Scribes of Space. Place in Middle English Literature and Late Medieval Science by Matthew Boyd Goldie (review)

Abstract

This is not a comprehensive summary—I have picked out a few of the chapters to demonstrate just how widely this volume ranges. I think that there are two ways to use this collection profitably. I read the introduction, then the individual chapters, then went back and reread the introduction. That gives an overview of the field, a sense of where the research is heading, the kinds of material which can be used, and the contexts where these methodologies might be fruitfully used. This approach might be particularly valuable to the planning of a consideration of ‘Otherness’ in a specific context, providing some productive insights into the layers and relationality of the concept. The second way is to concentrate on a particular aspect, whether that be type of source material analysed, a particular period or geographical area, or a specific kind of community, and read across the chapters that deal with that narrower focus. Both ways have merit. This is a versatile collection which deliberately poses more questions than it answers. Georgina Pitt, The University of Western Australia