The Norman invasion of Gwent: a reassessment

Shortly after the Norman conquest of England, William fitz Osbern was created earl of Hereford. Most historians suggest he overran all Gwent east of the Usk before his return to the continent in 1071. This article will argue that his occupation of Gwent was more limited and was possibly confined to the territories claimed by Harold Godwinson, once earl of Hereford, before his death at Hastings. Instead, the accession of William Rufus in 1087 is seen as the context for a new aggressive policy towards South Wales. In the next fifteen years, Gwent and its neighbouring kingdoms of Morgannwg and Bucheiniog were overrun by William's marcher lords.     

The Norman invasion of Gwent: a reassessment

Shortly after the Norman conquest of England, William fitz Osbern was created earl of Hereford. Most historians suggest he overran all Gwent east of the Usk before his return to the continent in 1071. This article will argue that his occupation of Gwent was more limited and was possibly confined to the territories claimed by Harold Godwinson, once earl of Hereford, before his death at Hastings. Instead, the accession of William Rufus in 1087 is seen as the context for a new aggressive policy towards South Wales. In the next fifteen years, Gwent and its neighbouring kingdoms of Morgannwg and Bucheiniog were overrun by William's marcher lords.     

A revolutionary's biography: the case of V D Savarkar

This article examines the contributions of V.D. Savarkar, an intellectual founder of Hindu nationalism, to the history of an idea: namely, the revolutionary. It examines the impact of Savarkar's interpretation of the revolutionary on modern political thought in India. It explains that Savarkar established criteria for identifying revolutionaries, but he also argued that studying the life-stories of revolutionaries would inspire Indians to create future revolutions. It will further consider that for Savarkar, the reading of history was ontologically transformative and the contributions of past revolutionaries were meant to create an effective response for readers to become transformed into new revolutionaries. Through a study of the first English-language biography of Savarkar, entitled The Life of Barrister Savarkar (1926), and Savarkar's early writings on revolutionary wars, this paper will show the importance of examining Savarkar's ideas and interpretations for considering the making of revolutionary thought in India in the early decades of the twentieth century.     

淮军将领王芝生生平事迹考

淮军将领王芝生官至澎湖镇总兵,记名提督,诰授建威将军,历经咸丰、同治、光绪三朝,参加平定太平军、捻军起义等重要战役,因吸食鸦片一度被革职查办.复职后,主持修建江阴炮台,防御外敌入侵;在澎湖总兵任上整饬兵制、积极救援外国遇险船员,受到到中外舆论的高度肯定.     

The production technology of Iznik pottery—a reassessment*

Previous research has established that Iznik pottery differs from other Islamic stonepaste pottery in that its stonepaste bodies contain lead oxide as well as soda and lime, and that a significant proportion of the tin oxide in its glaze is present in solution rather than as tin oxide particles. In order to better understand these distinguishing features, the chemical compositions and microstructures of Iznik pottery and tile samples, together with those of lumps of glass found in association, were investigated using both scanning electron and optical microscopy. These data have been supplemented by the study of replicate lead–alkali glazes produced in the laboratory with a range of different compositions. The results demonstrate that separate soda–lime and high‐lead glasses were used in the production of Iznik stonepaste bodies, and that the total glass contents of the bodies were significantly higher than those quoted by Abū’l‐Qāsim, who was writing in about ad 1300. The very high purity of the lead–soda Iznik glazes indicated that the alkali flux used was either a purified plant ash or an as yet unidentified mineral source of soda. Replication experiments established that the high solubility of tin oxide in the glaze was due to the high purity of the glaze constituents. Furthermore, it is suggested that tin oxide was added to the glaze in order to give it a very slight opacity and thus obscure any blemishes in the underlying body.     

中国最早两位翰林学士考——吕向、尹愔传论

中国古代翰林学士,开始设置于唐玄宗开元二十六年(738),正当盛唐之世.自此之后,历宋、元、明、清,翰林学士一直有很高的社会声誉.直至1901年,正当八国联军进占北京之后,清朝廷还于6月5日下诏令,称翰林院为"储才重地"(《光绪朝东华录》).在唐代,翰林学士为文士参预政事的最高层次,很值得研究.据现有史料,唐代翰林学士可考知者约二百余人,其中有不少著名政治家、文学家.本文为最早的两位翰林学士立传,既拟纠正史书中的某些误载,又想从这两位学士经历的考述中提供值得思考的历史文化现象.     

The role of equilibrium and disequilibrium in modeling regional growth and decline: a critical reassessment

ABSTRACT. The assumption of interregional equilibrium in migration research has recently been attacked. At issue is the motivation for on-going migration if rents and wags accurately compensate for spatial amenity variations; but if rents and wages fail to accurately compensate potential migrants, then amenity valuations must be flawed. We here show that arguments supporting substantial disequilibrium in the US. economy are unconvincing. The substantive issues are then clarified by a model which allows for both equilibrium and disequilibrium migration. We conclude that intertemporally systematic migration stems predominantly from equilibrium forces.     

From Aachen to Al-Andalus: the journey of Deacon Bodo (823–76)

Sometime in the first six months of 838, Bodo, a palace deacon at the court of Louis the Pious, converted to Judaism, changed his name to Eleazar and removed himself to Muslim Spain. The incident is well attested in various sources although the reasons for his abandonment of Christianity are not clearly given. In 840, a year after arriving in Spain, Bodo, now Eleazar, engaged in a debate with Álvaro of Córdoba, a Christian writer and scholar living in Muslim territory who claimed to be of Jewish ancestry. Their correspondence provides illuminating insights into the framework of cultural and religious experience of this period. Bodo's self-imposed exile from Christian society is also an important rejection of the Carolingian cultural programme, a voice of protest that was probably more widespread than Carolingian society would have us believe. What follows is partly an analysis of the main textual sources that brings into relief personal, social and political themes seen to lie behind the theolo-gical debates of the period. There is also an attempt to uncover aspects of Bodo's earlier life before his conversion.     

The Life of Constantine,the Life of Methodius and the history of the Slavs in the ninth century: a reassessment

The Slavonic Lives of Constantine/Cyril (d. 869) and Methodius (d. 885) are generally considered to have been written shortly after the death of these two saints, and in any case in the ninth century. However, the present article tries to show that this contention is not conclusive. Instead, it argues for a later writing, in the course of the tenth or eleventh centuries, taking into account in particular the authors' use of older Latin sources on the same theme. As a result, the specific information from these two Lives is subject to caution, which has important consequences for the biography of Constantine/Cyril, for the modalities of the papal mission to Moravia, and more generally for the history of the Slavic countries in the ninth century.