<p> This dissertation explores the close literary, thematic and linguistic relationships between <i>The Hebrew Chronicles of the First Crusade</i> and the later pietistic text <i>Sefer Hasidim</i>. Despite a long-standing tendency to view the Jewish martyrdom of 1096 and the development of German pietism (<i>Hasidut Ashkenaz</i>) as unrelated. upon closer scrutiny, we find strong ties between the two texts. <i>Sefer Hasidim</i>, the most well-known pietistic text, contains dozens of martyrological stories and references that share similar language, themes and contexts as the crusade chronicles. Indeed, rather than standing alone, and unrelated to the first crusade literature, we find tales of martyrdom that closely resemble those in the first crusade narratives. <i>Sefer Hasidim</i> also contains numerous statements that indicate the primacy of martyrdom within the hierarchy of the pietistic belief system, while other martyrological references function as prooftext for the traditional pietistic themes distilled by Ivan Marcus and Haym Soloveitchik. The extent to which martyrological themes are integrated into the belief system articulated in <i>Sefer Hasidim</i> indicates that the martyrdom of the First Crusade should be viewed as formative to the development of <i>Hasidut Ashkenaz</i>. A close reading of <i> Sefer Hasidim</i> conclusively demonstrates this premise. Moreover, a similar analysis of the crusade chronicles reveals a wide range of martyrological tales described in quintessential pietistic terms; expressions of the will of God, the fear of God. and the pietistic preference for life in the hereafter, are found throughout the martyrological text.</p><p> When reading these two diverse texts side by side, we find substantive elements of a common world view spanning the period of the first crusade through the appearance of <i>Sefer Hasidim</i>. This allows us to understand each text through a new lens; the crusade chronicles now appear to be an early articulation of pietistic thought, while the later pietistic text now reads in part as a martyrological document of great significance.</p><p>

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The dissertation investigates the increasing number and complexity of towns between c. 850 and c. 1100, through the detailed study of Lincoln in this period. Utilising archaeological and documentary evidence to trace the multifaceted nature of early medieval towns, it confirms that economic change was the principal cause of urban growth. Pottery and coin evidence shed some light upon the progress and nature of economic development. The role of a significant elite centre or an elite-founded wic are both disputed in considering the origins of urban Lincoln. The questioning of the importance of these reinforces the view that the Vikings had a considerable impact on the development of Lincoln. The nature of their role was to create a small concentration of population, which then served as a focus for the economic growth already underway in the rural economy; which the Great Army must have initially disrupted. The key role of Viking rulers or West Saxon kings in the later economic and urban development at Lincoln is disputed. Instead the thesis considers that subsequent topographical and economic change is mostly attributable to urban elites in Lincoln rather than to distant political figures. Many of these developments were utilised by Viking and West Saxon rulers but they were not influential in creating them. Once established Lincoln's development seems to have been most pronounced in the tenth century, with urban status rapidly attained. Lincoln had an impact on the surrounding area through trade, and tenurial links can also be identified in the late eleventh century. Lincoln did not however dominate the surrounding area, although it may have brought about greater landholding complexity and influenced the composition of the surrounding rural populace.

This thesis examines the use and function of the human body as a surface that is inscribed with a number of socially significant meanings and how these inscriptions operate in the specific late medieval cultural production. Drawing on Jauss's notion of the social and political significance of medieval narrative, I seek to determine how specific texts contribute to a regulatory practice by thematizing bodies that are perceived as "other," that resist or defy an imagined social norm or stereotype. Each of the dissertation's four chapters treats a different set of notions about the human body. The first one examines Chaucer's Man of Law's Tale and The King of Tars as representations of ethnographic difference. I argue that the late Middle Ages did not have the notion of "race" as a signifier of ethnic difference: instead there is a highly unstable system of positions that place an individual in relation to Christian Salvation History. Robert Henryson's Testament of Cresseid is at the centre of chapter two that examines the moral issues surrounding leprosy as a stigmatized disease. Reading the text as a piece of medical historiography, I argue that one of the purposes of the narrative is to establish the link between Cresseid's sexual behaviour and her disease. A discussion of the homosocial underpinnings of late medieval feudal society, particularly in light of Duby's notion of "les jeunes," forms the basis of the final two chapters. Chapter three discusses Chaucer's Legend ofLucrece and the narrative function of rape as a pedagogical instrument with the aim to ensure the availability of untouched female bodies for a "traffic in women" between noblemen. Chapter four examines transgressive sexual acts as the objects of jokes in fabliaux, such as Chaucer's Miller's Tale. By using shame and ridicule as their main strategy, these texts, I argue, fulfil an exemplary function and act as a warning to young noblemen to maintain an erotic discipline as future heads of feudal houses and as an upcoming political elite. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

This thesis compares the modes of satire utilized by Dante in the Divine Comedy and Chaucer in theCanterbury Tales, and considers the direct and indirect historical and religious influencers which impacted each author’s satirical style.

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