The Life and Campaigns of the Black Prince: from contemporary letters, diaries and chronicles, including Chandos Herald's Life of the Black Prince

At 16, Edward `the Black Prince' played a leading part in the battle of Crecy; at 26 he captured the king of France at Poitiers; and eleven years later he restored Pedro of Castile to his throne at the battle of Najera. Such a heroic career has an air of unreality about it, heightened by the chivalric attitudes of contemporary writers. This selection aims to correct the traditional view of Edward as far as the materials allow, by using reports sent home by the prince's companions-in-arms, and by looking at the semi-official campaign diaries.

The Life And Campaigns of the Black Prince: From Contemporary Letters, Diaries And Chronicles, Including Chandos Herald's Life of the Black Prince

History

BARBER, Richard

Europe

Boydell Pr

King Arthur's Round Table: An Archaeological Investigation

The vast wooden disk known as King Arthur's Round Table has hung on the wall of the great Hall of Winchester Castle for six hundred years. But what is it? Was it ever a table? When was it made? Why is it hanging on the wall? When was it painted with the famous image it now bears? And why at Winchester? In 1976 the Round Table was taken down from the wall and thoroughly examined by a team of historians and scientists assembled by Martin Biddle, and its history began to emerge. Built in the reign of Edward I, it was probably the centrepiece of a feast held at Winchester after a forgotten tournament celebrating marriage plans for the king's children; Edward III, founder of the Order of the Garter, had the top hung up in the castle hall as a symbol of his interest in the chivalric idea of the company of Arthur's Round Table; Henry VIII had it painted and used the figure of Arthur to support his claim to be arbiter of European power. This most enigmatic of objects at last yields up these and other secrets to scientific analysis and historical deduction. MARTIN BIDDLE is Astor Senior Research Fellow at Hertford College and Professor of Medieval Archaeology in the University of Oxford. Contributors: JOHN V. FLEMING, SIMON JERVIS, BEATRICE CLAYRE, ROGER DAVEY, MICHAEL MORRIS, CECIL HEWETT, G.R. COLEMAN, SUSAN J. READ, BRIAN J. HEARD, A.C. BAREFOOT, DAVID HADDON-REECE, R.L. OTLET, STEPHEN REES JONES, SALLY BADHAM, PAMELA TUDOR-CRAIG, CLIVE WAINWRIGHT, A.J. WALKER.

Biddle, Martin

Badham, Sally

Plants have played a central role in the evolution of life on Earth and the colonisation of land, to the extent that without them we would not exist, yet even to scientists the history of land vegetation and plant fossils is not well-known. This book describes plants' origins and development, illustrated with a unique selection of plant portraits, many of which have never been seen before. The fossil record shows that plants first `invaded' the land some 400 or more million years ago, as tiny leafless stems which only grew upright for a few centimeters and were restricted to lowlying, waterlogged habitats; from these unpromising beginnings, the whole of Earth's flora has evolved. Each of the major groups of plants is described in general order of appearance in the records, from the first giant clubmosses, horsetails and ferns, which contributed so much to the developing forests, through the seed plants to the angiosperms, the flowering plants, which dominate the landscapes of today. The authors conclude the book with an account of the scientists who have contributed to the development of the story, and hazard some predictions about the directions which future research may take.CHRISTOPHER J. CLEALis Head of the Vegetational History Section at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales at Cardiff; BARRY A. THOMASholds a personal chair in the Department of Geography at Lampeter. They have made lifetime studies of ancient flora.

Plant Fossils: The History of Land Vegetation (Fossils Illustrated, V. 3)

Science & Math

Thomas, Barry A.

Cleal, C. J.

Biological Sciences

The Franks were the most successful of all the barbarian peoples to establish a kingdom in the aftermath of the collapse of the West Roman Empire, among their victims being their immediate neighbours, the Alamans, who were engulfed in the course of Frankish expansion. This volume, the third in a series derived from conferences held in the Republic of San Marino, considers the Franks and Alamans from a series of perspectives, historical, archaeological, and linguistic; the origins of both peoples are considered, as are the settlement patterns of the Alamans, the urban, social, and legal history of the Franks, together with Frankish involvement in missions to the east of the Rhine, the role played by the Franks in the development of early medieval incest legislation, and the evidence of Frankish treasure.IAN WOOD is Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Leeds. Contributors: H.J. HUMMER, F. DAMMINGER, M. DE JONG, GUY HALSALL, F. SIEGMUND, IAN WOOD, S.T. LOSEBY, P.J. FOURACRE, M. HARDT, D.H. GREEN, G. AUSENDA

Franks and Alamans in the Merovingian Period: An Ethnographic Perspective (Studies in the History of Archaeoethnology)

Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Stress

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia (1316-1378), was one of the most astute and cultivated monarchs of his time, and during his reign Prague became a major cultural centre and royal power base. In an age when royal portraits were a rarity, he showed an early understanding of their ability to project the power, wealth and cultural sophistication of the court, and a number of royal portraits were commissioned within the decorative schemes of the buildings, altarpieces, manuscripts and reliquaries with which he endowed Prague and the royal castles. This is the first study in English to look at the phenomenon of Charles's early use of the arts to consolidate his power. It focuses particularly on some thirty portraits of Charles IV, to demonstrate how and why the court harnessed the visual arts to legitimise, glorify and sacralise the great medieval ruler. By placing each portrait in its historical context, the author gives a fascinating insight into the art of political propaganda in an important European court of the middle ages. Dr I.J.M. ROSARIO is currently honorary Senior Fellow of the School of Fine Arts, Classical Studies and Archaeology, University of Melbourne.

Art and Propaganda : Charles IV of Bohemia, 1346-1378

Arts & Photography

Rosario, Iva

History & Criticism

Among the most evocative items to be discovered by archaeologists are the scraps of silk and wool and other fabrics that signal so eloquently their owner's status and concerns. Such clothing and textile finds have figured prominently in excavations of medieval sites in London in the past two decades; they have included knitting, tapestries, silk hair-nets and elaborately patterned oriental, Islamic and Italian fabrics, which reveal for the first time the wide range of cloths available to medieval Londoners; there are beautifully made buttons, and buttonholes and edgings which display superb craftsmanship and a high level of needlework skills; the way that clothes were cut and sewn can be studied in detail. This highly readable account will be of wide general interest; dress historians and archaeologists will also find a wealth of new insights into the fashions, clothing and textile industries of medieval England and Europe. First published in 1992 Contents include: The Excavations, Techniques used in Textile Production, Wool Textiles, Goathair Textiles, Linen Textiles, Silk Textiles, Mixed Cloths, Narrow Wares, Sewing Techniques and Tailoring, Dyes. THE AUTHORS Past and present staff of the Museum of London.

Textiles and Clothing : Medieval Finds from Excavations in London, c.1150-c.1450

Politics & Social Sciences

Staniland, Kay

Crowfoot, Elisabeth

Pritchard, Frances

Archaeology

These full scale colour plates will come as a revelation to most viewers. Thomson has provided an excellent introduction... both the reproductions and the text do full justice to this hitherto undervalued monument of English art and it is much to be hoped that it will be acquired by librarians as well as by bibliophiles. BURLINGTON MAGAZINE (C.M.Kauffmann)The Bury Bible (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 2) is one of the capital monuments of Romanesque art. Produced at the abbey of Bury St Edmunds in about 1135, its importance was such that the abbey chronicler recorded its commissioning: 'Hervey, the sacrist, commissioned a large Bible for his brother the Prior and had it beautifully illuminated by Master Hugh'. Parchment was specially bought from Scotland for the illuminations. There were originally two volumes; the Old Testament survives, and, with 357 leaves, a format of 514 x 355mm, six full page miniatures, three historiated initials and thirty nine decorated initials, it is an imposing volume. It belongs to a small group of English twelfth-century Bibles of outstanding quality, which includes the Lambeth and Winchester Bibles. It is arguable that Master Hugh was the greatest artist of all those who worked on these books, working in a tradition developed at St Albans abbey and yet a great innovator, bringing a more naturalistic approach. This facsimile, at just under full size, affords the opportunity to appreciate some of the masterpieces of English romanesque painting. All the illuminations are reproduced in colour, from photographs specially taken by the HUMI project of the University of Keio. Professor Thomson provides a full discussion of the manuscript's production and its place among English manuscripts and art, together with photographs of comparable material. R.M. THOMSON is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Tasmania.

The Bury Bible

Thomson, R.M.

Examines how Nietzschean ideas influenced the composition of Mahler's first four, so-called Wunderhorn, symphonies.Gustav Mahler and Friedrich Nietzsche both exercised a tremendous influence over the twentieth century. All the more fascinating, then, is Mahler's intellectual engagement with the writings of Nietzsche. Given the limited and frequently cryptic nature of the composer's own comments on Nietzsche, Mahler's specific understanding of the elusive thinker is achieved through the examination of Nietzsche's reception amongst the people who introduced composer to philosopher: members of the Pernerstorfer Circle at the University of Vienna. Mahler's Nietzsche draws on a variety of primary sources to answer two key questions. The first is hermeneutic: what do Mahler's allusions to Nietzsche mean? The second is creative: how can Mahler's own characterization of Nietzsche as an "epoch-making influence" be identified in his compositional techniques? By answering these two questions, the book paints a more accurate picture of the intersections of the arts, philosophy and politics in fin-de-siècle Vienna. Mahler's Nietzsche will be required reading for scholars and students of nineteenth and early twentieth century German music and philosophy.

Mahler's Nietzsche: Politics and Philosophy in the Wunderhorn Symphonies

Batstone, Leah

Music

The Strasbourg Cantiones of 1539: Protestant City, Catholic Music

Trocme-Latter, Daniel

Religion & Spirituality

The Book of Horsemanship by Duarte I of Portugal (Armour and Weapons)

The Book of Horsemanship by Duarte I of Portugal (Armour and Weapons, 5)

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