Katie Stevenson - Böcker

How did the later medieval kings of Scotland manipulate their power and alliances after the Wars of Independence?Key Features:An introduction to a period in history dominated by national identity and independence from English sovereigntyExpert assessment of the period arranged in thematic chaptersGives fresh insights into the period that draw on a wide range of sourcesExtensive further reading listsPower and Propaganda is a thematic reflection on the political history of late medieval Scotland, that considers the ways in which power was expressed and renegotiated during a crucial period in the kingdom’s history. It deals with themes including the nature of the power enjoyed by kings, how that power was maintained and how it was deployed; the interpersonal relations and struggles between kings and the elites within their kingdoms; and, the structures of governance through which power operated and was felt down to a local level. Late medieval Scotland is especially fertile ground for an examination of all of these themes as two new dynasties – the Bruces and the Stewarts – were faced with the challenge of establishing their own legitimacy and authority.

First extended treatment of the city of St Andrews during the middle ages.St Andrews was of tremendous significance in medieval Scotland. Its importance remains readily apparent in the buildings which cluster the rocky promontory jutting out into the North Sea: the towers and walls of cathedral, castleand university provide reminders of the status and wealth of the city in the Middle Ages. As a centre of earthly and spiritual government, as the place of veneration for Scotland's patron saint and as an ancient seat of learning,St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland.This volume provides the first full study of this special and multi-faceted centre throughout its golden age. The fourteen chapters use St Andrews as a focus for the discussion of multiple aspects of medieval life in Scotland. They examine church, spirituality, urban society and learning in a specific context from the seventh to the sixteenth century, allowing for the consideration of St Andrews alongside other great religious and political centres of medieval Europe.Michael Brown is Professor of Medieval Scottish History, University of St Andrews; Katie Stevenson is Keeper of Scottish History and Archaeology,National Museums Scotland and Senior Lecturer in Late Medieval History, University of St Andrews.Contributors: Michael Brown, Ian Campbell, David Ditchburn, Elizabeth Ewan, Richard Fawcett, Derek Hall, Matthew Hammond,Julian Luxford, Roger Mason, Norman Reid, Bess Rhodes, Catherine Smith, Katie Stevenson, Simon Taylor, Tom Turpie.

First extended treatment of the city of St Andrews during the middle ages.St Andrews was of tremendous significance in medieval Scotland. Its importance remains readily apparent in the buildings which cluster the rocky promontory jutting out into the North Sea: the towers and walls of cathedral, castleand university provide reminders of the status and wealth of the city in the Middle Ages. As a centre of earthly and spiritual government, as the place of veneration for Scotland's patron saint and as an ancient seat of learning,St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland.This volume provides the first full study of this special and multi-faceted centre throughout its golden age. The fourteen chapters use St Andrews as a focus for the discussion of multiple aspects of medieval life in Scotland. They examine church, spirituality, urban society and learning in a specific context from the seventh to the sixteenth century, allowing for the consideration of St Andrews alongside other great religious and political centres of medieval Europe.

An examination of the ways in which the fluid concept of "chivalry" has been used and appropriated after the Middle Ages.One of the most difficult and complex ethical and cultural codes to define, chivalry has proved a flexible, ever-changing phenomenon, constantly adapted in the hands of medieval knights, Renaissance princes, early modern antiquarians, Enlightenment scholars, modern civic authorities, authors, historians and re-enactors. This book explores the rich variations in how the Middle Ages were conceptualised and historicised to illuminate the plurality of uses of the past. Using chivalry as a lens through which to examine concepts and uses of the medieval, it provides a critical assessment of the ways in which medieval chivalry became a shorthand to express contemporary ideals, powerfully demonstrating the ways in which history could be appropriated. The chapters combine attention to documentary evidence with what material culture can tell us, in particular using the built environment and the landscape as sources to understand how the medieval past was renegotiated. With contributions spanning diverse geographic regions and periods, it redraws current chronological boundaries by considering medievalism from the late Middle Ages to the present.Katie Stevenson is Senior Lecturer in Late Mediaeval History and Director of the Institute of Scottish Historical Research at the University of St Andrews; Barbara Gribling is a Junior Research Fellow in the Department of History at Durham University.Contributors: David W. Allan, Stefan Goebel, Barbara Gribling, Steven C. Hughes, Peter N. Lindfield, Antti Matikkala, Rosemary Mitchell, Paul Pickering, Katie Stevenson

Stevenson and her collaborators have opened new vistas for the historian of the heralds, pointing the way forward to an internationally focused approach to the significance of the part which heralds played in noble society and in the courtly politics of the late medieval age, and one which promises to enlarge our perception of its aristocratic culture. - ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEWFirst full-length assessment of the role of the herald in medieval Europe.The officers of arms [kings of arms, heralds and pursuivants] have often been overlooked by scholars of late medieval elite society. Yet as officers of the crown, ducal courts or noble families, they played important parts in a number of areas. They were crucial to foreign and domestic relations, and chivalric culture; and, of course, they were to become the powerbrokers of heraldic symbols and genealogy. However, despite the high levels at which they operated, their roles in these areas remain largely unexplored, with scholarship tending to focus on the science of heraldry rather than the heralds themselves. This collection aims to remedy that neglect. The contributions cover a range of European regions [particularly Florence, Scandinavia, Poland, the German Empire, the Burgundian Low Countries, Brittany, Scotland and England] and discuss the diverse roles and experiences of heralds in the late Middle Ages. Contributors: JACKSON W. ARMSTRONG, ADRIAN AILES, KATIE STEVENSON, MICHAEL JONES, FRANCK VILTART, HENRI SIMMONEAU, WIM VAN ANROOIJ, BOGDAN WOJCIECH BRZUSTOWICZ, ALEXIA GROSJEAN, LAURA CIRRI

Studies the manifestation of the chivalric ideal in medieval Scotland, casting much light on a hitherto unexplored area.For decades, the study of Scotland in the fifteenth century has focused on the complex relationships between crown and magnates. However, the importance of the chivalric ideal to the Scottish knightly class, and the use of chivalry as a political tool by the Stewart kings, has been overlooked by scholars. This book aims to fill this gap. It considers how chivalry was interpreted in fifteenth-century Scotland and how it compared with European ideas of chivalry; the responsibilities of knighthood in this period and the impact that this had on Scottish political life; the chivalric literature of the fifteenth century; the relevance of the Christian components of chivalric culture; and the use of chivalry by the increasingly powerful Scottish crown. It also brings to light, and investigates further, a variety of tournaments held in Scotland by the Stewart kings. It will be of considerable significance to all those interested in the manifestations of chivalric culture at the close of the Middle Ages, in a kingdom beginning to make its mark amongst the prominent and fashionable European courts.KATIE STEVENSON is a teaching fellow in the Department of Scottish History, University of St Andrews