Home and Homelessness in the Medieval and Renaissance World (review)

One of the leading features of medieval and Renaissance historiography in the current generation has been the inclination to select topics from contemporary discussions, seeking analogies and analogues of the present in the past. Undoubtedly scholars have always done so, but until relatively recently, they maintained claims of positivism or engagement in mega-debates, thus positing distance from their subjects. Now they are forthright in their presentism, and quicker to bring current issues to the historical debate. The topical approach can run the risk of passing anachronistic judgment upon the past, but equally offers the reward of a scholarship that is fresh, engaged, and responsive to urgent concerns.

The authors of the five essays in this rewarding collection are deeply sensitive to the varieties of meaning attached to the home, then and now, "as a place of habitation and a source of identity" (1), as source of security and refuge, as a site of defiance to hegemonic cultures outside, as a badge of honor or disgrace, as a locus for struggles for power and mastery, and as simple dwelling or entire homeland. They are equally sensitive to the appalling misery, shame, and/or vulnerability of homelessness, whether the result of endemic poverty, misdeeds, or conquest. Moreover, since houses and homes are usually found in groupings, these essays explore the many ways in which different cultures define what it is to live in community.

The subject matter is rich; so, too, are the sources and methodologies deployed. Indeed, although the volume is slim, it constitutes something of a primer on the rapidly expanding ranges of historical inquiry and exposition. Patricia Fortini Brown (on Renaissance Venice) explores housing typologies, charity, and approaches to the housing of minority groups. Mary Elizabeth Perry (on sixteenth-century Spain) uses law and physical evidence to examine the ways in which the closed-off house might constitute a "site of resistance" for Jews forced to convert to Christianity (70). Sabine MacCormack (on early modern Spain and Peru) uses legal and literary sources to chart starkly contrasting attitudes and policies toward the poor and the conquered. William Ian Miller (on medieval Iceland) works from legal codes and poetry to look at the fiercely held, often (to the modern reader) exotic beliefs regarding the home in the "Middle of Nowhere." The poetry and archaeology that inform Nicholas Howe's essay on Anglo-Saxon England seem to suggest a less passionate sense of place than had the Icelanders; in compensation, the Anglo-Saxons offer a language rich in meanings.

Throughout, as is characteristic of recent scholarship, considerable attention is paid to out-groups—Jews, Moriscos, immigrants, the dispossessed, and criminals. The book even pays attention to the meanings of home and homelessness beyond the purely human realm, treating spirits, ghosts, and other ethereal dwellers (Miller), as well as the Christian contrast between the heavenly home and the transient earthly existence (Howe). Adding to the variety and attraction of the collection, the essays differ greatly in their poignance. Fortini Brown and Perry are largely concerned with the physical dwelling; MacCormack, with the absence of fixed habitation; and Miller and Howe, with ideologies. Most of the contributions respect traditional norms of narrative and documentation, but Miller's offers postmodernist virtuosity (the presence of Wayne Gretsky, the hockey player, was both fun and telling). This book is a fine microcosm of contemporary studies.