Rabelaian carnivalesque provided philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin with a means of exploring the significance of humour through an examination of Middle Age peasant culture and the influence of the Renaissance on its legitimacy. This article argues that a similar phenomenon exists in modern educational settings and provides evidence to suggest that very…

What do 14 Year 7 students, an art teacher, a history teacher and the Victoria and Albert Museum have in common? They are all part of the "Stronger Together" Museum Champion project run by The Langley Academy and the River & Rowing Museum and supported by Arts Council England, designed to engage students, teachers and museum staff…

McDougall found learning about Stephen and Matilda fascinating, was sure that her pupils would also and designed an enquiry to engage them in "the anarchy" of 1139-1153 AD. Pupils enjoyed exploring "the anarchy" and learning about it enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the medieval period considerably. However,…

Magna Carta, that great cornerstone of American liberty, has been in the news lately. Put up for sale by three-time U.S. Presidential candidate Ross Perot in December 2007, the 1297 version of Magna Carta displayed in the National Archives was sold to financier David Rubenstein for $21.3 million. While its sale demonstrates the cash value of the…

How the dominance of the two medieval universities, namely, (1) The University of Oxford; and (2) The University of Cambridge, was gained and maintained is the subject of the institutional histories by Gillian Evans. She has long been a thorn in the side of successive Cambridge Vice-Chancellors' aspirations to turn that institution--at which she…

Nancy Siraisi has been a prolific and leading scholar in the history of medicine and science of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This lecture of hers is the twenty-eighth of series of lectures named for Charles Homer Haskins, first chairman of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and himself a famed medievalist who brought…

St. Thomas Aquinas's account of the nature of the soul and its relation to the body is discussed, and objections this account must overcome if it is to be acceptable are examined. (RM)

Discusses the role played by preaching in early medieval religious culture. The author describes how Caesarius of Arles instigated the use of short, vivid statements of Christian theology as sermon endings. The endings reinforced the orthodox image of Christ in the minds of the illiterate population and counteracted the influence of Arianism. (AM)

Selection from Abelard's hymns are used to illustrate his theological positions on the trinity and theory of atonement. (AM)

Discusses the historical significance of Leonora de Guzman--longtime mistress of Alfonso IX--in the political developments of fourteenth century Castilian Spain. The events leading up to her execution are examined. (AM)

Compares the adequacy of three historical interpretations of the late Medieval period (crisis, cultural decay, and transformation), in describing the phenomena of continuity and change. The author concludes that the first two interpretations are too limited to encompass the cultural diversity which later metamorphosed into the Renaissance. (AM)

The events that occurred during the Crusades, the encounter of Western and Eastern civilisations, led to certain modes of thinking and representations that are still evident today, overtly or subliminally. By revisiting some of the Western and Eastern chronicles of the first Crusade, we hope to capture the source of some of these images and to see…

An examination of how St. Thomas Aquinas makes use of science in his theological works provides an understanding of the relations of medieval science and the Christian theology of the Middle Ages. Two issues are examined: the problem of the nature and existence of God and the question of the eternity of the world. (RM)

Examines how the concept of justness influenced the conduct of wars in the early Middle Ages. The author offers a new interpretation of Gregory of Tours' perspective on war as found in his "Historia Francorum." (AM)

Reviews "newscasts from the past," a six-part series of videotapes designed to make medieval history come alive for high school students. Includes ordering information and the results of a survey (n = 363) designed to assess student reactions to the format and content. (JDH)