Identity and borders: seventeenth-century Hungarian travellers in the West and the East

The survey discusses the identity and self-image of seventeenth-century Hungarian and Transylvanian travellers as conveyed through their travel texts. The cultural borders in the mental map of the travellers coincided with the eastern and south-eastern borders of Transylvania. They placed themselves in the same position as their Western European contemporaries. Although the general tone of their diaries was one of admiration, they did not make explicit comparisons to the disadvantages of their home. There are also some cases of criticism on a civilisational basis towards the West, which shows that the travellers felt that they were on equal grounds to the West. The few cases of auto-stereotypes also show that some travellers tended to reinforce even the negative stereotypes attributed to Hungarians in order to question the Western discourse which placed them on a lower grade on a scale of civilisation. Towards their Eastern neighbours, the travellers tended to use a condescending tone: qualities such as boorishness, lack of education and barbarity were attributed to Russians, Wallachians and Moldavians. The worst reputation belonged to the Ottomans: in their case, even if – in a very few cases – tolerance and understanding came into picture, there was no possibility of acceptance. Hungarian travellers only used the discourse of their own inferiority towards Western Europeans when it was a part of their political agenda – otherwise, they included themselves in the concept of the region, imagined on the basis of erudition and Latin education – which they more and more often called Europe.     

Violence and vigilance in Nahua communities of seventeenth-century central Mexico

While historians have long studied the institutional dimensions of crime and punishment, this article examines the informal, extra-legal efforts of Nahuas and other residents of central Mexican communities to contend with violence and resolve conflicts. Residents of Nahua communities could not rely entirely on the authorities for protection and justice; rather, by being vigilant and taking matters into their own hands, they played a vital but underappreciated role in policing their communities, dealing with disorder, and preserving the peace. As such, they shouldered some of the law enforcement functions of the state apparatus. At times, their contributions could prove indispensable to the administration of justice. Their efforts not only helped to maintain public order and protect one another but they also tell us much about perceptions of acceptable behavior as well as notions of civic responsibility and, by extension, community membership and social solidarity.     

The haunting of Susan Lay: servants and mistresses in seventeenth-century England

At Easter 1650, Susan Lay, a servant in an Essex alehouse, saw the ghost of her mistress, who had been buried three days before. This article explores the history that lay behind her experience: of sexual relationships with both her master and his son, the births and deaths of two bastard children, and beneath it all, a relationship of antagonism, competition, and intimacy with her mistress. It uses this and other legal records to examine the relationship between women in early modern households, arguing that, while antagonisms between women are typically part of effective patriarchies, the domestic life and social structures of mid seventeenth-century England bound servants and mistresses peculiarly tightly together, giving servants licence to dream of replacing their mistresses and mistresses cause to feel threatened by their servants, and making the competitive relations between women functional to patriarchal order. It suggests, finally, that at this moment in time and in this context, seeing a ghost was the best, perhaps the only, way this servant had to tell a suppressed story and stake a claim to a household that had excluded her.     

Drinking like a man: the paradox of excessive drinking for seventeenth-century dutch youths

In the early modern period, drinking alcohol was an integral part of Dutch social and cultural life. Toast were made to the health of unborn babies, for job nominations, and at funerals. Young people started to consume alcohol at an early age. However, within this culture they had to learn how to drink in moderation. Excessive drinking was not only a cardinal sin, it was also a paradox in the realm of gender. For males, the act of getting drunk and losing control was a flaw on their masculinity. They in fact became like women who were believed to be incapable of controlling their mind and body. On the other hand, the ability to drink great quantities of alcohol symbolized an age-old form of masculinity. Imbibing in "wine, women, and song" were liminal rites in becoming men and how young men demarcated themselves from being boys.     

Through the eyes of rural notaries: business, community and confessional divisions in seventeenth-century poitou

Historians have often reflected upon the relations between Catholicsand Protestants in the small towns of seventeenth-century France.Using the recorded information on the lives and business dealingsof notaries, this article looks at how they integrated intoand dealt with both confessional groups in the small Poitoutown of Chef-Boutonne. Of the twenty-one men who listed themselvesas notaries in the parish registers, seven left records of theacts they drew up. Using their papers as well as parish registersthe article follows up on these men, their religious affiliation,families, marriages, training as notaries, business dealingsand their selection as godparents for town children. It thenreflects back upon the role of these men and their respectiveconfessional groups in the crucial years between the end ofthe Wars of Religion and the lead-up to the revocation of theEdict of Nantes.     

The natural and cultural landscape heritage of Northern Friesland

This article argues for an approach to environmental and heritage studies beyond a conceptual divide between nature and culture. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the case of the ongoing debate about the nomination of the Wadden Sea as a UNESCO Heritage Site gives insight into the complexity of attitudes towards the area in question, of widely differing perceptions and values. The focus on the detailed analysis of the controversies about the ‘Schleswig‐Holstein Wadden Sea’ National Park and the public debate in Northern Friesland about the UNESCO heritage highlights the political dimension of conservation strategies. Instead of recurring to the concepts of pure nature, pure culture and its relating marketing value, I propose to adapt the historically rooted concept of political landscape. Once a form of political organisation and practice in Northern Friesland, the concept of political landscape challenges the UNESCO heritage conception and offers new perspectives on conflicts between local population and nature conservation.     

Ancient Sounding-Weights and Navigation along the Mediterranean Coast of Israel

Underwater archaeological investigations in Israel have recovered scores of sounding-weights of varying shapes, weights and ages. Sixty-three examples kept in Israel Antiquities Authority collections are described in detail, discussed, and placed in a tentative typology of sounding-weight types from the Israeli coast. Finds from shipwreck assemblages enabled dating of some types. Integration of the topography and hydrography of the Israeli coast with site-formation processes provides a theoretical explanation for the high number of weights recovered from Israeli underwater sites.
© 2009 The Authors     

Roman Navigation in Venice Lagoon: the Results of Underwater Research

Venice lagoon formed part of a network of inland waterways used for navigation in the northern Adriatic, an almost continuous system of lakes, river‐mouths and canals, at least partly pre‐Roman in origin. The fossae which cross the present lagoon are the continuation of a complex system of natural watercourses and artificial canals between Ravenna and Aquileia. Two Roman buildings discovered on the present San Felice canal could be interpreted as providing navigational assistance at points linking the sea and inland routes. © 2009 The Authors     

郑和下西洋葡萄牙史料之分析

本以葡萄牙史料为基础,对英国业余历史学家孟席斯(Gavin Menzies)新近出版的《1421年——中国发现世界》(1421-Tht Year China Discovered The World)一书中所引用的葡萄牙史料进行了有广泛献支持的系统剖析和点评,澄清了一些基本史实,论证孟席斯关于郑和早于哥伦布发现美洲的说法是不正确的。作建议以后的郑和研究应注重史料的发掘,包括对郑和船队经访的亚、非地区和欧洲的史料进行发掘。     

《中英续议通商行船条约》与清末修律辨析

学术界一直认为 ,受《中英续议通商行船条约》关于“弃除领事裁判权”的内容的影响 ,清政府被迫屈从帝国主义的意志而进行了修订律法的活动。本文认为 ,“弃除领事裁判权”是中国提出的谈判要求 ,是近代中国社会变迁的必然选择 ,并不体现帝国主义的意志。清廷的修律决策不是《中英续议通商行船条约》影响的结果。该项条款也不具有以往所认为的那种转折性的地位