Medieval Sensibilities : A History of Emotions in the Middle Ages

What Do We Know Of The Emotional Life Of The Middle Ages? Though A Long-neglected Subject, A Myriad Of Sources Provides Clues To The Central Role Emotions Played In Medieval Society. In This Work, Historians Damien Boquet And Piroska Nagy Reveal The Many And Nuanced Experiences Of Emotion During The Middle Ages. From The Demonstrative Shame Of A Saint To A Nobleman's Fear Of Embarrassment, They Show How Emotions Changed And Developed, Enabling Us To Better Understand Our Own Social Outlooks And Customs. The Christianization Of Emotion (third To Fifth Centuries) -- The City Of Desire : The Monastic Laboratory -- Emotions For A Christian Society : The Frankish World (fifth To Tenth Centuries) -- The Zenith Of Monastic Affection -- The Ethics And Aesthetics Of Aristocratic Emotions In Feudal Society (eleventh To Thirteenth Centuries) -- The Emotive Nature Of Man (eleventh To Thirteenth Centuries) -- The Politics Of Princely Emotion (twelfth To Fifteenth Centuries) -- The Mystical Conquest Of Emotion (thirteenth To Fifteenth Centuries) -- Common Emotion (thirteenth To Fifteenth Centuries). Damien Boquet And Piroska Nagy ; Translated By Robart Shaw. Translated From The French. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. What do we know of the emotional life of the Middle Ages? Though a long-neglected subject, a multitude of sources - spiritual and secular literature, iconography, chronicles, as well as theological and medical works - provide clues to the central role emotions played in medieval society.

In this work, historians Damien Boquet and Piroska Nagy delve into a rich variety of texts and images to reveal the many and nuanced experiences of emotion during the Middle Ages - from the demonstrative shame of a saint to a nobleman's fear of embarrassment, from the enthusiasm of a crusading band to the fear of a town threatened by the approach of war or plague. Boquet and Nagy show how these outbursts of joy and pain, while universal expressions, must be understood within the specific context of medieval society. During the Middle Ages, a Christian model of affectivity was formed in the ‘laboratory’ of the monasteries, one which gradually seeped into wider society, interacting with the sensibilities of courtly culture and other forms of expression.

Bouqet and Nagy bring a thousand years of history to life, demonstrating how the study of emotions in medieval society can also allow us to understand better our own social outlooks and customs. The Christianization of emotion (third to fifth centuries) -- The city of desire : the monastic laboratory -- Emotions for a christian society : the Frankish world (fifth to tenth centuries) -- The zenith of monastic affection -- The ethics and aesthetics of aristocratic emotions in feudal society (eleventh to thirteenth centuries) -- The emotive nature of man (eleventh to thirteenth centuries) -- The politics of princely emotion (twelfth to fifteenth centuries) -- The mystical conquest of emotion (thirteenth to fifteenth centuries) -- Common emotion (thirteenth to fifteenth centuries) -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Figure credits -- Index