Asa Simon Mittman

This book’s central thesis is that notions of monstrosity and geographic marginality were central to the formation of an English identity in the Middle Ages. Medieval Christian theologians believed that geography was divinely ordered, so their perception of Britain as being in the monstrous periphery of the world caused anxiety among its inhabitants that we can see expressed across media and genres. Medieval cartography, for centuries scorned as crude, is now the subject of numerous careful studies; monsters, likewise long ignored in scholarship, are now of great interest. This book sits at the crossroads of these two discourses (critical cartography and monster studies), treated separately in most scholarship. Nearly twenty years after its initial publication, Maps and Monsters in Medieval England remains the only extended study of the role of monsters on medieval maps, and of the ways that ideas about geography shaped the role of monsters in other contexts, where they were marshalled as part of an ongoing effort to define what it meant to be human, English, and Christian. This volume is intended for professional scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. Translations are provided for all Latin and Old English texts to render the volume accessible to a wider range of readers.

This book’s central thesis is that notions of monstrosity and geographic marginality were central to the formation of an English identity in the Middle Ages. Medieval Christian theologians believed that geography was divinely ordered, so their perception of Britain as being in the monstrous periphery of the world caused anxiety among its inhabitants that we can see expressed across media and genres. Medieval cartography, for centuries scorned as crude, is now the subject of numerous careful studies; monsters, likewise long ignored in scholarship, are now of great interest. This book sits at the crossroads of these two discourses (critical cartography and monster studies), treated separately in most scholarship. Nearly twenty years after its initial publication, Maps and Monsters in Medieval England remains the only extended study of the role of monsters on medieval maps, and of the ways that ideas about geography shaped the role of monsters in other contexts, where they were marshalled as part of an ongoing effort to define what it meant to be human, English, and Christian. This volume is intended for professional scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. Translations are provided for all Latin and Old English texts to render the volume accessible to a wider range of readers.

From the battles over Jerusalem to the emergence of the “Holy Land,” from legally mandated ghettos to the Edict of Expulsion, geography has long been a component of Christian-Jewish relations. Attending to world maps drawn by medieval Christian mapmakers, Cartographies of Exclusion brings us to the literal drawing board of “Christendom” and shows the creation, in real time, of a mythic state intended to dehumanize the non-Christian people it ultimately sought to displace. In his close analyses of English maps from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Asa Mittman makes a valuable contribution to conversations about medieval Christian perceptions of Jews and Judaism. Grounding his arguments in the history of anti-Jewish sentiment and actions rampant in twelfth- and thirteenth-century England, Mittman shows how English world maps of the period successfully Othered Jewish people by means of four primary strategies: conflating Jews with other groups; spreading libels about Jewish bodies, beliefs, and practices; associating Jews with Satan; and, most importantly, cartographically “mislocating” Jews in time and space. On maps, Jews were banished to locations and historical moments with no actual connection to Jewish populations or histories.Medieval Christian anti-Semitism is the foundation upon which modern anti-Semitism rests, and the medieval mapping of Jews was crucial to that foundation. Mittman’s thinking offers essential insights for any scholar interested in the interface of cartography, politics, and religion in premodern Europe.

Monsters possess transformative powers, rendering them at once profoundly dangerous and utterly fascinating. They play an important role throughout the history of Western civilization. Medieval Monsters explores the cultural importance and rich variety of monstrosities in the art of the Middle Ages, with examples drawn from the Morgan Library & Museum's renowned collection of illuminated manuscripts. While presenting a lively array of strange beauties and frightful anomalies-demons and dragons, centaurs and unicorns, giants and grotesque hybrids-the authors reveal how monsters played a central role in medieval societies, and still inspire us to marvel today.

This study centers on issues of marginality and monstrosity in medieval England. In the middle ages, geography was viewed as divinely ordered, so Britain's location at the periphery of the inhabitable world caused anxiety among its inhabitants. Far from the world's holy center, the geographic margins were considered monstrous. Medieval geography, for centuries scorned as crude, is now the subject of several careful studies. Monsters have likewise been the subject of recent attention in the growing field of "monster studies," though few works situate these creatures firmly in their specific historical contexts. This book sits at the crossroads of these two discourses (geography and monstrosity), treated separately in the established scholarship but inseparable in the minds of medieval authors and artists.

This study centers on issues of marginality and monstrosity in medieval England. In the middle ages, geography was viewed as divinely ordered, so Britain's location at the periphery of the inhabitable world caused anxiety among its inhabitants. Far from the world's holy center, the geographic margins were considered monstrous. Medieval geography, for centuries scorned as crude, is now the subject of several careful studies. Monsters have likewise been the subject of recent attention in the growing field of monster studies, though few works situate these creatures firmly in their specific historical contexts. This book sits at the crossroads of these two discourses (geography and monstrosity), treated separately in the established scholarship but inseparable in the minds of medieval authors and artists.

An alphabet coloring book. All illustrations are adapted from medieval manuscripts: on one side of each spread is an initial inhabited by monsters and on the other an illustration of a monster beginning with that letter. A glossary in the back describes each monster and references direct the user to the library where the source art is held.