Addressing Injustice in the Medieval Body Politic: (Crossing Boundaries: Turku Medieval and Early Modern Studies)

Justice and injustice were subjects of ongoing debate in medieval Europe. Received classical and biblical models both influenced how these qualities of moral and political life were perceived, discussed and acted upon. Important among these influences was the anonymous seventh-century Irish text, On The Twelve Abuses of the Age, a biblically-inspired discussion of the moral duties particular to each sector of society. This volume probes its long influence, and its interaction with the revival of classical ideas. By bringing together scholars of political thought and practice, in lay and religious contexts spanning the seventh to fourteenth centuries, this volume crosses boundaries of periodisation, discipline and approach to reflect upon the medieval evolution of concepts of injustice and means of redress. Contributions address how ideas about justice and injustice were discussed among scholars and theologians, and how those ideas were translated into action through complaint and advice throughout the medieval period. Crosses conventional chronological boundaries by dealing with both early and high/later medieval periods. Focuses on the influence of a widely copied but largely unstudied text, 'The Twelve Abuses of the Age' with a multi-national and multi-disciplinary focus, involving disciplines of literature, history and political thought.

Table of Contents:
1. The De XII abusiuis saeculi: Contexts and Textual Traditions (Constant J. Mews and Stephen J. Joyce), 2. The Irish Background to the De XII abusiuis saeculi (Dáibhí ó Cróinín), 3. 'Each in the Calling to Which They Are Called': Images of Authority in the De XII abusiuis saeculi (Stephen J. Joyce), 4. Transforming Irish Traditions: De XII abusiuis saeculi and Justice in the Frankish World, c. 750-1050 (Jelle Wassenaar), 5. The Unjust King and the Negligent Bishop: Addressing Injustice in Eleventh and Twelfth-Century England and Germany (Ryan Kemp), 6. Reflecting on Abuses in Religious Life: From The Twelve Abuses of the Cloister to The Cloister of the Soul (Constant J. Mews), 7. Preaching the Body Politic: John of Wales and Franciscan Political Thought in the Late Thirteenth Century (Kathleen B. Neal), 8. Justice and its Abuses in the Speculum Justiciariorum (Cary J. Nederman), 9. Addressing Abuses and Injustice in the Court of Philip the Fair: The De informatione principum of Durand of Champagne (Rina Lahav), 10. 'Perfect Justice Weighs Everything on a Balanced Scale': Italian Friars on Equity and the Commune, c. 1270-c. 1310 (Charles F. Briggs), 11. Some Late Franciscan Rewritings of The Twelve Abuses(Sylvain Piron), Appendix: On the Twelve Abuses of the Age: A Translation (Aidan Breen† and Constant J. Mews), Bibliography, Index of Manuscripts, Index.

About the Author :
CONSTANT J. MEWS is Emeritus Professor and formerly Director of the Centre for Religious Studies, Monash University (Australia). He specializes in the religious and intellectual history of Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, on which he has published widely, but is also completing Aidan Breen’s edition of DDAS for the Corpus Christianorum. KATHLEEN B. NEAL is Senior Lecturer in History and Director of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Monash University (Australia). She specializes in later-medieval political culture and communication. Her monograph The Letters of Edward I: Political Communication in the Thirteenth Century was published by Boydell Press in 2021.