What’s new in medieval studies? Here are ten open-access articles published in October, which include papers ranging from beer to wax.
This ongoing series on Medievalists.net highlights what has been published in journals over the last month that deal with the Middle Ages. All ten articles are Open-Access, meaning you can read them for free. We have a special tier on our Patreon where you can see the full list of the 87 open-access articles we found.
What Did Comitatus Mean in the Ottonian-Salian Kingdom? A New Look at an Old Question
By David Bachrach
Frühmittelalterliche Studien
Abstract: Hartmut Hoffmann’s seminal essay ‘Grafschaften in Bischofshand’ made clear that the grants of comitatus to episcopal authorities by Ottonian and Salian rulers from the later tenth to the early twelfth century did not provide the basis for the emergence of ecclesiastical polities during the later twelfth and thirteenth century. However, in discussing the transfer of these comitatus Hoffmann assumed that each grant consisted of the royal judicial bannum, previously held by a count. On the basis of this assumption, Hoffmann revived the model of a scattered county ( German Streugrafschaft) first developed by Walter Schlesinger in the context of the New Constitutional History, which denied the existence of public or governmental authority in early medieval Germany. Hoffmann, by contrast, accepted that the Ottonian and Salian kings did exercise public/governmental authority but saw the comitatus in this period as divorced from the territoriality of the earlier Carolingian period in which a count’s judicial bannum was exercised over a circumscribed area, usually coterminous with one or more pagi.
However, when one examines the grants of comitatus discussed by Hoffmann, it is clear that this term was polyvalent in meaning. In some cases, it is evident that rulers transferred to bishops the royal judicial bannum, as Hoffmann argued. In other cases, the grant of a comitatus did not entail the transfer of the bannum but rather of royal fiscal assets. As a consequence, it is possible to reject Hoffmann’s assumption that the identification in the sources of a comitatus spread across several pagi necessarily entailed the existence of a Streugrafschaft whose holder exercised the judicial bannum and, in turn, Hoffmann’s views regarding the deterritorialization of a count’s administrative and judicial authority over a pagus or pagi with specific boundaries. Ultimately, these findings permit a reopening of the question regarding the fate of the Carolingian-style comital office that was based on the specific and circumscribed territory of a pagus or pagi, and whether this type of office actually disappeared under the later Ottonians or even under the Salians.
‘Ibique Solenniter est Recondita’: Saint Wærburh, Relic Theft, and the Appropriation of Translation Narratives in Medieval Britain
By Glenn Cahilly-Bretzin
Journal of Medieval History
Abstract: This article examines the posthumous travels and textual traditions surrounding the seventh-century Mercian saint Wærburh. Through close reading of sources such as the Kentish Royal Legend, Goscelin of Saint-Bertin’s Vita sanctae Werburgae uirginis, Liber Eliensis and Life of St Werbuge by Henry Bradshaw, this study reveals how different religious communities manipulated translatio narratives to serve their political, cultural, and spiritual agendas. The analysis considers the priorities for the medieval communities at Hanbury, Ely, Worcester, and Chester, and how these impacted the narratives that each developed around the saint. The study illustrates how medieval hagiographers appropriated established translation topoi to promote local identities, conceal dubious provenance, and compete for the spiritual and economic benefits that relics provided to religious foundations.
Abstract: The aesthetic concept of gaudiness has its roots in techniques associated with a particular ornamental object in the late medieval period: the decorated marker beads, called gauds in English, used to organize and keep track of one’s recitation in medieval rosaries. As I discuss in this article, the formal purpose of the rosary gaud was to stand out in its exaggerated style, and in the process to function as a technique of control capable of shaping a legible aural practice. Being poetically suggestive, these features of the gaud were taken up in creative ways by practitioners of Middle English poetry, as attested in a series of poems by Chaucer, Hoccleve, Lydgate, and others. Gaudiness, however, makes meaning not only in its use of exaggerated style as a marking system; it also speaks to the aesthetic values and historicized tastes associated with that marking system. To investigate the current state of these embedded values, I turn to the work of contemporary poet Harryette Mullen, who explores the constraints of tradition as sites of disruption, critique, and at times, joyful exuberance.
Abstract:Between the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, large quantities of wax were exported from the Maghrib to Europe. In the Maghrib, both raw wax and wax candles were involved in various social interactions that transcended mere environmental and economic considerations. For some Muslims, wax came to index Christianity, and its significance during the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday was critiqued as a corrupt innovation. At the same time, to prevent the facilitation of Catholic devotion—and because wax was deemed war material—the sale of wax to Christians was forbidden.
Nevertheless, wax remained a profitable product sold to Christians in significant quantities. The anxiety surrounding the movement of wax and the attempts to regulate it indicate that for Muslims, wax served as a religious boundary marker. Christians too utilized the substance to reinforce communal boundaries. Catholics in the Maghrib—captives, clergy, and merchants—used wax to establish and express confessional divides, aiming to deter Catholic captives from converting to Islam. Priests distributed blessed candles to captives, who in turn donated wax to the clergy. Moreover, priests gifted candles to Algerian dignitaries, a practice opposed by the papacy.
Wax formed invisible, often unintended connections between Muslim theologians and rulers, Catholic and Muslim captives, slaves, wax makers, merchants, and redeemers. These entanglements sparked anxiety, a sense of impurity, and a drive to reinforce religious boundaries. This article explores a fragmented history of these connections and relationships and argues that the failed attempts to regulate this circulation fostered new entanglements.
Preserved 800-Year-Old Liquid Beer in a Jin Dynasty Vase: Evidence of Malted Sorghum–Wheat Fermentation in Xi’an, China
By Li Liu et al.
Heritage
Abstract: This study investigates a rare case of liquid alcohol preserved in a glazed ceramic vase from the tomb of Li Jurou (AD 1226), Jin dynasty, Xi’an, China, to provide new insights into medieval brewing traditions. We employed a multi-proxy approach combining microfossil and isotopic analysis, experimental brewing with sorghum, and incorporated previously published proteomic data to illuminate its origin. Microfossil analysis revealed yeast cells and starch granules with damage patterns diagnostic of enzymatic saccharification and mashing, indicating the use of malted sorghum and wheat, alongside cooked rice and foxnut. The starch damage features observed in the archaeological sample are consistent with patterns documented in experimental beer brewing with sorghum and wheat/barley. Stable isotope analysis yielded a δ13C value of –18.5‰, consistent with mixed C3 and C4 inputs. Two-component isotopic modeling revealed that C4 plant (likely sorghum) contributed 40–50% of the ingredients, with C3 plants such as wheat, rice, and foxnut making up the remainder.
These findings align with proteomic results identifying sorghum proteins in the liquid. The combined evidence distinguishes this beverage from qu-based fermentation and links it instead to li-type brewing, rooted in malted cereals and associated with ritual practices. This represents the earliest direct archaeological evidence of sorghum beer in China, highlighting both technological innovation and cultural adaptation in historical alcohol production.
Medieval Baghdad: Where to from now? State of the Field and Future Research
By Nassima Neggaz and Vanessa Van Renterghem
Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
Abstract: Drawing on the collective reflections of an international methodological workshop held in Paris in 2022, this article offers a critical assessment of the current state of historical scholarship on medieval Baghdad and proposes new directions for its future study. The workshop brought together scholars from diverse fields—urban, political, social, economic, literary, and intellectual history—to foreground methodological innovation in response to the challenges posed by fragmentary archival preservation. The article synthesizes recent advances across key domains, including environmental history, while underscoring persistent lacunae in our understanding of medieval Baghdad’s topography, administration, economy, and social fabric. It calls for a reassessment of conventional periodisation, a decentering of dynastic frameworks, and the adoption of multiscalar approaches, ranging from microhistory to global and connected histories.
Emphasizing the value of interdisciplinary and digital methodologies, along with traditional textual approaches, the authors highlight the potential of tools such as aerial photography, numismatics, manuscript studies, network analysis, and digital humanities to reinvigorate the field. In critiquing Eurocentric historiographical models and advocating for more integrated analytical scales, the article urges a renewed, collaborative, and methodologically pluralistic approach to the study of medieval Baghdad—one that bridges linguistic, regional, and disciplinary divides. Ultimately, it repositions Baghdad not only as the political heart of the Abbasid caliphate, but as a generative locus for rethinking the urban and intellectual history of the premodern Islamicate world.
Occupation, Socioeconomic Status, and Dissidence in Bologna around 1300
By Katia Riccardo, David Zbíral and Zoltán Brys
Reti Medievali Rivista
Abstract: This article examines the relationship of dissidence to occupation, residence, and socioeconomic conditions in the inquisition register of Bologna (1291-1310). It investigates whether the occupational composition of heresy suspects reflected broader patterns in Bologna’s urban social fabric and whether wealth profiles of parishes and occupational groups shaped involvement in dissidence. Comparing the proportions of the occupational groups and parishes among suspects of heresy to their proportions in the general population (using the 1296-7 estimo, or tax declaration, as a proxy), the study challenges prevailing scholarly assumptions. Contrary to earlier interpretations highlighting textile and leatherworkers as especially prone to dissidence in Bologna around 1300, the analysis reveals no significant overrepresentation of these occupational groups among heresy suspects. Instead, the findings point to the role of professional zoning and neighborhood dynamics in shaping patterns of religious dissent, suggesting that heresy spread through communal ties rather than being tied to specific economic classes or professions.
Ottonian Notions of imperium and the Byzantine Empire
By Laury Sarti
Frühmittelalterliche Studien
Abstract: This study re-examines the Ottonian Empire’s self-conception and its relationship with its eastern counterpart in the context of the empire’s re-establishment in the West. Building on earlier Roman, Byzantine, and Carolingian precedents, the Ottonians redefined their empire as a continuation of the Frankish realm, placing comparably little emphasis on Byzantine or ancient Roman models. The coronation of Otto I, which took place without direct Byzantine involvement, marked a significant moment in the establishment of the western empire, with recognition by the Byzantine emperor regarded as a retroactive consideration rather than an immediate concern.
The study argues that, unlike Charlemagne, the Ottonian emperors viewed their empire as a distinct entity, one that did not aim to merge with or mirror the eastern empire, despite their shared heritage. This distinction was also reflected in ethnic and territorial terms, with the Ottonians cultivating a unique imperial identity based on their Frankish inheritance. The collapse of the Carolingian empire and the subsequent interregnum played a critical role in the separation of the western and eastern empires, fostering a growing divergence in their respective political and cultural trajectories.
However, Byzantine influence was not absent. Empress Theophanu, who brought a Byzantine presence to the Ottonian court, and her son Otto III, demonstrated the persistence of eastern traditions in their rulership. Nevertheless, Otto III’s reign also highlighted a distinctively western identity, as he balanced his Roman legacy with his Greek heritage, firmly placing the empire within the context of the western Christian world. This study thus presents the Ottonian empire as a uniquely western political entity, shaped by its Frankish roots and a pragmatic approach to its imperial heritage.
‘Vanity Draweth Truth Aside’: The Lost Chronicle of John De Courcy
By Caoimhe Whelan
The Medieval Chronicle
Abstract: This article seeks first to identify portions of an overlooked medieval chronicle source on the conquest of the Irish kingdom of Ulaid in Ulster by the Somerset English knight John de Courcy (c. 1150–1219) for King Henry II of England. By forensically analysing the sources that comprise the medieval historical section of the sixteenth-century Book of Howth (London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 623), this article argues that it is possible to identify and potentially reconstruct this chronicle. The chronicle offers a new source on the history of twelfth-century Ireland but also allows us to better understand what shaped the unique perspective on the medieval past offered in the Book of Howth commissioned by Christopher St. Lawrence, 7th Baron of Howth (d. 1589), a prominent man from a significant long-established English family in County Dublin, Ireland. The latter part of this article explores how the use of this medieval chronicle material acts as a counterbalance within the Book of Howth’s medieval historiography to the authoritative history of the English conquest of Ireland, the Expugnatio Hibernica (c. 1189) of Giraldus Cambrensis, in order to bolster the credentials of the patron’s ancestors and presents a new perspective on the medieval English lordship of Ireland.
‘A Difficult Film to Sell and a Difficult Film to Appreciate’: MGM’s Alfred the Great (1969) and the Challenges of Promoting Historical Epic in the Late-1960s
By Melanie Williams
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
Abstract: MGM’s 1969 epic royal biopic Alfred the Great presents an illuminating case study for investigating film promotion, especially how to promote historical film, during the intense industrial and cultural changes of ‘New Hollywood’. Through an examination of documentation related to the film’s promotion, held in director Clive Donner’s special collection (BFI National Archive), this article explores deep divisions between the promotional strategies envisaged and implemented by different factions within MGM for Alfred the Great, driven by different beliefs about how best to bring a historical film about an ancient English king before its potential audience(s) in 1969, as long-standing assumptions about audience preferences were being rapidly overturned and the Hollywood studio system was entering what appeared to be a state of terminal crisis. Alfred the Great proved a ‘difficult film to sell’, with its difficulties illuminating the challenges of doing film promotion at this watershed moment, within a genre whose marketing scripts proved difficult to update, and undertaken by an industry increasingly insecure about who it was speaking to and how best to do it.
We found 87 open-access articles from September – you can get the full list by joining our Patreon – look for the tier that says Open Access articles in Medieval Studies.
What’s new in medieval studies? Here are ten open-access articles published in October, which include papers ranging from beer to wax.
This ongoing series on Medievalists.net highlights what has been published in journals over the last month that deal with the Middle Ages. All ten articles are Open-Access, meaning you can read them for free. We have a special tier on our Patreon where you can see the full list of the 87 open-access articles we found.
What Did Comitatus Mean in the Ottonian-Salian Kingdom? A New Look at an Old Question
By David Bachrach
Frühmittelalterliche Studien
Abstract: Hartmut Hoffmann’s seminal essay ‘Grafschaften in Bischofshand’ made clear that the grants of comitatus to episcopal authorities by Ottonian and Salian rulers from the later tenth to the early twelfth century did not provide the basis for the emergence of ecclesiastical polities during the later twelfth and thirteenth century. However, in discussing the transfer of these comitatus Hoffmann assumed that each grant consisted of the royal judicial bannum, previously held by a count. On the basis of this assumption, Hoffmann revived the model of a scattered county ( German Streugrafschaft) first developed by Walter Schlesinger in the context of the New Constitutional History, which denied the existence of public or governmental authority in early medieval Germany. Hoffmann, by contrast, accepted that the Ottonian and Salian kings did exercise public/governmental authority but saw the comitatus in this period as divorced from the territoriality of the earlier Carolingian period in which a count’s judicial bannum was exercised over a circumscribed area, usually coterminous with one or more pagi.
However, when one examines the grants of comitatus discussed by Hoffmann, it is clear that this term was polyvalent in meaning. In some cases, it is evident that rulers transferred to bishops the royal judicial bannum, as Hoffmann argued. In other cases, the grant of a comitatus did not entail the transfer of the bannum but rather of royal fiscal assets. As a consequence, it is possible to reject Hoffmann’s assumption that the identification in the sources of a comitatus spread across several pagi necessarily entailed the existence of a Streugrafschaft whose holder exercised the judicial bannum and, in turn, Hoffmann’s views regarding the deterritorialization of a count’s administrative and judicial authority over a pagus or pagi with specific boundaries. Ultimately, these findings permit a reopening of the question regarding the fate of the Carolingian-style comital office that was based on the specific and circumscribed territory of a pagus or pagi, and whether this type of office actually disappeared under the later Ottonians or even under the Salians.
Click here to read this article
‘Ibique Solenniter est Recondita’: Saint Wærburh, Relic Theft, and the Appropriation of Translation Narratives in Medieval Britain
By Glenn Cahilly-Bretzin
Journal of Medieval History
Abstract: This article examines the posthumous travels and textual traditions surrounding the seventh-century Mercian saint Wærburh. Through close reading of sources such as the Kentish Royal Legend, Goscelin of Saint-Bertin’s Vita sanctae Werburgae uirginis, Liber Eliensis and Life of St Werbuge by Henry Bradshaw, this study reveals how different religious communities manipulated translatio narratives to serve their political, cultural, and spiritual agendas. The analysis considers the priorities for the medieval communities at Hanbury, Ely, Worcester, and Chester, and how these impacted the narratives that each developed around the saint. The study illustrates how medieval hagiographers appropriated established translation topoi to promote local identities, conceal dubious provenance, and compete for the spiritual and economic benefits that relics provided to religious foundations.
Click here to read this article
Gaudiness as technique
By Andrea Denny-Brown
postmedieval
Abstract: The aesthetic concept of gaudiness has its roots in techniques associated with a particular ornamental object in the late medieval period: the decorated marker beads, called gauds in English, used to organize and keep track of one’s recitation in medieval rosaries. As I discuss in this article, the formal purpose of the rosary gaud was to stand out in its exaggerated style, and in the process to function as a technique of control capable of shaping a legible aural practice. Being poetically suggestive, these features of the gaud were taken up in creative ways by practitioners of Middle English poetry, as attested in a series of poems by Chaucer, Hoccleve, Lydgate, and others. Gaudiness, however, makes meaning not only in its use of exaggerated style as a marking system; it also speaks to the aesthetic values and historicized tastes associated with that marking system. To investigate the current state of these embedded values, I turn to the work of contemporary poet Harryette Mullen, who explores the constraints of tradition as sites of disruption, critique, and at times, joyful exuberance.
Click here to read this article
The Social Life of Wax in the Premodern Maghrib
By Daniel Hershenzon
Comparative Studies in Society and History
Abstract:Between the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, large quantities of wax were exported from the Maghrib to Europe. In the Maghrib, both raw wax and wax candles were involved in various social interactions that transcended mere environmental and economic considerations. For some Muslims, wax came to index Christianity, and its significance during the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday was critiqued as a corrupt innovation. At the same time, to prevent the facilitation of Catholic devotion—and because wax was deemed war material—the sale of wax to Christians was forbidden.
Nevertheless, wax remained a profitable product sold to Christians in significant quantities. The anxiety surrounding the movement of wax and the attempts to regulate it indicate that for Muslims, wax served as a religious boundary marker. Christians too utilized the substance to reinforce communal boundaries. Catholics in the Maghrib—captives, clergy, and merchants—used wax to establish and express confessional divides, aiming to deter Catholic captives from converting to Islam. Priests distributed blessed candles to captives, who in turn donated wax to the clergy. Moreover, priests gifted candles to Algerian dignitaries, a practice opposed by the papacy.
Wax formed invisible, often unintended connections between Muslim theologians and rulers, Catholic and Muslim captives, slaves, wax makers, merchants, and redeemers. These entanglements sparked anxiety, a sense of impurity, and a drive to reinforce religious boundaries. This article explores a fragmented history of these connections and relationships and argues that the failed attempts to regulate this circulation fostered new entanglements.
Click here to read this article
Preserved 800-Year-Old Liquid Beer in a Jin Dynasty Vase: Evidence of Malted Sorghum–Wheat Fermentation in Xi’an, China
By Li Liu et al.
Heritage
Abstract: This study investigates a rare case of liquid alcohol preserved in a glazed ceramic vase from the tomb of Li Jurou (AD 1226), Jin dynasty, Xi’an, China, to provide new insights into medieval brewing traditions. We employed a multi-proxy approach combining microfossil and isotopic analysis, experimental brewing with sorghum, and incorporated previously published proteomic data to illuminate its origin. Microfossil analysis revealed yeast cells and starch granules with damage patterns diagnostic of enzymatic saccharification and mashing, indicating the use of malted sorghum and wheat, alongside cooked rice and foxnut. The starch damage features observed in the archaeological sample are consistent with patterns documented in experimental beer brewing with sorghum and wheat/barley. Stable isotope analysis yielded a δ13C value of –18.5‰, consistent with mixed C3 and C4 inputs. Two-component isotopic modeling revealed that C4 plant (likely sorghum) contributed 40–50% of the ingredients, with C3 plants such as wheat, rice, and foxnut making up the remainder.
These findings align with proteomic results identifying sorghum proteins in the liquid. The combined evidence distinguishes this beverage from qu-based fermentation and links it instead to li-type brewing, rooted in malted cereals and associated with ritual practices. This represents the earliest direct archaeological evidence of sorghum beer in China, highlighting both technological innovation and cultural adaptation in historical alcohol production.
Click here to read this article
Medieval Baghdad: Where to from now? State of the Field and Future Research
By Nassima Neggaz and Vanessa Van Renterghem
Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
Abstract: Drawing on the collective reflections of an international methodological workshop held in Paris in 2022, this article offers a critical assessment of the current state of historical scholarship on medieval Baghdad and proposes new directions for its future study. The workshop brought together scholars from diverse fields—urban, political, social, economic, literary, and intellectual history—to foreground methodological innovation in response to the challenges posed by fragmentary archival preservation. The article synthesizes recent advances across key domains, including environmental history, while underscoring persistent lacunae in our understanding of medieval Baghdad’s topography, administration, economy, and social fabric. It calls for a reassessment of conventional periodisation, a decentering of dynastic frameworks, and the adoption of multiscalar approaches, ranging from microhistory to global and connected histories.
Emphasizing the value of interdisciplinary and digital methodologies, along with traditional textual approaches, the authors highlight the potential of tools such as aerial photography, numismatics, manuscript studies, network analysis, and digital humanities to reinvigorate the field. In critiquing Eurocentric historiographical models and advocating for more integrated analytical scales, the article urges a renewed, collaborative, and methodologically pluralistic approach to the study of medieval Baghdad—one that bridges linguistic, regional, and disciplinary divides. Ultimately, it repositions Baghdad not only as the political heart of the Abbasid caliphate, but as a generative locus for rethinking the urban and intellectual history of the premodern Islamicate world.
Click here to read this article
Occupation, Socioeconomic Status, and Dissidence in Bologna around 1300
By Katia Riccardo, David Zbíral and Zoltán Brys
Reti Medievali Rivista
Abstract: This article examines the relationship of dissidence to occupation, residence, and socioeconomic conditions in the inquisition register of Bologna (1291-1310). It investigates whether the occupational composition of heresy suspects reflected broader patterns in Bologna’s urban social fabric and whether wealth profiles of parishes and occupational groups shaped involvement in dissidence. Comparing the proportions of the occupational groups and parishes among suspects of heresy to their proportions in the general population (using the 1296-7 estimo, or tax declaration, as a proxy), the study challenges prevailing scholarly assumptions. Contrary to earlier interpretations highlighting textile and leatherworkers as especially prone to dissidence in Bologna around 1300, the analysis reveals no significant overrepresentation of these occupational groups among heresy suspects. Instead, the findings point to the role of professional zoning and neighborhood dynamics in shaping patterns of religious dissent, suggesting that heresy spread through communal ties rather than being tied to specific economic classes or professions.
Click here to read this article
Ottonian Notions of imperium and the Byzantine Empire
By Laury Sarti
Frühmittelalterliche Studien
Abstract: This study re-examines the Ottonian Empire’s self-conception and its relationship with its eastern counterpart in the context of the empire’s re-establishment in the West. Building on earlier Roman, Byzantine, and Carolingian precedents, the Ottonians redefined their empire as a continuation of the Frankish realm, placing comparably little emphasis on Byzantine or ancient Roman models. The coronation of Otto I, which took place without direct Byzantine involvement, marked a significant moment in the establishment of the western empire, with recognition by the Byzantine emperor regarded as a retroactive consideration rather than an immediate concern.
The study argues that, unlike Charlemagne, the Ottonian emperors viewed their empire as a distinct entity, one that did not aim to merge with or mirror the eastern empire, despite their shared heritage. This distinction was also reflected in ethnic and territorial terms, with the Ottonians cultivating a unique imperial identity based on their Frankish inheritance. The collapse of the Carolingian empire and the subsequent interregnum played a critical role in the separation of the western and eastern empires, fostering a growing divergence in their respective political and cultural trajectories.
However, Byzantine influence was not absent. Empress Theophanu, who brought a Byzantine presence to the Ottonian court, and her son Otto III, demonstrated the persistence of eastern traditions in their rulership. Nevertheless, Otto III’s reign also highlighted a distinctively western identity, as he balanced his Roman legacy with his Greek heritage, firmly placing the empire within the context of the western Christian world. This study thus presents the Ottonian empire as a uniquely western political entity, shaped by its Frankish roots and a pragmatic approach to its imperial heritage.
Click here to read this article
‘Vanity Draweth Truth Aside’: The Lost Chronicle of John De Courcy
By Caoimhe Whelan
The Medieval Chronicle
Abstract: This article seeks first to identify portions of an overlooked medieval chronicle source on the conquest of the Irish kingdom of Ulaid in Ulster by the Somerset English knight John de Courcy (c. 1150–1219) for King Henry II of England. By forensically analysing the sources that comprise the medieval historical section of the sixteenth-century Book of Howth (London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 623), this article argues that it is possible to identify and potentially reconstruct this chronicle. The chronicle offers a new source on the history of twelfth-century Ireland but also allows us to better understand what shaped the unique perspective on the medieval past offered in the Book of Howth commissioned by Christopher St. Lawrence, 7th Baron of Howth (d. 1589), a prominent man from a significant long-established English family in County Dublin, Ireland. The latter part of this article explores how the use of this medieval chronicle material acts as a counterbalance within the Book of Howth’s medieval historiography to the authoritative history of the English conquest of Ireland, the Expugnatio Hibernica (c. 1189) of Giraldus Cambrensis, in order to bolster the credentials of the patron’s ancestors and presents a new perspective on the medieval English lordship of Ireland.
Click here to read this article
‘A Difficult Film to Sell and a Difficult Film to Appreciate’: MGM’s Alfred the Great (1969) and the Challenges of Promoting Historical Epic in the Late-1960s
By Melanie Williams
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
Abstract: MGM’s 1969 epic royal biopic Alfred the Great presents an illuminating case study for investigating film promotion, especially how to promote historical film, during the intense industrial and cultural changes of ‘New Hollywood’. Through an examination of documentation related to the film’s promotion, held in director Clive Donner’s special collection (BFI National Archive), this article explores deep divisions between the promotional strategies envisaged and implemented by different factions within MGM for Alfred the Great, driven by different beliefs about how best to bring a historical film about an ancient English king before its potential audience(s) in 1969, as long-standing assumptions about audience preferences were being rapidly overturned and the Hollywood studio system was entering what appeared to be a state of terminal crisis. Alfred the Great proved a ‘difficult film to sell’, with its difficulties illuminating the challenges of doing film promotion at this watershed moment, within a genre whose marketing scripts proved difficult to update, and undertaken by an industry increasingly insecure about who it was speaking to and how best to do it.
Click here to read this article
We found 87 open-access articles from September – you can get the full list by joining our Patreon – look for the tier that says Open Access articles in Medieval Studies.
Top Image: Multiple gauded rosaries adorn the text of the Seven Joys of the Virgin, with the keyword gaude (rejoice) also illuminated for effect. © British Library Board. Juana of Castile, Book of Hours. London, British Library, Add MS 18852, fol. 319r
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