L. A. J. R. Houwen

an edition of a late medieval Scots universal history from the Asloan manuscript

The Sex werkdays and agis

Karin E. Olsen

The essays in this book examine various manifestations of monstrosity in the early literatures of England, Ireland and Scandinavia. The dates of the texts discussed range from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries and were written either in Latin or in one of the vernaculars. The present contributions shed light on the physical, mental and metaphysical qualities that characterize medieval monsters in general. How do such creatures relate to accepted physical norms? How do their behaviours deviate from established cultural practices? How can their presence in both fictional and non-fictional texts be explained either in terms of a textual tradition or as a response to actual events? Such issues are examined from literary, philological, theological, and historical points of view in order to provide a thorough, multifaceted depiction of the sub- and supernatural monsters of medieval Northwest Europe.

Monsters and the Monstrous in Medieval Northwest Europe

Luuk A. J. R. Houwen

Alasdair A. MacDonald

Sally Mapstone

The essays in this collection share an overall purpose : they aim to shed new light on Scottish culture during the century and a half (1475-1625) which saw the full emergence of Scotland as a player on the European political and cultural stages. Throughout the book, awareness of the larger European background is considered an essential element in the proper appraisal of the productions of Scottish culture. Topics discussed include : the Scottish reception of, and participation in, general humanist learning; the impact of Burgundian patterns of late-medieval piety; international diplomacy; courtly culture under Kings James III, IV, V and VI, and Mary Stuart; poetry and politics; law; libraries; and historiography. The contributions in this volume offer innovative contextualisations and interpretations of many canonical works of Scottish culture; at the same time they also seek to expand that canon by examining several less familiar artistic productions. All those interested in the cultural changes inherent in the transition from the late-medieval to the early modern periods, and in the Northern manifestations of the European Renaissance, will find much of interest in this book. In the words of R.L. Stevenson, the cultural achievement of Scotland during this period may be described as constituting a metaphoric "palace in the wild".

Essays on Vernacular Culture and Humanism in Late-medieval and Renaissance Scotland

A Palace in the Wild

L. A. J. R. Houwen

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