Rosario Romeo ( 1924–1987)

Abstract

Rosario Romeo (1924–87) made an original and outstanding contribution to the study of modern Italian history. He wrote extensively on the development of Italian capitalism and industrialization, developing his own concept of the ‘primitive accumulation of capital’ and drawing on theories of underdevelopment that became current after the Second World War to underline the particularities, the speed and breadth but also the limitations of Italy's economic growth. In his masterly biography of Cavour, as well as in numerous other essays, he confronted the questions of the birth of the Italian nation state, its origins, its political and moral tradition and its social life in the context of a deeply informed and penetrating vision of contemporary European history. The Risorgimento and Fascism, the nation and the nation state, liberal‐democratic values and class struggle, modernization and secularization are the essential themes in his historical writings that were marked by deep erudition and methodological rigour, and inspired by great conceptual and moral breadth. Through his work Italy became a paradigm of the fundamental dimensions of the modern world thanks to that passion for liberty which for Romeo (he was also a member of the European Parliament) was rekindled by the events of the twentieth century, among whose major historians he ranks.     

‘The revolt of the medievalists’. Directions in recent research on the twelfth-century renaissance

This historiographical article contains two basic parts. First, it discusses recent approaches to the twelfth-century renaissance in the last two decades by focusing on some selected themes. These themes basically derive from Charles Homer Haskins' notion of the renaissance and include individualism, rationality, secularisation, and the question of the emergence of a ‘critical mentality.’ From this point of departure, the article addresses the question of thematic innovation with regard to the twelfth-century renaissance. The second part of the article discusses the effect of the so-called linguistic turn on renaissance studies in general and on the twelfth-century renaissance in particular. In conclusion, some suggestions for further research are singled out.     

20世纪中国的四次实证史学思潮

中国20世纪共经历了四次实证史学思潮：世纪初的“为历史而治历史”思潮,二三十年代的“把历史学语言学建设得和地质学、生物学等同样’’的新历史考证学,80年代初的“回到乾嘉时代”,90年代的“振兴国学”与“南北二陈”。四次实证史学思潮各有其特点和现实针对性,而学科化建设和科学化道路则是贯穿20世纪中国史学始终的两大主题。但是,考据毕竟只是手段,不是目的,实证史学已经不能适应社会变革和学术发展对历史学的要求。     

云南地方的古代历史记载与史学

汉晋至元代是云南古代地方史学发展的早期阶段 ,其中汉晋时期是云南史学的萌起时期 ,开始出现了专门记载云南地方历史的、带有方志特点的史著 ;南诏大理国时期 (即唐宋时期 )为云南史学发展的关键时期 ,地方志史书的编撰趋于成熟 ,史籍体例日趋丰富 ,信史特征更加明显。元代为云南古代早期史学的成熟期 ,云南地方史学的编撰直追中原内地的发展水平。而且云南古代史学发展从一个侧面体现了云南地方文化与中原文化交流和融合     

From the government to the university: Efforts to write national history in the early Republic

ABSTRACT

From the controversies surrounding the National History Bureau in the early Republic to the short-lived National Historiography Office at Peking University, the traditional undertaking of writing dynastic history experienced many crises during the transformative Republican era. The National History Bureau was merged with Peking University as part of Cai Yuanpei’s efforts to separate the field of national historiography from the government and shift it toward universities, as well as his efforts to further reform the university system. In comparing the staff members and aims of the National History Bureau and the National Historiography Office of Peking University, the latter clearly represented an update in terms of concepts and methods. The purpose of the History Bureau’s shift from “dynastic” to “popular” history, which apparently intentionally imitated the German academic system, was to render national historiography and other related research independent of the government, cast off the traditional moral burden of “condemning evildoers and praising the virtuous,” and gradually move forward on the path of specialization for national historiography within the university system. The National Historiography Office’s various editing plans amply demonstrate this tendency. The many winding detours that the “national history” efforts took between dynastic and popular history both expressed the entanglement of new and old ideas within academic circles, and revealed the contemporary struggle between the government and universities.     

范祖禹《唐鉴》的编纂及其内容特点——以《唐鉴·太宗》为探讨核心

《唐鉴》是范祖禹史学的代表著作。由《唐鉴.太宗》的内容分析,《唐鉴》在编纂方面,记时不甚精确,记事上亦偶有错误。《唐鉴》记太宗事始于"高祖卷",又将太宗分为上、下两卷论述,上卷褒多于贬;下卷则是贬甚于褒,范祖禹以贞观十四年为太宗卷的分界,认为这是太宗朝由盛转衰的关键,亦是"贞观之治"的分水岭。此外,范祖禹编纂《唐鉴》,已初具有"纪事本末"体例,而其叙事,多简化、删削《资治通鉴》原文,以及省略人物职官。在内容方面,《唐鉴.太宗》讨论范围广泛,其中涉及最多者即是"为君之道"与"华夷之防",从"太宗卷"的叙事与评论,也可以反映出范祖禹反对变法改革的政治思想。     

The Norman Conquest of the classical past: William of Poitiers,language and history

William of Poitiers' Gesta Guillelmi, written shortly after the Norman Conquest of England, remains surprisingly neglected, especially by historians. He is generally regarded primarily as a classical stylist who employed classical references to decorate his panegyric of William of Normandy. Poitiers' use of classical allusion was, however, far from superficial. In arguing for William’s legitimacy as king of England, Poitiers addresses a wider audience than is generally acknowledged, and appeals directly to the fears, expectations and values of his day. The article examines his three most sustained allusions to classical heroes of naval enterprises and conquest – Caesar, Aeneas and Theseus – as key components of the memory of the Norman Conquest, demonstrating that each allusion makes a specific moral and political point. Poitiers is a case study for medieval authorial ingenuity in applying classicism to the problems of the present.     

联通古典与现代的一部史学力作——读莫米格里亚诺《现代史学的古典根基》

在人类史学发展史上,古代史学遗产丰厚并对后世影响深远。A·莫米格里亚诺将之大致划分为波斯、犹太、希腊和罗马史学等不同类型,并由此追溯了现代西方史学的古典根基。其间,论者着重探讨了古代史学自身的相互影响、古希腊史学内涵特征以及塔西佗影响等诸多热点难点问题。在此意义上,全书深入揭示了古代与现代史学之间具体的历史衍生关联。遗憾的是,论者对史学某些共性特征关注不够,部分论断缺乏缜密的逻辑分析。     

论王劭魏澹修史

隋朝修史也是有成绩的。隋朝史官王劭与魏澹在修史方面做的工作、取得的成绩 ,从一个侧面反映了隋朝修史的成就。他们的修史工作也有失误。