An exposition of Arabic literate culture In eleventh-century Cordoba, the celebrated poet Ibn Zaydun found himself jockeying for the affections of Walladah, accomplished poet and free-spirited daughter of an Umayyad caliph. Looking to embarrass a rival suitor, Ibn Zaydun mischievously wrote and publicized an eloquent, erudite, and searing ......
Originally published in 1925 with two purposes in mind: to provide a collection of material to prepare students to read ordinary medieval Latin texts and, to meet the need of advanced students by furnishing an anthology of medieval Latin prose and poetry, this classic work has been reprinted.
Plato's Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito and Aristophanes' Clouds
Widely adopted for classroom use, this book offers translations of four major works of ancient Greek literature which treat the life and thought of Socrates, focusing particularly on his trial and defense (three dialogues by Plato: Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito) and on the charges against Socrates (Aristophanes' comedy Clouds). This ......
Even after seven centuries of historical development, the core of Dante’s work is probably more relevant today than ever. With his Divine Comedy, the great poet wanted to open the eyes of his contemporaries to the realities of the spiritual world and to the consequences of how we choose to live our life.
Number and Numeracy in Late Medieval English Sermons
Explores discussions of numbers, arithmetic, and other mathematical operations in late medieval English sermons, revealing that popular English-speaking audiences were encouraged to engage in a wide range of numerate operations in their daily religious practices.
On May 4, 1380, Cecily Chaumpaigne filed a quitclaim with the Chancery in Westminster, releasing the poet Geoffrey Chaucer from any prosecution de raptu meo (on account of my rape). This legal document, lost for centuries, has haunted Chaucer studies since its rediscovery in 1873.
Over the past 150 years since it reemerged, ......
The publication of Richard Burridge's What Are the Gospels? in 1992 inaugurated a transformation in Gospel studies by overturning the previous consensus about Gospel uniqueness. Burridge argued convincingly for an understanding of the Gospels as biographies, a ubiquitous genre in the Graeco-Roman world. To establish this claim, Burridge compared ......
The Utopia Reader compiles primary texts from a variety of authors and movements in the history of theorizing utopias. Utopianism is defined as the various ways of imagining, creating, or analyzing the ways and means of creating an ideal or alternative society. Prominent writers and scholars across history have long explored how or why to envision ......
The Cloud of Unknowing was the work of an unknown 14th-century English writer with a powerful message of God's unconditional love in the face of despair. Johnston's theological treatment of this and other works by the same writer makes a conscious comparison with Oriental ways of contemplation.