The structures and concepts of ecclesiastical authority that existed in the Middle Ages fundamentally underpinned the medieval world, yet disciplinary boundaries have often inhibited scholarsâe(tm) approaches in this area of research. The purpose of this book is to reconsider the traditional approach to medieval Church authority, which is focused on the Church as an institution, by examining recent research in other related disciplines, such as the history of art, cultural history, liturgy, and musicology. Although work on medieval ecclesiastical authority has been undertaken separately in these different disciplines, they have not spoken to each other often enough: the studies here explicitly set out to break down these disciplinary barriers and to forge new ground in the study of a traditional subject by providing an outlet for the new research initiatives of both established and early career scholars. Power Manifest considers the topic of ecclesiastical authority in the Middle Ages, c.1100-c.1500, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The volume encompasses the nature of papal authority, episcopal power and the ranking of bishops at the royal court, the use of art to propound authority in absentia, the relations of the western Church with the eastern churches, the expression of ecclesiastical authority through music, the importance of collective clerical petitions, the cultural history of the papal chapel, as well as secular culture and the Church. Each contributor asks how ecclesiastical authority was conceptualised, analyses the structures through which it was expressed - in other words, how authority manifested itself as power - and most importantly, offers improved insight into the varying importance of structures and concepts under consideration. The essays all address new areas of research, and this, combined with the inter-disciplinary approaches arrayed in the volume, make it a volume which will have a significant impact on the historiography.

An investigation into the role of the high-ranking churchman in this period - who they were, what they did, and how they perceived themselves. High ecclesiastical office in the Middle Ages inevitably brought power, wealth and patronage. The essays in this volume examine how late medieval and Renaissance prelates deployed the income and influence of their offices, how they understood their role, and how they were viewed by others. Focusing primarily on but not exclusively confined to England, this collection explores the considerable common ground between cardinals, bishops and monastic superiors.Leading authorities on the late medieval and sixteenth-century Church analyse the political, cultural and pastoral activities of high-ranking churchmen, and consider how episcopal and abbatial expenditure was directed, justifiedand perceived. Overall, the collection enhances our understanding of ecclesiastical wealth and power in an era when the concept and role of the prelate were increasingly contested. Dr Martin Heale is Senior Lecturer inLate Medieval History, University of Liverpool. Contributors: Martin Heale, Michael Carter, James G. Clark, Gwilym Dodd, Felicity Heal, Anne Hudson, Emilia Jamroziak, Cédric Michon, Elizabeth A. New, Wendy Scase, Benjamin Thompson, C.M. Woolgar

Crusades covers seven hundred years from the First Crusade (1095-1102) to the fall of Malta (1798) drawing together scholars working on war, theology, law, literature, art, numismatics and economic, social, political and military history. It publishes both historical sources of the Crusades - narrative, homiletic and documentary - in European and oriental languages, and interpretative studies. Ashgate publishes this journal for The Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East in both print and online editions, and the subscription price covers both. The print edition also incorporates the Society's Bulletin. The journal is available on-line via IngentaConnect: www.IngentaConnect.com/Crusades. The on-line edition does not include the Society’s Bulletin.

Crusades covers seven hundred years from the First Crusade (1095-1102) to the fall of Malta (1798) and draws together scholars working on theatres of war, their home fronts and settlements from the Baltic to Africa and from Spain to the Near East and on theology, law, literature, art, numismatics and economic, social, political and military history. Routledge publishes this journal for The Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East. Particular attention is given to the publication of historical sources in all relevant languages - narrative, homiletic and documentary - in trustworthy editions, but studies and interpretative essays are welcomed too. Crusades appears in both print and online editions.

While they often go hand-in-hand and the distinction between the two is frequently blurred, authority and power are distinct concepts and abilities - this was a problem that the Church tussled with throughout the High and Late Middle Ages. Claims of authority, efforts to have that authority recognized, and the struggle to transform it into more tangible forms of power were defining factors of the medieval Church's existence. As the studies assembled here demonstrate, claims to authority by members of the Church were often in inverse proportion to their actual power - a problematic paradox which resulted from the uneven and uncertain acceptance of ecclesiastical authority by lay powers and, indeed, fellow members of the ecclesia. The chapters of this book reveal how clerical claims to authority and power were frequently debated, refined, opposed, and resisted in their expression and implementation. The clergy had to negotiate a complex landscape of overlapping and competing claims in pursuit of their rights. They waged these struggles in arenas that ranged from papal, royal, and imperial curiae, through monastic houses, law courts and parliaments, urban religious communities and devotional networks, to contact and conflict with the laity on the ground; the weapons deployed included art, manuscripts, dress, letters, petitions, treatises, legal claims, legates, and the physical arms of allied lay powers. In an effort to further our understanding of this central aspect of ecclesiastical history, this interdisciplinary volume, which effects a broad temporal, geographical, and thematic sweep, points the way to new avenues of research and new approaches to a traditional topic. It fuses historical methodologies with art history, gender studies, musicology, and material culture, and presents fresh insights into one of the most significant institutions of the medieval world.

Bruges was undoubtedly one of the most important cities in medieval Europe. Bringing together specialists from both archaeology and history, this 'total' history presents an integrated view of the city's history from its very beginnings, tracing its astonishing expansion through to its subsequent decline in the sixteenth century. The authors' analysis of its commercial growth, industrial production, socio-political changes, and cultural creativity is grounded in an understanding of the city's structure, its landscape and its built environment. More than just a biography of a city, this book places Bruges within a wider network of urban and rural development and its history in a comparative framework, thereby offering new insights into the nature of a metropolis.