English Mystics of the Middle Ages (Cambridge English Prose Texts) (Hardcover)

~ Barry Windeatt (Editor) "Richard Rolle, 'Richard Hermit of Hampole', is the first, easily the most controversial, and probably the most widely influential of the English mystical writers of..." (more)
Key Phrases: thi hert, bot yif, thou sal, Jhesu Criste, Holy Gost, Lord Jhesu (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Barry Windeatt's fine anthology of late Middle English mystical writings exemplifies in an almost startling manner what might be designated the central dilemma of modern spiritual scholarship." Christianity and Literature

"The texts are newly edited from the manuscripts and are supplemented with texual and explanatory notes and a glossary, making available some of the best work of the English mystics." Manuscripta

Product Description

This edition brings together for the first time key texts representing the writings of the medieval English mystics. The texts are newly edited from manuscripts, and are supplemented with notes and a glossary. The book focuses on five major authors, Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Dame Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe; extracts from contemporary translations are also included to illustrate the reception of European mystical texts in later medieval England.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521327407
• ISBN-13: 978-0521327404
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,917,427 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A concise overview of medieval English expansion, August 28, 2000

By	B.W. Holden "brockholden" (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1100-1300 (The Wiles Lectures) (Hardcover)

I should start with a disclaimer - Rees Davies was my doctoral supervisor at Oxford. That said, this is a short, well-written exposition of the trend in recent British medieval historiography, advanced by Davies and Robin Frame, in which the boundaries of "national" history are broken down. Davies examines the ideological underpinnings, going back to the Anglo-Saxons, for the overlordship of the British Isles and Ireland by the kings of England. He then proceeds to examine Anglo-Norman expansion and infiltration in Wales, Ireland and Scotland in all its myriad aspects. Military conquest was only one tool available, and was accompanied by economic exploitation (and blandishments), the imposition or denial of English law, and English domination of the ecclesiastical hierarchy in Wales and Ireland. With an eye for the telling anecdote, Davies shows how the Anglo-Normans were flexible, adapting from local societies what suited their purposes and exploiting political divisions and rivalries for their own ends. Davies is a good writer as well as one of the most prominent medieval historians in the U.K., and this book should prove accessible for the lay reader interested in what the author has called the "first English empire".

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A concise, illuminating study, August 10, 2003

By	Glenn McDorman (Denver) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1100-1300 (The Wiles Lectures) (Hardcover)

With Domination and Conquest Davies, one of the most prominent historians of the "British" middle ages, has put together a gem of a book. Davies' fundamental purpose here is to put an end to many of the misconceptions about the Anglicization of Britain and Ireland. Beginning with a discussion of the difference between domination and conquest, Davies helps us see that the military aspect of this episode in history is not as important as it often appears. From here Davies moves on to shatter the idea of a concerted and organized Anglo-Norman endeavor to conquer and dominate the Isles, and the myth of organized resistances in Wales and Ireland. In the end, Davies leaves us with a profoundly different understanding of Anglo-Norman expansion in the British Isles. In addition to being illuminating, Domination and Conquest is wonderfully written and a joy to read.