The fourteen essays presented in this volume contribute substantially to the study of the reinvention of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. They take an historicized approach to constructions of the past, and most address the relatively new field of Medievalism. All of them focus on how and why the present of any period uses the past to promote its own opinions, beliefs, doctrines or views. In particular, the volume demonstrates that reinventions of past eras or figures can be motivated by a nationalistic desire to create cultural 'roots', to discover origins that justify a regime or group's self-identity, to appropriate a cultural icon or neglected author for a particular political agenda, or to reflect on contemporary social issues via a remote time and place. Reworkings or adaptations of earlier culture often tell us more about the age in which they were produced than the one revived or revisited. This volume features five essays that treat medieval subjects; four focus on Tudor and Stuart figures, religion or politics; and five concentrate on nineteenth-century uses of medieval or early modern events, literary conventions, settings and themes.

This volume, containing a selection of essays from ACMRS's 1996 conference, reflects a broad range of interests in medieval and Renaissance studies. Although most of the eleven essays address western European topics, one essay deals with Byzantine political and theological histroy, and one touches on Arabic poetry in medieval Sicily. The chronological range is also broad, extending from the seventh to the twentieth century and including topics from an early Byzantine polemicist to the recent growing interest in medievalism, and from critical readings of early texts to implications of computer technology for future manuscript study. In some significant ways the volume continues earlier discussions of the state of the profession, such as those in William D. Paden (ed.), The Future of the Middle Ages, and John Van Engen (ed.), The Past and Future of Medieval Studies. More generally, this second volume in the ASMAR series extends the theme of the first, Reinventing the Past, and makes fresh contributions to the scholarship on a number of problems. If the current volume provides a reliable gauge for the future of medieval and Renaissance studies, we are on the verge of new beginnings, increasingly outward-looking, reexamining and redefining old boundaries to reach a new and sharpened understanding of the past.

Provides an overview of the years from the Late Middle Ages through the Renaissance, with emphasis on the natural and political disasters that ravaged 14th century Europe. Includes map exercises and review questions.

The Renaissance presents the panorama of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, exploring such themes as: the origins and causes of humanism Renaissance monarchies the Reformation geographical exploration science artistic movements. The book includes narrative introductions to each issue, views of major historians, interpretations, analysis and evaluation of primary sources.

This is a fascinating collection of essays focusing on humanism and thought and other key aspects of Renaissance culture such as philology, political thought and scholastic and platonic philosophy. An essential read for all students of this era.

Collection of previously published essays, articles, etc.