The varied cultural functions of dress, textiles and clothwork provide an especially cogent lens through which to re-examine our assumptions about the Middle Ages because of the topic's conceptual bre
The Sefer Yetsirah (the Book of Creation) is a core text of the early kabbalah, yet has remained something of a mystery. Scholars have struggled to establish the most basic facts about the work: its d
"Chaucer's Feminine Subjects demonstrates how poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory can serve to clarify structures of identity and economies of desire in medieval texts. Bringing the resources
Language as the Site of Revolt in Medieval and Early Modern England: Speaking as a Woman makes the provocative argument that?despite extensive evidence indicating a wholesale suppression of ea
"Witnesses to the disappearance of a text, palimpsest manuscripts bear the marks of their own genesis, for their original inscription was rubbed out and written over on the same parchment. Erasure is
Vitality and change marked twelfth- and thirteenth-century medieval Mediterranean society. Many sought to capitalize upon resurgences in economic success, political intrigue, and social cohesion. Al
No one working today in Middle English studies or in period-related film and/or documentary can proceed untouched by Terry Jones' thought-provoking views. Through films such as Monty Python and the Ho
From majestic 'Celtic' crosses to elaborate knotwork designs, visual symbols of Irish identity abound in contemporary culture. In jewelry, souvenirs, tattoos, and even graphic novels and massive publi
"For many medieval authors, sexuality was the ultimate expression of embodiment. Sexuality could be a medium for human communication with the divine, but it could also be a barrier when not conceptual
Studies of women and writing frequently take historical woman authors as their starting point. Poet Heroines in Medieval French Narrative proposes a different approach, looking instead at the numerous
Drawing from an eclectic mix of scholars from the US, UK, and Australia, Medieval Afterlives in Popular Culture examines the persistence of medieval themes, characters, and situations in a variety of
Music and Performance in the Later Middle Ages seeks to understand the music of the later Middle Ages in a fuller perspective, moving beyond the traditional focus on the creative work of composers in
Ekphrasis, a genre of poetry describing a work of art, has traditionally existed on the ideological battleground between the verbal and visual arts. Medieval ekphrases, however, reveal ekphrasis as a
In Crafting Jewishness in Medieval England, Miriamne Ara Krummel complicates the notion of the English Middle Ages as a monolithic age of Christian faith. Cataloguing and explicating the complex depi
Street Scenes offers a theory of late medieval acting and performance through a fresh and original reading of the Tretise of Miraclis Pleyinge. The performance theory perspective employed here, along
Recent research suggests that emotions are largely constructed and performed and that narrative is one of the most important practices through which people become emotionally aware.? Narrative literat
Marriage, Property, and Women's Narratives addresses Virginia Woolf's question, 'Why are women poor?' Drawing from three different time periods and three distinct legal models of female property owner
Geoffrey Chaucer aimed his ethical critique and social satire at human failures to acknowledge guilt and their self-defensive use of shame. Shame and Guilt in Chaucer explores Chaucer's representation
Boccaccio's Decameron and the Ciceronian Renaissance is a path-breaking study of a timeless masterpiece. Based on new readings of Cicero's late works, De legibus, De re publica, and De officiis, Micha
Performing Women in the Middle Ages approaches medieval lyric poetry through the lens of gender and performance theory and demonstrates how comic-obscene and comic-erotic songs put identity into play,
