Envisaging Heaven in the Middle Ages
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Book Description
Envisaging Heaven in the Middle Ages deals with medieval notions of heaven in theological and mystical writings, in visions of the Otherworld, and in medieval art, poetry and music. It considers the influence of such notions in the secular literature of some of the greatest writers of the period including Chrétien de Troyes and Chaucer. The coherence and beauty of these notions make heaven one of the most impressive medieval ‘cathedrals of the mind’.
With contributions from experts such as A.C. Spearing, Peter Meredith, Peter Dronke and Robin Kirkpatrick, this collection is essential reading for all those interested in medieval religion and culture.
Table of Contents
Preface 1. Envisaging Heaven 2. Visio Dei 3. Constructing Heaven in Hildegard of Bingen’s Expositiones Euangeliorum 4. The Completeness of Heaven 5. Heaven, Earth and the Angels 6. Access to Heaven in Medieval Visions of the Otherworld 7. Bringing Heaven Down To Earth 8. Von Aller Bilden Bildlosekeit 9. Marguerite Porete 10. ‘Some High Place’ 11. Heaven as Performance and Participation in the Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum 12. After Lives Now 13. The Artifice of Eternity 14. Exchanging Blood for Wine 15. Chaucer’s Lovers in Metaphorical Heaven 16. The Influence of Visions of the Otherworld on some Medieval Romances Index
Editor(s)
Biography
Carolyn Muessig is Senior Lecturer in Medieval Theology at the University of Bristol. She is the author of Sermon, Preacher and Audience in the Middle Ages; Medieval Monastic Education; The Faces of Women in the Sermons of Jacques de Vitry; most recently, she co-edited Hildegard of Bingen’s "Expositiones euangeliorum".
Ad Putter is Reader in English Literature at the University of Bristol. He is the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and French Arthurian Romance and An Introduction to the Gawain-Poet, and co-edited The Spirit of Medieval Popular Romance.