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"The Middle Ages come to life in this latest installment in the hit Weird But True Know-It-All series, featuring stories of legendary rulers, epic castles, menacing weaponry, and more!Vikings are known for being fierce warriors. But did you know that they used tug-of-war to train for battle-and that the losing team got pulled into a pit of fire? Europe was ravaged by the plague during the Middle Ages. But did you know that one proposed cure from Medieval doctors was a concoction with a special secret ingredient: "dragons' blood"! Go beyond the Middle Ages of Europe to explore great empires around the globe, including Ottoman, Shona, Aztec, and the Song Dynasty. From Joan of Arc to Genghis Khan, incredible inventions to eyebrow-raising Medieval medicines, you'll know it all by the time you finish this book. Packed with important historical information along with the wackiest and weirdest facts ever about the Middle Ages!"--

"The phenomenon of medieval women's middle age is a stage in the lifecycle that has been frequently overlooked in preference for the examination of female youth and old age. The essays collected here, ranging from the Anglo-Saxon to the late medieval period, and drawing variously from literary studies, history, law, art and theology, address this lacuna. Taking a variety of critical approaches, the contributors consider medieval definitions, paradigms and experiences of female middle age, analysing how the middle-aged woman perceived herself subjectively, as well as how she was perceived by others. They seek to challenge the received wisdom that in the middle ages, at forty, women were deemed "old" and, from that point onwards, their thoughts should be focused on preparing for death. On the contrary, this collection demonstrates their energy, defiance and wit. Sue Niebrzydowski is Lecturer in English, Bangor University, Wales. Contributors: Jane Geddes, Clare A. Lees, Carol M. Meale, Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker, Sue Niebrzydowski, Raluca L Radulescu, Sara Elin Roberts, Corinne Saunders, Diane Watt."

New research into medieval women from the Anglo-Saxon to the late medieval period demonstrates their energy, defiance and wit. The phenomenon of medieval women's middle age is a stage in the lifecycle that has been frequently overlooked in preference for the examination of female youth and old age. The essays collected here, ranging from the Anglo-Saxon to the late medieval period, and drawing variously from literary studies, history, law, art and theology, address this lacuna. Taking a variety of critical approaches, the contributors consider medieval definitions, paradigms andexperiences of female middle age, analysing how the middle-aged woman perceived herself subjectively, as well as how she was perceived by others. They seek to challenge the received wisdom that in the middle ages, at forty, womenwere deemed "old" and, from that point onwards, their thoughts should be focused on preparing for death. On the contrary, this collection demonstrates their energy, defiance and wit. Sue Niebrzydowski is Lecturer in English, Bangor University, Wales. Contributors: Jane Geddes, Clare A. Lees, Carol M. Meale, Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker, Sue Niebrzydowski, Raluca L. Radulescu, Sara Elin Roberts, Corinne Saunders, Diane Watt.

"With wit, wisdom, and a sharp scalpel, Jack Hartnell dissects the medieval body and offers a remedy to our preconceptions. Medieval beliefs about the body were drastically different from ours today: Hair was thought to be a condensation of fumes emitted from the pores, ideas were supposedly committed to memory by being directly imprinted on the brain, and the womb of a goat was believed to function as a contraceptive. But while this medieval medicine now seems archaic, it also made a critical contribution to modern science. Medieval Bodies guides us on a head-to-heel journey through this era's revolutionary advancements and disturbing convictions. We learn about the surgeons who dissected a living man's stomach, then sewed him up again; about the geographers who delineated racial groups by skin color; and about the practice of fasting to gain spiritual renown. Encompassing medicine and mysticism, politics and art-and complete with vivid, full-color illustrations-Medieval Bodies shows us how it felt to live and die a thousand years ago"--

Frontmatter --Contents --Preface --1. Boethius and the Rise of Europe --2. Gregory the Great and the New Power of the Franks --3. Charlemagne and the First Renewal of the Roman Empire --4. Consolidation of the Kingdoms --5. The End of Days Draws Menacingly Close --6. "The True Emperor Is the Pope" --7. The Long Century of Papal Schisms --8. The Vicar of God --9. The Triumph of Jurisprudence --10. The Light of Reason --11. The Monarchy --12. Waiting for Judgment Day and the Renaissance --Epilogue: The Dark Middle Ages? --Abbreviations --Notes --Selected Bibliography --Index.

What have a deaf nun, the mother of the first baby born to Europeans in North America, and a condemned heretic to do with one another? They are among the virtuous virgins, marvellous maidens, and fierce feminists of the Middle Ages who trail-blazed paths for women today. Without those first courageous souls who worked in fields dominated by men, women might not have the presence they currently do in professions such as education, the law, and literature. Focusing on women from Western Europe between c. 300 and 1500 CE in the medieval period and richly carpeted with detail, A Medieval Woman's Companion offers a wealth of information about real medieval women who are now considered vital for understanding the Middle Ages in a full and nuanced way. Short biographies of 20 medieval women illustrate how they have anticipated and shaped current concerns, including access to education; creative emotional outlets such as art, theatre, romantic fiction, and music; marriage and marital rights; fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, contraception and gynecology; sex trafficing and sexual violence; the balance of work and family; faith; and disability. Their legacy abides until today in attitudes to contemporary women that have their roots in the medieval period. The final chapter suggests how 20th and 21st century feminist and gender theories can be applied to and complicated by medieval women's lives and writings. Doubly marginalised due to gender and the remoteness of the time period, medieval women's accomplishments are acknowledged and presented in a way that readers can appreciate and find inspiring. Ideal for high school and college classroom use in courses ranging from history and literature to women's and gender studies, an accompanying website with educational links, images, downloadable curriculum guide, and interactive blog will be made available at the time of publication.

What have a deaf nun, the mother of the first baby born to Europeans in North America, and a condemned heretic to do with one another? They are among the virtuous virgins, marvellous maidens, and fierce feminists of the Middle Ages who trail-blazed paths for women today. Without those first courageous souls who worked in fields dominated by men, women might not have the presence they currently do in professions such as education, the law, and literature. Focusing on women from Western Europe between c. 300 and 1500 CE in the medieval period and richly carpeted with detail, A Medieval Woman's Companion offers a wealth of information about real medieval women who are now considered vital for understanding the Middle Ages in a full and nuanced way. Short biographies of 20 medieval women illustrate how they have anticipated and shaped current concerns, including access to education; creative emotional outlets such as art, theatre, romantic fiction, and music; marriage and marital rights; fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, contraception and gynecology; sex trafficing and sexual violence; the balance of work and family; faith; and disability. Their legacy abides until today in attitudes to contemporary women that have their roots in the medieval period. The final chapter suggests how 20th and 21st century feminist and gender theories can be applied to and complicated by medieval women's lives and writings. Doubly marginalised due to gender and the remoteness of the time period, medieval women's accomplishments are acknowledged and presented in a way that readers can appreciate and find inspiring. Ideal for high school and college classroom use in courses ranging from history and literature to women's and gender studies, an accompanying website with educational links, images, downloadable curriculum guide, and interactive blog will be made available at the time of publication

"The word "medieval" is often used in a negative way when talking about contemporary issues; Why the Middle Ages Matter refreshes our thinking about this historical era, and our own, by looking at some pressing concerns from today's world, asking how these issues were really handled in the medieval period, and showing why the past matters now. The contributors here cover topics such as torture, animal rights, marriage, sexuality, imprisonment, refugees, poverty and end of life care. They shed light on relations between Christians and Muslims and on political leadership. This collection challenges many negative stereotypes of medieval people, revealing a world from which, for instance, much could be learned about looking after the spiritual needs of the dying, and about integrating prisoners into the wider community with the emphasis on reconciliation between victim and criminal. It represents a new level of engagement with issues of social justice by medievalists and provides a highly engaging way into studying the middle ages for students"--

The problem of fraternal relations in the early Middle Ages has not been hitherto studied in detail, especially in comparison with the multitude of studies dealing with the models of marriage, gender-based social roles, or the relations between generations. Historians have been often prone to assume that relations between siblings in European culture were naturally constant, based on loyalty, solidarity, and readiness to act in the common interest, stemming from blood ties. However, this conviction equates the category of brotherhood/fraternitas used by medieval authors with concepts associated with sources from later periods. This study does not concern narrowly defined family history, but is an attempt to examine fraternal relations in the early Middle Ages as a multidimensional cultural phenomenon. As the author seeks to demonstrate, it is difficult to speak of kinship in the ninth century and later without being aware of the religious and ideological implications of the transformations taking place at the time, even if direct traces of the impact of moralizing and theological teachings on the conduct of individuals are hard to capture in the sources.

Queering Ovidian myth: bestiality and desire in Christine de Pizan's Epistre Othea / Marilynn Desmond and Pamela Sheingorn -- Sodomy's mark: Alan of Lille, Jean de Meun, and the medieval theory of authorship / Susan Schibanoff -- The pose of the queer: Dante's gaze, Brunetto Latini's body / Michael Camille -- Response: presidential improprieties and medieval categories: the absurdity of heterosexuality / Karma Lochrie -- Sodomitic Moor: queerness in the narrative of Reconquista / Gregory S. Hutcheson -- Chaste subjects: gender, heroism, and desire in the Grail quest / Peggy McCracken -- The King's boyfriend: Froissart's political theatre of 1326 / Claire Sponsler -- Response: "Just like a woman": queer history, womanizing the body, and the boys in Arnaud's band / Francesc Canadé Sautman -- Translating the foreskin / Kathleen Biddick -- Shameful pleasures: up close and dirty with Chaucer, flesh and the word / Glenn Burger -- Ecce Homo / Garrett P.J. Epp -- Medieval/postmodern: HIV/AIDS and the temporality of crisis / Steven F. Kruger -- Response: Return of the repressed: the sequel / Larry Scanlon

Vol. 1. Almanac: The Middle Ages -- The fall of the Roman Empire -- The Merovingian Age -- The Carolingian Age -- Eastern Europe -- The Islamic world -- The Turks -- The Jewish world -- The eleventh century -- The twelfth century -- The thirteenth century -- The Mongols -- India -- Southeast Asia -- China -- Japan -- The Americas -- Africa -- The Late Middle Ages.