Lives on hold: the Dampierre family,captivity and the crusades in thirteenth-century Champagne

ABSTRACT

Captured outside Latakia in 1203, the Fourth Crusader Renard II de Dampierre was imprisoned in Aleppo for 30 years. The families of captured crusaders lost contact with their imprisoned sons, husbands and fathers for years, even decades, at a time. Such prolonged absences presented significant challenges, and life was delayed for both the imprisoned and their families. The landholdings of captured crusaders could not be alienated or mortgaged, marriages could not be made, nor could inheritances be divided without their permission. This state of affairs became less feasible the longer imprisonment continued. Eventually titles were apportioned between the rightful heirs, wives remarried and families moved on. Although Renard’s case is often cited as an extreme example, it also furnishes extensive evidence of the impact of captivity on a crusading family, the trials they endured in the prolonged absence of their patriarch and the strategies they used to overcome them.     

The Members of the House of Lords and the Hanoverian Succession

This essay examines what happened in August and September 1714, from the death of Queen Anne on 1 August to the swearing-in of the new privy council on 1 October, specifically from the perspective of the membership of the house of lords. It confirms that most members were present in London during this period and active in parliament, the privy council, the regency, and politics generally. Very few were absent without a good reason.     

周公摄政与周初政教关系初探

周公摄政导致了周初二王并存的局面,而二王并存的实质是国家政权和教权的分离。周公是周代初期的巫史领袖,并于武王后期开始执掌教权,由于不能和政权明确分开,引起王族的猜疑。周公为此迁居东都洛邑,并致力于制礼作乐,目的是使政教分权更加明晰化,造成了一次意义深远的社会制度和思想化的革命。