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This volume is the first in a new series of editions of Coptic-language "magical" manuscripts from Egypt, written on papyrus, ostraca, parchment, and paper, and dating to between the fourth and twelfth centuries CE. Their texts attest to non-institutional rituals intended to bring about changes in the lives of those who used them - heal disease, curse enemies, bring about love or hatred, or see into the future. These manuscripts represent rich sources of information on daily life and lived religion of Egypt in the last centuries of Roman rule and the first centuries after the Arab conquest, giving us glimpses of the hopes and fears of people of this time, their conflicts and problems, and their vision of the human and superhuman worlds. This volume presents 37 new editions and descriptions of manuscripts, focusing on formularies or "handbooks", those texts containing instructions for the performance of rituals. Each of these is accompanied by a history of its acquisition, a material description, and presented with facing text and translations, tracings of accompanying images, and explanatory notes to aid in understanding the text

"The crusading movements provoked a vast and diverse mass of reactions in the medieval West. While Latin sources provide official versions of its preaching, organisation and events, the vernacular lyrics of the troubadours and trouvères present a secular perspective, through a cornucopia of on-the-spot responses in France, Occitania, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Cyprus, Syria and Greece. This book constitutes the first comprehensive, modern analysis of Old French and Occitan lyric texts relating to the crusades. It brings out their full range, from propaganda for the crusades, to criticisms of crusading and crusaders through vituperation, humour or cynicism, to their use as a pretext for political or personal wrangling. It also shows how they shed light on many aspects of medieval life, among them chivalric and courtly values (often in tension with clerical ones), regional politics, sexual behaviour, personal experiences of crusading and captivity, the complex interaction of Christians, Greeks and Muslims, and bafflement in the face of failure and God's imponderable purposes"--Back cover image

Ecrite entre 1386 et 1389 pour le jeune roi français Charles VI dans une situation d'instabilité extrême causée par la guerre avec l'Angleterre et le Grand Schisme, cette oeuvre d'un clerc et juriste provençal constitue un miroir de prince très particulier. Sur la base de sources latines, les quatre livres réunissent un abrégé de l'histoire d'Israël et de l'Eglise catholique, un résumé de l'histoire des quatre royaumes de l'Antiquité et un traité sur les problèmes juridiques de la guerre. L'auteur insiste sur les conséquences dévastatrices des conflits guerriers, sociaux ou religieux. Il incite le jeune roi à exercer le pouvoir de manière juste et à rétablir la paix dans le monde chrétien. Le texte s'est répandu immédiatement parmi la noblesse, du Sud de l'Europe jusqu'en Ecosse, et principalement à Paris. Parmi les quatre-vingt-sept manuscrits conservés, celui qui sert de base à l'édition présente est le plus ancien manuscrit daté et localisé (Paris, 1397).

L'elogio della sconfitta: Le Divisions sur la maniere des richeces et povretez de ce monde e il sogno imperiale di Teodoro Paleologo / Marco Di Branco -- Enseignments e le Divisions di Teodoro Paleologo tra la Francia Valois e la corte borgognona (XIV secolo) / Angelo Izzo -- Divisions sur la maniere des richeces et povretez de ce monde -- Riflessioni sui modi della ricchezza e della povertà di questo mondo