L'expansion occidentale dans le Levant: Les Vénitiens á acre dans la seconde moitié du treiziéme siécle

This case-study is the first attempt to examine a commercial outpost in the Crusader Levant within the context of the commercial and colonial expansion of its mother-city and in direct relation to its particular features. The Venetian quarter in Acre in the second half of the thirteenth century provided the physical setting for the exercise of authority by the state and a solid base for the expansion of its dominion. The Venetian administration there implemented the strict regulation of commerce and shipping enacted in Venice in this period, including several rules stemming from the particular needs of Acre. Various families of settlers from Venice, nobles as well as popolani, can be traced for several generations; the grant of Venetian status to natives of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, Latins oriental Christians, and Jews, enlarged the size of the Venetian population in Acre. The fate of the refugees who escaped from the city in 1291 is the last topic to be examined.     

La république des « humeurs » : Les querelles dans le dictionnaire de Bayle

Quarrelling is a ‘routine’ activity of the Republic of Letters. This article demonstrates that quarrels played a key role in the field of historical criticism. The contention of this article is twofold. First, it explores the epistemological issues raised by Bayle while reporting the quarrels of the Republic of Letters, and demonstrates their creative potential, thus applying to historiography conclusions drawn by recent research on scientific controversies. It offers a new understanding of scholarly quarrels, here understood as a socially and intellectually structuring activity. Second, this article takes issue with the debate over Bayle’s historical pyrrhonism. As will be shown, the quarrels constitute a key element within a method of writing history that is both conscious of its limits and confident of its investigative powers