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This collection studies the representations of the character of the monarch in literature and cinema. Being a person, an institution, a character archetype and a narrative role, the characters of the monarch and other royal or regal characters oscillate between humanity and the non-human. As such, they are hybrid forms of existence and subjectivity. The authors of this collection explore this hybridity across large spectra of genres, historical periods and cultural contexts. Some of the most prolific and widely read scholars analyze the archetype of the monarch on the page, the stage and the screen. They cover large swathes of intersecting creative and interpretive territories including ancient epic and religious poetry, Arthurian legends, British Renaissance and modern drama, British horror films and Hollywood crime and sports films. This collection also features interviews with six prominent comic book writers and artists, who discuss the influence of classical royal archetypes on their works.
"This book is a work of medieval history and the history of gender and sexuality. It looks at the biblical King David, who has multiple paradigmatic identities in the Middle Ages: king, military leader, adulterous lover, sinner. It views David primarily from the perspective of medieval European Christian society but also from the medieval European Jewish viewpoint"--
Monarchy is an enduring institution that still makes headlines today. It has always been preoccupied with image and perception, never more so than in the period covered by this volume. The collection of papers gathered here from international scholars demonstrates that monarchical image and perception went far beyond cultural, symbolic and courtly display – although these remain important – and were, in fact, always deeply concerned with the practical expression of authority, politics and power. This collection is unique in that it covers the subject from two innovative angles: it not only addresses both kings and queens together, but also both the medieval and early modern periods. Cons...
This book examines the legacies and depictions of monarchs in an international context, focusing on both self-representation and commemoration by others. Spanning ancient India through to eighteenth-century Russia, this volume offers several case studies to demonstrate trends and patterns in how different societies chose to commemorate and remember their rulers in a variety of mediums. Contributions highlight several lesser known rulers, alongside more famous ones such as Henry VIII of England, to develop a deeper understanding of how memory and monarchy functioned when drawn together. Memorialising Premodern Monarchs brings to the fore the importance of memory and memorialisation when considering the legacies and records of past rulers and their societies, and allows a deeper reflection on how these rulers live on through the historical record and popular culture.
Showcases the latest research on Scotland's rural economy and society. Early modern Scotland was predominantly rural. Agriculture was the main occupation of most people at the time, so what happened in the countryside was crucial: economically, socially and culturally. The essays collected here focus on the years between around 1500 and 1750. This period, although before the main era of agricultural "improvement" in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, was nevertheless far from static in terms of agrarian development. Specific topics addressed include everyday farming practices; investment; landlords, tenants and estate management; and the cultural context within which agriculture was "imagined". The disastrous famine of 1622-23 is analysed in detail. The volume is completed by a comprehensive survey of recent historiography, setting agricultural history in its broader context.
Achieved at the height of the Crusades, the Christian conquests of Santarém in 1147 by King Afonso I, and of Alcácer do Sal in 1217 by Portuguese forces and northern European warriors on their way by sea to Palestine, were crucial events in the creation of the independent kingdom of Portugal. The two texts presented here survive in their unique, thirteenth-century manuscript copies appended to a codex belonging to one of Europe’s most important monastic library collections accumulated in the Cistercian abbey of Alcobaça, founded c. 1153 by Bernard of Clairvaux. Accompanied by comprehensive introductions and here translated into English for the first time, these extraordinary texts are b...
This book examines the lives and tenures of the consorts of the Plantagenet dynasty during the later Middle Ages, encompassing two major conflicts—the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses. The figures in this volume include well-known consorts such as the “She Wolves” Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou, as well as queens who are often overlooked, such as Philippa of Hainault and Joan of Navarre. These innovative and authoritative biographies bring a fresh approach to the consorts of this period—challenging negative perceptions created by complex political circumstances and the narrow expectations of later writers, and demonstrating the breadth of possibilities in later medieval queenship. Their conclusions shed fresh light on both the politics of the day and the wider position of women in this age. This volume and its companions reveal the changing nature of English consortship from the Norman Conquest to today.
This book gathers contributions on the later Stuart queens and queen consorts. It seeks to re-insert Henrietta Maria, Catherine of Braganza, Mary of Modena, Mary II, Anne, and Maria Clementina Sobieska into the mainstream of Stuart and early Georgian studies, concentrating on the later Stuart queens from the restoration of King Charles II (who married Catherine of Braganza in 1662) until the death of Maria Clementina Sobieska in 1735, who was married to James Francis Edward Stuart, the titular King James III, otherwise known as the Old Pretender. It showcases these women’s roles as queen consorts and as ruling queens in Britain and Europe, and reveals how their positions allowed them to act as power-brokers, diplomats, patrons, and religious trendsetters during their lifetimes. It also explores their impact in early modern Britain and Europe by assessing their influence in religion, political culture, and the promotion of patronage.
Aimed firmly at the student reader, this handbook offers an overview of the full range of the history of France, from the origins of the concept of post-Roman "Francia," through the emergence of a consolidated French monarchy and the development of both nation-state and global empire into the modern era, forward to the current complexities of a modern republic integrated into the European Union and struggling with the global legacies of its past. Short, incisive contributions by a wide range of expert scholars offer both a spine of chronological overviews and a diverse spectrum of up-to-date insights into areas of key interest to historians today. From the ravages of the Vikings to the role of gastronomy in the definition of French culture, from Caribbean slavery to the place of Algerians in present-day France, from the role of French queens in medieval diplomacy to the youth-culture explosion of the 1960s and the explosions of France’s nuclear weapons program, this handbook provides accessible summaries and selected further reading to explore any and all of these issues further, in the classroom and beyond.