Heilige, Helden, Wüteriche: Herrschaftsstile der Luxemburger (1308–1437). Martin Bauch, Julia Burkhardt, Tomáš Gaudek, and Václav Žůrek, eds. Regesta Imperii-Beihefte: Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters 41. Cologne: Böhlau Verlag, 2017. 452 pp. €57.

Abstract

terns and that the use of names denoting origin, such as indienne or persienne, morphed into general terms projecting a more broadly imagined exotic world. Carina Johnson examines the shift in the meaning of the terms Moor and Turk in the sixteenth century by looking at woodcut colorations across editions of Nicolas de Nicolay’s Books of Oriental Travel (1568), noting that Moors were increasingly associated with dark skin and Turks with religious deviancy. The branding of an individual as spendthrift in the context of a shift from localized judicial naming practices to a standardized practice under the newly established Roman law is the focus of Ashley Elrod’s chapter. Using a case study, Elrod points to the fluidity of the social identity of a person named a spendthrift due to the tensions between informal communal norms and more rigid judicial practices. The ten chapters have a similar internal structure, with an introduction delineating the research question and the methodology, several sections discussing the evidentiary material, and a clear and concise conclusion that explains the relevance of the chapter for the book’s theme. All this helps maintain the consistently high quality of the chapters and enhances their readability. This points to a thoughtful design of the book and to a firm editorial hand—although, regrettably, a chunk of text is missing following page 180. All chapters offer a rich engagement with a broad range of primary sources, as well as profound command of the secondary literature that is documented in comprehensive chapter bibliographies. The book also features a useful index. Randolph Head, in his thoughtful conclusion, summarizes the results of this volume and rightly points to the vast epistemological implications of investigating naming practices, both for the work of historians and for the material being studied.