Papers by Thea Summerfield
The Matter of Kings' Lives
European Journal of Dental Education, 2011
A poet, head over heels in love with a charming lady, writes a book at her request on intimate ma... more A poet, head over heels in love with a charming lady, writes a book at her request on intimate matters concerning women. It is a delicate undertaking, not only because it is a relatively unknown subject for him, but also because he does not want her to be angry with him when she reads about these highly personal matters. This
The Scots and Medieval Arthurian Legend, Apr 24, 2005
Studia Źródłoznawcze/Commentationes, 2003
The Medieval Chronicle VII, 2011
This article explores the way in which Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 'Historia Regum Britan... more This article explores the way in which Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 'Historia Regum Britanniae' refashions the story of Brutus, for which he based himself on the legend as recorded by Isidore of Seville, Bede and the 'Historia Brittonum'. However, an anonymous scribe of MS F of the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' seems to have had the same idea, if not Geoffrey's literary talent.
England and Scotland at War, c.1296-c.1513, 2012
From its dramatic beginning with the accidental death of King Alexander III of Scotland on 19 Mar... more From its dramatic beginning with the accidental death of King Alexander III of Scotland on 19 March 1286 to King Edward I's death in Burgh by Sands on 7 July 1307, the Anglo-Scottish conflict naturally looms large in all modern monographs about Edward I and in histories of his reign. Pierre de Langtoft's Chronicle , written in the French of England, and covering Britain's history from Brutus to the death of Edward I, was compiled in the last years of Edward's life; it probably reached completion shortly after Edward's death. The disparately long section in the Chronicle that relates to the reign of Edward I is unique in that it contains a large number of rough songs in northern dialect in which the Scots are reviled and ridiculed. Early fourteenth-century commemorative poems and comments on Edward's death unanimously recall Edward's martial efforts and his bravery in war. Keywords: Anglo-Scottish conflict; King Edward I; Pierre de Langtoft's Chronicle
People and Texts: Relationships in Medieval Literature, 2007
This article analyses the way William Stewart adapts John Bellenden's literal translation... more This article analyses the way William Stewart adapts John Bellenden's literal translation of John Major's Historia Maioris Britanniae (Paris, 1520) in such a way that it would likely appeal to the future King James V of Scotland, whose tutor Stewart was in 1525-26. The result may perhaps be dubbed as 'A Young Person's Guide to Scottish History'. Although long and rambling, it offered a lively account of all major events in the Scottish past.
Journal of the International Arthurian Society, 2015
In his Continuation of a voluminous 'Mirror of History', written in Middle Dutch between c. 1315 ... more In his Continuation of a voluminous 'Mirror of History', written in Middle Dutch between c. 1315 and 1317, Lodewijk van Velthem describes a number of festivities and exploits in which the recently deceased King Edward I becomes closely associated with the King Arthur of romance and legend. Despite obvious flaws in Velthem's rendition of English history and clearly fictive elements, the idea that King Edward I was 'an Arthurian enthusiast' who indulged in recreating Arthurian romances as part of particular festivities has become widespread, even though archival evidence to support this view has always been lacking. In my article I propose a closer look at the remarkably coherent, interlaced Edwardian/ Arthurian account within the Continuation, parts of which have been consistently ignored in modern scholarship. By adopting a contextual approach it is possible to understand the function of the fictionality of the narrative, its close links with Middle Dutch Arthurian romances in Velthem's possession and its polemical qualities. Résumé: Dans sa Continuation du volumineux 'Miroir historial', rédigée en moyen néerlandais entre environ 1315 et 1317, Lodewijk de Velthem décrit un nombre de festivités et exploits dans lesquels le roi Edouard I, récemment décédé, est étroitement associé à Arthur, le roi romanesque et légendaire. Malgré d'indéniables faiblesses dans le compte rendu que donne Velthem de l'histoire anglaise et malgré les éléments apparemment fictifs, l'idée que le roi Edouard I était 'un grand amateur de la matière arthurienne', se délectant dans la 'récréation' du monde arthurien dans le cadre de certaines festivités, a trouvé une large diffusion, bien que des sources documentaires qui appuient cette idée n'aient jamais été attestées. Dans mon article, je focalise sur la cohérence et l'entrelacement remarquable d'éléments édouardiens et arthuriens dans le compte rendu offert par la Continuation, dont certaines parties ont été ignorées de façon systématique par la critique. L'adoptation d'une approche contextuelle nous permet de comprendre la fonction de la fictionalité de cette narration, ses liens étroits avec les romans
Searching for a Versatile Saint: Introduction Clara Strijbosch The Use of Animals in Benedeit'... more Searching for a Versatile Saint: Introduction Clara Strijbosch The Use of Animals in Benedeit's Version of the Brendan Legend Glyn S. Burgess Brendan's European Tour: The Middle Irish Poem Mochen, mochen, a Brenaind and the Changing Nature of Pilgrimage in the Eleventh Century Thomas Owen Clancy Oriental Eremitical Motifs in the Navigatio sancti Brendani Anna Maria Fagnoni The Little Man on a Leaf and the Two Concepts of the Dutch/German Reise Walter Haug The Island of the Birds in the Navigatio sancti Brendani Peter Christian Jacobsen The Irish Life of Saint Brendan: Textual History, Structure and Date Seamus Mac Mathuna Navigatio sancti Brendani. Some Possible Connections with Liturgical, Apocryphal and Irish Tradition Martin McNamara The Hispanic Version of the Navigatio sancti Brendani: Tradition or Form of Reception of a Text? Aires A. Nascimento Brendan and Moses Giovanni Orlandi The Abbot and the Monastic Community in the Gaelic Churches, 550 to 800 Herold Pettiau Between Angel and Beast: Brendan, Herzog Ernst and the World of the Twelfth Century Clara Strijbosch The Navigatio sancti Brendani and Two of its Twelfth-Century Palimpsests: The Brendan Poems by Benedeit and Walter of Chatillon Carsten Wollin Ein hubsch lieblich lesen von Sant Brandon: A Look at the German Prose Versions and Their Illustrations Karl A. Zaenker Philological Remarks on the so-called Navigatio s. Brendani Michaela Zelzer Bibliography Index Compiled by Jude Mackley
Karel ende Elegast, the story about Charlemagne who goes out stealing in the middle of night on G... more Karel ende Elegast, the story about Charlemagne who goes out stealing in the middle of night on God’s orders and in the process discovers a conspiracy on his life, is known as the jewel in the crown of the Dutch Charlemagne tradition. The text owes this qualification not just to its literary qualities. The fact that this is a compact
Olifant, 2011
... 15, ll. 136-39). And, Boendale writes, in yet another story one might read that Charles went ... more ... 15, ll. 136-39). And, Boendale writes, in yet another story one might read that Charles went out stealing, which is denied vehemently by Boendale (ll. 133-35). ... die poorte die besloten stoet ende leyde sijn ors uut 165 sonder niemare ende gheluyt. ...
Bremmer offers a much-needed reassessment of the career and biography of the famous outlaw. Askin... more Bremmer offers a much-needed reassessment of the career and biography of the famous outlaw. Asking “what national or ethnic sen- timents did the author [of the Gesta] entertain in his description of Hereward?” Bremmer concludes that he “consciously attempted to depict [Hereward] as a latter-day Anglo-Saxon but also that he eventually realized that in view of the new disposition such a characterization could not be maintained until the end of his narrative”. Bremmer situates the Gesta in relation to other later Anglo-Saxon texts concerned with cultural identity, including Ælfric’s Letter to Brother Edward and Wulfstan’s Sermo Lupi, yet he notes that that the author also engages in rhetorical flourishes more typical of Classical epic than early English historiography. Ultimately, Bremmer argues, the political realities of post-Conquest England overtake any nostalgia for the Anglo-Saxon past, so that the narrative’s somewhat deflating conclusion—Hereward’s reconciliation with William—s...
... Chapter One: 1ntroduction 3 introduction to La Vie du Prince Noir by Chandos Herald, guardedl... more ... Chapter One: 1ntroduction 3 introduction to La Vie du Prince Noir by Chandos Herald, guardedly ... This is also suggested by Mannyng's use of the phrase pe mailer of kings' lives ... Ebin in the case of Barbour's Bruce (1972) and Gabrielle Spiegel for thirteenth-century French prose ...
Introduction the core of the "Lancelot" compilation romances before the "Queeste v... more Introduction the core of the "Lancelot" compilation romances before the "Queeste vanden Grale" romances after the "Queeste vanden Grale" the "Lancelot" compilation as a narrative cycle.
Medieval Literary Responses to Warfare, 2009
... The three international gatherings of the Chronicle Conferences, organised by Erik in Drieber... more ... The three international gatherings of the Chronicle Conferences, organised by Erik in Driebergen and Doorn (both near Utrecht) in 1996, 1999 and 2002 have similarly acquired legendary status for their ... Hans van Dijk, De vriendschap van Roelant en Olivier, in Hoort wonder! ...
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Papers by Thea Summerfield