Jaakko Tahkokallio – författare

Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1138) became one of medieval Europe's most popular and successful creations. Here, Jaakko Tahkokallio explores its high-medieval reception through a detailed examination of its extensive manuscript corpus. Geoffrey's pseudohistorical text introduced King Arthur and the prophet Merlin to European literature. Previous research has often portrayed Geoffrey's work as a radical departure from mainstream Latin historiography and emphasised its connections to emerging vernacular courtly literature. The evidence scrutinised in this book - the manuscripts' production histories, material characteristics, and marginalia - presents a challenge to this received wisdom, indicating instead that Geoffrey's History largely corresponded to, rather than challenged, the expectations of its medieval readers for historical texts. In its combination of fabulous and controversial content with the traditional form of Latin historical writing, it appealed to an extraordinary range of contemporary readers.

Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1138) became one of medieval Europe's most popular and successful creations. Here, Jaakko Tahkokallio explores its high-medieval reception through a detailed examination of its extensive manuscript corpus. Geoffrey's pseudohistorical text introduced King Arthur and the prophet Merlin to European literature. Previous research has often portrayed Geoffrey's work as a radical departure from mainstream Latin historiography and emphasised its connections to emerging vernacular courtly literature. The evidence scrutinised in this book - the manuscripts' production histories, material characteristics, and marginalia - presents a challenge to this received wisdom, indicating instead that Geoffrey's History largely corresponded to, rather than challenged, the expectations of its medieval readers for historical texts. In its combination of fabulous and controversial content with the traditional form of Latin historical writing, it appealed to an extraordinary range of contemporary readers.

This Element is a contribution to the ongoing debate on what it meant to publish a book in manuscript. It offers case-studies of three twelfth-century Anglo-Norman historians: William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth. It argues that the contemporary success and rapid attainment of canonical authority for their histories was in significant measure the result of successfully conducted publishing activities. These activities are analysed using the concept of a ''publishing circle''. This concept, it is suggested, may have wider utility in the study of authorial publishing in a manuscript culture. This Element is also available as Open Access.

This Element is a contribution to the ongoing debate on what it meant to publish a book in manuscript. It offers case-studies of three twelfth-century Anglo-Norman historians: William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth. It argues that the contemporary success and rapid attainment of canonical authority for their histories was in significant measure the result of successfully conducted publishing activities. These activities are analysed using the concept of a 'publishing circle'. This concept, it is suggested, may have wider utility in the study of authorial publishing in a manuscript culture. This Element is also available as Open Access.

This Element is a contribution to the ongoing debate on what it meant to publish a book in manuscript. It offers case-studies of three twelfth-century Anglo-Norman historians: William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth. It argues that the contemporary success and rapid attainment of canonical authority for their histories was in significant measure the result of successfully conducted publishing activities. These activities are analysed using the concept of a ''publishing circle''. This concept, it is suggested, may have wider utility in the study of authorial publishing in a manuscript culture. This Element is also available as Open Access.

Huppupäiset pyövelit katkovat ihmisten kauloja, noitia poltetaan, taikausko kukoistaa. Kirkko päättää kaikesta ihmisten elämässä ja maapallon uskotaan olevan litteä. Tällaista oli elämä keskiajalla - vai oliko sittenkään?Ajatus pimeästä keskiajasta elää sitkeästi osana kertomusta modernin länsimaisen sivilisaation noususta. Keskiaika nähdään synkkänä kautena antiikin ja renessanssin loiston välissä, ja sille on varattu konnan rooli tarinassa yhteiskuntamme kehityksestä. Tätä väritettyä kuvaa on pönkitetty myös populaarikulttuurissa goottilaisesta kauhuromantiikasta moderniin fantasiakirjallisuuteen ja historiallisiin tv-sarjoihin.Pimeä aika -teoksessa keskiajan asiantuntija Jaakko Tahkokallio oikoo kymmenen yleistä väärinkäsitystä keskiajasta. Murtamalla myytin kerrallaan hän piirtää todenperäisemmän kuvan aikakaudesta, jossa ihmiset eivät olleet vain väkivaltaisia tai kirkko tieteen kehityksen tiellä - ja miekkailu näytti aivan muulta kuin elokuvissa.