Medieval Studies Commons^™

"Sing It Again": Linguistic Medievalisms In Geoffrey Hill And Seamus Heaney, Christian Cotten-Dixon

Honors College Theses

This study examines the use of early medieval structure and language in the poetry of Seamus Heaney and Geoffrey Hill, focusing on their near-contemporary collections, North and Mercian Hymns. Both collections use etymological and poetic structures to fashion an imagined medieval past in order to discuss personal and cultural narratives of history. Leveraging these structures in poetry and digging them out of past strata like a material artifact, Heaney and Hill collapse linear systems of time and language and access past word forms even as they evolve. This archaeological approach to poetry gives them the means to place the …

Introduction: Intersections Of Gender And Genres In Medieval Judaism, Christianity, And Islam, Linda G. Jones

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

The introductory essay describes the aims of this special volume, which are to analyze the intersections between religion and gender in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic cultures, as reflected in diverse pre- and early modern textual genres, and to explore the relationships between gender and genres. Toward these ends the authors interrogate how a given textual genre, as well as the gender of the author/compiler and the intended audience, might influence the representations of gender. The introductory essay summarizes the seven articles constituting the volume, highlights the points of contact and differences among them, and reflects upon their broader significance to …

“Softer Than A Woman?" Gendered Images In Odo Of Cheriton’S Anti-Judaic Sermon, Jussi Hanska, Sari Katajala-Peltomaa

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

This article analyzes the intersection of the anti-Judaic and gendered motifs presented in English theologian and preacher Odo of Cheriton’s (d. 1246–1247) sermon for the tenth Sunday after the Holy Trinity. The sermon features an exemplum that is a distorted reinterpretation of a story originally found in Jewish historian Flavius Josephus’s Bellum iudaicum, which describes the siege and fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. In one memorable passage Josephus tells how a Jewish woman named Mary loses her mind because of the hardships of the siege and hunger, kills and roasts her baby boy, and eats it. Yet Odo …

Theatre And Dance As Divine Purpose: Liberating The Christian Performer In Pursuit Of Artistic Worship, Abby Owen

Dance (MFA) Theses

This study examines the historical relevance of theatre and dance alongside religious forms of worship, with a particular emphasis on their integration into Christian churches of the Middle Ages, in comparison to the current Western era. Beginning with their origin, this research examines the creation of theatre and dance in Ancient Greece as a means of connecting with spiritual deities, tracing their recorded transition into accepted acts of everyday worship by Christian leadership. At the same time, this research scrutinizes contemporary congregations’ lack of artistic incorporation, denouncing the rise of restricted worship in response to present-day condemnation of the female …

Reconstructing The Medieval Palette: Making Paints And Inks Using Medieval Recipes, Cael Sinclair

Graduate Research Posters

When considering the medieval period, most people imagine brilliantly painted and gilded manuscripts but not many people actually imagine the labor behind making those manuscripts. Similarly, modern perception of a scribe tends to be a single, solitary person slaving away at the entire manuscript. Contrary to these beliefs, the process of producing a manuscript was a highly collaborative and, more importantly, highly documented process. Throughout the period, numerous treatises (or handbooks) were created documenting instructions and advice for making ink and paint, for drawing and painting, and everything in between. While it is possible for one to just read these …

Analyzing Early Medieval Perspectives Of Fetal Development, Nivedha Srinivasan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines early medieval perspectives of fetal development by analyzing two manuscripts: British Library, Cotton Tiberius A III and Leiden University, Vossianus lat. Q69. This study will investigate how knowledge of pregnancy was shared throughout England before the establishment of universities. Interest in medieval reproductive language has piqued in importance in recent years, especially due to modern legal debates surrounding reproductive rights. By examining descriptions of the nine months of fetal development in these two manuscripts, as well as in widely known earlier medical texts like Pliny’s Natural History and Vindicianus’ Gynaecia, this research explores how monastic writers in …

The Female Perspective: An Analysis Of Differences In Manuscript Culture Between Convents On The Iberian Peninsula And The Holy Roman Empire From 1300-1530, Aiyana K. Gross

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Within medieval studies, manuscripts and monastic culture and female scribes are becoming a well-studied topic, but the role of women in convents working as scribes in the Iberian Peninsula is not nearly as prevalent in the historiography. This may be attributed to a lack of surviving manuscripts, or a lack of resources devoted to the digitization and accessibility of the sources that do exist. Focusing on Cistercian convents on the Iberian Peninsula, including the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos, Spain, I use this case study to prove that there was significant scribal activity occurring …

‘She Dared Not’: Authority In The Monasteries Of The Diocese Of Lincoln, 1400-1540, Morgan Mcminn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Within monastic life, the Benedictine Rule prioritized the role of the abbot, and much of the everyday running of the house was left to his discretion. He was the elected father of the community, the pastor of the flock, the educator who instructed by word and example. He should discipline firmly but be loved and not feared, and he should play no favorite but rather adapt to the situation at hand. His brethren should obey him without question as the representative of Christ in the monastery, their self-will and earthly possessions submitted to him. These elements are also present in …

61st International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 14–16, 2026), together with the Corrigenda.

Navigating Mercy: Ethical And Emotional Terrains In Carolingian Society And Politics, Wei-Ting Chen

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation investigates mercy in the Carolingian period, especially its political dimensions. A sustained, holistic examination of mercy in the early medieval period remains lacking. This study examines mercy not only as a history of an idea but also as a history of emotion, tracing its transformation from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds through patristic literature and into Carolingian political discourse. This study argues that mercy played a central role in the construction of Christian kingship within Carolingian political discourse. Early Church Fathers reinterpreted mercy from a controversial concept in Roman Stoic philosophy into a positive virtue in Christian …

Staging Violence With Intentionality, Toby O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the role of the fight choreographer in the theatre while addressing the potential issues staged violence has in distracting an audience from the intended narrative of the play. Avoiding the instruction manual approach of stage combat in favor of expounding on the theory of violent entertainment, I have constructed a thesis that informs the reader of certain types of violence found in both classical and modern productions and have researched the psychological ramifications of violent spectatorship and the necessity for content acknowledgements as well as consideration for the performer’s well-being. By exploring the history of violent entertainment …

Endocranial Lesions: A Paleopathological Study Of Late Medieval Skeletal Remains From Żelewo Poland, Francesca Aleen Meyer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The site of Żelewo is located in a rural area of northwestern Poland, a region historically known as Pomerania. Skeletal remains from the cemetery associated with the archaeological site Żelewo 1-3, dating mostly to the 13th-15th centuries, are likely associated with a nearby Cistercian monastery. Numerous individuals from this site show evidence of endocranial lesions. To evaluate potential factors associated with the lesions, a differential diagnosis was performed based on macroscopic observations of endocranial lesion morphology and distribution. This study takes into account estimated age at death, biological sex, and other signs of pathology in the body. Potential confounding factors, …

Masculine Devotion And Moral Decay: The Paradox Of Chivalry In Malory's Le Morte Darthur, Julia Annunziato

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis investigates how, within Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, the concept of chivalry as a literary construct is misunderstood and misrepresented by the knights who attempt to uphold it. Through a close reading of Le Morte, this paper concludes that Malory presents chivalry not as a coherent moral code, but as a paradoxical system that both promotes and undermines the values it claims to uphold. While chivalry is typically meant to emphasize honor, loyalty, and spiritual devotion, Malory’s narrative reveals how these ideals are compromised by structures of masculine competition, performative identity, homosocial desire, and corrupted …

Problems And Possibilities Of Namelessness In Late Antiquity And The Early Middle Ages, Jamie Wood, Hope Williard, Máirín Maccarron, Julia Hillner, James R. Burns

Medieval People

No abstract provided.

Belliphonic Tolkien: Listening To The Wars In Middle-Earth, Ali Mirzabayati

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper explores the belliphonic—the sonic dimension of warfare—in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, focusing on the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. While modern warfare studies emphasize the sounds of mechanized combat, the acoustic landscapes of ancient and medieval battles remain understudied. Drawing on recent scholarship by Clauss, Lummer, Potthoff, and Pretzer, this study situates Tolkien’s soundscapes within both historical and mythological traditions. Tolkien’s immersion in classical, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse literature, combined with his experience of World War I, enabled him to create richly layered battle sounds in which horns, cries, silence, and environmental …

Archival Notations Of The Norwegian Charter Material, Juliane Tiemann

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This paper explores archival notations, primarily from the early modern and modern periods, found on the dorse of Norwegian charters dating from the 13th to the 17th century. By examining the notation practices of two prominent Norwegian archivists and collectors, the study further highlights individual efforts in documenting and preserving these materials across various collections. The archival efforts are contextualized historically, noting a transition to systematic archival management. The findings reveal the significance of this largely unexplored component of Norwegian charters as additional historical sources, emphasizing the role of dorsal annotations in provenance research. The textual and visual analysis of …

Tolkien On Kennings And The River-(Woman’S) Daughter, Derek Simon

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

THIS IS A TWO-PART ARTICLE. IN ORDER TO READ OR DOWNLOAD THE OTHER PART, FOLLOW THE LINK AT THE END OF THIS ABSTRACT.

While the River-daughter is a prevalent poetic name for Goldberry, Tom introduces her as the River-woman’s daughter when singing and skipping along the banks of the Withywindle. The River-woman variant occurs only once in Goldberry’s narrative but is not easily dismissed. The contrast between the two variant names raises several questions on how to read Goldberry’s enigma. Tolkien’s brief commentaries on the kenning as a poetic device serve as the starting-point for exploring the literary function of …

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Connor P. Underwood

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Arthur’s Proclamation to the Britons Concerning “King” Rion

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Claire Haupt

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Arthur Pardons Sir Lancelot

Arthurian Mock Epistolary, Alexander J. Lamoureux

Arthurian Epistolary Project (HUM 270-001)

King Uther’s Last Letter to Prince Arthur