Ruth Harvey – författare

Reviewing the first volume in this series, Christopher Allmand, writing in English Historical Review, said: `Once again, a volume of papers published by the Boydell Press has made a useful interdisciplinary contribution toan important and difficult subject. Historians may read this book with profit.' But not only historians, for the contributions to these volumes are wide-ranging, and cover all aspects of culture in the middle ages, with a strong emphasis on continental literature.

Latest research on the chivalric ethos of western Europe 10c-15c. from the practical [houses, armour], to the intellectual [concept of holy war, loyalty, etc.]These eight papers from the Strawberry Hill Conference cover a wide area, but common themes emerge. One group of essays deals with the embellishments of lordship, both architectural and heraldic, studying residences and also developments in armour. A second group concerns ideals which motivated the aristocracy of western Europe, from the late 10th to the 15th centuries: romances, the Peace movement of Aquitaine, holy war, and loyalty. Concentration on rationalism and free will in the writings of the cultural circle which revolved around Sir John Fastolf is identified as an important element in the development of the English Renaissance.Professor CHRISTOPHER HARPER-BILLteaches in the Department of History, University of East Anglia; Dr RUTH HARVEY is lecturer in French, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College.Contributors: ADRIAN AILES, JEFFREY ASHCROFT, CHARLES COULSON, JONATHAN HUGHES, JANE MARTINDALE, PETER NOBLE, MATTHEW STRICKLAND, ANN WILLIAMS

Latest research on the chivalric ethos of western Europe,10c-15c, from the practical (houses, armour) to the intellectual [conceptof holy war, loyalty, etc.].The Strawberry Hill conferences on medieval knighthood, from which these volumes spring, aim to bring together historians and literary scholars whose interests focus on medieval chivalry, to bridge the gulf between the two areas of specialisation and explore matters of common interest. Eight papers cover a wide area, both territorially and chronologically,but common themes emerge. One group of essays deals with the embellishments of lordship, both architectural and heraldic, studying residences and also developments in armour. A second group concerns ideals which motivated the aristocracy of western Europe, from the late 10th to the 15th centuries: romances, the Peace movement ofAquitaine, holy war, and loyalty; concentration on rationalism and free will in thewritings of the cultural circle which revolved around Sir John Fastolfis identified as an important element in the development of the EnglishRenaissance.Professor CHRISTOPHER HARPER-BILL teaches in the Department of History, University of East Anglia; Dr RUTH HARVEY is lecturer in French at Royal Holloway, University of London. Contributors: ADRIAN AILES, JEFFREY ASHCROFT, CHARLES COULSON,JONATHAN HUGHES, JANE MARTINDALE, PETER NOBLE, MATTHEW STRICKLAND,ANN WILLIAMS.

`This wide-ranging and instructive collection makes a valuable addition to the fast-growing body of work on medieval chivalry.' HISTORY

Cumulatively [the volumes] are of increasing value as repositories of scholarship on the multi-dimensional subject of knighthood ... highly informative and useful. ALBIONStudies treating a wide variety of aspects of knighthood. Topics include the way in which the word "knight" has been used, studying the terminology and ritual concerned with "making a knight"; the circumstances and implications ofthe knighting of the social elite of England between 1066 and 1272; the difficulties of distinguishing between knight and clerk, as exemplified by Abelard's multi-faceted image; the debt which Geoffrey de Charny's treatise on chivalry owes to the ideas and ideals of knighthood in Arthurian prose romances; and the linguistic competence of the twelfth-century knightly classes as courtly audience of troubadour song. There are also important contributions onthe warhorse; and on the fortifications of fourteenth-century English towns, arguing that they were more the expression of bourgeois aspirations than a response to serious military threat.Professor STEPHEN CHURCH teaches in the Department of History, University of East Anglia; Dr RUTH HARVEY is lecturer in French, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College. Contributors: RICHARD BARBER, MATTHEW BENNETT, JONATHAN BOULTON, MICHAEL CLANCHY, CHARLES COULSON, RUTH HARVEY, ELSPETH KENNEDY, AD PUTTER

New critical edition of complete work of 12c Occitanian troubadour Marcabru, crucial figure in development of European courtly lyric.One of the earliest troubadours, Marcabru was a remarkable artist and entertainer, and a figure of crucial importance to the development of the European courtly lyric. His blistering attacks on contemporary court society reveal anintellectual insider's view of the clash between clerical morality and the emerging secular ethics of love and courtesy. His fervent, often acerbic engagement with contemporary events also provides a unique southern perspective on political upheavals and crusading movements in twelfth-century Occitania and northern Spain. This new critical edition, the first for nearly 100 years, makes his complete corpus accessible to a wide readership, supplying translations, full critical apparatus, and copious textual notes, with a substantial glossary of Marcabru's extraordinarily inventive vocabulary. The introduction supplies historical information, discussion of the poet's language, andan analysis of the manuscript transmission. It also raises fresh issues of troubadour versification techniques in this formative period, and engages in a new way with the current debate about editorial methodology and medieval textual criticism. [Leaflet blurb - see AN]

The historic story of Christ, the outside story of Christ, suddenly emerges as the inside story of yourself …’– George MacLeodIn a world often marked by turbulence and uncertainty, where do we find the courage to keep walking toward the light? The Iona Community affirms that our faith is ‘rooted in hope: lived in community’. This is not a fingers-crossed optimism, but a gritty, determined commitment to the transformative power of love and justice when joined with that of our neighbour. In this collection, a new generation of theologians and writers, members of the Iona Community’s Young Adults Group, volunteers, and those who have lived and worked at the Abbey, invite us to walk the road from the gates of Jerusalem to the empty tomb.  Through fresh reflections on familiar scriptures, they explore the ‘feet-on-the-ground’ gap between our hopes and their fulfilment, weaving the outside story of Christ with their own lived experiences of intentional community. From the humble defiance of Palm Sunday to the ‘tender messiness’ of foot-washing on Maundy Thursday, and from the stark solidarity of Good Friday to the radical hope of Resurrection, these voices offer a call to action. They connect the ancient story of Christ’s passion with contemporary struggles for justice, drawing parallels between Jesus’ outcasts and today’s refugees, between the despised of first-century Palestine and the marginalised in our own communities. Ruth Harvey is Leader of the Iona Community. Contributors include Dr. Victoria Turner, Evie Nieboer, Indigo Maynard Watts, Annie Sharples, Jack Woodruff, Molly Boot, William Gibson and Lakshmi Piette Walker – young adults who have lived in community at Iona Abbey and are members of the Community’s Young Adults Network.

How does being with children offer us a glimpse of God? On our adult faith journey, do we remember the wisdom of our own childhood thoughts? And in what ways are we, as adults, open to the wisdom that children in our midst share about God, faith, life, death and spirituality? Being in the company of children - as a new mother hungry for soul food - led Ruth Harvey to ask these questions, and to share them with a range of about 30 others - some parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, foster siblings - which resulted in this original collection of stories, reflections, meditations, poems, songs and dialogues. The contributions, including pieces by Peter Millar, Donald Eadie, Yvonne Morland, Em Strang, Ellen Moxley and Neil Paynter, explore how the wisdom shared by children in what they say and do can lead us closer to God. They explore themes of adoption, parenting, illness, disability, birth, death, passion and more.Ready or Not can be used for personal reflection, group studies and in worship - it offers resources and inspiration for finding God and spirituality in the midst of the busyness, messiness, pressure, nurturing, despair and joy of life.