Sovereignty has always been an important concept in political thought, and at no time in European history was it more important than during the perplexed conditions of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Universal government was a fading dream, giving way to the new conception of the national state and the whole basis of political thought was being reorientated by the influx of Aristotelian ideas. Dr Wilks's book is an attempt to clarify the more important problems in the political outlook of the period. He shows that at this time the theologians and literary writers, especially Augustinus Triumphus of Ancona, had built up a complete theory of sovereignty in favour of the papal monarchy, based on a neo-Platonic, Augustinian view of the church as a universal and totalitarian state.

The essays in this volume offer diverse, innovative approaches to medieval music and culture.

This book was published in 2003. One of the most important but least studied of medieval chant repertories is that of the Kyrie. With their Latin texts, Kyrie melodies represented musical ambitions manifested alongside of and subsequent to Gregorian chant - ambitions which achieved stylistic and formal distinction. This study illuminates those features of the early Kyrie that give it its distinctive character and set it apart not only from Gregorian chant but also from other types of medieval chant. The repertory focused on in this book is a group of 22 West Frankish sources which are believed to have originated in several Aquitanian locations. The tradition represented by these manuscripts and their repertory of Kyrie melodies can be followed across a century and a half, from 950 to 1100. The Aquitanian manuscript tradition is significant because these sources represent by far the largest group of closely inter-related musical sources from the period, and the musical notation gives reliable indication of pitch up to a century earlier than other manuscripts of the time. By incorporating both a detailed musical study and transcriptions of these sources this book should be of interest to those who are concerned with the construction of these pieces as well as to those who wish to appreciate them, or even perform them.

This volume examines the use of Paul's writing within the work of ante-Nicene apologetic writers. It takes apologetics as a broad genre in which many early Christian writers participated, offering rhetorical defenses for emerging aspects of doctrine, rooted in understanding of the scriptures, and often specifically the writings of Paul. The volume interacts with the writings of many significant 'apologetic' writers, including: Melito of Sardis, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Cyprian. The chapters examine how these early Christian writers used the letters of Paul to develop their own philosophical ideas and defenses of aspects of the emerging Christian faith. The internationally renowned contributors have all been specially commissioned for this volume, and an afterword by Todd D. Still considers the question of whether or not Paul was an 'apologist' himself.

Plainchant is the oldest substantial body of music that has been preserved in any shape or form. It was first written down in Western Europe in the eighth to ninth centuries. Many thousands of chants have been sung at different times or places in a multitude of forms and styles, responding to the differing needs of the church through the ages. This book provides a clear and concise introduction, designed both for those to whom the subject is new and those who require a reference work for advanced study. It begins with an explanation of the liturgies that plainchant was designed to serve. It describes all the chief genres of chant, different types of liturgical book, and plainchant notations. After an exposition of early medieval theoretical writing on plainchant, Hiley provides a historical survey that traces the constantly changing nature of the repertory. He also discusses important musicians and centers of composition. Copiously illustrated with over 200 musical examples, this book highlights the diversity of practice and richness of the chant repertory in the Middle Ages. It will be an indispensable introduction and reference source on this important music for many years to come.