Metaphor and Meaning

With the publication of volume 4, 'Influence and Appropriation', we've asked our fantastic contributors to write a blog post about their work.  First up is Jenny Smith, whose paper explores the influential power of metaphor in early modern literature.  Her article can be found here: Necessary Abuse: the Mirror as Metaphor in the Sixteenth Century … Continue reading Metaphor and Meaning

Listening to the Gaoler’s Daughter

From whence come ideas? Kendra Leonard explores the origins of her new article (now live on the Cerae website) in this guest blog. My article about song and meaning in The Two Noble Kinsmen came about through my already-existing research interest in Shakespeare and music and a symposium held on Two Noble Kinsmen organized by my … Continue reading Listening to the Gaoler’s Daughter

Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Renaissance

Behind every great book likes a great culture. In her new article (now live on the Cerae website), Lisa Tagliaferri explores the intricate relationship between text and translation in the Renaissance. Translation is a careful act of negotiation across not only language but culture, which becomes even more pronounced when we approach historical documents from … Continue reading Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Renaissance

Ulrike Draesner’s Nibelungen . Heimsuchung – Book Launch

How has the Nibelungenlied inspired modern poet Ulrike Draesner's new book? Stephanie Hathaway attended the book launch this November.  Tuesday evening, New College, Oxford hosted the book launch for Ulrike Draesner’s latest volume of poetry: Nibelungen . Heimsuchung. The event was organized by Professor Karen Leeder and Mediating Modern Poetry, and attended by students and … Continue reading Ulrike Draesner’s Nibelungen . Heimsuchung – Book Launch

Sight and the body in Anglo-Saxon law & society

What was it about eye wounds that so fascinated writers and illustrators in late Anglo-Saxon England? Matthew Firth explores this in the companion blog to his new article 'Allegories of Sight: Blinding and Power in Late Anglo-Saxon England'. There are few images in medieval art as well known, or as well debated, as the depiction … Continue reading Sight and the body in Anglo-Saxon law & society

John Lyly’s ‘Anatomy of Wit’ as an Example of Early Modern Psychological Fiction

Adele Kudish relates her first encounter with John Lyly's Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit in a blog post accompanying her new article in Ceræ: Volume 3. I first discovered John Lyly while writing my dissertation on what I call “proto-psychological fiction” or “analytical fiction” in Early Modern European prose. Proto-psychological fiction is a sub-genre in which analysis—self-questioning, … Continue reading John Lyly’s ‘Anatomy of Wit’ as an Example of Early Modern Psychological Fiction

A most strange witch pamphlet: A Most Certain, Strange, and True Discovery of a VVitch (1643)

In this guest post from Sheilagh O'Brien, we learn a little more about where she discovered the interest and insight for her recent article on the Witch of Newbury, now fresh off the press on the Cerae website! My interest in the Witch of Newbury came about in the early stages of researching my doctoral thesis on … Continue reading A most strange witch pamphlet: A Most Certain, Strange, and True Discovery of a VVitch (1643)

Uncovering Manly Eunuchs in the Byzantine Empire

Could a eunuch be considered "manly" in the early Byzantine Empire? This is the question Michael Stewart has set out to answer in the fourth article for Volume 2 titled "The Andreios Eunuch-Commander Narses: Sign of a Decoupling of Martial Virtues and Masculinity in the Early Byzantine Empire?" In this guest post, Michael sheds some light … Continue reading Uncovering Manly Eunuchs in the Byzantine Empire

The Merchant of Venice and the Sublime

We are delighted to publish our next article for Volume 2. The article is by Kathrin Bartha (Freie University Berlin) and is an attempt to apply the basic principles of the aesthetic discourse on the sublime, beautiful and grotesque to William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. In this guest blog post, Kathrin explains what happened … Continue reading The Merchant of Venice and the Sublime

In Search of Early Modern Disgust

We've just published the second article in our rolling release of Volume 2. The piece is by Richard Firth-Godbehere (Queen Mary University of London) and considers how Thomas Wright’s 1604 work, The Passions of the Minde in Generall, might have fitted into his overall mission as an English Catholic preacher, particularly when read via Wright’s … Continue reading In Search of Early Modern Disgust