Acclaimed study of the makers and singers of medieval Latin poetry considers Fortunatus, Abelard, the revival of learning in France, 12th-century humanism, the Carmina Burana, more.

A study of mediaeval Latin lyrics and their relation to learning.

This interdisciplinary handbook provides extensive information about research in medieval studies and its most important results over the last decades. The handbook is a reference work which enables the readers to quickly and purposely gain insight into the important research discussions and to inform themselves about the current status of research in the field. The handbook consists of four parts. The first, large section offers articles on all of the main disciplines and discussions of the field. The second section presents articles on the key concepts of modern medieval studies and the debates therein. The third section is a lexicon of the most important text genres of the Middle Ages. The fourth section provides an international bio-bibliographical lexicon of the most prominent medievalists in all disciplines. A comprehensive bibliography rounds off the compendium. The result is a reference work which exhaustively documents the current status of research in medieval studies and brings the disciplines and experts of the field together.

The twenty well-known scholars featured in this Festschrift for William Calin engage in personal reflection about the ways scholars, writers, musicians, and artists from different periods have "made" the Middle Ages by exploring it in their own work. Contributors: Barbara K. Altman, Pam Clements, Elizabeth Emery, Karl Fugelso, Caroline Jewers, Alicia C. Montoya, Gwendolyn A. Morgan, E.L. Risden, Nils Holger Petersen, William D. Paden, F. Regina Psaki, Carol L. Robinson, Roy Rosenstein, Tom Shippey, Jesse G. Swan, M.J. Toswell, Richard Utz, Kathleen Verduin, Veronica Ortenberg West-Harling, Gayle Zachmann

The Middle Ages, in our cultural imagination, are besieged with ideas of wars, tournaments, plagues, saints and kings, knights, lords and ladies. In his era-defining work, Inventing the Middle Ages, Norman Cantor shows that these presuppositions are in fact constructs of the twentieth century. Through close study of the lives and works of twenty of the twentieth century's most prominent medievalists, Cantor examines how the genesis of this fantasy arose in the scholars' spiritual and emotional outlooks, which influenced their portrayals of the Middle Ages. In the course of this vigorous scrutiny of their scholarship, he navigates the strong personalities and creative minds involved with deft skill. Written with both students and the general public in mind, Inventing the Middle Ages provided an alternative framework for the teaching of the humanities. Revealing the interconnection between medieval civilisation, the culture of the twentieth century and our own assumptions, Cantor provides a unique standpoint both forwards and backwards. As lively and engaging today as when it was first published in 1991, his analysis offers readers the core essentials of the subject in an entertaining and humorous fashion.