Medieval Studies Commons^™

The Politics Of Arthurian Legend In The Plantagenet Empire: A Study Of Literary And Historical Sources From The Time Of Henry Ii To Edward I, Laura J. Radiker

Masters Theses

This study looks at both medieval chronicles and romances--the primary sources of Arthurian legend--to seek mutual influences between the politics of the Plantagenet Empire and Arthurian legend. The authors of the works used in this study performed within the sphere of the Plantagenet Empire, during the time period with which this study concerns itself. Secondary sources provide background information, such as the historical, literary, and cultural milieu surrounding the primary works, archaeological and linguistic evidence, and current scholarly debate.

From the evaluation of the primary sources and their historical framework, several aspects of Arthurian legend emerge which have connections with …

The 1995 Cistercian Studies Conference, The Institute Of Cistercian Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

Program for the 1995 Cistercian Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in conjunction with the International Congress on Medieval Studies. This conference happened between May 4-7 1995.

30th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 30th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 4-7, 1995).

An Analysis Of Personal Pronouns In Middle English Literary Texts, Melissa Jill Bennett

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the evolution of personal pronouns from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries, with a particular focus upon the southern literary dialects of that era. The baseline text for this analysis is the Anglo-Saxon poem The Dream of the Rood, although Bright's paradigm of Anglo-Saxon pronouns is also employed. The Owl and the Nightingale (circa 1200), The Fox and the Wolf (circa 1275), Piers Plowman (circa 1375), and Parliament of Fowls (circa 1375) are used to illustrate the changes in the forms of the pronouns over four centuries, Chaucer's Parliament serving to represent the emerging London standard. …

Consanguinitas Et Ius Sanguinis: Kinship Calculation And Medieval Marriage, Sandra Masters

Masters Theses

Consanguinity, or blood-relatedness, was one of the most important criteria which determined the formation of marriage in the medieval era. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive study in English which describes the development of consanguinity prohibitions and which explains fully the types of kinship calculation used as a part of the restrictions which developed. In order to fill this void, my goal in this thesis has been to offer a well-researched, comprehensive study of this topic.

I have examined the studies completed by other researchers and combined any pertinent information from those sources with my own research on medieval attitudes and …

The 1994 Cistercian Studies Conference, The Institute Of Cistercian Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

Program for the 1994 Cistercian Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in conjunction with the International Congress on Medieval Studies. This conference happened between May 5-7 1994.

29th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 29th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 5-8, 1994).

Productive Destruction: Torture, Text, And The Body In The Old English 'Andreas', Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

Writing in the Old English Andreas is at once both a productive and a destructive activity. We first become aware of the dangerous power of the written word quite early in the poem, when we learn that the Mermedonians have subverted the normally productive activity of writing into a tool for calculating the execution dates of their prisoners (134-37). Later, the words uttered by the devil to incite the Mermedonians against Andreas illuminate the lexical relationship between the destructive nature of writing and the productive nature of torture in the semiotic context of the poem. Finally, in a sort of …

Commentary On The Book Of Jonah: Haimo Of Auxerre, Deborah Everhart

TEAMS Commentary Series

Haimo of Auxerre's Commentary on the Book of Jonah was probably written as a study text for scholars in the monastery. His basic method is to present a verse from the Book of Jonah, then offer condensed versions of the diverse and occasionally contradictory interpretations of that verse that were available to him. For example, he displays familiarity with the commentaries written earlier by Jerome and Origen. He provides allegorical, literal, moral, and ecclesiastical interpretations. He moves freely between the language of his commentary and the language of the Bible, and he demonstrates the interrelatedness of his own text and …

The 1993 Cistercian Studies Conference, The Institute Of Cistercian Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

Program for the 1993 Cistercian Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in conjunction with the Annual International Congress on Medieval Studies. This conference happened between May 5-9 1993.

28th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 28th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 6-9, 1993).

Review Of Bibliographic Access To Medieval And Renaissance Manuscripts: A Survey Of Computerized Data Bases And Information Service, Fred W. Jenkins

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The 1992 Cistercian Studies Conference, The Institute Of Cistercian Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

Program for the 1992 Cistercian Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in conjunction with the International Congress on Medieval Studies.

27th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 27th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 7-10, 1992).

Medieval Danish Wooden Sculpture: Roods: Part Ii: 1400 A.D. - 1600 A.D., James Mills

Early Drama, Art, and Music

An index of Danish examples of rood figures in the areas covered to that date in Danmarks Kirker, now represented by the website danmarkskirker.natmus.dk. This digitized version includes text pages only.

Expectations As Character Development In Chaucer's Clerk's Tale, Kevin Gorham

Masters Theses

The Clerk of Oxenford in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is often maligned for lacking development as a literary character. Frequently, the Clerk has been dismissed as a stereotype or an ideal rather than a multi-dimensional character. The Clerk's character, much like the meaning of his tale, is concealed from the reader and veiled behind expectations.

Chaucer manipulates readers by exploiting expectations associated with fourteenth century clerks. These expectations derive from historical and literary stereotypes which constitute the General Prologue portrait of the Clerk. Because Chaucer's description of the Clerk is populated with stereotypes, the reader expects the Clerk to tell a …

Chaucer's "Nether Ye": A Study Of Chaucer's Use Of Scatology In The Canterbury Tales, Brook Wilson

Masters Theses

Chaucer's use of scatology throughout the Canterbury Tales offers a new frontier for Chaucerian research. To this date, no book-length work dealing exclusively with the scatological elements found in his works exists. Too often, the serious and artistic effects of scatology become lost in the great comedy the device generates. Furthermore, many readers and scholars seem to find themselves somewhat "squaymous" when confronted with the "nether ye" of Chaucer. While Chaucer employs scatology perhaps less frequently than Swift or Rabelais, his mastery of this device remains unquestionable.

Recognizing that the uses for scatology extend far beyond creating humor, Chaucer instead …

King Bela Before The Mongol Invasion (1214-1241), Pongracz Sennyey

Masters Theses

This is a study of the political history of Hungary in the first part of the thirteenth century. Special attention is given to the political role played by King Bela from 1214 until the Mongol invasion of 1241. The focus of the first part of the study is the relationship between King Bela and his father King Andrew II. In the second half of the study, the focus shifts to the policies pursued by King Bela once he became the sole ruler of the kingdom.

The study sheds light on the reasons for the Hungarian defeat by the Mongol armies …

The 1991 Cistercian Studies Conference, The Institute Of Cistercian Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

Program for the 1991 Cistercian Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in collaboration with the twenty-sixth International Medieval Studies Congress Western Michigan University Kalamazoo Michigan. This took place May 10-12 1991.

26th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 26th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 9-12, 1991).

The Poetics Of Authorship In The Later Middle Ages: The Emergence Of The Modern Literary Persona, Burt Joseph Kimmelman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Literary individualism manifested itself in the twelfth century both trivially and profoundly. Word puzzles and overt self-naming within a literary work, and discussions of the nature of poetry and the role of the poet in the world, increasingly considered the purpose and efficacy of writing and ultimately of language per se. Poets asserted themselves in their works not so much for the sake of self-promotion, in a modern sense, but to address and modulate contemporary intellectual and spiritual issues. Speculative grammar, nominalism and realism, often provided the material for poets such as Guillem IX, Marcabru, Dante, Chaucer and Langland. As …

Purity Of Purpose: The Aesthetics Of Bernard Of Clairvaux Based On His Monastic Anthropology, Daniel Marcel La Corte

Masters Theses

Questions concerning Bernard of Clairvaux’s view of art and architecture have been answered primarily from his words on monastic art found in his work the Apologia. Some scholars have taken these statements out of context to their intended audience. Others have placed them firmly within the framework of his monastic vocation. More recently, scholars have analyzed the treatise in a broader context by using the Apologia to explore the role of art in the Middle Ages. None of these scholars question the fundamental motivation for Bernard’s view on art and the role it plays in the hierarchy of the …

Medieval Danish Wooden Sculpture: Roods: Part I: 1100 A.D. - 1400 A.D., James Mills

Early Drama, Art, and Music

An index of Danish examples of rood figures in the areas covered to that date in Danmarks Kirker, now represented by the website danmarkskirker.natmus.dk. This digitized version includes text pages only.

The Middle Frame And Medieval Narratology, Faten Morris Isshak

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Last World Emperor And The Angelic Pope: Eschatological Figures As Representative Of The Medieval Struggle Of “Sacerdotium" And “Imperium”, Christopher Joseph Beiting

Masters Theses

In adopting the Christian faith, medieval people also obtained a tradition within Christianity, that of esehatology. Because of this tradition, there was a receptiveness among some for prophetic visions of the future, visions of widely varied nature. Two very popular themes running through this visionary tradition involved two eschatological figures, the Last World Emperor and the Angelic Pope, whose advent would right all wrongs and transform medieval society. This thesis will examine elements of medieval political theory as they developed out of contemporary events. It will also trace the growth and development of the figures of the Last World Emperor …

Nonacentenary Celebration Of The Birth Of Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux, The Institute Of Cistercian Studies

Conference on Cistercian Studies Programs

A Celebration of the Nonacentenary of the Birth of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Sponsored by the Institute of Cistercian Studies at Western Michigan University in collaboration with the Twenty-Fifth International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University and incorporating the programs of the International Centre of Medieval Art and the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East between May 10-13 1990.

25th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 25th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 10-13, 1990).

"The Pistill Of Swete Susan": Translation And Commentary, Yvonne Daulton Carmicheal

Masters Theses

The Pistill of Swete Susan is an alliterative poem written in the fourteenth century by an unknown English author. Although the original manuscript has been lost, the poem is known to scholars through five extant manuscripts. The various manuscripts have been examined textually, but the poem itself has not been examined critically. The story is based on an Apocryphal text, the History of Susanna. While borrowing heavily from this text, the author has produced a work which is medieval in context and which provides insight into medieval concepts of justice, evil and love. This paper presents a translation and critical …

Three Women Saints In The Thirteenth Century: Mentalities And Roles, Ulrike Strasser

Masters Theses

This case study analyzes the lives of three thirteenth-century female saints, Lutgard of Aywiferes, Margaret of Ypres, and Christina Mirabilis, and places them against the broader theoretical frame of quantitative studies on the subject sainthood. The focus of the study is the pursuit of holiness as well as the perception of holiness. Both, pursuit and perception, serve as the point of departure for a discussion of the mentalities and the social realities which the women’s sainthood reflects.

The findings from this study indicate that female saints display numerous commonalities which can be traced back to the saints’ gender and its …

From Roman Britain To Norman England Continuity And Change - C. A. D. 284 - 1066, Gary Philip Priolo

History Theses & Dissertations

Prior to the Norman Conquest English Society was different in many ways. To understand these differences one must look at the various influences that over eight centuries combined to create Saxon England. This study examines how Saxon English society was created from the contributions of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, church, and Vikings.

Contemporary authors such as Bede and Gildas, and supporting archeological evidence indicate that the invaders and Christian missionaries had a significant impact on the native population of medieval Britain. Evidence suggests that the Romano-Britons were either killed or put to flight by the Anglo-Saxon settlers, the church first converted …