The Armada Tapestries in the Old Palace of Westminster

The tapestry series of the ‘Defeat of the Spanish Armada’ was a national artistic treasure which hung in the old Palace of Westminster from the mid 17th century until the fire of 1834. This article outlines the creation of the tapestries in the 1590s and covers the major treatments of them in illustrations of parliamentary interiors and in John Pine's 1739 engravings; it ends with a short account of the curious episode of the tapestry which escaped the conflagration. In the absence of any known historical record of how the tapestries were displayed, suggestions are offered about how many and in what order they hung in the two chambers occupied successively by the house of lords (before and after 1801), and about how they were physically supported on the walls of the Parliament Chamber.     

Las estrategias del juego áulico en las comedias mitológicas de Calderón de la Barca

This article studies the particular case of the mythological plays of Calderón that form a cohesive and recognizable set of works in certain circumstances. This kind of comedy is modulated by specific issues of reception, under the dominant global principle of playfulness, through the mechanisms of admiratio, and different strategies of courtly game that can be summarized in four basic areas: conventional comicity, the writing of a theater full of sensorismo, the importance of the intellect games, and finally, the strategies to point identity marks of a particular social group.     

Courts Leet,Constables and the Township Structure in the West Riding, 1540–1842*

The significance of the township, and of the township constable, in local administration in the West Riding from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries is described. The appointment until 1842 of constables in manor and wapentake courts leet ensured the continuing centrality of these courts in local administration. The involvement of the principal inhabitants in the appointment and oversight of constables and other officers is discussed. Changes in the structure of local administration depended on evolving change in manorial structures and courts, even as late as the nineteenth century. Such changes were affected by the existence of overlapping areas of quarter sessions jurisdiction, and also by the expanding volume of small-claims litigation in both manor and wapentake courts baron before the establishment of county courts.     

The Politics of Chivalry: Sir Robert Walpole,the Duke of Montagu and the Order of the Bath

This article explores the complex circumstances surrounding the foundation of the order of the Bath in 1725, and seeks to correct the commonly‐held view that it was initiated by Walpole simply to augment the patronage available to his supporters in parliament. The proposal for a new order of chivalry based on the medieval ‘knighthood of the bath’ in fact emanated from the court, having been prompted by one of its central figures, the duke of Montagu. Walpole and his colleagues were by no means oblivious to the practical political value of such a move, but having only lately consolidated their position at court, their main priority was to seize a unique opportunity to flatter the new royal dynasty and garner popularity for it through the medium of the order's rediscovered history. The ministers selected the order's 36 founder‐knights with considerable input from senior courtiers, but ensured that those nominated were mostly peers and MPs who could evince ministerially useful connections between court and parliament. Though the order was later derided as a symptom of Walpoleian corruption, its foundation can be regarded as something of a turning point in Walpole's rise to power.     

The playwright who dramatised his own war record: a reassessment of William Douglas-Home’s accounts of his refusal to fight for the liberation of Le Havre

At a court martial in October 1944, William Douglas-Home was convicted of wilfully disobeying a lawful command because he claimed a moral justification to do so. Cashiered and jailed for his offence, he would return to the events that occasioned his refusal throughout a long career as a playwright. In his post-war accounts, Mr Douglas-Home developed a defence of his decision that depicted it as principled. He submitted petitions in which he sought to overturn retrospectively the court martial ruling. This essay argues that he concocted the accounts of his actions on which his efforts to revise the record were based.     

乾隆朝清宫十八罗汉唐卡名相解析

藏、汉两地佛教经典及佛学之传播,直承印度晚出之大乘佛学,但罗汉信仰却在两地佛教中均占一席之地,尤其是于汉藏两地家喻户晓的十六罗汉(后演绎成十八罗汉),不仅与佛和菩萨一样成为信徒崇拜的对象,而且以之为题材的绘塑作品更是广泛流传,及至帝廷内苑亦多有供奉收藏。清乾隆时期为安抚蒙藏势力而极力推崇藏传佛教,此信仰尤以宫中为盛,帝室庋藏、绘制及供奉有大量藏风浓郁的十六或十八罗汉唐卡组画,其名称、图像特征、排列顺序乃至绘画风格等与清官旧藏的内地各派罗汉图相比,同中存异。乾隆帝及藏传佛教大师们在对藏密佛像进行大规模系统化与规范化的同时,也涉及了汉藏两地十分流行的十六、十八罗汉,并在此基础上逐渐形成了具有乾隆时期清宫特色的十八罗汉图像标准。     

清代瓷质祭礼器略论

本文通过对故宫博物院藏瓷器实物的考察,并结合《皇朝礼器图式》、《备物昭诚》等内府彩绘本清代典制书籍,考述了礼书记载的各式瓷质仿古礼器在乾隆时期确有生产,且嘉庆、道光、咸丰、同治、光绪朝都有补做。同时,因清代礼制规定国家诸祀和内廷诸祀的行礼场所和受祭对象不同,导致瓷质祭礼器的生产制度、造型与种类也有所差别。     

试论清代皇帝明黄色朝袍的功用

在清代皇帝冠服中,明黄色朝袍的功用尤其引人关注。但是,长期以来人们对“朝祭所御”的概念往往含混不清,以至认为清帝明黄色朝袍既可亲郊飨庙又能御殿朝贺,模糊了朝服与祭服的区别。顺治十年(1653年)都察院左副都御史傅景星奏言:“自古帝王一代之兴,必有一代之制,黄帝尧舜垂衣裳而天下治。衮冕黼黻代有不同,朝有朝服,祭有祭服,所以肃臣民而格上下也……”。本文旨在讨论清帝明黄色朝袍的不同作用,从而区分出朝服与祭服的不同。     

洪武朝东宫官属的嬗替与外廷政治

洪武朝外廷政治的演变,与"国本"问题有着莫大关联。东宫官属的嬗替,从一个侧面展现出了洪武朝诸大案依次衍生的内在逻辑性。初期东宫官属的设立与勋臣兼职,虽有效平衡了政局,却造成了浙东派势盛的隐患,这也成为朱元璋首先从浙东派入手清除外廷政治势力的一个重要原因。洪武十年,东宫官属的调整与太子的正式预政,揭开了朱元璋谋划已久的"废相收权"斗争的序幕。洪武二十三年前后,从"詹事院"到"詹事府"的转化,则是朱元璋针对太子死后新的政治环境而采取的一种稳定"国本"的重要举措,并与蓝玉党案相表里,建立起了一套全新的东宫官属体制。     

乌尔第三王朝温马地区法庭判案文件译注与简析

乌尔第三王朝时期的法庭判案文件,苏美尔语称为"di-til-la",意为"最终裁决".吉尔苏出土文献最多,在温马也出土了少数泥板,基本上属于财产争诉案件.与吉尔苏的相比,温马的法庭判案文件有自己的特点.本文根据出土于温马地区的20块判案泥板文书,探讨了乌尔第三王朝时期温马地区的民法案例以及涉及的经济和社会制度.