Boundaries in the Medieval and Wider World: Essays in Honour of Paul Freedman ed. by Thomas W. Barton etal. (review)

Paul Freedman's Festschrift reflects his approach to studying history, which encompasses the aim of making history alive and using the past to shed light on the present as well as the future. The fifteen chapters that form this volume do not follow predictable or well-worn paths and they do not duplicate existing scholarship. Instead, the reader encounters a bevy of topics all presented with panache and most of them tantalizing the reader with the lure of shifting boundaries, unlikely applications, and penetrating insights. Between the covers of this Festschrift one learns about a variety of topics such as high divorce rates in medieval Jewish communities and the limitations of notarial Latin (Sarah Ifft Decker), and concepts of slavery within convents (Michelle Herder). We also learn that powerful scary women could be every bit as bad as their male counterparts (Jeffrey A. Bowman). In Fontevraud Abbey, a foundation which included both male and female religious, women assumed unconventional and fascinating governance, and unsurprisingly were also considered vessels filled with poison (Annalena Müller).