Best of
Medieval

1979

From Memory to Written Record: England 1066 - 1307


M.T. Clanchy - 1979
    The text of the original has been revised throughout to take account of the enormous amount of new research following publication of the first edition. The introduction discusses the history of literacy up to the present day; the guide to further reading brings together over 300 new titles up to 1992. In this second edition there are substantially new sections on bureaucracy, sacred books, writing materials, the art of memory, ways of reading (particularly for women), the writing of French, and the relationship of script, imagery and seals.

Lost Country Life


Dorothy Hartley - 1979
    She shares that land, now lost forever, where man was the measure of all things.Using as a framework a 16th-century calendar of advice for farmers, she takes us month by month through the country-dweller's year, and opens up the customs and traditions of a vanished rural life.

Hispanic Costume, 1480-1530


Ruth M. Anderson - 1979
    

Saint Bonaventure's Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity


Bonaventure - 1979
    

Monuments of Medieval Art


Robert G. Calkins - 1979
    This richly illustrated and scholarly study traces the development of art through the Middle Ages, from the early Christian catacombs of Italy and the treasures of Sutton Hoo to the masterpieces of Romanesque cathedrals and illuminated manuscripts.

Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary


Bernard of Clairvaux - 1979
    The young abbot meditates on the singular role of the virgin mother of Christ 'to satisfy my own devotion', and in doing so bequeathes his own love of Mary and of Scripture to his Order and to the Church.

Late Antique, Early Christian and Medieval Art: Selected Papers


Meyer Schapiro - 1979
    Applies ideas drawn from the history of secular life, judicial and political history, social customs, religious psychology, linguistics, and folklore to works of art spanning the period from the end of antiquity to the late Middle Ages.

The Legend of the City of Ys


Charles Guyot - 1979
    The legend has its roots in the oral traditions of the Celtic peoples - possibly dating to Neolithic times - and is rich in Breton mythology and lore. During years of retelling, the story underwent many changes: new characters appeared, others faded into the background; plot lines were added and dropped, or were given greater or lesser significance. The story presented here is a synthesis of the numerous oral and written versions of the tale which have emerged over the centuries.This version of the work focuses on the female character, Dahut, ruler of the city of Ys and beloved daughter of King Gradlon. In defiance of the Christian moralizing of Saint Guernole, Dahut persists in delighting her people with nightly revelries and wild displays of pagan ritual, despite repeated warnings of divine wrath. Unaware that the handsome stranger she loves is the devil, Dahut gives him the keys to the dike that protects Ys from the sea. In the midst of a violent storm, the stranger vanishes and the doors to the dike open. The city is engulfed by the sea. Gradlon tries to rescue Dahut, but under their combined weights his magical horse begins to sink. To save the righteous king, Guernole strikes Dahut with his staff, and she falls into the ocean. Instantly, the storm dies and the sea becomes calm once again. But Dahut and the city of Ys have vanished beneath the waves.Illustrated with pen and ink drawings by the translator, Deirdre Cavanagh.

Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages


Bernard McGinn - 1979
    400 to 1500, masterfully selected and complete with a comprehensive introduction and new preface.

Continuity and Change in Roman Religion


J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz - 1979
    Liebeschuetz focuses on the development of the Roman public religion, particularly the relation between Roman religion and morality.

The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Volume I: Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early-Modern Europe


Elizabeth L. Eisenstein - 1979
    The first fully-documented historical analysis of the impact of the invention of printing upon European culture, and its importance as an agent of religious, political, social, scientific, and intellectual change.

Catherine of Genoa: Purgation and Purgatory, the Spiritual Dialogue


Catherine of Genoa - 1979
    In her life she reconciled aspects of spirituality often seen to be either mutually exclusive or in conflict. This married lay woman was both a mystic and a humanitarian, a constant contemplative, yet daily immersed in the physical care of the sick and the destitute. For the last five centuries she has been the inspiration of such spiritual greats as Francis de Sales, Robert Bellarmine, Fenelon, Newman and Hecker. Friedrich von Hügel's famous Mystical Element of Religion was a study of the spirituality of Catherine. Purgation and Purgatory is a collection of sayings on spiritual purification in this life and the next. The Spiritual Dialogue gives us a readable and coherent inner history of Catherine.