Category Books

The Methods of Medieval Translators: A Comparison of the Latin Text of Virgil’s Aeneid with its Old French AdaptationsBy Raymond J. CormierEdwin Mellen Press, 2011ISBN: 978-0-7734-1577-5This monograph examines the medieval French translation/adaptation of Virgil’s Aeneid. The work employs Relevance Theory, second language pedagogy and hermeneutics in its analysis.

Shaping Medieval Markets: The Organisation of Commodity Markets in Holland, c. 1200 – c. 1450By Jessica Dijkman(Brill, 2011)Synopsis: The late Middle Ages witnessed the transformation of the county of Holland from a peripheral agrarian region to a highly commercialised and urbanised one. This book examines how the organisation of commodity markets contributed to this remarkable development.

The Great Beginning of Cîteaux: A Narrative of the Beginning of the Cistercian Order – The Exordium Magnum of Conrad of EberbachTranslated by Benedicta Ward, SLG, and Paul Savage; Edited by Rozanne ElderCistercian Publications/Liturgical Press, 2012ISBN: 978-0-87907-172-1Publisher’s Description: In the closing decades of the twelfth century, the Cistercian Order had become an important ecclesiastical and economic power in Europe.

From Boys to Men: Formations of Masculinity in Late Medieval EuropeKarras, Ruth MazoPublisher: University of Pennsylvania PressSummaryWhile the social identity of women in medieval society hinged largely on the ritual of marriage, identity for men was derived from belonging to a particular group. Knights, monks, apprentices, guildsmen all underwent a process of initiation into their unique subcultures.

Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing PatternsBy Lilli Fransen, Anna Nørgård and Else ØstergårdAarhus University Press, 2012ISBN: 978-87-7934-298-9Short introduction to the amazing finds of garments from the Norse settlement of Herjolfnes in Greenland by Else Østergård. Chapters on technique: production of the tread, dyeing, weaving techniques, cutting and sewing by Anna Nørgaard.

Why the Middle Ages Matter: Medieval Light on Modern InjusticeEdited by Celia Chazelle, Simon Doubleday, Felice Lifshitz, Amy G. RemensnyderRoutledge, 2012ISBN: 978-0-415-78065-0Publisher’s Description: The word “medieval” is often used in a negative way when talking about contemporary issues. Why the Middle Ages Matter refreshes our thinking about this historical era, and our own, by looking at some pressing concerns from today’s world, asking how these issues were really handled in the medieval period, and showing why the past matters now.

Reassessing the Roles of Women as ‘Makers’ of Medieval Art and ArchitectureEdited by Therese MartinBrill Publishing, 2002ISBN: 9789004185555This two-volume set proposes a renewed way of framing the debate around the history of medieval art and architecture to highlight the multiple roles played by women.

Jews and Magic in Medici FlorenceLecture by Edward GoldbergGiven at the Library of Congress, on April 13, 2011Between 1615 and 1620, Benedetto Blanis (c.1580-c.1647), a Jewish scholar and businessman in the Florentine ghetto, sent 196 letters to Don Giovanni dei Medici (1567-1621), an influential member of the ruling family.

The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: Edition, Translation, and CommentaryBy Michael W. HerrenBrepols, 2011ISBN: 978-2-503-53577-7One of the most skilful forgeries of the Middle Ages, the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister has puzzled scholars for over 150 years, not least because of its challenging Latinity.

Looking at animals in human historyBy Linda KalofLondon: Reaktion Books, 2007Contents1) Prehistory, before 5000 BCNew Relationships2) Antiquity, 5000 BC–AD 500Untamed Nature, Cities and War – Domestication – Hunting – Slaughter as Spectacle – Menageries and the Exotic3) The Middle Ages, 500–1400Changing Relationships – Animals, Morality and Sex – Animals and Devalued Humans – Domestication – Animals, Humans and the Plague – Hunting – Fear – Public Processions and Rituals – Animal Trials – Entertainment – Medieval Menageries4) The Renaissance, 1400–1600Death, Disease and Dead Animals – Hunting – Social Disorder and Animal Massacres – Animal-baiting – Cultural Analyses of Animal-baiting – Ceremony and Ritual – Horns, Masculinity and Honour – Looking Toward Animal Welfare5) The Enlightenment, 1600–1800Dead Animal Portraiture – Live Animal Portraiture – Animal Massacres as Ritual – Exhibition as Entertainment – Exotics and Pets – Dogs and Rabies – Exhibition as Education – Growing Opposition to Cruelty – Looking at Cruelty6) Modernity, 1800–2000Dogcarts, Rabies and Sex – Natural History and Hunting – Spectacles of Game Hunting – Zoo Spectacles – Theme Park Spectacles – Bullfighting as Ritual – Looking at the Postmodern AnimalExcerpt: Agricultural and technological innovations in the Middle Ages also brought about a substantial shift in attitudes toward nature.

A Companion and Guide to the Norman ConquestBy Peter BramleyThe History Press, 2012ISBN: 9780752463353Publisher’s Synopsis: 1066 is the one date in British history that every schoolchild knows. The victory of William the Conqueror over King Harold at Hastings, and the subsequent imposition of Norman rule over the whole of England and Wales, effectively marked the creation of the country as we know it today.

The Medieval Anarchy: History In An HourBy Kaye JonesHistory In An Hour, 2012The latest ebook from History In An Hour, The Medieval Anarchy aims to give the reader a relatively quick look at events during the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), a period of civil war throughout the Anglo-Norman empire.

No Longer Invisible: Religion in University EducationRhonda Hustedt Jacobsen and Douglas JacobsenPublisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 3, 2012)SummaryDrawing on conversations with hundreds of professors, co-curricular educators, administrators, and students from institutions spanning the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities, the Jacobsens illustrate how religion is constructively intertwined with the work of higher education in the twenty-first century.

Fatal Colours: Towton 1461 – England’s Most Brutal BattleBy George GoodwinW.W. Norton and Company, 2012ISBN 978-0-393-08084-1Publisher’s Synopsis: The tumultuous reign of Henry VI and its climax in the carnage of Towton—the bloodiest battle fought on English soil. The battle of Towton in 1461 was unique in its ferocity and brutality, as the armies of two kings of England engaged with murderous weaponry and in appalling conditions to conclude the first War of the Roses.

Fashioning Change: The Trope of Clothing in High- and Late-Medieval EnglandBy Andrea Denny-BrownOhio State University Press, 2012ISBN: 9780814211908Publisher’s Synopsis:Medieval European culture was obsessed with clothing. In Fashioning Change: The Trope of Clothing in High- and Late-Medieval England, Andrea Denny-Brown explores the central impact of clothing in medieval ideas about impermanence and the ethical stakes of human transience.

The Life and Miracles of Thekla: A Literary StudyBy Scott Fitzgerald JohnsonCenter for Hellenic Studies & Harvard University Press, 2006Introduction: The extended epigraph printed on the previous pages comprises the pilgrim Egeria’s journal account of her journey to the shrine of Saint Thekla near Seleukeia (modern Silifke in southeastern Turkey).

BOOK REVIEW: Edric the WildAuthor: Jayden WoodsReview by: Sandra SadowskiEdric the Wild continues the family saga of Edric Streona and Godric Godwinson by introducing Edric Godwinson’s story on the eve of the Norman Conquest. The book focuses on two main protagonists: Edric Godwinson an Anglo-Saxon, and his nemesis, Osbern FitzRichard, a Norman.

The Life and Miracles of St. Margaret of Cortona (1247 – 1297)Translated by Thomas Renna, Ph.D., and Shannon LarsonFranciscan Institute Publications announces the September 26, 2012, release of The Life and Miracles of St. Margaret of Cortona (1247 – 1297) translated into English by Thomas Renna, Ph.

Telling Images: Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative IIBy V.A. KolveStanford University Press, 2009ISBN: 9780804776585Telling Images investigates certain symbolic traditions in Geoffrey Chaucer’s major poetry and their relationship to the visual culture of his time. With more than 150 illustrations, it continues an inquiry begun in the author’s prize-winning study, Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative: The First Five Canterbury Tales.

Competing Voices from the CrusadesEdited by Andrew Holt and James MuldoonABC-CLIO/Greenwood, 2008ISBN: 978-1-84645-011-2A collection of eye-witness accounts and contemporary reports like no other – side-by-side extracts from Christian, Muslim and Byzantine participants in the Crusades. Uniquely multi-perspective, the anthology juxtaposes the recorded experiences and views of participants on the opposing sides in the Crusades.