MEDIEVAL MERCHANTS’ LETTERS IN NORTHERN EUROPE

This article is concerned with the characteristic features that define medieval merchants’ letters. It explores systematically a collection of merchants’ letters from early 16th-century Finland, the so-called Scheel’s collection, which is unique in medieval northern Europe. Scheel’s letters show surprising conformity. They followed the conventions of letter writing, including their content, form, and style. Scheel’s letters were employed primarily as operative instruments in the organizing and controlling of transactions, reflecting similar functions to other European merchants’ letters. In line with other European correspondences, they also included most of the components of the rules of letter writing.     

Humanists and Travellers,Gorgons and Gorillas: Hanno the Navigator's Periplus and Early Modern Geography (1530–1630)

This article is concerned with early modern interpretations of Hanno the Navigator's Periplus, an ancient travel account of a Carthaginian voyage down the coasts of Africa. The early modern period saw a rise in interest in geographical knowledge, and the ways in which different authors used Hanno's voyage reflects their understanding of the role of geography in conceptualising the world. In these discussions, writers had to negotiate between the confusing portrayals of the voyage in the received classical tradition and new reports brought by voyages of exploration. Here, I will discuss how these syntheses between humanist methods and contemporary travellers' accounts were shaped by the economic and political concerns tied to the first wave of European overseas expansion. Amid this climate, ancient geographical knowledge found pragmatic applications in contemporary issues of navigation, commerce and claims of territorial possession, as well as shaping European perceptions of ‘self’ and ‘the other’. This paper thus seeks to situate humanist practices and classical knowledge within the wider context of overseas voyages and early modern political and economic developments.     

Diaspora and nostalgia: travelling Jewish tales in the Mediterranean

The article addresses narratives that tell of a member of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel who comes to the rescue of a Jewish community. The tales were documented at the Israel Folktale Archives, in the second half of the twentieth century, and were told by informants from Morocco and Greece. While it is probably impossible to trace the exact routes of these “cultural possessions”, around and across the Mediterranean, the texts nevertheless provide a glimpse into the ways in which a network of Jewish communities shared a meta-narrative while adapting it to their own regional contexts. Although these tales are quintessentially diasporic, they also provided a platform for negotiating post-exilic identities in the new Israeli national context.     

Analysis of Heavy Metals in Smoke Deposits in the Limewash of the Royal Artillery Factory of Seville (17th Century): Contributions to the Location of the Furnaces

The Royal Artillery Factory of Seville in Spain originated from pre‐existing private bronze foundries dating from the 16th century. The paper analyses the stratigraphy of wall cladding in the areas traditionally known as the ‘Old Foundry’ and the ‘New Foundry’, through its characterization by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM‐EDX), micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (μ‐XRF) and micro‐X‐ray diffraction (μ‐XRD), in order to analyse the metal deposits that have accumulated since the 17th century. The data obtained allowed the verification of the available historiographical information and the location of the original bronze smelting furnaces. The analysis of patinas deposited on the overlapping layers of lime also confirmed that neither the raw materials nor the composition of the alloys used presented any substantial changes.     

Lisbon's Red Belt: A Cautionary Tale on Politicisation and Depoliticisation of the Urban Realm

Within the making of Portuguese liberal‐representative democracy, the Portuguese Communist Party became a major actor in local government in urban deprived peripheries, shaping Lisbon's Red Belt. In this article, we analyse the communist discourse on the Portuguese urban question, showing how it politicised the urban as a site of unevenness and deprivation, but simultaneously depoliticised it by refusing to acknowledge it as a proper space for conflict. This historical account leads us to a critical debate with proposals that discuss urban politicisation by ontologising “the urban” or “the political”—we argue that these approaches tend to be less helpful in understanding processes of contingent, partial and inter‐related forms of politicisation/depoliticisation of the urban in itself. In contrast, we argue for a more attentive theorisation on politicisation–depoliticisation of the urban condition as a most valuable path to grasp situated formulations of citizenship and, hence, configurations of political regimes.     

Yoshikatsu Sugiura's Contribution to the Development of Quantum Physics in Japan

Previous research in the history of physics has led us to believe that Yoshio Nishina (1890–1951) virtually single‐handedly imported quantum physics into Japan. However, there are first‐hand accounts that Yoshikatsu Sugiura (1895–1960) also played an important role. Sugiura made his name in quantum chemistry with his contribution to the Heitler‐London theory of the chemical bond. Yet, historians of physics have paid scant attention to him. This paper brings forward information on Sugiura from his letters, his scientific papers, and his own recollections until ca. 1930. By examining this material, the present paper studies Sugiura's accomplishments in Europe and his contributions to the development of quantum physics in Japan. We conclude that Sugiura was one of the most important physicists when it comes to the arrival of quantum physics in Japan. In addition, we assess why he has been under‐appreciated in the history of physics in Japan. Our historical study on Sugiura suggests that, in addition to the position Nishina and his students rightfully occupy, there still are important unexplored aspects in the history of Japanese quantum physics.     

尉氏元代壁画墓札记

尉氏县张氏镇壁画墓在最近的报道中被断为宋代。本文结合相关考古资料,从墓葬形制、壁画布局、仿木结构、人物服饰、墓门题记等几个方面进行对比分析,将该墓订正为元代。又依据文献记载和图像资料,对该墓壁画中“曾参行孝”和“焦花女哭麦”两组孝子图加以考证。并进一步梳理了考古所见二十四孝图像,发现其组合形式在宋金时期比较稳定,而元明时期则逐渐转向多元。     

清代帝陵的哑巴院和月牙城

本文论述清代帝陵中的哑巴院和月牙城的建置与功用,进而探讨其规制的起源问题。指出关外的福陵与昭陵系参照北京明代后期的帝陵及清孝陵兴建,而南京明孝陵的规制已见哑巴院的雏形,其发展演变脉络清晰,故而哑巴院和月牙城并非明清两代帝陵规制最显著的差别。     

清初苏州商船赴日贸易史实辨析

顺治九年(1652),一艘赴日本贸易的苏州商船回国。史学界对该商船的赴日时间及贸易方式存在争议:一说是1644年赴日,在日本进行了八年的海外贸易;一说是1650年或1651年私自出海,交易完毕后即回国。本文根据明清档案及朝鲜史料对该事件的记载,以及当时中国、东南亚、日本之间的贸易状况进行综合考察,可以肯定该商船是于1644年前往日本,并在日本与交趾之间从事贸易活动。     

Transitions in cast iron technology of the nomads in Mongolia

Metallurgical study of seven cast iron artifacts recovered from sites of the former Xiongnu (BC 3rd to AD 1st), Turk (AD 6th to 8th), Khitan (AD 10th to 12th), and Mongolian empires (AD 12th to 15th) shows that the earlier Xiongnu and Turk artifacts were made of cast iron alloys of near eutectic composition. The later Khitan and Mongol objects had greatly reduced carbon content in the range of ultrahigh carbon steel rather than cast iron, and contained more than 0.5 mass % silicon as an alloying element. Inclusions high in sulfur, phosphorus or silicon are also present. These differences suggest that Mongolia experienced a technical transition a few centuries before the establishment of the Mongolian empire, which is in agreement with some written accounts. The microstructures of the cast iron artifacts are compared with the related archaeological and documentary evidence. The results suggest that the use of fossil coal in smelting and the state policy of controlling iron production were the major factors responsible for the transition.