The Religions of the Book: Co-Existence and Conflict, 1400-1660 (Early Modern Literature in History)

The Religions of the Book is the first study to explore the relationship between Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the Early Modern period. A series of distinguished contributors debate the complicated terms in which these 'Religions of the Book' interacted in negative and positive ways, revealing predictable hostilities alongside attempts to forge links and explore connections. The collection illuminates a crucial but neglected area of Eruopean culture from the late Middle Ages to the end of the seventeenth century. Eros And Poetry At The Court Of Mary Queen Of Scots And James Vi Examines The Erotics Of Literary Desire At The Stewart Court In Scotland During The Reigns Of Mary Queen Of Scots And James Vi. Encompassing The Period From The Early 1560s To The Late 1590s, This Is The First Study To Link Together Scottish Marian And Jacobean Court Literature, Presenting A Relatively Unknown Body Of Writing, Newly Theorized And Contextualized. It Argues That In This Period Erotic Poetry Can Only Be Considered In Relation To The Figure Of The Monarch, And That The Formation Of Elite Lyric Culture Takes Place Under The Shaping Influence Of Desire For, And Against, The Sovereign, And Her Or His 'passional' And Symbolic Powers.--jacket. Introduction: Amorous Histories -- From Marian To Jacobean Eros -- Pt. 1. The Marian Period. 1. Feminine Eros: Mary Queen Of Scots And The Emergence Of Desire. 2. Demonic And Angelic Women: The Erotics Of Renunciation And Mariology In The Bannatyne Manuscript -- Pt. 2. The Jacobean Period. 3. Fables Of Eros: James Vi And The Revelation Of Desire. 4. Devotional Artefacts: John Stewart And The Eroticisation Of The Courtly. 5. Love's Altar: Alexander Montgomerie And The Erotics Of Representation. 6. Heretical Love-words: The Poetry Of William Fowler. Conclusion: Love's End. Sarah M. Dunnigan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Notes on Contributors......Page 12 Acknowledgements......Page 14 Chronology......Page 15 Introduction: The Devil Citing Scripture: Christian Perceptions of the Religions of the Book......Page 18 1 Christian Anti-Semitism and Intermedial Experience in Late Medieval England......Page 40 2 The Crusade of Varna, 1443–1445: What Motivated the Crusaders?......Page 62 3 'A Human Head to the Neck of a Horse': Hybridity, Monstrosity and Early Christian Conceptions of Muhammad and Islam......Page 83 4 'Vile Interpretations' and 'Devilish Supplements': Jewish Exegesis and Linguistic Siege in Martin Luther's 'On the Jews and Their Lies' (1543)......Page 106 5 "Turks" and "Christians": The Iconography of Possession in the Depiction of the Ottoman-Venetian-Hapsburg Frontiers, 1550–1689......Page 127 6 Confounding Babel: The Language of Religion in the English Revolution......Page 157 7 'A Parallel Made with the Jewish Sanhedrin': Tolerating Jews and Jewish Precedents in the Early Modern Church and State......Page 176 8 Milton among the Muslims......Page 197 Afterword......Page 212 Select Bibliography......Page 220 B......Page 224 D......Page 225 H......Page 226 L......Page 227 P......Page 228 S......Page 229 Z......Page 230 "A Roman triumph was the procession of a victorious general through the city. The festivity combined religious thanksgiving, political legitimation, and carnival release. Early modern England, from the Armada period of the 1580s to the Cromwellian Protectorate in the 1650s, revived and appropriated the Roman model in a wide variety of forms. The result is a characteristic product of early modern culture." "English use of the triumph included ceremonies, stage performances, and poetic or pictorial representations. This book gives particular attention to the researches of humanist antiquarians, the vigorous tradition of pamphlet triumphs, and the literary or dramatic versions produced by Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Marvell and Milton, as well as by non-canonical writers. It discloses the ways in which all these texts are implicated in contemporary political conflicts and discourses. The book also discusses adaptations such as the subversive triumph of love, the paradoxical triumph of peace, and Christian triumphs of humility and patience."--Jacket Introduction: the devil citing scipture: Christian perceptions of the religions of the book / Matthew Dimmock and Andrew Hadfield -- Christian antisemitism and intermedial experience in late medieval England / Anthony Bale -- The Crusade of Varna, 1443-1445: what motivated the crusaders? / Colin Imber -- "A human head to the neck of a horse": hybridity, monstrosity and early Christian conceptions of Muhammad and Islam / Matthew Dimmock -- "Vile interpretations" and "devilish supplements": Jewish exegesis and linguistic siege in Martin Luther's On the Jews and their lies (1543) / Raphael Hallett -- "Turks" and "Christians": the iconography of possession in the depiction of the Ottoman-Venetian-Hapsburg frontiers, 1550-1689 / Palmira Brummett -- Confounding Babel: the language of religion in the English Revolution / Matthew Birchwood -- "A parallel made with the Jewish sanhedrin": tolerating Jews and Jewish precedents in the early modern church and state / Eliane Glaser -- Milton among the Muslims / Gerald MacLean The Religions of the Book explores Christian perceptions of the complex relationship between the 1religions of the book2 - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - from 1400 to 1660. This period defines the rise of the Islamic Ottoman and the Catholic Spanish Empires, each with rhetorical - if not actual - claims to global dominance, and the apocalyptic conflict between them. It is also a period in which Christianity and Islam were riven by schism, profoundly complicating notions of just and holy war. Similarly, the connections between Christianity and Judaism were subject to continual debate and a wide range of responses. These expansive and interdisciplinary essays question how Christianity was understood in relation to others 1of the book2; the comprehension of common religious narratives and geography; and the nature of their conflict and co-existence. This collection demonstrates how the interaction of these three religions is crucial for an understanding of the period 1400 to 1660 The Religions of the Book explores Christian perceptions of the complex relationships between the 'religions of the book'-Christianity. Islam and Judaism - from 1400 to 1660. This period defines the rise of the Islamic Ottoman and the Catholic Spanish Empires, each with rhetorical - if not actual - claims to global dominance, and the apocalyptic conflict between them. It is also a period in which Christianity and Islam were riven by schism, profoundly complicating nations of just and holy war. Similarly, the connections between Christianity and judaism were subject to continual debate and a wide range of responses. These expansive and interdisciplinary essays question how Christianity was understood in relation to others 'of the book', the comprehension of common religious narratives and geography and the nature of their conflict and coexistence. This collection demonstrates how the interaction of these three religions is crucial for an understanding of the period 1400-1660 "The advent of relatively cheap printed editions of verse in the mid-sixteenth century produced an explosion of verse, much of which represented the first-person speaker as a version of the author. This book examines the way in which writers, often seeking advancement in their careers, harnessed the powers of verse and print for self-promotional purposes. Close attention to the self-constructions of these writers reveals conflicts and contradictions in available models of the self, as well as doubts about the powers of verse to express the inner self. Texts studied include: an extraordinary manuscript autobiography by Thomas Whythorne; printed verse by a woman, Isabella Whitney; an erotic romance by George Gascoigne, hailed as the first 'novel' in English; little-known but memorable narratives of travel to Russia and Africa, and of the experience of war; and more canonical works by Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare."--Jacket Eros and Poetry examines the erotics of literary desire at the Stewart court in Scotland during the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI. Encompassing the period from the early 1560s to the late 1590s, this is the first study to link together Scottish Marian and Jacobean court literatures, presenting a relatively unknown body of writing, newly theorized and contextualized. It argues that in this period erotic poetry can only be considered in relation to the figure of the monarch, and that the formation of elite lyric culture takes place under the shaping influence of desire for, and against, the sovereign, and her or his 'passional' and symbolic powers This is the first study to explore the relationship between Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the Early Modern period. Contributors debate the complicated terms in which these 'Religions of the Book' interacted. The collection illuminates this area of European culture from the late Middle Ages to the end of the Seventeenth century. This study explores the relationship between Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the early modern period. Contributors debate the complicated terms in which these 'Religions of the Book' interacted. The collection illuminates this area of European culture from the late Middle Ages to the end of the 17th century.