Böcker i Medieval Media and Culture-serien

The twelfth century witnessed the birth of modern Western European literary tradition: major narrative works appeared in both French and in German, founding a literary culture independent of the Latin tradition of the Church and Roman Antiquity. But what gave rise to the sudden interest in and legitimization of literature in these "vulgar tongues"? Until now, the answer has centred on the somewhat nebulous role of new female vernacular readers. Powell argues that a different appraisal of the same evidence offers a window onto something more momentous: not "women readers" but instead a reading act conceived of as female lies behind the polysemic identification of women as the audience of new media in the twelfth century. This woman is at the centre of a re-conception of Christian knowing, a veritable revolution in the mediation of knowledge and truth. By following this figure through detailed readings of key early works, Powell unveils a surprise, a new poetics of the body meant to embrace the capacities of new audiences and viewers of medieval literature and visual art.

This beautifully illustrated book provides an accessible introduction to the medieval manuscript and explores how its materiality can act as a vibrant and versatile tool to understand the deep historical roots of human interaction with written information.

Seven manuscript fragments of the Old French Suite Vulgate du Merlin discovered in a set of early-printed books in the Bristol Central Library hit global headlines in 2019: this is a comprehensive study with accompanying transliteration of these fascinating Arthurian fragments.

This book examines Chaucer's Canterbury Tales from the perspective of the current debate about race and religion in the Middle Ages, uniting Chaucerian Studies with a crucial contemporary debate in Medieval Studies.

This book examines imaging techniques for digitizing illuminated manuscripts, demonstrating the range of technologies necessary to show the materiality of medieval culture.

An up-to-the-minute survey of the importance of metrical analysis to textual criticism in Old English studies from international specialists.