L'Agenda des Médiévistes

The series of rebellions against royal authority and the violent clashes between aristocratic families that occurred in England between 1455 and 1487 have long been characterized as the ‘Wars of the Roses’. Yet, far from being a continuous period of civil war, the Wars of the Roses were in fact an intermittent series of minor clashes, pitched battles, and sieges. These occurred against the backdrop of a demilitarization of the English aristocracy in the final years of the Hundred Years War.

Drawing on extensive archival research and a wide-ranging synthesis of the secondary literature, David Grummitt here reconsiders the nature of war and the martial culture of the English in the second half of the fifteenth century. He places these experiences within the peculiar legal, constitutional, and political culture of late Lancastrian and Yorkist England, to reexamine in depth the motivation for fighting, the raising and equipping of armies, the experience of battle and its aftermath, and the ways in which civil conflict was rationalized and memorialized. These experiences are compared and contrasted to that in its continental neighbours in an age of expanding royal authority, gunpowder weapons, and emergence of standing, professional armies. The book’s conclusions offer a new interpretation of the evidence for the size of armies and scale of conflict during these years, the weaponry and tactics employed, and the wider importance of war, chivalry, and martial culture in late medieval England.

In so doing, and by drawing on a range of new conceptual approaches in the fields of the history of emotions, material culture, and conflict archaeology, alongside other more traditional disciplinary approaches to military history, the book offers a thorough and fulsome history of the Wars of the Roses, one that properly integrates war and marital culture into our understanding of the political and cultural history of fifteenth-century England, and late medieval European military history more generally.

Table des matières :

1:Fifteenth-Century England: A Society Structured for War
2:The Wars of the Roses: Treason, Rebellion and Civil War
3:The Logistics of War: Armies and Weapons
4:The Practicalities of War: Training, Strategy and Preparation for Battle
5:The Experience of War: Tactics and Battle
6:The Aftermath of War: Death, Profit and Loss
7:The Legacy of War: Memorialization and History
Conclusion. An English Way of War?

Informations pratiques :

David Grummitt, The Wars of the Roses. War and Martial Culture in England, 1455–1487, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2025 ; 1 vol., 288 p. ISBN : 978-0-19895-891-8. Prix : GBP 84,00.

Source : Oxford University Press

This book examines African Latin Christianity from the fifth to the thirteenth century, exploring the complex interactions between local Christian communities and Vandals, Byzantines, and Arabs.

Focusing on the resilience of successive generations of African Christians and their capacity to adapt to challenging political circumstances, Marco Cristini delves into their relationships with local rulers, popes, and European sovereigns such as Charlemagne. He argues that the history of Augustine’s heirs represents a crucial phase in the transformation of the Mediterranean’s religious landscape during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. This book offers readers fresh insights into much-debated topics, including the role of religious otherness under the Vandals, Justinian’s religious policies, Christian-Muslim relations, and the impact of Western medieval missionaries on indigenous Christian communities. It also sheds light on the remarkable longevity of African Latin Christianity, demonstrating its ability to not only survive but also thrive under ‘heretical’ or ‘infidel’ rulers for nearly eight centuries.

With its accessible, in-depth, and comprehensive analysis, this book is an essential resource for scholars, postgraduates, and undergraduates interested in Late Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages, the history of North Africa, pre-modern Christianity, early Islam, and the Crusades.

Marco Cristini obtained his PhD at Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy). He subsequently held a fellowship at the University of Tübingen and at the Istituto Italiano di Storia Antica (Rome). He is currently Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Florence. He published a monograph on the second-last Ostrogothic king (Baduila: Politics and Warfare at the End of Ostrogothic Italy), as well as several papers on sixth-century Italy, Cassiodorus, Procopius of Caesarea, and early medieval diplomacy.

Table des matières :

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Vandal Kingdom: Confrontation and Coexistence

Chapter 2: Conquering Africa: Justinian’s Wars and the Three Chapters Controversy

Chapter 3: Gregory the Great and the African Church

Chapter 4: Monotheletism and the African Church

Chapter 5: The Islamic Conquest and its Impact upon African Latin Christianity

Chapter 6: Three Centuries of Silence? African Christians under Islamic Rule during the Early Middle Ages

Chapter 7: Leo IX, Gregory VII, and the Church of Africa

Chapter 8: The Almohads and the End of African Latin Christianity

Conclusion

Bibliography

Informations pratiques :

Marco Cristini, The Years of the Infidels. African Latin Christianity from the Vandals to the Almohads, Londres, Routledge, 2025 ; 1 vol., 270 p. ISBN : 978-1-03254-063-4. Prix GBP 108,00.

Source : Routledge

The Medieval Low Countries (MLC) is a peer-reviewed journal featuring articles on the Low Countries (viewed in its broadest sense as the estuaries of Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine and IJssel with their corresponding hinterlands), from the start of the fifth century to the second half of the sixteenth century. During these centuries, this region was one of the major centers of economic, cultural, religious and social development in Europe. By publishing the best of new scholarship concerning the region over the course of the Middle Ages, The Medieval Low Countries makes these achievements more visible and highlights the connections between changes in each domain. At the same time, the journal provides a forum for exchange and cooperation between established and upcoming scholars in several disciplines, whether in Europe, the United States, or beyond. The MLC is a continuation of the journals Millennium, Jaarboek voor Middeleeuwse Geschiedenis, and Medieval and Modern Matters: Archaeology and Material Culture in the Low Countries.

Table des matières :

Saints of the Low Countries in Scandinavia. Manuscript evidence from twelfth-century Lund and Nidaros – Synnøve Midtbø Myking

Books from the Low Countries in high-medieval Scandinavia. A two-part manuscript from Saint-Omer in Denmark, its decorative practices, and their reflections in some Nordic fragments – Jaakko Tahkokallio

Recognising Manuscripts from the Low Countries. Cases from Nordic Fragment Collections – Åslaug Ommundsen

The Legend of Marie of Oignies and its Early Dissemination in the North – Lotte Devoldere

The Dane saga of Breda. A Late Medieval Account of Viking Endeavour and Vernacular Devotion – Christian Cooijmans

Informations pratiques :

Scandinavia and the Low Countries, The Medieval Low Countries, t. 11, 2024 ; 1 vol., 236 p. ISBN : 978-2-503-60871-6. Prix : € 93,00.

Source : Brepols

Das Buch behandelt einen Abschnitt aus der Zeit der Auflösungssphase des karolingischen Großreichs, die sich zwischen dem ausgehenden 9. und der Mitte des 10. Jahrhunderts vollzogen hat. Während sich damals aus diesem Herrschaftsgebilde nördlich der Alpen nur langsam das deutsche und das französische Reich herausentwickelten, etablierte sich südwärts davon zwischen 888 und 951/62 ein eigenes „italisches“ Königreich (Regnum Italiae). In ihm dominierte ein selbstbewusster Adel, der schnell mit Einsetzungen und Verlassungen seiner Könige bei der Hand war, wobei er diese mit Vorliebe aus anderen Ländern berief. Ein solcher Ruf erging 925 an den Grafen Hugo von Arles und Vienne, der sich als Rex Italiae dann am längsten – nämlich von 926–945 – an der Macht gehalten hat. Den Verlauf und die Eigenart dieser Regierungszeit versucht das Buch nachzuverfolgen und zu charakterisieren, einschließlich eines Blickes auf die letzten, in der Provence verbrachten Lebensjahre Hugos. Diesem Darstellungsteil vorangestellt ist ein Kapitel, das sich seiner politischen Karriere und Aktivität im Königreich Provence bis zu seinem Weggang nach Italien widmet, wodurch der vorliegende Band den Charakter einer Monographie zu Hugo erhält.

Table des matières : ici

Informations pratiques :

Wolfgang Giese, Hugo von Arles und Vienne – König im Regnum Italiae. Nachforschungen zu Leben und Wirken einer Herrscherpersönlichkeit in der Wendezeit vom 9. bis in die Mitte des 10. Jahrhunderts, Munich, Utzverlag, 2025 ; 1 vol., 382 p. ISBN : 978-3-8316-7811-2. Prix : € 84,00.

Source : utzverlag

Higher Education is a rich and diverse environment which allows so many different types of people and disciplines to flourish. Medieval Studies is a particular confluence of this, with the meeting of history, literature, history of art, archaeology, and more. The contributors describe their lived experience of disability and how this intersects with the discipline of Medieval Studies, embracing both the challenges and the joy this can bring. They discuss teaching, research, and just existing within the university, bringing in theoretical approaches as well as linking to medieval texts. Towards an Accessible Academy provides a unique perspective on the state of accessibility within this field and in the university environment more broadly.　

This volume sits between work which centers the experience of disabled academics and which provides guidance for supporting disabled students. While providing real-life testimonies of disability in the academy, many chapters also include practical advice on best practice in supporting disabled scholars and students, as well as how the authors feel connected to the medieval sources we study.　

The book is also a call to action for all of its readers to actively practise allyship, providing clear examples of how we might all implement the advice given by contributors to improve the accessibility of our academy.

Alexandra R.A. Lee, NYU London, UK; Hope Doherty-Harrison, History of Art, University of Edinburgh, UK; E.R.P. Champion, independent scholar, UK.

Table des matières : ici

Informations pratiques :

Towards an Accessible Academy. Perspectives from Disabled Medievalists, éd. Alexandra R.A. Lee, E.R.P. Champion, Hope Doherty-Harrison, Berlin–Boston, De Gruyter, 2025 ; 1 vol., X–228 p. (Premodern Transgressive Literatures, 2). ISBN : 978-1-50152-109-6. Prix : € 99,95.

Source : De Gruyter

Il volume propone un viaggio in uno dei crocevia culturali, politici ed economici più significativi del medioevo. Attraverso una narrazione serrata e rigorosa l’autore ripercorre la storia della Rus’ dalle origini alla frammentazione, esplorandone le dinamiche sociali, le istituzioni, i rapporti coi poteri vicini: Bisanzio, l’Europa e le steppe dell’Asia. Il testo offre una visione delle vicende della Rus’, dai principi Rjurikidi alla cristianizzazione, dalle rotte commerciali ai conflitti dinastici, tracciando il ritratto di una società complessa, un ponte fra Oriente e Occidente, le cui eredità culturali e politiche risuonano ancora oggi. Una lettura che permette di comprendere le radici dell’Europa orientale e l’evoluzione di un’entità statuale che ha dato un contributo decisivo al medioevo europeo, e non solo.

Table des matières :

Introduzione
1. Le origini. Dalla nascita della Rus’ alla morte di Vladimir i (850-1015)
Prima della Rus’. Forme insediative e organizzazione sociale delle popolazioni slave orientali/La Rus’ fra il khaganato cazaro e l’islam/Origini della Rus’: la versione della Povest’/Lenta espansione del Nord: Igor’/Primi rudimenti di politica estera e morte di Igor’/Consolidamento delle alleanze: l’età di Ol’ga/Verso una nuova Rus’: gli anni di Svjatoslav e la fine dell’egemonia cazara/Il cerchio si chiude: l’età di Vladimir il Grande/Letture consigliate
2. La Rus’ nell’XI secolo: una questione familiare
La dinastia come fonte di legittimità politica/La Rus’ all’alba dell’XI secolo. Il “problema” della successione/Mstislav e la diarchia/Affermazione e consolidamento del sistema della successione laterale/Il centro guarda alla periferia. La Rus’ alla fine dell’XI secolo e l’accordo di Ljubeč/L’età di Vladimir Monomaco/La Rus’ e i poteri esterni: dal Nord ai nomadi/Religione e cultura nella Rus’ dell’XI secolo/Letture consigliate
3. Il XII secolo: alleanze, conflitti e divisioni
La Rus’ nel XII secolo: quadro d’insieme e dibattito storiografico/Eredità di Vladimir Monomaco/Morte di Jaropolk e nuovi conflitti/Jurij Dolgorukij: polarizzazione del potere e nuove egemonie/Crisi politiche e restaurazioni: gli anni di Andrej Bogoljubskij/Fine del secolo e nuove configurazioni di potere/Letture consigliate
4. La fine della Rus’
La Rus’ alla vigilia dell’invasione mongola: una sconfitta evitabile?
L’invasione mongola: cronologia degli eventi/Conseguenze immediate dell’invasione/Una dominazione a geometria variabile/Verso un’altra Rus’/Ascesa e affermazione di Mosca/Letture consigliate
5. Dalla Rus’ alla Russia
Da Vladimir a Mosca/Principato di Ivan ii e crisi dell’Orda d’oro/Centralità di Novgorod/Da Kulikovo alla Moscovia/La Chiesa e il principe durante la dominazione mongola/L’eredità. Rus’, Russia e “giogo tartaro”/Letture consigliate
6. Istituzioni, società ed economia nella Rus’ di Kiev
Il principe e il metropolita/Ceti egemoni e ceti subalterni/La gestione dello spazio agrario: proprietari, contadini e gli altri/Manifattura e commercio nella Rus’/Il sistema giudiziario: la Russkaja Pravda/Letture consigliate
Conclusioni
Glossario
Genealogie
Cronologia
Bibliografia
Indice dei nomi e delle cose notevoli

Informations pratiques :

Lorenzo Pubblici, La Rus’ di Kiev. Un crocevia fra Europa e Asia nel Medioevo, Rome, Carocci, 2025 ; 1 vol., 204 p. (Quality paperbacks). ISBN : 978-8-82903-043-9. Prix : € 19,00.

Source : Carocci

Passé d’une rive à l’autre de l’Atlantique, d’Occident en Orient, John Tolan est depuis son arrivée à Nantes, à la fin du XXe siècle, l’un des historiens qui, au plan international, s’est le plus consacré aux transferts et aux échanges dans la Méditerranée médiévale et aux échos contemporains de cette histoire complexe. Pour lui rendre hommage, une vingtaine de chercheurs a souhaité mettre en relief et interroger des figures de passeurs. Au fil des pages, dans des contextes fort différents, se dessinent individus, groupes ou institutions et, à travers eux, les interrelations, toujours riches et éventuellement conflictuelles, qu’ils ont permises. Une temporalité ample, dépassant le Moyen Âge placé au coeur du livre, et un cadre géographique large s’imposaient, propres à souligner les changements de contexte que John Tolan, dans ses travaux, a si bien analysés en opérant à sa suite une approche pluridisciplinaire qui réunit l’histoire, l’étude des langues et l’ensemble des sciences sociales.

Table des matières : ici

Informations pratiques :

Au Moyen Âge et par-delà : Passeurs, échanges et transferts en Méditerranée. Hommage à John Tolan, éd. Philippe Josserand, Annick Peters-Custot, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2025 ; 1 vol., 226 p. (Enquêtes et Documents). ISBN : 979-1-04130-454-7. Prix : € 22,00.

Sources : Presses universitaires de Rennes