20世纪80年代的婚姻法律与婚姻家庭变迁

颁布于中国全面改革开放起步时期的1980年《婚姻法》,反映了国家在婚姻家庭领域的法制重建以及社会转型带来的家庭婚姻制度的变化。在社会上引起较大反响的主要有三个方面:第一,明确了夫妻财产制,人们的个人财产权利意识增强;第二,实行计划生育政策,但由于重男轻女思想的影响,使性别选择问题更突出地表现出来;第三,明确把感情破裂作为离婚的条件,但“感情破裂”的衡量标准很难掌握,司法部门在处理离婚案件时仍有很大困难。总之,1980年《婚姻法》是一部承前启后的法律,它既是对1950年《婚姻法》的继承与发展,又通过20年的司法实践,为2001年《婚姻法》的修正案的制定作了法律上的铺垫。     

The Mediterranean Lateen Sail in Late Antiquity

The Mediterranean lateen sailing rig has been studied since the early-to-mid-20th century. Recently-published depictions of sailing vessels rigged with lateen and settee sails, dating to the late-antique period, allow some of the principle characteristics of that rig to be established. This allows comparison with lateen- or settee-rigged vessels from both earlier and later periods. The sailing rigs depicted on other vessels can be identified and the level of technical continuity between the late-antique and medieval Mediterranean addressed. Finally it is possible to assess the extent to which the lateen sail was established in the Mediterranean by late antiquity.
© 2009 The Author     

On Becoming Pope in Late Antiquity

To an extent unusual among holders of papal office in late antiquity, we know something of the family of Gregory the Great (590–604). His father, Gordianus, was a wealthy Roman who had married a lady named Silvia, who herself had a sister named Pateria, while he had another three aunts, Aemiliana, Gordiana, and Tarsilla, the sisters of his father.¹ He also seems to have had one, and possibly a second brother.² We know from his writings that his three aunts on his father's side adopted a religious life in common, but they attained very different levels, for Gregory reports that, whereas Gordiana disgraced herself by marrying a farmer on her estates, Tarsilla reached the highest level of holiness. He describes his great‐great‐grandfather Felix, a bishop of the Roman church, appearing to her in a vision in which he showed her a mansion of great brightness and told her to come, for he would receive her there; soon afterwards, she died of fever.³ While such details may appear sparse, they provide a basis on which we can make some general statements on the kinds of people who became pope in the period from the late fifth to the early seventh centuries; a table of these popes is appended to this paper. We shall suggest that there was a set of criteria which were met by new popes time and time again, and that these remained surprisingly constant across the period.     

Monks and children: corporal punishment in Late Antiquity1*

This article examines the place of corporal punishment in early monastic discipline. By comparing the role assigned to corporal punishment in a variety of monastic rules from across the late antique Mediterranean, from the Rules ascribed to Pachomius (d. 348), to the Rule of Benedict from the mid-sixth century, it demonstrates that late antique monastic writers had a sophisticated and ordered approach to this type of penalty. This approach drew both on the concept of the absolute authority of the punishing father in Scripture, and on the limitations of Roman social expectations and ancient educational values to such absolute authority. As a result corporal punishment was seen either as a last resort when all other disciplinary measures had failed to bring about a reasonable response, or the appropriate punishment for an offence that originated from irrational conduct. Contrary to ancient household practices, however, which seem to have reserved corporal punishment for small children and slaves – conventionally perceived to lack ability to reason – late antique monastic rules invoked corporal punishment as a possibility for every member in the community who demonstrated irrational behaviour. In this way they blurred traditional boundaries between children, slaves and adults.