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"In ten essays authored by an international team of scholars, this volume explores queer readings of Western and Eastern Mediterranean Europe, Northern Africa, Islam and Arabic traditions. The contributors enter into a dialogue, comparing cases from opposite sides of the Mediterranean, in order to analyze the forgotten exchange of sexualities that was brought forth through the Mediterranean and its bordering landmasses during the Middle Ages. This collection questions the hypothesis that distinct cultures treated sexuality and the "other" differently. The volume initiates the conversation around queerness and sexuality on these trade routes, and problematizes the differences between various Mediterranean cultures in order to argue that through both queerness and sexuality, neighboring civilizations had access to, and knowledge of, common shared experiences. Contributors are Sahar Amer, Israel Burshatin, Robert L.A. Clark, Denise K. Filos, Ellen Lorraine Friedrich, Edmund Hayes, Gregory S. Hutcheson, Vicente Lledó-Guillem, Leyla Rouhi, and Robert S. Sturges"--

The Akhlāq-i Muḥsinī of Husayn Vaᶜiz-i Kashifi in Many Respects Represents a late medieval summa, or codification, of the Persian genre of ethical and advice literature. Designated variously as andarz, pand, naṣīḥat, siyar and akhlāq, the genre of political advice literature is an ancient one in Persian culture, going back to Late Antiquity and exhibiting concordance with Greek and Indian sources. Most works of Sasanian political wisdom literature, such as the Advices of Anushirvan, Buzurjmihr, and Ardashir, as well as those attributed to the ancient Greek sages Aristotle, Plato, and others, are of indeterminate authorship. Many have been preserved only in late manuscript copies dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and some, like the famous Letter of Tansar, may even have been composed in later periods.

During the later Middle Ages people became increasingly obsessed with vision, visual analogies and the possibility of visual error. In this book Dallas Denery addresses the question of what medieval men and women thought it meant to see themselves and others in relation to the world and to God. Exploring the writings of Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, Peter Aureol and Nicholas of Autrecourt in light of an assortment of popular religious guides for preachers, confessors and penitents, including Peter of Limoges' Treatise on the Moral Eye, he illustrates how the question preoccupied medieval men and women on both an intellectual and practical level. This book offers a unique interdisciplinary examination of the interplay between religious life, perspectivist optics and theology. Denery presents significant new insights into the medieval psyche and conception of the self, ensuring that this book will appeal to historians of medieval science and those of medieval religious life and theology

Lambda literary award finalist, Same-Sex Love in India presents a stunning array of writings on same-sex love from over 2000 years of Indian literature. Translated from more than a dozen languages and drawn from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and modern fictional traditions, these writings testify to the presence of same-sex love in various forms since ancient times, without overt persecution. This collection defies both stereotypes of Indian culture and Foucault's definition of homosexuality as a 19th-century invention, uncovering instead complex discourses of Indian homosexuality, rich metaphorical traditions to represent it, and the use of names and terms as early as medieval times to distinguish same-sex from cross-sex love. An eminent group of scholars have translated these writings for the first time or have re-translated well-known texts to correctly make evident previously underplayed homoerotic content. Selections range from religious books, legal and erotic treatises, story cycles, medieval histories and biographies, modern novels, short stories, letters, memoirs, plays and poems. From the Rigveda to Vikram Seth, this anthology will become a staple in courses on gender and queer studies, Asian studies, and world literature

This article begins by exploring ideas about physical exercise as outlined in the advice literature that circulated widely in late medieval and early sixteenth-century England. Whereas other aspects of these popular guides to health have attracted considerable interest on the part of medical and cultural historians, recommendations about exercise have been largely neglected. Yet it was deemed essential for both physical and mental wellbeing. Its principal function was to augment and redistribute the body's innate heat, which functioned as 'Nature's primary instrument', while improving digestion and the elimination of waste, encouraging restorative sleep, and combatting stress. These ideas spread rapidly throughout society, being harnessed to suit the practical needs of many classes of people, especially after the Black Death when keeping fit became a priority. Not even animals could escape current assumptions about the importance of remaining active, while political theorists emphasised the need to purge idle and unproductive elements from the communal body.

The text tells stories in which abandonment, abduction, and other kinds of dislocation are commonplace, but in which children nevertheless come of age in precisely the place for which they are destined by birth. Childhood differs profoundly for males and females as it does for saintly and secular figures. Within a secular context, childhood enjoys a special status. It is shaped, elaborated, and turned into a luxury object that helps distinguish courtly culture and that anticipates more modern attitudes. The Knowledge of Childhood in the German Middle Ages, 1100-1350 provides a wealth of information for students and scholars of medieval literature, medieval history, and cultural studies

The book provides in depth studies of two epistemological aspects of Jewish Law (Halakhah) as the?Word of God?? the question of legal reasoning and the problem of knowing and remembering. - How different are the epistemological concerns of religious-law in comparison to other legal systems? - In what ways are jurisprudential attitudes prescribed and dependent on theological presumptions? - What specifies legal reasoning and legal knowledge in a religious framework? The author outlines the rabbinic jurisprudential thought rooted in Talmudic literature which underwent systemization and enhancement by the Babylonian Geonim and the Andalusian Rabbis up until the twelfth century. The book develops a synoptic view on the growth of rabbinic legal thought against the background of Christian theological motifs on the one hand, and Karaite and Islamic systemized jurisprudence on the other hand. It advances a perspective of legal-theology that combines analysis of jurisprudential reflections and theological views within a broad historical and intellectual framework. The book advocates two approaches to the study of the legal history of the Halakhah: comparative jurisprudence and legal-theology, based on the understanding that jurisprudence and theology are indispensable and inseparable pillars of legal praxis

"The willingness to betray one's country, one's people, one's family—to commit treason and foreswear loyalty to one entity by giving it to another—is a difficult concept for many people to comprehend. Yet, societies have grappled with treason for centuries; the motivations, implications, and consequences are rarely clear cut and are often subjective. Set against the framework of modern political concerns, Treason: Medieval and Early Modern Adultery, Betrayal, and Shame considers the various forms of treachery in a variety of sources, including literature, historical chronicles, and material culture creating a complex portrait of the development of this high crime. Larissa Tracy artfully brings together younger critics as well as seasoned scholars in a compelling and topical conversation on treason. Contributors are Frank Battaglia, Dianne Berg, Tina Marie Boyer, Albrecht Classen, Sam Claussen, Freddy C. Domínguez, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Ana Grinberg, Iain A. MacInnes, Inna Matyushina, Sally Shockro, Susan Small, Peter Sposato, Sarah J. Sprouse, Daniel Thomas, and Larissa Tracy."

Inaugural (February 7, 1867) -- On the present state and prospects of historical study (May 17, 1876) -- On the present state and prospects of historical study (May 20, 1876) -- On the purposes and methods of historical study (May 15, 1877) -- Methods of historical study (May 18, 1877) -- Learning and literature at the court of Henry II (June 11, 1878) -- Learning and literature at the court of Henry II (June 13, 1878) -- The mediaeval kingdoms of Cyprus and Armenia (October 26 and 29, 1878) -- On the characteristic differences between mediaeval and modern history (April 15, 1880) -- On the characteristic differences between mediaeval and modern history (April 17, 1880) -- The reign of Henry VIII (June 7, 1881) -- Parliament under Henry VIII (June 9, 1881) -- The history of the canon law in England (April 19, 1882) -- The history of the canon law in England (April 20, 1882) -- The reign of Henry VII (April 24, 1883) -- The reign of Henry VII (April 25, 1883) -- A last statutory public lecture (May 8, 1884). ; Mode of access: Internet.

Introduction : modern motherland and ancient otherworld -- Another country : Ælfric and the production of English identity -- Gerald de Barri and the geography of Ireland's conquest -- Locating England in the Polychronicon -- Beyond Rome : mapping gender and justice in the Man of Law's tale -- "From the very ends of the earth" : medieval geography and Wolsey's processions

Swords were special in Anglo-Saxon England. Their names, deeds and pedigrees were enshrined in writing. Many were curated for generations, revealed by their worn and mended condition. Few ended their lives as casual discards, placed instead in graves, hoards and watercourses as part of ritualised acts. Contemporary sources leave no doubt that complex social meanings surrounded these weapons, transcending their use on the battlefield; but they have yet to transcend the traditional view that their primary social function was as status symbols. Even now, half a century after the first major study of Anglo-Saxon swords, their wider significance within their world has yet to be fully articulated. This book sets out to meet the challenge. Eschewing modern value judgements, it focuses instead on contemporary perceptions - exploring how those who made, used and experienced swords really felt about them. It takes a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, bringing together insights from art, archaeology and literature. Comparison with Scandinavia adds further nuance, revealing what was (and was not) distinctive of Anglo-Saxon views of these weapons. Far from elite baubles, swords are revealed to have been dynamic "living" artefacts with their own identities, histories and places in social networks - ideas fuelled by their adaptability, durability and unique role in bloodshed

Abstract: Many scholars who study letters, drama, and literature from late medieval and early modern England focus on political and social content, but recently linguists study this material using linguistics. For example, Melissa Mohr's work on cursing has opened up new avenues of study. As useful as this is, it only takes up a small slice of English life and the usage of swear words. My research into the letters of elite and gentry men and women such as the Cely and Paston families, reveals how language both establishes social solidarity and disrupts it. I ask why these words were said, question who can say them, and ultimately see if using swear words caused and social disruption within English society. My work uses qualitative analysis of the letters to examine how the correspondents use blasphemy, phrases such as how "God", "by God's bones," "God knows," and more, to express such things as emotion and social standing. I use sociological theories of power relative to religious and social status in the formation of social scripts to better understand the nuances of languages of power. Looking at the use of swear words matters because it adds demotion to people's lives and reveals continuity of protected speech. PART OF SESSION 4D. ORDER AND DISORDER Comment: Bradley Franco, University of PortlandChair: Steven Garfinkle, Western Washington University Petra Ellerby, Western Washington University, undergraduate student"May the Grass Grow Long: Hierarchy and Destruction in Ancient Mesopotamian Lamentation" Zion G. Flores, Eastern Washington University, undergraduate student"Practical Anarchism: The Makhnovist Movement in the Ukraine, 1917–1921" Gabrielle Goodwin, University of Idaho, undergraduate student"Changes in the Relationship Between the Horus and Seth: Set-tling the Score" Mary Sweeney, Seattle University, undergraduate student"Cursing in Medieval England: 'By God's Bones' and Other Obscenities and Expletives"

"A study of how Jewish and Christian writers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries rewrite, translate, and circulate ancient texts, primarily the post-biblical literature of the late antique and early medieval periods. The project focuses on these hybrid medieval Latin and Hebrew texts at the point when they enter into either dialogue or disputation with each other over religious and geographic identities in England and Northern France; this dynamic is especially evident during the period of the Crusades. Some of the wide variety of texts and genres include medieval Latin and Hebrew reworkings of Josephus' Jewish War, the Anglo-French Play of Adam, and the Latin "Romance" of the patriarch Joseph's Egyptian wife, Aseneth"--

This paper explores the concepts of piety and power in the work entitled Konungs skuggsjá (King's Mirror or Speculum Regale), a writing that dates from circa 1250 issued under King Hákon Hákonarson (1217-1263) of Norway and issued for the education of his son, King Magnús lagabœtir (1263-1280). Konungs skuggsjá is utilitarian and didactic, unlike other examples of literature such as saga. It is presented in the form of a dialogue between an authoritative "Father" and the "Son" and is presumably authored by one of the priests, monks or chaplains at the Norwegian court, given the extensive theological knowledge expressed in it. The text bears similar characteristics to other pieces of mirror literature that is characteristic to the High Middle Ages. Piety, which can be considered a universal value in medieval times, was also required of kings and of all men, as The Homily Book (Hómilíubók) of the time prescribed obedience as a vital ingredient for salvation. In his exploration of Norwegian kingship in the High Middle Ages, the scholar Hans Jacob Orning begins by highlighting the difference between Christian piety, in which nothing can be asked of God in return for servitude towards him, and the old pagan beliefs, wherein the gods were often addressed various requests at occasions such as sacrifices.