<p> Descended from Celtic goddesses and the fairies of folklore, the literary character of Morgan le Fay has been most commonly perceived as a witch and a one-dimensional villainess who plagues King Arthur and his court, rather than recognized as the legendary King&rsquo;s enchanted healer and otherworldly guardian. Too often the complexity of Morgan le Fay and her supernatural abilities are lost, her character neglected as peripheral. As a literary figure of imaginative design this thesis explores Morgan le Fay as a unique &ldquo;window&rdquo; into the medieval mindset, whereby one can recover both medieval understandings of magic and female magicians. By analyzing her role in key sources from the twelfth to fifteenth century, this thesis uses Morgan le Fay to recover nuanced perceptions of the supernatural in medieval England that embraced the ambiguity of a pagan past and remained insulated from continental constructions of demonic witchcraft.</p>

The episcopal office, and the individuals who held it, were fundamental to the political, religious, social and cultural development of ducal Normandy. Not only men of great political power, many strove to create vibrant centres of learning in their dioceses, and accounts of their efforts to reform the Norman Church spread throughout Europe. However, while the episcopate of twelfth-century Normandy continues to be the subject of various studies, such as that published recently by Jörg Peltzer, there are few works, especially in English, which examine the careers of their predecessors in any real detail. This thesis is intended, therefore, as the first comprehensive analysis of the tenth and eleventh-century episcopate, and their role in the emergence of the Norman and Anglo-Norman realms. Using chronicles, ducal and episcopal acta, published conciliar records, architecture, and a wide variety of unpublished material in both French and English archives, this thesis traces the origins of the bishops, their recruitment and relations with the dukes of Normandy, their role in Normandy before the Conquest of England and in the governance of the Anglo-Norman realm, their secular role and connections, and their role as cultural patrons. It also includes, in various appendices, critical editions of texts either associated with, or created by, members of the episcopate, including the texts of over eighty episcopal acta.

The House of Gospatric was established in Scotland by Malcolm III after 1072 and endowed with lands surrounding the stronghold of Dunbar, in Lothian. The descendants of Gospatric accumulated vast estates in Lothian and the Merse, assuming the title ‘earl of Dunbar’ by c. 1200. Their charters, of which the earliest surviving dates to the earldom of Gospatric, brother of Dolfin (died c. 1138), belong to the mainstream of European charter culture and exemplify many of the changes in diplomatic observable elsewhere. They are rich in evidence which can be used with that of the chronicles, and of the English and later Scottish public records, concerning the extent of the Dunbar estate in south-east Scotland. They indicate a variety of forms of lay tenure, with land used flexibly by the earls to endow the family, to install associates as tenants and dependants, and to elicit service and revenue; and they show these patterns of land use to have been replicated by those to whom Dunbar land was granted. Women were part of the process, making and assenting to grants. Links with the religious orders were forged and re-forged through benefaction, but dispute settlement and control mechanisms lay at the heart of much of the charter production of the period. Patterns of witnessing varied, according to the context of the charter. The people who served the earl - his family and his dependants, his employees in his estate and household, his associates in aristocratic society - can be identified, grouped and analysed through studies of the witness lists, and the origins and offshoots of their families explored. These formed a network of both dependency and support which was crucial to the functioning of the Dunbar lordship. Whether the structure can be termed feudal is more problematic. The comital economy was based on arable and pastoral farming, and in the charters there are land management agreements which suggest a heavy involvement in the wool trade. The importance of the maritime economy is glimpsed in arrangements linking to fishing and shipping, and ancillary industries such as salting. There are references to an infrastructure sophisticated enough to sustain extensive trade and commerce. Moreover the developing sense of the cohesiveness of the earldom to which aspects of the Dunbar charters testify connects well with the impression of an active lordship with a coherent economic strategy at a time of growth and expansion. In an era of change also in the relationship between the Church and lay society, the charters tell of issues of patronage and the control of teinds, of the foundation and endowment of religious houses with land and churches, the competing jurisdiction of lay and ecclesiastical courts. When its power was challenged, the Dunbar lordship responded flexibly, standing its ground in some areas, yielding or seeming to yield in others. Similarly on the national stage the earls played a prominent role, but one which had to be adapted to the growth of royal justice and the evolution and systematisation or judicial processes. They intermarried with the royal house and from earliest times were close associates of the Scottish kings whose charters they witnessed. Though cross-border lords with extensive English lands and particular frontier responsibilities, they undoubtedly played primarily on the Scottish stage.

No description available.

This thesis examines the political and social responses of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy between 1087 and 1106 to the issue of divided lordship. The central theme is the importance of the concept of political legitimacy in shaping the political culture and actions of the aristocracy during this period. The exclusion of significant sections of the cross-Channel aristocracy from the consultation process in selecting a king in 1087 and 1100, ran contrary to the accepted political norms and created doubts over the legitimacy of Rufus’ and Henry I’s regimes that could be revived at moments of crisis. This found expression in the support given to Robert Curthose’s challenge for the English throne in 1088 and 1101, but also in open rebellion in 1095. However, the limitations of violence as a means of effecting long-term change necessitated a search for a negotiated political settlement that would open the way for Normandy and England to enjoy co-existence as a permanent solution to the problem of divided lordship. This approach locates the Anglo-Norman aristocracy firmly within the recent scholarship of the early and late medieval aristocracy, where political discourse is analysed primarily in terms of succession and legitimacy. Therefore, at the centre of this analysis are the contemporary and near-contemporary narrative sources, which display a firm understanding of contemporary theories of kingship and the politics. When brought into focus with charter evidence, specific aspects of the wider socio-political culture of the aristocracy, in particular religious patronage, marital strategies and inheritance patterns, can then be read as both responses to the wider question of the succession, and also as a commentary on contemporary politics.

The success of the First Crusade by the Christian armies caught the interest and arrested the imagination of contemporaries, stimulating the production of a large number of historical narratives. Four eyewitness accounts, as well as letters written by the crusaders to the West, were taken up by later authors, re-worked and re-fashioned into new narratives; a process which continued throughout the twelfth century and beyond. This thesis sets out to explore why contemporaries continued to write about the First Crusade in light of medieval attitudes towards the past, how authors constructed their narratives and how the crusade and the crusaders were remembered throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It will analyse the development in the way the First Crusade was recorded and investigate the social, religious, intellectual and political influences dictating change: How, why and under what circumstances was the story re- told? What changed in the re-telling? What ideas and concepts were the authors trying to communicate and what was their meaning for contemporaries? The thesis will also aim to place these texts not only in their historical but also in their literary contexts, analyse the literary traditions from which authors were writing, and consider the impact the crusade had on medieval literature. The focus will be on Latin histories of the First Crusade, especially those written in England and France, which produced the greatest number of narratives. Those written in the Levant, the subject of these histories, will also be discussed, as well as texts written in the Empire and in Italy.

The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the period 1509-1515 in England, this being the first six years of the reign of Henry VIII. Within this timespan it is possible to witness the rise of Thomas Wolsey and also to examine the political situation before his ascendancy. Reaction to the new king will be examined on a number of fronts. His succession and the expectations placed on him will be looked at, expectations not only from his own people but also from those abroad. The highly visual natural of Henry VIII's court heightened this sense of expectancy and set the boundaries of the succeeding years. That group of men which attached itself to the king at work and play provides the starting point for this thesis. These were the middling courtiers, the men who sought favours and provided services. The desire for promotion at court provided a common bond for this diverse group. Young courtiers on the up, seasoned campaigners seeking rejuvenation and men of service, all sought promotion, through patronage, pedigree, personal ability or the grace of the king. Many men continued in positions of responsibility as held under Henry VII, creating a certain amount of continuity in administration. Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson felt the wrath of a monarch anxious to clear the air at the start of the reign and stamp his own brand of kingship on the court. Their associate Thomas Lovell continued and prospered under a king with no intention of embarking on a purge. William Compton rose from humble beginnings to become one of the king's closest confidants, recognised by many as the man to befriend. Opportunities were available for the ambitious courtier.

No description available.

<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 thesis examines the céli Dé, individual ecclesiastics who constituted the intellectual and spiritual elite in the early medieval Irish church. The period covered by the thesis is restricted in A.D. 700-900 and focusses most fully on the late eighth and early ninth centuries. A distinction is drawn between those individuals referred to as céli Dé during this period under study and those ‘communities within communities’, concerned for the welfare of the sick and the poor, to whom the name is later attested. The thesis examines the primary source material, considers past and present theories regarding these ecclesiastics and refutes the consensus of opinion that the céli Dé were a reform movement who emerged in reaction to a degenerate clergy in a church under secular influence. It discusses what was intended by the designation céli Dé and proffers the opinion that the céli Dé were instead concerned with advancing all aspects of the duties and responsibilities of the church. Particular developments in ecclesiastical organisation during the period under study are discussed and the extent of the role of individual céli Dé in these are examined, but will conclude that it should not be assumed that these developments, or concern for their introduction, was wholly restricted to the céli Dé. There was a change in the basis of the source of royal authority from popular to divine sanction, during the course of the eighth century, and the political repercussions of this more abstract concept of kingship would ultimately culminate in the emergence of Irish national identity. The potential extent of céli Dé involvement in the promulgation of ecclesiastical law, a contributory factor in establishing centralised ecclesiastical authority, is discussed and an examination of attempts by kings of Tara to control the appointment of the abbots of Armagh is provided in an effort to indicate how they sought to establish a centralised secular authority on the basis of the acknowledged authority of Armagh.