A new look at the way in which medieval European literature depicts torture and brutality.

Introduction
Rending the Flesh: The Orthodoxy of Torture in Hagiography
Resisting the Rod: Torture and the Anxieties of Continental Identity
The Matter of the North: Icelandic Sagas and Cultural Autonomy
The Matter of Britain: Defining English Identity in Opposition to Torture
Laughing at Pain: The Comic Uses of Torture and Brutality
Medieval Torture and Early-Modern Identity - Jay Paul Gates
Conclusion
Select Bibliography