Using close textual analysis, this thesis has identified similarities and differences in the ways in which the Anglo-Saxon king, Æthelstan, is depicted in narrative sources from England, the Continent and Scandinavia during the tenth to the thirteenth centuries; how historical, cultural, and literary contexts influenced their writers and their patrons and how literary analysis might contribute further to historical understandings of Æthelstan and his reign. Central to my analysis are the concepts of the sources as textual and visual narratives, deriving contemporary meaning from their intertextuality with other sources and fulfilling a function of recording and creating social memories for their own time and for the future. The thesis does not argue for the historical veracity of any one version over another but for the individual narrative ‗voices‘ to be heard and understood as part of their own historical, national and contemporary backgrounds. Based on my literary analysis of the texts I have questioned some generally held historical interpretations, suggested some alternative interpretations of my own and identified further areas for research. The thesis demonstrates that there are similarities but also significant differences in the way Æthelstan is depicted both between and within the English, Continental and Scandinavian traditions. It identifies a number of narratives within the sources that provide the basis for further research on Æthelstan: his Carolingian ambitions, his role as foster-father to Hákon of Norway, the possibility that he had a second coronation to confirm his claim to be King of all Britain and the depictions of him as a king-maker and a friend and ally of the Vikings.

This thesis discusses the practice and sites of Latin Christian pilgrimage in the Holy Land during the period between the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Damascus, in 1187, and the end of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291 following the capture of Acre by al-Ashraf Khalīl, the Mamlūk sultan. It demonstrates how pilgrimage of this period changed from pre-1187 practices, and discusses how pilgrimage developed from 1187 to 1291 under the influence of a continued Frankish political presence in the Holy Land which did not extend to control over most of the holy sites. It investigates this through an analysis of both the texts written by and for pilgrims at this time, and a variety of other documentary and chronicle source material. It concludes that Holy Land pilgrimage had a different character to that practised during the period 1099 to 1187 due to: 1) changing access to holy sites as a result of raiding and treaties, in some cases causing complete breaks with earlier tradition; 2) Islamic political control of holy sites; and 3) interaction with non-Latin Christians. Many of the unique aspects of Holy Land pilgrimage, with its dearth of healing shrines and indulgences, focus on the New Testament and the life of Christ, and large number of holy associations in a small area, remained unchanged, but the details of where pilgrims went and the balance of site-types visited was modified. Pilgrims visited a broader range of sites, most of which were shared with Greek and Eastern Christians, and some of which were shared with non-Christians. The geography of several sites changed, and they began to be identified with other locations. New holy sites were visited for the first time, while the area within the walls of Jerusalem was harder to visit than ever. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that Latin Christian holy sites and pilgrimage traditions in the Holy Land were not static, and continued to develop and change into the fourteenth century.

Ripon Minster has usually been discussed in the context of England’s cathedrals and monastic churches. Its status as parish church has been overlooked. This thesis examines its role as parish church and its place in the society of its parish. An interdisciplinary approach is employed to analyse both the building and the institution. The following subjects are addressed: the exercise of power and authority by the minster clergy, the social significance of the use of space in the minster, the renovation of the church building after 1450, the minster as an employer of building craftsmen, and the minster as landlord. The Chapter of canons wielded significant power over the parish with its authority coming from St Wilfrid. The institutional aspect of the minster set it apart from most contemporary parish churches and had an effect on how parishioners could use and alter the building, and also had a significant impact on liturgy and commemoration. Nevertheless, lay foundation of guilds within the minster and widespread support for the building campaigns after 1450 demonstrate devotion to the minster as parish church. By analysing the use of the building, the disruptive effects of the tower repair and nave renovation campaigns are demonstrated. While the primary focus is on the building and its use, the minster cannot be understood in its social context without examining it in the wider parish. Analysis of the chapels and charitable institutions of the parish shows that the minster became increasingly important as parish church around 1400. The Fabric’s employment practices and urban estate management are also significant in that they show how the minster’s needs fuelled the building industry and shaped the urban landscape in a time when the Fabric was forced to respond to the social changes caused by the Black Death.

This thesis ultimately seeks to understand how and why the London armourers came to be so closely associated with the politics and uprisings of London’s controversial mayor, John Northampton (1381-1383). However, because the armourers were not incorporated as a combined guild until 1453, this thesis must first analyse how the armourers developed as an industry, and how their workshop, household, and socio-industrial networks and organisations developed and helped to inform their political identities. This is the first time that the fourteenth-century London armourers have been rigorously examined as a collective of constituent specialist industries, and this thesis contributes to an understanding of how late medieval small crafts developed outside of guilds. Through examining armourers’ workshops, households, and socio-industrial networks, this thesis arrives at several important conclusions about the nature of the English industry in the fourteenth century which challenge existing scholarship. It finds evidence to explode scholarly myths that English armour was cheap and poorly made through lack of skill, that women did not participate in the industry, and that regulation of the industry was entirely imposed from outside. Finally, this study shows that the armourers were the most significant participants in the 1384 Mayoralty Riots because their workshop, household, and socio-industrial networks had all contributed to the development of a shared political identity, because Northampton’s opponent Nicholas Brembre attacked that identity, and because the Crown and City’s draconian policies towards the local armour market had grown increasingly severe prior to the riots. This thesis argues that the armourers’ political identity developed as an extension of their workshop, household, and socioindustrial identities and networks, and that each of these contributed to their overall organisational development outside of a guild structure.

This thesis focuses on four insular French texts produced between c. 1184 and c. 1275 that can be connected to the abbey of St Albans: Beneit of St Albans' Life of Thomas Becket, four fragmentary illustrated leaves known as the Becket Leaves, Thomas of Kent's Roman de toute chevalerie (a romance about Alexander the Great), and the anonymous Estoire le rei Alixaundre. Despite St Albans' wealth and status in the Middle Ages, these texts have received very little attention from literary scholars. I have rectified this by providing detailed readings of all four texts. My work also considers the texts' potential audiences, taking into account both monastic and secular reception, and reads them in the light of their contemporary literary, cultural, and political circumstances. Throughout, the thesis considers the implications of the choice of French as a language of composition. It uses predominantly literary methodologies in a historicising mode, and also examines the manuscript culture of each text. This thesis is split into two parts, each with two chapters and an introduction setting the St Albans texts into their wider literary contexts. The first half of the thesis deals with the lives of Thomas Becket, with particular reference to how the two St Albans texts are distinct in the corpus of biographies of Becket in their approaches to Becket and Henry II. The second half covers the two narratives of Alexander the Great, which are the only surviving insular French Alexander texts. Analysis of these four exceptional texts provides an insight into the audiences St Albans was hoping to attract and also the abbey's attempt to style itself as a counsellor to those in power.

Cette thèse explore l'habitat domestique traditionnel à l'époque mamelouke (XIIIe-XVIe siècle) dans les villes de Damas et de Homs. Le sujet a été élargi à la ville de Hama à l'époque ottomane (XVIIIe siècle). Aucune de ces villes n'a fait l'objet d'études approfondies et si les grandes demeures du Caire et de Tunis ont été relevées et étudiées, peu de recherches ont encore été faites sur celles de la Syrie. L'étude de l'architecture de l'habitat soulève des questions, notamment pour ces trois villes, qu'on peut classer en deux catégories : la première tient à l'architecture même de l'habitat et la seconde résulte de l'interaction de l'architecture de la demeure avec l'homme, l'environnement et la nature. La première partie de la thèse a pour objet l'étude de 6 demeures de l'époque mamelouke dans les villes de Homs et de Damas. La deuxième partie traitera de l'époque de transition mamelouke-ottomane à Damas (XVIe siècle), puis de l'époque ottomane (XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles). L'étude de l'habitat de Hama (XVIe et XVIIe siècles) est traitée séparément. La troisième partie, à travers des descriptions morphologiques, est consacrée aux réflexions sur l'habitat traditionnel. Il est ainsi possible d'établir des traits constants dans l'architecture mamelouke domestique des trois villes étudiées en ce qui concerne la construction, l'organisation et la décoration de leurs demeures. Grâce à l'analyse et à la reconstitution graphique (plans, élévations, photos) cette thèse montre donc que l'époque mamelouke a été la plus innovante en architecture et en décoration, l'époque ottomane s'étant plutôt distinguée par le raffinement dans les motifs de la décoration / This thesis explores the traditional domestic habitat during the mamluk period (from the 13th to the 16th century) in the towns of Damas and Homs. Its field of study was extended to the town of Hama during the ottoman period (18th century). None of these towns had been extensively studied before; in fact, whereas the major houses of Cairo and Tunis have been surveyed and analyzed, very few studies had been devoted to the Syrian cities until this work. Studying the architecture of any habitat raises a certain number of questions, especially as far as the selected Syrian towns are concerned. Such questions can be divided into two sets: the first one related to the very architecture of their habitat, the second one to the interaction of the architecture of the buildings with man, his environment and nature. The first part of the thesis studies six dwellings at the mamluk period in the towns of Hama and Damas.The second part deals with the transitional mamluk/ottoman period and with the ottoman period (17th-18th centuries). The study of Hama's habitat is dealt with separately. The third part is devoted to more theoretical points about the traditional habitats, thanks to morphological descriptions.Thus it is possible to draw up constant features in the domestic mamluk architecture of the three towns, as far as the construction, organization and decoration of their houses is concerned.Thanks to the above analyses and the graphic reconstruction of the dwellings (plans, scales, photos), the thesis shows that the mamluk period was the most innovative one in architecture and decoration, whereas the ottoman period was most distinctive for the refinement in its decorative patterns and designs

The study researches the origins and evolution of Herefordshire’s medieval landscape from the standpoint of its late Anglo-Saxon territorial organization, both secular and ecclesiastical. It contributes to the genre of topographical studies, adopting a methodology of regression mapping. It identifies and explores the chronology for the development of middle Anglo-Saxon land-units within the Mercian provincia of the Magonsaete, proposing a reassessment of the timescale by when the latter people became the dominant group within the provincia. It argues for the existence of fourteen early-to-mid Anglo-Saxon old minster territories, at least three of which reveal British Church origins, and proposes a model for the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon see at Hereford. It suggests a ninth-century chronology for the incorporation into Mercia of the northern and eastern districts of the kingdom of Ergyng and a tenth-century terminus ante quem for the shire’s creation. It argues that aspects of the shire’s infrastructure are British in origin. It concludes by positing the existence within Herefordshire of two relict British tribal districts which once belonged to a sixth-century kingdom of Powys of similar size to those found in Ergyng.

This thesis examines three manuscripts which demonstrate negative attitudes towards the Latin translation of the fourteenth-century Old French mystical work The Mirror of Simple Souls, written by Marguerite Porete. Marguerite was burned at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310, and her Mirror was also condemned and meant to be destroyed. The Mirror survived inquisitorial efforts to exterminate it, was translated into Italian, Middle English, and Latin, and became accepted and valued by many religious circles in the later fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Examination of the Latin manuscripts, however, demonstrates that there was also a continuing trend of opposition towards and condemnation of the Mirror, even after its original Parisian condemnation was forgotten. This level of opposition is not seen in the Mirror's other vernacular circulations, making the Latin tradition unique in the amount of censure it received. This demonstrates a multi-faceted tradition in the Mirror's circulation, showing that the Mirror, rather than entering definitively into either the realm of orthodoxy or heresy, instead had a place in both, occupying a grey area between the two. This thesis provides new and detailed information on manuscripts which have never been studied in their own right by Mirror scholars, and examines these codices' implications both for the circulation of the Latin tradition and for the history of the Mirror's post-condemnation circulation as a whole.

This thesis investigates the role of queens in ninth and tenth century Italy. During the Carolingian period the Italian kingdom saw significant involvement of royal women in political affairs. This trend continued after the Carolingian empire collapsed in 888, as Italy became the theatre of struggles for the royal and imperial title, which resulted in a quick succession of local rulers. By investigating Italian queens, my work aims at reassessing some aspects of Italian royal politics. Furthermore, it contributes to the study of medieval queenship, exploring a context which has been overlooked with regard to female authority. The work which has been done on queens over the last decades has attempted to build a coherent model of early medieval queenship; scholars have often privileged the analysis of continuities and similarities in the study of queens' prerogatives and resources. This thesis challenges this model and underlines the peculiarities of individual queens. My analysis demonstrates that, by deconstructing the coherent model established by historiography, it is possible to underline the individual experiences, resources and strengths of each royal woman, and therefore create a new way to look at the history of queens and queenship. The thesis is divided into four main thematic sections. After having introduced the subject and the relevant historiography on the topic in the introduction, in Chapter 2 I consider ideas about queenship as expressed by narrative and normative sources. Chapter 3 deals with royal diplomas, which are a valuable resource for the understanding of queens' reigns. Chapter 4 analyses queens' dowers and monastic patronage. Chapter 5 examines the experience of Italian royal widows. Finally, the conclusive chapter outlines the significance of this thesis for the broader understanding of medieval queenship.

The study focuses on the unique phenomenon of society’s changing attitudes towards the Crusades. Right from its inception the Crusades made a lasting impact on history, an impact which is still evident in the present day. Several aspects contributed to the start of the Crusades, among them the world and ideology of the eleventh century, the era in which the Crusades began. In current times there have been calls demanding an apology for the Crusades, while at the same time some within Christianity have felt the need to apologise for the atrocities of the Crusades. The Crusades are often blamed for the animosity between Christians and Muslims, a situation worsened by the fact that leaders on both sides misuse the word ‘crusade’ for their own agendas. The thesis is written within a historiographical framework making use of both critical enquiry and historical criticism. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M. Th. (Church history)