ACMRS

Beatus vir; studies in early English and Norse manuscripts in memory of Phillip Pulsiano.

Published by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, this commemorative volume contains 14 essays mainly on Old Norse and Old English manuscripts, reflecting the life's work of the late Pulsiano (formerly Villanova U., Philadelphia). Most of the essays present the contributor's research on a specific manuscript or group of manuscripts. In addition, Andrew Prescott (former curator, British Library) offers a lengthy article on the British Library's shelving system and Peter J. Lucas (emeritus, U. of Cambridge, the UK) describes the work of the 17th century Anglo-Saxon scholar Abraham Wheelock. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Beowulf and Lejre.

In his latest adventure, the mighty Anglo-Saxon hero falls in love with a beautiful dark-eyed Hungarian princess, then must rescue her from The Golden Hoard. Not exactly, but the story is about a marriage of sorts, between a text and a place. Tradition places the main action of the Old English poem at Lejre, Zealand (Denmark), and excavations there 1986-88 and 2004-05 have revealed a succession of great halls dated from the middle sixth to the late tenth centuries, and very similar to the one described in eight-century poem. Archaeologists, historians, and literary scholars consider the implications. The publisher is the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Conversion and colonization in Anglo-Saxon England.

Published by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, this volume contains nine essays by scholars in Anglo-Saxon studies (who are from the US and Europe) on how Anglo-Saxon England was converted and colonized. Moving chronologically through the period, the essays begin with the conversion of Anglo-Saxons and written accounts of it, up to the use of Anglo-Saxon texts and ideologies in the conversion of other groups. Individual essays examine Bede's interpretation of the conversion, the conversion of artistic techniques as cultural statements, whether Christianity changed the way people with illnesses were treated, and the translation of classical texts. Others discuss documentary lists, Cynewulf's Elene, gender and religious life, Advent Lyrics, and Anglo-Saxon and continental influences on Iceland. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Don Juan Pacheco; wealth and power in late medieval Spain.

Marino (Spanish, Michigan State U.) tells how Pacheco (1419-74) became the wealthiest nobleman in Castile through four decades of purported service to King Enrique IV, showing how at times he in fact ill-served the king in order to increase his own personal wealth and power. By the beginning of the 20th century, most of Spain's noble houses descended from him, but he himself has gotten pretty bad press fairly consistently since before he died. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Natale Conti's Mythologiae; 2v.

The lack of a modern edition of the original Latin or of the 17th-century French translation, has led scholars to dismiss Conti's (1520-82) work as mere compilation and miss its importance as a standard reference work on classical myth for poets and other writers throughout the Renaissance. Mulryan and Brown (classics, both St. Bonaventure U.) present an English translation with explanatory footnotes and a substantial introduction. In an appendix, they analyze previous editions. The two volumes are paged and indexed together. The publisher is the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Wind & water in the Middle Ages; fluid technologies from antiquity to the Renaissance.

Published by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the 11 essays of this volume represent a portion of those presented, in an earlier format, in the eponymous conference held at Penn State in April 2004. The paper topics include legalities that sprang from the invention of the windmill, waterworks in Islamic gardens, mills in medieval Valencia, water management in London, the role of monasteries, and mills in Ireland. The contributors are based in the UK, Australia, Ireland, Spain and the U.S. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)