Battle descriptions are usually seen as the raw material of the military historian, who uses them to explain why generals won or lost a given battle. This volume does not aim to contribute to this discussion; it rather approaches battle descriptions as literary texts that interact with the expectations of a given audience. Therefore literary traditions in structure, vocabulary and topics of battle descriptions should be explored. The transgression of genre-borders – also literary and fictional texts are included – and a broad comparative approach, combining evidence from the third millennium BC up to the 20th century AD, makes cultural specifics and differences more easily perceivable. Contents With contributions by Marcos Such-Guttiérrez, Pavel Čech, Hilmar Klinkott, Wolfgang Oswald, Kai Ruffing, Oliver Stoll, Martin M. Bauer, Reinhold Bichler, Christian Mileta, Simon Lentzsch, Sven Günther, Dennis Pulina, Johanna Luggin, Sonjar Koroliov, Magdalena Gronau and Martin Gronau. The Editors Dr. Johanna Luggin is a post-doc researcher in the ERC-funded project “NOSCEMUS – Nova Scientia: Early Modern Science and Latin” in Innsbruck, Austria. Dr. Sebastian Fink is a postdoctoral researcher at the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence “Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions”.

This collection of articles is the result of an interdisciplinary Medieval Studies conference held at the University of Sheffield in 2009. Brutality and aggression were a stark reality of everyday life in the Middle Ages; from individual rebellions through family feuds to epic wars, a history of medieval warfare could easily be read as a history of medieval violence. This volume goes beyond such an analysis by illustrating just how pervasive the nature of war could be, influencing not only medieval historiography and chronicle tradition, but also other disciplines such as art, architecture, literature and law. The overarching and multi-faceted themes bring together both iconic aspects of medieval warfare such as armour and the Crusades, as well as taking in the richness of textual traditions and matters of crucial importance at the time—the justification for war and the means by which peace can be re-established.

John Goldingay is one of the most prolific and creative Old Testament scholars working today. In this book he draws on the best of biblical scholarship as well as the Christian tradition to offer a substantive and useful commentary on Joshua. The commentary is both critically engaged and sensitive to the theological contributions of the text. Goldingay treats Joshua as an ancient Israelite document that speaks to twenty-first-century Christians. He examines the text section by section--offering a fresh translation, textual notes, paragraph-level commentary, and theological reflection--and addresses important issues and problems that flow from the text and its discussion. This volume, the first in a new series on the Historical Books, complements other Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series: Pentateuch, Wisdom and Psalms, and Prophets. Each series volume is grounded in rigorous scholarship but is useful for those who preach and teach. The series editors are David G. Firth (Trinity College, Bristol) and Lissa M. Wray Beal (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto).

Arthurian Literature has established its position as the home for a great diversity of new research into Arthurian matters. It delivers fascinating material across genres, periods, and theoretical issues. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

The First World War has given rise to a multifaceted cultural production like no other historical event. This handbook surveys British literature and film about the war from 1914 until today. The continuing interest in World War I highlights the interdependence of war experience, the imaginative re-creation of that experience in writing, and individual as well as collective memory. In the first part of the handbook, the major genres of war writing and film are addressed, including of course poetry and the novel, but also the short story; furthermore, it is shown how our conception of the Great War is broadened when looked at from the perspective of gender studies and post-colonial criticism. The chapters in the second part present close readings of important contributions to the literary and filmic representation of World War I in Great Britain. All in all, the contributions demonstrate how the opposing forces of focusing and canon-formation on the one hand, and broadening and revision of the canon on the other, have characterised British literature and culture of the First World War.

John Keegan's groundbreaking portrayal of the common soldier in the heat of battle -- a masterpiece that explores the physical and mental aspects of warfare The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the "point of maximum danger." Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians. And in his scrupulous reassessment of three battles representative of three different time periods, he manages to convey what the experience of combat meant for the participants, whether they were facing the arrow cloud at the battle of Agincourt, the musket balls at Waterloo, or the steel rain of the Somme. The Face of Battle is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Mask of Command: together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.

A fresh approach to the Roman imperial tradition on Alexander the Great