"Examines the performances of a Parisian youth group, Gustave Cohen's Théophiliens, and the process of making medieval culture a part of the modern world. Explores the work of actor Moussa Abadi, and his clandestine resistance under the Vichy regime in France during World War II"--Provided by publisher.

A fascinating guide to strange-but-true jobs.

A new narrative history of medieval Christianity, spanning from A.D. 500 to 1500, focuses on the role of women in Christianity; the relationships among Christians, Jews and Muslims; the experience of ordinary parishioners; the adventure of asceticism, devotion and worship; and instruction through drama, architecture and art.

Today, the United States is becoming more like the Middle Ages than ever, as the gap between the rich and poor grows, and the pandemic, economic crisis, and protests reflect this great divide. The superwealthy have become like a new royalty and nobility, while a class of impoverished, landless, and homeless individuals and families continues to expand. The poor are like the peasants of medieval Europe -- a development fueling the seeds of revolution today, much like the medieval peasant revolts. Through meticulous research, author Gini Graham Scott paints a stark portrait of this growing division in society, drawing parallels to the Middle Ages and showing how our present course is ripe for social and political upheaval. But then there is hope, since the Middle Ages were followed by a Renaissance, a time of rapid change and creative development. The chapters cover these topics: Inequality from Middle Ages to Modern Times Who Has the Money? Creating and Expanding the Kingdoms Battling for Control The World of Work The Power and Influence of the Military and Family The Lifestyles of the Superrich and Others: Then and Now The Growing Inequality Between Rich and Poor War, Revolution, Famine, and the Plague The Growing Crisis and What to Do Next What an American Renaissance Might Look Like

Death is not only the final moment of life, it also casts a huge shadow on human society at large. People throughout time have had to cope with death as an existential experience, and this also, of course, in the premodern world. The contributors to the present volume examine the material and spiritual conditions of the culture of death, studying specific buildings and spaces, literary works and art objects, theatrical performances, and medical tracts from the early Middle Ages to the late eighteenth century. Death has always evoked fear, terror, and awe, it has puzzled and troubled people, forcing theologians and philosophers to respond and provide answers for questions that seem to evade real explanations. The more we learn about the culture of death, the more we can comprehend the culture of life. As this volume demonstrates, the approaches to death varied widely, also in the Middle Ages and the early modern age. This volume hence adds a significant number of new facets to the critical examination of this ever-present phenomenon of death, exploring poetic responses to the Black Death, types of execution of a female murderess, death as the springboard for major political changes, and death reflected in morality plays and art.

This new volume explores the surprisingly intense and complex relationships between East and West during the Middle Ages and the early modern world, combining a large number of critical studies representing such diverse fields as literary (German, French, Italian, English, Spanish, and Arabic) and other subdisciplines of history, religion, anthropology, and linguistics. The differences between Islam and Christianity erected strong barriers separating two global cultures, but, as this volume indicates, despite many attempts to 'Other' the opposing side, the premodern world experienced an astonishing degree of contacts, meetings, exchanges, and influences. Scientists, travelers, authors, medical researchers, chroniclers, diplomats, and merchants criss-crossed the East and the West, or studied the sources produced by the other culture for many different reasons. As much as the theoretical concept of 'Orientalism' has been useful in sensitizing us to the fundamental tensions and conflicts separating both worlds at least since the eighteenth century, the premodern world did not quite yet operate in such an ideological framework. Even though the Crusades had violently pitted Christians against Muslims, there were countless contacts and a palpitable curiosity on both sides both before, during, and after those religious warfares.

Although the city as a central entity did not simply disappear with the Fall of the Roman Empire, the development of urban space at least since the twelfth century played a major role in the history of medieval and early modern mentality within a social-economic and religious framework. Whereas some poets projected urban space as a new utopia, others simply reflected the new significance of the urban environment as a stage where their characters operate very successfully. As today, the premodern city was the locus where different social groups and classes got together, sometimes peacefully, sometimes in hostile terms. The historical development of the relationship between Christians and Jews, for instance, was deeply determined by the living conditions within a city. By the late Middle Ages, nobility and bourgeoisie began to intermingle within the urban space, which set the stage for dramatic and far-reaching changes in the social and economic make-up of society. Legal-historical aspects also find as much consideration as practical questions concerning water supply and sewer systems. Moreover, the early modern city within the Ottoman and Middle Eastern world likewise finds consideration. Finally, as some contributors observe, the urban space provided considerable opportunities for women to carve out a niche for themselves in economic terms.