Women's rituals and women's prototypes review article *

In this short passage of the Libellus de virginitate servanda (epist. 22) Jerome incorporates a number of striking formulations from Tertullian's De oratione and De corona. The influence of Ambrose's De virginibus would also seem to be discernible. Jerome systematically enhances the stylistic finesse of the material he borrows. At the same time its inclusion also entails inconcinnities.     

The rituals and significance of ducal civic entries in late medieval Brittany

Although not so richly documented as some other French principalities, enough evidence survives to describe various rituals connected with ducal civic entries in late medieval Brittany, which have been largely ignored in recent general literature. This article synthesises this material, highlighting in particular the political and ideological as well as ceremonial imperatives which governed evolving Breton practice between the fourteenth and early sixteenth centuries as the duchy passed from independent rule under the Montfort dynasty into the hands of the kings of France.     

The rituals and significance of ducal civic entries in late medieval Brittany

The physical appearance of the Merovingian villa has been ignored by most archaeologists and historians, largely because of the paucity of information. Three radically different images can be found in the sparse literature; something akin to a Roman villa, a forerunner of the medieval castle, or a village settlement such as the excavated site of Warendorf, Germany, to which a number of analogous sites have been found in the recent past. This article argues for the continuity of Roman traditions, if not the actual physical buildings. In particular the absence of fortification is discussed. Traditionally, violence and the development of castles are accepted as cause and effect, yet endemic insecurity did not give rise to a Merovingian castle. The common enclosures of Merovingian villas, far from being defensive, are seen as having symbolic meaning which was actively employed to define propriety, legal rights, and social relations. The maintenance of peace and personal safety depended on the adequate understanding by individuals of local politics and the ordering of their social world; an understanding expressed in the physical world of architecture.     

Buddhist temples and ancestral halls: The reconstruction of native official rituals in western Yunnan

Abstract

In the process of abolishing the native officialdoms of southwest China, the Ming court justified its actions by citing violations of ethical and ritual principles. During the Zhengtong 正統 period, offices of native officials in Heqing 鶴慶 were abolished and replaced with an office for centrally appointed imperial officials. These imperial officials turned Buddhist temples into Confucian schools and attacked local beliefs regarding living Buddhas. At the same time, local Confucian scholars advocated orthodox ritual in the name of doing away with improper ritual practice. In response, nearby native officials began cautiously handling political issues, and sought to legitimize the foundations for their status by conducting rituals in the classical Confucian tradition. The author examines the history of Lijiang 麗江 and Menghua 蒙化 Prefectures in Yunnan 雲南 and discusses how their native officials used the statuses of ancient nobles as they sought to establish Confucian rituals and temples corresponding to their status within the Ming bureaucracy. Several strategies are identified, including (a) building Buddhist temples, ancestral halls, and official shrines; (b) transforming mythical figures into protective deities by creating mountain and river rituals that conformed to ritual orthodoxy; and (c) establishing official genealogies and using textual methods to incorporate clan myths and legendary lineages into orthodox historical narratives, thereby strengthening the superiority of border native official lineages. By analyzing a series of actions of native officials in this process, the author explores the cultural strategies adopted by native officials to safeguard their prestige and local interests.     

Land and revolution in Iran

Land and Revolution in Iran, 1960–1980. By Eric J. Hooglund. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1982. xvii + 191 pp. $19.95 cloth.     

Petrography as a technique for investigating Iroquoian ceramic production and smoking rituals

Petrographic data and macroscopic observations are used to examine some of the social contexts and functional considerations underlying the production of pottery containers and smoking pipes at Antrex, a Middle Ontario Iroquoian village site located in southern Ontario. Results suggest that while pottery was produced by small groups of people for widespread consumption within the community, pipes were made by individuals for their own personal use. Overall, this research supports the hypothesis that by the beginning of the Late Woodland period, a shift away from communal ritual practices led by ritual specialists or shamans had occurred. Smoking might have, in some contexts, become a solitary religious experience.     

Ashes to ashes. Fuelwood selection in Roman cremation rituals in northern Gaul

To analyse fuelwood collection strategies in Roman funerary rituals in northern Gaul, a large number of charcoal fragments from Roman cremation graves has been identified. The wide variety of taxa found suggests that no particular taxa have been avoided. Also no significant differences have been found between the charcoal assemblages of different types of graves and between graves belonging to different types of settlements. On the other hand, comparison with the charcoal assemblages from Roman refuse deposits, reflecting domestic fuel use, shows an overrepresentation of Quercus sp., Alnus sp. and Fagus sylvatica, and a much lower taxonomic variety in the cremation graves. This is believed to be the consequence of functional rather than ritually or symbolically oriented fuelwood selection strategies.     

Childhood in Qajar Iran

The history of children in general and that of Persian children in particular is that of the inarticulate. The social history of Iran is a neglected field although in recent decades a preponderance of material has appeared on the history of women. Aside from this no work has been undertaken on the private life of the period including childhood and family life. This article examines various aspects of the position and upbringing of children in Qajar Iran ranging from the rearing of children to their status in the family, discipline, amusements and education. This investigation attempts to cover the childhood of different sexes and social classes both in rural and urban areas. The discussion is limited to Shi'i children, the majority population of Iran.