Mapping Medieval Geographies: Geographical Encounters in the Latin West and Beyond, 300–1600

'Mapping Medieval Geographies' explores the ways in which geographical knowledge, ideas and traditions were formed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Leading scholars reveal the connections between Islamic, Christian, Biblical, and Classical geographical traditions from Antiquity to the later Middle Ages and Renaissance. The book is divided into two parts: Part I focuses on the notion of geographical tradition and charts the evolution of celestial and earthly geography in terms of its intellectual, visual and textual representations; whilst Part II explores geographical imaginations; that is to say, those 'imagined geographies' that came into being as a result of everyday spatial and spiritual experience. Bringing together approaches from art, literary studies, intellectual history and historical geography, this pioneering volume will be essential reading for scholars concerned with visual and textual modes of geographical representation and transmission, as well as the spaces and places of knowledge creation and consumption.

"Angels and Demons in Cromwellian and Restoration Ireland: Heresy and the Supernatural"

This essay explores accounts of supernatural activity in Cromwellian and Restoration Ireland. Religious life in Cromwellian Ireland was driven by expectations of the unusual—including audible voices from heaven, material encounters with angels, and spiritual encounters with demons. Some conservative Protestants linked this activity to the development and dissemination of heretical belief, while some who had such encounters were confident that it was compatible with the Cromwellian religious mainstream. Crawford Gribben explores the flexibility in the discourse of the marvelous in Ireland and the ways in which the administration contributed to it, and the alignment of the supernatural with various confessional convictions and postures, as well as theological radicalism. After the Restoration, accounts of supernatural encounters were remembered as ghost stories, not as matters for theological debate, a cultural transition linked to the development of a historiography that has continued to invest the Irish Cromwellian past with Gothic tropes.

Bolivian health and social care professionals' experiences of decision-making in oncology and palliative care

In the UK, end-of-life care strategies recommend patients and families are involved in decision making around treatment and care. In Bolivia, such strategies do not exist, and access to oncology services depends on finance, geography, education and culture. Compared to more developed countries, the delivery of oncology services in Latin America may result in a higher percentage of patients presenting with advanced incurable disease. The objective of this study was to explore decision-making experiences of health and social care professionals who cared for oncology and palliative care patients attending the Instituto Oncológico Nacional, Cochabamba (Bolivia). Patients were predominantly from the Quechua tradition, which has its own ethnic diversity, linguistic distinctions and economic systems. Qualitative data were collected during focus groups. Data analysis was conducted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three interrelated themes emerged: (i) making sense of structures of experience and relationality; (ii) frustration with the system; and (iii) the challenges of promoting shared decision making. The study uncovered participants' lived experiences, emotions and perceptions of providing care for Quechua patients. There was evidence of structural inequalities, the marginalisation of Quechua patients and areas of concern that social workers might well be equipped to respond to, such as accessing finances for treatment/care, education and alleviating psychological or spiritual suffering.

Nurses' experiences providing palliative care to individuals living in rural communities aspects of the physical residential setting

Introduction: Efforts are needed to improve palliative care in rural communities, given the unique characteristics and inherent challenges with respect to working within the physical aspects of residential settings. Nurses who work in rural communities play a key role in the delivery of palliative care services. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ experiences of providing palliative care in rural communities, with a particular focus on the impact of the physical residential setting.

Methods: This study was grounded in a qualitative approach utilizing an exploratory descriptive design. Individual telephone interviews were conducted with 21 community nurses. Data were analyzed by thematic content analysis.

Results: Nurses described the characteristics of working in a rural community and how it influences their perception of their role, highlighting the strong sense of community that exists but how system changes over the past decade have changed the way they provide care. They also described the key role that they play, which was often termed a ‘jack of all trades’, but focused on providing emotional, physical, and spiritual care while trying to manage many challenges related to transitioning and working with other healthcare providers. Finally, nurses described how the challenges of working within the physical constraints of a rural residential setting impeded their care provision to clients who are dying in the community, specifically related to the long distances that they travel while dealing with bad weather.

Ruedas metafísicas: ‘Personality’ and ‘Essence’ in Remedios Varo’s Paintings

While most critics have noted the profound affinity Remedios Varo felt with the ideas she encountered in the esoteric philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and his pupil P. D. Ouspensky, only in recent years have they begun to uncover the extent to which this teaching informed her richly symbolic work. This article shows how Gurdjieff’s views on ‘personality’ and ‘essence’, as outlined in Ouspensky’s exposition of his master’s ideas, In Search of the Miraculous, informed Varo’s depiction of a quest for spiritual equilibrium. In doing so, it brings to light the importance Varo placed in the development of a robust, spiritual Self.

‘Reading Aran knitting: stitches, text andinterpretation’

The densely textured surfaces of Aran knitting seem to invite interpretation. They have been ‘read’ as identity documents, family trees, references to natural and spiritual phenomena, or even maps. This paper traces the search for meaning in Aran knitting, examining how these stitch patterns have been ‘read’ in the contexts of tourism, fine art and fashion. As Jo Turney (2013:55) argues, the idea of knitted textiles as communicative media in non-literate societies ‘consigns the garments to a preindustrial era of more rural and simple times’, situating them in an imagined state of ‘stasis’. Thus the ways in which Aran stitches are ‘read’ sometimes obscure the processes through which they are ‘written’, whether in terms of individual authorship and creativity, or in terms of their manufacture. Regardless of the historical veracity of claims that particular Aran stitch patterns index features of the social, natural or spiritual worlds, analysing the ways they have been ‘read’ in the context of comparable textile traditions, other crafts which have taken on ‘heritage’ souvenir status, and Irish national identity, reveals how Aran knitting has performed broader communicative functions (see Sonja Andrew 2008), which continue to be subverted and elaborated by fine artists, and translated into couture and mass market fashion products.