Louis the Pious and the contours of empire

When the southern Iberian city of Mérida revolted against Umayyad control, the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious (814–40) sought to gain recognition there of his own political authority, probably in early 830. Motivated by a desire to project Frankish power after Umayyad intervention in Catalonia, the move was also in keeping with larger patterns of Carolingian expansion in the Iberian frontier zone. The incident is further revealing of Louis the Pious's wider imperial ambitions in the 820s, which early medieval conceptions of space allowed to be expressed over surprisingly long distances, well beyond the frontiers of the Frankish kingdoms.     

David's 'Hatred' for the Lame and the Blind (2 Sam. 5.8A)

Abstract

Scholars have often dismissed the rendering of veyigga' batsinnor (2 Sam. 5.8) as 'get up the water shaft' or 'get up the water canal' on the grounds that it has no natural connection with David's expressed 'hatred' for 'the lame and the blind'. This article argues that such a dismissal is perhaps hasty, and that David's reference to the physically afflicted alludes to the custom of their gathering at pools and springs (which were widely held to possess healing powers).     

‘Your work is of no use to us…’: Administrative interests in ethnographic research (West New Guinea, 1950–1962)

Abstract

The extent of customary land in Samoa and the laws pertaining to its protection create a presumption of state dependence on the regulation of custom in effecting state policies within local contexts. The principal means of regulating custom in Samoa has been and continues to be through state court adjudication of conflicts over customary land and chiefly titles. The transitive nature of ‘custom’ and conceptions of ‘custom’ in Samoa created an opening for court influence in the construction of custom, if not custom's partial reinvention through the agency of the courts. This occurred principally through the courts’ privileging principles of English common law in confirming asserted land rights generally considered unenforceable at the time of Samoa's political partition. The courts re‐interpreted as customary, conceptions of land rights the colonial state's influence attempted to effect within Samoan society. But the source of the changes, and the courts’ role in promoting them, tended not to be equally reflected upon. To the extent such influence is ignored in analyses of Samoan land tenure and customary law, and reproduced within state policies and court adjudication of conflict, custom's social construction is left unexamined, assumed to be more general than it is, and likely to exacerbate tensions and conflict within Samoan society rather than reduce them.     

Jerome,Alcuin and Vergil's ‘Old entellus’

In 798, Alcuin quarreled with Charlemagne's court scholars over the calculation of the lunar saltus. In Epistola 145, an important source for this argument, Alcuin called his rivals the ‘Egyptian boys’, because they wanted to follow Alexandrian custom, which began the Easter cycle on 1 September instead of the Roman 1 January. Alcuin expressed his anger with the ‘boys’ over their violation of Roman custom by quoting aptly from Jerome's letters. Jerome's warning to Augustine in Epistola 102.2, to remember Vergil's Dares and Entellus, suggested to Alcuin that his scholarly debate with the ‘boys’ should become a boxing match. Accordingly, Alcuin became ‘old Entellus’, whom Charlemagne's young scholars had hit unfairly with their criticism. In Epistola 145, Alcuin jabbed at the weak logic of the ‘Egyptians’ and satirized their ignorance. Besides revealing Alcuin's literary techniques, Epistola 145 is important for illuminating the tensions in Alcuin's relationship with Charlemagne.     

Cultural Hybridity,Magical Realism,and the Language of Magic in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

Sister Francisca de la Concepción (Mother Castillo), a Neogranadine nun, articulated multiple, powerful discourses in her works Mi vida and Afectos espirituales. In what I call a "hegemonic confessional discourse," visible throughout her mystical works, the Spanish-American colonial nun affirmed the Iberian colonization and Catholic evangelization of the New Kingdom of Granada by accepting and supporting the Spanish's violent and discriminatory hegemony.

I will defend the aforementioned thesis by analyzing Mi vida and Afectos espirituales, using the construction of Otherness and an explanation of various mystical processes, and by scrutinizing Mother Castillo's social, economic, political, and religious views, as well as her Catholic orthodox, white, traditional perspective.     

Chancellors,Presidents and Speakers: Presiding Officers in the Scottish Parliament before the Restoration*

As a unicameral assembly for most of its history, the Scottish parliament was presided over by the chief officer of state, the chancellor. Before 1603, he presided in the presence of the monarch, who was an active participant in parliaments, in contrast to the custom in England. After the union of the crowns, the chancellor presided in the presence of the monarch's representative, the king's commissioner. As with the Speaker and the lord chancellor in the English parliament, it was customary for him to operate as an agent of the crown. He also presided over the drafting committee, the lords of the articles. During parliamentary sessions, there were also semi-formal deliberative meetings of the individual estates (prelates, nobles, burgesses and, from 1592, ‘barons’, that is, lairds sitting as commissioners of the shires), each presided over by one of their own number. The Covenanting revolution of 1638 led to radical procedural reform. This included replacing the chancellor with an elected ‘president’ (Latin preses), chosen by the membership at the beginning of each session. With separate meetings of the estates becoming a formal part of parliament's procedures, there was an elected president for each estate, sometimes referred to as ‘Speakers’ for they would speak for their estates in plenary sessions of parliament.     

History,Sex And Scenography In The Octavia

With the Cambridge commentary by Rolando Ferri (2003) as point of departure, the article examines the claim that the Octavia is dependent on historians of the Flavian reign, but concludes that the case is unproven. As for the alleged allusions to the love poetry of Statius, the article argues that the similarities are coincidental and points instead to the striking parallels between the drama's depiction of the beautiful Poppaea as the darling of Venus and the short-lived Neronian cult of Poppaea as Diva Poppaea-Venus. Focusing on dramaturgy, the final section examines the commonly discarded links between the drama's implied scenography and the rich and varied resources of the imperial stage, concluding that the ignotus at each and every turn is laying out his plot ‘in accordance with the custom of those working for the stage’ (secundum consuetudinem scaenicorum).     

‘Those same cursed Saracens’: Charlemagne's campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula as religious warfare

While it is well known that many of Charlemagne's wars had a strong religious element, Frankish campaigns against the Muslims of Spain in his reign have generally been understood as secular exercises in power politics. This article presents evidence contemporary to Charlemagne's reign to argue against this, using a diverse range of sources to conclude that many observers of the Frankish invasions of the Iberian Peninsula understood them as religious wars aimed both at the defending of Christian communities in Francia and protecting and expanding the worship of Christianity in Spain. Further, although the prosecution of these wars was politically opportunistic, the sources suggest that Charlemagne and his court encouraged interpretations of these campaigns in religious terms and that they might be considered examples of religious war.     

The development of the conjugal bond in late medieval Bohemia

In late medieval Bohemia the focus of the family became more and more the relationship between husband and wife at the expense of the husband's male kin group. Where the tie of loyalty to one's male lineage and its future welfare prevailed, disposals of property after death restricted a widow's rights only to her dowry. The law of the land and custom generally supported this practice. However, more and more from the fourteenth to the early sixteenth century men gave their widows greater social security and authority over their estates and children, in the process excluding their own male kin.These conclusions arise from a numerical analysis of dowry contracts and last wills and testaments in three modest sized towns in Bohemia. The analysis shows that most men ensured their widow's secure title to the family inheritance either alone or jointly with their children. It also shows that the rate of property arrangements favouring the wife increased in the course of the centuries examined.     

The development of the conjugal bond in late medieval Bohemia

In late medieval Bohemia the focus of the family became more and more the relationship between husband and wife at the expense of the husband's male kin group. Where the tie of loyalty to one's male lineage and its future welfare prevailed, disposals of property after death restricted a widow's rights only to her dowry. The law of the land and custom generally supported this practice. However, more and more from the fourteenth to the early sixteenth century men gave their widows greater social security and authority over their estates and children, in the process excluding their own male kin. These conclusions arise from a numerical analysis of dowry contracts and last wills and testaments in three modest sized towns in Bohemia. The analysis shows that most men ensured their widow's secure title to the family inheritance either alone or jointly with their children. It also shows that the rate of property arrangements favouring the wife increased in the course of the centuries examined.     

Maurofilia y maurofobia en el Libro del conde de Castilla

The Poema de Fernán González (or Libro del conde de Castilla) is not a crusade song, nor is it an epic poem or a historical account commemorating the foundation of San Pedro de Arlanza Monastery. It is rather a hybrid text that employs all the literary and historical resources available around the middle of the thirteenth century to an educated poet who was intent on transmitting to future generations the memory of the Count who made possible the independence of Castile. All episodes in the poem point to Castile's unique place in history, describing through the protagonist's bellicose deeds its hegemonic ascendency as the most important kingdom of the Iberian peninsula. Its destiny is determined by the hero's combative character against all enemies, whether Christians or Moors, and more specifically by confronting the powerful kings of neighboring states León and Navarre.     

The Intellectual Construction of the Fifth Empire: Legitimating the Braganza Restoration

Summary

Under the Iberian Union, the Portuguese discourse on empire had been both relatively muted and intertwined with Spanish debates. The Braganza Restoration presented a radical break from this tradition. A new network of preachers, theologians and jurists from the four corners of the Portuguese empire made the case for the recovery of independence. Instead of buttressing a common moral universe and the old pan-Iberian network of higher learning, the new network focused its energies on the establishment of the particularity of the Portuguese imperial and missionary enterprises. The contribution explores the importance of networks in establishing intellectual independence and the strategies employed by the partisans of the newly independent Portugal. It was no longer good enough for Portugal to be the other Iberian empire; her very raison d'être was now to become the only Iberian empire.     

Full‐Vector Archaeomagnetic Dating of a Medieval Limekiln at Pinilla Del Valle Site (Madrid,Spain)

Archaeomagnetic dating based on the full geomagnetic field vector was carried out on a limekiln excavated at Pinilla del Valle archaeological site (Madrid, Spain). The limekiln tradition in this area is largely documented by historical sources for recent centuries but the date of the studied kiln's last use was unknown. The combination of mean archaeomagnetic directional and absolute archaeointensity results shows that the kiln was last used between ad 1296 and 1413, in good agreement with two independent radiocarbon dates. This study provides the first archaeomagnetic evidence that the local limekiln tradition dates back to at least late medieval times. Furthermore, the inclusion of these data in the Iberian secular variation curve and geomagnetic field models will help to improve the archaeomagnetic dating technique.     

The growth of secure inheritance in Anglo-Norman England

The following paper traces the crystallization of inheritance custom in England from 1086 to 1154. Inheritance of baronial estates has long been considered by historians to have been tenuous in the reigns of William the Conqueror and his sons, but by dating instances of forfeiture, escheat and other forms of disinheritance, and by comparing these dates with those of political turmoil, it can be shown that the custom became fairly secure and regular in the latter half of the reign of Henry I, only to be disrupted in the civil wars of Stephen's reign.     

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND HUMAN SPACE IN NORTH‐EASTERN IBERIA DURING THE THIRD CENTURY BC

By using GIS (Geographical Information System) visibility analysis, the visual surveillance of, and ways in which people engaged and experienced, an Iberian landscape north of Barcelona during the third century BC are explored. The study of visual surveillance from the hillforts that dominated the area is understood as a means to address issues of social structure and hierarchy. How Iberian people might have viewed and rationalized their world, which is an issue that has so far not been addressed within the theoretical approaches that currently characterize this area of Mediterranean archaeology, is explored here for the first time. Emphasis is placed on people's sense of place and on hillforts' prominence. Visibility analysis indicates a highly structured society, where each hillfort might have primarily controlled given zones of the landscape and might have informed others about events taking place there through an integrated visibility network. Whilst hillforts appear to have been sited according to the view that they offered, they do not seem to have been intended to maximize their own visual impact. Social and experiential approaches compellingly coincide to suggest a subdivision of this society between mountain and coastal communities in both practical and perceptual terms.     

WOMEN'S FACIAL TATTOOING AMONG THE MAISIN OF ORO PROVINCE,PAPUA NEW GUINEA: THE CHANGING SIGNIFICANCE OF AN ANCIENT CUSTOM

The Maisin women of northeastern Papua New Guinea are among the last coastal Papuans to tattoo their faces. This article first describes the techniques and social process of Maisin tattooing. We then examine the resilience of the custom in light of changes in puberty rites and notions of gender. We argue that these contexts have lost their cultural salience as a result of the Maisins' incorporation into the larger Papua New Guinea society. Tattooing has acquired new significance as a marker of cultural identity in a multicultural setting and as a sign of the Maisin people's commercial success as makers of indigenous art.     

Wrathful Ancestors,Corporate Sorcerers: Rituals gone Rogue in Merauke,West Papua

Anthropological studies of ritual ‘failure’ challenge the assumed efficacy of ritual in affirming the social order. Drawing from fieldwork in West Papua, I examine the ‘failure’ and ‘success’ of two rain‐making ceremonies – one hosted by an indigenous Marind expert, the other by an Indonesian oil palm corporation. Participants conceived the failure of the first ritual as a punishment meted by ancestral spirits against Marind who support agribusiness expansion. Meanwhile, the success of the corporate ceremony confirmed rumours that corporations wield foreign and powerful forms of sorcery. Drawing on Gregory Bateson's notion of the double bind, I suggest that the ritual outcomes dramatize the irreconcilable demands placed on Marind by custom and capitalism. Attempts to endorse agribusiness incur ancestral punishment, while efforts to oppose it are thwarted by the superior power of corporate sorcerers. In this context, I argue, the moral implications of the corporate ritual's unexpected ‘success’ prove just as problematic as those of the customary ritual's dramatic ‘failure’. Co‐opted yet efficacious, corporate rituals point to a new social order in which both Marind and their ancestral spirits find themselves subjected to foreign sources of supernatural control.     

The bishop and the Basques: The diocese of Calahorra and the Basque provinces of Alava and Vizcaya under Bishop Rodrigo Cascante, 1147–1190

Under Bishop Rodrigo Cascante (1147–90), the northern Iberian diocese of Calahorra made its first significant administrative inroads into Alava and Vizcaya since its nominal assimilation of those Basque provinces around 1090. An examination into the fluctuating history of Calahorra's administrative penetration of its Basque provinces during this period highlights the extreme difficulty of this undertaking, which was severely hampered by the opposition of a strong Basque regional nobility. It also reveals a close connection between the fluctuations that characterized Calahorra's administrative fortunes north of the Ebro and the see's turbulent political context, defined by its position straddling a volatile frontier between Castile, Navarre and Aragon. Finally, it provides a useful opportunity to analyse Rodrigo Cascante's changing relationships with the secular powers that competed for the territory of his Riojan see. This analysis leads to the conclusion that the bishop of Calahorra was not a passive partner in these relationships, but actively adjusted his stance with respect to the crowns of Castile and Aragon, primarily in function of how well they did, or might, contribute to the realization of his Basque agenda.     

Ancestors: Henry Maine and the constitution of primitive society

Maine was the most important English figure in a generation of legal theorists who founded the comparative study of “early”; social institutions. He assumed that all the Indo‐Germanic speaking peoples began their development with the same social forms. Early Roman law and contemporary Hindu custom encapsulated primitive Indo‐European institutions, notably the patriarchal family and the communal organisation of property rights. Maine's arguments were developed in part as a contribution to contemporary political debate, especially with reference to the Indian Empire. His work drew on the models of philology, German legal history, and English constitutional history.