The dear Scottish friend of her childhood was about to give birth, and Judith had promised to be at her side. But there was another, private reason for the journey from her bleak English home to the Highlands to meet the father she had never known, the Laird Maclean. Nothing prepared her for the sight of the Scottish barbarian who was to escort her into his land...Iain Maitland, Laird of his clan, a man more powerfully compelling than any she had ever encountered.In a spirited clash of wills and customs, Judith revelled in the melting bliss of Iain's searching kisses, his passionate caresses. Perplexed by her sprightly defiance, bemused by her tender nature, Iain felt his soul growing into the light and warmth of her love. Surely nothing would wrench her from the affection and trust of Iain and his clan...not even the truth about her father, a devastating secret that could shatter the boldest alliance, and the most glorious of loves.

    She is taught to worship the old gods and to "scry" into the future and the past. Eleyne's second sight, however, involves her in the destinies of England, Scotland and Wales.

    Eamon Duffy shows that late medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but was a strong and vigorous tradition, and that the Reformation represented a violent rupture from a popular and theologically respectable religious system. For this edition, Duffy has written a new Preface reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period.From reviews of the first edition:“A magnificent scholarly achievement [and] a compelling read.”—Patricia Morrison, Financial Times“Deeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated. . . . Duffy’s analysis . . . carries conviction.”—Maurice Keen, New York Review of Books“This book will afford enjoyment and enlightenment to layman and specialist alike.”—Peter Heath, Times Literary Supplement“[An] astonishing and magnificent piece of work.”—Edward T. Oakes, Commonweal

    Cadfael senses the young man's innocence and sets out to solve yet another tangle of human passions where love plays its inevitable part.The Devil's Novice: The Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury finds its new novice Meriet Aspley a disturbing presence. Meek and bidable by day, his sleep is rent with nightmares so violent as to earn him the nickname of Devil's Novice. Can Meriet be involved in the nearby disappearance of a superior prelate? As events take a sinister turn, it falls to Brother Cadfael to detect the truth behind the young man's predicament.Dead Man's Ransom: In the battle of Lincoln, the sherrif of Shropshire is captured and the King himself taken prisoner by his enemies. Nothing more natural than that an exchange of prisoners should take place. But before this can be completed, one captive is murdered. And to Brother Cadfael, who notices the evidence of unnatural death, falls the task of gathering enough clues to prove it.

    but the Silver Wolf has come knocking on their door and treachery is at hand. King Henry's blue-eyed champion has been sent to quell a nation's rebellion. He plans to seal their peace by wedding Gilbert de Lontaine's beautiful daughter, but though the girl with smoky eyes holds his heart in peril, the real danger lurks in unexpected quarters.This digital release of Angel of Fire is a special author's cut, with an extensive new edit and all new scenes.

    Peasants, servants, prostitutes and beggars all found their place, along with knights and clerics, engaged in impudent antics in the margins of prayer-books or, as gargoyles, on the outsides of churches. Camille brings us to an understanding of how marginality functioned in medieval culture and shows us just how scandalous, subversive, and amazing the art of the time could be.

    Compact, inexpensive and printed in easy-to-read type, this handy volume is the perfect companion to pass around and take along on informal singing events throughout the holiday season. With this book, you don't have to worry about remembering every word of every carol-the complete lyrics are right at your fingertips. The carols in this volume include: Away in a Manger, Coventry Carol, Deck the Halls, The First Nowell, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, I Saw Three Ships, It Came upon the Midnight Clear, Jingle Bells, Joy to the World, O Christmas Tree, O Come, All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, The Twelve Days of Christmas, We Three Kings of Orient Are, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

    In 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, he was last seen fighting at the city walls, but the actual circumstances of his death have remained surrounded in myth. In the years that followed it was said that he was not dead but sleeping - the 'immortal emperor' turned to marble, who would one day be awakened by an angel and drive the Turks out of his city and empire. Donald Nicol's book tells the gripping story of Constantine's life and death, and ends with an intriguing account of claims by reputed descendants of his family - some remarkably recent - to be heirs to the Byzantine throne.

    

    State sovereignty, the separation of church and state, representation, the popular origin of government, and property rights are just a few of the ideas formulated during this time. Political Thought in Europe provides a lucid and accessible introduction to the period in the round, covering both major thinkers such as Aquinas, Marsiglio, Ockham, Wyclif and Cusa, and prevalent notions of church and state, empire and local sovereignty, civic and communal self-government, kingship, the people, parliament, the law and experts (the wise). This is the first overall account to use recent advances in the methodology of the history of ideas.

    The dramatic history of the Vikings: their invasion of parts of England and Normandy, their trade routes through Russia to Byzantium, their founding of a new republic in Iceland, and further explorations westward is legendary. Described here by scholars from fifteen countries and richly illustrated with superb examples of coins, gold and silver jewelry, manuscripts and maps, ships and weaponry, textiles and household objects, the Viking culture emerges as highly developed and complex. Their domestic resources of virtually unlimited supplies of fish and game, furs, wool, wood and iron, together with their skilled craftsmanship, refined artistic sensibilities, social and political organization, adventurousness and bravery, allowed the Vikings to make their influence felt all over Europe for almost 300 years. This book also tells the story of how the Scandinavian countries became Christian nations and entered into the full community of Christian Europe, receiving and giving to the civilization of Europe.

    They are often beautifully preserved, enabling us to appreciate the skilled design and craftsmanship of the people who created them.Christopher de Hamel describes each stage of production from the preparation of the vellum, pens, paints and inks to the writing of the scripts and the final decoration and illumination of the book. He then examines the role of the stationer or bookshop in co-ordinating book production and describes the supply of exemplars and the accuracy of texts. He follows the careers of a number of specific scribes and illuminators who emerge not as anonymous monks but as identifiable professional lay artisans. He also looks at those who bought the completed books, why they did so, and how much they paid.His survey ranges from the eleventh century through the golden age of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to the luxurious manuscripts existing at the invention of printing.

    They emerge (despite limited political opportunities) as figures of consequence themselves in a landowning society through estate management in their husbands' frequent absences, and through hospitality, patronage and affinity.

    He explains the practical reasons why the Crusaders initially succeeded and why they ultimately failed then he predicts the re-emergence of Islam, since Christendom failed to destroy it in the 12th century. Makes history come alive and gives a rare, true appreciation of Christendom and of our Catholic forefathers!

    He produced a wide variety of objects, from cups and chalices to rings, seals, and crowns. Such rich objects were often put to the service of God, and today it is in the treasuries of churches that we find much of the surviving material.Combining documentary, archaeological, and pictorial evidence, the author describes how goldsmiths worked for both the Church and for royalty. By the fifteenth century their trade was centred in the principal ccourts and cities of Europe. John Cherry describes the organization of the craft, including the supply of raw materials, and follows the careers of individual goldsmiths, some of whom rose to high positions in society.

    

    This book tackles the problems of transition from Roman Britain to England through all the relevant academic disciplines, with a greater emphasis given to landscape evidence than has been done before and offers an alternative view based on acculturation, by which Anglo-Saxon England was largely peopled by communities whose ethnic origins were Celtic but who adopted the culture and language of the warrior aristocracy who had evicted the British landowners.

    Undaunted by any mystical curse, handsome Vincent de la Eresman, Duke of Suffolk, seeks vengeance against the stunning French enchantress for his brother's demise—vowing to lay siege to the defiant lady's barricaded heart. But his lovely enemy will mesmerize the noble British knight with witchcraft of a far different sort—intoxicating him with her indomitable spirit and breathtaking sensuality ... and consigning his passionate soul to the vanquishing flames of a treasonous, all-consuming love.

    The Atlas includes more than one hundred maps, with accompanying text, that give an in-depth review of Jewish history throughout the world from the 5th to the 17th centuries. It covers milestone events of Jewish history during this period: the dispersion of the Jews in the 4th and 5th centuries up to the Crusades; the Black Death; the expulsion from Spain; the persecutions of 1648 in eastern Europe and the Sabbatean movement. The maps and text illustrate the sequence of persecution, expulsion, migration, and destruction, on the one hand, and a spiritual, religious, and cultural flowering, on the other.,

    Geary's highly acclaimed collection of source materials on the medieval period. (A single-volume format of the complete text is also available.)As before, four principles guide the selection of materials. First, entire documents are included wherever possible, not snippets. Second, texts are grouped to form dossiers in which the individual documents relate to one another, reflecting the practice of historians themselves. Third, most of the documents chosen have been the subject of significant scholarship. And fourth, raw material for many types of historical investigations is provided: the documents are equally useful to the political historian, the social historian, the cultural historian or the historian of mentalities.The third edition includes an updated Preface, more extensive material from Gregory of Tours, and a new section, "The Iberian Peninsula," containing material that deals with Jews, Muslims and Heretics. The format of "Readings in Medieval History" has also been altered to make it more user-friendly. "Volume I: The Early Middle Ages "includes documents written up to the early 12th century; "Volume II: The Later Middle Ages "includes documents from the late 11th century on.

    Crusades continued for three centuries over a vast area stretching from Morocco to Russia and played an important role in the politics and society of late medieval Europe. The first study to focus in depth on the later crusades, this book explores with clarity and insight developments in all the areas touched by crusading activity. Housley examines the evolution of the international military orders and the Christian frontier states associated with crusading, focusing especially on Greece and Cyprus. Illuminating the massive range and energy of the crusading movement in the late middle ages, he reveals the formidable problems which, as the period progressed, increasingly doomed crusades to failure, and shows how practical crusading was in a condition of decay before the Reformation destroyed the religious framework in which it had once flourished.

    Sicily is a microcosm of the whole of Western and Mediterranean history, a place where more than five thousand years of history can be seen in a concentrated and accessible area. All the diverse cultures that eventually came to make up Sicily are here: the early tribes who gave the island its name, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French, Spaniards, and others. Also presented are the many leaders and rulers of Sicily, including Greek tyrants, Roman statesmen, Norman kings with their brilliant courts, the heroes of the many movements for freedom that took place on the island, the leading Sicilian thinkers of the eighteenth century, and such figures as Garibaldi and the Sicilian patriots of the Risorgimento. Additionally, there are vivid descriptions of the island's varied historic sites, such as the prehistoric remains of the Neolithic Age, especially on the outlying islands; the dramatic ruins of the Greek temples and theaters of Agrigento, Segesta, Solinunte, and Syracuse; the early Cathaginian settlement and important archeological site of Motya; the Roman villas and amphitheaters; the Byzantine and Norman palaces and churches of Palermo, Monreale, and Cefalu with their distinct Arabic influence; the Baroque cities of Catania, Noto, and Ragusa; the monuments of Messina; and the breathtaking natural beauty of such sites as Taormina. Retold are the details behind such events as the rise of the Greek cities on the island (Sicily was known in ancient times as "Magna Graecia" - "Greater Greece"), the Roman takeover, the arrival of the Byzantines and Arabs with their unique contributions, and the Norman conquest of the island that actually took place five years before that of England. This volume also gives a vivid presentation of the circumstances that led to the heroic uprising known as the "Sicilian Vespers" and the many subsequent

    The tenth in a series of twelve treatises the English reformer wrote between 1374 and 1382, On Simony forms an integral part of the writings generally considered his summa. Basing his condemnation of simony on an idiosyncratic concept of dominion developed in earlier treatises, Wyclif argues that the church, with its spiritual message and mission, has no right to temporal power or temporal goods. Viewing simony as a form of theft, the selling of spiritual things over which it has no dominion, Wyclif advocates the removal of all property from the church - by secular force, if necessary - and the abolition of ecclesiastical patronage. In the Introduction to this first-ever English translation, Professor McVeigh traces the history of simony in the church and describes the circumstances prompting Wyclif to develop his theory of dominion, showing the decisive influence of this theory on his concept of simony. A brief discussion of the treatise's influence on later reformers, both inside and outside England, follows a thorough, chapter-by-chapter analysis of the treatise itself.

    

    It makes an important contribution to the study of Islamic philosophy, which has thus far emphasized the metaphysical and illuminationist doctrines of Islamic, and especially Iranian, philosophy, Muhsin Mahdi's exploration of how political questions are addressed by the philosophical tradition is perhaps his most important contribution to medieval Islamic studies. It is thus fitting that this book, intended to honor him on his sixty-fifth birthday, focuses exclusively on his specialty, and that these original essays are written by scholars who completed their post-graduate training under his supervision.This book brings to light the political teaching of philosophers, who are usually considered totally apolitical. Responding to a long-recognized need, and charting a revolutionary course for future scholarship, it will appeal to students and scholars as well as to general readers seeking clarity about what lies behind current Islamic politics. Above all, this volume will be welcomed for its presentation of previously ignored material about particular thinkers and its rigorous analyses of key texts in Islamic philosophy.

    Behind the words of Chaucer's Wife of Bath lies a vast corpus of medieval misogynistic writings. These texts, which range from those of the Church Fathers to a rich array of vernacular literature, have had a profound effect on thestatus of women in the West. Despite the recent surge of investigations into women's situation, however, no one book has sought to collect the key voices of medieval antifeminism, let alone to present the voices sometimes raised, even at that epoch, in defence of women. This new volume meets theurgent need for a single and substantial sourcebook of these materials in modern translation, including an introduction, notes, and commentary. The accessibility of the better-known texts here (from Jerome to Walter Map; from H�loise and Abelard to Christine de Pizan and Chaucer) will be welcomed bythose engaged in medieval and women's studies; the lesser-known writings concerning, for instance, the sexual double standard, and women and the priesthood, will provide unexpected discoveries for specialists and beginners alike. The book also features a surprising range of early texts championingwomen--including material never previously available in translation.

    One by one, he describes the stories they portray, their meticulous composition, and the crucial and surprising role of fate in the commission for the church of San Francesco. Originally published in 1993, the book quickly achieved a cult following; this new edition includes, for the first time, Aldous Huxley's "The Best Picture," the famous essay that first inspired Pope-Hennessy to seek out the luminous and enigmatic works that now constitute the pilgrimage known as The Piero della Francesca Trail. The thousands of tourists who travel to Tuscany each year to follow the trail will welcome the republication of this beautifully designed volume.

    The author unravels the multifaceted history of the manuscript and demonstrates its unique place among the masterpieces of Renaissance art.

    

    During his time, Fortunatus wrote for some central political and ecclesiastical figures, his verse playing not only a personal role in events of national and international significance, but also providing a vivid glimpse into the lives and characters of his various patrons. The first major study of the poet, this book illuminates all aspects of Fortunatus's work and the society in which he lived.

    

    The author discusses French history, Capetian dynastic history, international relations with the West, and relations between the West and the Near East.

    It was also a period of dizzying tenurial change, in which the fluctuations in landed wealth and alliances shed light on the economic and geographic balance between the monarchy and the aristocracy, and on how this balance helped shape Conquest England. A number of key historical issues are investigated: the impact of Cnut's conquest on England, the quality of Edward the Confessor's kingship, the means by which the Norman settlement was carried out, and the effects on England of William's conquest. The book will become the standard work on the often volatile relationship between the king and the great lords in this key transitional period, and is one of the most stimulating and original contributions to Conquest studies.