Authorities in the Middle Ages : Influence, Legitimacy, and Power in Medieval Society

Kangas, Sini (EDT); Korpiola, Mia (EDT); Ainonen, Tuija (EDT)

ISBN 10: 3110294494 / ISBN 13: 9783110294491

Published by Walter de Gruyter, 2013

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 21484478-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Authorities in the Middle Ages : Influence, Legitimacy, and Power in Medieval Society
• Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3110294494
• ISBN 13: 9783110294491
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Medievalists reading and writing about and around authority-related themes lack clear definitions of its actual meanings in the medieval context. Authorities in the Middle Ages offers answers to this thorny issue through specialized investigations.

This book considers the concept of authority and explores the various practices of creating authority in medieval society. In their studies sixteen scholars investigate the definition, formation, establishment, maintenance, and collapse of what we understand in terms of medieval struggles for authority, influence and power. The interdisciplinary nature of this volume resonates with the multi-faceted field of medieval culture, its social structures, and forms of communication. The fields of expertise include history, legal studies, theology, philosophy, politics, literature and art history.

The scope of inquiry extends from late antiquity to the mid-fifteenth century, from the Church Fathers debating with pagans to the rapacious ghosts ruining the life of the living in the Sagas. There is a special emphasis on such exciting but understudied areas as the Balkans, Iceland and the eastern fringes of Scandinavia.

About the Authors

Sini Kangas and Mia Korpiola, University of Helsinki, Finland; Tuija Ainonen, University of Toronto, Canada.