Building Power in Rural Hinterlands: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Vernacular Architecture in Tigray,Ethiopia

In Tigray, Ethiopia highland farmers and noblemen used a common vernacular architecture to build places of political authority and power during the last century of Ethiopia's feudal economy. This study contributes to the perspective that domestic houses are active political locales integrated into the larger political landscape. In addition, it is argued that vernacular architectural style generates hierarchical power in part by manipulating building strategies usually attributed to monumental construction. The study concludes that vernacular architecture is actively engaged in rendering a political aesthetic that reproduces state authority in rural hinterlands.     

Shoe-Throwing at Weddings

It has not proved particularly easy to trace what is usually thought of as ‘folk song’ in England back into the eighteenth century. It is, however, possible in some instances to identify vernacular songs of the kind that were later recovered by folk song collectors circulating in earlier centuries in printed form, and to find contemporary references to the ways in which they were being used. This article takes this approach to one such ballad, The Bloody Gardener’s Cruelty, which was sung in England and was eventually collected in Newfoundland, but which in its earlier history strays well outside what might be thought of as the conventional folk song paradigm.     

The vernacular architecture of Doha,Qatar

SUMMARY: The urban history of the Gulf states has been largely neglected, with historical studies of Qatar focusing on its political and economic development. This article presents an overview of the vernacular architecture of Doha that incorporates non-elite buildings. The life histories of these buildings tell the story of Qatar's rapid development in the 20th century and the dramatic changes to the society and urban fabric of its capital. Rapid development threatens to destroy this aspect of Qatar's past, and we accordingly aim to record the diversity of the historic built environment of Doha.     

Adgar's Gracial and Christian images of Jews in twelfth-century vernacular literature

This article concerns the adaptation and translation into the Anglo-Norman vernacular of an existing tradition of Latin miracles of the Virgin by the twelfth-century poet William Adgar. Adgar included many older ideas about Jews in his version of the stories, but also borrowed themes and language from contemporary courtly romance literature in order to suit his intended audience of lay nobles. In doing so, he portrayed Christian characters as the embodiment of loyalty and other courtly values. At the same time, he began to portray Jews according to courtly types of treachery. New implications emerged in his work about the general moral character of Jews, in contrast to previous works that commented mainly upon the nature of Jewish belief. Recent scholarship on Christian-Jewish relations in the twelfth century has begun to pay increasing attention to the movement of new Christian ideas about Jews outside of scholarly and ecclesiastical circles. The study of vernacular literature has an important place in this scholarly debate, since the move to the vernacular broadened the audience among which the new ideas about Jews could be spread.     

Adgar's Gracial and Christian images of Jews in twelfth-century vernacular literature

This article concerns the adaptation and translation into the Anglo-Norman vernacular of an existing tradition of Latin miracles of the Virgin by the twelfth-century poet William Adgar. Adgar included many older ideas about Jews in his version of the stories, but also borrowed themes and language from contemporary courtly romance literature in order to suit his intended audience of lay nobles. In doing so, he portrayed Christian characters as the embodiment of loyalty and other courtly values. At the same time, he began to portray Jews according to courtly types of treachery. New implications emerged in his work about the general moral character of Jews, in contrast to previous works that commented mainly upon the nature of Jewish belief. Recent scholarship on Christian-Jewish relations in the twelfth century has begun to pay increasing attention to the movement of new Christian ideas about Jews outside of scholarly and ecclesiastical circles. The study of vernacular literature has an important place in this scholarly debate, since the move to the vernacular broadened the audience among which the new ideas about Jews could be spread.     

From ‘neo-vernacular’ to ‘semi-vernacular’: a case study of vernacular architecture representation and adaptation in rural Chinese village revitalization

ABSTRACT

Vernacular architecture can be regarded as heritage places. Recently, the need to protect vernacular heritage in China has been reflected through government policy changes, for example the ‘beautiful countryside’ program which aims to develop rural villages since 2005. However, a conflict between conserving the tangible fabric and the intangible heritage of the vernacular place can become pronounced, as villagers have desires for a modern lifestyle, and maintaining the physical building fabric. Vernacular villages require sustainable development alongside conservation of both tangible and intangible heritage significance. A key factor in keeping a village alive is continuing its utilization by a local community. This paper introduces the terms ‘neo-vernacular’ (buildings with a vernacular appearance with contemporary methods and materials) and ‘semi-vernacular’ (reusing or renovating vernacular buildings in combination with modern and traditional building techniques) to distinguish two approaches to vernacular villages conservation. We analyse the distinctions between the works of Amateur Architecture Studio (AAS) and Atelier Zhang Lei (AZL) to demonstrate the neo-vernacular and semi-vernacular approaches respectively through photo-comparison diagrams, and reviewing comments from local villagers, architectural students, and scholars. In the discussion, we propose that the semi-vernacular adaptation offers a new approach worth pursuing in China’s rapidly changing rural landscapes.     

《皇帝编年史》中的帝国与教会——对中世纪盛期方言历史书写的考察

《皇帝编年史》作为12世纪中后期巴伐利亚地区以中古德语撰写的首部方言编年史,具有重要的史学史和文学史价值,也是德意志地区12世纪文艺复兴时期的代表作品。12世纪中期兴盛起来的帝国理念贯穿了《皇帝编年史》的始终,形成了特殊的基督教道德与帝国意识形态教化的结合。《皇帝编年史》通过对教宗—皇帝之间合作的理想化描绘和对重大冲突的选择性忽略,以历史书写的方式建构出一种典范和谐的政教关系。这一调和论倾向既反映了该作品的具体历史语境,也体现了异于拉丁文历史作品的书写动机和书写意图。这部12世纪历史书写中的另类作品体现了强烈世俗化倾向,成为考察中世纪史学在12世纪文艺复兴时期演变的重要切入点。     

Adaptation of heritage architecture in Al Asmakh,Doha: insights into an urban environment of the Gulf

SUMMARY: This paper examines the continuing legacy and occupation of Doha’s vernacular architecture of the early oil period, drawing on techniques from architecture, contemporary archaeology and anthropology. Historical and contemporary inhabitation is examined, as well as the experiences of today’s resident migrant communities. The ongoing significance of Al Asmakh’s vernacular architecture within Qatar’s heritage discourse is considered. Particular attention is given to adaptations undertaken by today’s multinational residents, and the role they play as custodians of Qatar’s architectural heritage. This is a companion piece to the study of vernacular architecture by Eddisford and Carter (2017).     

和谐理论的世界观视野

和谐理论扬弃了中国古代的和谐思想,科学地阐述了人与自然的关系,发展了马克思主义关于处理社会关系的学说,是当今世界、国内大局的科学思维方式的结晶,是21世纪世界发展的新理念,是发展中国特色社会主义、建设和谐社会的世界观和方法论。     

Historical Vernacular Gardens Beyond Norway's Arctic Circle

Abstract

This study examines the historical vernacular gardens of North Norway, and is mainly based on a survey done in the county of Troms in the 1980s. The study shows that traditions for the design of gardens and the use of garden plants reflect climatic conditions, geographical location and current fashions. It is a general feature that main trends in the gardens of the affluent work as models for more simple vernacular gardens, and this is also the case with the surveyed gardens of Troms. We find here the proto-garden, a simple garden with beds and plantings controlled by a straight line. This is influenced hardly at all by style, trends or availability on the market. It may have been established during the last century or it could be older. Yet we also find the vernacular cottage garden influenced by a style developed from the Renaissance gardens of southern Europe. In the most carefully made gardens the proto-garden and the impulses from the Renaissance garden are fused together – it makes a type of garden which is genuinely northern. The fenced garden located by the wall of the dwelling house was most common. With the house situated on sloping ground, a stone-built retaining wall was constructed and the ground filled up in order to make the garden as level as possible and to create a terrace. It was mainly native trees fetched from the woods, as well as old “exchange and give away perennials” and flowers and vegetable annuals, all locally available, which characterized the plant material of the historic farm and cottage gardens of the north.     

An inevitable transition: the erosion of traditional vernacular building forms in the Alpujarras,southern Spain

This paper examines continuity and change within the domestic architecture of the village of Laroles in the Alpujarras region of southern Spain. The distinctive characteristics of this typological form are identified and the principal features of change at the level of the individual building are surveyed. It is argued that change in the architectonic details of houses within the village is inevitable but that such changes do not necessarily lead to the loss of a distinctive type of building and they may be considered to be a necessary consequence of the natural evolution of vernacular architecture. However, some recent developments give significant cause for concern as, although superficially similar to traditional typologies, in reality they amount to a different typological form and are frequently merely a pastiche of the original type. In addition to the issue of visual landscape change, traditional vernacular architecture is a source of continuity and meaning and the erosion of this form represents a threat to identity and the long-established basis of communal life.     

16-18世纪英国宪制和宪制思想演进

英国16-18世纪宪制的演变比较曲折。内战前混合宪制已形成多年,其相应思想长期流行并影响后世。17世纪中期共和国的兴衰和分权制有名无实,给后人留下经验和教训。贵族寡头权力垄断和内阁制的形成发展,增强了18世纪英国混合制的特色。     

The Pyrenean Neighbour; or,the Vicinal System in the Western Pyrenees

Excavations have recently produced valuable new evidence for the structural types used in the vernacular architecture of lowland and eastern Britain during the sixth-eighth centuries A.D. The evidence from a number of contemporaneous sites suggests that a highly characteristic building tradition was in widespread use. The identifying features of this building tradition are defined and its affinities discussed.     

Dating problems in Icelandic archaeology

For many decades tephrochronology has been used as a scientific method for dating archaeological as well as geological remains in Iceland. Recently, parts of the tephrochronology for the eruptions of the famous volcano Hekla have been questioned by the author. This is due to obvious differences in dating results of archaeological artefacts from the valley of Thjórsárdalur in southern Iceland and the current tephrochronological dating of its devastation. While the devastation of the valley has been dated to AD 1104 and is thought to have been caused by a huge eruption of mount Hekla in that year, the artefacts from excavations and stray finds, as well as new ¹⁴C results, show somewhat later 12th‐13th century dates. The paper deals with this obvious discrepancy, which has hitherto been ignored, together with the results of archaeological excavations in 1983–86 at Stóng in Thjórsárdalur; it also gives a critical analysis of the historical methodology of the tephrochronologists.     

Spiritualism after the Great War

British Spiritualism has attracted a good deal of historicalcomment, but most scholars assume that popular interest in themovement had faded by the close of the First World War. Thisarticle examines Spiritualism and the culture in which it flourishedbetween the wars and in doing so challenges the assumption thatbelief in the supernatural was thoroughly displaced by science-basedsecularism in the twentieth century. Spiritualist egalitarianismreflected and responded to the increasingly democratic valuesof the twentieth century, but more important for Spiritualism'ssuccess was its ability to incorporate a variety of existingsupernatural concepts into its developing and flexible cosmology.The many ways in which traditional supernatural beliefs penetratedeveryday language supplied simultaneously a rich resource forSpiritualist thought and a setting where conversion to Spiritualismcould feel natural and even inevitable.     

“They Laid Planks ‘Crost the Coffins”: The African Origin of Grave Vaulting in the United States

Grave vaulting, a vernacular burial form common in nineteenth and early twentieth century America, consists of a simple primary grave shaft at the bottom of which is dug a smaller secondary shaft or niche within which the body or coffin is placed. Typically loose boards are then placed over the secondary shaft to offer protection from the soil coming into direct contact with the body or burial container. This tradition is documented through historical accounts and hundreds of excavated graves through a survey of 86 historic cemetery investigations. Although its cultural origins have been previously unknown, this study argues that the vaulted burial form in the United States is likely of African origin. An extensive ethnological survey of historical and modern cultures throughout the continent of Africa, from 1602 to the mid twentieth century, documents both the vaulted grave form and its variations. Correlating this African cultural practice to its use in the United States demonstrates a hitherto unrecognized creolization of Euroamerican mortuary tradition with African roots, and its corollary, the retention of an African mortuary tradition by those of African descent.     

Heritage conservation and advocacy coalitions: the state-society conflict in the case of the Enning Road redevelopment project in Guangzhou

The Enning Road redevelopment project has been controversial in Guangzhou as the site possesses many vernacular buildings that are not officially recognised by the authorities as significant but are nevertheless highly regarded by non-state stakeholders as important entities that embody the unique essence and culture of local neighbourhoods. This paper examines the positive role led by the press media, the New Express, in bringing about changes in the government-sanctioned Enning Road redevelopment project plan through the lens of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). The significance of this paper lies in detailing how the news group has helped shift the project priority from being property-led to conservation-led. Its reports have gained a wide audience in appreciating and recognising the conservation value of non-designated vernacular architecture in inner city areas. Nonetheless, this paper raises question about the sustainability of civil mobilisation in subsequent conservation efforts, due to a general lack of enthusiasm. Neither urban redevelopment strategies nor conservation agenda have been subject to a major overhaul due to the impact of this individual redevelopment project. Therefore, the promise of change is at best a tactical compromise adopted by the municipal authorities to nullify opposing public voices in Guangzhou.     

我国历史文化村镇保护的内容与方法研究

历史化村镇是我国遗产保护体系的重要组成部分,随着第一批中国历史化名镇(村)的命名公布。遗产保护工作又进入了一个崭新阶段。我国历史化村镇保护研究较国外起步较晚,相关研究也欠深入全面。导致在当前城镇化快速发展过程中,一些颇具价值特色的古村镇没有得到很好保护。本首先回顾了国内外历史小城镇、村落保护的演变发展,然后指出历史化村镇保护在价值特性方面,不同于历史化名城;在保护内容方面,要在以往偏重于物质化遗产保护的基础上。进一步加重非物质化遗产的保护;在保护方法方面,要综合运用历史学、地理学、建筑学、社会学、景观生态学等方法,才能达到较好的保护效果。     

A vernacular way of “safeguarding” intangible heritage: the fall and rise of rituals in Gouliang Miao village

This paper documents a vernacular method of interpreting and safeguarding intangible heritage in an ethnic Miao village in China. Tracing the conflicting discourses of ritual in different stages of the past and the present, it shows how ritual practices were transformed by imperial Qing officials in the mid-nineteenth century, demonised and denounced as feudal superstition during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), exploited as cultural resources for ethnic tourism since the early twentieth century and involved in the evaluation system of intangible cultural heritage in the twenty-first century. Based on ethnographic materials collected in 2008 and 2009, this paper argues that it is the inherited vernacular narratives and ritual performances that are negotiating with the state’s constant effort of shaping the ritual through various discourses, constructing the meaning of inheritance and safeguarding the intangible heritage within the community.