近代欧洲早期农业革命考察

在17、18世纪之际的“农业革命”发生之前,欧洲农业生产就已出现了许多关键性的技术进步,可把16、17世纪的这种进步称为“早期农业革命”,而14、15世纪则可视为早期农业革命的准备阶段。通过对中世纪欧洲农业的低技术起点,14、15世纪的农业技术进步,16、17世纪的早期农业革命等三方面的考察,我们发现欧洲农业技术进步中的连续性特点远超过其突变性。     

中世纪和近代早期英国关税性质的演变

中世纪和近代早期,英国关税性质发生了根本性变化,从一种国王特权税,逐渐演变为处于议会严格控制下的议会间接税。中世纪和1625年前的近代早期,关税主要是国王的一种特权税。1625-1660年间,随着议会和王权斗争的高涨,以及议会的暂时胜利,关税一度转变为处于议会直接控制下的间接税。复辟时期,关税的最终课征批准权继续掌握在议会手中,但因缺少日常操控权,其关税权残缺不全。光荣革命后,因议会在与王权的斗争中取得了决定性胜利,关税演变为完全由议会严格控制的间接税。     

论中世纪和近代早期英国中央财政管理机构的沿革

中世纪时,国库、财政署和私室是英国最主要的中央财政管理机构,三个机构的命运漂浮不定,主要原因是国王及其王室才是财政管理的中心所在。都铎时期,国王们为加强对财政的个人控制,建立了私室财政体制。斯图亚特王朝建立初期,中央财政管理一仍旧惯,但1612年的管理革新实践却奠定了后来国库复兴的基础。综观这一时期的财政管理机构的沿革可知,连续性、渐进性、经验性和灵活性是它的主要特点。     

略论中世纪泉州港的文化现象

泉州是中世纪世界上著名的国际性贸易大港,也是一个极富特色的中外文化交流的中心。越族文化、中原文化和海外文化,经过了西晋、唐、五代及宋元三个时期的撞击和融合,形成了泉州独特的地域性文化。     

THE ORIGINS OF RACISM: A CRITIQUE OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS

This essay has two objectives. First, it seeks to engage critically with contemporary scholarship on the origins of racism through the lens of an older debate centered around the history of ideas. Specifically, it argues that Quentin Skinner's influential critique of the history of ideas can help identify the pitfalls of our current fascination with the origins of racism—most particularly when such origins are traced back to antiquity and the European pre- and early modern periods. In pursuing its second objective, the essay turns from histories cataloguing ancient, medieval, and early modern racisms to objections leveled, in these same literatures, against scholarship defending the modernity of race. The defense of a premodern origin to race is, I argue, not just a historical argument but a contemporary politics embedded in a narrative of continuity that insists on the relevance of the medieval past to the racial configurations of our current moment. Rather than demonstrating continuity and sameness, this essay seeks to draw attention to alternative modes of historicizing that are more attentive to the alterity of the past.     

论10～11世纪德意志的帝国教会体制

10~11世纪,德意志存在一种帝国教会体制,其实质是王权主导下的王权与教会间的共生共存关系。在这一体制下,教会机构成为国王的政治机器,教会首脑成为国王官吏,同时国王则全力维护教会的特权和利益。在萨克森王朝统治时期,帝国教会体制成为德意志强大王权的一根重要支柱。但从长远来看,这一体制也存在严重隐忧。“主教授职权之争”以后,帝国教会体制瓦解,王权开始面临严峻的挑战。     

西欧骑士制度的社会影响

骑士制度是西欧中世纪社会的重要内容,它对中世纪社会的经济、政治、军事、生活方式、思想文化等都产生了深刻影响。由于它的存在,西欧中世纪社会具有许多与之相关的特征。     

MEDIEVAL MERCHANTS’ LETTERS IN NORTHERN EUROPE

This article is concerned with the characteristic features that define medieval merchants’ letters. It explores systematically a collection of merchants’ letters from early 16th-century Finland, the so-called Scheel’s collection, which is unique in medieval northern Europe. Scheel’s letters show surprising conformity. They followed the conventions of letter writing, including their content, form, and style. Scheel’s letters were employed primarily as operative instruments in the organizing and controlling of transactions, reflecting similar functions to other European merchants’ letters. In line with other European correspondences, they also included most of the components of the rules of letter writing.     

No Taxation Without Negotiation

The article aims at assessing the impact of extra taxes on the Swedish peasantry in the early 16th century in qualitative terms, as reflected in contemporary correspondence letters. While the total tax pressure without doubt rose in the period, the resilience of Swedish peasants was remarkably high. Despite harvest failures, they managed to endure the hardships, largely thanks to their diligent use of the instrument of negotiations over terms and levels of extra taxes and the delicacy with which the Crown exacted them. This can be seen as a reflection of adjustments within the framework of the prevalent medieval system, and an acceptance on both sides of the principle of mutuality.     

Mann and Men in a Medieval State: The Geographies of Power in the Middle Ages

The state-making process represented a major institutional change, as societies moved from being organized according to notions of kinship to being ordered around the power exercised by kings over defined territories. The paper focuses on the medieval state-making process, primarily in a Welsh context; building on Michael Mann's notion of power networks, it is suggested that the mapping of the geographies of power within a society may offer a powerful tool for demonstrating the tentative and gradual nature of this process. Such a methodology also stresses the importance of geography in such a major change in human history.     

Birds in the medieval culture and economy of the East Slavs in the 10–13th centuries AD

The paper is devoted to a re-examination of the bird remains from the numerous East Slavic settlements (10–13th centuries AD). Species diversity suggests that medieval people in the Eastern Europe used birds for food, falconry, in ritual and, possibly, for aviary specimens and pets. Furthermore, bird feathers were used for preparing arrows. The most popular bird of prey was goshawk. Primary game birds were ducks, geese, swans, common crane and corvids along with black grouse and capercaillie in forest zones. The archaeological data present evidence for the use of wild birds (e.g., hooded crow) in funeral ceremonies for the first time. The majority of the identified birds have not changed their distribution, but in recent times some of these taxa have become rarer. Red-breasted goose is now extant in the area but its remains were found in the medieval layers, although this species could have been an occasional visitor in the Ukraine. Archaeological data and historical sources prove that white stork has lived in the territory of Ukraine since the Middle Ages or even earlier. The most common domestic poultry for the East Slavs was chicken. Domestic ducks and geese were much rarer. Historical documents were also consulted in this study and these also contribute to our understanding of the role of birds in the life of the East Slavs.