Dark Speech

What does it mean to talk about law as theater, to speak about the "performance" of transactions as mundane as the sale of a pig or as agonizing as receiving compensation for a dead kinsman? In Dark Speech, Robin Chapman Stacey explores such questions by examining the interaction between performance and law in Ireland between the seventh and ninth centuries. Exposing the inner workings of the Irish legal system, Stacey examines the manner in which publicly enacted words and silences were used to construct legal and political relationships in a society where traditional hierarchies were very much in flux. Law in early Ireland was a verbal art, grounded as much in aesthetics as in the enforcement of communal norms. In contrast with modern law, no sharp distinction existed between art and politics. Visualizing legal events through the lens of procedure, Stacey helps readers recognize the creative, fluid, and inherently risky nature of these same events. While many historians have long realized the mnemonic value of legal drama to the small, principally nonliterate societies of the early Middle Ages, Stacey argues that the appeal to social memory is but one aspect of the role played by performance in early law. In fact, legal performance (like other more easily recognized forms of verbal art) created and transformed as much as it recorded.

Rather than abstract philosophical discussion or yet another analysis of legal doctrine, Speech and Silence in American Law seeks to situate speech and silence, locating them in particular circumstances and contexts and asking how context matters in facilitating speech or demanding silence. To understand speech and silence we have to inquire into their social life and examine the occasions and practices that call them forth and that give them meaning. Among the questions addressed in this book are: who is authorized to speak? And what are the conditions that should be attached to the speaking subject? Are there occasions that call for speech and others that demand silence? What is the relationship between the speech act and the speaker? Taking these questions into account helps readers understand what compels speakers and what problems accompany speech without a known speaker, allowing us to assess how silence speaks and how speech renders the silent more knowable.

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Medieval Irish texts reveal distinctive and unexpected constructions of gender. Constructing Gender in Medieval Ireland illuminates these ideas through its fresh and provocative re-readings of a wide range of texts, including saga, romance, legal texts, Fenian narrative, hagiography, and ecclesiastical verse.

Timmy’s Sunny Day at the Zoo By: John J. Murphy Timmy’s Sunny Day at the Zoo is a humorous collection of stories from a fevered and diseased mind. Enjoy these 20-plus short stories that will be sure to tickle your funny bone where it really itches!

When child psychiatrist Dr. Edward Harris arrives at Leavitt’s Asylum for Special Children, he is met by the mysterious Melody Murdoc, a young telekinetic and telepathic girl who knows more about his life than he knows himself. When his wife begins a steamy affair with a local author, Edward will come to Melody for help. But at what cost to his own sanity? From national award-winning playwright, Nik Kerry comes a tale of the beautifully tragic and the tragically beautiful. A story of love, nightmares, and madness. A story that will ensures one thing: Stay away from the shadows.

'The Fellowship of the Ring' is the first part of JRR Tolkien's epic masterpiece 'The Lord of the Rings'. This 50th anniversary edition features special packaging and includes the definitive edition of the text.|PB

Twenty-five years after the release of his ground-breaking book The Elijah Task, co-authored with his wife, Paula, a sequel comes from the powerful pen of John Sandford. In Elijah Among Us, he outlines a biblically rooted discussion of prophetic history and functioning, both how to instruct prophets and commission their office and how to inform the church about prophetic ministry. Sandford wrote this follow-up book because he sees a strong and even dangerous overemphasis in the church on the "giving of personal words," which is only one role of the prophetic office. The first section of this book develops a history of the prophetic office, how the office metamorphosed from one of warning into proclaiming God's gentle and merciful side, and becoming burden-bearers. Second, Sandford sets forth the working functions of prophets, explaining how they serve in twelve major roles, including bringing blessings, healing, warning of impending judgment, giving protection from tragedies, and offering direction, guidance, or confirmation. Readers will gain crucial knowledge of a widely misunderstood topic, helping them be discerning in these strategic end times. Authoritative and compelling, Elijah Among Us is a timely and vital work for the Body of Christ.