The fourteen essays that comprise Collections in Context: The Organization of Knowledge and Community in Europe interrogate questions posed by French, Flemish, English, and Italian collections of all sorts-libraries as a whole, anthologies and miscellanies assembled within a single manuscript or printed book, and even illustrated ivory boxes. Collecting became an increasingly important activity during the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries, when the decreased cost of producing books made ownership available to more people. But the act of collecting is never neutral: it gathers information, orders material (especially linear texts), and prioritizes everything-in short, collecting both organizes and comments on knowledge. Moreover, the context of a collection must reveal something about identity, but whose? That of the compiler? The reader or viewer? The donor? The patron? With essays by a wide array of international scholars, Collections in Context demonstrates that the very act of collecting inevitably imposes some kind of relationship among what might otherwise be naively thought of as disparate elements and simultaneously exposes something about the community that created and used the collection. Thus, Collections in Context offers unusual insights into how collecting both produced knowledge and built community in early modern Europe.

Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BC) has for over 2000 years been one of the best recognized names from antiquity. He set about creating his own legend in his lifetime, and subsequent writers and political actors developed it. He acquired the surname 'Great' by the Roman period, and the Alexander Romance transmitted his legendary biography to every language of medieval Europe and the Middle East. As well as an adventurer who sought the secret of immortality and discussed the purpose of life with the naked sages of India, he became a model for military achievement as well as a religious prophet bringing Christianity (in the Crusades) and Islam (in the Qur'an and beyond) to the regions he conquered. This innovative and fascinating volume explores these and many other facets of his reception in various cultures around the world, right up to the present and his role in gay activism.

Craig Taylor's study examines the wide-ranging French debates on the martial ideals of chivalry and knighthood during the period of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453). Faced by stunning military disasters and the collapse of public order, writers and intellectuals carefully scrutinized the martial qualities expected of knights and soldiers. They questioned when knights and men-at-arms could legitimately resort to violence, the true nature of courage, the importance of mercy, and the role of books and scholarly learning in the very practical world of military men. Contributors to these discussions included some of the most famous French medieval writers, led by Jean Froissart, Geoffroi de Charny, Philippe de Mézières, Honorat Bovet, Christine de Pizan, Alain Chartier and Antoine de La Sale. This interdisciplinary study sets their discussions in context, challenging modern, romantic assumptions about chivalry and investigating the historical reality of debates about knighthood and warfare in late medieval France.

Kingship and Masculinity in Late Medieval England explores the dynamic between kingship and masculinity in fifteenth century England, with a particular focus on Henry V and Henry VI. The role of gender in the rhetoric and practice of medieval kingship is still largely unexplored by medieval historians. Discourses of masculinity informed much of the contemporary comment on fifteenth century kings, for a variety of purposes: to praise and eulogise but also to explain shortcomings and provide justification for deposition. Katherine J. Lewis examines discourses of masculinity in relation to contemporary understandings of the nature and acquisition of manhood in the period and considers the extent to which judgements of a king’s performance were informed by his ability to embody the right balance of manly qualities. This book’s primary concern is with how these two kings were presented, represented and perceived by those around them, but it also asks how far Henry V and Henry VI can be said to have understood the importance of personifying a particular brand of masculinity in their performance of kingship and of meeting the expectations of their subjects in this respect. It explores the extent to which their established reputations as inherently ‘manly’ and ‘unmanly’ kings were the product of their handling of political circumstances, but owed something to factors beyond their immediate control as well. Consideration is also given to Margaret of Anjou’s manipulation of ideologies of kingship and manhood in response to her husband’s incapacity, and the ramifications of this for perceptions of the relational gender identities which she and Henry VI embodied together. Kingship and Masculinity in Late Medieval England is an essential resource for students of gender and medieval history.

"This series pushes the boundaries of knowledge and develops new trends in approach and understanding." ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW As is appropriate in a volume honouring the distinguished scholarship in this field of Dr Rowena E. Archer, wealthy and influential ladies, most notably Alice Chaucer, duchess of Suffolk, take centre stage, alongside successive queens consort of the period, whose councils helped to implement justice. Alice's almshouse at Ewelme provides a fine example of the many institutions which offered care for the elderly in late medieval England, a period when Henry VII placed great emphasis on the burials of his kinsfolk, particularly in Westminster abbey, to ensure that their memory would endure. Pretenders to the throne of that king and his successor, who included Alice's grandson, bring into focus the riots of 1487 near the borders of Wales and portraits dating from the 1520s. Other themes of language (how Henry V employed English in France), law (the development of the concept of the body corporate) and taxation (levies imposed on imported wine) are added to an intriguing comparison of relations between English administrators and the nobility of Gascony with British imperialists and the princes of India.

The publication presents research results on a multitude of knowledge exchange processes in post-enlightenment Europe. These focus on the question in how far deeply rooted processes of knowledge exchange by transnational intellectual discourses and international expert communities have contributed to a variety of networks of European intellectual identities and research practices. These practices again constitute a fertile framework for de-territorialised and de-nationalised exchange of knowledge that might contribute to contagious processes of emancipation, cooperation as well as problem solving.

These proceedings represent the work of researchers presenting at the 16th European Conference on Knowledge Management (ECKM 2015). We are delighted to be hosting ECKM at the University of Udine, Italy on the 3-4 September 2015. The conference will be opened with a keynote from Dr Madelyn Blair from Pelerei Inc., USA on the topic “The Role of KM in Building Resilience”. On the afternoon of the first day Dr Daniela Santarelli, from Lundbeck, Italy will deliver a second keynote speech. The second day will be opened by Dr John Dumay from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. ECKM is an established platform for academics concerned with current research and for those from the wider community involved in Knowledge Management to present their findings and ideas to peers from the KM and associated fields. ECKM is also a valuable opportunity for face to face interaction with colleagues from similar areas of interests. The conference has a well-established history of helping attendees advance their understanding of how people, organisations, regions and even countries generate and exploit knowledge to achieve a competitive advantage, and drive their innovations forward. The range of issues and mix of approaches followed will ensure an interesting two days. 260 abstracts were initially received for this conference. However, the academic rigor of ECKM means that, after the double blind peer review process there are 102 academic papers, 15 PhD research papers, 1 Masters research papers and 7 Work in Progress papers published in these Conference Proceedings. These papers reflect the continuing interest and diversity in the field of Knowledge Management, and they represent truly global research from many different countries, including Algeria, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sultanate of Oman, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, UK, United Arab Emirates, USA and Venezuela.