The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages
Sign in to keep track of books you’ve read and want to read.
Seven hundred years ago, executioners led a Welsh rebel named William Cragh to a wintry hill to be hanged. They placed a noose around his neck, dropped him from the gallows, and later pronounced him dead. But was he dead? While no less than nine eyewitnesses attested to his demise, Cragh later proved to be very much alive, his resurrection attributed to the saintly entreaties of the defunct Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe.
Read more
The Hanged Mantells the story of this putative miracle—why it happened, what it meant, and how we know about it. The nine eyewitness accounts live on in the transcripts of de Cantilupe's canonization hearings, and these previously unexamined documents contribute not only to an enthralling mystery, but to an unprecedented glimpse into the day-to-day workings of medieval society.
While unraveling the haunting tale of the hanged man, Robert Bartlett leads us deeply into the world of lords, rebels, churchmen, papal inquisitors, and other individuals living at the time of conflict and conquest in Wales. In the process, he reconstructs voices that others have failed to find. We hear from the lady of the castle where the hanged man was imprisoned, the laborer who watched the execution, the French bishop charged with investigating the case, and scores of other members of the medieval citizenry. Brimming with the intrigue of a detective novel, The Hanged Manwill appeal to both scholars of medieval history and general readers alike.
Liked The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
-
The Scourging Angel: The Black Death in the British Isles Shares history, nonfiction, medieval -
The Templars: Knights of God Shares history, medieval, nonfiction -
Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England Shares history, medieval, nonfiction -
From Memory to Written Record: England 1066 - 1307 Shares history, medieval, nonfiction
