) places medieval and early modern murder within the context of current scholarship in both law and literature. Recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Murder Most Foul - Larissa Tracy Secret Killing and Murder by Magic in the Law of Adoman - Bridgette Slavin Discursive Murders: The St. Brice's Day Massacre, Beowulf and Mordor - Jay Paul Gates Mourning Murderers in Medieval Jewish Law - Pinchas Roth Treacherous Murder: Language and Meaning in French Murder Trials - Jolanta Komornicka 'Mordre wol out': Murder and Justice in Chaucer - Larissa Tracy Bringing Murder to Light: Death, Publishing and Performance in Icelandic Sagas - Ilse Schweitzer VanDonkelaar 'I Think This Bacon is Wearing Shoes': Comedy and Murder in the Old French Fabliaux - Anne Latowsky 'Chevaliers ocirre': Manslaughter, Morality and Meaning in the Queste del Saint Graal - Lucas Wood Murder, Manslaughter and Reputation: Killing in Malory's Le Morte Darthur - Dwayne Coleman Poisoning as a Means of State Assassination in Early Modern Venice - Matthew Lubin Defamation, a Murder More Foul?: The 'Second Murder' of Louis, Duke of Orleans (d.1407) Reconsidered - Emily Hutchison 'A general murther, an universal slaughter': Strategies of Anti-Jesuit Defamation in Reporting Assassination in the Early Modern Period - Andrew McKenzie-McHarg Negotiating Murder in the Historiae of Gregory of Tours - Jeffrey Doolittle Poisoning, Killing and Murder in the Edictus Rothari - Thomas Gobbitt Murder, Foul and Fair, in Shota Rustaveli's The Man in the Panther Skin - G. Koolemans Beynen A Multiple Poisoning in the City of Valencia: Sanxo Calbo's Crime (1442) - Carmel Ferragud A Case of Mariticide in Late Medieval France - Patricia Turning Monstrous Un-Making: Maternal Infanticide and Female Agency in Early Modern England - Dianne Berg Imps of Hell: Young People, Murder and the Early English Press - Ben Parsons Conclusion - Hannah Skoda Select Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst full-scale account of the use of the Arthurian legend in the long twelfth century. The precedent of empire and the promise of return lay at the heart of King Arthur's appeal in the Middle Ages. Both ideas found fullness of expression in the twelfth century: monarchs and magnates sought to recreate an Arthurian golden age that was as wondrous as the biblical and classical worlds, but less remote. Arthurianism, the practice of invoking and emulating the legendary Arthur of post-Roman Britain, was thus an instance of medieval medievalism. This book provides a comprehensive history of the first 150 years of Arthurianism, from its beginnings under Henry II of England to a highpoint under Edward I. It contends that the Plantagenet kings of England mockingly ascribed a literal understanding of the myth of King Arthur's return to the Brittonic Celts whilst adopting for themselves a figurative and typological interpretation of the myth. A central figure in this work is Arthur of Brittany (1187-1203), who, for more than a generation, was the focus of Arthurian hopes and their disappointment.Trade ReviewRich in both broad observations and textual details, [it] is as deeply informative as it is clear and readable...It is strongly recommended for anyone with an abiding interest in the ways 'Arthur' was used and in the ways those uses have continued down through subsequent literature and history. * ARTHURIANA *A good and admirable book which merits serious study. It is written clearly and brimmed full of original ideas. * HISTORY *It is difficult to imagine anyone doing a more thorough job in gathering such a wide range of material into a coherent, intriguing whole. * REVIEW OF ENGLISH STUDIES *A very useful survey. * PARERGON *Table of ContentsIntroduction Arthurianism during the reign of Henry II, 1154-1189 Arthurianism during the reign of Richard I, 1189-1199 Arthurianism during the reign of King John, 1199-1216 Arthurianism during the reign of Henry III, 1216-1272 Arthurianism during the reign of Edward I, 1272-1307 Conclusion Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisInterrogations of materiality and geography, narrative framework and boundaries, and the ways these scholarly pursuits ripple out into the wider cultural sphere. Early medieval England as seen through the lens of comparative and interconnected histories is the subject of this volume. Drawn from a range of disciplines, its chapters examine artistic, archaeological, literary, and historical artifacts, converging around the idea that the period may not only define itself, but is often defined from other perspectives, specifically here by modern scholarship. The first part considers the transmission of material culture across borders, while querying the possibilities and limits of comparative and transnational approaches, taking in the spread of bread wheat, the collapse of the art-historical "decorative" and "functional", and the unknowns about daily life in an early medieval English hall. The volume then moves on to reimagine the permeable boundaries of early medieval England, with perspectives from the Baltic, Byzantium, and the Islamic world, including an examination of Vercelli Homily VII (from John Chrysostom's Greek Homily XXIX), Hārūn ibn Yaḥyā's Arabic descriptions of Barṭīniyah ("Britain"), and an consideration of the Old English Orosius. The final chapters address the construction of and responses to "Anglo-Saxon" narratives, past and present: they look at early medieval England within a Eurasian perspective, the historical origins of racialized Anglo-Saxonism(s), and views from Oceania, comparing Hiberno-Saxon and Anglican Melanesian missions, as well as contemporary reactions to exhibitions of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Pacific Island cultures. Contributors: Debby Banham, Britton Elliott Brooks, Caitlin Green, Jane Hawkes, John Hines, Karen Louise Jolly, Kazutomo Karasawa, Carol Neuman de Vegvar, John D. Niles, Michael W. Scott, Jonathan WilcoxTrade ReviewGlobal Perspectives on Early Medieval England lives up to its ambitious name. Collectively, the volume's essays remind readers repeatedly of the importance of perspective toward the formation of meaning, with each underscoring this fact by dislocating early medieval England from the Isles and posing it against international counterpoints, past and present. I praise the authors for their ability to tackle head-on several emergent challenges rooted in the premodern world, namely the contentions of identity, the ethics of propagation, and the rights and wrongs of conquest. These authors demonstrate how scholars of medieval letters, sciences, and cultures can collaborate to serve the general public, utilizing their expertise to elucidate the past, untangling its intricate presence. -- Sherif Abdelkarim, Grinnell College * The Medieval Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Global Perspectives on Early Medieval England -- Karen Louise Jolly and Britton Elliott Brooks Part I Material Culture 1 The Global Triumph of Bread Wheat: The Role of Early Medieval England -- Debby Banham 2 Globalizing Anglo-Saxon Art -- Jane Hawkes 3 Minding the Gaps: Early Medieval Elite Sites in England and the Perimeters of Current Knowledge -- Carol Neuman de Vegvar Part II Crossing Borders 4 Imagination at the Edge of the World: Luxuriating Women in Vercelli Homily VII and a Resistant Audience -- Jonathan Wilcox 5 Britain, the Byzantine Empire, and the Concept of an Anglo-Saxon 'Heptarchy': Harun ibn Yahya's Ninth-century Arabic Description of Britain -- Caitlin R. Green 6 Wulfstan in Truso: Old English Text, Baltic Archaeology, and World History -- John Hines Part III Origins and Comparisons 7 Reassessing Anglo-Saxon Origins from a Eurasian Perspective -- John D. Niles 8 Historical Origins of a Mythical History: The Formation of the Myth Supporting Anglo-Saxonism Reconsidered -- Kazutomo Karasawa 9 Boniface and Bede in the Pacific: Exploring Anamorphic Comparisons between the Hiberno-Saxon Missions and the Anglican Melanesian Mission -- Michael W. Scott 10 Anglo-Saxons on Exhibit: Displaying the Sacred -- Karen Louise Jolly

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1879, Canon Thomas Frederick Simmons edited the late medieval poem now known as The Lay Folks' Mass Book creating what remains the standard edition of the text. This volume shows how Simmons' interest in the text was related profoundly to contemporary debates about worship in the Church of England, and how he used his medievalist researches as the basis for the most important attempt at Prayer Book revision between the Reformation and the twentieth century.Trade ReviewThis is an excellent study, well researched, and is valuable for those who study liturgy, and the mind of the Victorian English Church, as well as the wider Romantic Movement. It is the first critical assessment of The Lay Folks' Mass Book since Simmons's edition, and places the work in its context. It also raises some questions for the contemporary Church of England. * International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Imagining the Past 1.Thomas Frederick Simmons and the Lay Folks' Mass Book 2.Re-imagining Medieval Devotion: Nineteenth-Century Conceptions of the English Church 3.Simmons and the Early English Text Society 4.Simmons as Editor: The Philologist 5. Simmons as Editor: The Liturgist 6. Simmons as Parish Priest, and Liturgical Reform in the Victorian Church of England 7.The Afterlives of the Lay Folks' Mass Book Conclusion: Liturgical Moments in Time Plates Appendix IThe Lay Folks' Mass Book: Text and Translation Appendix IIThe Lay Folks' Mass Book and the Sarum Rite Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisValuable new insights into the multi-layered and multi-directional relationship of law, literature, and social regulation in pre-Conquest English society. Pre-Conquest English law was among the most sophisticated in early medieval Europe. Composed largely in the vernacular, it played a crucial role in the evolution of early English identity and exercised a formative influence on the development of the Common Law. However, recent scholarship has also revealed the significant influence of these legal documents and ideas on other cultural domains, both modern and pre-modern. This collection explores the richness of pre-Conquest legal writing by looking beyond its traditional codified form. Drawing on methodologies ranging from traditional philology to legal and literary theory, and from a diverse selection of contributors offering a broad spectrum of disciplines, specialities and perspectives, the essays examine the intersection between traditional juridical texts - from law codes and charters to treatises and religious regulation - and a wide range of literary genres, including hagiography and heroic poetry. In doing so, they demonstrate that the boundary that has traditionally separated "law" from other modes of thought and writing is far more porous than hitherto realized. Overall, the volume yields valuable new insights into the multi-layered and multi-directional relationship of law, literature, and social regulation in pre-Conquest English society.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Law as Literature/Literature as Law Andrew Rabin and Anya Adair Part I. Law and Literature: Normative Alliances 1. The Alfredian Prose Psalms and a Legal English Identity Jay Paul Gates 2. Cynescipe, Bishop Æthelwold, and the Spread of Legal Language Arendse Lund 3. Traces and Supplements: Literary Prose in Sawyer 404 Scott T. Smith 4. The Curious Incident of the Monster in the Night-Time: Circumstantial Evidence in Law and Poetry Anya Adair 5. Uncertain Judgment: The Ordeal in Hagiography and Law Andrew Rabin Part II. Literature and Law: Normative Renewals 6. The Historical and Literary Context of the Legatine Capitulary of 786 in England and Abroad Kristen Carella 7. Liturgy as Law: Coronation Ordines in Tenth-Century England Nicole Marafioti 8. The Passive Ealdorman? Juxtaposing the later Old English Law Codes and the 'Dispute Narratives' Mary Elizabeth Blanchard 9. Royal Reeves, Royal Authority, and the 'Holy Society' in Archbishop Wulfstan's Writings Chelsea Shields-Más 10. Laying Down the Law? Bishop Headda's Visit to Saint Guthlac Stefan Jurasinski 11. The Terms of Hypocrisy in Early English Law and Literature: Ælfric and Wulfstan Sherif Abdelkarim

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe eighth century was a turbulent time for Byzantium. Beset by war, plague and religious division, this remnant of the Rome fought for survival. Severe decline and dislocation necessitated far reaching reform and soul searching. In particular, Byzantines asked why God had so punished the Chosen People they believed themselves to be. Attempting to formulate solutions to these problems were the new imperial dynasty, the Isaurians. Taking power in 717 as Constantinople was under siege by the Arabs, they would rule until 802 when Irene, the first empress to rule in her own right, was overthrown. However, our understanding of this critical period is clouded by the Iconoclast controversy, the debate over the validity of religious images that dominates the traditional narrative of the era. The vast majority of our sources were penned by the victors of that debate, the iconophiles, who make the controversy the driver of all events. Fortunately, there is one set of sources that survives that is free from the prism of iconoclasm. For in 741 Leo III and Constantine V promulgated the Ecloga, a concise legal handbook that proved a watershed moment in Roman Law. Over the next three decades, it is argued, the Ecloga was buttressed with several further texts, before Irene used her own laws to attack the dynasty she had married into, and whose policy of iconoclasm she had reversed. For the first time all these texts are gathered together and translated, providing new insights into this crucial but murky period.Table of ContentsPrefaceList of AbbreviationsIntroductionThe EclogaThe Decision Concerning SoldiersThe Soldier’s LawThe Appendix EclogaeThe Rhodian Sea LawThe Farmer’s LawThe Mosaic LawThe Novels of IreneBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe eighth century was a turbulent time for Byzantium. Beset by war, plague and religious division, this remnant of the Rome fought for survival. Severe decline and dislocation necessitated far reaching reform and soul searching. In particular, Byzantines asked why God had so punished the Chosen People they believed themselves to be. Attempting to formulate solutions to these problems were the new imperial dynasty, the Isaurians. Taking power in 717 as Constantinople was under siege by the Arabs, they would rule until 802 when Irene, the first empress to rule in her own right, was overthrown. However, our understanding of this critical period is clouded by the Iconoclast controversy, the debate over the validity of religious images that dominates the traditional narrative of the era. The vast majority of our sources were penned by the victors of that debate, the iconophiles, who make the controversy the driver of all events. Fortunately, there is one set of sources that survives that is free from the prism of iconoclasm. For in 741 Leo III and Constantine V promulgated the Ecloga, a concise legal handbook that proved a watershed moment in Roman Law. Over the next three decades, it is argued, the Ecloga was buttressed with several further texts, before Irene used her own laws to attack the dynasty she had married into, and whose policy of iconoclasm she had reversed. For the first time all these texts are gathered together and translated, providing new insights into this crucial but murky period.Table of ContentsPrefaceList of AbbreviationsIntroductionThe EclogaThe Decision Concerning SoldiersThe Soldier’s LawThe Appendix EclogaeThe Rhodian Sea LawThe Farmer’s LawThe Mosaic LawThe Novels of IreneBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe volume continues P. G. Walsh's admired translation with commentary of Augustine's The City of God Books I-XIV which have been published in eight earlier volumes between 2003 and 2016, and this ninth volume in the collection looks at books XV and XVI. After completing the first ten books of De Civitate Dei, in which Augustine sought to refute the claim that pagan deities had ensured that Rome enjoyed unbroken success and prosperity in this life and guaranteed its citizens a blessed life after death, Augustine devoted the remaining twelve books to discuss the origins, development and destiny of the two cities of Babylon and Jerusalem, with the predominant emphasis on the city of God. This is the only edition of these books in English which provides not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity. Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Table of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviations and BibliographyINTRODUCTIONNOTESTEXT AND TRANSLATION OF BOOK XV TEXT AND TRANSLATION OF BOOK XVICOMMENTARY ON BOOK XV COMMENTARY ON BOOK XVIIndices

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe volume continues P. G. Walsh's admired translation with commentary of Augustine's The City of God Books I-XIV which have been published in eight earlier volumes between 2003 and 2016, and this ninth volume in the collection looks at books XV and XVI. After completing the first ten books of De Civitate Dei, in which Augustine sought to refute the claim that pagan deities had ensured that Rome enjoyed unbroken success and prosperity in this life and guaranteed its citizens a blessed life after death, Augustine devoted the remaining twelve books to discuss the origins, development and destiny of the two cities of Babylon and Jerusalem, with the predominant emphasis on the city of God. This is the only edition of these books in English which provides not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity. Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Table of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviations and BibliographyINTRODUCTIONNOTESTEXT AND TRANSLATION OF BOOK XV TEXT AND TRANSLATION OF BOOK XVICOMMENTARY ON BOOK XV COMMENTARY ON BOOK XVIIndices

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume brings together a variety of studies, some reprinted, some new; all are devoted to the literate culture of the English later Middle Ages. The studies hover about four foci: normative English polylingualism (across three grammatically distinct languages); the messiness and discontinuities of medieval manuscript production; drawing conclusions about historical audiences/literary communities on the basis of book-evidence; and finally, the Middle English poem Piers Plowman. In general, although all the essays here arrive at broad conclusions, their point is other. The essays exemplify methods of study, the identification of problems and the recognition of tools appropriate or helpful in addressing them. Perhaps particularly the volume gestures toward a range of skills appropriate for the task; these range from narrow observation of book-production techniques to bringing a local historical record to bear on an individual volume or group of them.Trade Review‘Patient Reading constitutes a major contribution to book history. It also offers a sustained reflection on the reading practices that might best illuminate medieval texts […] Patient Reading presents a rich compendium of material, the fruit of Hanna’s own “patient . . . absorption” in the medieval archive (8). It also makes some stimulating and consequential claims about the creative, polylingual, exegetical practices that gave shape to medieval sermons and to medieval poems.’Alastair Bennett, Modern Philology'Running alongside the erudition of this volume, there is a basic humility and unashamed bookishness that again points towards Hanna's implicit ideological position that historical literacy scholarship is worthwhile in and of itself.' Ian Felce, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen‘These separate studies are thick with historical and cultural detail, descriptive analysis, and codicological argument, and signpost many untrodden avenues for further research while also offering precise and informative discoveries.’ Margaret Connolly, Speculum: A Journal of Medieval StudiesTable of ContentsAbbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction [I] Language Barriers 1. Literacy, Schooling, Universities 2.Vernacular Exegesis in Fourteenth-Century England? 3.Lambeth Palace Library, MS 260 and the Problem of English Vernacularity 4.Editing 'Middle English Lyrics': The Case of Candet nudatum pectus 5.Performing Exegesis: Lyric and Sermon in Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.6.26 [II] Nasty Books: Collection Procedures 6.Lambeth Palace Library, MS 487: Some Problems of Early Thirteenth-Century Textual Transmission 7.Producing Magdalen College MS lat. 93 8.A Fifteenth-Century Vernacular Miscellany Revisited 9.Humphrey Newton and Bodleian Library, MS Lat. misc. c.66 [III] Historicising the Archive 10.Yorkshire Writers 11.Some North Yorkshire Scribes and Their Context 12.Dr Peter Partridge and Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Digby 98 13.John of Wales and 'Classicising Friars' [IV] Still Harping On – Reading(:) Patience in Piers Plowman An Ideological Prequel Prologue: Langland's Kind of Poetry 1. On Patience 2. Conscience's Dinner 3. Hawkin and Patience's Instruction 4. The C Version Revisions Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is not a commentary on Juvenal Satire 10 but a critical appreciation of the poem which examines it on its own and in context and tries to make it come alive as a piece of literature, offering one man’s close reading of Satire 10 as poetry, and concerned with literary criticism rather than philological minutiae. In line with the recent broadening of insight into Juvenal’s writing this book often addresses the issues of distortion and problematizing and covers style, sound and diction as well. Much time is also devoted to intertextuality and to humour, wit and irony. Building on the work of scholars like Martyn, Jenkyns and Schmitz, who see in Juvenal a consistently skilful and sophisticated author, this is a whole book demonstrating a high level of expertise on Juvenal’s part sustained throughout; a long poem (rather than intermittent flashes). This investigation of 10 leads to the conclusion that Juvenal is an accomplished poet and provocative satirist, a writer with real focus, who makes every word count, and a final chapter exploring Satires 11 and 12 confirms that assessment. Translation of the Latin and explanation of references are included so that Classics students will find the book easier to use and it will also be accessible to scholars and students interested in satire outside of Classics departments.Trade ReviewReviews 'A meticulous, sophisticated, and humane treatment, designed for undergraduates, of Juvenal’s thought and poetic craft in his Satire 10.' Dr Ian Goh, University of Exeter'This would be a very good book to put into the hands of somebody who is coming to the text of Juvenal for the first time and wants to see what all the fuss is about. Murgatroyd tells us that this book is aimed at ‘senior undergraduates and above’, but in fact his language is at all times accessible to anybody with an interest in the subject-matter—all Latin is well translated into fluent English and the author’s style can even be chatty and light-hearted to suit the highly unsolemn nature of some of the Latin under discussion.' John Godwin, Classics for All

Read more less

Book SynopsisTwo volume set The Second Council of Nicaea (787) decreed that religious images were to set up in churches and venerated. It thereby established the cult of icons as a central element in the piety of the Orthodox churches, as it has remained ever since. In the West its decrees received a new emphasis in the Counter-Reformation, in the defence of the role of art in religion. It is a text of prime importance for the iconoclast controversy of eighth-century Byzantium, one of the most explored and contested topics in Byzantine history. But it has also a more general significance – in the history of culture and the history of art. This edition offers the first translation that is based on the new critical edition of this text in the Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum series, and the first full commentary of this work that has ever been written. It will be of interest to a wide range of readers from a variety of disciplines.Trade Review‘Price has done much to make the acts of major ecclesiastical councils from the fifth through eighth centuries accessible by producing reliable, well-annotated translations in the Translated Texts for Historians series... Scholars of the early Middle Ages, Byzantium and early Christianity should welcome the appearance of this volume. The translation has benefitted immensely from Price’s previous work on the ecumenical councils and his thorough engagement with Lamberz’s new edition and conclusions about the acts.’ Philip Michael Forness, Journal of Ecclesiastical History‘Price offers not only a reliable translation with footnotes but also a comprehensive general introduction to the iconoclast controversy, the council and the acts, as well as introductory observations on the individual sessions and texts which often summarize clearly, and through further observations supplement, the discussions on a particular theme or text that are not always easy to find in the three volumes of my edition.’ Erich Lamberz, author of Concilium Universale Nicaenum secundum: Concilii Actiones I–VII (Walter de Gruyter, 2008-2016)‘The present work [The Acts of the Second Council of Nicaea] is perhaps the finest Price has done so far… Price wades into [iconoclasm’s] complex debates with judicious skill. His seventy-six-page introduction contains one of the most succinct, balanced and insightful overviews of the subject currently in print… this is exactly what a translation should be: accurate, accessible and informative.’ Mike Humphreys, Journal of Roman Studies

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores the work of the late-medieval English writer Thomas Hoccleve. It highlights Hoccleve’s role, throughout his works, as a religious writer: an individual who engages seriously with the dynamics of heresy and ecclesiastical reform, who contributes to traditions of vernacular devotional writing, and who raises the question of how Christianity manifests on personal as well as political levels. It suggests a role for Hoccleve as a poetic mediator, capable of mediating between the increasingly militant English church and an incipient English literary tradition, and it highlights Hoccleve’s role in transforming the figure of Chaucer in the first decades of the fifteenth century. It argues that the version of Chaucer presented in Hoccleve’s Regiment of Princes – august, devout, and conspicuously religious – is not a pre-formed artifact, but rather a Hocclevian invention; and it indicates the ecclesiastical, political, and literary contexts that make this version of Chaucer both possible and necessary. This study also situates Hoccleve’s accomplishments in a transnational poetic context – offering French and Italian precedents for Hoccleve’s moralization of Chaucer, while examining the influence of contemporary French poetry on Hoccleve’s work. It positions us to reconsider Hoccleve’s role within English literary tradition, and to better understand the way heresy and religious reform surface in late medieval poetry; and it affords us a more nuanced context for Chaucer’s positioning as a literary 'father' figure in this period.Trade Review‘For nearly 40 years Thomas Hoccleve toiled at the Privy Seal, a professional scribe stooping and staring ‘upon the sheepes skyn’ […] Langdell convincingly moves his rehabilitation forward with this thoughtful, wide-ranging and learned reassessment.' Jane Roberts, The Review of English Studies‘The emphasis on Hoccleve’s influence in the conclusion, while quickly spelled out here, is of great importance and will hopefully serve to inspire other scholars; in particular, using Hoccleve’s religious identity to connect him with Lydgate—specifically to the Life of Our Lady—is a promising avenue of research that many others may want to pursue, and thank Langdell as they do.’R. D. Perry, Speculum 'Langdell’s book is rich in textual comparison and includes a productive analytical range with close readings based on surviving paleographical evidence and imagery, as well as more traditional forms of textual analysis.' J. A. T. Smith, The New Chaucer SocietyTable of ContentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1. “What world is this? How vndirstande am I?”: Reading and Moralization in the Series 2. Vice, Virtue, and Poetic Mediation in the Epistle of Cupid 3. “What shal I calle thee? What is thy name?”: Hoccleve, Chaucer, and the Architectonics of Fame4. Reforming Thought: The Making of “Thomas Hoccleve”5. Hoccleve’s EucharistConclusion: The Matter of Hocclevian Influence BibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe characteristic alliterative poem of the 14th and 15th centuries tells a story of incident and adventure: it is pre-eminently the poetry of narrative. Yet it is also, more than any other kind of medieval verse, remarkable for passages of vivid description, taking advantage of the extraordinary rich verbal resources of the alliterative poets and the characteristic strengths of the alliterative line. Memorable examples are the green chapel in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the storm at sea in Patience, the dream-landscape in Pearl, and the mysterious tomb in St Erkenwald; there are violent battle-scenes, descriptions of hunting and hawking, beautiful meadows and terrifying mountains, purling streams and wild rivers. Here is a seeming contradiction, or at least a tension that needs to be explored. The descriptive passages are digressions that interrupt the narrative; the story must pause to take in a visual effect. In Description and Narrative in Middle English Alliterative Poetry, Thorlac Turville-Petre explores this relationship between description and narrative, and the contribution of description to the narrative. Passages from all the major alliterative poems are analysed, and translated as necessary, so that the book may meet the needs of students as well as scholars familiar with the language and the topics discussed.Trade ReviewReviews 'These essays cap Thorlac Turville-Petre's nearly half-century career devoted to the alliterative poetic tradition. They ably explore a variety of paradoxes, most notably the tensions between narrative progress and descriptive stasis, and between the perceived 'otherness' of alliterative language and style and various forms of familiarisation (appeals to lived experience, manifold connections with other Middle English writing, as well as with previously unnoted inspirations outwith English). Above all, the essays testify to the power of skills almost forgotten in today's academy, for Turville-Petre's careful unpacking of the poets' capacity to visualise rests always upon an impressive readerly attentiveness.'Ralph Hanna, Professor of Palaeography (Emeritus) and Emeritus Fellow at Keble College, Oxford.‘This book can be approached as a treasury of close readings of the Gawain group and related Middle English alliterative romances, with attention to sources, representation, and locality. On that basis, the book deserves praise, indeed gratitude, for its interpretive precision.’Eric Weiskott, Modern Philology‘[Offers] an informative summary of Turville-Petre’s body of work and provides a critical anthology of vivid passages of alliterative description […] Elegantly written and intellectually engaging.’Alex Mueller, The Review of English Studies'Thorlac Turville-Petre has produced a vade mecum for readers of Middle English alliterative poetry. The most important poems all receive attention. Two preliminary chapters define the corpus and introduce readers to its language and form. The bibliography lists preferred editions. Yet this is not a companion in the sense popularized by Cambridge University Press and Boydell & Brewer. A new “companion to Middle English alliterative poetry” would be welcome, but Turville-Petre offers something more interesting: he reads the poems. His subject is poetic technique, especially descriptive technique and the way that descriptions sit within the flow of narrative.' Ian Cornelius, Anglia'The book as a whole is the work of a scholar immersed in the corpus of late-medieval alliterative verse. Turville-Petre's command of the material is impressive and the texts are lovingly described in clear and crisp prose. That alliterative poets excel at descriptio is a commonplace of criticism, and this study will provoke further analysis of their context and rhetoric.' Richard J. Moll, The Medieval ReviewTable of ContentsAbbreviations1. Introduction2. The Vocabulary of Description3. Narrative and Description in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight4. Morte Arthure: A Hero for our Time5. Alexander’s Entry into Jerusalem in the Wars of Alexander6. Authenticity and Interpretation in St Erkenwald7. Landscapes and Gardens8. Siege Warfare9. Storms10. ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Chronicle of Logothetes covers the period from the Creation of the World to the burial of emperor Romanos I Lekapenos in the summer of 948 AD. If we deduce a medieval text's importance and success from the number of extant manuscripts, this work must score highly. While some medieval chronicles have come down to us in only one manuscript, about thirty manuscripts transmit the Chronicle of the Logothete in its main form, and there are also manuscripts containing different kinds of elaborated versions of the text. Also, the chronicle was translated into Old Slavonic at least twice. In spite of the work's popularity, the chronicler himself remains obscure. It has been suggested that this could be Symeon Metaphrastes, an illustrious Byzantine literate who collected and edited, or wrote, Saints' Lives. However, it is fairly certain only the final compilation of the text was made in the second half of the 10th century, which reveals a pro-Lekapenian bias and an antipathy towards the Macedonian dynasty. This volume is based on the translator's 2006 edition of the text and constitutes the first translation ever into English.Trade ReviewReviews'The importance of this chronicle cannot be overstressed: for us it is the most important Byzantine history for the hundred years after Theophanes, who covered up to the early ninth century. It is a great historical and historiographical read, too.' Adrian Spooner, Classics for All‘A very careful and useful translation that will contribute to the knowledge of Byzantine historiography among medievalists and the general public.’ Juan Signes Codoñer, The Byzantine Review ‘The book can be recommended as a useful working tool for capturing this important text, not only byzantinists, but also by historians without restrictions, because of the excellent translation, which is enriched by the philological commentary.’ Raphael Brendel, Sehepunkte

Read more less

Book SynopsisA synoptic edition of the English version of John Arderon’s De judiciis urinarum containing the commentary on Giles of Corbeil’s Carmen de urinis as preserved in Glasgow University Library, MS Hunter 328, from the early 15th century, and Manchester University Library, MS Rylands Eng. 1310, from the 16th century. The English version of De judiciis urinarum is a detailed uroscopic treatise instructing the mediaeval practitioner on the examination of urine with twenty colours and eighteen to nineteen contents, incorporating colour descriptions, diagnoses, medicines and information about urinary contents. The present edition offers the semi-diplomatic transcription of these hitherto unedited texts, accompanied by a glossary, notes and introduction, the latter containing the textual transmission of the text, a codicological/palaeographic description together with the analysis of the scribal language. The present edition will be useful as a primary source for research not only in Historical Linguistics but also in other related fields such as the History of Medicine or Ecdotics.Trade Review'This book will be most welcome to historians of medieval medicine by providing an accessible and careful transcription of a rare text. It will be an excellent tool… especially when accompanied by photographs of the manuscript.' E. Ruth Harvey, SpeculumTable of ContentsForeword (by M. Teresa Tavormina)1. Introduction1.1. Authorship1.2. The English version of De judiciis urinarum1.3. Uroscopic authorities1.4. The language1.4.1. MS Hunter 3281.4.2. MS Rylands 13101.5. Codicology1.6. Palaeography2. Text2.1. Editorial conventions2.2. Synoptic edition2.3. English translation of Giles of Corbeil’s Carmen de urinis in MS Hunter 3283. Glossary4. References

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Girl from Andros was the first play of the brilliant but short-lived Roman comic playwright Terence and shows him as already a master dramatist. It is based on two plays (both now lost) by the Greek playwright Menander and was first put on in Rome in 166 BCE. The main focus of interest is the plotting and counter-plotting of a devious master and his equally devious slave, but there are also two boys both in danger of losing the girls they love, and a girl in search of the family from which she has long been separated – typical ingredients of a Latin comedy.The play is a theatrical tour de force with many comic highlights and is enlivened by a succession of metatheatrical remarks; but it also provokes thought on various aspects of human relationships in a male-dominated, slave-owning society that jealously guards its rights of citizenship. It was the first ancient Latin comedy to be performed in the Renaissance and influenced a number of plays in succeeding centuries, most notably Richard Steele’s The Conscious Lovers (1722); it was also the inspiration for Thornton Wilder’s novel The Woman of Andros (1930). This volume includes the first detailed commentary on the play in any language for nearly sixty years.Trade ReviewReviews ‘Dr Brown's book fills a real need, with a right-to-the-point introduction and commentary. His translation stays close to the Latin, but that does not keep it from being brilliant by moments'.Professor Benjamin Victor, University of Montreal'I am very happy to say that this Andria is an exemplary edition, invaluable for scholars, students and the Latin-inclined general reader alike. A fine work for us to remember Peter by.' Keith Maclennan, Classics for All'In preparing this last of his many contributions to the study of Terence, Brown was thus able to draw upon the full range of his knowledge, experience, and interests, and the result has all the virtues we might expect of him: clear and accurate discussion of the Latin text, a keen eye for details and nuances of interpretation, scrupulously evenhanded reporting and cogent analysis of past scholarly views, and a precise English rendering of the Latin original.' Sander Goldberg, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroductionText and TranslationCommentaryBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Girl from Andros was the first play of the brilliant but short-lived Roman comic playwright Terence and shows him as already a master dramatist. It is based on two plays (both now lost) by the Greek playwright Menander and was first put on in Rome in 166 BCE. The main focus of interest is the plotting and counter-plotting of a devious master and his equally devious slave, but there are also two boys both in danger of losing the girls they love, and a girl in search of the family from which she has long been separated – typical ingredients of a Latin comedy.The play is a theatrical tour de force with many comic highlights and is enlivened by a succession of metatheatrical remarks; but it also provokes thought on various aspects of human relationships in a male-dominated, slave-owning society that jealously guards its rights of citizenship. It was the first ancient Latin comedy to be performed in the Renaissance and influenced a number of plays in succeeding centuries, most notably Richard Steele’s The Conscious Lovers (1722); it was also the inspiration for Thornton Wilder’s novel The Woman of Andros (1930). This volume includes the first detailed commentary on the play in any language for nearly sixty years.Trade ReviewReviews ‘Dr Brown's book fills a real need, with a right-to-the-point introduction and commentary. His translation stays close to the Latin, but that does not keep it from being brilliant by moments'.Professor Benjamin Victor, University of Montreal'I am very happy to say that this Andria is an exemplary edition, invaluable for scholars, students and the Latin-inclined general reader alike. A fine work for us to remember Peter by.' Keith Maclennan, Classics for All'In preparing this last of his many contributions to the study of Terence, Brown was thus able to draw upon the full range of his knowledge, experience, and interests, and the result has all the virtues we might expect of him: clear and accurate discussion of the Latin text, a keen eye for details and nuances of interpretation, scrupulously evenhanded reporting and cogent analysis of past scholarly views, and a precise English rendering of the Latin original.' Sander Goldberg, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroductionText and TranslationCommentaryBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough Richard Rolle, hermit of Hampole, was perhaps the most influential spiritual author of the later English Middle Ages, the coming of print was not kind to him. Although a large collected Latin Opera appeared in the 1530s, it was scarcely exhaustive, and a number of the texts there included, notably Rolle's Latin Psalter commentary, have not been critically examined since. This volume partially redresses this silence by providing a sequence of four Latin texts that have remained in manuscript. Central to Rolle's oeuvre (and to this volume) is Rolle's meditative reading of the first three verses of The Song of Songs, 'Super Canticum'. Also included are two relatively brief unedited texts, 'Super Magnificat' and 'De vita activa et contemplativa'. In addition, the volume reassesses the universal manuscript ascription to Rolle of 'Viridarium, vel De misericordia Dei'; although the work is here reascribed, there is also an edition of selected passages. Unprinted Latin Writings also includes an introduction, critical and textual, some textual annotation, a description of all those previously undescribed manuscripts used here, and an index of the medieval sources cited.Trade Review‘As can be expected, Hanna’s editorial choices are sound, and his editorial considerations, especially for the Super Canticum, are explained with admirable clarity in the introduction… [a] slim but highly erudite and ambitious volume.’ Greti Dinkova-Bruun, SpeculumTable of ContentsForewordAbbreviated ReferencesIntroductionBibliographyThe Texts:Super Canticum CanticorumSuper MagnificatDe vita activa et contemplativaViridarium, vel De misericordia DeiNotes to the textsAppendix: Manuscripts previously undescribedIndex fontium

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the first edition of Andreas for 55 years, also the first to present the Anglo-Saxon, or rather Old English, text with a parallel Modern English poetic translation. The book aims not only to provide both students and scholars with an up-to-date text and introduction and notes, but also to reconfirm the canonical merit of Andreas as one of the longest and most important works in Old English literature. The introduction to our text is substantial, re-positioning this poem in respect of nearly six decades’ progress in the palaeography, sources and analogues, language, metrics, literary criticism and archaeology of Andreas. The book argues that the poet was Mercian, that he was making ironic reference to Beowulf and that his story of St Andrew converting pagan Mermedonian cannibals was coloured by King Alfred’s wars against the Danes (871-9, 885-6, 892-6). Andreas is here dated to Alfred’s later reign with such analysis of contexts in history and ideology that the author’s name is also hypothesized. The Old English text and Modern English translation of Andreas are presented in a split-page format, allowing students at whatever level of familiarity with the Anglo-Saxon vernacular to gain a direct access to the poem in close to its original form. The translation follows the poem’s word order and style, allowing modern readers to feel the imagination, ideology and humour of Andreas as closely as possible. The text of the Old English poem is accompanied by a full set of supporting notes, and a glossary representing the translation.Trade ReviewReviews 'Two major critical editions of [Andreas] were published during the twentieth century [...] but the new edition from Richard North and Michael D.J. Bintley is sure to displace them and become the standard edition cited in professional scholarship. An extraordinary amount of labor appears to have been invested in this massive work, which offers much more than its predecessors. […] An infectious enthusiasm for the poem and its possible connections to Anglo-Saxon intellectual and material culture pervades the book and is bound to spread to some of its readers. North and Bintley’s rich edition should stimulate a wave of new interpretations of Andreas and inspire new investigations into its date of composition and historical context. It is in many respects an exemplary edition, which could serve as a model for new editions of other Old English poems that have been satisfactorily edited before.' Leonard Neidorf, Studia Neophilologica, June 2017'A highlight of this new edition is the presence of a translation, in modern English, on the same page, the old-English text above, the translation down. Quite literally, the translation closely follows the original, making the rich vocabulary and complex syntax of the poem more accessible. ... The critical apparatus also includes a substantial glossary and a bibliography, supplemented by an index that covers both the introduction and the commentary. It is therefore an excellent edition that provides Anglicist medievalists with all the critical tools to both understand Andreas and follow the arguments of R.N. and M.B.' (Translated from French) Leo Carruthers, Le Moyen ge'Learned and precise, Richard North and Michael Bintley's superb new edition will bring this often-bizarre, but always interesting composition to the next few generations of twenty-first century scholars. ... This new authoritative edition of Andreas is a triumph of scholarship.' Andrew Scheil, The Medieval ReviewTable of Contents List of Figures List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Poem and its Analogues 2. The Manuscript 3. Language and Dialect Phonology Vocabulary Linguistic conclusion 4. Metre and Prosody 5. Poetic Style Poetic allusions to Cynewulf Poetic allusions to Beowulf 6. Mermedonia Boundaries and meeting-places Burial mounds Pagan sites and Christian churches Roman spolia and the Mermedonian prison Pathways in Andreas Mermedonia as a Roman city Mermedonia as a WS burh Summary 7. Date and Authorship Anti-Danish animus WS royal patronage Alfred’s church of St Andrew Alfred’s ‘wealth’ and ‘wisdom’ Note on the Text and Translation Text and Translation List of Emendations Commentary Bibliography Glossary List of Proper Names Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisEulogius (d. 859), a priest living under Islamic rule in Córdoba, is our principal source for the so-called “Córdoban martyrs’ movement” (850-859), in the course of which forty-eight Christians were decapitated for religious offenses against Islam. The majority of the victims were condemned for blasphemy, having deliberately flouted proscriptions against public expressions of disrespect for Muhammad. Interestingly enough, the Córdoban Christian community was not of one mind when it came to interpreting such provocative acts. While some were inclined to embrace the executed Christians as martyrs of the classic Roman type, others criticized them as self-immolators whose unprovoked outbursts only complicated the working relationship between the Christian community and the Muslim authorities. The writings of Eulogius, which were designed to record the deaths and present them as legitimate martyrdoms, allow both for the reconstruction of Christian life under Muslim rule and an appreciation for the range of Christian attitudes toward Islam in ninth-century al-Spain. They also capture Eulogius’ self-conscious effort to construct a saint cult despite the absence of wide support for the “martyrs.” This is the first complete rendering of Eulogius' writings into English, and will be a valuable resource for historians and theologians alike.Trade Review'[The Eulogius Corpus] offers the first English translation as an indispensable tool for early medieval studies and in general to the understanding of the Christian-Islamic confrontation in the alphabet.'EugippiusTranslated from Italian, 'Se ne offre qui la prima traduzione inglese come strumento indispensabile agli studi storici alto medievali e in generale alla comprensione del confronto cristiani-islamici nell’al-Andalus omayyade del IX secolo.''The introduction… will no doubt become an essential starting point for those wishing to orientate themselves to the martyrs and their apologists.’ Jamie Wood, Early Medieval Europe'The Eulogius Corpus is an indispensable resource for English speakers studying the Cordoban martyrs and medieval Christian-Muslim relations. It will also be important for scholars working in other languages given Wolf’s careful documentation of secondary literature devoted to the martyrs. The footnotes that accompany Wolf’s translation, the comprehensive bibliography, and his illuminating introductory comments are invaluable.' Charles Tieszen, SpeculumTable of ContentsGlossaryIntroduction:The Christian Community of CórdobaThe “Martyrs of Córdoba”Eulogius of CórdobaEulogius and His MartyrsEulogius and His Christian OpponentsThe Absence of MiraclesThe Absence of PersecutionThe Absence of PagansTurning the TablesConclusionText and Translation:Paul Alvarus, Vita EulogiiEulogius, Memoriale sanctorumEulogius, Documentum martyrialeEulogius, Liber apologeticus martyrumEulogius, LettersAppendixSelect BibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Old Testament book 1 Samuel (known as 1 Kings in modern Bibles) contains one of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament, with its tense narrative about Israel’s first attempts to govern itself by kingship, and a cast of famous characters who drive the story — the priest and prophet Samuel, the tragic figure of King Saul, and chiefly David himself, the youngest son of Jesse, who slays the Philistine’s champion, Goliath, and gains God’s favour in replacement for Saul. The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD), Anglo-Saxon England’s foremost interpreter of the Bible, wrote many commentaries on the Old Testament, but his treatment of 1 Samuel stands out in particular: it is one of his longest commentaries, one of his first sustained attempts to deal with the Old Testament without support from an earlier commentary, and one of the few commentaries he wrote that can be dated precisely. Bede sets out to read the story of 1 Samuel as full of details which demonstrate the prophetic nature of Old Testament history, an attempt that is boldly experimental in its application of the allegorical method of interpretation.Historically, the commentary is of special interest for its detailed reference to the departure of Abbot Ceolfrith from Wearmouth-Jarrow in June 716 AD, which has allowed scholarship to firmly date the work and explore some potential links to the turbulent political scene in Northumbria that marked that decade. This English translation is the first rendering of the Latin into another language. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that places the work in the context of Bede’s oeuvre, discusses his sources and exegetical methods, and offers a reading of the work’s contemporary context in the light of current scholarly debate.Trade Review‘DeGregorio and Love have produced a valuable contribution to Bede studies and studies of early medieval religion more generally, making accessible and comprehensible a work that has much to say but which would otherwise invite too few readers.’ James T. Palmer, Speculum'On First Samuel is a very welcome contribution to the Translated Texts for Historian series and to Bedan scholarship more generally. The commentary’s value as a historical source is made explicit in the authors’ outstanding introduction, and this book will appeal to a broad audience with diverse interests in early English culture, intellectual history, and historical theology.'Meredith Cutrer, Comitatus 52Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsIntroduction Date and Context in Bede’s Oeuvre1 Samuel: Canonical Context and Narrative ContentPatristic Sources and Biblical VersionsExegetical MethodThe Historical Context for the CompositionAcca of Hexham and 1 SamuelThemes in On First SamuelBede’s Latin Prose Style in On First SamuelEditions of On First Samuel and the Present TranslationOn First SamuelChapter HeadingsBook 1Book 2Book 3Book 4Appendix 1: Notes on Textual EmendationsAppendix 2: Interpolations in Book 4BibliographyIndex of SourcesGeneral Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisRichard Whitford’s Dyuers Holy Instrucyons and Teachynges Very Necessary for the Helth of Mannes Soule is the last printed work written by a brother of the Brigittine community at Syon Abbey. A vocal opponent of Lutheran reforms and Henry VIII’s agenda to install himself as the head of the Church of England, Richard Whitford was also Syon’s most prolific author. His writing provides pastoral guidance on a range of issues as well as powerful articulations of the value of religious life during the turbulent years preceding the king’s break from the Catholic Church. Published in 1541, Dyuers Holy Instrucyons is also the only Syon text printed after the dissolution of the monasteries. This text thus offers a rare perspective on the concerns of those faithful to the old religion from a religious brother who actively participated in the abbey’s campaign against Lutheran reformers. As with his previous work, Whitford’s Dyuers Holy Instrucyons maintains an openly confrontational stance toward radical reformers while offering instruction to readers on issues that would certainly have been topical for faithful who lived after the 1534 Act of Supremacy—issues focussed on patience, avoiding vice, impediments to spiritual perfection, and detraction. This edition makes this significant work available for the first time to modern readers with crucial discussions of the history and themes of the texts, including the indivisibility of politics and religion in the early years of the Reformation and the crucial role that Syon Abbey played in the textual representation of this period in English history.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTIONGeneral IntroductionThe Life of Richard WhitfordSyon Community, Lay Piety, and Vernacular Devotional LiteratureMonasticism and the ReformationDyuers Holy Instrucyons and Teachynges Very Necessary for the Helth of Mannes SouleThe Boke of PacienceA Worke of Dyuers Impediments and Lettes of PerfectionAn Instruction to auoyde and eschewe vyces and folowe good maners or the Consilia of IsidoreOf Detraction. Chrisostomus homelia terciaExtant Copies of the TextWilliam MiddletonThe Language of the TextEditorial ProceduresTHE TEXTNotes to the TextApparatusGlossaryBibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisImperial Panegyric from Diocletian to Honorius examines one of the most important literatures of the late Roman period – speeches of praise addressed to the reigning emperor – and the panegyrical culture of the late Roman world more generally. Unlike much previous work on this topic, Imperial Panegyric takes a consciously comparative approach, especially between eastern and western, Greek and Latin texts.Each contributor draws upon evidence taken from multiple authors or from different kinds of panegyric in order to explore both the communal and the particular in this most idiosyncratic of media. The volume investigates to what extent there was a unified concept of imperial panegyric, and how local circumstances shaped individual speeches. It also considers the ways in which traditional forms of praise-giving respond to fourth-century phenomena such as the expansion of Christianity, collegial rulership, and the decline of Rome as the political centre of the empire. Its contributors include a roster of some of the most important names in the field of panegyric studies, both established researchers and the rising stars of the new generation.Trade Review‘The questions of how late-antique panegyric was interpreted, and should be interpreted, remain at the heart of our understanding of late-antique political culture.’ Richard Flower, Acta Classica 'Across [Imperial Panegyric from Diocletian to Honorius], there is a consistently high standard, and the different analyses enrich and extend the range of approaches from the definition of panegyric as a genre to the weight given in some panegyrics to women, to Christianity and to barbarians'Marzia Fiorentini, The Classical ReviewThe volume... offers a good starting point for further research into late antique panegyric... It not only shows which works need to be studied in more detail and which questions are still open, but also which possibilities exist to solve these problems.Raphael Brendel, Zeitschrift für GeschichtswissenschaftTranslated from German, 'Der Band... er einen guten Ansatzpunkt für die weitere Erforschung der spätantiken Panegyrik... Er zeigt nicht nur auf, welche Werke ausführlichererund welche Fragen noch offen sind, sondern auch, welche Möglichkeiten bestehen, um diese um diese Probleme.''This is a very worthwhile study to read. It both instructs readers with some general outlines and encourages them to consider several interesting key details of panegyric of Late Antiquity.' Felix Maier, Bryn Mawr Classical Review'The anthology offers something for many, whether one wants to pursue specific individual topics or also want to gain an overall impression of late antique panegyric, beyond the much-examined collection of the Panegyrici Latini.' Ulrich Lambrecht, PlekosTable of Contents1. Imperial Panegyric from Diocletian to HonoriusAdrastos Omissi & Alan J. RossPANEGYRIC: THEORY AND PRACTICE2. What is a ‘panegyric’?Laurent Pernot3. (Not) Making Faces: Prosopopeia in Late Antique PanegyricRoger Rees4. Libanius’ Imperial Speech to Constantius II and Constans (Or. 59): Context, Tradition, and InnovationGrammatiki KarlaTHE IMPERIAL IMAGE5. Playing with Conventions in Julian’s Encomium to Eusebia: Does Gender Make a Difference?Belinda Washington6. Julian and Claudius Mamertinus: Panegyric and Polemic in East and West Shaun TougherTHE ORATOR AND ORATORIAL IDENTITY7. How to Praise a Christian Emperor: The Panegyrical Experiments of Eusebius of CaesareaJames Corke-Webster8. Neoplatonic Philosophy in Tetrarchic and Constantinian PanegyricDiederik Burgersdijk9. Roman and Gallic in the Latin Panegyrics of Symmachus and AusoniusRobert ChenaultOUTSIDERS WITHIN THE SPEECH10. Civil War and the Late Roman Panegyrical CorpusAdrastos Omissi11. Inviting the Enemy in: Assimilating Barbarians in Theodosian PanegyricRobert Stone12. The Audience in Imperial PanegyricAlan J. RossAppendix: Editions, Translations and Commentaries of Imperial Panegyrics

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Old Testament book 1 Samuel (known as 1 Kings in modern Bibles) contains one of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament, with its tense narrative about Israel’s first attempts to govern itself by kingship, and a cast of famous characters who drive the story — the priest and prophet Samuel, the tragic figure of King Saul, and chiefly David himself, the youngest son of Jesse, who slays the Philistine’s champion, Goliath, and gains God’s favour in replacement for Saul. The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD), Anglo-Saxon England’s foremost interpreter of the Bible, wrote many commentaries on the Old Testament, but his treatment of 1 Samuel stands out in particular: it is one of his longest commentaries, one of his first sustained attempts to deal with the Old Testament without support from an earlier commentary, and one of the few commentaries he wrote that can be dated precisely. Bede sets out to read the story of 1 Samuel as full of details which demonstrate the prophetic nature of Old Testament history, an attempt that is boldly experimental in its application of the allegorical method of interpretation.Historically, the commentary is of special interest for its detailed reference to the departure of Abbot Ceolfrith from Wearmouth-Jarrow in June 716 AD, which has allowed scholarship to firmly date the work and explore some potential links to the turbulent political scene in Northumbria that marked that decade. This English translation is the first rendering of the Latin into another language. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that places the work in the context of Bede’s oeuvre, discusses his sources and exegetical methods, and offers a reading of the work’s contemporary context in the light of current scholarly debate.Trade Review‘DeGregorio and Love have produced a valuable contribution to Bede studies and studies of early medieval religion more generally, making accessible and comprehensible a work that has much to say but which would otherwise invite too few readers.’ James T. Palmer, Speculum'On First Samuel is a very welcome contribution to the Translated Texts for Historian series and to Bedan scholarship more generally. The commentary’s value as a historical source is made explicit in the authors’ outstanding introduction, and this book will appeal to a broad audience with diverse interests in early English culture, intellectual history, and historical theology.'Meredith Cutrer, Comitatus 52Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsIntroduction Date and Context in Bede’s Oeuvre1 Samuel: Canonical Context and Narrative ContentPatristic Sources and Biblical VersionsExegetical MethodThe Historical Context for the CompositionAcca of Hexham and 1 SamuelThemes in On First SamuelBede’s Latin Prose Style in On First SamuelEditions of On First Samuel and the Present TranslationOn First SamuelChapter HeadingsBook 1Book 2Book 3Book 4Appendix 1: Notes on Textual EmendationsAppendix 2: Interpolations in Book 4BibliographyIndex of SourcesGeneral Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisExodus is an exceptional Old English poem, written at a time when in the age of Bede Northern England held the intellectual leadership of Europe. It offers a vernacular gateway to the study of early medieval christian poetry. Focussing in dramatic fashion on the crossing of the Red Sea enabling the Israelites to escape captivity in Egypt the poem is stylistically outstanding, showing a use of metaphor and fusion of disparate concepts (such as abstract and concrete, literal and allegorical) unparalleled in Old English poetry. The exodus, the greatest of Old Testament events, is interpreted both within the historical perspective of other Old Testament events (the Deluge and the Offering of Isaac) and within the allegorical perspective of the exodus to the Promised Land seen as the christian's journey through life to the ultimate heavenly home.This book, now in its third edition, aims to make the poem more accessible, and better understood and appreciated than hitherto. A number of changes to the Introduction, Commentary and Glossary, as well as a new Select Bibliography, help to bring the apparatus up to date and draw attention to the many fine contributions to the poem made by other scholars.Trade Review'Displays a wealth of scholarship.' Michael Swanton, Times Educational Supplement 25 Nov 1977'Many first-rate contributions to the study of the poem.' Robert T. Farrell, Review of English Studies 29 (1978)‘A fine piece of work.' J.R. Hall, Year's Work in Old English Studies - 1977 in Old English Newsletter 12 (1978)'It is not too large a claim to say that ultimately . . . English poetic criticism and appreciation as a whole will benefit from Dr Lucas's careful and scholarly work.' D.G. Scragg in Critical Quartely 20 (1978)'In many respects exemplary as an edition of an Old English poem.'D. Jost in Speculum 54 (1979)'Twenty-six years after his second, revised edition of the Old English poem Exodus, Peter J. Lucas supplies a welcome third edition of this important text [...] the edition provides not only an excellent introduction to the text and important aspects of the study of Old English literature in general to the student ‘beginner’ but will remain a staple on any Old English scholar’s bookshelf."Judith Kaup, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und LiteraturenTable of Contents Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction I THE MANUSCRIPT 1. History, Provenance and Origin 2. General Description 3. Sectional Divisions 4. Lay-out and Lacunae 5. The Intended Illustrations 6. Punctuation 7. Scribal Error 8. Compilation 9. The Textual Integrity of Exodus 10. The Corrector's Accents II LANGUAGE III METRE IV STYLE V SOURCES VI THEME VII DATE AND ORIGIN The Text EDITORIAL PROCEDURE EXODUS: Text with textual notes and Commentary Select Bibliography Glossary Glossorial Index of People and Places

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe concept of the afterlife has always been prominent in both Greek literature and modern scholarship alike. The fate of man after his/her allotted time has come to an end has a central position in poetry, philosophy and religion, often leading to questions and answers as to how one can best live one’s life, and how can one deal with the burden of mortality that is inherent in every human being. The Greeks devoted a considerable amount of their literary production in an attempt to answer these questions through a variety of different media, whereas similar concerns appear to have been at the core of the ancient world in general. This volume represents the first to examine the influences, intersections, and developments of understandings of death and the afterlife between poetic, religious, and philosophical traditions in ancient Greece in one resource. Greek thinking on death and the afterlife was neither uniform, simple, nor static, and by offering an examination of these matters in a properly interdisciplinary context this collection of papers aims to demonstrate the full richness, complexity, and flexibility of these ideas in the ancient Greek world, and illuminate how freely writers from various genres drew inspiration from each other’s thinking concerning eschatological matters. Contributors: Alberto Benarbé; Rick Benitez; Nicolo Benzi; Chiara Blanco; Radcliffe Edmonds; George Alexander Gazis; Anthony Hooper; Vaios Liapis; Alex Long; Ioannis Ziogas.Trade Review'The overarching theme of the volume is the great variety, malleability, conflation, and manipulation of the traditional views of the afterlife. This is an important point, and the essays collectively make it. They are, to echo the title of Edmonds’ opening essay, “good to think with."'Michael Halleran, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTable of Contents1. A Path Neither Simple Nor Single: The Afterlife as Good to Think with.Radcliffe Edmonds2. The Somatics of the Greek DeadVaios Liapis3. Life and Death of the Greek Heroine in Odyssey 11 and the Hesiodic Catalogue of WomenIoannis Ziogas4. What is your lot? Lyric pessimism and Pindar’s afterlifeGeorge Alexander Gazis5. In quest for authority: Parmenides and the tradition of katabasis narrativesNicolo Benzi6. Death as dehumanization in Sophocles’ PhiloctetesChiara Blanco7. Socrates' Conception of the UnderworldRick Benitez8. Judges in Hades from Homer to PlatoAlberto Benarbé9. Renovating the House of Hades: Cult Extensions and Socratic ReconstructionsAnthony Hooper10. Stoic agnosticisms about deathAlex Long

Read more less

Book SynopsisFifth-century Greek tragedy contains some of the most fascinating and important stage-ghosts in Western literature, whether the talkative Persian king Darius, who is evoked from the Underworld in Aeschylus’ Persians, or the murdered Trojan prince Polydorus, who seeks burial for his exposed corpse in Euripides’ Hecuba. These manifest figures can tell us a vast amount about the abilities of the tragic dead, particularly in relation to the nature, extent and limitations of their interaction with the living through, for example, ghost-raising ceremonies and dreams. Beyond these manifest dead, tragedy presents a wealth of invisible dead whose anger and desire for revenge bubble up from the Underworld, and whose honour and dishonour occupy the minds and influence the actions of the living. Combining both these manifest and invisible dead, this book examines harmful interaction between the living and the dead, i.e. how the living can harm the dead, and how the dead can harm the living. This includes discussions on the extent to which the dead are aware of and can react to honourable or dishonourable treatment by the living, the social stratification of the Underworld, the consequences of corpse exposure and mutilation for both the living and the dead, and how the dead can use and collaborate with avenging agents, such as the gods, the living and the Erinyes.Trade Review'Martin has produced an attractive and useful book on a topic of considerable interest. It is well written... Perhaps the book’s greatest strength is that, while exploring the beliefs and customs concerning the dead, she consistently foregrounds the interests and dynamics of the dramatic works in which they appear.' Michael R. Halleran, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1. A framework: The Homeric and contemporary dead1.1 Introduction1.2 The Homeric dead1.3 The contemporary fifth-century dead1.4 ConclusionChapter 2. The tragic dead: The witless and/or the aware2.1 Introduction2.2 The scale of awareness2.2.1 Death is οὐδέν2.2.2 Egocentric awareness2.2.3 Family reunion2.2.4 A (hierarchical) society of the dead2.2.5 Postmortem rewards and punishments2.2.6 Prophetic knowledge2.2.7 The manifest dead2.3 ConclusionChapter 3. The how and the why of interaction: The manifest evidence3.1 Introduction3.2 The living interacting with the dead: necromancy3.2.1 Darius in Aeschylus’ Persians3.2.2 Teiresias in Aeschylus’ Psychagōgoi3.2.3 Agamemnon in Aeschylus’ Choephori3.3 The dead interacting with the living: Dreams3.3.1 Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’ Eumenides3.3.2 Polydorus in Euripides’ Hecuba3.4 Spontaneous interaction: Achilles in Euripides’ Hecuba3.5 ConclusionChapter 4. The living harming the dead: Exposure, mutilation and exclusion4.1 Introduction4.2 A concern for the living4.3 Burial and exposure: extent and limitations4.3.1 Burial4.3.2 Exposure and mutilation4.4 Physical harm in the Underworld4.5 Exposure before enemies: remembering and dismembering4.6 Exclusion from/within the Underworld4.7 ConclusionChapter 5. The dead harming the living: Autonomy and agents5.1 Introduction5.2 Autonomous revenge from the dead5.3 Olympian agents5.4 The Erinyes5.5 Living agents5.5.1 Agamemnon in Aeschylus’ Choephori5.5.2 Achilles in Euripides’ Hecuba5.6 ConclusionConclusion: The Alcestis Effect

Read more less

Book SynopsisArator’s Historia Apostolica, published with papal approval and to great acclaim in 544, is an enthralling epic poem which retells the story of the Acts of Apostles, following clearly in the stylistic footsteps of Vergil and Lucan. On the other hand, it is also a detailed commentary on what Arator perceived to be the hidden meaning of the biblical text, divined and revealed through the technique of allegorical interpretation and drawing upon the exegesis of Origen, Ambrose, Augustine, and others. Narrative and commentary alternate throughout the work to enthralling effect, as the apostles Peter and Paul embark on their separate missionary adventures, eventually to be reunited in martyrdom in Nero’s Rome. The translation is preceded by an introduction which begins with a re-evaluation of the sources which detail Arator’s life, in particular taking a fresh look at his relationship with his mentor Ennodius. There follow an examination of the poet’s aims, methods and inspirations and a discussion of his attitudes to heresies both past and present. The introduction ends with a ground-breaking examination of the ‘afterlife’ of Arator’s poem, mapping the extent of his influence, as evident in quotation and allusion, the copying of manuscripts, and inclusion in medieval libraries from the sixth century to the eleventh. Arator’s influence on several later authors, most notably the Venerable Bede, is explored in more detail in a number of appendixes. Arator’s combination of epic verse and mystical commentary was a heady and potent mix and ensured the poem’s popularity, not least among the monks of Anglo-Saxon England and the Carolingian continent.Trade Review'Richard Hillier delivers here an imposing work, richly documented and welcome in English scholarship on a poet whose fame medieval and literary complexity are no longer to be demonstrated and which therefore deserves to be better translated and commented to reveal the flavors of his subject.'Paul-Augustin Deproost, LatomusTranslated from French, 'Richard Hillier livre ici un travail imposant, richement documenté et bienvenu dans l’érudition anglophone sur un poète dont la renommée médiévale et la complexité littéraire ne sont plus à démontrer et qui mérite donc d’être de mieux en mieux traduit et commenté pour révéler les saveurs de son propos.''Hillier has done a magnificent job in making a relatively neglected text much more accessible… anyone interested in the rececption of the Acts of the Apostles, allegorical interpretation, or the development of the cult of Saints Peter and Paul will find much of interest to them here.' David Woods, The Journal of Theological Studies

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book reconceives the rewriting of Byzantine hagiography between the eighth and fourteenth centuries as a skilful initiative in communication and creative freedom, and as a form of authorship. Three men – Makarios (late C13th-C14th), a monk; Constantine Akropolites (d.c.1324), a statesman; and an Anonymous educated wordsmith (c. C9th) – each opted to rewrite the martyrdom of a female virgin saint who suffered and died centuries earlier. Their adaptations, respectively, were of St. Ia of Persia (modern-day Iran), St. Horaiozele of Constantinople, and St. Tatiana of Rome. Ia is described as a victim of the persecutions of the Persian Shahanshah, Shapur II (309–79 C.E), Horaiozele was allegedly a disciple of St Andrew and killed anachronistically under the emperor Decius (249–51 C.E), and Tatiana, we are told, was a deaconess, martyred during the reign of emperor Alexander Severus (222–35 C.E). Makarios, Akropolites, and the Anonymous knowingly tailored their compositions to influence an audience and to foster their individual interests. The implications arising from these studies are far-reaching: this monograph considers the agency of the hagiographer, the instrumental use of the authorial persona and its impact on the audience, and hagiography as a layered discourse. The book also provides the first translations and commentaries of the martyrdoms of these virgin martyrs.Trade Review'The three texts are translated into clear English, which is pleasant to read. The notes shed light on several aspects of the stories, notably their lexical richness. Alwis brings three female figures from Byzantine hagiography out of oblivion while creating an original discussion about re-writing not only as a linguistic and rhetorical practice but also a social one. This is a fine study about hagiography as a literary object, drawing on the ancestral strength of story/ narrative as a means of communication.’ Anna Lampadaridi, Revue des Études ByzantinesTranslated from French. 'As first-time translations to English, these texts, and the monograph that introduces them, are valuable additions to the extant research, and provide new insight and perspectives for anyone interested in mediaeval history and hagiography.' Sissel Undheim, Plekos‘[Narrating Martyrdom] is a welcome addition to the growing number of Greek hagiographical texts available in English… and offers valuable insights into the three authors’ techniques of rewriting their model texts.’ Alice-Mary Talbot, Church HistoryTable of Contents1. A Note on the Editions and Translations2. IntroductionNarratology, Focalisation, and CommunicationThe Rewritten Text: the SimulacrumManuscript Context and AudienceRewriting as Social Action, and Hagiography as Double-DiscourseRewriting Perceptions from the Past3. The Authors: Makarios, Constantine Akropolites, and the Anonymous4. The Virgin Martyrs5. AdaptationMakarios and Saint IaAkropolites and Saint HoraiozeleThe Anonymous and Saint TatianaWhat is Metaphrasis?6. Conclusions7. Translations and Commentaries for each martyrdom

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume offers the first fully scholarly translation into English of the Tale of Livistros and Rodamne, a love romance written around the middle of 13th century at the imperial court of Nicaea, at the time when Constantinople was still under Latin dominion. With its approximately 4700 verses, Livistros and Rodamne is the longest and the most artfully composed of the eight surviving Byzantine love romances. It was almost certainly written to be recited in front of an aristocratic audience by an educated poet experienced in the Greek tradition of erotic fiction, yet at the same time knowledgeable of the Medieval French and Persian romances of love and adventure. The poet has created a very 'modern' narrative filled with attractive episodes, including the only scene of demonic incantation in Byzantine fiction. The language of the romance is of a high poetic quality, challenging the translator at every step. Finally, Livistros and Rodamne is the only Byzantine romance that consistently constructs the Latin world of chivalry as an exotic setting, a type of occidentalism aiming to tame and to incorporate the Frankish Other in the social norms of the Byzantine Self after the Fall of Constantinople to the Latins in 1204.Trade Review'[The Tale of Livistros and Rodamne] is a fascinating text that will be of interest to a broad range of scholars including Byzantinists as well as anyone working on cross cultural literary and cultural interactions in the medieval Mediterranean.' Nicholas Morton, The Journal of Religious History, Literature & Culture'Agapitos captures every sound, rhythm, and movement with attention to the lyricism of the original language... The Tale of Livistros and Rodamne is a literary triumph and a solid step forward in the right direction in Byzantine and world literary studies.' Christina Christoforatou, Speculum‘Panagiotis Agapitos’ translation of the mid-thirteenth-century romance Livistros and Rodamne does justice to one of the great works of Byzantine literature through one of its great scholars. [Agapitos] restores the poetry to the poem, in terms of both its verse layout and the pleasures of its inventive diction and intricate structure.’ Adam J. Goldwyn, Byzantine and Modern Greek StudiesTable of ContentsPreface Introduction I. General issues 1. The genre of Byzantine romance 2. L&R in older scholarship 3. Textual history and editorial situation 4. Date, place of composition, primary audience II. Literary matters 1. A brief summary of L&R 2. Relation to the Komnenian and Ancient Greek novels 3. Relation to the Old French romances 4. Byzantine occidentalism? Exoticism in L&R 5. The ‘awe-inspiring mysteries’ of a poet’s art 6. Narrative and the organization of time 7. Narrative space and narrated spaces 8. L&R as an instruction manual on the ‘art of love’ 9. Eros, hybrid power and the politics of desire 10. Poetic language and the blended style in L&R III. The translation The Tale of Livistros and Rodamne Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisJuvenal’s fifth and final book of Satires consists of three complete poems and one fragment and continues and completes his satirical assessment of the Rome of the early second century AD. The poems treat us to a scandalised exposure of folly and vice and also the voice of sweet reason as the poet advises us how to live our lives—all delivered in the hugely entertaining tones of a great master of the Latin language. There is here laugh-out-loud humour, razor-sharp descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of ancient Rome and also some of the most moving lines of this extraordinary poet. All four poems promote the value of human life and the need to accept our lives without worshipping the false gods of money, power or superstition. Satires 13 and 14 both deal with our need to use money without being enslaved by it, Satire 15 is an astonishing tour de force description of the cannibalism perpetrated in a vicious war in Egypt, while the final unfinished poem in the collection looks from a worm’s-eye view at the advantages enjoyed by men enlisted in the Praetorian guard.The Introduction sets Juvenal in the history of Roman Satire, explores the style of the poems and also asks how far they can be read as in any sense serious, given the ironic pose adopted by the satirist. The text is accompanied by a literal English translation and the commentary (which is keyed to important words in the translation and aims to be accessible to readers with little or no Latin) seeks to explain both the factual background to the poems and also the literary qualities which make this poetry exciting and moving to a modern audience.Trade Review'It is the task of the commentator to introduce, establish, explain and illustrate the text; these tasks are admirably handled here. [...] It is hard to imagine that [this edition] will need to be replaced before many years to come.' Colin Leach, Classics for AllTable of ContentsIntroductionText and TranslationCommentaryBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisJuvenal’s fifth and final book of Satires consists of three complete poems and one fragment and continues and completes his satirical assessment of the Rome of the early second century AD. The poems treat us to a scandalised exposure of folly and vice and also the voice of sweet reason as the poet advises us how to live our lives—all delivered in the hugely entertaining tones of a great master of the Latin language. There is here laugh-out-loud humour, razor-sharp descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of ancient Rome and also some of the most moving lines of this extraordinary poet. All four poems promote the value of human life and the need to accept our lives without worshipping the false gods of money, power or superstition. Satires 13 and 14 both deal with our need to use money without being enslaved by it, Satire 15 is an astonishing tour de force description of the cannibalism perpetrated in a vicious war in Egypt, while the final unfinished poem in the collection looks from a worm’s-eye view at the advantages enjoyed by men enlisted in the Praetorian guard.The Introduction sets Juvenal in the history of Roman Satire, explores the style of the poems and also asks how far they can be read as in any sense serious, given the ironic pose adopted by the satirist. The text is accompanied by a literal English translation and the commentary (which is keyed to important words in the translation and aims to be accessible to readers with little or no Latin) seeks to explain both the factual background to the poems and also the literary qualities which make this poetry exciting and moving to a modern audience.Trade Review'It is the task of the commentator to introduce, establish, explain and illustrate the text; these tasks are admirably handled here. [...] It is hard to imagine that [this edition] will need to be replaced before many years to come.' Colin Leach, Classics for AllTable of ContentsIntroductionText and TranslationCommentaryBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe 'De venenis' attributed to 'Malachias Hibernicus' is a portable discussion of vices and virtues. Probably composed about 1280, originally as an aid for Franciscan preachers, it adopts the innovative metaphor that sin is a poison removed by various 'treacles'. Its argumentative mode is to adduce scientific data about venomous beasts, the sins, and the antidotes to their poisons, the 'remedial' virtues. From these 'facts' of natural history, Malachy constructs homiletic similitudines (analogical figures). These, typically of a sort designed for use in sermones ad status, he applies to vicious and virtuous activities, and perhaps particularly ones peculiar to Ireland. Although Malachy the Irishman and his On Poison have received only a handful of scholarly notices in the last century, in the later Middle Ages, his was a widely known book. A lengthy introduction presents evidence for the wide circulation of Malachy's text and the little that is known of the author. It further addresses literary issues: the work's genre, hovering between a treatise on vices and virtues, a compendium of scientific information, and a handbook for preachers; Malachy's efforts at compilation of authoritative materials; and a preliminary account of some early users, including William Langland and Robert Holcot. The introduction concludes by examining the insuperable difficulties involved in editing the text. The centre of the volume presents an annotated preliminary text and translation, together with some account of early interpolations the text received. The volume concludes with three indexes, one with all biblical citations, one of all Malachy's other citations, and a third of Malachy's similitudines, his moralised scientific information.Trade Review‘Perhaps the greatest gift a longtime editor and skilled Latinist can leave for less experienced successors is a reliable edition and accurate translation of an influential text that they may not have encountered and cannot read as fluently. Hanna has given his colleagues exactly that.’ Edwin D. Craun, The Medieval Review‘Hanna’s book is the first edition of De veneno since 1518, and his excellent translation on facing pages makes the text easily accessible beyond a scholarly audience… This book belongs on the shelf of every medievalist and may also be of interest to many a lay person.’ Rüdiger Spahl, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Findern Manuscript (Cambridge University Library, Ff.1.6): A New Edition of the Unique Poems is the first critical edition of the thirty-four unique and unattributed Middle English poems contained in Cambridge, University Library MS Ff.1.6. This collection of unique poems is significant for its size and thematic coherence, and for the insight it provides into regional literary culture, that of south Derbyshire, in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The poems, mainly short lyric texts, but also the narrative poem, The Parliament of Love, two topical complaints, and a romance known as the ‘Alexander-Cassamus Fragment’, are significant for the evidence they provide for creative responses to the metropolitan literature of previous generations, especially to the works of Chaucer, Gower, Hoccleve and Lydgate. The poems explore a range of amatory, religious and philosophical themes in a variety of lyric forms and genres. Their anonymity and experimentation with lyric voice and style make them an important site for exploring the contribution of women, as well as men, to late medieval regional literary culture.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDemosthenes’ oration On the Chersonese is a masterpiece of rhetorical brilliance and contains some of the best examples of his skill as a political orator, coming as one of his final surviving speeches in the corpus. It was delivered to the Athenians in 341 BC, at a time of turbulent events when Athens was coming under increasing pressure resulting from the actions of Philip of Macedon. The Chersonese was a region of great importance for Athens. At the time of the speech, Philip was in the middle of an extensive military and diplomatic campaign in Thrace that would threaten the security of the Athenian grain trade from the Black Sea. The resulting pressure in the Chersonese, however, was seen by Demosthenes as an attempt by Philip to weaken Athens as a prelude to taking the whole of Greece. In this context he argued in the speech that the general Diopeithes, who had been sent out to the Chersonese in 346 with a naval force, be supported in the face of protest from Philip regarding Diopeithes’ actions in the wider area. He focuses on Athenian relations with Philip in this crucial northern region and why Philip was a threat to Athenian interests in the area. This edition with Greek text, translation and commentary contains the first detailed commentary on this speech. The introduction explains the historical background in some detail, as well as examining Demosthenes’ deliberative oratory, the structure and style of the speech, and relationship to the speeches that followed, including the famous Third Philippic. The commentary focuses on all political, military, social and religious references presented by Demosthenes, as well as oratorical aspects.Table of ContentsIntroductionText and translationCommentaryAppendicesMapsIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisOedipus Tyrannus by the great tragedian Sophocles is one of the most famous works of ancient Greek literature. The play has always been admired for the tight unity of its plot; every bit of every scene counts towards the dramatic effect. The action is concentrated into a single day in Oedipus’ life; his heinous crimes of unwittingly killing his father and marrying his mother all lie long ago in the past, and now, in the action of this one day, there awaits for him only the discovery of the truth. Oedipus is portrayed as a noble king, deeply devoted to his people and they to him. Proud of his earlier defeat of the Sphinx, he is determined to save his city once again, and he unflinchingly pursues the truth of who he is and what he has done, unaware that it will bring him to disaster. The spectators, familiar with Oedipus’ story, wait in horrified suspense for that terrible moment of realisation to arrive. And when it does, Oedipus survives it: he takes full responsibility for what he has done, accepts the grief and the pain, and carries on, remaining indomitable to the end. Sophocles gives no answer as to why Oedipus is made to suffer his tragic fate. He simply shows us how human life is; how even a great and good man can be brought to the utmost misery through no fault of his own. The gods may, for no apparent reason, deal out unbelievable suffering, but humankind can survive it. Jenny March’s new facing-page translation brings alive the power and complexities of Sophocles’ writing, with a substantial introduction and a detailed commentary.Trade Review‘For incisive comment and sharp analysis (as well as obvious enthusiasm for this play), M. is very hard to beat and also refreshingly easy to read.’ John Godwin, Classics for All ‘All in all, this is a lovely introduction to Oedipus the King for intermediate-level Greek students... The copious references to scholarship and the window into textual criticism will also open students’ eyes and prepare them for further work. March gives us a strong, intelligent, caring Oedipus and shows us how Sophocles dramatizes his story.' Anne Mahoney, Bryn Mawr Classical Review‘Jenny March returns to Sophocles with an edition of Oedipus Tyrannus. The lucidity, enthusiasm, and passionate commitment to the value of Hellenic studies which characterised her previous edition are all evident in this new volume… this is a reliable and stimulating introduction to Sophocles’ great play which teachers and pupils should feel confident using. And what comes across throughout – as it does from all of March’s works – is her passion for Greek literature and myth, her commitment to the value of learning about ancient Greek culture.’ P. J. Finglass, Exemplaria Classica

Read more less

Book SynopsisOedipus Tyrannus by the great tragedian Sophocles is one of the most famous works of ancient Greek literature. The play has always been admired for the tight unity of its plot; every bit of every scene counts towards the dramatic effect. The action is concentrated into a single day in Oedipus’ life; his heinous crimes of unwittingly killing his father and marrying his mother all lie long ago in the past, and now, in the action of this one day, there awaits for him only the discovery of the truth. Oedipus is portrayed as a noble king, deeply devoted to his people and they to him. Proud of his earlier defeat of the Sphinx, he is determined to save his city once again, and he unflinchingly pursues the truth of who he is and what he has done, unaware that it will bring him to disaster. The spectators, familiar with Oedipus’ story, wait in horrified suspense for that terrible moment of realisation to arrive. And when it does, Oedipus survives it: he takes full responsibility for what he has done, accepts the grief and the pain, and carries on, remaining indomitable to the end. Sophocles gives no answer as to why Oedipus is made to suffer his tragic fate. He simply shows us how human life is; how even a great and good man can be brought to the utmost misery through no fault of his own. The gods may, for no apparent reason, deal out unbelievable suffering, but humankind can survive it. Jenny March’s new facing-page translation brings alive the power and complexities of Sophocles’ writing, with a substantial introduction and a detailed commentary.Trade Review‘For incisive comment and sharp analysis (as well as obvious enthusiasm for this play), M. is very hard to beat and also refreshingly easy to read.’ John Godwin, Classics for All ‘All in all, this is a lovely introduction to Oedipus the King for intermediate-level Greek students... The copious references to scholarship and the window into textual criticism will also open students’ eyes and prepare them for further work. March gives us a strong, intelligent, caring Oedipus and shows us how Sophocles dramatizes his story.' Anne Mahoney, Bryn Mawr Classical Review‘Jenny March returns to Sophocles with an edition of Oedipus Tyrannus. The lucidity, enthusiasm, and passionate commitment to the value of Hellenic studies which characterised her previous edition are all evident in this new volume… this is a reliable and stimulating introduction to Sophocles’ great play which teachers and pupils should feel confident using. And what comes across throughout – as it does from all of March’s works – is her passion for Greek literature and myth, her commitment to the value of learning about ancient Greek culture.’ P. J. Finglass, Exemplaria Classica

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores the work of the late-medieval English writer Thomas Hoccleve. It highlights Hoccleve’s role, throughout his works, as a religious writer: an individual who engages seriously with the dynamics of heresy and ecclesiastical reform, who contributes to traditions of vernacular devotional writing, and who raises the question of how Christianity manifests on personal as well as political levels. It suggests a role for Hoccleve as a poetic mediator, capable of mediating between the increasingly militant English church and an incipient English literary tradition, and it highlights Hoccleve’s role in transforming the figure of Chaucer in the first decades of the fifteenth century. It argues that the version of Chaucer presented in Hoccleve’s Regiment of Princes – august, devout, and conspicuously religious – is not a pre-formed artifact, but rather a Hocclevian invention; and it indicates the ecclesiastical, political, and literary contexts that make this version of Chaucer both possible and necessary. This study also situates Hoccleve’s accomplishments in a transnational poetic context – offering French and Italian precedents for Hoccleve’s moralization of Chaucer, while examining the influence of contemporary French poetry on Hoccleve’s work. It positions us to reconsider Hoccleve’s role within English literary tradition, and to better understand the way heresy and religious reform surface in late medieval poetry; and it affords us a more nuanced context for Chaucer’s positioning as a literary 'father' figure in this period.Trade Review‘For nearly 40 years Thomas Hoccleve toiled at the Privy Seal, a professional scribe stooping and staring ‘upon the sheepes skyn’ […] Langdell convincingly moves his rehabilitation forward with this thoughtful, wide-ranging and learned reassessment.' Jane Roberts, The Review of English Studies‘The emphasis on Hoccleve’s influence in the conclusion, while quickly spelled out here, is of great importance and will hopefully serve to inspire other scholars; in particular, using Hoccleve’s religious identity to connect him with Lydgate—specifically to the Life of Our Lady—is a promising avenue of research that many others may want to pursue, and thank Langdell as they do.’R. D. Perry, Speculum 'Langdell’s book is rich in textual comparison and includes a productive analytical range with close readings based on surviving paleographical evidence and imagery, as well as more traditional forms of textual analysis.' J. A. T. Smith, The New Chaucer SocietyTable of ContentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1. “What world is this? How vndirstande am I?”: Reading and Moralization in the Series 2. Vice, Virtue, and Poetic Mediation in the Epistle of Cupid 3. “What shal I calle thee? What is thy name?”: Hoccleve, Chaucer, and the Architectonics of Fame4. Reforming Thought: The Making of “Thomas Hoccleve”5. Hoccleve’s EucharistConclusion: The Matter of Hocclevian Influence BibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Chronicle of the Logothete covers the period from the Creation of the World to the burial of emperor Romanos I Lekapenos in the summer of 948 AD. If we deduce a medieval text’s importance and success from the number of extant manuscripts, this work must score highly. While some medieval chronicles have come down to us in only one manuscript, about thirty manuscripts transmit the Chronicle of the Logothete in its main form, and there are also manuscripts containing different kinds of elaborated versions of the text. Also, the chronicle was translated into Old Slavonic at least twice. In spite of the work’s popularity, the chronicler himself remains obscure. It has been suggested that this could be Symeon Metaphrastes, an illustrious Byzantine literate who collected and edited, or wrote, Saints’ Lives. However, fairly certain is only that the final compilation of the text was made in the second half of the tenth century, and there seems to be a pro-Lekapenian bias and an antipathy towards the Macedonian dynasty. This volume is based on the translator's 2006 edition of the text and constitutes the first translation ever into English.Trade ReviewReviews'The importance of this chronicle cannot be overstressed: for us it is the most important Byzantine history for the hundred years after Theophanes, who covered up to the early ninth century. It is a great historical and historiographical read, too.' Adrian Spooner, Classics for All‘A very careful and useful translation that will contribute to the knowledge of Byzantine historiography among medievalists and the general public.’ Juan Signes Codoñer, The Byzantine Review ‘The book can be recommended as a useful working tool for capturing this important text, not only byzantinists, but also by historians without restrictions, because of the excellent translation, which is enriched by the philological commentary.’ Raphael Brendel, Sehepunkte

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume brings together a variety of studies, some reprinted, some new; all are devoted to the literate culture of the English later Middle Ages. The studies hover about four foci: normative English polylingualism (across three grammatically distinct languages); the messiness and discontinuities of medieval manuscript production; drawing conclusions about historical audiences/literary communities on the basis of book-evidence; and finally, the Middle English poem Piers Plowman. In general, although all the essays here arrive at broad conclusions, their point is other. The essays exemplify methods of study, the identification of problems and the recognition of tools appropriate or helpful in addressing them. Perhaps particularly the volume gestures toward a range of skills appropriate for the task; these range from narrow observation of book-production techniques to bringing a local historical record to bear on an individual volume or group of them.Trade Review‘Patient Reading constitutes a major contribution to book history. It also offers a sustained reflection on the reading practices that might best illuminate medieval texts […] Patient Reading presents a rich compendium of material, the fruit of Hanna’s own “patient . . . absorption” in the medieval archive (8). It also makes some stimulating and consequential claims about the creative, polylingual, exegetical practices that gave shape to medieval sermons and to medieval poems.’Alastair Bennett, Modern Philology'Running alongside the erudition of this volume, there is a basic humility and unashamed bookishness that again points towards Hanna's implicit ideological position that historical literacy scholarship is worthwhile in and of itself.' Ian Felce, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen‘These separate studies are thick with historical and cultural detail, descriptive analysis, and codicological argument, and signpost many untrodden avenues for further research while also offering precise and informative discoveries.’ Margaret Connolly, Speculum: A Journal of Medieval StudiesTable of ContentsAbbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction [I] Language Barriers 1. Literacy, Schooling, Universities 2.Vernacular Exegesis in Fourteenth-Century England? 3.Lambeth Palace Library, MS 260 and the Problem of English Vernacularity 4.Editing 'Middle English Lyrics': The Case of Candet nudatum pectus 5.Performing Exegesis: Lyric and Sermon in Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.6.26 [II] Nasty Books: Collection Procedures 6.Lambeth Palace Library, MS 487: Some Problems of Early Thirteenth-Century Textual Transmission 7.Producing Magdalen College MS lat. 93 8.A Fifteenth-Century Vernacular Miscellany Revisited 9.Humphrey Newton and Bodleian Library, MS Lat. misc. c.66 [III] Historicising the Archive 10.Yorkshire Writers 11.Some North Yorkshire Scribes and Their Context 12.Dr Peter Partridge and Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Digby 98 13.John of Wales and 'Classicising Friars' [IV] Still Harping On – Reading(:) Patience in Piers Plowman An Ideological Prequel Prologue: Langland's Kind of Poetry 1. On Patience 2. Conscience's Dinner 3. Hawkin and Patience's Instruction 4. The C Version Revisions Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisOf Gothic descent, Jordanes wrote a unique set of histories. The Getica narrates the history of the Goths from their earliest origins until the middle of the sixth century. Building on the lost history of Cassiodorus, it is the earliest example of a history told from the perspective of one of the barbarian peoples establishing kingdoms in the fifth and sixth centuries. It had great influence on later medieval historians, on national histories of the nineteenth century and on modern accounts of Gothic history. The Romana is a survey of world and Roman history. Whilst largely dependent on traditional Roman histories and chronicles for events up to the fourth century, it contains much unique information for the last two centuries it narrates. This book offers the first translation into English of the Getica for a century and the first modern translation of the Romana. The introduction locates the Getica and the Romana in the context of ancient historiography, building a new picture of Jordanes as a historian and of the two works themselves. It also offers a detailed discussion of the sources used by Jordanes, suggesting possible ways to identify his debt to Cassiodorus. Extensive notes guide the reader through these fascinating but often complex texts.Trade Review'Jordanes may get less respect than any other well-preserved ancient historian. But nowthe inexhaustible learning of Lieve Van Hoof and Peter Van Nuffelen has made himhonourable amends. This volume is now the best and essential introduction toJordanes' work, while remaining eminently serviceable for use in classroom settings.'James J. O'Donnell, Arizona State University'It is hard to overstate the value of this volume. The sheer quantity of material included beyond the publication of good, up-to-date, translations of the Romana and Getica, is one of the chief benefits of the book. This makes it invaluable in the classroom, though also for anyone less familiar with Jordanes... Van Nuffelen and Van Hoof deserve fulsome praise for their achievement.'Conor Whately, The Medieval Review'Inexhaustible learning of Lieve Van Hoof and Peter Van Nuffelen has made [Jordanes] honorable amends. This TTH volume is now the best and essential introduction to Jordanes’s work, while remaining eminently serviceable for use in classroom settings.' James J. O’Donnell, Bryn Mawr Classical Review‘It is worth taking a look at the book by Peter Van Nuffelen and Lieve Van Hoof, for in addition to the translations, it also contains an extensive introduction… The big pluses of this edition are the embedding of work in current research as well as the detailed footnote apparatus.' Michael Zerjadtke, Historischen Zeitschrift Translated from German: ‘lohnt ein Blick in das Buch von Peter Van Nuffelen und Lieve Van Hoof, denn neben den Übersetzungen ist darin auch eine umfangreiche Einleitung enthalten… Die großen Pluspunkte der Ausgabe sind die Einbettung der Werke in die aktuelle Forschung sowie der detaillierte Fußnotenapparat.’'V.’s new translations and discussions will help dispel lingering trepidation and encourage newcomers to integrate the Romana and Getica into our understanding of the momentous sixth century. Jordanes is too singular a voice to be left unheard, and it will be fascinating to see what comes next.' Brian Swaine, The Classical Review'This impressive book has been a desideratum for many years and it constitutes a valuable tool forresearch. Only a few scholars could have produced such an opus without making an injustice to the vast literature on the subject, to the complexity of the Quellenforschung, and to the discussion of the many philological issues and the labyrinth of questions that surrounds these texts.'Massimiliano Vitiello, Sehepunkte: Review Journal for Historical Studies‘This is a beautifully crafted book. It is also very thorough and meticulous, and the authors have taken great pains to introduce Jordanes to modern readers as comprehensively as possible… Peter Van Nuffelen and Lieve Van Hoof certainly deserve to be commended for their careful, meticulous and honest approach to Jordanes and all the riddles associated with him.’ Stanislav Doležal, LatomusTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Life and context 2. The Romana 3. The Getica 4. Sources 5. Text and translation 6. The medieval and humanist reception Translation A summary of all times, or On the origin and deeds of the Roman people On the origin and deeds of the Getae Appendices Maps Bibliography Indices

Read more less