Good men gone bad? Resistance to monastic reform in the tenth and eleventh centuries

Conservative opponents of monastic reform in the tenth and eleventh centuries have traditionally been portrayed as principally reluctant to change and unwilling to abandon privileges and preferential treatment. This article performs a close, comparative reading of the poem Carmen ad Rotbertum regem by Adalbero of Laon (c.950–1031) and the monastic chronicle Casus Sancti Galli by Ekkehard IV (c.980–1057), in order to identify the authors’ attitudes to reform and reformists, and the sources for their counter-reform argumentation. It argues that the studied texts mediate reasoned, grounded standpoints, based on a thorough knowledge of monastic regulations and their importance to Christian ethics, and on the placing of society into an all-encompassing philosophical-religious context. Particular attention is given to the multiple layers of meaning characteristic of medieval writing.     

Foreign Languages in the Elementary Schools of Richmond,Virginia

The medieval hunt and hunting manuals have been studied by historians as sources for the history of medieval science and geography, and for their insights into the daily lives of the elite societies that practiced hunting as a ritualized sport. This article examines two medieval hunting manuals, Juan Manuel’s Libro de la caza, and the Libro de la montería, commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile, and King Alfonso X’s law code, the Siete partidas, for their rhetorical and ideological portrayals of hunting and falconry as expressions of aristocratic power and sovereignty over the natural world. The article concludes with a study of an imagined debate between the merits of falconry and hunting with hounds in the Libro de la caza and Libro de la montería that sheds light on Juan Manuel and Alfonso’s competing views on nobility, informed by the political history of war and rebellion that shaped the lives of both men.     

Media and Ideology in the Middle East: A Critical Discourse Analysis

This study explores the ideologization of media discourse in the Middle East through investigating political influences over leading media corporations in the region. A critical discourse analysis was applied to news reports issued by prominent Middle Eastern media giants Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. The research data included eight news articles from both media outlets. Thus, four articles from each corporation have been studied and analyzed in an effort to realize the objectives of the study at hand. Blass’s Manipulative Strategies… and van Dijk’s Ideological Square… constituted primary methodological instruments within the framework of this research. The findings indicate an explicit impact of local political agendas on the discourse and editorial policies of each of the studied media corporations, which emerge in violation with the claimed journalistic commitment to objectivity and impartiality in terms of news reporting.     

Breccia verde di Sparta,an elusive decorative stone used in antiquity

Breccia verde di Sparta is the traditional name given by the Roman marmorarii of the 19th century to a brecciated volcanic rock whose unknown precise provenance has been determined here for the first time through exploration of the broader area of Psefí (south of Krokees, province of Sparta, Peloponnese, Greece). This location was well known in antiquity and in modern times for having been exploited by the Romans for an important green porphyry named lapis lacedaemonius, nowadays also known as porfido verde antico. This breccia has been seldom used in Roman times for opera sectilia; in contrast, it appears more frequently reused in medieval floors; it is also frequently present in historical lithotecs formed in the 19th and 20th centuries. To fully characterise it and determine its relationships with green porphyry, breccia verde di Sparta samples from the newly discovered source have been thoroughly studied minero-petrographically and geochemically, and their complex genesis has been reconstructed. It appears that after extrusion the original brecciated basaltic andesite underwent extensive hydrothermal low-grade metamorphism, with a complete alteration of the igneous assemblage and minerals that preserved only part of the clinopyroxene phenocrysts. Alteration was accompanied by crystallisation of abundant epidote and chlorite, which imparted its predominant green colour to the rock. These breccias intruded in the lithoclases of the porphyry.     

The Gothic-Romantic Hybridity in Mary Robinson’s Lyrical Tales

ABSTRACT

Mary Darby Robinson is well known for writing her final volume of poems, the Lyrical Tales (1800), as a direct answer, sometimes poem by poem, to Wordsworth and Coleridge’s 1798 Lyrical Ballads. What has been less studied is how deliberately hybrid in style and allusions her response-poems are in the Tales, especially how prominently they foreground Gothic imagery, theatricality, and hyperbole in poems that also ape the emerging “romantic” mode of the Ballads themselves. Part of that “cheekiness,” I argue, stems from the condemnation of the Gothic that both Wordsworth and especially Coleridge had articulated in print, while also echoing it, albeit in highly modified ways, in their poetry. Most of what Robinson attempts with her hybrid Tales, though, develops the penchant in Gothic for symbolizing deep and unresolved ideological conflicts in Western culture. Her answers to Wordsworth and Coleridge, which I exemplify with selected Robinson Tales, therefore, bring out those very conflicts underlying, haunting, and even tormenting the speakers and the subject-matter in the original Lyrical Ballads.     

Landschaft,pueblo and altepetl: a consideration of landscape in sixteenth-century Central Mexico

In 1521, the Spanish conquistadors defeated the Nahuas of Central Mexico. Spain was ruled at the time by the House of Habsburg, and its administrators became familiar with the German concept of Landschaft. By 1570, they used this concept to prepare and launch a survey of the indigenous communities which called themselves—and their lands—altepetl. The purpose of this paper is to show to what extent the terms Landschaft and altepetl are equivalent since modern scholars have described both as organized “communities” subject to a customary “law” and possessing a specific piece of “land”. The main obstacle for this comparison is that in the sixteenth century the Spaniards did not have a word equivalent to landscape, and they used words like pueblo, pago and pintura instead, depending on the context. This paper describes the general characteristics of the altepetl in Central Mexico and focuses on its representation by analysing some maps made after the conquest in the area of Cholula, current State of Puebla. The comparison of Landschaft, pueblo and altepetl in historical context is pertinent for cultural geographers since it was during the sixteenth century that the concept of landscape, as we know it today, was taking shape.     

The Fengzeng System in Song China

In ancient China, filial piety occupied a crucial position. The highest yi 義 (righteousness) is respect for ancestors, and the ultimate ren 仁 (benevolence) is to make parents illustrious. These were universally accepted moral values. Consequently, the fengzeng 封贈 (enfeoffments and posthumous honours), a system that gives honourific titles to officials, their ancestors and other family members, has played a significant role. In spite of its tremendous importance in ancient Chinese history, the system has been studied very little. This article conducts an in-depth examination of the concept of fengzeng by focusing on the following three questions: from whence does the system originate, and when did it begin? How can we differentiate feng from zeng? And, finally, what normative principles does the system represent?     

Reinterpreting Adire Cloth in Northern Nigeria

In the 1930s, the demand for adire cloth led to its subsequent production in northern Nigeria. Yoruba adire cloths were reinterpreted by Hausa adire makers who developed their own attractive, named patterns. When the Nigerian economy improved and industrially-printed cotton textiles became more accessible in the 1970s, Hausa women largely abandoned adire cloths for manufactured cotton prints. However, tourist demand for adire cloths and changing fashion tastes for newer adire styles have supported their continued creation, particularly in Kano. While political and economic circumstances have reduced adire production, these textiles continue to have sociocultural significance in twenty-first-century northern Nigeria.     

Creation in Art and Science

Abstract

The proposition that the creations of art are unique (in the sense tbat we would not have had Timon of Athens had Shakespeare not lived), whereas the creations of science are inevitable or commonplace (in the sense that we would have had the DNA double helix even if Watson and Crick had not lived), has little philosophical or historical merit. For, this proposition conflates works of art and science (the texts of the play Timon and of the paper A structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid), both of which are unique, and their semantic content (the insights into human affects provided by Timon and the concept of the DNA double helix), both of which are commonplace as well as unique.     

Prehistoric sites in the lærdal basin. A theoretical and practical approach to the archaeological analysis of a non‐tool lithic material

A major Norwegian archaeological work will be presented in each number of NAR. The author's summary will be followed by comments from invited specialists who have studied similar problems to those treated in the publication in question. Arne Johansen's study of a Stone Age material from the Norwegian mountains (H?yf jellsfunn ved Lærdalsvassdraget I. Den teoretiskc bakgrunn og det f?rste analysefors?k) was chosen as the subject of discussion in this issue of NAR. Comments are written by Carl Cullberg, Svein Indrelid, Knut Odner, Povl Simonsen and Stig Welinder. Arne Johansen's reply closes the discussion.     

Valuing rock art: a view from Northumberland in North East England

Abstract

Since the turn of the millennium three rock art projects focusing primarily on Northumberland in the United Kingdom (Northumberland Rock Art: Web Access to the Beckensall Archive, Rock Art on Mobile Phones and Heritage and Science: working together in the CARE of rock art) have made information and images widely available to the public via the Internet. All three projects were strongly underpinned by the ethos expressed in the Faro Convention and the Ename and Burra Charters that the value of cultural heritage should be enhanced by interpretation. This paper investigates the responses to these digital media initiatives, showing that they have increased the reach of this ancient rock art resource to large numbers of people in United Kingdom and Ireland, and globally. In addition, it reveals that having made these heritage resources available online, they have created a further desire among people to engage with the rock art virtually with the increased possibility of following this up with an in situ visit.     

Caesium-137 as an indicator of geomorphic processes in a drainage basin system

Caesium-137 from fallout from nuclear weapons tests is adsorbed on fine sediments and becomes an effective tracer. It is hypothesised that within a drainage basin, sites undergoing little or no erosion accumulate ¹³⁷ Cs in their upper layers; cultivated soils will have ¹³⁷ Cs uniformly distributed within the cultivated layer; eroded soils, cultivated or not, will have relatively less ^l37 Cs, depending on the severity of erosion. Accumulated sediments will have characteristic ¹³⁷ Cs profiles reflecting temporal fallout variations and sedimentation history. This hypothetical model is largely confirmed by results from Maluna Creek basin, where erosion and accumulation of sediments has taken place. Soils under viticulture have about one third the ¹³⁷ Cs content of soils with grass cover, indicating more severe erosion under cultivation. Caesium-137 profiles in alluvial fan and flood plain deposits correlate with sediment layers and known cultivation history.     

Petroleum type determination through homogenization temperature and vapour volume fraction measurements in fluid inclusions

Physical parameters of petroleum‐bearing fluid inclusions such as bulk density (ρ), molar volume (V_m), vapour volume fraction (?_vap) and homogenization temperature (T_h) are essential information to model petroleum composition (x) in inclusions and to reconstruct palaeotemperature and palaeopressure of trapping. For the main petroleum types contained in a fluid inclusion, we can follow how ?_vap and T_h are simultaneously influenced by a change of bulk density in a ?_vap versus T_h projection. We have correlated T_h and ?_vap for different petroleum compositions for a large range of bulk density values. However, postentrapment events under new pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions can greatly modify the initial fingerprints of physical conditions and chemical composition of fluid inclusions. Re‐equilibration is frequent, especially in the case of fragile minerals. Stretching and leakage phenomenon have been simulated using the Petroleum Inclusion Thermodynamics (pit ) software, from virtual petroleum inclusions with known hydrocarbon composition. The aim of these simulations is to understand how ?_vap and T_h evolve with these re‐equilibration phenomena, with respect to the oil composition. Results of stretching simulations show a characteristic increase of T_h and ?_vap along correlation curves, with the curve shape dependent on petroleum composition. Leakage simulations show an increase of T_h and a smaller increase or even a decrease in ?_vap. Consequently, the better preserved inclusions in a given population can be presumed to be those that have the lowest T_h. Applications of T_h and ?_vap measurements of natural inclusions in calcite and in quartz showed that the fragility of the host mineral is a key factor allowing the recording of post‐entrapment events. Inclusions that have stretched or leaked are identified and the best preserved inclusions selected for evaluation of P–T–x trapping conditions. Moreover, petroleum types trapped in inclusions can be identified from ?_vap and T_h measurements without compositional modelling.     

Art,Transformation, Liberation: Balzac's Eugénie Grandet

Balzac's works about actual artists like Le Chef d’oeuvre inconnu have long been studied to derive the author's ideas about the artistic creative process. Eugénie Grandet also deals with art, however, even though there is not a real artist in it. In telling the story of Eugénie and her cousin Charles, Balzac suggests his views on the effects of beauty created by artful arrangement as opposed to the beauty in nature uncrafted by human art.     

Fragmentation of Bird Bones in Food Remains of Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca)

Fragmentation of bird bones in pellets and uneaten food remains of imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca) was studied. The degree of fragmentation was higher than that produced by owls and lower than that in gyrfalcons. There were significant differences between pellets and uneaten remains in the survival of bones and their fragmentation. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 7 : 165–171 (1997) No. of Figures: 0. No. of Tables: 5. No. of References: 21.     

Contrasting paleofluid systems in the continental basement: a fluid inclusion and stable isotope study of hydrothermal vein mineralization,Schwarzwald district,Germany

An integrated fluid inclusion and stable isotope study was carried out on hydrothermal veins (Sb‐bearing quartz veins, metal‐bearing fluorite–barite–quartz veins) from the Schwarzwald district, Germany. A total number of 106 Variscan (quartz veins related to Variscan orogenic processes) and post‐Variscan deposits were studied by microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy, and stable isotope analysis. The fluid inclusions in Variscan quartz veins are of the H₂O–NaCl–(KCl) type, have low salinities (0–10 wt.% eqv. NaCl) and high T_h values (150–350°C). Oxygen isotope data for quartz range from +2.8‰ to +12.2‰ and calculated δ¹⁸O_H2O values of the fluid are between ?12.5‰ and +4.4‰. The δD values of water extracted from fluid inclusions vary between ?49‰ and +4‰. The geological framework, fluid inclusion and stable isotope characteristics of the Variscan veins suggest an origin from regional metamorphic devolatilization processes. By contrast, the fluid inclusions in post‐Variscan fluorite, calcite, barite, quartz, and sphalerite belong to the H₂O–NaCl–CaCl₂ type, have high salinities (22–25 wt.% eqv. NaCl) and lower T_h values of 90–200°C. A low‐salinity fluid (0–15 wt.% eqv. NaCl) was observed in late‐stage fluorite, calcite, and quartz, which was trapped at similar temperatures. The δ¹⁸O values of quartz range between +11.1‰ and +20.9‰, which translates into calculated δ¹⁸O_H2O values between ?11.0‰ and +4.4‰. This range is consistent with δ¹⁸O_H2O values of fluid inclusion water extracted from fluorite (?11.6‰ to +1.1‰). The δD values of directly measured fluid inclusion water range between ?29‰ and ?1‰, ?26‰ and ?15‰, and ?63‰ and +9‰ for fluorite, quartz, and calcite, respectively. Calculations using the fluid inclusion and isotope data point to formation of the fluorite–barite–quartz veins under near‐hydrostatic conditions. The δ¹⁸O_H2O and δD data, particularly the observed wide range in δD, indicate that the mineralization formed through large‐scale mixing of a basement‐derived saline NaCl–CaCl₂ brine with meteoric water. Our comprehensive study provides evidence for two fundamentally different fluid systems in the crystalline basement. The Variscan fluid regime is dominated by fluids generated through metamorphic devolatilization and fluid expulsion driven by compressional nappe tectonics. The onset of post‐Variscan extensional tectonics resulted in replacement of the orogenic fluid regime by fluids which have distinct compositional characteristics and are related to a change in the principal fluid sources and the general fluid flow patterns. This younger system shows remarkably persistent geochemical and isotopic features over a prolonged period of more than 100 Ma.     

Roman landscape and agriculture on the Ligurian coast through macro and microremains from a Vada Sabatia well (Vado Ligure,Italy)

Abstract

The results of an analysis on plant remains (fruit, seeds, pollen and wood) found in sediments in a Roman well in Vada Sabatia (Vado Ligure, Liguria, Italy), dated between the first and fourth centuries AD are presented. The remains are well preserved and constitute an exceptional record of the Ligurian area. Five layers have been recognised: three corresponding to the well when in use and two to the well when it was no longer in use. The vegetational cover of the area has been found to be similar to that observed in the coastal plain near Albingaunum (Albenga) pertaining to the same period. Moreover, the two superficial layers have cumulated a large amount of macroremains related to the period in which the well was no longer in use. The principal tree and vegetable crops and cereals of the coastal plain were present, due to the influence of maritime and mercantile trade, as were the prevailing ruderal and weed species and the tree cover. The presence of carpological remains of Castanea sativa, Secale cereale, Beta vulgaris and Cucumis sativus is reported for the first time in the Roman Age in Liguria. The influence of the arrival of the Romans can be seen from new crops, such as Prunus persica, and the introduction of exotic fruit like Phoenix dactylifera and Ziziphus jujuba. Several wooden artefacts, for example, a rack for drying lucerne and a tool handle, made of Cornus or Viburnum and Viburnum cf. lantana respectively, have been found. The well has proved to be an ideal location for the preservation of plant remains compared with other studied archaeological situations in Liguria and in Southern France, as it presents a higher variety of cultivated fruits, vegetables and cereals.     

Monograptus deubeli and praedeubeli (Wenlock,Silurian) in the Asian part of the former Soviet Union

Koren', T. N., & Suyarkova, A. A., 1994:03:28. Monograptus deubeli and praedeubeli (Wenlock, Silurian) in the Asian part of the former Soviet Union. Alcheringa 18, 000–000. ISSN 0311-5518.

During the last decade the sequence and composition of the later Homerian (Wenlock) graptolite fauna has become comparatively well known in many regions of the world. A complete and detailed graptolite biozonation has been elaborated in Europe, and partly confirmed in Australia and Arctic Canada. Valuable new data have been obtained from several widely scattered areas within the Asian part of the former U. S. S. R. M. praedeubeli Jaeger (rare) and M. deubeli (common) have been found in the Homerian sequences in the Novosibirsk Islands and Novaya Zemlya, as well as in the southern Urals and the Turkestan-Alai Mountains of central Asia. In sections studied here, especially in the Alai Range, both species have well defined stratigraphic ranges in a variety of pelagic and hemipelagic facies. Their well established taxonomy based on sicular shape and thecal structure allows their recognition in material of different preservation. They belong to a single phylogenetic line and can be used as important biostratigraphic markers for interregional correlation, especially considering the distinct differences in the composition of associated monograptids. Thus, members of the Pristiograptus idoneus—Lobographu? claudiae lineage parallelling the development of M. praedeubeli and M. deubeli in the Homerian of central Asia, Australia, Arctic Canada and Arctic Russia are unknown from European and northern African sections.     

The Hopi,the katsinam,and the French courts: looking outside the law in the repatriation of Indigenous cultural heritage

Katsinam (plural of katsina) are effigies central to the religion of the Hopi people of northern Arizona in the United States. Since 2013 the Hopi have sought the return of katsinam being sold in French auction houses. The Hopi have employed a series of legal actions to stop the auctions. All such actions, however, have been consistently denied by French courts. This paper uses social science analysis to understand why the legal actions of the Hopi failed. This paper treats the case of the katsinam as a cautionary lesson in cultural heritage studies, with the goal of drawing insights that can inform other situations involving the repatriation of Indigenous cultural heritage.