Aspects of gift giving in Denmark in the sixteenth century and the case of the Rose Flower Cup

The concept of an ancient system of gift exchange gradually being replaced by a market economy during the middle ages and early modern period has been rightly challenged by many recent studies. As it will appear from this essay on gift giving at the Danish court of King Frederik II (1559–88), gifts and favours continued to play an important role in the organisation of power and society. Several examples from sixteenth-century Denmark are discussed, including Frederik II's patronage of the astronomer Tycho Brahe. Special emphasis is put on a gift from the Danish noble couple Hans Skovgaard and Anne Parsberg on the occasion of the baptism in 1577 of their godson, the eldest son of Frederik II. Donations at rites of passage like baptism were a convention at the time, yet the huge gilt silver cup known as the ‘Rose Flower’ was more than that. It was an elegant way of reciprocating an earlier, royal wedding gift. At the same time the cup and its symbolism hinted at the ideal of the generous lord, stressing the hospitality and accessibility expected from the king, an ideal as common to king and nobility at the renaissance court of the sixteenth century as it had been in the previous centuries. The more humble gifts mentioned in private account books of the time point to the fact that people did not necessarily give someone a gift to obtain something in return. Sometimes gifts were simply given to sustain the social order of which the donors were a part.     

Fathers and sons: preparing noble youths to be lords in twelfth-century Germany

The most prominent noble lineages of the twelfth-century German empire drew much of their authority from scattered collections of heritable rights and properties, a state of affairs that led each family to exercise its lordship in a unique manner. As a result, it was important for the success of a lineage that heirs understood the diverse administrative, political, diplomatic and military foundations of their family's power before they came into their inheritance. This article argues on the basis of evidence from several leading noble houses — including the Staufen, Welf, Zähringen, Wittelsbach, Andechs and Wettin — that fathers played an essential role in the training of their sons to succeed and inherit. For the noble heirs of twelfth-century Germany, therefore, the period in life known as youth was principally a time of instruction and preparation. Models of youth that emphasise the adventurousness and rebelliousness of noble sons during the central middle ages are therefore insufficient for explaining father-son relationships within the imperial nobility.     

The idea of peace in the West, 500–1150

Most of the numerous peace traditions of the early middle ages developed within a framework of three dimensions: monastic, ecclesiastical, imperial. But after 1150 the equilibrium among these three views of peace became upset. The pax ecclesiae and the imperial peace were channeled into papal jurisdiction and the public peace of the lay powers. The monastic peace began to lose its influence upon society at large.     

中国历史博物馆新藏青铜器铭文考释

中国历史博物馆新入藏两件青铜器《作册封鬲》和《士山盘》,对铜器上的铭文和术语作了考释,研究了周王朝的册封异刑的具体内涵和周王策命作器的过程。     

Fathers and sons: preparing noble youths to be lords in twelfth-century Germany

The most prominent noble lineages of the twelfth-century German empire drew much of their authority from scattered collections of heritable rights and properties, a state of affairs that led each family to exercise its lordship in a unique manner. As a result, it was important for the success of a lineage that heirs understood the diverse administrative, political, diplomatic and military foundations of their family's power before they came into their inheritance. This article argues on the basis of evidence from several leading noble houses — including the Staufen, Welf, Zähringen, Wittelsbach, Andechs and Wettin — that fathers played an essential role in the training of their sons to succeed and inherit. For the noble heirs of twelfth-century Germany, therefore, the period in life known as youth was principally a time of instruction and preparation. Models of youth that emphasise the adventurousness and rebelliousness of noble sons during the central middle ages are therefore insufficient for explaining father-son relationships within the imperial nobility.     

Treason,sodomy, and the fate of Adenolfo IV,count of Acerra

The article recounts the charges brought against Adenolfo IV, count of Acerra, a magnate of the Regno in the reigns of Charles I and Charles II, and his execution for sodomy in 1293. This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, known cases of the death penalty being exacted for sodomy in Europe. Behind it lies a trial in which Adenolfo was convicted of treason but received a royal pardon five years later. The story casts light on relations between the rulers of the Regno and their overlords the popes, on the judicial methods employed in the Regno, and on the government of Charles II.     

The economic of agricultural land tenure

This article sheds new light on the interesting but little-studied figure of Thomas Scott of Canterbury (1566–1635). In presenting Scott's ideas I will modify the interpretation laid out by Peter Clark whose groundbreaking study, ‘Thomas Scott and the Growth of Urban Opposition to the Early Stuart Regime’, is still the only secondary source that pays detailed attention to Scott and his thought, especially his religious opinions. The necessity to revisit Clark's interpretation of Scott's place within the political and doctrinal debates of early Stuart England stems from the conviction that his political work and his ideological stances deserve more subtle attention. Most importantly, they were part of the emerging reaction against the policies of the first two Stuart Kings which can be labelled ‘country patriotism’. Finally, the elucidation of Scott's writings will provide a novel insight into an early configuration of English national identity.     

Aspects of gift giving in Denmark in the sixteenth century and the case of the Rose Flower Cup

The concept of an ancient system of gift exchange gradually being replaced by a market economy during the middle ages and early modern period has been rightly challenged by many recent studies. As it will appear from this essay on gift giving at the Danish court of King Frederik II (1559-88), gifts and favours continued to play an important role in the organisation of power and society. Several examples from sixteenth-century Denmark are discussed, including Frederik II’s patronage of the astronomer Tycho Brahe. Special emphasis is put on a gift from the Danish noble couple Hans Skovgaard and Anne Parsberg on the occasion of the baptism in 1577 of their godson, the eldest son of Frederik II. Donations at rites of passage like baptism were a convention at the time, yet the huge gilt silver cup known as the ‘Rose Flower’ was more than that. It was an elegant way of reciprocating an earlier, royal wedding gift. At the same time the cup and its symbolism hinted at the ideal of the generous lord, stressing the hospitality and accessibility expected from the king, an ideal as common to king and nobility at the renaissance court of the sixteenth century as it had been in the previous centuries. The more humble gifts mentioned in private account books of the time point to the fact that people did not necessarily give someone a gift to obtain something in return. Sometimes gifts were simply given to sustain the social order of which the donors were a part.     

Treason,sodomy, and the fate of Adenolfo IV,count of Acerra

The article recounts the charges brought against Adenolfo IV, count of Acerra, a magnate of the Regno in the reigns of Charles I and Charles II, and his execution for sodomy in 1293. This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, known cases of the death penalty being exacted for sodomy in Europe. Behind it lies a trial in which Adenolfo was convicted of treason but received a royal pardon five years later. The story casts light on relations between the rulers of the Regno and their overlords the popes, on the judicial methods employed in the Regno, and on the government of Charles II.     

United in revolt and discourse: urban and noble perceptions of ‘bad government’ in fifteenth-century Brabant (1420–1)

This case study on the Brabantine uprising of 1420–1 reveals common ground between noble and urban political values, calling into question the dominant historiographical cleavage between noble and urban ideologies. In 1420, one of the most severe political conflicts in Brabantine history caused a coalition of members of the upper nobility and Leuven city councillors to remove Duke John IV from the throne and convict his councillors. Preceding these drastic events, both parties had written texts together to legitimise their political position and attract supporters. By analysing the writings of the insurgents, this article illustrates how these noblemen and urban councillors combined their political ideas in practice to create a coherent discourse that supported their claims to power. The analysis also emphasises the insurgents’ appropriation, interpretation and use of key notions, such as the ‘common good’, to criticise Duke John’s government and promote their cause.