Familia Sancti Martini: Domus ecclesiae on earth as it is in heaven

In the post-imperial world of sixth-century Gaul, the Church found itself competing for allegiance with strengthened local family groupings as well as royal households. In this milieu the fragmentation of power and the propensity for spoliation of church lands posed a severe problem for ecclesiastical survival. An answer might be found in a competing kindred structure: the family of the saint. Such an entity would have the benefit of building a support group for the Church that could cut across the existing family lines and thereby weaken their impact. As a voluntary association based on the celestial it would have the added benefit of being a familia everlasting, and endlessly elastic.The works of Gregory of Tours contain such an idea built around his patronus, St Martin. Gregory's preface to Book 5 of his History, and his frequent pleas against feuding, show his concern as to how the familia Sancti Martini could perform an annealing function for society, mitigate the more rebarbative elements of the feud, and leave the Church in a strengthened position in society.     

Familia Sancti Martini: Domus ecclesiae on earth as it is in heaven

In the post-imperial world of sixth-century Gaul, the Church found itself competing for allegiance with strengthened local family groupings as well as royal households. In this milieu the fragmentation of power and the propensity for spoliation of church lands posed a severe problem for ecclesiastical survival. An answer might be found in a competing kindred structure: the family of the saint. Such an entity would have the benefit of building a support group for the Church that could cut across the existing family lines and thereby weaken their impact. As a voluntary association based on the celestial it would have the added benefit of being a familia everlasting, and endlessly elastic. The works of Gregory of Tours contain such an idea built around his patronus, St Martin. Gregory's preface to Book 5 of his History, and his frequent pleas against feuding, show his concern as to how the familia Sancti Martini could perform an annealing function for society, mitigate the more rebarbative elements of the feud, and leave the Church in a strengthened position in society.     

Exhibiting Canada: Empire,migration and the 1928 English schoolgirl tour

This article examines an event in 1928 where the interests of post-war British colonialism and those of a group of pro-British Anglo-Celtic Canadians came together in a tour of English schoolgirls through Canada. A focus on the schoolgirls themselves shows how the girls were positioned to transmit an image of Canada to Britain, while themselves being on display so as to set an example to which Canadians should aspire. The tour itinerary itself constructs a narrative of superior British-based culture, economy and politics within a resource-rich, technologically advanced, democratic Canadian nation. Itineraries and diary entries, as well as the memories of two tour members, are used to reconstruct and interpret the tour. In both its itinerary and subjects, the tour of English schoolgirls can be read as a vivid geographical enactment of colonial identity that reveals fresh insights about the workings of gender, migration and empire.     

Mapping the risk of damage from tree roots for the conservation of archaeological sites: the case of the Domus Aurea,Rome

Abstract

Damage caused by tree root growth to archaeological monuments buried underground, over the course of centuries, has been frequently reported in the city of Rome. The Domus Aurea, Nero's Imperial residence, now lies under the Horti Traianei (Trajan's Park) on the Oppian hill. These gardens, planted at the beginning of the last century, are located only 3–4m above the surviving archaeological structures. In some cases roots have damaged the underlying vaults, sometimes creating serious structural problems. Results of the study show that a variety of species with strong root systems growing for many metres laterally, and to depths of several metres, are present. Identification of the plants responsible for the damage has been achieved through a study of the anatomy of their wood. A real and potential assessment of the risk posed by tree roots to the archaeological structures has been attempted. The data collected will contribute to evaluating the risk to monuments under similar conditions and will also help to avoid errors made in managing the plant cover of archaeological sites     

法国、意大利考察见闻

2002年11月5日至18日,我参加了国家物局组织的法国、意大利博物馆及其信息化工作的考察活动。主要考察了法国、意大利两个国家的15个博物馆和遗址,与法国遗产学院和意大利罗马博协举行了座谈。这次考察的主要有以下收获。     

霍勇 酷爱自驾游的男中音

艺术简历1996年音乐电视《巴山之路》获央视MTV金奖。1998年国家文化部"新人新作"声乐比赛银奖。2000年国家文化部举办"中外艺术歌曲"比赛中获一等奖。2001年获首届中国音乐"金钟奖"声乐比赛金奖。2002年全国青年歌手大赛专业美声铜奖。2004年在大型原创音乐剧《赤道雨》中扮演姚汉唐,荣获第八届全军文艺汇演戏剧表演一等奖。2008年央视"歌声飘过30年"栏目中演唱《生死不离》,深受观众好评。2009年出霍勇个人专辑《快乐老海岛》。演唱曲目《滚滚长江东逝水》《斗牛士之歌》《快乐的马车夫》《我和我的祖国》《黄河颂》《曙光在前头》《大刀进行曲》《祝酒歌》《乡音乡情》《七律·长征》《怀念战友》《可爱一朵玫瑰花》《共和国之恋》《永远跟党走》《我爱祖国的蓝天》《我爱这蓝色的海洋》《我为祖国献石油》《橄榄树》《年轻舰长我为你喝彩》《壮志飞扬》《缆车》《费加罗的婚礼》《三套车》《我的太阳》《快给忙人让路》等。     

梵净山金顶揽胜

对贵州梵净山旅游胜地金顶景区作了介绍。对其古建,寺庙、碑、摩崖等历史沿革也作了一定探考。     

过一个“北京·秦皇岛周” 看看非夏季新玩法

<正>秋冬之交万物开始凋零,旅游的脚步似乎也慢了下来。秦皇岛市却反其道而行,于10月27日高调进京,并与北京市政府、市旅游局等联手,在北京大力推广夏天以外的秦皇岛。     

高斌《南河图说》与乾隆首次南巡研究

雍正年间黄河河政管理制度的变化,推动了清代黄河图绘制内容和机制的变化;而康熙年间张鹏翮所绘河渠水利图集的内容和形式,也影响了乾隆年间江南黄运河图集的编绘。海内外分别收藏有以江南黄河、运河、洪泽湖、淮河工程为主题的河渠水利图集一"南河图说",经考证均为乾隆十五年(1750年)江南河臣高斌、张师载等人在乾隆帝首次南巡的背景下绘制呈送的定本、副本或后人摹绘本。《南河图说》既是河督高斌反映河情、陈述治河政见、彰显治河政绩的工具,也是乾隆帝确定南巡路线、了解河务、进行河政决策的重要依据。《南河图说》的绘制、呈奏和运用在很大程度上确定了乾隆首次南巡的模式,对研究乾隆南巡和乾隆朝河政运作具有重要价值。     

Confabulations: a conceptual history

Confabulations are inaccurate or false narratives purporting to convey information about world or self. It is the received view that they are uttered by subjects intent on "covering up" for a putative memory deficit. The epidemiology of confabulations is unknown. Speculated causes include amnesia, embarrassment, "frontal lobe" damage, a subtype of "personality", a dream-like event, and a disturbance of the self. Historical analysis shows that "confabulation" was constructed at the turn of the century as part of a network of concepts (e.g. delusion, fixed idea, etc.) meant to capture narratives with dubious content. This paper deals with the history of the construction of the word and concept of confabulation and with earlier recognitions of the behaviours that serve as their referent and puts forward a model based on historical data. Two phenomena are included under "confabulation": "untrue" utterances by subjects with memory impairment and "fantastic" utterances marshalled with conviction by subjects suffering from psychoses and no memory deficit. Under different disguises, the "covering up" or "gap filling" hypothesis is still going strong. Although superficially plausible, it poses problems in regards to the issue of "awareness of purpose": if full awareness is presumed then the semantics of the concept of "purpose" is severely stretched and confabulations cannot be differentiated from delusions.     

Minimum numbers: a consideration

This paper evaluates the various methods used to determine the numbers of individual animals from the numbers of bone fragments found in archaeological sites. It concludes that there is no single “best” method, since the one that is chosen depends upon the result that is desired, and on the particular features of the site and excavation.