Laughter and power in the twelfth century / Peter J.A. Jones.

First edition.

9780191879364 (electronic book)

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.

English

1 online resource.

DA176 .J6 2019

942.03

Towards the end of the 12th century, powerful images of laughing kings and saints began to appear in texts circulating at the English royal court. At the same time, contemporaries began celebrating the wit, humour, and laughter of King Henry II (r.1154-89) and his martyred Archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Becket (d.1170). Taking a broad genealogical approach, 'Laughter and Power in the Twelfth Century' traces the emergence of this powerful laughter through an immersive study of medieval intellectual, literary, social, religious, and political debates. Focusing on a cultural renaissance in England, the study situates laughter at the heart of the defining transformations of the second half of the 1100s.

Towards the end of the 12th century, powerful images of laughing kings and saints began to appear in texts circulating at the English royal court. At the same time, contemporaries began celebrating the wit, humour, and laughter of King Henry II (r.1154-89) and his martyred Archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Becket (d.1170). Taking a broad genealogical approach, 'Laughter and Power in the Twelfth Century' traces the emergence of this powerful laughter through an immersive study of medieval intellectual, literary, social, religious, and political debates. Focusing on a cultural renaissance in England, the study situates laughter at the heart of the defining transformations of the second half of the 1100s.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on November 19, 2019).

Oxford scholarship online.

Print version: 9780198843542

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