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.     

Originality and Eroticism: Constantine Cavafy and the Alexandrian Epigram

Abstract

Although it has become generally accepted by critics that Constantine Cavafy (1863–1933) was influenced greatly by the Hellenistic epigram ‘in attitude, subject matter, and technique’, a close comparison of that poetic tradition and Cavafy's poems reveals interesting differences as well as similarities. We know that Cavafy was familiar with Hellenistic literature and that he had a copy of J. W. Mackail's Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology in his personal library. His reading, however, ‘was much more extensive than his library’. More significant than this is the evidence to be found in his poems, which range from an actual mention of ancient epigrams to obvious imitations of them. Cavafy's poems for the most part, however, are quite original in their tone and erotic stance when compared directly to the Alexandrian epigrams.     

Ruptures and continuities in nationhood narratives: reconstructing the nation through history textbooks in Serbia and Croatia

While the (mis) use of history to fuel particular constructions of the nation is well‐documented in the literature, the ways in which nationhood narratives and national ideologies evolve and transform over time are rarely explored. When ruptures – such as state failure or civil war – occur, interpretations of history and nationhood narratives cannot be completely rewritten. Rather, they need to follow up upon previous, established versions, relying on anchoring motives that offer a minimum level of continuity. Relying on a systematic analysis of over forty years of history revisionism in Serbia and Croatia (1974 to 2017), I demonstrate the discursive ways in which nationhood narratives evolved over time and space: from the dismantling of the former common Socialist narrative, replacement with new ethno‐national narratives, the bumpy transformations through the democratic transitions, to the gradual consolidation into the ‘new’ reconstructed nationhood narratives prevailing in the two countries today.     

Emergence of the American manufacturing belt: an interpretation

This study proposes that the American manufacturing belt emerged during the antebellum years as a replicated set of regional industrial systems. A broad-based set of demands spurred the growth of regional manufactures, including the pivotal producer durables sector. Eastern regions industrialized first, and they were followed by frontier regions in the Midwest. The relative importance of regional market manufactures declined over time and multiregional/national market manufactures increased. Regional industrial systems became increasingly specialized; the result was higher levels of interregional trade in industrial specialties. The decline of regional market manufactures eroded the bases for the emergence of regional industrial systems by the 1860s. The westward spread of the manufacturing belt ended, and internal differentiation and structural change within the belt were characteristics of late nineteenth century industrialization. The South failed to join the manufacturing belt during the antebellum years because regional demands for manufactures were insufficient to support important regional industrial systems. It lacked the bases to participate significantly in late nineteenth century industrialization.     

Transurban interconnectivities: an essay on the interpretation of the revolutions of 1848

This essay discusses the interpretation of the revolutionary situations of 1848 in light of recent debates on interconnectivity in history. The concept of transurban interconnectivities is proposed as the most precise concept to capture the nature of interconnectivity in 1848. It is argued that political models circulating on a European scale at the time provided the ‘knowledge resources’ that were appropriated by urban political activists across Europe. These circulating resources were appropriated by political activists as means of political mobilisation in their particular local urban context. It is argued that circulating political communication accounts for similarities with respect to political agenda, organisational form and political repertoire evident in urban settings across Europe. This argument is supported by a series of examples of local organisation and local appropriations of liberalism, radicalism and nationalism in 1848. In the concluding paragraph, the limitations of the notion of urban–rural interconnectivity are discussed in order to clarify the nature of transurban interconnectivity.     

Constantine and the Bishop: The Roman Church in the Early Fourth Century

When Constantine first entered Rome after his defeat of Maxentius in October 312, he encountered a rich and complex Christian community and a bishop whose position was precarious. Centuries of growth and a long religious peace had resulted in the development of a large number of locally based communities in Rome with their own centres of worship - the tituli. Constantine needed to convince these communities of his bona fides as a Christian emperor. The bishop of Rome, Miltiades, was the ruler of a relatively newly unified see, recently fractured by persecution and controversy. Miltiades' relative weakness was to Constantine's political advantage, especially since it made him eager to receive the vast ocean of generosity which Constantine began to pour into the Roman Church. The particular and immediate beneficiary of this generosity was the bishop, who gained a vast and lavishly appointed cathedral, and a palace to go with it.     

From Central Europe to the northern Adriatic: Habsburg citizens between Italians and Croats in Istria

Abstract

The subject of this paper are the Central European ‘foreigners’ in Istria between the middle of the nineteenth and the first part of the twentieth century. The article investigates the notion and identity of foreigners and their role in the social, intellectual and political development of the north-Adriatic peninsula in the concluding period of the Austrian sovereignty, until and immediately after the annexation by Italy. The people who settled in Istria during the period of Austrian sovereignty in the nineteenth century came from different areas of Central Europe, from Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. Some of them were foreigners and some were Austrian citizens, although citizenship was not the only attribute that measured the level of integration in the local society, especially in the multinational Habsburg Empire. Looking at the cultural and political developments in Istria, and analyzing the voluntary associations, the schools and the clergy, this article examines the presence of foreigners and the national composition and identifications in the little Adriatic peninsula. It explores the phenomena of negotiation and the capacity of the ‘outsiders’ from Central Europe (mainly Slovenes, Germans and Czechs) to deal with the local dynamics and patterns of nationalization, and verifies how Central Europeans identified with and integrated into Italian or Croatian national groups or produced separate channels of social and cultural interaction.     

Disability and the practice of public history: an introduction

Museums, exhibitions, and public history have long engaged with the subject matter of disability. Shared social conventions and exhibition traditions about people with disabilities--the common stereotypes of people as persevering heroes or objects of pity--have often led to skewed and inaccurate historical presentations. The medical model of disability, equally strong in framing disability, has also reduced the range of possibilities for including content for the public. More recently, greater understanding of diversity and of the importance of interpreting the history of all people has begun to push inclusion beyond simple issues into content.     

瓦拉批驳《君士坦丁赠礼》的学术得失

《君士坦丁伪赠礼考证》是意大利人文主义者劳伦佐·瓦拉1440年写成、1517年开始震惊世界的著作。它不仅为后来的宗教改革、政教分离奠定了舆论基础,也开创了从内部语文现象辨析古代文献真伪的新方法。但瓦拉并不是《赠礼》辨伪的首创者,他也没有奠定西方古文献学的理论基础。     

Mata'uvave and 15th Century Ha'apai: Narrative accounts and historical landscapes in the interpretation of classical tongan history

Abstract

Mata'uvave is a minor chiefly title from the northern Ha'apai Islands, Kingdom of Tonga. Traditional Tongan history, however, suggests this chief held a pivotal role in the assertion of political authority over this region by Tu'i Tonga Kau'ulufonuafekai in the mid‐15th century A.D. Published narratives and genealogies, recently collected oral accounts, place names, and archaeological sites, provide a basis from which this history is interpreted. These sources reveal much about the events and socio‐political processes of pre‐contact chiefly polity in Tonga. The account of Mata'uvave further illustrates the potential of historical landscapes as a supplementary order of data for traditional history in general. Through construction of monumental archaeological sites and through commemoration of associated activities in place names, Mata'uvave transcribed himself onto the cartography of northern Ha'apai. This landscape composes a mnemonic index by which oral accounts may be accessed and evaluated.     

Radiographic examination of Western bronze and stone sculptures: history of studies, methodologies and data interpretation

过去五十多年里,在对意大利的石雕和大型青铜雕塑进行保护时,各种跨学科的深度评估方法得到了建立。在此框架内,射线照相检测技术取得了进步。射线照相术作为一种无损的研究手段,可以从宏观层面对艺术作品进行考察,在文物评估中一直发挥着核心作用。在检测阶段,射线照相术既可以被用来重构古代艺术工艺和流程,也可以被用来评估文物的机械和结构信息。本文介绍了射线照相术的研究历史及其不同方法,比如中能X射线的使用、高能X射线的应用(线性加速器)、伽马放射性同位素源的使用(伽马射线照相术)。本文描述了射线照相术在石质和青铜雕塑上的重要应用案例,其中对马可·奥勒留骑马像的研究就是一个典型。本文还描述了“高能X射线”的首次应用,该技术被用来检测奥维多大教堂的圣母子、两组天使和一个青铜天篷雕塑。文章的结论部分定义了正确解释数据结果的必要标准,特别是在通过射线照相检测技术探究青铜雕塑检测信息和铸造工艺的相关性时,应该考虑到铸造缺陷和不连续性。     

Historical geography and early Canada: a life and an interpretation

The first section of this two‐part paper describes my historical geographical career, particularly the topics and issues I have pursued and the changing intellectual environment in which they have been situated. The second section offers a summary interpretation of the emerging human geography of early‐modern Canada followed by some reflections on its contemporary implications. This interpretation stresses the extent to which boundaries and discontinuities marked early Canada, and contrasts a pinched Canadian experience with the land with a far more expansive American one. It shows how deeply difference was constructed and ingrained in the Canadian past, and suggests some challenges and opportunities that follow from this inheritance.