The early medieval abbey church of Conques, located in a treacherous mountain region of southern France, received few visitors until the relics of the virgin martyr Ste. Foy were brought there. Among her abilities, Ste. Foy was credited with the power to provide protection from capture and to free prisoners. The themes of bondage and liberation are found throughout the church in the sculpture, grillwork and especially in the Liber miraculorum. This paper argues that the repetitive imagery of chains and release from bondage had a twofold function which increased the wealth and power of the monks at Conques. First, the images evoked the power of the Ste. Foy to absolve and release one from the bonds of sin through pilgrimage and donation to this church, and second, the images referred to Ste. Foy's renowned power to provide protection and free prisoners, powers especially attractive to those involved in the Reconquista in Spain.

<p> For eight centuries, from 711 until 1492, a unique combination of political, cultural, and faith traditions coexisted in the mostly southern region of the Iberian Peninsula now called Spain. From the thirteenth century through the fifteenth century, two key production centers of luster glazed ceramics emerged in this region: Islamic-ruled M&aacute;laga and Christian-ruled Valencia. Muslim artisans using Islamic decorative motifs on reflective luster glaze ceramics created objects that patrons, including nobility and Christian royalty, clamored to collect. Initially, traditional Islamic decorative motifs dominated luster glazed ceramic production by Muslim artisans in M&aacute;laga; eventually, these artisans used combinations of Islamic and Christian motifs. As wars raged near M&aacute;laga, Muslim artisans migrated to Valencia&mdash;some converting to Christianity. Here, luster glazed ceramics evolved to include combinations of Islamic and Christian motifs, and, in one example, Islamic and Jewish motifs.</p><p> This investigation of Iberian luster glazed ceramics examines religious decorative motifs and their meaning by using a methodology that combines material culture studies and art history. Material culture studies seeks: (1) To find value and meaning in everyday objects; and (2) To introduce the understanding that visual motifs communicate in a different way than texts. Additions from art historians augment the conceptual framework: (1) Alois Riegl&rsquo;s concept of <i>Kunstwollen</i>&mdash;that every artistic expression and artifact that is produced is a distillation of the entirety of creator&rsquo;s worldview; and (2) Oleg Grabar&rsquo;s definition of Islamic art as one that overpowers and transforms ethnic or geographical traditions. In this dissertation, religious decorative elements on Iberian luster glazed ceramics are categorized as: (1) Floral and vegetative motifs; (2) Geometric symbols; (3) Figurative images; (4) Christian family coats of arms; and (5) Calligraphic inscriptions.</p><p> This dissertation will demonstrate how Muslim, Christian, and Jewish artisans used and combined the visual expressions of their respective faith traditions in motifs that appear on luster glazed ceramics created in the Iberian Peninsula under both Islamic and Christian ruled territories. Investigation of objects previously deemed not worthy of scholarly attention provides a more nuanced understanding of how religious co-existence (<i>convivencia </i> in Spanish) was negotiated in daily life.</p>

This dissertation has sought to illuminate the characters of Richard the Lion Heart and Salah Ad-Din Al-Ayyubi (Saladin), and the meaning of chivalry as a concept in Western history, through a comparative "parallel biography" of the two men. It is hoped that this parallel biography of the two most notable figures of the crusading era further illuminates the crusading movement and the encounter of the Western and Islamic worlds in Syria from the end of the eleventh through the end of the thirteenth centuries. / Chapter one examines the childhood, the adulthood, society and the career of Richard I prior to his departure on the third crusade. / Chapter two focuses on the childhood, the adulthood, and society of Salah Ad-Din Al-Ayyubi. Attention is given to his career in the years before he directed his principal energies against the Franks in Syria. / Chapter three examines the Battle of Hittin, which sealed the fate of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem and ultimately of the crusading cause as a whole. Emphasis is placed upon the developments that led up the battle, and the subsequent course of the war that led to the fall of Jerusalem and other inland Christian strongholds. / Chapter four focuses on the political and military encounter of Richard I and Saladin in the third crusade, which resulted in the achievement of Saladin's key objectives, and the departure of Richard from Syria without regaining Jerusalem nor restoring the Frankish position in Syria to a viable condition. / Chapter five discusses the evolution of the images of Richard and Saladin between the twelfth century and the present day. The development of the writing on these two legends shows that with the familiarity of Richard in the West, Saladin has remained in the popular western imagination as one of the most familiar of all Muslim historical figures and a model of moderation, mercy and values of chivalry. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 3162. / Major Professor: Paul Strait. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This dissertation, a translation and commentary on Jerome's continuation of Eusebius' Chronicon, makes this work available in English for the first time (in Chapter 2). The Introduction (Chapter 1) and Commentary (Chapter 3) will provide the student of the fourth century A.D. with references to the chief primary sources and secondary literature for the following: the nature of the Chronicon and Jerome's authorship, Jerome's interests and his sources, and finally, the persons and events listed in the Chronicon's notices. / Jerome's Chronicon is important in several ways. It is the earliest preserved Christian history in Latin; it is an aid for the establishment of the chronology of the fourth century A.D.; it provides some data found in no other extant sources; and finally, it is one of the means by which the Chronicon of Eusebius has been preserved. / The bibliography is divided into "Ancient Works" and "Modern Works." Appendix A reproduces R. Helm's text for the "continuation" portion of Jerome's work. Appendix B lists the subjects treated in the work with the pertinent notices and their precise topics; this appendix should thus enable the student to refer quickly and easily to all of the material relevant to a given subject. Appendix C points to suggested uses of his sources by Jerome and also lists his apparent original contributions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: A, page: 1305. / Major Professor: David Levenson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

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Scholarly assessment of the fifteenth century has changed since William Stubbs' depiction of it as 'a worn-out, helpless age' during which 'all that was good and great in (medieval life) was languishing even to death.' Valuable scholarship has succeeded K. B. McFarlane's reassessment of the nobility of the period. But little work has been done to verify or alter the popular image of a worn-out, bureaucratic and politically cynical episcopate. Two works include investigations of Edward IV's (1461-83) bishops in studies of wider scope, but no study focuses exclusively on Edward IV's episcopal bench. Such a study is necessary if we are to judge the similarities and differences of Edward's episcopate with those of his predecessors and successors The popular image of the later medieval English episcopate is one of gray-faced, politically acquiescent bureaucrats elevated to the episcopal bench in reward for government service. The assumption no doubt arises in part from the indisputable fact that by the second half of the fifteenth century episcopal nomination, although not deprivation as is sometimes supposed, rested firmly in the king's hands. The first need in any study of Edward IV's episcopate is to show the bishops' individualities. It must be remembered that Edward IV won England's throne by conquest. There was much accommodation, but it was never as one-sided as is generally supposed. The imprisonments of the Bishops of Lincoln, Chichester, Winchester, Llandaff, Saint David's and Bath and Wells during Edward's reign suggests that accommodation by either side had its limits It is almost a cliche to say that by the latter half of the fifteenth century a bishop's mitre was a reward by a grateful boss for government service. Yet while this holds true for the majority of Edward IV's bishops, it is too much of a generalization. Edward's patronage was behind the nomination of eleven of the twenty-one individuals elevated to the episcopate during his reign. Another seven were elevated to episcopal status through the patronage of Edward's brother, Richard of Gloucester, his queen, Elizabeth Wydeville and the powerful Earl of Warwick. The patrons of three of Edward's bishops are unknown Early in his reign, Edward IV issued a charter granting sweeping and long-fought for concessions to his clergy. The charter's issuance and its subsequent failure to be enforced suggests the ambivalence of dependence and conflict that characterized Edward's relationship with his episcopate / acase@tulane.edu

The thesis of this dissertation is that the unifying factor in the life of Henry of Blois was his Cluniac profession. Given to as an oblate at a very early age, Henry was formed as a person in the abbey of Cluny. That formation could not entirely be left behind, no matter what else happened to him. At Cluny he became a member of a particular family with its own way of thinking, style of life, and values. Although he left behind the specific aspects of the religious life when he became a bishop, Henry of Blois always remained a Cluniac This thesis is developed in two parts. The first part, consisting of four chapters, establishes Henry of Blois' connection with Cluny. The paper begins with a general description of the Cluniac style and spirit and speculates on the oblate's education and upbringing in the abbey. A survey of Cluniac political thought follows, focussing mainly upon the Tractatus de Regia Potestate et Sacerdotali Dignitate of Hugh of St. Mary, monk of Fleury Using charter collections it is shown that Henry of Blois was indeed a Cluniac bishop. His consecration and subsequent involvement with all that the twelfth century episcopate entailed meant that Henry of Winchester was no longer technically a monk, but remained a Cluniac bishop The second part of this dissertation focusses upon Henry of Blois as a man of action, his relationship to King Stephen, his legateship, and his connection with Becket at the end of his life. The major sources for this study are the histories and chronicles of the period, especially the Gesta Stephani and the Historia Novella. This section is concerned with the critical question: can Henry of Winchester's deeds be understood in light of his Cluniac connection? To answer this question the dissertation compares the Cluniac political thought discussed in the second chapter, especially those common themes developed in the Tract of Hugh of St. Mary, with what Henry of Blois did as brother, counselor, legate, and friend. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / acase@tulane.edu

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-275). Also available on the Internet.

Relatively little is known of Gomez Manrique (c. 1415-1490), warrior, statesman and author of a significant corpus of cancionero poetry. His poetic and dramatic works were first published by Antonio Paz y Melia, Cancionero de Gomez Manrique (1885-6) in an edition that is at variance with current established norms and includes only a brief, thirty-two-page biography. In the 116 years since Paz y Melia's study, a significant amount of new historical material has been published on fifteenth-century Spain, much of which bears directly on the life and times of Gomez Manrique. Despite Manfque's close alliance with Isabel I and Fernando V and his extensive involvement in the political events of the day, we do not find him mentioned as frequently as we might expect. This dissertation analyzes the historical evidence that exists in order to construct Gomez Manrique's biography and incorporates Manrique's poetry as testimony to the influence that he had on many of the eminent poets and politicians of his day. Manrique's verse dedicated to many of the statesmen and troubadours of the fifteenth century links him to the historical context in which he functioned as author, statesman and soldier. Part One details the formative years of Manrique. The many events and issues that occurred during this turbulent period of Castilian history are presented to show how they affected Manrique's development as a poet and knight. Part Two portrays Gomez Manrique's adulthood and development from an obscure soldier to a chief defender of the Catholic Monarchs. His poetry and his actions as documented in the chronicles reveal his important contributions to Isabel's and Fernando's successful accession to the throne of Castile. Part Three offers a profile of the knights, prelates, family members and royalty to whom Manrique dedicated poetry, many of whom are significant historical figures despite their relative obscurity. Finally, the Appendix offers an annotated selection of Gomez Manrique's poetry, newly transcribed to conform to current norms.

This study investigates the expectations various groups in late medieval German society held of their parish priests and how these expectations were mediated through specific relationships. By analyzing the qualities, skills, duties and services required of the parish clergy by those in the priest's own social network--the episcopal and patronal structures above him and the parish and clerical communities around him--this study reveals the mutual obligations and contradictions inherent in the priest's situation. The strategies employed by individuals and groups to articulate and enforce their demands are examined as well as the means by which priests could negotiate or resist in order to protect their own interests. The result is a web of expectations, the individual strands of which are inspected in three major parts of the study, corresponding to the demands of the episcopal hierarchy, the intentions of a late medieval movement to educate the simple priest, and the perspective from the parish. In fifteenth-century Germany, the bishops of Constance sought to reduce their crushing debt by introducing new taxes upon the clergy of the diocese. The parish priests banded together and defied the bishop in 1492, negotiating a payment favorable to them. Another source of revenue directly contradicted diocesan law as bishops tolerated the presence of concubines among their priests in return for the payment of an annual fee. Manuals for parish priests were in high demand throughout the late medieval period; their popularity only increased after the invention of the printing press. Written to inform priests how to carry out their daily duties and avoid sacrilege, these manuals helped to steer the basic training of the parish priest toward a vocational profile combining the aura of the cultic priest with the standardized efficiency of the professional minister. Perspective from the parish encompasses the differing viewpoints of patron, priests and parishioners. The case of Wurttemberg reveals how Count Eberhard (&dagger;1496) used parish resources in an attempt to reshape devotion in his lands. In towns and villages served by a number of priests, a local clerical brotherhood often existed alongside lay parish structures. Conflict and cooperation is measured both between the clergy and the laity as well as within the ranks of the priests themselves.