Heretics and inquisitors: The case of Auriac and Cambiac

Confessions to inquisitors in 1243–1246 revealed incidents which had troubled rural areas of Languedoc in immediately preceding years. Such was the case in two small villages, Auriac and Cambiac. Although the depositions are often wanting in detail, they do disclose the capture of some heretical women in Auriac, one group seized with the connivance of their host, also the frustration of an attempt by a captive to dispose of property she had left behind. When a heretical deacon was captured, funds to bribe the count's bailiff and his assistant were raised throughout the region. In Cambiac, a woman who intensely disliked the Cathars cooperated with a priest in foiling attempts to aid them. When she threatened to expose her neighbors' heretical sympathies she was cowed into silence but the priest's statement to the inquisitors led to a special investigation which forced several persons to retract the lies they had formerly told. Such events, not unusual at the time, disclose the turmoil and tension produced by the vigorous pursuit of heretics just before the middle of the thirteenth century.     

On Cathars,Albigenses, and good men of Languedoc

This essay proposes a re-evaluation of how Cathars, Albigenses, and the heresy of the good men are studied. It argues that some commonplace notions about the Cathars, virtually unaltered for over a hundred years, are far from settled — especially when inquisition records from Languedoc are taken into account. It is this historiography, supported by a tendency to see heresy in idealist and intellectualist bias, suggests how the history of the Cathars and the good men might be rethought.     

On Cathars,Albigenses, and good men of Languedoc

This essay proposes a re-evaluation of how Cathars, Albigenses, and the heresy of the good men are studied. It argues that some commonplace notions about the Cathars, virtually unaltered for over a hundred years, are far from settled — especially when inquisition records from Languedoc are taken into account. This historiography rests upon an intellectualist and idealist bias, that, in the end, unwittingly restricts the historical imagination. This essay, by looking at some implications of this methodological tendency, suggests how the history of the Cathars, Albigenses, and the good men might be rethought.     

《论衡》:一代鸿儒的自荐书

王充视著书为文之儒为儒生的最高层次,因而以《论衡》自荐。他欲标其“异”以示《论衡》之独特价值,又不得不趋于“同”以求统治者赏识。难以排解的愤懑使得他只能从命定论中寻求慰藉。王充这种复杂的心态导致了《论衡》的诸多矛盾之处。     

The 'horns' of a medical dilemma: Alexander the Great

Retrospective 'diagnosis' of clinical disorders of famous historical figures has been of medical interest. In the absence of a patient's 'body', the validity of 'physical symptoms' and their interpretation by contemporary diagnostic criteria are questionable. When the symptoms have been gleaned from the patients's effigy which, as in the case of Alexander the Great, is submerged in legend, the enterprise becomes inherently hazardous. In the present paper, some of the conceptual problems underlying retrospective diagnoses will be identified. Then the use of iconographic records, such as numismatics and sculpture, to provide evidence of clinical symptoms will be shown to be highly misleading.     

Archaeology of a Great War Dugout: Beecham Farm,Passchendaele, Belgium

Abstract

Beecham Dugout is situated on the lower slopes of the Passchendaele Ridge, to the north-east of the Belgian town of Ypres (Ieper). Fears over the stability of the structure created the need for emergency archaeological investigations. The dugout is shallow (2 m deep) and was constructed in a basic 'T' shape, with accommodation for 66 men and four officers. It is cut within silty-sand levels of the Passchendaele Ridge. The dug-out was surveyed, recorded and removed. Archival studies, coupled with artefacts recovered, suggest that this is a dugout of German construction, but one that had been occupied by British troops after capture of the ridge in 1917. Prior to this discovery, the presence of German dugouts was largely unknown.     

The Not So Peaceful Civilization: A Review of Maya War

The first Maya encountered by Europeans in the early sixteenth century were exceedingly warlike, but by the 1940s the earlier Classic Maya (AD 250–1000) were widely perceived as an inordinately peaceful civilization. Today, in sharp contrast, conflict is seen as integral to Maya society throughout its history. This paper defines war, reviews the evidence for it in the Maya archaeological record, and shows how and why our ideas have changed so profoundly. The main emphasis is on the Classic period, with patterns of ethnohistorically documented war serving as a baseline. Topics include the culture history of conflict, strategy and tactics, the scope and range of operations, war and the political economy, and the intense status rivalry war of the eighth and ninth centuries AD that contributed to the collapse of Classic civilization. Unresolved issues such as the motivations for war, its ritual vs. territorial aims, and sociopolitical effects are discussed at length.