Renaissance

The Malleus Maleficarum and King James: Defining Witchcraft

The reprinting of the Malleus at this time has often led to the belief that the medieval text played a large role in this rise in witch hunts. However, a comparison of the Malleus to later works shows a shift in the definitions of witchcraft during the early modern era.

Henry VIII, rebellion and the rule of law

Henry VIII, rebellion and the rule of law Steven G. Ellis (University College, Galway) The Historical Journal, 24, 3 (1981), pp. 513-531 Abstract It has been traditional to regard the reaction of Henry VIII in the face of treason and rebellion as savage and extreme. Perhaps for this reason, historians for long considered it superfluous to […]

Brewers' tales: making, retailing and regulating beer in Southampton, 1550-1700

Brewers’ tales: making, retailing and regulating beer in Southampton, 1550-1700 James R. Brown Journal of the Brewery History Society, No.135 (2010) Abstract For some years now early modernists have been in their cups. With a wave of recent studies about public drinking spaces and cultures, we now have a fuller sense of the very large […]

Women, ale and company in early modern London

Women, ale and company in early modern London Tim Reinke-Williams Journal of the Brewery History Society, No.135 (2010) Abstract This article explores attitudes to female ale- and beer-drinkers and the nature of social interactions between women and men in public houses from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth century. Beginning with an overview of […]

The First French and English Translations of Sir Thomas More's 'Utopia'

An investigation of the editions of the ‘Utopia’ of Sir Thomas More is an exciting subject in itself, but a comparison of the first French and English translations throws remarkable light upon the parallel developments of the two countries in Renaissance literary history.

Saints on Stage: An Analytical Survey of Dramatic Records in the West of England

This essay provides an analysis of the known surviving records relating to mimetic representation of non-biblical saints in a broad region of western England, from the north (Cumberland, Westmorland) to the southern tip of Cornwall. The question of how many of these references can be considered ‘scripted’ drama is addressed, and other categories (pageant, costumed guild ridings, and festive customs such as boy bishop ceremonies) proposed.

Devising the Revels

Revels were the result of collaboration by painters, sculptors, costume designers, poets, composers, artisans, and labourers in relation to whom an appointed supervisor (beginning in 1510 called the master of the revels) stood as what we might call executive producer and director.