Catherine Léglu

"Explores the ways in which vernacular works composed in Occitan, Catalan, and French between the twelfth and the fifteenth centuries narrate multilingualism and its apparent opponent, the mother tongue. These encounters are narrated through literary motifs of love, incest, disguise, and travel"--Provided by publisher.

Multilingualism and Mother Tongue in Medieval French, Occitan, and Catalan Narratives

Samson and Delilah in Medieval Insular French investigates several different adaptations of the story of Samson that enabled it to move from a strictly religious sphere into vernacular and secular artworks. Catherine Léglu explores the narrative’s translation into French in medieval England, examining the multiple versions of the Samson narrative via its many adaptations into verse, prose, visual art and musical. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, this text draws together examples from several genres and media, focusing on the importance of book learning to secular works. In analysing this Biblical narrative, Léglu reveals the importance of the Samson and Delilah story as a point of entry into a fuller understanding of medieval translations and adaptations of the Bible.

Translation and Adaptation

Samson and Delilah in Medieval Insular French

Claire Taylor

Rebecca Rist

The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade brings together a rich and diverse range of medieval sources to examine key aspects of the growth of heresy and dissent in southern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the Church’s response to that threat through the subsequent authorisation of the Albigensian crusade. Aimed at students and scholars alike, the documents it discusses – papal letters, troubadour songs, contemporary chronicles in Latin and the vernacular, and inquisitorial documents – reflect a deeper perception of medieval heresy and the social, political and religious implications of crusading than has hitherto been possible. The reader is introduced to themes which are crucial to our understanding of the medieval world: ideologies of crusading and holy war, the complex nature of Catharism, the Church’s implementation of diverse strategies to counter heresy, the growth of papal inquisition, southern French counter-strategies of resistance and rebellion, and the uses of Latin and the vernacular to express regional and cultural identity. This timely and highly original collection not only brings together previously unexplored and in some cases unedited material, but provides a nuanced and multi-layered view of the religious, social and political dimensions of one of the most infamous conflicts of the High Middle Ages. This book is a valuable resource for all students, teachers and researchers of medieval history and the crusades.

A Sourcebook

The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade

Senior Lecturer in Medieval History Marcus Bull

Marcus Graham Bull

A revisionist approach to Eleanor of Aquitaine and the political, social, cultural and religious world in which she lived.

Catherine Léglu

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