The Edges of the Medieval World (Medievalia) (Ceu Medievalia)

In the Middles Ages, the edges of one s world could represent different meanings. On the one hand, they might have been situated in far-away regions, mainly in the east and north, that one most often only knew from hearsay and which were inhabited by strange beings: humans with their faces on their chest, without a mouth, or with dog heads. On the other hand, the edges of one s world could just mean the borders of the community where one lived and that one sometimes might not have had the possibility to cross during one s whole life. These varieties of edges of the medieval world were the topic of an international workshop that was held in 2006 on the Estonian island of Muhu, itself an area that could easily be connected with the topic of this meeting. In the present proceedings of the workshop, specialists from eight European countries offer their ideas about different edges of the medieval world and contribute to a discussion that has been increasing greatly in Medieval Studies in recent times. TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 8 PREFACE......Page 10 EDGES OF THE WORLD – EDGES OF TIME......Page 13 FROM THE PERIPHERIES TO THE CENTRES AND BACK AGAIN: VISUAL CULTURE AND THE EDGES OF THIS WORLD......Page 30 THE PICTURE OF THE WORLD IN OLD NORSE SOURCES......Page 48 “THE LAND OF THE NORWEGIANS IS THE LAST IN THE WORLD”: A MID-ELEVENTH-CENTURY DESCRIPTION OF THE NORDIC COUNTRIES FROM THE PEN OF ADAM OF BREMEN......Page 55 POLITICAL RHETORIC AND THE EDGES OF CHRISTIANITY: LIVONIA AND ITS EVIL ENEMIES IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY......Page 64 LIVING ON THE EDGE: PIRATES AND THE LIVONIANS IN THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES......Page 79 DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN: LIFE AT THE FLURGRENZE IN MEDIEVAL AND TRADITIONAL NARRATIVE......Page 91 THE MARGINS OF ONE’S SMALL WORLD: THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWNS IN LATE MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS......Page 108 WHAT IS EXOTIC? SOURCES OF ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS FROM THE EDGES OF THE MEDIEVAL WORLD......Page 122 THE BEAST OF MUHU: A HYBRID FROM THE PERIPHERY......Page 139 TIBI SILENS LAUS: SILENCE AT THE EDGE OF LANGUAGE......Page 145 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS......Page 151 In the Middles Ages, the edges of one's world could represent different meanings. On the one hand, they might have been situated in far-away regions, mainly in the east and north, that one most often only knew from hearsay and which were inhabited by strange beings: humans with their faces on their chest, without a mouth, or with dog heads. On the other hand, the edges of one's world could just mean the borders of the community where one lived and that one sometimes might not have had the possibility to cross during one's whole life.In this volume specialists from eight European countries offer their ideas about different edges of the medieval world and contribute to a discussion that has been increasing greatly in Medieval Studies in recent times. In the Middles Ages, the edges of one's world could represent different meanings. These varieties of edges of the medieval world were the topic of an international workshop that was held in 2006 on the Estonian island of Muhu. This title presents proceedings of the workshop. Edited By Gerhard Jaritz And Juhan Kreem. Includes Bibliographical References.