Pope Innocent III proclaimed the canonisation of Homobonus of Cremona on 11 January 1199, in the bull Quia pietas. Cremona was one of many northern and central Italian cities around 1200 to be afflicted by the presence of heretics, probably Cathars. Like many Lives, Quoniam historiae tell us as much about hagiography as it does about Homobonus. That it was possible to describe his life and spirituality in a rather different style is demonstrated by the Life known as Labentibus annis. That this is absent from the Venetian manuscript which contains Cum orbita solis and Quoniam historiae has been taken to show that it must be later in date. By the late fifteenth century Labentibus annis was in liturgical use at Cremona and was printed, again with Cum orbita solis, in an incunabulum now in Cambridge University Library.

Alan Dobson examines the ideological foundations of Anglo-American relations by addressing the idea of a common Anglo-American political culture. Via a nuanced analysis of key works of philosophy, economics, and political theory that have shaped the perspectives and histories of both countries across two centuries, he demonstrates that British and American versions of liberal political doctrine overlap and are so central to both nation’s political traditions that they have transcended national boundaries. Presenting evidence of a transatlantic dialogue through the temporal progression of political debates in each country, Dobson demonstrates that British and American political cultures are and always have been speaking to one another.

This chapter contains translated and annotated sources discussing the period June to September 1399 during the reign of Richard II.

This introduction presents a brief overview of northern Italy in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It discusses the use of hagiography as a source and the particulars of the translated sources.

This chapter contains the translated and annotated textof Adalbert of Magdeburg's Continuation.

This chapter explores the East German film Fünf Patronenhülsen/Five Cartridges, looking at the way it corresponded with the then-ruling Socialist Unity Party's desire to construct an anti-fascist national heritage, one which valorised the International Brigades as part of the attempt to legitimise the existence of the East German state and its communist leadership, many of whom had fought for the Republic. Although superficially, Five Cartridges appears to be an uncritical homage to the International Brigades, the chapter argues that a tension arises from the complex characterisation of the International Brigade members.

This chapter describes the Catholic portrait of the Virgin Mary as the sinless Mother of God who participated in her son's work. This traditional portrait of the Virgin Mary re-entered public discourse in England beginning in the 1830s as a result of the growing public presence of Roman Catholics and the development of Tractarianism and ritualism. This Virgin Mary was an important part of the devotional life of Catholics; invoking her also allowed Catholics to shape an identity based in part on a rejection of Protestantism. This image of the Virgin Mary showed Catholics' receptivity to the figure of an idealised woman, as well as their reluctance to allow her power, prerogatives, or prominence to be accessed by other women.

The subtenant is the person who actually farmed the land. On copyhold manors, the names of subtenants often appear in admittances as a handle by which the land can be identified, but this information is rarely sufficiently systematic to allow any real conclusions about the scale of subtenancy. Any leases or rentals made by the copyholders themselves have been lost. At a later date, the tenants in possession of the land are named in land tax returns; but these generally do not survive in our period. This chapter examines subtenancy in early eighteenth-century Earls Colne. Three areas are considered: firstly, the prevalence of subtenants and their mobility; secondly, the degree to which subtenants had standing in the village community and shared in the administration of the village; and thirdly, why it was that some landowners preferred to sublet their land for periods rather than farm it themselves.

In the Irish units as a whole, courts martial rates fell drastically in most battalions during March 1918 and were especially low in the last three months of the Great War. It is noticeable that, even during this final phase of the war, there was a marked difference between regular and New Army units. Miscellaneous and multiple offences still provided the bulk of courts martial cases in this period. The Irish regiments and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) as a whole appear to have suffered from few serious disciplinary or morale problems during March to November 1918. Discipline in the entire BEF does not seem to have been facing serious problems. Indeed, during the 100 days when British casualties were appallingly high, discipline appeared to improve. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this period is that, not only did units decimated in March 1918 reform successfully, but those units hastily transferred from Home Service and the Middle East actually appear to have relished service in France.