In this article, our social media editor Matt Firth looks at the career of Joseph Banks (1743-1820), and the collection of Icelandic texts he left the British Library… For Australians, Joseph Banks (1743-1820) is a familiar name from our colonial history. In fact, I suspect that for most of us, setting aside James Cook, his … Continue reading Sir Joseph Banks and the Medieval Icelandic Saga
In this article, our editor Christina Cleary takes a look at BL MS Egerton 1782, a 16th century Irish manuscript that preserves Early Irish tales that have not otherwise survived the centuries… The vellum manuscript known as Egerton 1782, housed by the British Library, is an extremely valuable source for the study of Early Irish … Continue reading A Treasury of Early Irish Literature – BL Manuscript Egerton 1782
In this article, our deputy reviews editor Kirsty Bolton takes a look at the medieval port town of La Rochelle, its legendary founder, and its fraught political history... In June, I spent a few days in La Rochelle, a medieval port town on the south west coat of France. It was supposed to be an anniversary trip … Continue reading La Rochelle and the Roman de Melusine
How did an emperor's interest in collecting art connect with representations of his cultural and imperial legacy? In her new article (now live on the Cerae website), Miranda Lee Elston explores Rudolf II's fascination with the religious works of Albrecht Dürer – she introduces her article, and her research more widely, for us here… I am a Ph.D. … Continue reading Rudolf II and the Material Culture of the Holy Roman Empire
How was the classical historian Sallust read in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and what does this reveal about medieval moral thought? These are the questions Philippa Byrne asks in her new article (now live on the Cerae website). Philippa introduces it for us here on the blog, taking a look at how the research … Continue reading Reading Sallust in Medieval Political and Intellectual Culture
Should we consider the most ambitious Anglo-Saxon kings as reigning over ‘empires’, or are historians misusing that term? In his new article (now live on the Cerae website), Matt Firth examines ‘empires’ as a category of power in political theory and questions whether it is an appropriate term for the hegemonies of the Kings Æthelstan and Cnut... … Continue reading Æthelstan and Cnut – Emperors or Kings?
How did early medieval scholars interpret and adapt the histories of Imperial Rome? In her new article (now live on the Cerae website), Minjie Su explores the composition of, and intertextuality within, Vita Karoli Magni (The Life of Charlemagne) - she introduces it for us here... I find that, in order to write about the article … Continue reading Einhard and the Writing of Vita Karoli Magni
In this guest article, Daniel Johnson reflects on the recent conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (ANZAMEMS) at the University of Sydney. I am a part-time PhD student from the UK, studying the theology of the hymns of Isaac Watts (1674-1784) at the University of Leicester. I … Continue reading Conference Review – ANZAMEMS, University of Sydney
Here Dr. Jocelyn Hargrave of Monash University shares with us a fascinating insight into the connections between academia and publishing, and how working in both fields has informed her research. Her article "Aphra Behn: Cultural Translator and Editorial Intermediary" has just been published in Volume 4 of Cerae Journal. Editing, specifically, and making books, more … Continue reading Aphra Behn: Cultural Translator and Editorial Intermediary
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