Jane Shore and the Politics of Cursing
Thomas Churchyard's contribution to the 1563 edition of The Mirror for Magistrates, "Shore's wife," one of the first literary treatments of Jane Shore's role in pre-Tudor English affairs, is notable for its political exploitation of one of several of Edward IV's concubines. Narrating her fall from politically influential mistress of a king to an impoverished, friendless woman, Churchyard's Shore bitterly curses Richard III, whom she regards as the cause of her suffering. Engaging in the historiographical hazing of one of England's most unpopular monarchs, Churchyard's tragic heroine is subversive, if not treasonous, in her stance against Richard III.
Recent Studies in More (1990–2003)
The completion of the volumes planned for the Yale Edition of the Complete Works of St. Thomas More, the fortieth‐first year of the publication of the Bulletin of the Amici Thomae Mori (Moreana) and other serials, such as Sixteenth Century Journal, the International Thomas More Congress held every three years, along with other meetings, and the Tyndale Quincentennary—all these venues and others have combined to inspire scholars to write the numerous articles, monographs, collections of essays, festschrifts, and books considered in this study. Although studies of More's life, Utopia, the polemical works, and Richard III predominate, the essay also examines the increased interest scholars have taken recently in the Latin poems, devotional works, and English poems. In spite of the plethora of recent scholarship which, at first glance, would seem to exhaust what could or should be said, the essay concludes that much work, particularly on More's early life, his theological perspective, Utopia, and the polemical tracts needs to be done. Further interest in More's involvement in the law from a historical and political point of view, in comparing him to his contemporaries, and in his flair for the dramatic will continue to intrigue scholars, and studies will likely use inter‐disciplinary/cross‐cultural approaches. (A.J.G.)
Formation and Strength of Magnesia Whiskers
The formation of single-crystal magnesia whiskers during the compressive deformation of single crystals at room temperatures is described. These whiskers can have strengths of the order of millions of pounds per square inch. They are formed during fracture as a result of the discontinuous propagation of cracks which are mechanically relieving internal stresses resulting from plastic flow