Book Review: English Schools in the Middle Ages

The Ontology of “Political Violence”: Action and Identity in Civil Wars

“…114 The anthropologist who asserts that Greek villagers were "always the victims of struggles of others rather than the active element of the struggle itself " lists, a few pages later in her book, a host of private motives behind the violence of the Greek Civil War; for example, "one man joined the Communists with the express intention of killing a rival inheritor of his father's." 115 The stories of Aristogiton and Harmodius on the one hand, and Pavlik Morozov on the other, are particularly suggestive in this respect. Thucydides tells the story of Aristogiton and Harmodius, two Athenians celebrated for having killed the dictator Hipparchus: "In fact the bold action undertaken by Aristogiton and Harmodius was due to a love affair.…”

“…96 Referring to the experience of a Greek village during Greece's civil war, an anthropologist points out: "The villagers were, as always, the victims of struggles of others rather than the active element of the struggle itself." 97 This perspective is succinctly expressed in various sayings about the proverbial ants caught between fighting elephants or buffalo. Indeed, much of the contemporary human-rights discourse entails this assumption, which is also echoed in instrumentalist theories of ethnic conflict, where individuals are manipulated by politicians in pursuit of political power.…”

Laughter, Humor, and the (Un)Making of Gender

“…For Choricius, these concepts do not reveal the truth about human nature, but are rather producing "narratives." 69 In general, however, Christian authors neglected comedy and laughter as a major opportunity of subversion. Instead, they saw them as a threat to the morals of their contemporary society, a society primarily and stereotypically considered patriarchic, with an emphasis on heteronormativity and procreation within the premises of marriage.…”

“…Gossip Mirth introduces herself as the "spirit of Shrovetide," the festival traditionally associated with theatrical festivities as well as with role reversals. 69 According to Kifer, the women can only behave in this way because Jonson allows them this holiday license. "On an ordinary day," she wrote, "their behavior would be intolerable.…”