Throughout the medieval period, the popular classes were always reckoned as a potential force in society even though it was usually dangerous for them to articulate divergent social, political and religious opinions. Sources on medieval political and social life seem to show us a world of order, acquiescence and consent. Otherwise, they reveal a picture of bloodshed and violent strife. During times of intense conflict, however, the human tongue was always the most frequently used weapon, much more so than the sword or the dagger. The vox populi, though often difficultly retrievable in the sources, was a ubiquitous one within the realm of later medieval politics. The essays collected in this volume deal with such speech acts of political rebels, with political languages of the 'popular classes' in medieval society but also with the subversive twists to speech situations such as preaching, mockery and insults.

Twelve medieval scholars from a wide range of disciplines, including law, literature, and religion address the question: What did it mean to possess a voice - or to be without one - during the Middle Ages? This collection reveals how the philosophy, theology, and aesthetics of the voice inhabit some of the most canonical texts of the Middle Ages.

Lust for Liberty challenges long-standing views of popular medieval revolts. Comparing rebellions in northern and southern Europe over two centuries, Samuel Cohn analyzes their causes and forms, their leadership, the role of women, and the suppression or success of these revolts. Popular revolts were remarkably common--not the last resort of desperate people. Leaders were largely workers, artisans, and peasants. Over 90 percent of the uprisings pitted ordinary people against the state and were fought over political rights--regarding citizenship, governmental offices, the barriers of ancient hierarchies--rather than rents, food prices, or working conditions. After the Black Death, the connection of the word liberty with revolts increased fivefold, and its meaning became more closely tied with notions of equality instead of privilege. The book offers a new interpretation of the Black Death and the increase of and change in popular revolt from the mid-1350s to the early fifteenth century. Instead of structural explanations based on economic, demographic, and political models, this book turns to the actors themselves--peasants, artisans, and bourgeois--finding that the plagues wrought a new urgency for social and political change and a new self- and class-confidence in the efficacy of collective action.

Later Medieval Europetraces medieval history from the divine right of kings to the political philosophies of writers such as Machiavelli and the medieval city-states to the unification of Spain. Daniel Waley and Peter Denley focus on the growing power of the state to illuminate changing political ideas in Europe between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Spanning the entire continent and beyond, and using contemporary voices wherever possible, the authors include substantial sections on economics, religion, and art, and how developments in these areas fed into and were influenced by the transformation of political thinking. The fourth edition has been fully revised and updated and includes three exciting new chapters. The first, Medieval Mentalitieswill introduce the mentality of the age, starting with how medieval thinkers saw their place in time and space, going on to discuss the monistic basis to medieval society and its implications for authority, the sense of community, the social order, and how people were prepared for their place in it. The second, Medieval People, discusses population and demography, the issues of gender, family, marriage and the life cycle. Lastly Boundaries Real and Imagined: Christendom and its Othersis an innovative new chapter which focuses on attitudes to and the treatment of 'outsiders', including lepers, homosexuals, Jews, Muslims and pagans, and the blurring of distinctions between real and imaginary otherness (monsters and witches). Later Medieval Europeis now accompanied by a companion website which includes: Documents and visual illustrations to accompany each chapter with commentary and links to other websites. Case studies of the key historiographical debates. Teaching aids, interactive maps, a glossary, a 'Who's Who', and guides for teachers and students on the questions at issue. Suitable as an introductory text for undergraduate courses in Medieval Studies and Medieval European History.

There has been a marked revival of interest in medieval drama in recent years, much of it informed by an increasing understanding that drama is not just literature, but a social and indeed commercial event, essentially a communal effort, inextricably bound up with social structures. This collection of essays examines various aspects of the inter-relation between a number of different 'European communities' and the plays they performed, covering a range of theatres and play-types, and providing an international perspective on performance cultures across Europe. Contributors include Alan Hindley, Introduction; Lynette Muir, 'European communities and medieval drama'; Graham A. Runnalls, 'Drama and community in late medieval Paris'; Robert L.A. Clark, 'Community versus subject in late medieval French confraternity drama and ritual'; Frederick W. Langley, 'Community drama and community politics in thirteenth-century Arras: Adam de la Halle's Jeu de la Feuillee'; Alan Hindley, 'Acting companies in late medieval France: Triboulet and his troupe'; Alan E. Knight, 'Processional theatre and the rituals of social unity in Lille'; Wim Husken, 'Cornelis Everaert and the community of late medieval Bruges'; Elsa Strietman, 'A tale of two cities: drama and community in the Low Countries'; John Tailby, 'Drama and community in South Tyrol'; Konrad Schoell, 'Individual and social affiliation in the Nuremberg Shrovetide Plays'; Alan J. Fletcher, 'Performing medieval Irish communities'; Pamela M. King, 'Contemporary cultural models for the trial plays in the York Cycle'; Chris Humphrey, 'Festive drama and community politics in late medieval Coventry'; Philip Butterworth, 'Prompting in full view of the audience: a medieval staging convention'; Alexandra F. Johnston, 'English community drama in crisis: 1535-80'; Jane Oakshott, 'York Guilds' Mystery Plays 1998: the rebuilding of dramatic community'.

For the first time, this volume explores the identities of leprosy sufferers and other people affected by the disease in medieval Europe. The chapters, including contributions by leading voices such as Luke Demaitre, Carole Rawcliffe and Charlotte Roberts, challenge the view that people with leprosy were uniformly excluded and stigmatised. Instead, they reveal the complexity of responses to this disease and the fine line between segregation and integration. Ranging across disciplines, from history to bioarchaeology, Leprosy and identity in the Middle Ages encompasses post-medieval perspectives as well as the attitudes and responses of contemporaries. Subjects include hospital care, diet, sanctity, miraculous healing, diagnosis, iconography and public health regulation. This richly illustrated collection presents previously unpublished archival and material sources from England to the Mediterranean.