John Ferguson

An introduction to heraldry for the layman. It begins with the history, which touches on crucial moments and figures in the past such as the Crusaders, the Black Prince, Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth , Henry VIII and his wives and children. It describes the colourful medieval tournaments, the orders of chivalry such as the Garter and the Bath and peerage. Also examined are the distinctive Scottish, Welsh and Irish systems of heraldry, some Continental examples and the American inheritance. There is also an informed analysis of the elements in a coat of arms: the shield, tinctures, charges, helm and crest. All this is complemented with drawings which cover every aspect and period of the subject from a Roman standard to the coat of arms of President Eisenhower.

This wide ranging introductory book surveys the topic of morals and values from the Minoans to the Christians. Each chapter ends with extracts from the relevant literature and comments upon them, providing a useful focus for discussion. 'It is hard not to be impressed by the author's range, confidence, ease of summary and judgement ...' I. McAuslan, Greece & Rome

Euripides was particularly noted for his sensitive portrayals of women and for finding a sympathetic side to those whom the stock mythology tended to see as evil monsters, such as Helen of Troy. Medea murdered her children by Jason when he deserted her fora new wife; Electra and Orestes killed their own mother in revenge for her betrayal and murder of their father Agamemnon. This kind of searing tragedy may easily be read in translation but its appreciation inevitably involves conventions and references which may elude the reader.This volume contains an introduction outlining the background of Athenian tragedy: how it was presented; what was its fifth-century social and political context; how were these two particular plays conceived and constructed? This is followed by a line-by line commentary based on the translation of Philip Vellacott (Penguin Classics), though it may be used profitably with other versions as well.

This handbook provides students and scholars with a highly readable yet detailed analysis of all surviving Greek tragedies and satyr plays. John Ferguson places each play in its historical, political, and social context-important for both Athenian and modern audiences-and he displays a keen, discriminating critical competence in dealing with the plays as literature. Ferguson is sensitive to the meter and sound of Greek tragedy, and, with remarkable success, he manages to involve even the Greekless reader in an actual encounter with the Greek as poetry. He examines language and metrics in relation to each tragedian's dramatic purpose, thus elucidating the crucial dimension of technique that other handbooks, mostly the work of philologists, renounce in order to concentrate on structure and plot. The result is perceptive criticism in which the quality of Ferguson's scholarship vouches for what he sees in the plays. The book is prefaced with a general introduction to ancient Greek theatrical production, and there is a brief biographical sketch of each tragedian. Footnotes are avoided: the object of this handbook is to introduce readers to the plays as dramatic poetry, not to detail who said what about them. There is an extensive bibliography for scholars and a glossary of Greek words to assist the student with the operative moral and stylistic terms of Greek tragedy.