History Commons^™

The Almohad: The Rise And Fall Of The Strangers, David Michael Olsen

Dissertations and Theses

The Almohad (1120-1269) displaced the Almoravid dynasty (1040-1147) as the rulers of the Maghreb and Andalusia in 1147 and created the largest Berber kingdom in history. They conquered the first indigenous rulers of the Maghreb by aggregating the Masmuda tribes from the High Atlas Mountains and enlisting the Zenata and Arab tribes from the Northern Maghreb. The Almohad rule built upon the existing Almoravid infrastructure; however, their cultural, administrative, and military approach entailed a more integrated tribal organization, centralized authority, and an original Islamic ideology. In creating this empire they envisioned the Maghreb as a consolidated political center and not …

A Land Of Poets And Warriors: The Connection Between Warrior Culture And Bardic Culture In Medieval Wales C. 1066-1283, Sarah Lynn Alderson

Dissertations and Theses

Wales in the Middle Ages was a region both divided by war and united by culture. Frequent raids from the Hiberno-Irish, Scandinavians, and Flemish threatened Wales from the outside, while the kings within the borders of Wales fought for supremacy. During the late eleventh century, William the Conqueror made his way to the Welsh border in an attempt to secure his fledging kingdom. Under the premise of protecting his borders, William established the first March of Wales on the eastern border of Wales in 1087. This started the slow process of Anglo-Norman expansion and colonization into Wales.

The Welsh maintained …

Christine De Pizan's Passive Heroines: Recoding Feminine Identities In Le Livre De La Cité Des Dames And Le Ditié De Jehanne D'Arc, Evelyn Ives Mills

Dissertations and Theses

Over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Christine de Pizan has resurfaced in the academic and literary spheres as a paragon of proto-feminist thought. This modern fascination with the fifteenth-century writer is largely grounded in her surprisingly progressive views on a woman's right to receive an education, to govern and achieve financial freedom. More recently, scholars have lauded Christine's later works for their reinterpretation of what it meant to be a woman in fifteenth-century Europe. The present study examines this latter goal of Christine de Pizan's writing specifically in the context of the heroic feminine identity she constructs …

Marginalia And Nota Bene In The Fasciculus Temporum: Frontispiece And Folios 4-23, Michael Jeremy Maly

Fasciculus Temporum

The goal of this project was the creation of a catalogue of all marginal notes and nota bene intended to draw attention to specific passages within the Fasciculus temporum.

This catalogue is meant to be used as a quick reference for readers to assist in finding specific marginalia and nota bene with greater ease. It covers folios 4-23. This compilation of notes written in the Fasciculus temporum could also be used as a research tool for further study of this edition (Prüss, Strassburg, c.1490) of the Fasciculus temporum.

This catalogue describes the notations by folio and location on the …

Noah’S Ark And Burning Sodom: Woodcuts In The Psu Codex Fasciculus Temporum, Amber L. Shrewsbury

Fasciculus Temporum

Early printed books were illustrated by means of woodcut block illustrations. These illustrations frequently depicted well-known biblical events or stories and cities, and the woodcuts were frequently reused, sometimes within the same edition.

The focus of this paper is two woodcut illustrations in PSU’s 1490 edition of Werner Rolewinck’s Fasciculus temporum: Noah’s Ark and the destruction of Sodom. Comparisons are made between these two illustrations and relevant woodcuts in other editions of the Fasciculus temporum, as well as those found in a 1493 edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel.

Fasciculus Temporum: Extra-Textual Genealogy, Amanda Swinford

Extra-Textual Elements

Following the printed text of the Fasciculus temporum in PSU Library's codex is a concise, six-line, handwritten verse genealogy which lists the three husbands and three daughters, all named Mary, of St. Anne, the mother of Mary and maternal grandmother of Jesus.

The source of this addition is the Legenda aurea, a popular compilation of hagiographies, composed in Latin by Jacob Voragine (1230 - c.1298) in approximately 1270. This content was included by the publishers of certain other editions of the Fasciculus temporum, but is not included in the printed portion of the PSU edition.

Pope Innocent Viii (1484-1492) And The Summis Desiderantes Affectibus, Maral Deyrmenjian

Malleus Maleficarum

The papal bull (or decree) Summis desiderantes affectibus, issued in 1484 by Pope Innocent VIII (1484-1492), specifically addressed the malign presence of witches and witchcraft in the Holy Roman Empire and authorized a formal inquisition into their activities. It was one of several official condemnations of heretics and other enemies of Christendom, both groups and individuals, issued during Innocent VII’s reign.

Heinrich Kramer, the primary author of the Malleus maleficarum (1486/7) prefaced the second edition of his witch-hunting manual with the Summis desiderantes affectibus without explicit permission; scholars argue that he considered it likely to bolster the work’s authority …

Women Or Witches? Why Women Were The Target Of The Malleus Maleficarum, Remington Mederos

Malleus Maleficarum

The fifteenth century saw advancements in a variety of fields, including the discovery and development of the printing press. Despite developments in many aspects of society, women lived under a cloud of misogyny. The inquisition and the witch hunts that became prevalent during this period made many women targets of mass hysteria and violence.

Witches became the focal point of clerical demonologists who sought to study the manner in which the devil worked through women to interfere with God’s creation and sacraments. One such demonologist was Heinrich Kramer, who wrote a manual for the discovery, interrogation, prosecution, and eventual execution …

Drach, Prüss, And The Fifteenth-Century Book Trade, Jonathan Taylor

Extra-Textual Elements

The development of the moveable-type press in the mid-fifteenth century led to the rise of a new industry, the manufacture and trade of printed books. Before this, written works existed as handwritten manuscripts individually produced by scribes.

The printing press allowed works such as the Malleus maleficarum and Fasciculus temporum contained within Portland State University’s codex to be produced in a significantly more efficient manner. The printers of the two volumes contained in the codex, Peter Drach and Johann Prüss, successfully avoided the pitfalls facing early printers to become successful in their trade, and may have actively cooperated in the …

The Carthusian Influence On Werner Rolewinck’S Approach To History, Nathaniel Harris

Fasciculus Temporum

The Carthusian Order was founded in 1084 by St. Bruno of Cologne and a small number of followers, all seeking greater solitude and a more austere, contemplative monasticism. Carthusian monks lived predominantly isolated lives, only coming together co-operatively for prescribed religious purposes.

The intellectual and separate life of a Carthusian monk appealed to Werner Rolewinck (1425-1502), the author/compiler of the Fasciculus temporum, one of the two texts (together with the Malleus maleficarum) included in Portland State University Library’s late fifteenth-century codex. With its structure modeled on early chronicles and biblical conventions, its inclusion of a variety of woodcut …

The Marginalia Of The Malleus Maleficarum, Christian Stecher

Malleus Maleficarum

This paper presents a comprehensive collection of transcriptions of the marginalia found inside the Malleus maleficarum (Drach, Speier, 1490) at Portland State University and brief analyses examining the passages in which they occur, as well as English translations of the original Latin.

The marginalia consist of all occurrences of marginal annotations, underlining, or other signs of note-taking by previous owners throughout the entire book.

Woodcuts Of Human Oddities In The Fasciculus Temporum, Brady Brick

Fasciculus Temporum

This paper focuses on two woodcut images of human oddities in Portland State University’s edition of the Fasciculus temporum (Prüss, Strassburg, 1490).

One woodcut shows children with birth anomalies affecting their eyes, arms, and legs. The second is of a cynocephalus or dog-headed man. The history and context of these types of images and their significance within the text are both considered. This paper also examines possible medical explanations for the physical anomalies shown in the woodcut images.

Malleus Marginalia: What Can Be Learned From The Marginalia In Portland State University's Edition Of The Malleus Maleficarum, Sarah Alderson

Extra-Textual Elements

In 2018, Portland State University Library Special Collections acquired a second edition Malleus maleficarum, printed by Peter Drach of Speier in 1490, which is bound with a copy of Werner Rolewinck’s Fasciculus temporum (printed by Prüss, Strassbourg).

In this copy, three separate notetakers’ handwriting may be identified. We know this because there are three distinctive scripts present in the margins of the texts, on the title page of the Fasciculus, and on blank folios between the two texts. This paper explains the relevance of the handwriting and the research behind the identification of the scripts.

Watermarks In The Psu Codex Fasciculus Temporum And The Paper Trade, Christian Graham

Extra-Textual Elements

Medieval watermarks were introduced into early printed works during the production process of the paper. It is not known exactly when or why they came into common use, but they did come to identify specific paper suppliers.

As the number of paper suppliers grew enormously in concert with the growth of popularity of printed books, identifying the watermarks of specific producers can provide the modern scholar with valuable information about an early printed work, including dating editions and providing insight into trading relationships and connections between paper-makers and printers.

This paper examines some of the watermarks present in the PSU’s …

Manuscripts, Incunables, Books: How And Why The World Chronicles Changed, Philippe Kerstens

Fasciculus Temporum

The basic purpose and outline of a world chronicle was to outline the history of humanity, the kingdoms, and Christendom for the reader. When the method of producing chronicles changed from manuscript to the printed page, there was a corresponding physical change in the layout and appearance of the final product. Whether through the use of cheaper material (paper), a shift in design and style, or a further customizability, these changes reflected and signified consumers’ evolving expectations of the product itself.

Incunables gradually transformed from heavily decorated, printed editions resembling earlier manuscripts to increasingly simple printings. PSU’s edition of the …

The Frontispiece Woodcut In The Fasciculus Temporum In Portland State University’S Codex, Amanda Bonilla

Extra-Textual Elements

The frontispiece image in the PSU codex is in the tradition of ‘the education of the prince,’ a popular choice for early printed works, particularly historical chronicles and similar manuscripts related to ancient times.

A portal with columns provides an entrance into the book, and also encloses and protects its contents. This shape, echoing the triumphal arches of classical antiquity, was a popular motif in renaissance publishing. Along with the king’s crown worn on top of a turban-like head wrap, the columns and arches suggest a connection to classical antiquity. Although most images do not reference an artist, making it …

Watermarks In The Psu Malleus Maleficarum, Laura Lindenthal

Extra-Textual Elements

This paper seeks to connect the watermarks found in PSU’s codex to the printer (or printers) of the included texts, the Malleus maleficarum and the Fasciculus temporum. Specifically, this essay considers three watermarks found on the paper of the Malleus maleficarum, one of which, an ox-head with staff, occurs on a blank page between the Malleus and the Fasciculus temporum, which precedes it in the codex. These watermarks and their common variations are described and their inclusion in several watermark databases is discussed. The three marks found in the Malleus maleficarum may be directly connected to the printer, …