No description available.

Yes / The results of carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis from two medieval populations are presented here, in a study investigating dietary habits within a medieval hospital population in England. We used δ13C and δ15N measurements of bone collagen in order to attempt to identify a distinct group diet within the medieval hospital of St. Giles, Brough, Yorkshire, and examine the reasons why the dietary habits within the institution may have been noticeably different from that of a comparative lay population. Following the results and tentative conclusions of a study conducted by Müldner and Richards (2005), it was hypothesised that religious fasting rules would result in there being evidence of greater consumption marine fish at St. Giles than at the rural township of Box Lane, Pontefract, Yorkshire. While more dietary variation was found at the hospital, it can be seen that the differences in δ13C and δ15N isotope values vary in relation to the animal baselines. Thus, differences between the human populations can be attributed to geological and environmental factors as opposed to dietary differences.

This study will discuss agriculture from the time the manor appeared through the time of its decline in those countries, England, France, and Germany, which dominated that part of the world during the Middle Ages.

The 12th and 13th centuries were period of heightened anxiety about the male body, its sexuality, and the definition of "manhood." Based on widening knowledge of human anatomy and masculinity, philosophers posed the question whether a eunuch could still be considered "male" if he lacked the sexual organs that identified him as a man. This debate then spread within the confines of the religious thought, as clerics discussed how the Church should treat eunuchs (legally and spiritually). The following thesis investigates medieval views on "manhood" and focuses on the status of eunuchs within the ecclesiastical system. Peter Abelard (1079- 1142), a philosopher who was made eunuch, will be used as a window to the treatment of eunuchs by the Church. The thesis argues that although the Church did not approve of castration, there were no specific canon laws which ostracized or damned eunuchs. Furthermore, this thesis shows that because Abelard had successfully consummated his marriage, there was no mandate for Abelard to renounce his relationship with his wife Heloise after being castrated. Finally, this thesis charts Abelard's opinions on his own castration, beginning with his interpretation of the Mosaic Law as evidence for God's abhorrence of eunuchs and ending with his belief that his castration was a divinely granted remedy that allowed him to focus on excelling as a philosopher and theologian.

Text in Afrikaans with summaries in Afrikaans and English / Opsomming In hierdie verhandeling word die ontologie van Eriugena in oënskou geneem, met spesifieke verwysing na sy negatiewe ontologie, oftewel sy opvatting van nie-syn. Ter inleiding word daar na die Latynse en Griekse agtergrond van sy ontologie verwys. Dit word opgevolg deur `n bespreking van die verskillende wyses van syn en nie-syn waarvan Eriugena in die Periphyseon gebruik maak. Klem word geplaas op sy negatiewe ontologie, wat meer gevorderd is as enigiets in die Westerse denke tot heelwat na sy leeftyd. Die historiese konteks van Eriugena se lewe en denke word geskets, met inbegrip van die invloede wat op hom ingewerk het en sy eie nawerking. Sy viervoudige verdeling van die werklikheid word vervolgens bespreek, met aanduiding hoedat die ganse werklikheid gesien kan word as `n wisselwerking tussen syn en nie-syn. `n Dinamiese ontologie word dus deur Eriugena voorgehou, eerder as die statiese ontologie wat kenmerkend van veel Judaïsties-Christelike denke is. Summary In this dissertation the ontology of Eriugena is reviewed, with specific reference to his negative ontology, in other words his concept of non-being. By way of introduction the Latin and Greek background of his ontology is pointed out. It is followed by a discussion of the various modes of being and non-being that Eriugena employs in the Periphyseon. Emphasis is placed on his negative ontology, which is more advanced than anything in Western thought until much later than his time. The historical context of Eriugena's life and thought is sketched, including the influences acting on him and the influence he exerted on others. His fourfold division of reality is then discussed, indicating how the whole of reality can be viewed as an interaction between being and non-being. Eriugena thus postulates a dynamic ontology, rather than the static ontology that is characteristic of much of Judaistic-Christian thought. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

The subject of my thesis is a little-studied hagiographical work that gives important insights into rewriting processes and their significance in medieval textual culture. The anonymous Life of Christina of Hane, a thirteenth-century Premonstratensian nun from the Palatinate, is an example of bridal mysticism which combines the medieval tradition of the reception of the Song of Songs with hagiographic elements. A codicological and palaeographical analysis of the only manuscript shows it to be a sixteenth-century copy, but the type of mysticism and the theological questions that it discusses suggest that the text was initially composed in the thirteenth century, when Christina is thought to have lived. The theological and spiritual ideas in the text belong to the wider context of communicating the transcendental within the world. My thesis uses performative language analysis to address the problems of textuality and authorization in the Life of Christina of Hane. It yields new insights into the ways in which this mystical text makes use of hagiographic strategies, how gender and vernacular theology are linked, how liturgical elements support the text’s pragmatic nature, and how somatic spirituality is reflected on an allegorical level in the embodiment of God’s bride. An assessment of three communicative aspects – medial, narrative, and allegorical – highlights the textualization of the mystical experience. The appellative structure of Christina’s text invites the reader to engage with the text. This study provides the first comprehensive interpretation of the text on Christina of Hane. It compares it to other mystical texts, to a German–Latin prayerbook, and to a fragmentary legend about Mary Magdalene. It challenges existing judgments about Christina’s biography and offers alternative solutions founded in the latest scholarship on female mystical literature.

The Church was not the only progenitor and disseminator of ideas in medieval England, but it was the most pervasive. Relations between the ecclesiastical and lay realms are well documented at high social levels but become progressively obscure as one descends to the influence of the Church at large on society at large (and vice versa). The twelfth century was a time of great energy and renewal in the leadership and scholarship of the Church; comparable religious energy and renewal can be seen in late-medieval lay culture. The momentum was passed on in the thirteenth century, and pastoral care was the means of its transfer. The historical sources in this field tend to be either prescriptive, such as treatises on how to hear confessions, or descriptive, such as bishops’ registers. Prescription and description have generally been addressed separately. Likewise, the parish clergy and the friars are seldom studied together. These families of primary sources and secondary literature are brought together here to produce a more fully-rounded picture of pastoral care and church life. The Church was an inherently local institution, shaped by geography, personalities, social structures, and countless ad hoc solutions to local problems. Few studies of medieval English ecclesiastical history have fully accepted the considerable implications of this for pastoral care; close attention to local variation is a governing methodology of this thesis, which concludes with a series of local case studies of pastoral care in several dioceses, demonstrating not only the divergences between them but also the variations within them.

Twelfth century French feudal culture witnesses the codification of new marriage laws and a rapid rise in popularity of the Cult of the Virgin Mary, with correspondingly renewed attention being paid to women by ecclesiastical intellectuals of all sects. Of particular interest to these churchmen was the duty of the medieval wife to bear children. The Lais of Marie de France, a late twelfth-century text, often focus explicitly on motherhood (both biological and symbolic) and therefore allow a deeper examination of the new cultural representations of women in the dual role of spouse and mother. The Lais further highlight the symbolic role of the child as guarantor both of a woman's social value and of the validity of the love relationship based on the tenets of fin'amors instead of formal marriage. / by Danielle Firmino Palazzolo. / Abstract in English. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Text in Afrikaans with summaries in Afrikaans and English / Opsomming In hierdie verhandeling word die ontologie van Eriugena in oënskou geneem, met spesifieke verwysing na sy negatiewe ontologie, oftewel sy opvatting van nie-syn. Ter inleiding word daar na die Latynse en Griekse agtergrond van sy ontologie verwys. Dit word opgevolg deur `n bespreking van die verskillende wyses van syn en nie-syn waarvan Eriugena in die Periphyseon gebruik maak. Klem word geplaas op sy negatiewe ontologie, wat meer gevorderd is as enigiets in die Westerse denke tot heelwat na sy leeftyd. Die historiese konteks van Eriugena se lewe en denke word geskets, met inbegrip van die invloede wat op hom ingewerk het en sy eie nawerking. Sy viervoudige verdeling van die werklikheid word vervolgens bespreek, met aanduiding hoedat die ganse werklikheid gesien kan word as `n wisselwerking tussen syn en nie-syn. `n Dinamiese ontologie word dus deur Eriugena voorgehou, eerder as die statiese ontologie wat kenmerkend van veel Judaïsties-Christelike denke is. Summary In this dissertation the ontology of Eriugena is reviewed, with specific reference to his negative ontology, in other words his concept of non-being. By way of introduction the Latin and Greek background of his ontology is pointed out. It is followed by a discussion of the various modes of being and non-being that Eriugena employs in the Periphyseon. Emphasis is placed on his negative ontology, which is more advanced than anything in Western thought until much later than his time. The historical context of Eriugena's life and thought is sketched, including the influences acting on him and the influence he exerted on others. His fourfold division of reality is then discussed, indicating how the whole of reality can be viewed as an interaction between being and non-being. Eriugena thus postulates a dynamic ontology, rather than the static ontology that is characteristic of much of Judaistic-Christian thought. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

Le présent travail propose une édition critique de cinq traités rédigés par l’archevêque de Reims Hincmar (845-882) entre 873 et 882, qui portent tous sur la fonction royale : le De regis persona (873), le De fide Carolo regi seruanda (875), l’Ad Ludouicum Balbum (877), l’Ad Carolum Crassum (879) et l’Ad episcopos pro institutione Carolomanni (882). Les textes édités sont accompagnés d’une traduction originale en langue française. Les oeuvres théologico-politiques d’Hincmar sont replacées dans le contexte politique et intellectuel de l’ensemble carolingien de la seconde moitié du IXe siècle : au moment où des reconfigurations transforment la royauté carolingienne, l’archevêque de Reims, fort de trente années de pratique de la charge épiscopale, entreprend de guider des souverains qui appartiennent à trois générations successives. L’étude des sources révèle l’importance de la Bible, l’emprise de la pensée patristique de la période tardo-antique sur Hincmar, mais également les méthodes de travail et de lecture du prélat rémois. Le commentaire éclaire les éléments du contexte carolingien, ainsi que l’usage original que fait Hincmar des sources littéraires. Se dégage ainsi la vision du pouvoir que forge progressivement l’archevêque de Reims, en regard du pouvoir de l’évêque, garant et double du roi, dans le cadre d’un discours parénétique. / This study gives a critical edition for five treatises written by archbishop of Rheims Hincmar (845-882), between 873 and 882, the aim of which is to define the royal function : De regis persona (873), De fide Carolo regi seruanda (875), Ad Ludouicum Balbum (877), Ad Carolum Crassum (879) and Ad episcopos pro institutione Carolomanni (882). An original French translation complements this edition. Hincmar’s theological and political works are situated in the political and intellectual context of the second half of the ninth century : when carolingian kingship underwent successive reconfigurations. The archbishop of Rheims, thanks to thirty years of practice of episcopal function, tries to guide three generations of Carolingian kings. The enquiry into the sources reveals firstly, the importance of the Bible; secondly, the weight of late antique patristic thought; thirdly the work and reading methods of the bishop. The commentary highlights various elements of the Carolingian context and the original way Hincmar uses his sources. The vision of power he progressively develops thus comes to light, regarding the power of the bishop, warden and double of the king, within an exhortative discourse.