Medieval Studies Commons^™

Food For The Soul: Feasting And Fasting In The Spanish Middle Ages, Martha Daas

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

This article examines the concept of "Christian" eating that can be found in a variety of texts from the 13th and 14th centuries. “Christian” eating can be defined as consumption that follows the precepts of the Christian calendar and also the recommendations of the Church. As both fasting and feasting are integral elements of the medieval calendar, this article looks at the depiction of food, its consumption, and its role in religious ritual in texts as varied as the Milagros de Nuestra Señora, the Vidas of Santa Maria Egipciaca and Santa Marta, and the more doctrinally liberal Libro de buen …

There Is No Word For Work In The Dragon Tongue, Kevin Moberly, Brent Moberly

English Faculty Publications

The past decade or so has witnessed a relatively steady stream of scholarly interest in the mundane medieval—in labor, local economies, and their influence upon wider cultural production.¹ Despite this interest (and perhaps as a reaction to it), popular medievalism has continued to emphasize versions of the medieval that are decidedly more heroic—productions that are simultaneously (and paradoxically) more “realistic” and more “fantastic.” Labor plays, at best, a supporting role in these fantasies: while not absent, it rarely, if ever, has the same productive presence as it does in recent scholarly treatments of medieval economies. Inasmuch as popular medievalism …

Developing A Premodern Manuscript Application Profile Using Dublin Core, Sheila A. Bair, Susan M.B. Steuer

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

Librarians and catalogers, particularly at small repositories, often do not have the training or access to experts to fully describe a medieval manuscript for cataloging, much less digital access. But some descriptions must be available to attract researchers to work with the materials, which are often considered institutional treasures. Approaching manuscripts can be daunting for metadata specialists and catalogers. The Dublin Core Premodern Manuscripts Application Profile (PMAP), currently under development, is designed to be an educational and simple tool for medievalists with little knowledge of metadata and librarians with little knowledge of manuscript studies to facilitate discovery of manuscripts in …

Cornelius Aurelius: The Upcycling Humanist - A Study Of The Libellus De Patientia, Samantha James

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Cornelius Aurelius’ Libellus de Patientia (MS Leiden, UB, Vulcanius 66 f.45r-f.57v. [1524]), in terms of the author’s reception of the Manipulus florum, reveals much about the development of Northern Humanism, in the context of late medieval scholasticism and the Reformation. By thoroughly examining Libellus de Patientia, this paper will discuss Aurelius’ use of numerous quotations derived from the Manipulus florum as evidence of how this text should be situated in terms of intellectual continuity vs. change during this turbulent period with regards to the intellectual context of medieval scholasticism and renaissance humanism.

Zoomorphic Penannular Brooches In 6th And 7th Century Ireland, Esther G. Ward

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

In this thesis the author examines the evolution, manufacture, and societal significance of zoomorphic penannular brooches, a type of metal dress fastener used in early medieval Ireland that is often decorated. The brooches examined are dated to the 6^th and 7^th centuries, during which the Irish underwent a process of religious conversion from Celtic paganism to Christianity, and social rank was paramount. It is in this social context that the brooches are examined. Despite the significance of this time of social change, brooches from this period tend to be overlooked by scholarship in favor of the more ornate …

The Medieval Dark Horse: Challenge And Reward In The Middle English Lyric, Andrew S. Marvin

English Faculty Publications

“The Medieval Dark Horse: Challenge and Reward in the Middle English Lyric” explores the genre’s history and literary merits while addressing the question of why this valuable and extensive body of literature has largely gone untapped by scholars.

The introductory sections detail the historical and modern contexts of the lyric, including the state of scholarship, manuscripts, editions, dating issues, purpose, audience, types of lyrics, and themes. This background informs a discussion of the genre’s difficulties and offers solutions with which to counter them. Close readings of eight poems are included to exemplify the lyric’s thematic range, stylistic diversity, and literary …

"His Head Rolled Forth Onto The Floor:" Women, The Abject, And The Male Gaze In Old English Poetry, Jaime Michelle Myers

Masters Theses

Old English poetry features several female characters who challenge androcentric authority by violently killing men. I argue in this thesis that three of these women—Modthryth, Grendel’s mother, and Judith—are linked together by their rejection or reversal of the male gaze. In their forceful refusal to be visually objectified, each character is portrayed as abject—outside of normal and outcast from community. They cause disorder, illustrate the fragility of androcentric control, and force a confrontation with death. In so doing, they create ambiguity and, at times, reverse the subject/object and masculine/feminine gender binaries.

Female Flesh And Medieval Practice In The Later Middle Ages, Megan E. Marzec

Mid-America College Art Association Conference 2012 Digital Publications

My work explores the importance and presence of the female body in medieval religious practice as exemplified in medieval art, religious texts and hagiographies. My research shows that while the reasoning behind female imagery and imagery of the nude is disputed, the prevalence of mandorla-like images, images of the female nude, and images displaying the femininity of Christ suggest the meaningfulness to the medieval viewer. I discuss extensively Julia Kristeva’s writing on the woman as abject and the artistic experience as an element of religiosity. For this research I analyzed works by various artists including Robert Campin, Jan Gossaert and …

A Spectacle Of Great Beauty: The Changing Faces Of Hagia Sophia, Victoria M. Villano

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Comparative Perspectives On History And Historians: Essays In Memory Of Bryce Lyon (1920-2007), David Nicholas, James M. Murray, Bernard S. Bachrach

Festschriften, Occasional Papers, and Lectures

Comparative Perspectives on History and Historians: Essays in Memory of Bryce Lyon (1920-2007) features a section of appreciations of Bryce Lyon from the three editors, R. C. Van Caenegem, and Walter Prevenier, followed by three sections on the major areas on which Lyon's research concentrated: the legacy of Henri Pirenne, constitutional and legal history of England and the Continent, and the economic history of the Low Countries. Original essays by Bernard S. Bachrach, David S. Bachrach, Jan Dumolyn, Caroline Dunn, Jelle Haemers, John H. A. Munro, James M. Murray, Anthony Musson, David Nicholas, W. Mark Ormrod, Walter Prevenier, Jeff Rider, …

The Cistercian Studies Conference, 2012, The Center For Cistercian And Monastic Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

Program for the 2012 Cistercian Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in conjunction with the 47th International Medieval Studies Congress. This conference happened between May 10-13 2012.

Don't Take Orpheus Without The Lyre: The Intricacies Of Using Pagan Myths For Christian Purposes In The Divine Comedy And Paradise Lost, Rebekah J. Waltmann

Masters Theses

Because of their universal and artistic nature, the classical myths lend themselves well to use in literature, especially poetry. When used properly, as by Dante and Milton, the myths have the ability to enhance the work; when used poorly, they become gaudy ornamentation. It was, and is, this ability to enhance both the artistry and function of literature that pulled so many poets to the myths, despite the difficulties that could arise when the pagan myths did not quite match the Christian setting. My purpose in this thesis is not to explicate every use of myth within The Divine Comedy …

The Unbought Grace Of Life: Chivalry In Western Literature, Richard N. Boggs

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

The code of chivalry has a rich literary history. From the violence and misogyny of pre-chivalric ancient Greece and Rome, the chivalric code was constructed in a deliberate effort to curb and improve the most violent aspects of male behavior. The chivalric male ideal was built upon the tripartite foundation of the ancient archaic virtues, the gallantry of Germanic barbarians, and the Christian beatitudes. Chivalry sought a male ideal which brought raw strength and power under the concept of legitimate authority. By casting the literary male ideal – the knight – into the role of the defender of the weak …

47th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 10-13, 2012), including the Corrigenda.

Sir Gawain And The Green Knight And The History Of Medieval Rhetoric., Joseph Turner

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

During the Middle Ages, rhetoric and literature were thoroughly intertwined, whereas current notions of disciplinarity, in which literature and rhetoric are constructed as separate traditions, muddy our understanding of medieval practice. This essay reads Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an anonymous fourteenth-century poem, as engaged in a Ciceronian debate over the ramifications of legislative rhetoric on civic decision-making. Because of the paucity of information on medieval rhetorical practice, it concludes, literature is a resource that illuminates this neglected and misunderstood historical period.

The Icelandic Sagas As A Subject For Undergraduate Study, John P. Sexton

English Faculty Publications

While medieval studies has dramatically expanded its scope and the texts taught as part of its subject over the past few decades, the study of Icelandic saga literature is still a fringe discipline, particularly in North American academe. Rarer still is undergraduate exposure to the sagas, despite their appeal as texts and the rich possibilities they offer to students trained in Anglo-Saxon literature (or at least Beowulf) and familiar with Norse myth and legend through Tolkien or Marvel comics. The insular nature of the culture from which the literature springs is a contributing factor, of course—there is the undeniable …

"Semiotics Of The Cloth": Reading Medieval Norse Textile Traditions, Kristen Marie Tibbs

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Reading textiles from medieval Norse society supplements written sources and also provides insight into the voice of the individual who created these textiles. This project puts women and traditionally female tasks at the forefront of historical thought and analysis. I demonstrate that we can read textiles (via their material, color, style, and geographic location) alongside texts in order to expand our understanding of past cultures. Along with valuable archaeological remains of textiles and textile production tools, this research incorporates examples from the Sagas of the Icelanders in order to further understand the significance and symbolism of clothing and production in …

Desert Islands: Europe's Atlantic Archipelago As Ascetic Landscape, Paul Siewers

Faculty Contributions to Books

A focus on early literatures around the Irish Sea as both archipelagic and ascetic in their engagement of the environment.

An Introduction To Editing Manuscripts For Medievalists, János M. Bak

All Complete Monographs

A practical guide on the editing of medieval--mainly Latin--manuscripts for editors and users of MSS. It discusses basic issues of textual and manuscript transmission and contains guidelines for the description and textual analysis of manuscripts, the emendation and editing of texts, and a chapter on questions of translation and bi-lingual editions.

An updated and revised version is available in paperback from Gorgias Press: https://www.gorgiaspress.com/introduction-to-working-with-manuscripts-for-medievalists

Medieval Torture: A Brief History And Common Methods, Makena Bennett

A with Honors Projects

This essay examines the common devices and practices of torture employed during the medieval inquisition.