Latin Literature and Late Antiquity New from Aris & Phillips

20 Pages·2012·2.06 MB·English

Latin Literature and Late Antiquity 49
New from Aris & Phillips Empires of Faith: The Fall of Rome to the Rise of
Islam, 500-700
Terence: Phormio by Peter Sarris
edited by Robert Maltby
Drawing upon the latest historical and
Terence's Phormio, based on archaeological research, Peter Sarris provides a
a Greek original by panoramic account of the history of Europe, the
Apollodorus of Carystus, Mediterranean, and the Near East from the fall of
was produced towards the Rome to the rise of Islam. The formation of a new
end of his short dramatic social and economic order in western Europe in the
career in 161 BC. With its fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries, and the
lively action, based on the ascendancy across the West of a new culture of
traditional elements of love, military lordship, are placed firmly in the context of
deception and mistaken on-going connections and influence radiating
identity, the play provides an outwards from the surviving Eastern Roman
ideal introduction to the Empire, ruled from the great imperial capital of
genre of New Comedy. What makes the Phormio Constantinople. 428p (Oxford UP 2011)
unique amongst Terence's works is the central 9780199261260 Hb £35.00
importance of the witty and scheming parasite who
Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna:
gives his name to the play and directs and controls
Transformations and Memory
its action throughout, even when absent from the
by Mariette Verhoeven
stage. The use of the 'double' plot with its two young
men in love and two contrasting fathers provides This study explores the city’s attitude towards its
ample scope for depth and variety of religious cultural heritage throughout the centuries.
characterisation. The aim of the present edition is The findings are elaborated in seven chapters,
to bring out to the full Terence's skill in plot addressing respectively the cult of saints; the
development and character portrayal which was to relationship with Rome and with Constantinople;
make the Phormio one of his most entertaining the alleged controversy between Orthodoxy and
plays. Latin text with facing-page translation, Arianism; the postTridentine period; the lost
introduction and commentary. 160p, (Aris & Phillips monuments and the restorations at the end of the
Classical Texts, 2011) 9780856686061 Hb £40.00, nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth
9780856686078 Pb £18.00 century. 343p, b/w illus, col pls (Brepols 2011)
9782503541150 Pb £95.00
Philological and Historical Commentary on La arquitectura monástica hispana entre la
Ammianus Marcellinus XXVIII Tardoantigüedad y la Alta Edad Media
by J. Den Boeft, J.W. Drijvers, D. Den Hengst and by Francisco Jose Moreno Martin
H.C. Teitler Based on a gazetteer of 190 sites, this book provides
a comprehensive reappraisal of Spanish monastic
In Book 28 Ammianus describes the military activity
architecture in the Early Middle Ages. It combines
of Valentinian on the Rhine. The historian speaks
documentary sources for both architecture and
with admiration about his efforts to strengthen the
monastic organisation with archaeological evidence,
northwestern border of the empire. He shows a
which shows that architectural styles and layouts
similar esteem for the general Theodosius, who
were less uniform across the Late Antique world
reestablished order in Britain. However, in the
than has often been assumed. Nonetheless the author
greater part of Book 28 there is an air of gloom.
is able to develop a methodology to distinguish
Ammianus writes reluctantly about the judicial
betwen domestic and monastic sites. Spanish text.
terror inflicted on the Roman aristocracy by powerful
716p b/w illus (BAR 2287, Archaeopress 2011)
magistrates. In his digression about Roman manners
9781407308647 pb £70.00
he speaks with contempt about the senatorial elite
and the Roman plebs, because they fail to live up to Objects in Motion: The Circulation of Religion
the standards of their ancestors. and Sacred Objects in the Late Antique and
Constantine: History, Historiography and Byzantine World
Legend edited by Hallie G. Meredith
edited by Samuel N. C. Lieu and Dominic The essays in this collection consider the circulation
Montserrat of religious material culture in the Late Antique and
Byzantine world, exploring themes such as how
The contributions examine the circumstances of
objects become holy and their role as physical bearers
Constantine’s reign and the historical problems
of social memory, and of ideas. Subjects include
surrounding them, the different accounts of his life
Eusebius’ Vita Constantini, portable altars, objects
and the medieval myths surrounding his reign , to
as signifiers of miracles, ivory diptychs, the material
demonstrate the varying representations from saint
culture of Manichaen magic, and the use of the
to imperial prototype. 288p (Routledge 1998, Pb 2011)
religious gift in Byzantine diplomacy. 129p b/w illus
9780415107471 HB £80.00, 9780415518901 Pb £24.95
(BAR 2247, Archaeopress 2011) 9781407308111 pb £32.00
50 Late Antiquity
Forthcoming from Aris & Phillips Episcopal Elections in Late Antiquity
edited by Johan Leemans, Peter Van Nuffelen,
Augustine: De Civitate Dei VIII & IX Shawn W.J. Keough and Carla Nicolaye
edited with an introduction, translation and This volume contributes to a reassessment of the
commentary by P.G. Walsh phenomenon of episcopal elections from the broadest
Before his conversion to possible perspective, examining the varied
Christianity in 386, combination of factors, personalities, rules and habits
Augustine had devoted that played a role in the process that eventually
himself to the study of resulted in one specific candidate becoming the new
Platonism. In books VIII and bishop - a defining moment for the local community,
IX of De Civitate Dei, and an occasion when local, ecclesiastical, and
Augustine renews his secular tensions were played out. 606p (De Gruyter
acquaintance with this 2011) 9783110268553 Hb £140.00
philosophy, which had Prudentius: The Origin of Sin An English
played such a fundamental
Translation of the Hamartigenia
role in his conversion.
translated with an interpretive essay by Matha A.
The main topic of these
Malamud
books is demonology, with Augustine using the De
Prudentius’s Hamartigenia, consisting of a 63line
deo Socratis of Apuleius, which places demons as
preface followed by 966 lines of dactylic hexameter
the intermediaries between gods and men, as the
verse, considers the origin of sin in the universe and
foundation of his exploration into this theme.
its consequences, culminating with a vision of
Augustine is keen to point out the similarities
judgment day. As Martha A. Malamud shows in the
between Platonism and Christianity and therefore
interpretive essay that accompanies her lapidary
puts forward the theory that the ideal mediator
translation, Hamartigenia is critical for
between God and man is Christ - he who shares
understanding Late Antique ideas about sin, justice,
temporary mortality with humans and permanent
gender, violence, and the afterlife. 233p (Cornell UP
blessedness with God and can therefore lead men
2011) 9780801442223 Hb £49.50, 9780801488726 Pb
from wretchedness to eternal bliss. Latin text with
£15.50
facing-page translation, introduction and
commentary (Aris & Phillips, an imprint of Oxbow Eusebius of Emesa: Church and Theology in
Books 2011) 9780856688546 Hb £40.00, 9780856688539 the Mid-Fourth Century
Pb £18.00 ***NYP*** by Robert E. Winn
Eusebius, the bishop of Emesa (c. 300-359) is today
From Face to Face: Recarving of Roman not a well-known figure of late ancient Christianity.
Portraits and the Late Antique Portrait Arts Yet he achieved apparent notoriety in antiquity: he
by Marina Prusac was a student of the famous Eusebius of Caesarea,
This book is based on an investigation of more than he was connected to the entourage of the emperor
five hundred recarved portraits. The different Constantius, he had earned the respect of prominent
recarving methods have made it possible to suggest ecclesiastical figures in the midfourth century, and
classifiable categories, which together underpin a he was recognized as a talented orator and biblical
hypothesis that the Late Antique portrait style is a commentator. This book offers a detailed analysis of
consequence of the many recarved portraits at the his extant sermons from both rhetorical and
time. The practice of portrait recarving emerged due theological perspectives. 277p (Catholic University of
to economic, political, religious and ideological America Press 2011) 9780813218762 Hb £60.95
factors, and was influenced by the cultural-historical Celibate Marriages in Late Antique and
changes of Late Antiquity. The conclusion gives a Byzantine Hagiography
new understanding of how wide-ranging, culturally
by Anne P. Alwis
and politically encoded and comprehensive the
This book explores the puzzling phenomenon of
practice of recarving was. 202p, 155 b/w pls (Brill 2011)
celibate marriage as depicted in the lives of three
9789004182714 Hb £150.00
couples who achieved sainthood (Julian and
Ehrenstatuen in der Spätantike Basilissa, Andronikos and Athanasia, and Galaktion
by Ulrich Gehn and Episteme). Including full translations, this
Honorary statues, a constituent part of the ancient volume sets each life in its historical context, and by
cities and culture of Ancient Rome and an examining their individual and shared themes, the
exceptionally conservative medium of book shows that the tension raised by pitting
selfrepresentation of the social elite, experienced some marriage against celibacy is constantly debated. It
striking changes in Late Antiquity. They show the also highlights the ingenuity of Byzantine
honorees in hitherto unseen appearances, dressed hagiographers as they attempted to reconcile this
in the chlamys, a military coat, or a previously curious paradox. 339p (Continuum 2011)
unknown variant of the toga, the traditional Roman 9781441115256 Hb £65.00
civil dress. German text. 590p, 159 b/w & 5 col ill.
(Reichert Verlag 2012) 9783895008610 hb £85.00
Byzantine 51
Doctrine and Debate in the East Christian Forthcoming from Oxbow Books
World, 300-1500
edited by Averil Cameron and Robert Hoyland Butrint 4: The Archaeology and Histories of an
This reader contains 16 important previously Ionian Town
published articles which together offer a edited by Inge Lyse Hansen, Richard Hodges and
comprehensive overview of the diversity of eastern Sarah Leppard
Christianities, the doctrinal disputes which plagued This richly illustrated
and defined the eastern churches, the processes volume discusses the
whereby orthodoxy was formed and negotiated, and histories of the port city of
relations, reactions to and polemics against Judaism Butrint, and its intimate
and Islam. A substantial introduction provides a connection to the wider
framework for the essays, which are grouped under conditions of the Adriatic.
five headings: the formative period; the encounter Firstly, the book proposes a
with Islam; Iconoclasm; antiLatin texts; and the tools new paradigm for the
of argument. 415p (Ashgate Variorum 2011) development-history of
9781409400349 Hb £100.00 Butrint - based on
Judaism and Imperial Ideology in Late discussions of the latest
Antiquity archaeological, historical
by Alexei M. Sivertsen and landscape studies from approximately 20 new
excavations and surveys, together covering a
This book explores the influence of Roman
temporal arch from prehistory to the early modern
imperialism on the development of Messianic themes
period. Secondly, it examines how the perception of
in Judaism in the fifth through the eight centuries
the city influenced the archaeological methodology
CE. It pays special attention to the ways in which
of 20th-century studies of the site, where iteration
Roman imperial ideology and imperial eschatology
and reversal were often being applied in equal
influenced Jewish representations of the Messiah and
measure. In this it asks important questions on the
Messianic age. 247p (Cambridge UP 2011)
management of heritage sites and the contemporary
9781107009080 Hb £50.00
role of archaeological practise. 250p, c.50 col & c.325
The Byzantine World
b/w illus (Oxbow Books for the Butrint Foundation, 2012)
edited by Paul Stephenson
This massive volume offers
a panorama of current ***Only £33.95 until publication***
research, gathering 31 of the
biggest names in Byzantine
studies to survey new Byzantine Epirus: Settlements From the 7th to
developments in their the 12th Centuries A Topography of
particular areas of expertise, Transformation
to summarise their own
by Myrto Veikou
recent findings, and to point
This book draws on 5 years of archaeological and
out future directions and
topographical fieldwork in order to attempt a
areas of study. The effect,
rereading of Byzantine texts in accordance with
therefore is not to produce anything approaching a
recent perceptions of the historicity of space. The
comprehensive history, but a series of
result is a fresh interpretation of settlement in
thoughtprovoking and often strikingly original
Western Greece from 600 to 1200 AD, focusing on
takes on a dynamic and increasingly multifaceted
the interaction between physical/social space and
subject. 606p b/w illus (Routledge 2010, Pb 2012)
human agency. 780p b/w illus (Brill 2012)
9780415440103 Hb £140.00, 9780415527422 Pb £32.99
9789004221512 Hb £200.00
The Power Game in Byzantium: Antonina and
Early Byzantine Vaulted Construction in
the Empress Theodora
Churches of the Western Coastal Plains and
by James Allan Evans
River Valleys of Asia Minor
This gripping account of political intrigue traces the
by Nikolaos D. Karydis
careers of two Byzantine women, Theodora and
This study focuses on a group of ruined Byzantine
Antonina, who through their husbands, the
churches of the 5th to 7th centuries from the west
emperor Justinian and his greatest general Belisarius
coast of Asia Minor. It forms a detailed constructional
were able to wield considerable power. Evans brings
analysis and aims in particular to reconstruct the
to life the fierce rivalries within the imperial court,
form and construction of the vaulting, providing a
and shows how Theodora and Antonina were able
new typology of vault structures for the region. 189p
to negotiate these, whilst promoting their own
b/w illus (BAR 2246, Archaeopress 2011) 9781407308104
families and factions, and in Theodora’s case also
pb £39.00
building up and protecting the antiChalcedonian
current within the church. 264p b/w illus (Continuum
2011) 9781441140784 Hb £20.00
52 Byzantine
A Byzantine Settlement in Cappadocia Patrons and Painters on Cyprus: Frescoes in the
by Robert G. Ousterhout Royal Chapel at Pyrga
Robert Ousterhout by Jens T. Wollesen
challenges the commonly The fresco decoration of the Royal Chapel in Pyrga
accepted notion that the on Cyprus is usually dated 1421. This study presents
rockcut settlements of iconographical and stylistic evidence supporting a
Cappadocia primarily much earlier dating into the first half or the middle
housed enclaves of Christian of the fourteenth century. If this revised dating is
monks living in the correct, the program of decoartion is an outstanding
wilderness. Instead, he testament to royal, specifically Lusignan,
proposes that the settlement commissioning and represents the first and most
at Çanli Kilise was a fully– faithful adoption and adaptation of Palaiologan
fledged town, with models in Cyprus. 180p, b/w and col pls (Pontifical
mansions and hovels, as well Institute of Medieval Studies 2010) 9780888441690 Hb
as barns, wine presses, and cemeteries. This revised £85.00
paperback contains minor corrections and a new The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine
preface, reflecting on recent research and reactions
Hagiography: Volume I: Periods and Places
to the original book’s findings. 482p, many b/w and
edited by Stephanos Efthymiadis
col pls (Dumbarton Oaks 2005, Pb 2011) 9780884023104
This, the first volume of a two volume set, presents
hb £88.95, 9780884023708 Pb £37.95
a comprehensive examination and discussion of
Approaches to Byzantine Architecture and its hagiography and its role in Byzantine religion,
Decoration society and politics. It covers, first, the authors and
edited by Mark J. Johnson, Robert Ousterhout and texts of the four distinctive periods during which
Amy Papalexandrou Greek Byzantine hagiography developed, and then
The fourteen essays in this collection demonstrate a the hagiography produced in Oriental and Slavic
wide variety of approaches to the study of Byzantine languages and in geographical milieux around the
architecture and its decoration. These include the periphery of the empire, from Italy to Armenia. 435p
analysis of recent archaeological discoveries; recovery (Ashgate 2011) 9780754650331 Hb £85.00
of lost monuments through archival research and Commmon Justice: The Legal Allegiances of
onsite examination of material remains; Christians and Jews
reconsidering traditional typological approaches
by Uriel I. Simonsohn
often ignored in current scholarship; fresh
Simonsohn explores the multiplicity of judicial
interpretations of architectural features and designs;
systems that coexisted under early Islam to reveal a
contextualization of monuments within the
complex array of social obligations that connected
landscape; tracing historiographic trends; and
individuals across confessional boundaries. By
mining neglected written sources for motives of
examining the incentives for appeal to external
patronage. 309p b/w illus (Ashgate 2012) 9781409427407
judicial institutions on the one hand and the
Hb £70.00
response of minority confessional elites on the other,
In Memoriam: Fr Michele Piccirillo, ofm he exposes a considerable degree of fluidity across
(19442008) Celebrating his life and work communal boundaries, which was in turn
edited by Claudine Dauphin and Basema vigorously resisted by the traditional religious elites.
Harmarneh 306p (University of Pennsylvania Press 2011)
Papers on the Byzantine archaeology of the Holy 9780812243499 Hb £52.00
Land, with a particular focus on church mosaics. Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire
Essays in English, French, Italian and Arabic. 324p by Milka LevyRubin
many col pls (BAR 2248, Archaeopress 2011) Although much has been
9781407308159 pb £65.00 written about the status of
New Light on Old Glass: Recent Research on non-Muslims in the Islamic
Byzantine Glass and Mosaics empire, no previous works
edited by Chris Entwistle and Liz James have examined how the rules
applying to minorities were
This new publication brings together a range of
formulated. This study
leading scholars from Europe, America and the
reveals that the conquered
Middle East to discuss the most recent research in
peoples themselves played a
the field of Byzantine glass and mosaics in an
major role in the creation of
interdisciplinary context. This is the first time that
these policies and that they
so many diverse papers, ranging from art history,
were based on longstanding
archaeology, chemistry, physics and Byzantine
traditions, customs and institutions from earlier pre-
studies have been assembled in one volume, and is
Islamic cultures that originated in the worlds of both
the culmination of a five year research programme
the conquerors and the conquered. 267p (Cambridge
on the Composition of Byzantine Glass Mosaic
UP 2011) 9781107004337 Hb £55.00
Tesserae. 250p (British Museum Press, 2012)
9780861591794 PB £45.00 ***NYP***
Islamic 53
New from Oxbow Books Medieval Islamic Swords and Swordmaking
by Robert Hoyland and Brian Gilmour
The Medieval and Ottoman Hajj Route in
The treatise “On swords and their kinds” was written
Jordan: An Archaeological and Historical by the 9th century Muslim philosopher Ya’qub ibn
Study Ishaq alKindi. In this work, Kindi discusses the
edited by Andrew Petersen difference between iron and steel, distinguishes
As one of the five pillars of different qualities of sword blade, and different
Islam the pilgrimage to centres of swordsmithing. He refers to the Indian
Mecca (the Hajj) is central to Ocean trade in steel ingots and to the distinctive
the life of all Muslims. A character of European swords of the period. He
network of roads radiates includes technical terms used by the makers, and
from the Hijaz like a giant distinguishes swords by their physical features form,
spider’s web, connecting measurements, weight, watered pattern, sculptured
Mecca to all parts of the details, or inlaid ornaments. This publication
Muslim world. Historically includes the text and a translation of Kindi’s treatise,
the most significant of these and a detailed commentary on the work. The volume
routes starts at Damascus in also includes a translation of Friedrich Schwarzlose’s
Syria, and is a direct continuation of the ancient work on swords, which is based on the hundreds
trade route connecting Arabia to the Levant. This of references to swords in early Arabic poetry.
book documents the archaeological and Written in German, this extraordinary compendium
architectural remains which line this route, paying of information was first published some 120 years
particular attention to the forts and cisterns built ago; this volume makes it available again, and for
and maintained by the Ottoman rulers from the 16th the first time in English. 200p, 12 b/w figs (Gibb
century onwards. A series of introductory chapters Memorial Trust 2006, Pb 2012) 9780906094570 Pb £30.00
provide the historical context, with an emphasis on Shayzar I: The Fortification of the Citadel
the political and military significance of the route by Cristina Tonghini
from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In addition to
On the basis of a detailed
the detailed coverage of Jordanian Hajj forts, the
analysis of the archaeological
book also describes the sites and path of the route
evidence, and of the study of
through Syria and Saudi Arabia. The final part of
the written documentation
the book describes the results of excavations at one
available, the book examines
of the forts, which gives an insight into the material
the origins and the
culture of both the pilgrims and the soldiers who
development of the
manned the forts. (Oxbow Books, in association with
fortification of Shayzar in
the Council for British Research in the Levant, 2012)
Central Syria, especially in
9781842175026 Hb £52.00
relation to the most crucial
period as regard as the
building of the citadel, i.e., the
Early Islamic Iran
span of time that stretches from the 10th to the 13th
edited by Edmund Herzig and Sarah Stewart
centuries; it also discusses the development of
This latest volume in “The Idea of Iran” series traces
building techniques in the context of military
that critical moment in Iranian history which
architecture. 539p, 262 b/w and col pls (Brill 2011)
followed the transformation
9789004217362 Hb £210.00
of ancient traditions during
Saladin
the country’s conversion and
initial Islamic period. by Anne-Marie Edde
Contributors discuss, from a Few figures of the Middle Ages, and certainly few
variety of literary, artistic, Muslim leaders, have had such a consistently good
religious and cultural image in both west and east as Saladin, something
perspectives, the years around which presents difficulties as well as oppurtunities
the end of the first millennium to the historian when assessing his reign. In this
CE, when the political monumental study Anne-Marie Edde not only
strength of the ‘Abbasid provides a narrative of the achievements and setbacks
Caliphate was on the wane, of his career, giving attention to its religious and
and when the eastern lands administrative elements as much as to the military
of the Islamic empire began to be take on a fresh and to the war against the Franks, but also builds
‘Persianate’ or ‘PersoIslamic’ character. Separate up a picture of his social, economic and religious
chapters engage with ideas of kingship, authority millieu. Most of all however, she analyses the ways
and identity and their fascinating expression in which Saladin sought to legitimise his rule, and
through the written word, architecture and the in so doing laid the foundations for his
visual arts. 178p b/w illus (I.B. Tauris 2012) extraordinary posthumous image and legacy.
9781780760612 Hb £39.50 Originally published in French in 2008. 660p col pls
(Harvard UP 2011) 9780674055599 Hb £20.00
54 Anglo-Saxon
Forthcoming from Windgather Press Anglo-Saxon England 39
edited by Malcolm Godden and Simon Keynes
Myth and History: Ethnicity and Politics in the Articles in volume 39 include: ‘Why is the
First Millennium British Isles AngloSaxon Chronicle about kings?’ by Nicholas
Brooks, ‘The Old English Life of St Neot and the
by Stephen J. Yeates
legends of King Alfred’ by Malcolm Godden, ‘The
A common assumption
Edgar poems and the poetics of failure in the
concerning the development of
AngloSaxon Chronicle’ by Scott Thompson Smith
the English language and,
and an article focusing on the new discovery of an
therefore British history, is
eighteenth Agnus Dei penny of King Aethelred the
that there was an invasion
Unready by Simon Keynes and Mark Blackburn.
from northern Europe in the
360p b/w illus (Cambridge UP 2011) 9780521895101 Hb
fifth century, the so-called
£90.00
Anglo-Saxon migration. Myth
and History offers a The World Before Domesday: The English
comprehensive re-assessment Aristocracy 871-1066
of the scientific, historical, by Ann Williams
archaeological and linguistic This book explores lordship and aristocracy in later
evidence, debunking this AngloSaxon England. It places emphasis on the
historical model, and showing how Roman texts can duties and responsibilities of the various strata of
be used in conjunction with the other evidence to aristocrats in administration and war, and in parallel
build an alternative picture. Stephen Yeates considers how status was maintained and displayed.
demonstrates that the evidence that has been used Different layers of aristocracy are defined and the
to construct the story of an Anglo-Saxon migration, relationships between them outlined through more
with an incoming population replacing most, if not detailed study of a few individuals: Godwine and
all, of the British population has been found Leofric for the great earls for example, and Osgood
wanting, that initial attempts to interpret literally Clappa and Tovi the Proud for the stallers. 240p
the DNA evidence based on historical sources are (Continuum 2008, Pb 2011) 9781847252395 Hb £60.00,
problematic, and that the best DNA analysis of the 9781441121127 Pb £24.99
British Isles fits the evidence into a broader European
Bede and the End of Time
view which attempts to plot the movement of people
by Peter Darby
across the Continent and which sees the major
Taking account of Bede's beliefs about the end of
migration periods in Europe as occurring in the
time, this book offers sophisticated insights into his
Mesolithic and the Neolithic. 496p, b/w illus (Oxbow
life, his works and the role that eschatological
Books 2012) 9781842174784 HB £29.95
thought played in Anglo-Saxon society. Close
***Only £23.95 until publication*** attention is given to the historical setting of each
source text consulted, and original insights are
advanced regarding the chronological sequence of
Bede's writings. The book reveals that Bede's ideas
Leaders of the AngloSaxon Church, From Bede
about time changed over the course of his career,
to Stigand
and it shows how Bede established himself as the
edited by Alexander R. Rumble
foremost expert in eschatology of his age. 261p
The papers in this volume illustrate the important (Ashgate 2012) 9781409430483 Hb £65.00
roles played by individual
Wills and Will-making in Anglo-Saxon England
leading ecclesiastics in
England, both within the by Linda Tollerton
church and in the wider Around 75 wills survive from Anglo-Saxon England
political sphere, from the late or in post-conquest sources; Linda Tollerton here
seventh to the mid eleventh provides a comprehensive study focusing in
century. The undeniable particular on social aspects. After surveying the
authority of Bede and Bishop extant corpus and the circumstances of its
Æthelwold is demonstrated transmission, she first sketches the practical context
but also the influence of of will-making. The provisions of the wills come
lessfamiliar figures such as next, with bequests of land and moveables examined
Bishop Wulfsige of Sherborne, in their social, political and religious contexts, with
Archbishop Ecgberht of York family strategy and lay piety prominent themes. In
and St Leoba. The book draws conclusion she asks why, in a society which valued
on both textual and material evidence to show the oral representations above all the written will
influence (by both deed and reputation) of powerful became so prominent. 327p (Boydell 2011)
personalities not only on the developing institutions 9781903153376 Hb £60.00
of the English church but also on the secular politics
of their time. 204p g/w illus (Boydell 2012)
9781843837008 Hb £55.00
Anglo-Saxon 55
Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, AngloSaxon Art: A New History
Vol.1: c.400-1100 by Leslie Webster
edited by Richard Gameson This book, the first new
A comprehensive survey of the history of the book introduction to the
in Britain from Roman through Anglo-Saxon to subject for 25 years, draws
early Norman times. The expert contributions on the most uptodate
explore the physical form of books, including their research and discoveries
codicology, script and decoration, examine the to explore the character,
circulation and exchange of manuscripts and texts themes, motifs and styles
between England, Ireland, the Celtic realms and the of AngloSaxon art. It
Continent, discuss the production, presentation and traces the changing
use of different classes of texts, ranging from fine nature of that art, the
service books to functional schoolbooks, and different roles it played in
evaluate the libraries that can be associated with AngloSaxon culture, and
particular individuals and institutions. 827p, 56 b/w the various ways it both reflected and influenced
pls (Cambridge UP 2011) 9780521583459 Hb £110.00 the changing world in which it was created. The
book is stunningly illustrated throughout with
Old English Literature and the Old Testament
artefacts from the worldclass collections of the British
edited by Michael Fox and Manish Sharma
Museum and British Library. 256p col illus t/out (British
It would be difficult to
Museum Press 2012) 9780714128092 Pb £18.99
overestimate the importance
Buckland AngloSaxon Cemetery, Dover:
of the Bible in the medieval
world. For the AngloSaxons, Excavations 1994
literary culture emerged from by Keith Parfitt and Trevor Anderson
sustained and intensive The 1994 excavations at Buckland, Dover, uncovered
biblical study. Old English another 244 graves in the extensive AngloSaxon
Literature and the Old Testament cemetery first excavated by Professor Vera Evison in
considers the importance of 1951-3. Just over two thirds of the burials contained
the Old Testament from a grave goods. Several male burials contained a sword,
variety of disciplinary others a spear and sometimes a shield. Women’s
perspectives, from graves included brooches and beads and a variety
comparative to intertextual of other objects.This book presents a detailed study
and historical. Though the essays focus on of the cemetery, the individuals interred therein and
individual works, authors, or trends, including the their grave goods. (Canterbury Archaeological Trust
Interrogationes Sigewulfi, Genesis A, and Daniel, 2012) 9781870545235 hb £35.00
each ultimately speaks to the vernacular corpus as a Spong Hill IX: Chronology and Synthesis
whole, suggesting approaches and methodologies
edited by C. Hills and S. Lucy
for further study. 397p (Toronto UP 2012)
Spong Hill, with over 2500 cremations, remains the
9780802098542 Hb £50.00
largest early Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery to
A Feast of Creatures: AngloSaxon Riddle Songs have been excavated in Britain. This volume presents
edited and translated by Craig Williamson the long-awaited chronology and synthesis of the
Craig Williamson offers a new translation into site. It gives a detailed overview of the artefactual
modern English poetry of the 91 riddles compiled in evidence, which includes over 1200 objects of bone,
the Exeter Book. He includes a substantial antler and ivory. A revised phasing and chronology
introduction which explores the genre of the of the site is offered, which argues that it is largely
OldEnglish riddle and their popularity and role in fifthcentury in date. 424p (McDonald Institute 2012)
AngloSaxon society, as well as a detailed 9781902937625 HB £59.00 ***NYP***
commentary which explores some of the metaphors Experimental Archaeology and Fire: the
and motifs employed in the riddles, as well as their
investigation of a burnt reconstruction at West
solutions. 230p (University of Pennsylvania Press 2011)
Stow AngloSaxon Village
9780812211290 Pb £14.00
by Jess Tipper
New Voices on Early Medieval Sculpture in
The destruction by fire of a reconstruction of a
Britain and Ireland sunken-featured building at West Stow in Suffolk,
edited by Michael F. Reed presented a unique opportunity for experimental
Seven papers which aim to place early medieval archaeology, and provides new insight into the
insular sculpture more firmly in its social and nature of burnt buildings in the archaeological
cultural context, emphasising aspects of production record.The burnt remains of the reconstruction were
and patronage, as well as the importance of meticulously excavated and recorded using
monuments in the construction and maintenance conventional methods combined with a range of
of social memory. 74p b/w illus (BAR BS 542, forensic fire investigation techniques, which has
Archaeopress 2011) 9781407308401 pb £28.00 enabled the seat of the fire and sequence of
destruction to be identified. 200p (East Anglian
Archaeology 2012) 9780956874733 PB £20.00 ***NYP***
56 Anglo-Saxon and Viking
Middle Saxon Animal Husbandry in East Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early
Anglia Medieval Scandinavia
by Pam Crabtree edited by Bjorn Poulsen and Soren Michael
This comparative study of three large Middle Saxon Sindbaek
faunal assemblages from eastern England includes This volume aims to define the changing nature of
the animal bone remains from the estate centres of lordship in Viking and early medieval Scandinavia.
Brandon in western Suffolk and Wicken Bonhunt Seventeen thematic chapters by leading scholars
in northwestern Essex, and the faunal remains survey and assess the state of research and provide
recovered from a number of sites within the town a new baseline for interdisciplinary discussions. The
of Ipswich. All three sites produced large faunal book traces the power of tributary relations, forged
assemblages that were analysed using standard through personal ties, gifts, duties, and feasting in
archaeozoological methods, and conclusions are great halls, and their gradual transformation into
drawn regarding consumption, food production and the feudal bonds of levies and landrent. 336p (Brepols
provisioning at the three sites. The results are 2011) 9782503531311 Hb £100.00
compared to the faunal assemblages that have been The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings,
recovered from other Early and Middle Saxon sites
Merchants and Mercenaries in the Remaking
in eastern England. 80p (East Anglian Archaeology
of Northern Europe
2012) 9780956874719 PB £12.00
by Anders Winroth
Lundenwic: Excavations in Middle Saxon
Anders Winroth argues for a
London 1987-2000 radically new interpretation of
by Robert Cowie and Lyn Blackmore with Anne the conversion of Scandinavia
Davis, Jackie Keily and Kevin Rielly from paganism to Christianity
This monograph provides the first detailed overview in the Early Middle Ages.
of the archaeological evidence for the trading port Overturning the received
of Ludenwic, placing it in its regional, national and narrative of Europe’s military
international context. The results of fieldwork at 18 and religious conquest and
locations on the site of the former Middle Saxon colonization of the region, he
settlement are followed by essays on various aspects contends that rather than
of the settlement, including its geographical setting, acting as passive recipients,
activity predating Lundenwic , the development, size Scandinavians converted to Christianity because it
and layout of the emporium, food production and was in individual chieftains’ political, economic, and
consumption, crafts and industry, trade, dress and cultural interests to do so. 238p b/w illus (Yale UP
religion. 350pp, fully illustrated in colour (Museum of 2012) 9780300170269 Hb £30.00
London Archaeology 2012) 9781907586149 hb £34.00 Reykholt: Archaeological Investigations at a
The Winchester Mint and Coins and Related High Status Farm in Western Iceland
Finds from the Excavations of 1961-71 by Gudrun Sveinbjarnardottir
edited by Martin Biddle, with a catalogue of the Reykholt in Borgarfjördur is among the most
coins of the mint by Yvonne Harvey important historical sites in Iceland. One of the first
Over three and a half stadir, or church centres, established in the early
centuries from the 880s to twelfth century, Reykholt remained a major
1250, moneyers working ecclesiastical and political centre throughout the
in Winchester produced at medieval period and beyond. The site is probably
the very least 24 million best known for its thirteenthcentury occupant, the
silver pennies. About five writer and chieftain Snorri Sturluson, author of the
and a half thousand Prose Edda and Heimskringla among other works.
survive in national and The first systematic excavations at the site, which
local museums and private are presented in this volume, took place between 1987
collections all over the and 1989, and 1997 and 2003. (National Museum of
world and have been Iceland 2012) 9789979790358 Pb £45.00
sought out, photographed The Academy of Odin: Selected Papers on Old
(some 3200 coins in 6400 Norse Literature
images detailing both sides), and minutely catalogued
by Lars Lonnroth
by Yvonne Harvey for this volume. In this first
Collects 17 papers by Lonnroth exploring various
account of a major English mint to have been made
aspects of Old Norse literature. Topics include the
in forty years, a team of leading authorities have
genesis of Icelandic saga writing, narrative and
studied and analysed the use the Winchester moneyers
rhetoric in the sagas, structure and ideology, orality
made of the dies, and together with the size, weight,
and the ways in which the sagas were originally
and the surviving number of coins from each pair of
presented, and the modern reception of the sagas.
dies, have produced a detailed account of the varying
426p (University Press of Southern Denmark 2011)
fortunes of the mint over this period. 725p b/w illus
9788776745899 hb £60.00
(Oxford UP 2012) 9780198131724 Hb £100.00
Early Medieval Europe 57
Thor: From Myth to Marvel Frankland : The Franks and the World of Early
by Martin Arnold Medieval Europe
This is an exploration of how the legend of Thor has edited by Paul Fouracre and David Ganz
been adopted, adapted and transformed through This collection of essays is dedicated to Janet Nelson,
history. Beginning with a thorough examination of and focuses on aspects of the wider influence of
Thor’s appearances in the early medieval Eddas, and Francia in the early medieval world. The papers
his importance in Pagan Scandinavia, Martin Arnold range across all the regions of Europe affected by
investigates the continuing relevance of Thor after Frankish culture and explore themes which reflect
the Christian conversion, and the ways in which the cutting edge of the work inspired by Janet
Christian writers reconceptualized the old Gods. He Nelson: memory, queenship, the treatment of
then moves forward to enlightenment Europe, before prisoners of war, penance, the use of property,
examining the Nazi fascination with Thor and his historiography, palaeography, prosopography and
current incarnation as a Marvel superhero. 225p religious organization. 340p (Manchester UP 2008,
(Continuum 2011) 9781441135421 pb £19.99 Pb 2012) 9780719076695 Hb £55.00, 9780719087721
A Female Legendary From Iceland: Manuscripta Pb £14.99
Nordica Charlemagne’s Survey of the Holy Land
edited by Kirsten Wolf by Michael McCormick
The manuscript “AM 429 12mo” was written c. 1500 McCormick rehabilitates and
for the use of the nuns at the Benedictine monastery reinterprets one of the most
Kirkjubor in southern Iceland. It comprises ten texts neglected and extraordinary
that were translations of Latin legends based on sources from Charlemagne’s
female saints, relating their terrible suffering and later revival of the Roman empire:
martyrdom. The text is reproduced in a diplomatic the report of a factfinding
version, which on the CD-ROM is accompanied by a mission to the Christian
normalised version as well as the Latin texts. 147p, church of the Holy Land.
CDRom (Museum Tusculanum Press 2011) The roll of documents
9788763531634 £94.99 translated and edited in this
Roman Barbarians: The Royal Court and volume preserves the most
Culture in the Early Medieval West detailed statistical portrait
before the Domesday Book of the finances,
by Yitzhak Hen
monuments (including exact dimensions), and
This superb book incisively tackles the pervasive view
female and male personnel of any major Christian
that the fifth century onwards saw catastrophic
church. In recounting Charlemagne’s move to
cultural decline in the successor states of the western
outflank the Byzantine emperor, McCormick
Empire, only halted by Charlemagne’s Carolingian
constructs a microhistory of the Frankish king’s
Renaissance. Through study of the court culture and
ambitions and formidable organizational talents for
patronage of such kings as Theoderic, Thrasamund,
running an empire. 287p, fold out edition of the survey
Chlothar II, Dagobert I and Sisebut Yitzhak Hen
(Dumbarton Oaks 2011) 9780884023630 Hb £29.95
shows that these rulers continued to concern
themselves intimately with promoting literary and Morality and Masculinity in the Carolingian
cultural works and learning. A far more vibrant Empire
picture of the Early Middle Ages thus emerges, one by Rachel Stone
in which learning was not an isolated monastic This book explores the complex interaction between
phenomenon, and where the seeds for the Christian moral ideals and
Carolingian Renaissance were sown. 213p maps social realities, and between
(Palgrave 2007, Pb 2011) 9780333786659 hb £48.00, religious reformers and the
9780333786666 Pb £19.99 lay political elite they
Local, Regional and Ethnic Identities in Early addressed. It uses the
Medieval Cemeteries in Bavaria numerous texts addressed to
a lay audience (including lay
by Susan Hackenbeck
mirrors, secular poetry,
This book examines a group of early medieval
political polemic, historical
cemeteries in Bavaria to draw out the ways in which
writings and legislation) to
local, regional and ethnic identities were expressed
examine how Biblical and
through funerary practice. A detailed study of grave
patristic moral ideas were
goods, funerary dress and cemetery organisation
reshaped to become
reveals that these identities developed within
compatible with the realities of noble life in the
competing definitions of romanitas and notions of
Carolingian empire. This innovative analysis of
what it meant to be ‘barbarian’. 173p b/w illus (Edizioni
Carolingian moral norms demonstrates how gender
All’Insegna del Giglio 2011) 9788878144323 Pb £26.00
interacted with political and religious thought to
create a distinctive Frankish elite culture, presenting
a new picture of early medieval masculinity. 399p
(Cambridge UP 2012) 9781107006744 Hb £60.00
58 Early Medieval Europe and Medieval England
Ansgar, Rimbert and the Forged Foundations Roles of the Sea in Medieval England
of Hamburg-Bremen by Richard Gorski
by Eric Knibbs The physical fact of the
Ansgar and Rimbert are reknowed their work kingdom’s insularity made the
among the pagan peoples of the North and their seas around England
foundation of an archdiocese centred at Hamburg fundamentally important to
and Bremen. But Ansgar and Rimbert were also its development within the
clever forgers who wove a complex tapestry of myths British Isles and in relation to
and halftruths about themselves and their mission. mainland Europe. At times
This book couples detailed philological and they acted as barriers; but
diplomatic analysis with broader historical they also, and more often,
contextualization to overturn the consensus view served as highways of
on the basic reliability of the foundation documents exchange, transport and
and Rimbert’s Vita Anskarii. By revising our communication, and it is this
understanding of Carolingian northeastern aspect which the essays collected here emphasise.
expansion after Charlemagne, it provides new Foremost among the key roles performed by the sea
insight into the political and ecclesiastical history which are addressed is war: the infrastructure,
of early medieval Europe. 258p (Ashgate 2011) logistics, politics, and personnel of English seaborne
9781409428824 Hb £65.00 expeditions are assessed, most notably for the period
of the Hundred Years War. The second major facet
Richer of Saint-Remi: Histories, Volume I,
of England’s relationship with the sea was the
Books 1-2
generation of wealth: this is addressed in its own
edited and translated by Justin Lake
right and as an intrinsic aspect of warfare and piracy.
The Historia of Richer of SaintRemi (ca. 950-ca. 1000)
194p (Boydell 2012) 9781843837015 Hb £50.00
provides a rare contemporary account of the waning
Medieval Intrigue: Decoding Royal
Carolingian dynasty, accession of Hugh Capet, and
failed rebellion of Charles of Lorraine. Beginning in Conspiracies
888, the Historia surveys a tumultuous century in by Ian Mortimer
which two competing dynasties struggled for Ian Mortimer is well known as one of the foremost
supremacy, while great magnates seized upon the writers of popular medieval history; here he writes
opportunity to carve out their own principalities. for a more academic audience, responding to criticism
Latin text with parallel English translation. 421p of some of his more controversial theories, and
(Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard UP 2011) attempting to provide a theoretical framework for
9780674060036 Hb £19.95 approaching episodes of mystery and conspiracy in
medieval sources. The first part of the book revisits
Richer of Saint-Remi: Histories, Volume II,
his thesis that Edward II was not murdered in
Books 3-4
Berkeley Castle, but secretly kept alive by first Roger
edited and translated by Justin Lake
Mortimer and then Edward III, and adds pieces on
490p (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard UP
the death of Richard II and on the development of
2011) 9780674061590 Hb £19.95
theories of royal legitimacy. The second adds a
Origins of the English Parliament, 924-1327 scientific sheen to Mortimer’s methodology, and
by J.R. Maddicott responding to postmodernism and critical theory,
This study provides a aims to show that via information-based methods,
magisterial account of the it is possible to demonstrate certainty about certain
evolution of parliament, from historical propositions. 375p (Continuum 2010, Pb
its earliest beginnings in the 2012) 9781847065896 Hb £20.00, 9781441102690 Pb
late Anglo-Saxon period. £10.99
Covering an exceptionally Yorkist Lord: John Howard, Duke of Norfolk,
long time span, it takes c.1425-1485
readers to the roots of the by Anne Crawford
English state’s central
John Howard, baron Howard and first duke of
institution, showing how
Norfolk, was one of the most important men of the
the more familiar parliament
Yorkist period. With the exceptions of the kings he
of late medieval and early
served, no other man of the fifteenth century peerage
modern England came into being, and illuminating
has left us so much in the way of evidence of his
the close relationship between significant political
day-to-day life, not only of his royal service but his
events such as Magna Carta and the wider course
domestic concerns. Taken together, these surviving
of institutional change. Above all, it illustrates clearly
records illustrate almost every aspect of his life and
how the origins of parliament lie not in the late
bring him alive: talented, efficient, ambitious and not
thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, as has
above some dishonourable dealings, short-tempered,
usually been argued, but in a much more distant
paternalistic and loyal. 210p (Continuum 2010, Pb 2012)
past. 526p (Oxford UP 2010, Pb 2012) 9780199585502
9781441165510 Hb £70.00, 9781441152015 Pb £24.99
Hb £40.00, 9780199645343 Pb £22.99