M. E. Bratchel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199542901
- eISBN:
- 9780191715655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199542901.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
It has sometimes been argued that the larger regional formations of the 15th century resulted in greater market integration. It is a contentious argument, and one that is difficult to apply to ...
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It has sometimes been argued that the larger regional formations of the 15th century resulted in greater market integration. It is a contentious argument, and one that is difficult to apply to Lucca—precisely because Lucca never made the political transformation on which the argument is based. In so far as the thesis contains an implicit comparison between city‐ and regional state, 15th‐century Lucca fits quite neatly into the conventional image of the former. Laws continued to be passed that banned all artisanal and retail activity in the Sei Miglia. Legislation was less restrictive with regard to some of the small towns in the vicariates. But here, too, state policy aimed to confine rural manufacture to the production of goods and necessities for local peasant consumption—a fact that the chapter has tried to reconcile with the manufacture of quality goods for export that was actually taking place in some of the larger centres. The chapter ends with a social history of the vicariates; an examination of mountain civilization; and with a reassessment of community identity even amongst villagers of the Lucchese plain.Less
It has sometimes been argued that the larger regional formations of the 15th century resulted in greater market integration. It is a contentious argument, and one that is difficult to apply to Lucca—precisely because Lucca never made the political transformation on which the argument is based. In so far as the thesis contains an implicit comparison between city‐ and regional state, 15th‐century Lucca fits quite neatly into the conventional image of the former. Laws continued to be passed that banned all artisanal and retail activity in the Sei Miglia. Legislation was less restrictive with regard to some of the small towns in the vicariates. But here, too, state policy aimed to confine rural manufacture to the production of goods and necessities for local peasant consumption—a fact that the chapter has tried to reconcile with the manufacture of quality goods for export that was actually taking place in some of the larger centres. The chapter ends with a social history of the vicariates; an examination of mountain civilization; and with a reassessment of community identity even amongst villagers of the Lucchese plain.
Sheila Delany
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195109887
- eISBN:
- 9780199855216
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195109887.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
This book breaks important ground in 15th-century scholarship, a critical site of cultural study. The book examines the work of English Augustinian friar Osbern Bokenham, and explores the relations ...
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This book breaks important ground in 15th-century scholarship, a critical site of cultural study. The book examines the work of English Augustinian friar Osbern Bokenham, and explores the relations of history and literature in this particularly turbulent period in English history, beginning with The Wars of the Roses and moving on to the Hundred Years War. The book examines the first collection of all female saints' lives in any language: Legends of Holy Women composed by Bokenham between 1443 and 1447. The book is organized around the image of the body—a medieval procedure becoming popular once again in current attention to the social construction of the body. One emphasis is Bokenham's relation to the body of English literature, particularly Chaucer, the symbolic head of the 15th century. Another emphasis is a focus on the genre of saints' lives, particularly female saints' lives, with their striking use of the body of the saint to generate meaning. Finally, the image of the body politic, the controlling image of medieval political thought is given, and Bokenham's means to examine the political and dynastic crises of 15th-century England. The book uses these three major concerns to explain the literary innovation of Bokenham's Legend, and the larger and political importance of that innovation.Less
This book breaks important ground in 15th-century scholarship, a critical site of cultural study. The book examines the work of English Augustinian friar Osbern Bokenham, and explores the relations of history and literature in this particularly turbulent period in English history, beginning with The Wars of the Roses and moving on to the Hundred Years War. The book examines the first collection of all female saints' lives in any language: Legends of Holy Women composed by Bokenham between 1443 and 1447. The book is organized around the image of the body—a medieval procedure becoming popular once again in current attention to the social construction of the body. One emphasis is Bokenham's relation to the body of English literature, particularly Chaucer, the symbolic head of the 15th century. Another emphasis is a focus on the genre of saints' lives, particularly female saints' lives, with their striking use of the body of the saint to generate meaning. Finally, the image of the body politic, the controlling image of medieval political thought is given, and Bokenham's means to examine the political and dynastic crises of 15th-century England. The book uses these three major concerns to explain the literary innovation of Bokenham's Legend, and the larger and political importance of that innovation.
M. E. Bratchel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199542901
- eISBN:
- 9780191715655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199542901.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
In earlier chapters, political, administrative, social, and economic ingredients were forged into an integrated history of the developing Lucchese state. For purposes of a more detailed analysis, the ...
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In earlier chapters, political, administrative, social, and economic ingredients were forged into an integrated history of the developing Lucchese state. For purposes of a more detailed analysis, the political and administrative features of the 15th‐century Lucchesia have been separated from social and economic issues. This chapter looks at the mature political and administrative entity that was 15th‐century Lucca. By the mid‐15th century Lucca had attained the borders that it was to retain—with only minor adjustments—throughout the remaining centuries of independence. The picture that emerges is of a very weak state, which exercised a very fragile control, particularly in border areas. But the Lucchese state, as in previous centuries, was largely free of rival, autonomous jurisdictions within its borders. And its administrative structures remained highly centralized and intrusive. The chapter compares Lucca, as a somewhat anachronistic relic of the old‐style Italian city‐state, with the new regional powers of 15th‐century Italy. This comparison is complicated by the diverse and fluid characteristics of the new regional formations.Less
In earlier chapters, political, administrative, social, and economic ingredients were forged into an integrated history of the developing Lucchese state. For purposes of a more detailed analysis, the political and administrative features of the 15th‐century Lucchesia have been separated from social and economic issues. This chapter looks at the mature political and administrative entity that was 15th‐century Lucca. By the mid‐15th century Lucca had attained the borders that it was to retain—with only minor adjustments—throughout the remaining centuries of independence. The picture that emerges is of a very weak state, which exercised a very fragile control, particularly in border areas. But the Lucchese state, as in previous centuries, was largely free of rival, autonomous jurisdictions within its borders. And its administrative structures remained highly centralized and intrusive. The chapter compares Lucca, as a somewhat anachronistic relic of the old‐style Italian city‐state, with the new regional powers of 15th‐century Italy. This comparison is complicated by the diverse and fluid characteristics of the new regional formations.
Glanmor Williams
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780192852779
- eISBN:
- 9780191670558
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192852779.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
In the fifteenth century, life in Wales was for underdeveloped pre-industrial society. This chapter shows that that the Welsh economy then was an economy perched anxiously near the margin of ...
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In the fifteenth century, life in Wales was for underdeveloped pre-industrial society. This chapter shows that that the Welsh economy then was an economy perched anxiously near the margin of subsistence, as it was always dependent on the quality of the harvest. Woodlands and fisheries also contributed to the economy. Over a hundred towns of every kind have been identified in medieval Wales. Towndwellers remained closely associated with the agricultural life of the community around them. Towns were also the main centres of crafts and services. Small-scale industrial activities such as cloth and leather goods making were economic contributors. Mining and quarrying, and pottery-making were practiced. Trade reflected the nature of economic production. The goods most in demand were those products by Welsh agriculture. Overland trade was difficult because of the poor conditions of roads and tracks. The fifteenth century and the early decades of the sixteenth century showed major changes in Wales’s economy.Less
In the fifteenth century, life in Wales was for underdeveloped pre-industrial society. This chapter shows that that the Welsh economy then was an economy perched anxiously near the margin of subsistence, as it was always dependent on the quality of the harvest. Woodlands and fisheries also contributed to the economy. Over a hundred towns of every kind have been identified in medieval Wales. Towndwellers remained closely associated with the agricultural life of the community around them. Towns were also the main centres of crafts and services. Small-scale industrial activities such as cloth and leather goods making were economic contributors. Mining and quarrying, and pottery-making were practiced. Trade reflected the nature of economic production. The goods most in demand were those products by Welsh agriculture. Overland trade was difficult because of the poor conditions of roads and tracks. The fifteenth century and the early decades of the sixteenth century showed major changes in Wales’s economy.
David Karmon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199766895
- eISBN:
- 9780199896745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199766895.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, History of Art: pre-history, BCE to 500CE, ancient and classical, Byzantine, World History: BCE to 500CE
Preservation practices in fifteenth-century Rome afforded a vital means for the Renaissance popes to acquire and extend temporal power over the ancient city. Papal excavation licenses controlled ...
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Preservation practices in fifteenth-century Rome afforded a vital means for the Renaissance popes to acquire and extend temporal power over the ancient city. Papal excavation licenses controlled ancient remains with greater precision. Papal involvement in regulating antiquity helped stimulate even greater interest in preservation among the Conservators, the civic magistrates of Rome.Less
Preservation practices in fifteenth-century Rome afforded a vital means for the Renaissance popes to acquire and extend temporal power over the ancient city. Papal excavation licenses controlled ancient remains with greater precision. Papal involvement in regulating antiquity helped stimulate even greater interest in preservation among the Conservators, the civic magistrates of Rome.
Tony Hunt
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159148
- eISBN:
- 9780191673528
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159148.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
Villon studies have traditionally emphasized the documentary and didactic value of the Testament, concentrating on problems of historical referentiality. It is assumed that the work has a significant ...
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Villon studies have traditionally emphasized the documentary and didactic value of the Testament, concentrating on problems of historical referentiality. It is assumed that the work has a significant autobiographical element and that it has much to tell us about life in fifteenth-century Paris. The Testament has thus been avidly exploited by historians of the period and its interest as a document is well-established. This study concentrates exclusively on the textual strategies of the Testament, in particular on rhetorical techniques involving dialogue and irony. The book views the Testament as ironic from start to finish, and the main objects of the irony are identified as language and authority. The dissolution of meaning, authority, and even authorial identity are seen to be the principal results of the poet's rhetoric.Less
Villon studies have traditionally emphasized the documentary and didactic value of the Testament, concentrating on problems of historical referentiality. It is assumed that the work has a significant autobiographical element and that it has much to tell us about life in fifteenth-century Paris. The Testament has thus been avidly exploited by historians of the period and its interest as a document is well-established. This study concentrates exclusively on the textual strategies of the Testament, in particular on rhetorical techniques involving dialogue and irony. The book views the Testament as ironic from start to finish, and the main objects of the irony are identified as language and authority. The dissolution of meaning, authority, and even authorial identity are seen to be the principal results of the poet's rhetoric.
J. I. Catto
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199510122
- eISBN:
- 9780191700941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199510122.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter discusses the prestige and authority of theologians in fifteenth-century Europe when secular princes were beginning to discover religious conformity and orthodoxy as important ...
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This chapter discusses the prestige and authority of theologians in fifteenth-century Europe when secular princes were beginning to discover religious conformity and orthodoxy as important precondition of unity among their subjects — an age when great urban preachers could determine the form of governments. However, it describes Oxford theologians as less favored by English kings than Cambridge in the century after 1430. The said theologians performed a far less active role than those of Paris in the definition and defense of orthodox teaching. It argues that these are signs of dissatisfaction with the academic study of theology during the fifteenth-century. This chapter also discusses the effect of this dissatisfaction on Oxford theologians. It explains that these fifteenth-century Oxford theologians then maintained, perhaps in a rather narrow and etiolated form, the Scotist tradition.Less
This chapter discusses the prestige and authority of theologians in fifteenth-century Europe when secular princes were beginning to discover religious conformity and orthodoxy as important precondition of unity among their subjects — an age when great urban preachers could determine the form of governments. However, it describes Oxford theologians as less favored by English kings than Cambridge in the century after 1430. The said theologians performed a far less active role than those of Paris in the definition and defense of orthodox teaching. It argues that these are signs of dissatisfaction with the academic study of theology during the fifteenth-century. This chapter also discusses the effect of this dissatisfaction on Oxford theologians. It explains that these fifteenth-century Oxford theologians then maintained, perhaps in a rather narrow and etiolated form, the Scotist tradition.
Paul Slack
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206613
- eISBN:
- 9780191677243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206613.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, Social History
Current interest in the concept and reality of ‘civil society’ came largely from political events at the end of the twentieth century. This chapter, however, goes back to the late fifteenth century ...
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Current interest in the concept and reality of ‘civil society’ came largely from political events at the end of the twentieth century. This chapter, however, goes back to the late fifteenth century to examine the conception of civil society. Much had changed between the later fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Despite underlying continuities in assumptions and practices, definitions of public welfare had been stretched and articulated in new forms, and the agencies which delivered it had become more various and more self-consciously purposeful. The most important part was indisputably public: the machinery which provided outdoor relief at the parish level, the inadvertent but increasingly indispensable creation of the Act of 43 Elizabeth. The product as much of continuity as of change, this resulted in a strengthening of the kind of civic consciousness which came from wide participation in the shaping and delivery of public welfare.Less
Current interest in the concept and reality of ‘civil society’ came largely from political events at the end of the twentieth century. This chapter, however, goes back to the late fifteenth century to examine the conception of civil society. Much had changed between the later fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Despite underlying continuities in assumptions and practices, definitions of public welfare had been stretched and articulated in new forms, and the agencies which delivered it had become more various and more self-consciously purposeful. The most important part was indisputably public: the machinery which provided outdoor relief at the parish level, the inadvertent but increasingly indispensable creation of the Act of 43 Elizabeth. The product as much of continuity as of change, this resulted in a strengthening of the kind of civic consciousness which came from wide participation in the shaping and delivery of public welfare.
Sheila Delany
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195109887
- eISBN:
- 9780199855216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195109887.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
The book introduces the 15th-century Augustinian friar, Osbern Bokenham and his collection of literary works. His little-known but substantial achievements and contributions to literature, ...
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The book introduces the 15th-century Augustinian friar, Osbern Bokenham and his collection of literary works. His little-known but substantial achievements and contributions to literature, philosophy, and history in his time are enumerated and discussed. A brief background of his origins, early life, and introduction to the religious order is provided, along with the influential people of his time who had inspired his work. The remainder of the book focuses on his legendary and concerns regarding the lives of thirteen women saints which the book attempts to examine in the context of three types of “body”—the body of literary works Bokenham used and critiqued, the female body represented in his own work, and the “body politic” of English society in the eve of the War of the Roses. In the final chapter, the book discusses historicist and feminist theory in relation to an assertion regarding the sexual politics in Bokenham's legendary.Less
The book introduces the 15th-century Augustinian friar, Osbern Bokenham and his collection of literary works. His little-known but substantial achievements and contributions to literature, philosophy, and history in his time are enumerated and discussed. A brief background of his origins, early life, and introduction to the religious order is provided, along with the influential people of his time who had inspired his work. The remainder of the book focuses on his legendary and concerns regarding the lives of thirteen women saints which the book attempts to examine in the context of three types of “body”—the body of literary works Bokenham used and critiqued, the female body represented in his own work, and the “body politic” of English society in the eve of the War of the Roses. In the final chapter, the book discusses historicist and feminist theory in relation to an assertion regarding the sexual politics in Bokenham's legendary.
R. L. Storey
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199510122
- eISBN:
- 9780191700941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199510122.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter discusses issues regarding the challenges to rights and possessions during the fifteenth century and that the most practical remedy was found in ‘lordship’. It explains the university's ...
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This chapter discusses issues regarding the challenges to rights and possessions during the fifteenth century and that the most practical remedy was found in ‘lordship’. It explains the university's policy of enlisting the regular championship of a single magnate who could protect its interests. It discusses the effects of politics on the university. During the reign of Henry VII, Oxford's reputation for violent strife had put the university in danger of abolition or exile.Less
This chapter discusses issues regarding the challenges to rights and possessions during the fifteenth century and that the most practical remedy was found in ‘lordship’. It explains the university's policy of enlisting the regular championship of a single magnate who could protect its interests. It discusses the effects of politics on the university. During the reign of Henry VII, Oxford's reputation for violent strife had put the university in danger of abolition or exile.
Kathryn M. Rudy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265048
- eISBN:
- 9780191754159
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265048.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Few medieval pilgrims' guides were written in English; even fewer were illuminated. This chapter examines Oxford, Queen's College, MS 357, a manuscript made in England in the late fifteenth century, ...
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Few medieval pilgrims' guides were written in English; even fewer were illuminated. This chapter examines Oxford, Queen's College, MS 357, a manuscript made in England in the late fifteenth century, which possesses both qualities. The manuscript contains a variety of texts written in Latin and English including pilgrims' guides, prayers to be said at holy sites in Palestine, travellers' tales, and descriptions of miracles that have taken place at shrines. It is also exuberantly illuminated. The miniatures begin with an Annunciation and end with Christ in Judgment. These two images form the parentheses around the others in the manuscript, which depict sites in the Holy Land. The miniatures and decoration unite the disparate texts, turning them into a scale model of salvation history and providing a prompt to virtual pilgrimage.Less
Few medieval pilgrims' guides were written in English; even fewer were illuminated. This chapter examines Oxford, Queen's College, MS 357, a manuscript made in England in the late fifteenth century, which possesses both qualities. The manuscript contains a variety of texts written in Latin and English including pilgrims' guides, prayers to be said at holy sites in Palestine, travellers' tales, and descriptions of miracles that have taken place at shrines. It is also exuberantly illuminated. The miniatures begin with an Annunciation and end with Christ in Judgment. These two images form the parentheses around the others in the manuscript, which depict sites in the Holy Land. The miniatures and decoration unite the disparate texts, turning them into a scale model of salvation history and providing a prompt to virtual pilgrimage.
Jane Griffiths
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199273607
- eISBN:
- 9780191706301
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273607.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
This book is the first book-length study of Skelton for almost twenty years (including the only substantial study to date of Skelton's translation of the Bibliotheca Historica of Diodorus Siculus), ...
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This book is the first book-length study of Skelton for almost twenty years (including the only substantial study to date of Skelton's translation of the Bibliotheca Historica of Diodorus Siculus), and the first to trace the roots of his poetic theory to his practice as a writer and translator. It demonstrates that much of what has been found challenging in his work may be attributed to his attempt to reconcile existing views of the poet's role in society with discoveries about the writing process itself. The result is a highly idiosyncratic poetics that locates the poet's authority decisively within his own person, yet at the same time predicates his ‘liberty to speak’ upon the existence of an engaged, imaginative audience. Skelton is frequently treated as a maverick, but this book places his theory and practice firmly in the context of later sixteenth as well as 15th-century traditions. Focusing on his relations with both past and present readers, it reassesses his place in the English literary canon.Less
This book is the first book-length study of Skelton for almost twenty years (including the only substantial study to date of Skelton's translation of the Bibliotheca Historica of Diodorus Siculus), and the first to trace the roots of his poetic theory to his practice as a writer and translator. It demonstrates that much of what has been found challenging in his work may be attributed to his attempt to reconcile existing views of the poet's role in society with discoveries about the writing process itself. The result is a highly idiosyncratic poetics that locates the poet's authority decisively within his own person, yet at the same time predicates his ‘liberty to speak’ upon the existence of an engaged, imaginative audience. Skelton is frequently treated as a maverick, but this book places his theory and practice firmly in the context of later sixteenth as well as 15th-century traditions. Focusing on his relations with both past and present readers, it reassesses his place in the English literary canon.
Paula C. Clarke
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198229926
- eISBN:
- 9780191678943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229926.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This work aims to show how politics worked in fifteenth-century Florence, and the factors that brought about the constitutional change for which the period was well known. These political changes ...
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This work aims to show how politics worked in fifteenth-century Florence, and the factors that brought about the constitutional change for which the period was well known. These political changes consisted primarily of the rise of the Medici family to a position of predominance never before enjoyed by any Florence clan. The Florence constitution of the fifteenth century represented a compromise between groups within the city's society, and one which had repeatedly been remodeled throughout the city's history. The ability to call on foreign support was one of the important factors contributing to the Medici political success. The following pages investigate the careers of two brothers, Tommaso and Niccolò Soderini, who were partisans and enemies of the Medici at different periods.Less
This work aims to show how politics worked in fifteenth-century Florence, and the factors that brought about the constitutional change for which the period was well known. These political changes consisted primarily of the rise of the Medici family to a position of predominance never before enjoyed by any Florence clan. The Florence constitution of the fifteenth century represented a compromise between groups within the city's society, and one which had repeatedly been remodeled throughout the city's history. The ability to call on foreign support was one of the important factors contributing to the Medici political success. The following pages investigate the careers of two brothers, Tommaso and Niccolò Soderini, who were partisans and enemies of the Medici at different periods.
Jennifer Summit
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226781716
- eISBN:
- 9780226781723
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226781723.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter presents and examines the implications of the following argument: while the fifteenth-century “age of libraries” took place against the backdrop of expanded literacy in late medieval ...
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This chapter presents and examines the implications of the following argument: while the fifteenth-century “age of libraries” took place against the backdrop of expanded literacy in late medieval England, to both their founders and their critics, the new libraries represented an effort to restrict, rather than advance, popular literacy. This argument counters an assumption that the growth of libraries was a natural outcome of, or necessarily promoted, the spread of books and literacy, and it carries implications for understanding the broader cultural significance of libraries. At a time when literacy could no longer be considered the exclusive domain and defining privilege of the clergy, the newly centralized libraries worked to safeguard literacy and its privileges by other means. The chapter makes this point by considering two of the most important libraries of the fifteenth century: the library of Bury St. Edmunds, established by Bishop William Curteys in the middle of the century, and that of Duke Humfrey of Gloucester, who would go on to endow the central university library at Oxford. While the two libraries represent two different forms of literacy—monastic and humanist—they are joined and mediated through the work of John Lydgate, who was a monk at Bury under Curteys and who enjoyed Humfrey's patronage as well as access to his library while composing his monumental work The Fall of Princes.Less
This chapter presents and examines the implications of the following argument: while the fifteenth-century “age of libraries” took place against the backdrop of expanded literacy in late medieval England, to both their founders and their critics, the new libraries represented an effort to restrict, rather than advance, popular literacy. This argument counters an assumption that the growth of libraries was a natural outcome of, or necessarily promoted, the spread of books and literacy, and it carries implications for understanding the broader cultural significance of libraries. At a time when literacy could no longer be considered the exclusive domain and defining privilege of the clergy, the newly centralized libraries worked to safeguard literacy and its privileges by other means. The chapter makes this point by considering two of the most important libraries of the fifteenth century: the library of Bury St. Edmunds, established by Bishop William Curteys in the middle of the century, and that of Duke Humfrey of Gloucester, who would go on to endow the central university library at Oxford. While the two libraries represent two different forms of literacy—monastic and humanist—they are joined and mediated through the work of John Lydgate, who was a monk at Bury under Curteys and who enjoyed Humfrey's patronage as well as access to his library while composing his monumental work The Fall of Princes.
Michael D. Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451447
- eISBN:
- 9780801467318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451447.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter introduces a core group of German writers addressing superstition in the fifteenth century and explores the particular contexts in which they wrote. It briefly recounts the commonalities ...
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This chapter introduces a core group of German writers addressing superstition in the fifteenth century and explores the particular contexts in which they wrote. It briefly recounts the commonalities they shared with earlier authorities and how they perpetuated many well-established critiques, before examining new points of emphasis found in their works. These men were not deliberate innovators, yet their increased engagement, at a practical level, with common superstitions required them to focus to a considerable degree on elements of lay religiosity and the murky, troublesome “twilight zone” in which the practical use of prayers, blessings, and appropriated sacramental items might signal either admirable faith or damnable superstition.Less
This chapter introduces a core group of German writers addressing superstition in the fifteenth century and explores the particular contexts in which they wrote. It briefly recounts the commonalities they shared with earlier authorities and how they perpetuated many well-established critiques, before examining new points of emphasis found in their works. These men were not deliberate innovators, yet their increased engagement, at a practical level, with common superstitions required them to focus to a considerable degree on elements of lay religiosity and the murky, troublesome “twilight zone” in which the practical use of prayers, blessings, and appropriated sacramental items might signal either admirable faith or damnable superstition.
Paula C. Clarke
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198229926
- eISBN:
- 9780191678943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229926.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Although the book has dealt principally with the careers of only two citizens, it suggests more general conclusions regarding the nature of politics in fifteenth-century Florence. Tommaso Soderini's ...
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Although the book has dealt principally with the careers of only two citizens, it suggests more general conclusions regarding the nature of politics in fifteenth-century Florence. Tommaso Soderini's history confirms that the Medici consciously sought to build up a group of friends who would act as supporters and defenders of the family's political position. By furthering these citizens' political careers and their personal interests, the Medici were able to expect from them the gratitude and support that they desired. Meanwhile, the oath of 1449 demonstrates how members of the regime could define their goals and organise their action without any reference to the leading family of the regime. Thus, the history of Tommaso and Niccolò also shows the factors contributing to Florentine's political success and the complexity and variety inherent in Florentine politics.Less
Although the book has dealt principally with the careers of only two citizens, it suggests more general conclusions regarding the nature of politics in fifteenth-century Florence. Tommaso Soderini's history confirms that the Medici consciously sought to build up a group of friends who would act as supporters and defenders of the family's political position. By furthering these citizens' political careers and their personal interests, the Medici were able to expect from them the gratitude and support that they desired. Meanwhile, the oath of 1449 demonstrates how members of the regime could define their goals and organise their action without any reference to the leading family of the regime. Thus, the history of Tommaso and Niccolò also shows the factors contributing to Florentine's political success and the complexity and variety inherent in Florentine politics.
Matthew S. Champion
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226514796
- eISBN:
- 9780226514826
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226514826.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter is a survey of the multiple ways of organising and experiencing time in the city of Leuven in the fifteenth century. It considers how time was understood in relation to the newly-founded ...
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This chapter is a survey of the multiple ways of organising and experiencing time in the city of Leuven in the fifteenth century. It considers how time was understood in relation to the newly-founded University of Leuven, its social and economic life, including the life of its guilds and markets, its religious institutions and practices, and its visual and sonic cultures, especially the bells of the city. It examines how the language of the old and new was deployed to frame the dramatic transformations in the town’s physical and intellectual life in the fifteenth century. The temporalities of the city were experienced as varied and layered, including complex interactions between the times of the liturgy and other domains of social life.Less
This chapter is a survey of the multiple ways of organising and experiencing time in the city of Leuven in the fifteenth century. It considers how time was understood in relation to the newly-founded University of Leuven, its social and economic life, including the life of its guilds and markets, its religious institutions and practices, and its visual and sonic cultures, especially the bells of the city. It examines how the language of the old and new was deployed to frame the dramatic transformations in the town’s physical and intellectual life in the fifteenth century. The temporalities of the city were experienced as varied and layered, including complex interactions between the times of the liturgy and other domains of social life.
Dimitri Kastritsis
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780197266120
- eISBN:
- 9780191860010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266120.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
During the course of the fifteenth century, the Ottoman sultanate underwent many transformations in the political and cultural sphere. When the century began, Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402) was making the ...
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During the course of the fifteenth century, the Ottoman sultanate underwent many transformations in the political and cultural sphere. When the century began, Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402) was making the first serious if ultimately unsuccessful Ottoman bid at empire. By its end, Mehmed the Conqueror’s much more centralised empire was in the hands of his son Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512), who commissioned chronicles documenting its entire history down to his own time. These were largely compilations made up of distinct elements, many of which were much older. This chapter focuses on what such texts can tell us about how the fifteenth-century Ottomans perceived the eastern Roman and Islamic past and their own historical role in the region.Less
During the course of the fifteenth century, the Ottoman sultanate underwent many transformations in the political and cultural sphere. When the century began, Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402) was making the first serious if ultimately unsuccessful Ottoman bid at empire. By its end, Mehmed the Conqueror’s much more centralised empire was in the hands of his son Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512), who commissioned chronicles documenting its entire history down to his own time. These were largely compilations made up of distinct elements, many of which were much older. This chapter focuses on what such texts can tell us about how the fifteenth-century Ottomans perceived the eastern Roman and Islamic past and their own historical role in the region.
Jyoti Gulati Balachandran
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190123994
- eISBN:
- 9780190991975
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190123994.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History, Social History
The Introduction establishes the historical and historiographical context for the production of Persian narrative texts in Gujarat in the fifteenth century. It emphasizes the role of Sufi texts as ...
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The Introduction establishes the historical and historiographical context for the production of Persian narrative texts in Gujarat in the fifteenth century. It emphasizes the role of Sufi texts as sites where an expanding Muslim community’s past in Gujarat was narrated and negotiated. At the same time, it places this development within a longer history of Muslim settlements and Sufi textual production in the subcontinent. The Introduction further discusses the importance of spatial contexts for the dissemination of texts, primarily Sufi residences and tomb-shrines, and in creating a regional identity and a history of the Muslim community that was unique to Gujarat.Less
The Introduction establishes the historical and historiographical context for the production of Persian narrative texts in Gujarat in the fifteenth century. It emphasizes the role of Sufi texts as sites where an expanding Muslim community’s past in Gujarat was narrated and negotiated. At the same time, it places this development within a longer history of Muslim settlements and Sufi textual production in the subcontinent. The Introduction further discusses the importance of spatial contexts for the dissemination of texts, primarily Sufi residences and tomb-shrines, and in creating a regional identity and a history of the Muslim community that was unique to Gujarat.
D. Vance Smith
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226640853
- eISBN:
- 9780226641041
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226641041.003.0011
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
John Lydgate's poetry imagines itself as an archive, and his aureate style is an attempt to unbind the paradox that, for him, Chaucer is the genius that made English poetry possible, and that poetry ...
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John Lydgate's poetry imagines itself as an archive, and his aureate style is an attempt to unbind the paradox that, for him, Chaucer is the genius that made English poetry possible, and that poetry after Chaucer's death has seemingly become impossible. Aureation is bound up with alchemy and the historiographical imagination as an attempt to preserve a past that makes possible the reanimation of England in the Lancastrian dynastic succession.Less
John Lydgate's poetry imagines itself as an archive, and his aureate style is an attempt to unbind the paradox that, for him, Chaucer is the genius that made English poetry possible, and that poetry after Chaucer's death has seemingly become impossible. Aureation is bound up with alchemy and the historiographical imagination as an attempt to preserve a past that makes possible the reanimation of England in the Lancastrian dynastic succession.
