Joseph L. Baird (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195308228
- eISBN:
- 9780199784882
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195308220.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Hildegard of Bingen was one of the most notable women of the 12th century, as even a cursory glance at the recipients of her correspondence will suggest. The present volume concentrates on her ...
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Hildegard of Bingen was one of the most notable women of the 12th century, as even a cursory glance at the recipients of her correspondence will suggest. The present volume concentrates on her personal life as viewed through the defining lens of her personal letters: her early bid for recognition of her spiritual gifts with her hesitant letter to the powerful and renowned Bernard of Clairvaux; her courageous, and ultimately futile, fight to keep her beloved confidante and friend, Richardis von Stade, by her side and the poignant outcome of that struggle; her vehement defiance of the male hierarchy of the Benedictine Order in her bid to establish communities under her own governance; her impudent challenge to contemporary conservative views by the dress and customs she established in her community; her paean of praise for the power of music; her adamant refusal, even at the advanced age of eighty, to give in to the demands of the male authorities even in the face of excommunication. Accompanied by informative and detailed introductions, these letters give an extraordinary insight into the life and reputation of this medieval saint.Less
Hildegard of Bingen was one of the most notable women of the 12th century, as even a cursory glance at the recipients of her correspondence will suggest. The present volume concentrates on her personal life as viewed through the defining lens of her personal letters: her early bid for recognition of her spiritual gifts with her hesitant letter to the powerful and renowned Bernard of Clairvaux; her courageous, and ultimately futile, fight to keep her beloved confidante and friend, Richardis von Stade, by her side and the poignant outcome of that struggle; her vehement defiance of the male hierarchy of the Benedictine Order in her bid to establish communities under her own governance; her impudent challenge to contemporary conservative views by the dress and customs she established in her community; her paean of praise for the power of music; her adamant refusal, even at the advanced age of eighty, to give in to the demands of the male authorities even in the face of excommunication. Accompanied by informative and detailed introductions, these letters give an extraordinary insight into the life and reputation of this medieval saint.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter provides an introduction to the palaeography of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts from Reading Abbey. It summarizes the evidence taken from various features of the manuscripts to ...
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This chapter provides an introduction to the palaeography of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts from Reading Abbey. It summarizes the evidence taken from various features of the manuscripts to show that some of these manuscripts were produced at or for the abbey whilst others were acquired from other sources, and shows when the various manuscripts entered the abbey. On opening a manuscript the most obvious thing is the way in which the page of that manuscript is laid out. The ruling of a page may constitute a guide to scribal practice, a method of identification, and also be of some use as a dating tool. It is possible to identify the habits of some scribes by examining the ways in which ruling was extended into the margins of the page. The way in which punctuation marks were used may help to distinguish the work of one scribe from another. Four main methods of correction are to be found in the Reading manuscripts: erasure, the signe-de-renvoi, interlinear insertion, and crossing out.Less
This chapter provides an introduction to the palaeography of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts from Reading Abbey. It summarizes the evidence taken from various features of the manuscripts to show that some of these manuscripts were produced at or for the abbey whilst others were acquired from other sources, and shows when the various manuscripts entered the abbey. On opening a manuscript the most obvious thing is the way in which the page of that manuscript is laid out. The ruling of a page may constitute a guide to scribal practice, a method of identification, and also be of some use as a dating tool. It is possible to identify the habits of some scribes by examining the ways in which ruling was extended into the margins of the page. The way in which punctuation marks were used may help to distinguish the work of one scribe from another. Four main methods of correction are to be found in the Reading manuscripts: erasure, the signe-de-renvoi, interlinear insertion, and crossing out.
Susan M. Johns
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719063046
- eISBN:
- 9781781700280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719063046.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The secular women's seals present the historian with unique opportunities to study the portrayal of female identity in twelfth-century England. Seals were visual representations of power, and they ...
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The secular women's seals present the historian with unique opportunities to study the portrayal of female identity in twelfth-century England. Seals were visual representations of power, and they conveyed notions of authority and legitimacy. Women's seals have been particularly poorly served. They also identified women's power in the context of land tenure, lordship, social status and the female life cycle. Additionally, they signified both gender and status in different ways. The representational forms of noblewomen's seals symbolised noblewomen's cultural identities and served to endorse gendered norms of women's role in lordship. The use of seals by twelfth-century noblewomen reinforces the argument that noblewomen had important roles to play within the construct of lordship in the specific context of land transfers.Less
The secular women's seals present the historian with unique opportunities to study the portrayal of female identity in twelfth-century England. Seals were visual representations of power, and they conveyed notions of authority and legitimacy. Women's seals have been particularly poorly served. They also identified women's power in the context of land tenure, lordship, social status and the female life cycle. Additionally, they signified both gender and status in different ways. The representational forms of noblewomen's seals symbolised noblewomen's cultural identities and served to endorse gendered norms of women's role in lordship. The use of seals by twelfth-century noblewomen reinforces the argument that noblewomen had important roles to play within the construct of lordship in the specific context of land transfers.
Paul Rorem
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195384369
- eISBN:
- 9780199869886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195384369.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter first introduces Hugh of St. Victor’s context as to early 12th-century Paris, the founding of St. Victor by William of Champeaux, and the leadership of Abbot Gilduin. It then surveys ...
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This chapter first introduces Hugh of St. Victor’s context as to early 12th-century Paris, the founding of St. Victor by William of Champeaux, and the leadership of Abbot Gilduin. It then surveys what little is known of Hugh’s life and discusses how to approach his many and varied writings. The edition of Hugh’s works supervised by Gilduin provides an order for introducing this corpus.Less
This chapter first introduces Hugh of St. Victor’s context as to early 12th-century Paris, the founding of St. Victor by William of Champeaux, and the leadership of Abbot Gilduin. It then surveys what little is known of Hugh’s life and discusses how to approach his many and varied writings. The edition of Hugh’s works supervised by Gilduin provides an order for introducing this corpus.
Alastair Matthews
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199656998
- eISBN:
- 9780191742187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656998.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
This chapter introduces the Kaiserchronik and summarizes what is known about the origins of the work, which is generally associated with the Regensburg of the mid-twelfth century. On the basis of ...
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This chapter introduces the Kaiserchronik and summarizes what is known about the origins of the work, which is generally associated with the Regensburg of the mid-twelfth century. On the basis of manuscript transmission and the critical literature, it is suggested that an analysis of narrative technique will allow what Walter Haug called the ‘literary side’ of the Kaiserchronik to be described in more detail. With the help of an analysis of the prologue, the Kaiserchronik is then contextualized in relation to Latin historiography, vernacular religious literature, and the new Middle High German narratives of the later twelfth century, showing that a broader range of narrative techniques are at stake than the preoccupation with questions of fictionality and structure in modern theory and criticism would suggest.Less
This chapter introduces the Kaiserchronik and summarizes what is known about the origins of the work, which is generally associated with the Regensburg of the mid-twelfth century. On the basis of manuscript transmission and the critical literature, it is suggested that an analysis of narrative technique will allow what Walter Haug called the ‘literary side’ of the Kaiserchronik to be described in more detail. With the help of an analysis of the prologue, the Kaiserchronik is then contextualized in relation to Latin historiography, vernacular religious literature, and the new Middle High German narratives of the later twelfth century, showing that a broader range of narrative techniques are at stake than the preoccupation with questions of fictionality and structure in modern theory and criticism would suggest.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226077598
- eISBN:
- 9780226077611
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226077611.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Fundamental changes that began to sweep through the culture, society, and economy of Western Christendom in the closing decades of the eleventh century radically transformed the laws and legal ...
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Fundamental changes that began to sweep through the culture, society, and economy of Western Christendom in the closing decades of the eleventh century radically transformed the laws and legal practices that prevailed during the early Middle Ages. Within the following century-and-a-half, a new legal culture emerged in the West. Specialized schools of civil law whose students studied Justinian's codified Roman law began to appear at Bologna shortly after 1100. In Bologna, too, an innovative textbook of canon law, appearing sometime in the 1140s and commonly known as “Gratian's Decretum,” soon displaced earlier canonical collections, both in the schools and in the courts. Signal developments in the law formed a key element in a larger intellectual movement that Charles Homer Haskins christened the renaissance of the twelfth century. Sir Paul Vinogradoff went on to describe the medieval revival of Roman law as “a ghost story.”Less
Fundamental changes that began to sweep through the culture, society, and economy of Western Christendom in the closing decades of the eleventh century radically transformed the laws and legal practices that prevailed during the early Middle Ages. Within the following century-and-a-half, a new legal culture emerged in the West. Specialized schools of civil law whose students studied Justinian's codified Roman law began to appear at Bologna shortly after 1100. In Bologna, too, an innovative textbook of canon law, appearing sometime in the 1140s and commonly known as “Gratian's Decretum,” soon displaced earlier canonical collections, both in the schools and in the courts. Signal developments in the law formed a key element in a larger intellectual movement that Charles Homer Haskins christened the renaissance of the twelfth century. Sir Paul Vinogradoff went on to describe the medieval revival of Roman law as “a ghost story.”
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Fifty-eight predominantly twelfth-century manuscripts that have a known or suspected Reading provenance survive. The principal contents fall into five main categories: glossed books of the Bible, ...
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Fifty-eight predominantly twelfth-century manuscripts that have a known or suspected Reading provenance survive. The principal contents fall into five main categories: glossed books of the Bible, patristic works, theological treatises, history and chronicles, and service books. There is also some hagiography and one volume of poetry, but none of the classical or grammatical works from the book list has survived. The Reading Abbey's list seems to be particularly strong in patristics: this impression is no doubt partly because the entries frequently contain references to more than one text in a given volume. This chapter compares the contents of the Fingall Cartulary list and the lists from Durham and Rochester. Two late twelfth-century book lists from Benedictine houses, Burton-on-Trent and Whitby, are also compared. The Durham and Rochester lists are strong in both classics and medicine. Reading and Durham both have copies of the lives of saints such as Cuthbert, Brendan, and Brigid.Less
Fifty-eight predominantly twelfth-century manuscripts that have a known or suspected Reading provenance survive. The principal contents fall into five main categories: glossed books of the Bible, patristic works, theological treatises, history and chronicles, and service books. There is also some hagiography and one volume of poetry, but none of the classical or grammatical works from the book list has survived. The Reading Abbey's list seems to be particularly strong in patristics: this impression is no doubt partly because the entries frequently contain references to more than one text in a given volume. This chapter compares the contents of the Fingall Cartulary list and the lists from Durham and Rochester. Two late twelfth-century book lists from Benedictine houses, Burton-on-Trent and Whitby, are also compared. The Durham and Rochester lists are strong in both classics and medicine. Reading and Durham both have copies of the lives of saints such as Cuthbert, Brendan, and Brigid.
William M. Reddy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226706269
- eISBN:
- 9780226706283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226706283.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
This chapter presents evidence in support of a novel explanation of the origins of courtly love. It discusses three features of twelfth-century social life that combined to shape the courtly love ...
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This chapter presents evidence in support of a novel explanation of the origins of courtly love. It discusses three features of twelfth-century social life that combined to shape the courtly love ideal: a specific form of aristocratic speech; a related approach to kinship reckoning, gender identities, and “sexual” relationships; and the impact of the Gregorian Reform.Less
This chapter presents evidence in support of a novel explanation of the origins of courtly love. It discusses three features of twelfth-century social life that combined to shape the courtly love ideal: a specific form of aristocratic speech; a related approach to kinship reckoning, gender identities, and “sexual” relationships; and the impact of the Gregorian Reform.
Francis Oakley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300176339
- eISBN:
- 9780300183504
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300176339.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter discusses Charles Homer Haskins' view of the twelfth century, which described it as “rather a slack period in the history of political theory.” Haskins noted that “the pamphlet ...
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This chapter discusses Charles Homer Haskins' view of the twelfth century, which described it as “rather a slack period in the history of political theory.” Haskins noted that “the pamphlet literature dealing with church and state had just spent its force during the controversy over investiture, and the more systematic discussion awaited the translation of Aristotle's Politics circa 1260 and the Summa of Thomas Aquinas,” as a somewhat indifferent appraisal of the significance of John of Salisbury's Policraticus or Statesman's Book. Even though it is a plausible judgment, one should not underestimate the importance of “the mighty iceberg of change,” especially in relation to the subsequent history of political thinking and the history of intellectual life at large.Less
This chapter discusses Charles Homer Haskins' view of the twelfth century, which described it as “rather a slack period in the history of political theory.” Haskins noted that “the pamphlet literature dealing with church and state had just spent its force during the controversy over investiture, and the more systematic discussion awaited the translation of Aristotle's Politics circa 1260 and the Summa of Thomas Aquinas,” as a somewhat indifferent appraisal of the significance of John of Salisbury's Policraticus or Statesman's Book. Even though it is a plausible judgment, one should not underestimate the importance of “the mighty iceberg of change,” especially in relation to the subsequent history of political thinking and the history of intellectual life at large.
Susan M. Johns
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719063046
- eISBN:
- 9781781700280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719063046.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book explores the place of noblewomen in twelfth-century English and, to a lesser extent, Norman society. It also investigates the roles of noblewomen within lordship and in so doing clarifies ...
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This book explores the place of noblewomen in twelfth-century English and, to a lesser extent, Norman society. It also investigates the roles of noblewomen within lordship and in so doing clarifies important aspects of noblewomen's power. The analytical framework upon which the book is constructed draws on recent theoretical developments in the history of women and power and utilises traditional scholarly approaches to the study of the twelfth century. In so doing, it re-defines the nature of twelfth-century lordship. Therefore, it is intended as a contribution to the debate over the role and meaning of female power in the context of the interaction of gender and lordship in twelfth-century society.Less
This book explores the place of noblewomen in twelfth-century English and, to a lesser extent, Norman society. It also investigates the roles of noblewomen within lordship and in so doing clarifies important aspects of noblewomen's power. The analytical framework upon which the book is constructed draws on recent theoretical developments in the history of women and power and utilises traditional scholarly approaches to the study of the twelfth century. In so doing, it re-defines the nature of twelfth-century lordship. Therefore, it is intended as a contribution to the debate over the role and meaning of female power in the context of the interaction of gender and lordship in twelfth-century society.
Susan M. Johns
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719063046
- eISBN:
- 9781781700280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719063046.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter investigates the 1185 Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus in order to consider the way that royal authority and the law shaped the experience of noblewomen, but ...
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This chapter investigates the 1185 Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus in order to consider the way that royal authority and the law shaped the experience of noblewomen, but also to provide a cautionary account of the degree to which such sources present an external view of the societies in which noblewomen exercised power. Rotuli de Dominabus is a rich resource for the history of noblewomen in the twelfth century and for the study of social history. It also presents an unusually large sample of information on the value of noblewomen's lands. It confirms that dower was the principal form of the female land tenure of widows in late twelfth-century England. It then affirms that noblewomen had significant and important roles to play in the two dominant power structures of the twelfth-century, kinship and lordship, and the document shows that royal government recognised this.Less
This chapter investigates the 1185 Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus in order to consider the way that royal authority and the law shaped the experience of noblewomen, but also to provide a cautionary account of the degree to which such sources present an external view of the societies in which noblewomen exercised power. Rotuli de Dominabus is a rich resource for the history of noblewomen in the twelfth century and for the study of social history. It also presents an unusually large sample of information on the value of noblewomen's lands. It confirms that dower was the principal form of the female land tenure of widows in late twelfth-century England. It then affirms that noblewomen had significant and important roles to play in the two dominant power structures of the twelfth-century, kinship and lordship, and the document shows that royal government recognised this.
Peter J. A. Jones
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198843542
- eISBN:
- 9780191879364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198843542.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, Social History
Chapter 1 explores laughter’s changing status as a topic of intellectual debate in the 1100s. Investigating a wide range of theological, monastic, philosophical, rhetorical, satirical, and medical ...
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Chapter 1 explores laughter’s changing status as a topic of intellectual debate in the 1100s. Investigating a wide range of theological, monastic, philosophical, rhetorical, satirical, and medical texts available to Henry II’s courtiers, the chapter suggests that by the end of the century laughter was becoming a sign of embodied moral power. Whereas laughter had previously carried diabolical associations, and had been forbidden to monks, condemned by preachers, and reproved by theologians, it now became a monastic virtue, a confirmation of good health, and a potential sign of God’s presence. These ideas of moral laughter were enabled, above all, by a series of shifts in attitudes towards the body. As theologians devised new repertoires of spiritual emotions and gestures, influential monks such as Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153) were able to allocate laughter a role as an expression of the highest internal grace.Less
Chapter 1 explores laughter’s changing status as a topic of intellectual debate in the 1100s. Investigating a wide range of theological, monastic, philosophical, rhetorical, satirical, and medical texts available to Henry II’s courtiers, the chapter suggests that by the end of the century laughter was becoming a sign of embodied moral power. Whereas laughter had previously carried diabolical associations, and had been forbidden to monks, condemned by preachers, and reproved by theologians, it now became a monastic virtue, a confirmation of good health, and a potential sign of God’s presence. These ideas of moral laughter were enabled, above all, by a series of shifts in attitudes towards the body. As theologians devised new repertoires of spiritual emotions and gestures, influential monks such as Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153) were able to allocate laughter a role as an expression of the highest internal grace.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226077598
- eISBN:
- 9780226077611
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226077611.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Canon lawyers during the “long twelfth century” gradually began to act more and more like professionals. By the mid-twelfth century clever and enterprising men could already make a living, often ...
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Canon lawyers during the “long twelfth century” gradually began to act more and more like professionals. By the mid-twelfth century clever and enterprising men could already make a living, often quite a comfortable one, from the teaching and practice of civil or canon law. The occupational skills that civilians and canonists possessed opened up opportunities for advancement in the church's hierarchy. One traditional characteristic of professional status is the belief that, unlike those who follow less prestigious trades and occupations, professionals undertake to observe special ethical rules more demanding than those that apply to non-professionals. As canon lawyers became more numerous and more visible in Western Christendom, both they and their detractors searched for acceptable answers to issues such as these. Critics of the jurists grew increasingly abundant and vocal as the twelfth century progressed. By the early decades of the thirteenth century, practitioners of canon law and civilians alike were under verbal assault from all sides. This chapter focuses on pre-professional lawyers in twelfth-century church courts.Less
Canon lawyers during the “long twelfth century” gradually began to act more and more like professionals. By the mid-twelfth century clever and enterprising men could already make a living, often quite a comfortable one, from the teaching and practice of civil or canon law. The occupational skills that civilians and canonists possessed opened up opportunities for advancement in the church's hierarchy. One traditional characteristic of professional status is the belief that, unlike those who follow less prestigious trades and occupations, professionals undertake to observe special ethical rules more demanding than those that apply to non-professionals. As canon lawyers became more numerous and more visible in Western Christendom, both they and their detractors searched for acceptable answers to issues such as these. Critics of the jurists grew increasingly abundant and vocal as the twelfth century progressed. By the early decades of the thirteenth century, practitioners of canon law and civilians alike were under verbal assault from all sides. This chapter focuses on pre-professional lawyers in twelfth-century church courts.
Cynthia J. Neville
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748639588
- eISBN:
- 9780748653492
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748639588.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Scottish Studies
This chapter explores the early evidence associated with lordly courts in the late twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, both those of the Anglo-Norman and European newcomers, and more particularly, ...
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This chapter explores the early evidence associated with lordly courts in the late twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, both those of the Anglo-Norman and European newcomers, and more particularly, those of the great native dignitaries. It then examines, compares, and contrasts the ways in which native aristocrats adopted and adapted English and European concepts of justice within these courts down to the mid-fourteenth century. It focuses on the ways in which Gaelic lords used the ceremony and ritual associated with the dispensation of justice to perpetuate — and enhance — uniquely native concepts of lordly authority.Less
This chapter explores the early evidence associated with lordly courts in the late twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, both those of the Anglo-Norman and European newcomers, and more particularly, those of the great native dignitaries. It then examines, compares, and contrasts the ways in which native aristocrats adopted and adapted English and European concepts of justice within these courts down to the mid-fourteenth century. It focuses on the ways in which Gaelic lords used the ceremony and ritual associated with the dispensation of justice to perpetuate — and enhance — uniquely native concepts of lordly authority.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Individual monks of Reading Abbey acquired books for themselves that subsequently passed into the abbey’s collections on their deaths. The procedure at Reading would probably have been broadly ...
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Individual monks of Reading Abbey acquired books for themselves that subsequently passed into the abbey’s collections on their deaths. The procedure at Reading would probably have been broadly similar to that followed at St Augustine’s, Canterbury, as outlined in its fourteenth-century customary. Evidence for the appropriation of monks’ books by Reading Abbey may be found in the book list in the Fingall Cartulary, which contains references to donations by twelve named figures (contemporary book lists from other houses, notably the 1202 list from Rochester, also record the names of donors). Two of the donors whose names appear in the Reading list held high office in the abbey: Anscher, the second abbot (1130–1135), and sub-prior Anselm. Other donations to the abbey include a small, two-volume Bible and a glossed Pentateuch. Donors range from Thomas of Hyde to Adam de Dimmoc, Hugh of Buckingham, Master Martines, Hugh Physicus, and Master Gilbert. A great many of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts appear to have been copied at or for the abbey.Less
Individual monks of Reading Abbey acquired books for themselves that subsequently passed into the abbey’s collections on their deaths. The procedure at Reading would probably have been broadly similar to that followed at St Augustine’s, Canterbury, as outlined in its fourteenth-century customary. Evidence for the appropriation of monks’ books by Reading Abbey may be found in the book list in the Fingall Cartulary, which contains references to donations by twelve named figures (contemporary book lists from other houses, notably the 1202 list from Rochester, also record the names of donors). Two of the donors whose names appear in the Reading list held high office in the abbey: Anscher, the second abbot (1130–1135), and sub-prior Anselm. Other donations to the abbey include a small, two-volume Bible and a glossed Pentateuch. Donors range from Thomas of Hyde to Adam de Dimmoc, Hugh of Buckingham, Master Martines, Hugh Physicus, and Master Gilbert. A great many of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts appear to have been copied at or for the abbey.
George Garnett
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198726166
- eISBN:
- 9780191793042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198726166.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, Social History
Chapter 1 explains why, about 40 years after the Conquest, a number of English monastic historians tried to construct the first histories of England to be written since Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. ...
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Chapter 1 explains why, about 40 years after the Conquest, a number of English monastic historians tried to construct the first histories of England to be written since Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. According to William of Malmesbury, English historical writing has been a chain broken at Bede’s death. The sudden initiative to mend that chain at the beginning of the twelfth century was prompted by the need, consequent on the Conquest, to validate title to ecclesiastical land and to authenticate the claims of English saints to sanctity. The chapter argues that the wholesale rebuilding of major English churches in the half century after the Conquest also played a key part. It explains why most of the historians were precentors (or cantors) of their institutions. By examining in detail their treatment of the Conquest itself, it shows how they connected post-Conquest England with what had preceded it. The effect was to create a continuous history of England which transcended the Conquest.Less
Chapter 1 explains why, about 40 years after the Conquest, a number of English monastic historians tried to construct the first histories of England to be written since Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. According to William of Malmesbury, English historical writing has been a chain broken at Bede’s death. The sudden initiative to mend that chain at the beginning of the twelfth century was prompted by the need, consequent on the Conquest, to validate title to ecclesiastical land and to authenticate the claims of English saints to sanctity. The chapter argues that the wholesale rebuilding of major English churches in the half century after the Conquest also played a key part. It explains why most of the historians were precentors (or cantors) of their institutions. By examining in detail their treatment of the Conquest itself, it shows how they connected post-Conquest England with what had preceded it. The effect was to create a continuous history of England which transcended the Conquest.
Teresa Webber
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203087
- eISBN:
- 9780191675706
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203087.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, History of Religion
This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral and their scribes in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English ...
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This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral and their scribes in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English centre in the period following the Norman Conquest, and they bear witness to the energetic scribal and scholarly activities of a community of intelligent and able men. The author of this book traces the interests and activities of the canons of Salisbury Cathedral from the evidence of their books. She reveals to us a lively Anglo-Norman centre of scholarship and religious devotion. Her study combines detailed palaeographic research with a keen understanding of medieval cultural and intellectual life.Less
This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral and their scribes in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English centre in the period following the Norman Conquest, and they bear witness to the energetic scribal and scholarly activities of a community of intelligent and able men. The author of this book traces the interests and activities of the canons of Salisbury Cathedral from the evidence of their books. She reveals to us a lively Anglo-Norman centre of scholarship and religious devotion. Her study combines detailed palaeographic research with a keen understanding of medieval cultural and intellectual life.
Irene O'Daly
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781526109491
- eISBN:
- 9781526132338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526109491.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter provides an introduction to the life and works of John of Salisbury, as well as an overview of existing scholarship on this key figure of the twelfth-century Renaissance. It presents the ...
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This chapter provides an introduction to the life and works of John of Salisbury, as well as an overview of existing scholarship on this key figure of the twelfth-century Renaissance. It presents the method of the study, namely to look at John of Salisbury’s writings in the context in which they were produced, as well as introducing the principal argument of the monograph - that John’s works were influenced by Roman Stoic writing to a degree that has thus far been underestimated. It concludes by investigating annotations appended to early examples of John’s Policraticus, suggesting they provide an insight into how the text was first read.Less
This chapter provides an introduction to the life and works of John of Salisbury, as well as an overview of existing scholarship on this key figure of the twelfth-century Renaissance. It presents the method of the study, namely to look at John of Salisbury’s writings in the context in which they were produced, as well as introducing the principal argument of the monograph - that John’s works were influenced by Roman Stoic writing to a degree that has thus far been underestimated. It concludes by investigating annotations appended to early examples of John’s Policraticus, suggesting they provide an insight into how the text was first read.
William M. Reddy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226706269
- eISBN:
- 9780226706283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226706283.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
This chapter examines the original cultural context of the songs of the trobairitz and troubadours, who first popularized the courtly love ideal. It shows that “courtly love,” as developed by William ...
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This chapter examines the original cultural context of the songs of the trobairitz and troubadours, who first popularized the courtly love ideal. It shows that “courtly love,” as developed by William IX and his imitators, was the only tradition that justified love by its sublime, heroic contrast with desire-as-appetite. The kind of love that William IX wrote about and the genre of song he employed in praising the beloved—usually referred to as a canso—enjoyed a growing popularity, first in southern France, spreading from there to Iberia, Italy, and most of western and central Europe. Twelfth-century Occitan society and the canso as aristocratic speech are discussed.Less
This chapter examines the original cultural context of the songs of the trobairitz and troubadours, who first popularized the courtly love ideal. It shows that “courtly love,” as developed by William IX and his imitators, was the only tradition that justified love by its sublime, heroic contrast with desire-as-appetite. The kind of love that William IX wrote about and the genre of song he employed in praising the beloved—usually referred to as a canso—enjoyed a growing popularity, first in southern France, spreading from there to Iberia, Italy, and most of western and central Europe. Twelfth-century Occitan society and the canso as aristocratic speech are discussed.
David Bates
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199674411
- eISBN:
- 9780191752339
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199674411.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
After an explanation of the value of importing the methodology of life histories into the study of the history of the Normans, the English, and other peoples, the chapter is divided into two ...
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After an explanation of the value of importing the methodology of life histories into the study of the history of the Normans, the English, and other peoples, the chapter is divided into two sections. The first sets out multiple life-stories to illustrate the many possibilities that empire opened up and the second is an analysis of the contribution of the main contemporary narrative historians of the cross-Channel empire. It uses all this material to explore values, norms, scripts, rules, and factors other than the ethnic and the imperial as explanations of behaviour. It emphasizes the significance of locality and region, and also the significance of norms and scripts that range from gender to religious rules such as the Rule of St. Benedict. Alongside an argument for a continuing cross-Channel dynamic, the chapter also emphasizes evident early disillusion with empire in Normandy, the mixing and assimilation of peoples, and the continuing economic and cultural distinctions associated with the enduring power of the cross-Channel elite.Less
After an explanation of the value of importing the methodology of life histories into the study of the history of the Normans, the English, and other peoples, the chapter is divided into two sections. The first sets out multiple life-stories to illustrate the many possibilities that empire opened up and the second is an analysis of the contribution of the main contemporary narrative historians of the cross-Channel empire. It uses all this material to explore values, norms, scripts, rules, and factors other than the ethnic and the imperial as explanations of behaviour. It emphasizes the significance of locality and region, and also the significance of norms and scripts that range from gender to religious rules such as the Rule of St. Benedict. Alongside an argument for a continuing cross-Channel dynamic, the chapter also emphasizes evident early disillusion with empire in Normandy, the mixing and assimilation of peoples, and the continuing economic and cultural distinctions associated with the enduring power of the cross-Channel elite.