The starting point for this dissertation was the fact that the Old English poem The Descent into Hell had received so little critical attention and was generally omitted from anthologies of Old English poetry. From close examination of the poem it became evident that the central focus was not the apocryphal story of Christ’s Descent, but on John the Baptist and Baptism. This thesis offers a reinterpretation of the poem’s central theme and emphasizes its poetic and stylistic qualities. In order to do that, a new edition of the poem was required. Also addressed in this thesis is an examination of the vexing question concerning the various lacunae that were the result of damage to the manuscript. This thesis focuses on re-interpretation, and the established text and translation included is the base for the subsequent literary analysis. The core of this thesis is a critical edition of the poem; the editorial methods used are described in detail on pages 11-20. Central to the main argument is that the poem’s current title, assigned by ASPR in 1936, misrepresents the theme of the poem, causing the reader to expect a work on the Descent, and thus being confused as a result. I argue rather that the poem illuminates the central Christian sacrament of Baptism. This study addresses the questions: What is the main theme? What is the poem’s didactic function? What literary approaches help convey the central message? What evidence suggests that a name change is justified? and What benefits can result from a name change? The first chapter highlights various linguistic features relevant for the editing of the poem and provides a summary of the main codicological characteristics of the manuscript in which the poem is preserved. Chapter II provides an examination of the theme of the descensus, and assesses its historiographical prominence in religious thought leading up to and including the Anglo-Saxon period. My argument disproves the current interpretation of the poem as a descensus narrative, although the image of the Descent still plays a symbolic role. Chapter III provides a literary analysis of the poem. The purpose of this chapter is to enrich modern scholarly perceptions of the Exeter Book poem, offer a more suitable title and contribute to continued scholarly discussion and analysis of the Exeter Book and its compilation. Chapter IV assesses the poem within a relevant comparative context, whilst further reinforcing its central theme and function. With respect to editing the text, effort has been made to retain the manuscript reading except where there are obvious errors, lacunae or strong evidence necessitating change. As this is a critical edition, the Anglo-Saxon poem has been presented here using modern conventions of capitalization, punctuation, caesuras and line divisions. However, since the manuscript that contains the poem is damaged, I have not included conjectures in instances where little or no evidence would justify emendations. In instances where there are identifiable alterations to the original text then such emendations have been noted in the Apparatus and Commentary. The translation offers a clear and idiomatic rendition of the poem which endeavours to convey the meaning of the text rather than sacrifice meaning for stylistic reasons. This dissertation also provides a diplomatic transcription and presents digital reconstructions of the manuscript, offering a variety of interpretations of the poem. The guiding principles for this dissertation have been to create an edition that reveals the poem’s main theme of Baptism and to demonstrate that the liturgical structure, aided by allusions and dramatic effects functions didactically. Undoubtedly because of the lacunae and contextual problems, The Descent into Hell has become a somewhat marginalized poem in the study of Anglo-Saxon verse; however, the textual analysis in this dissertation provides a guide towards understanding the poem’s main theme and offers fresh insight into its place and significance within the corpus of Old English poetry.

This study concerns two women who were religiously active either side of the Great Schism (1378–1417), a period of intensification of the excesses of personal pride and political ambition that divided the western Church and caused distress to devoted, thoughtful laity and clerics alike. Devout laity sought new expressions of piety in these stressful times and through examining the written legacies of two non-enclosed religious women, Caterina Benincasa and Margery Kempe, I explore not only the contemplative/devotional practices that characterise them, but also the clerics upon whom they relied for protection, support and guidance in male-dominated, strife-ridden medieval Europe. The two women, a northern Italian lifelong virgin for Christ and an East Anglian mother of fourteen children, prima facie, appear to have little in common except claimed illiteracy, a diversity of influences and acknowledging Bridget of Sweden as a fundamental inspirational source. However, both of their personal and literary management teams included members of several religious orders and their written productions were mostly dictated to and edited by men. They both negotiated their ecclesiastical acceptance from the position of institutionally inferior women through the exclusively female rôles of mother/sister/daughter in exerting influence over their father/brother/son managers through confronting them with their male self-images. Although the management practices applied in each case were very different in terms of structure and hierarchical level, the women‘s negotiations with the men followed similar lines, albeit through different written media. Caterina‘s negotiating techniques are found in the immediate medium of her letters and they involve persuasion and instruction as she tries to create situations that she can control in furtherance of her objectives. The study includes a selection of twelve letters that I have translated in full and analysed from the perspective of the register of the dialogues, the style and the imagery contained therein. Evidence of Margery Kempe‘s influence over her managers, including her husband, comes solely from the medium of the retrospective narrative of her Book in which she chooses the events that illustrate how she reacts to and manipulates people and situations to her advantage. The clerical managers were responsible for keeping their head-strong charges compliant with ever-changing contemporary views of orthodoxy within parameters negotiated between the women and the institutional church. Although there are clear, identifiable parallels between the managers in their styles and techniques, there are also differences rooted in the managers‘ perceptions of the two women‘s respective contributions to the furtherance of institutional aims. Caterina‘s situation was that of a woman whose institutional support was considered necessary at the highest levels of the Church‘s management structure. In Margery Kempe‘s case the management seemed to use her to develop aspects of their local inter-institutional competition for status and alms in Lynn. Despite this difference in influential level there is the strong probability of personal contact and shared theological academic backgrounds among the clerics that draws the teams together. This study concentrates primarily on comparing and contrasting the subtleties of the negotiations between each woman and her managers, negotiations which are often influenced by the women‘s introduction of the transcendental force of God‘s will as revealed only to them, and secondarily on the possible connections between the managers that link England to Italy, Lynn to Siena and Margery to Caterina. The management techniques revealed are independent of any connections between the managers and there is little by way of common techniques apart from the complexities of reciprocal management and the women‘s exploitation of male conceptions of what is appropriate to themselves (the managers) and to women in the Church.

This dissertation focuses on fragments of Notre Dame manuscripts that made their way to German speaking Europe during the medieval period. The first chapter focuses on their contexts of reuse. Dominican, Cistercian as well as Franciscan bookbinders played a role in these processes of medieval and early modern recycling. The potential for fragments to elucidate bookbinders’ techniques will be explored, and existing hypotheses as to the circulation of Notre Dame manuscripts will be critically reviewed. Furthermore, an emphasis is placed on the importance of the reconstruction of medieval book collections. The second chapter is dedicated to the discovery of a set of conductus fragments reused by a bookbinder of the Dominican convent of Soest. Taking one known fragment as a point of departure, I was able to assign five further leaves(now in Münster, Cambridge and New Haven) to this set of fragments. The third chapter sheds new light on the history of two host volumes, in which, during the twentieth century, organum fragments were discovered. It addresses questions of the changing ownership of manuscripts, focusing on the role of post Reformation and nineteenth century book collectors. The final chapter, a case study of the conductus Porta salutis ave, discusses editorial problems in conjunction with a close analysis of the piece’s main stylistic features. As the text was originally designed as a seal inscription, questions of material culture and music are also addressed. Furthermore, my systematic search for text sources for the distich Porta salutis ave revealed more than twenty previously unconsidered manuscripts transmitting the poetic text only, whose fuller, contents point to complementary contexts and functions to those suggested in the musical sources and the seals.

This thesis employs a gendered reading of contemporary accounts in order to explore how men’s expert performances in tournaments enabled them to achieve high status manhood during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century when England witnessed a resurgence of chivalry. In applying medieval concepts of masculinity to ideals of both kingship and nobility in the early modern period, it argues for continuity across a period of history that has often been treated as two distinct stages. The aim is to shed light on how tournaments were a fundamental aspect of Edward IV, Henry VII and Henry VIII’s kingship and masculinity, but also on other nobles and gentry men at these courts who also took this martial display seriously. By examining how men’s performances in the joust were used as a means to evaluate their suitability for royal matches, service in warfare and attendance in the privy chamber, I uncover how those few men who dominated the tiltyard were able to achieve an unrivalled masculine status and close friendship with Edward IV and Henry VIII. The emphasis on a chivalrous version of masculinity as a prevalent model for men of high status during the late medieval and early modern period has brought to the forefront of this study a new group of courtiers, who have largely been missing from the historiography.

The archaeological excavation of the early medieval site at Towyn-Y-Capel on the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in North Wales, UK, provided the opportunity to study a large population (122 skeletons) at a site that was in use over a period of up to 550 years (650 -1200 AD). Samples of skeletal materials for this study were taken directly from the site itself .The osteological condition of skeletal material was variable across the site. In general, the upper burials in particular were in the poorest condition, and were mainly fragmented and dispersed due to the ongoing site erosion and diagenetic processes. Conversely, lower “cist” burials were in far better condition. The assessment of skeletal sample condition was used to select materials chosen for genetic analysis, and 44% (54) of the skeletal population were selected for analysis of appropriate samples of tooth and bone. The gross morphology of samples was assessed and 87% of bones and teeth were considered to be in good or fair condition, according to the gross preservation index (GPI) used, while only 2% of bones and no teeth were considered to be in excellent condition. In addition to GPI, a novel technique called Qualitative Light Fluoresence (QLF), based on autofluoresence, was used to ascertain the surface condition of the teeth. Compared to the fluorescence of modern enamel, there was a net loss of 21.8% fluorescence, although the degree of fluorescence from one sample to another varied (with a standard deviation from the mean of 24.973). Histological sections taken from non-human bone finds from the site generally varied less than that indicated by the gross morphology, showing good to excellent histological preservation. Further to gross and histological morphology, ten skeletal samples were selected for detailed investigations, and were analysed for amino acid racemisation and amino acid composition. All samples tested had D/L enatomer Aspartic acid ratio less than 0.1, although 50% of the samples had D/L enatiomer Aspartic acid ratio over 0.08, which indicated that the recovery of aDNA from these skeletal samples was feasible, although the biological condition of the teeth was fairly degraded. The inorganic element profile of the same ten samples showed no discernable anomalies, either due to diet or diagenesis. To consolidate genographic research, strontium isotope analysis was performed and, from the small population subset, three anomalous ratios were found. Two of these were high (Skeletons 33 and 60), indicating that these individuals had spent their childhoods in areas with high strontium ratios, representative of precambrian rock types, possibly older than those of the Holyhead Rock group, such as in Northern Scotland or Norway. The skeletal samples yielding the lowest strontium ratio (Skeleton 52) are of compelling interest, since the ratio is indicative of upbringing in only one place in the North Atlantic, namely Iceland. In this study, DNA recovery was performed on teeth and bones from the site, after extensive decalcification of samples, and also extraction and optimisation trials. Amplification of DNA extracted from teeth samples was generally more successful than for bone samples. A random amplification based polymorphic (RAPD) DNA technique was utilised to “fingerprint” human and animal samples with limited success. Contamination and template variation are likely causes for the lack of success. Amplification using several primers specific for human HV1 & 2 mtDNA targets was also met with limited success. The results show that 14.8% of the skeletal teeth samples were amplified, and these were not commonly reproducible. DNA spiking trials demonstrated that some of the samples were affected by inhibition. Independent confirmation of 9 of 10 successful samples was attained by sequencing, and although sequences were highly degraded, an attempt was made at determining the haplogroups from the sequenced HV1 haplotypes based on likelihood. Generally, the site showed a high predominance of Haplotype K (5) followed by H (2) and U (2) haplogroup profiles.

This thesis studies the origin and role of wealth in the Viking Age (late 8th to 11th century) and Late Norse (11th to 15th century) earldoms of Orkney and Caithness, northern Scotland. It has four aims. Firstly, it attempts to elucidate the key sources of wealth in the earldoms and, more specifically, the possible economic role of fish trade. Secondly, it investigates how control of these sources of wealth may have been distributed within Viking Age and Late Norse society. Thirdly, it attempts to isolate chronological trends in the utilisation of different sources of wealth and the social relations surrounding them. Finally, it was hypothesised that a consideration of these issues might illuminate the character and causes of the transition of Orkney, Caithness and Shetland from a semi-independent and non-Christian Viking Age polity to a periphery of medieval Christian Europe. Part 1 is a geographical and protohistorical survey of Viking Age and Late Norse Orkney, Caithness and Shetland. It discusses available evidence and establishes the considerable wealth of the earldoms. Part 2 investigates the possible sources of this wealth. It concludes by highlighting circumstantial evidence for an export trade in cured fish. Zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data receive particular attention. New methodological tools for interpreting the weight of zooarchaeological assemblages are also discussed. In Part 3, the possibility that medieval fish middens (at sites such as Robert's Haven, Caithness) represent waste from the production of cured fish for export is considered in detail.

This thesis examines the changes forced upon the Roman elite in the evolving political climate of Ostrogothic Italy. It examines what mechanisms the Roman elite employed to renegotiate their position of influence within the state. The relationship the elite had with the past provides evidence for wider changes in society. I assert that, using the language and landscape of the past, the elite formed discourses which responded to, and which attempted to facilitate a realignment in, a changing environment. The education system still provided the Roman elite with a mechanism through which they could define themselves and prepare for what they considered to be the important aspects of the world outside the classroom. Religious discussions and debate in the post-imperial Italy of Late Antiquity were increasingly directed toward attempts to reunite the fractured Roman Empire through a unified empire of Orthodox faith. Having such a close relationship with the Roman Empire and its political and philosophical culture, education and religion are particularly suitable fields to reflect the changes to the political map of the Roman Empire. Focusing on the elite’s relationship with education and religion, this thesis will uncover examples of continuity and change which are implied by the construction of, and interaction with, discourses designed to facilitate the elite’s renegotiation strategies. Reconstructing the education of prominent members of the elite from their writings provides the evidence for such discourses. The emphasis on this part of the thesis is on discovering how the discourses circulating in relation to education responded to the political and philosophical problems through the language of the past and what these responses tell us about changes in the present. The religious discussion focuses on the attempts of the opinion formers in Italy to create and direct narratives designed to establish the superiority of one religious world-view over another. An examination of the language of tradition in the construction of these narratives provides evidence for the potency of the past in the decision-making process and ideology- forming strategies of the Roman elite. It also provides evidence for the changes in society to which the strategies were responding. A final-chapter case study provides an opportunity to see evidence of the effectiveness of these discourse-forming strategies. In this chapter we see a contemporary historical source interacting with those narratives and discourses we witnessed the elite employing in the education and religion chapters. It also provides an opportunity to see how the past is used to justify the actions of the Roman elite in Ostrogothic Italy to a post-Gothic audience (as the work was composed in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Ostrogothic Italy). This final consideration provides an instructive contrast which brings into sharp focus the extent and nature of continuity and change brought about by the Ostrogothic state.

This thesis challenges existing diocesan histories of Cork, Cloyne and Ross. Its local focus provides an invaluable opportunity to explore the successes and failures of the reformations in the region. The arguments are split into four chapters, which are divided between the upper and lower clerical orders, the secular and religious clergy, both before and during the eras of the Tudor reformations. The argument uses antiquarian sources, Irish annals and English state papers to narrate the formation of diocesan, parochial and monastic structures in the region. The quality of each is then assessed for both the late medieval and reformations periods, with direct reference to the effects of the peculiarities of Co. Cork’s religion upon the progress of reform. The thesis argues that the secular elites of Cork, Cloyne and Ross were intrinsically wedded to its church, involved heavily in the creation of the parish and monastic networks. Following the contraction of the crown polity in the medieval periods, local families took on increasing levels of influence. During the Tudor period, the crown sought to expand its power in the region. However, the agents of reform failed to engage with the Irish and Anglo-Norman elites. Instead, their work would be accomplished at the expense of the traditional political and religious structures. This failure was based in the pervasive economic and polical connections between the secular and religious elites of Co. Cork, but was reinforced by the particular weaknesses of the Anglican reformation strategy.

The following dissertation reassess previous explanations for the transmission of Byzantine iconography to western material culture that have been classified by the classical canon as being manifestations of a ‘barbarian’ ruler attempting to legitimize their fledgling culture. The tumultuous relationship between the east and the west during the Late Antique period to the middle Byzantine period and the subsequent visual culture that demonstrates cross-cultural exchange comprises the majority of my analysis. I approach the topic in a case study fashion focusing on five rulers: Theodoric, Charlemagne, and the three Ottos. The source material chosen for this dissertation varies as it has been selected based on claims by previous scholarship of demonstrating some level of Byzantine influence. My re-examination of these works includes the application of an interdisciplinary theoretical framework first postulated by Robert Hayden: Competitive Sharing. This theory suggests that material culture displaying syncretism was not a reflection of admiration, but of competition. An implication of this study is that art was an active participant in the relationship between the east and the west, serving as a communicative device, rather than as the more frequently cited passive role of a conduit for iconographical transmission or cultural legitimization.

Chlemoutsi was the most important castle of the Principality established in the Peloponnese after the Fourth Crusade. The glazed pottery of the Frankish period (early 13th - early 15th c.) is almost exclusively Italian, reflecting the connections of the Principality of Achaea with Italy and illustrating the tastes of the Latin elite in ceramics. The pottery proves that the castle remained important after the end of the Frankish occupation and indicates its decline in the 18th c. The ceramic material of the Post-Byzantine period reflects the incorporation of the castle into the Ottoman Empire, the relations it developed with the rest of Greece, but, also, the continuation of its close connections with the West. Although a Turkish castle for most of the period between 1460 and the early 19th c., its imported pottery is mainly Italian, while the number of Islamic ceramics is small. The close political and economic relations with Italy developed after the Fourth Crusade, the Venetian interests in the Peloponnese, the constant Venetian occupation of the neighbouring Ionian Islands and the direct access to the Ionian Sea and Italy seem to have made the NW Peloponnese one of the most strongly Western-influenced areas of the Greek mainland.