DISH and the monastic way of life

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is common condition and its prevalence increases markedly with age. This paper describes the pathology and aetiology of the condition; DISH seems to be related to obesity and type II diabetes and is probably a multisystem hormonal disorder. DISH occurs frequently in human skeletal remains, particularly in those recovered from monastic sites. Evidence is presented to confirm this association and the causes are discussed. We also present criteria for the diagnosis of DISH in human remains, which we suggest would permit valid inter‐study comparisons. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Agnes of Burgundy: an eleventh-century woman as monastic patron

As an eleventh-century monastic patron, Agnes of Burgundy was generous, thoughtful, and involved; she galvanized others into endowing monasteries and won the respect of the houses she supported. The association with grateful abbeys helped her and her husband, Geoffrey Martel, to establish the legitimacy of their rule. In this symbiosis, Agnes used the system for all it was worth, even eventually retiring as an old lady into one of her foundations, while religious life in west-central France flourished, aided by her support. Yet, although enormously wealthy and powerful, she did not act with full autonomy. Her life was shaped by the biological determinants of menarche and menopause; by involvement in familial strategies to advance her spouse's and children's careers; by limitations on her use of feudal power; and by gender roles that patterned behavior. She, and every other woman like her, functioned within a web of gender, class, and family constraints and expectations.     

The collapse of memory: The case of farm workers (French Vexin,pays de France)

The two authors have carried out an oral survey on a group of retired farm labourers in the French Vexin and the Pays de France regions (north of the lle de France). This paper examines the means by which individual memory registers the collective downward trend of this social group. It is remarkable for instance that respondents tend to recall memories of the “life of yore”;, opposed to life nowadays, instead of describing precise stages of their career, or the social evolution of their group and of the region. Their vision of History is fatalistic, syncretical, motionless, with frequent reference to war, exodus, moments of horror. All these elements express indirectly how a social group was crushed. Fragments of oral litterature that were collected on the same occasion refer also to the theme of social failure.     

Blood-brothers: a ritual of friendship and the construction of the imagined barbarian in the middle ages

This article analyses the history of blood-covenants in the middle ages. Appearing in various historiographical and literary texts from antiquity onwards, these covenants have hitherto mostly been interpreted by modern authors as a typical feature of pre-modern or even ‘primitive’ societies. A closer inquiry into the context of the existing source-material reveals, however, that this motif can be characterised as a part of discriminatory narrative strategies which aim at the exclusion of foreign and non-Christian cultures. The analysis of the medieval texts, which were mainly produced from the twelfth century onwards, clearly shows a tendency to attribute this ritual of blood-brotherhood either to representatives of the so-called ‘Saracens’ or allegedly heterodox cultures, like the Byzantines or the Irish, which populated the margins of the Latin west. Not only does this topical use of the motif invalidate part of the texts' factual source value, but it also proved misleading for the interpretation of pre-modern societies by modern historians. While an older tradition of classical political history mainly tended to note the ritual as a cultural curiosity, more recent studies of ritual structures are in danger of misrepresenting the cultures they focus on.     

严修与袁世凯家族的友谊

袁世凯对严修非常敬重,请严总理直隶学校司.严开拓进取,使直隶教育为各省之冠.清廷新设学部,袁荐严任侍郎.袁任总统,复请严为教育总长.袁氏诸子拜严为师.筹安会起,严进行了忠告.袁世凯死后,严与袁家仍长期保持友好往来.     

以江为友与江共生——漫评路地的再版诗集《鸭绿江吟》

作者生活在鸭绿江边,以幸遇鸭绿江而自慰、自豪、以满腔热情歌咏鸭绿江为己任。好诗疗疾——疗心灵之疾,读诗消暑,可以使人处于“清凉世界”。作者以江喻人,“江流向久远”,“清清洗我心”,是大江的奉献精神、牺牲精神、与世无争坦荡清廉的品格,启迪人生,从而净化思想,洗涤灵魂。作者以优美诗篇阐发亲近大自然、保护大自然的重要性和必要性。诗人丰富的想象力、诗中有画、语言的凝炼精美,显现《鸭绿江吟》突出的艺术成就。     

Sociology: After the collapse of the bonanza

Robert W. Friedrichs, A Sociology of Sociology, Free Press, New York, 1970, pp. xxiii + 429. $12.55.     

Individual experience,collective remembrance and the politics of monastic reform in high medieval Flanders

This paper examines why Simon (d. 1148), the chronicler of the abbey of Saint‐Bertin in Flanders, designated all of the remaining evidence for sixty years of the communal past as ‘unmemorable’. An analysis of the chronicler's sources and context of writing reveals that his rejection of these memories was determined both by personal experience and the desire to advocate the legitimacy of the then current reforms. To these factors he subordinated the need to provide his fellow monks with a sense of historical continuity and the opportunity to present a troubled but significant part of the abbey's history.     

The collapse of British foreign policy

British foreign policy has tried to balance between the United States and continental Europe for the past half-century, with an unambiguous commitment to a special relationship with Washington and an ambiguous commitment to European integration. New Labour has followed its predecessors in this, claiming that Britain can act as a bridge between America and Europe, or as a pivot around which transatlantic relations turn. In the wake of the Iraq war, deepened scepticism in Washington about whether close European cooperation is in America's interest, and scepticism across continental Europe that Britain can or should act as a privileged interlocuteur, have undermined both ends of the bridge on which British foreign policy claims to rest. The end of US commitment to Atlanticism, together with post-Cold War divergence between US and European interests and values, should have led to a shift in British priorities towards closer cooperation with other major European states and-from that shared perspective-an attempt to reconstruct a more balanced transatlantic relationship. The EU presents a sadly weak framework for such a strategy; but Britain's domestic debate, in which this government-like its predecessors-has allowed a Eurosceptic press to shape the language of foreign policy, has made it more difficult for any government to change direction. Recent government speeches on foreign policy, however, suggest that ministers still cling to the illusion that Britain has a 'unique' position between Europe and the United States.     

"扬州二马"与"扬州八怪"交游考略

清康乾年间,伴随着交通的发达和商业的繁荣,扬州的文化也极为荣盛,并呈现出多元发展,兼容并包的态势.身份差异较大的"扬州二马"和"扬州八怪"都应时而生,他们之间的交往推动并见证了当时扬州文化发展的丰富和繁荣.     

The evolution of a colonial space-economy: the case of Fiji

The penetration by western capitalism of the pre-capitalist world laid the foundations for an externally oriented, distorted and dependent form of development. This occurred through the subordination of indigenous societies and the highly selective exploitation of local resources by foreign capital. The means by which this occurred are directly expressed in the historical evolution of an underdeveloped country's space-economy. The case study of Fiji is used as an illustration of this process.     

石窟寺佛教瘗葬形式与传统丧葬礼俗之关系

西魏以降石窟寺中大量出现的瘗葬形式 ,是佛教传入我国后 ,佛教信仰特别是其中的“轮回”说与我国“灵魂不灭”传统丧葬观念和“事死如事生”传统丧葬礼俗相结合的产物。东汉到魏晋时期富含佛教文化因素的墓葬为其初期表现形式 ,随着佛教的深入传播与发展 ,佛教信徒在石窟寺中凿龛安放死者尸体或骨灰 ,于是便出现了“石窟寺佛教瘗葬”这种形式。     

Italy and Yugoslavia: from distrust to friendship in Cold War Europe

Considering the relations of two neighbouring countries with a difficult past and separated by ideological barriers, this article takes a look at the relations between Italy and Yugoslavia in a long perspective during the Cold War. The aim is to portray the development of relations from enmity after the Second World War to good neighbourly relations in Cold War Europe. Including new archival sources of Yugoslav origin, the article shows how mutual relations between Italy and Yugoslavia developed, considering the importance of economic factors, political ambitions, but also the impact of diplomatic agents and political leaders for cooperation on the Adriatic. Taking the international environment into account, the article shows that many developments leading to détente in Europe had indeed their precursors on the Adriatic. This makes the development of relations between Italy and Yugoslavia a success story during the Cold War which has hitherto not been thoroughly acknowledged in historiography.     

Seismic vulnerability assessment and fragility analysis of stone masonry monastic temples in Sikkim Himalayas

Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim Himalayas constitute important religious and architectural heritage. These random rubble (RR) stone masonry structures located in high seismically active regions of the Himalayas have suffered varied degrees of damages in the past earthquakes. The study presents seismic vulnerability assessment of four archetypal monastic temples using finite element (FE) analyses. Linear and nonlinear analyses of these structures were conducted in Abaqus FE environment. These analyses identified the damage prone areas of the structures and provided load-deformation behavior under lateral loads. Fragility analyses indicate a high probability of collapse for the specified design level earthquake of the region. The study shows that performance of the structure can be enhanced by improving the strength and stiffness of the stone masonry walls.