The Clanking of Medieval Chains: Extra-Judicial Banishment in the British Empire

Banishment in English law was circumscribed by the Magna Carta and habeas corpus and prohibited except by legal procedure. The Transportation Act of 1718 legalised exile and enshrined convictism in law. The case of Bancoult (No.2), 2008, which considered the banishment of the Ilois of Chagos Island in the 1960s, brought consideration of banishment into the twentieth century and opened the royal prerogative to modern scrutiny. What becomes clear from this case is that banishment relied on royal prerogative without resort to legal process and was surprisingly routine throughout the British Empire. This article considers the implications of this case and some of the wider history of banishment in the empire.     

‘Tomorrow She Will Reign’: Intimate Power and the Making of a Queen Mother in Rwanda,c.1800–1863

This article explores the relationship between erotic and institutional power through the political biography of the Queen‐Mother (Umugabekazi) Nyiramongi (r. 1845–1863) in Rwanda. Using historical narratives, genealogies, epic poetry and the translated text of royal rituals, this article argues that Nyiramongi used her status as first an object of desire and then as an erotic partner to her husband to manoeuver herself and her family into positions of institutional power. In contrast to previous literature, this article frames women like Nyiramongi as political actors who consciously cultivated their intimate assets to participate in the construction of systems of power, using their status as daughters, wives, lovers, mothers and sisters to exercise indirect power, often leading to positions of institutional and direct power.     

春秋战国时期楚县公的多重身份属性

春秋战国时期的楚国县公一般被作为秦汉以后的县级行政长官看待,与封君分属封建与郡县两个不同系统。然而考察这一时期楚县公的活动及其在先秦史上发挥的特殊作用,发现县公具有不同于行政职官的爵称属性和封邑主的特征。楚县公多出身于王族与世家大族,拥有超越任职地的影响力,常常在楚都城和王庭参与中央大政决策,领导对外军事行动。另外,县公与其任职地之间存在较强的私人连接,呈现出相当程度的“在地化”特征。理解春秋战国时期楚县公的多重身份属性,需要对楚县的性质进行全方位把握,也有助于深化对现有的封建-郡县二元认知框架在先秦时期实践的多样性与复杂性的理解。     

有关东汉侍廷里父老(亻单)的几个问题

东汉侍廷里父老僤约束石券,是我们所知道的我国历史上最早的乡里民约。约束文透露出了当时的乡里社会同其前后相比自有其特殊性的信息。国家政府必须依赖和通过父老者流的民间社会领袖人物来确立一种乡村社会秩序,国家政权虽然通过行政组织控制着乡村,然乡里实具有半自治的性质。     

Legends of the Beauchamps' ancestors: the use of baronial propaganda in medieval England

From the early part of the eleventh century, legendary propaganda was generated by the Tosny family. The Warwickshire branch of the Beaumonts did likewise from the late twelfth century, their efforts culminating in the popular romance Guy of Warwick. Such material was designed to romanticize those activities of the families which had led to their acquiring landed power, and to reinforce a widespread acceptance of the status which they endeavoured to retain in face both of the growing powers of the monarchy, and of economic pressures. By contrast, the families of Beauchamp and Mauduit relied on growing royal power to enhance their position. Beauchamp dominance of Worcestershire through the hereditary enjoyment of the post of sheriff, and Manduit enjoyment of court influence through exercise of the hereditary office of chamberlain, obviated the need to generate a popular image, although both families attracted unfavourable notice in contemporary literature, generated by territorial or professional rivals. When the estates of all four families merged, at the end of the thirteenth century, to form the late medieval earldom of Warwick, the Guy image was consciously revived. John Rous, composing the Rous Roll in 1483, in order to glorify the lords of Warwick, suppressed unfavourable elements, both in this literature and in modern political history, while elaborating on others, reworking the material with the help of current literary themes.     

Contesting Chivalry: James II and the control of chivalric culture in the 1450s

This article focuses on the reign of James II of Scotland (1437–1460) and argues that the Scottish king deliberately attempted to gain a monopoly over chivalry as part of his assertion of royal power. In seeking to integrate the historiographies of state-building and chivalric culture in fifteenth-century Scotland, what is offered here is an account of the principal strategies employed by James II to establish royal authority throughout Scotland, and an assessment of the various means in which chivalry was being patronised and promoted by the Scottish nobility and the political challenge inherent in this activity. James's response to this challenge is examined through a series of incidents in the 1450s and, in this manner, seeks to rethink the role of chivalry in late medieval Scotland. Far from being a peripheral cultural practice, this article argues that it should be seen as an integral part of James II's state-building agenda.     

亚述帝国邮驿制度辨析

亚述帝国的邮驿制度尚处于初创阶段,还存在一些需要完善之处:其一,亚述帝国的御道只修建在本土的部分地区,况且有些路段的路况不能令人满意;其二,亚述帝国的驿站仅仅设立在边远地区,它们的服务尚未尽如人意。但是,亚述帝国的御道与其他道路一起构成了贯通全国的交通网,为国王管理控制地域广阔的帝国创造了条件。驿站是亚述帝国通信体系的重要组成部分,有助于国王加强对边远地区的控制。亚述国王选派亲信奔赴各地,他们不仅传达国王的政令,而且可以代表国王处理行省事务。总之,亚述帝国的邮驿制度是国王加强统治的一种重要工具。     

The Dahomean Feast: Royal Women,Private Politics,and Culinary Practices in Atlantic West Africa

Feasting is a central component of elite power strategies in complex societies worldwide. In the precolonial Kingdom of Dahomey, located in the Republic of Bénin, public feasts were a critical component of royal strategies to attract and bind political subjects over the course of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, a period of dramatic political transformation on the Bight of Benin. Archaeological excavations within the domestic quarters of a series of Dahomean royal palace sites have yielded diverse faunal and ceramic assemblages that represent clear examples of (1) ritualized food consumption and (2) everyday culinary practices. In this paper, faunal and ceramic evidence from two excavated contexts is marshaled to distinguish the archaeological signatures of feasting in Dahomey, highlighting the importance of private feasts in attempts to build political influence in the domestic zones of Dahomean royal palaces. In particular, this analysis foregrounds how royal women jockeyed for power and influence during a period of political uncertainty.     

Contesting Chivalry: James II and the control of chivalric culture in the 1450s

This article focuses on the reign of James II of Scotland (1437–1460) and argues that the Scottish king deliberately attempted to gain a monopoly over chivalry as part of his assertion of royal power. In seeking to integrate the historiographies of state-building and chivalric culture in fifteenth-century Scotland, what is offered here is an account of the principal strategies employed by James II to establish royal authority throughout Scotland, and an assessment of the various means in which chivalry was being patronised and promoted by the Scottish nobility and the political challenge inherent in this activity. James's response to this challenge is examined through a series of incidents in the 1450s and, in this manner, seeks to rethink the role of chivalry in late medieval Scotland. Far from being a peripheral cultural practice, this article argues that it should be seen as an integral part of James II's state-building agenda.     

试论刘宋东宫武官制度

刘宋的东宫武官在南北朝军事逞胜的外环境和刘宋皇权不断加强的总趋势下得到了较大发展。刘宋四帝对于东宫武官制度采取了不同的态度和政策。宋武帝恢复晋末罢废的太子二率,增设太子三校、三将等职官;文帝时二率、三校成为东宫主要武官职;孝武帝大力罢省东宫武官,削抑东宫势力;明帝则再度恢复东宫三校,并新增东宫直阁等武职。总而言之,宋之东宫武职呈现出明显的强弱跌宕、阶段性变化,这既是刘宋诸任皇帝权力强弱异势的现实表现,也是刘宋皇权重振之路的曲折反映。     

A Study of the Role of Regionalization in the Generation of Aggregation Error in Regional Input –Output Models

Although the need for aggregation in input –output modelling has diminished with the increases in computing power, an alarming number of regional studies continue to use the procedure. The rationales for doing so typically are grounded in data problems at the regional level. As a result many regional analysts use aggregated national input –output models and trade –adjust them at this aggregated level. In this paper, we point out why this approach can be inappropriate. We do so by noting that it creates a possible source of model misapplication (i.e., a direct effect could appear for a sector where one does not exist) and also by finding that a large amount of error (on the order of 100 percent) can be induced into the impact results as a result of improper aggregation. In simulations, we find that average aggregation error tends to peak at 81 sectors after rising from 492 to 365 sectors. Perversely, error then diminishes somewhat as the model size decreases further to 11 and 6 sectors. We also find that while region – and sector –specific attributes influence aggregation error in a statistically significantly manner, their influence on the amount of error generally does not appear to be large.     

英国议会请愿的起源

在13世纪中期,因为地方司法治理不力,英国臣民向王室施加了巨大的政治压力。与此同时,为了扩大管辖范围,罗马教廷和巴黎高等法院也向英国王室发起有力的主权挑战。英国国王爱德华一世被迫开展司法改革,以应对这些压力和挑战,进而加强其统治权威。其中的一项重要举措就是允许臣民向议会呈递请愿。在当时,议会请愿的主要内容是寻求司法公正和祈求王室恩惠。它的推行,一方面加强了王权,另一方面维护了民权,由此受到普遍的欢迎和支持。正是在爱德华一世统治时期,议会请愿获得了初步发展,成为议会制度的重要组成部分。这标志着英国议会请愿制的成形。最后要指出的是:议会请愿的起源,深受英国君臣之间实力对比的影响。     

Diplomatic and the Cid revisited: the seals and mandates of Alfonso VII

The royal chancery of the kingdom of León- Castile appears to have adopted the use of the seal towards the middle of the twelfth century. Examination of the surviving impressions from the reign of Alfonso VII (1126-57) suggests that he had at his disposal not one seal but two. They were sometimes used for the authentication of the solemn diplomas by which lands or privileges were granted; it is suggested that they were used also for sealing the short administrative orders called mandates. Documents of this latter sort, which have not hitherto been studied, appear to derive from the mandates used by Aragonese rulers of the early twelfth century, and they in their turn from the Capetian mandement and the Anglo-Norman writ. The use of sealed mandates in Alfonso VII's chancery is a further example of the play of foreign influences upon the kingdom of León-Castile at this period and may be of more than fugitive interest to historians of literature who are concerned to date the composition of Spain's most famous medieval epic, the Poema de Mio Cid.     

Diplomatic and the Cid revisited: the seals and mandates of Alfonso VII

The royal chancery of the kingdom of León- Castile appears to have adopted the use of the seal towards the middle of the twelfth century. Examination of the surviving impressions from the reign of Alfonso VII (1126-57) suggests that he had at his disposal not one seal but two. They were sometimes used for the authentication of the solemn diplomas by which lands or privileges were granted; it is suggested that they were used also for sealing the short administrative orders called mandates. Documents of this latter sort, which have not hitherto been studied, appear to derive from the mandates used by Aragonese rulers of the early twelfth century, and they in their turn from the Capetian mandement and the Anglo-Norman writ. The use of sealed mandates in Alfonso VII's chancery is a further example of the play of foreign influences upon the kingdom of León-Castile at this period and may be of more than fugitive interest to historians of literature who are concerned to date the composition of Spain's most famous medieval epic, the Poema de Mio Cid.     

Monarchical Display and the Politics of Empire: Princes of Wales and India 1870-1920s

This article analyses the evolving use of the institution ofthe British Monarchy as an instrument of imperial politics andpropaganda in the Indian empire. Through an analysis of a seriesof royal tours by Princes of Wales, ranging from the littleknown visits of Prince Alfred and Prince Albert Victor to thecelebrated tours of the future Edward VII, George V and EdwardVIII, it outlines the methods deployed by the Government tomake the monarchy appeal not just to an Indian audience, therebyhelping enhance the Raj's legitimacy and counter the risingtide of nationalist critique, but equally significantly, tothe British public to symbolize imperial power and assuage doubtsconcerning the future of the empire. Such a strategy depended,crucially, upon the persons of the Princes themselves and thearticle accordingly gives attention to the personality and politicalproclivities of these Princes and their perceptions of theirrole as guardians of the British imperial heritage. It is arguedthat this emblematic exploitation of royal prestige was of limitedeffectiveness and royal manipulation could not function in acontested paradigm, especially after the impact of the FirstWorld War and the advent of Gandhi. While the monarchical presencecould work to consolidate loyalty and power where it alreadyexisted, it was less successful in creating it when contested.     

Class,Power, and Patronage: Landowners and Politics in Punjab

In the century following their conquest of the province, the British in Punjab erected an administrative apparatus that, like those of precolonial regimes, relied heavily upon the support of the province's landed class. The relationship between the landed class and the colonial state was one of mutual benefit, with the latter using the former to ensure the maintenance of order and collection of revenue in exchange for state patronage. In this paper, it is argued that this administrative framework gave rise to a path-dependent process of institutional development in Punjab, allowing for the different fractions of the province's landowning class to increasingly entrench themselves within the political order in the postcolonial epoch. This paper outlines the mechanisms underlying this process of institutional development, focusing, in particular, on the strategies adopted by the landowning class to reproduce its power. This paper also considers the potentialities for institutional change in Punjab, allowing for the creation of a more democratic and participatory politics in the province.     

元代陕西行省研究

元代陕西行省设立早,起初临时处理军政,且与四川时合时分,至元二十三年(1286年)后自为一省。陕西行省与行御史台、宗王等分治最为典型。因西台负责四省监察,蒙古军都万户府迁治凤翔及安西王等出镇,陕西行省长期充任西部军政大本营。然军事权偏弱,还有所谓"未尝提调军马"的"旧例"。这是前期四川设行枢密院,蒙古军都万户府与其不相统摄,平章多不兼都万户,直接支配军队有限等所造成。任职或镇守陕西的,往往是廉希宪、赛典赤、阿思罕、乃蛮台等重臣及安西王、湘宁王等显赫宗王。该省"舞台"或可窥见元朝廷各种政治势力的角逐乃至厮杀。