Death's dance of women

The 1486 edition of La grant danse macabre des femmes by Martial d'Auvergne, also known as Martial de Paris, is the subject of this study. The skeleton, representing death, queries each of the thirty-six women described in the poem. The answers they give tell us about their occupation and the chances of their salvation. The author is a realist who represents only those women he is familiar with and shows deep understanding of the women portrayed. The concerns of the flesh get more attention than the spiritual factors.Death was very important in the middle ages, especially in the late fourteenth and fifteenth century. It was featured in public curiosity, religion, literature, visual and dramatic presentations, and popular beliefs. The authors attempt to describe it and give an answer to the pressing problems of death in the fifteenth century.     

Nationalism,patriotism, or national reference? A response to Jacopo Custodi

Jacop Custodi elaborated recently a response to our article “A nationalist party with non-nationalistic voters? Discussing the limits of nationalism in party categorisation” published in the journal Nations & Nationalism. We consider the work of Custodi is an important and original contribution to the study of left politics and nationalism. This being said, we reflect on the negative consequences of overstretching the category nationalism, both referring to parties and to political discourse. The aim of this reply is unpacking and explaining these negative consequences and offering an alternative as well as responding to some specific points raised by Custodi in his reply.     

THE USE OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE ACTIVATION ANALYSIS AND PATTERN RECOGNITION IN THE STUDY OF FLINT ARTEFACTS

A method is described for the identification of the origin of flint artefacts. The method is based on the variation in the trace element concentrations for different origins. The trace element concentrations were determined by non-destructive neutron activation analysis. The identification was obtained from a pattern recognition analysis.