The Library of Bryant Barrett, Laceman and Country Squire

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-572
Author(s):  
Frans Korsten ◽  
Jos Blom ◽  
Frans Blom

Bryant Barrett (c.1715–1790) was a Catholic tradesman who managed to become affluent enough to be able to collect a library of nearly 2,000 volumes. His library catalogues are still extant and the aim of the present article is to analyse these in order to get an insight into the intellectual world of an eighteenth-century RC self-made man. There are a number of catalogues of institutional RC libraries and the occasional catalogue of an RC clergyman, but as far as we know the Barrett catalogues are a unique register of the books possessed by an ‘ordinary’ RC layman. The traditional picture of eighteenth-century English Catholic life is that of a dwindling community with a rather provincial and conservative outlook on life. Heroic martyrdom was a feature of the past: ordinary life entailed guarding against modern enlightenment views and – towards the end of the century – internal discussions about the concessions necessary to achieve Catholic emancipation. Barrett's library modifies this picture in a number of ways: it reveals an eminently practical man who was also an intellectual, someone interested in the past, loyal to his faith, knowledgeable about the latest developments in industry and science, intrigued by perspectives opening up through exploration and travel, fascinated with new developments and ideas. Barrett was a both a devout Roman Catholic and a well-read man of the world.

1985 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris H. W. Engstrand

The Enlightenment in Spain defies definition. In certain respects it was a viable force opening up new vistas of knowledge and understanding, while in others it was a mild breeze rustling some leaves of insight into the possibility of human equality. For certain of Spain's royal officials, the ideas of the eighteenth century philosophes were refreshing and undeniably sound; for others even the gathering of knowledge in the new encyclopedias was a dangerously democratic trend. In some areas of national life, reforms gained immediate acceptance, in others the old ways remained entrenched.Spain has always been a country of extremes, of absolute alternatives. Spaniards strive to achieve impossible goals or they remain incredibly inert. With the discovery of America their ambitious undertakings excelled those of England or France, but subsequent neglect brought about failures of equal magnitude. In the sixteenth century they thought to conquer the world; in the next their weakened Hapsburg monarchs squandered the wealth of the New World while the country fell into economic ruin.


Author(s):  
John Carman ◽  
Patricia Carman

What is—or makes a place—a ‘historic battlefield’? From one perspective the answer is a simple one—it is a place where large numbers of people came together in an organized manner to fight one another at some point in the past. But from another perspective it is far more difficult to identify. Quite why any such location is a place of battle—rather than any other kind of event—and why it is especially historic is more difficult to identify. This book sets out an answer to the question of what a historic battlefield is in the modern imagination, drawing upon examples from prehistory to the twentieth century. Considering battlefields through a series of different lenses, treating battles as events in the past and battlefields as places in the present, the book exposes the complexity of the concept of historic battlefield and how it forms part of a Western understanding of the world. Taking its lead from new developments in battlefield study—especially archaeological approaches—the book establishes a link to and a means by which these new approaches can contribute to more radical thinking about war and conflict, especially to Critical Military and Critical Security Studies. The book goes beyond the study of battles as separate and unique events to consider what they mean to us and why we need them to have particular characteristics. It will be of interest to archaeologists, historians, and students of modern war in all its forms.


СИНЕЗА ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Merzić
Keyword(s):  
The Past ◽  

One thing that unites all people regardless of their current place in the world is their history and their past. Another similarity that unites them is the tendency to distort the past for their own ends. Every country and every nation have their own myths which have become the cornerstone in their establishment andprogress. The misuse of history is most dominantly done by ideologies and their creators as a tool in justifying their work. The author of this book is Margaret MacMillan, who is a Canadian histo- rian most notable for her work on the Versailles conference of 1919, which she mentions more than once in this book. MacMillan’s understanding and insight into history and national iden- tity are brought out in this book, where she points out mythical roots of some of today’s most problematic national and ethnic questions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Barnard

In the past twenty years, there have been exciting new developments in the field of anthropology. This second edition of Barnard's classic textbook on the history and theory of anthropology has been revised and expanded to include up-to-date coverage on all the most important topics in the field. Its coverage ranges from traditional topics like the beginnings of the subject, evolutionism, functionalism, structuralism, and Marxism, to ideas about globalization, post-colonialism, and notions of 'race' and of being 'indigenous'. There are several new chapters, along with an extensive glossary, index, dates of birth and death, and award-winning diagrams. Although anthropology is often dominated by trends in Europe and North America, this edition makes plain the contributions of trendsetters in the rest of the world too. With its comprehensive yet clear coverage of concepts, this is essential reading for a new generation of anthropology students.


Author(s):  
Li Wengang ◽  
Chen Yulai ◽  
Guo Jia

Since the Reform and Opening up in the late 1970s, China has been seeking an innovation-driven knowledge society. In the past decade, the central government and local governments took effective measures to quicken China's steps towards a knowledge society. In the recent 18th National Congress of the CPC, reform and innovation was highly emphasized to give fresh impetus to knowledge society building. Within the context of increasing globalization and Africa-China long-lasting friendship and cooperation, China and African countries can learn from each other in knowledge society construction. As the second largest economy in the world, China is playing an increasing role in knowledge society construction in Africa. Can Africa learn from China's experiences? This chapter provides some answers to this query.


1989 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-267
Author(s):  
Peter R. Cross

The publication of Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry by the World Council of Churches in 1982 was the culmination of more than fifty years of ecumenical discussion. The document was designed to elicit official comment from the churches involved in its production and also to involve a wide membership of the churches in the process of reception of the text by taking its insights into their spiritual, pastoral and theological life. This present article analyses the response of the Roman Catholic Church. The response is largely positive, but the methodology of the document reveals unresolved tensions concerning theological reformulation while the wider issue touching reception in the life of the Church is avoided.


Author(s):  
Laurence Brockliss

Childhood in western Europe is obviously a vast topic, and this entry will approach it historically and largely chronologically. The study of childhood is still relatively new, and historians have sometimes struggled to construct a history of childhood, with very few firsthand accounts and limited archives. So many children left very few traces of their lives, and historians have had to piece together their history, not from diaries or archives but from court reports, visual representations, and childcare manuals. They have had to struggle to recapture the world of childhood in eras prior to 1800, when sources are especially limited. They, like others interested in childhood studies, have had to address the issue of how to define a child and what childhood is. They have had to contemplate the different historical meanings of the word child prior to 1600 and to resist the temptation to believe that childhood has inevitably improved through the centuries. They have also had to become aware of the dangers of historicizing a phenomenon that has few stable parameters and, in some cultures, may not even exist at all. In several languages there is no word for child; even in English, the word has drastically shifted its meaning over the centuries. These shifts need to be historicized in order to see both the continuities and the discontinuities between the past and the present that suggest that childhood has always been a time of suffering; children have always been the victims of perilous disease, parental neglect, government policy, war, etc. Concurrently, children have also always been the hope of the future, the focus of special love and attention. A historical perspective on European childhoods brings this insight into sharp focus.


1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Head

The image of the young lady at music is part of the mythology of the eighteenth century, nostalgically summoning a bygone era in European manners. How should such images be read, and to what uses are they put in the construction of the past and the present? Richard Leppert appeals to eighteenth-century iconography to argue the disciplinary function of music on women. This article extends Leppert's arguments in a newly uncovered repertory of songs and keyboard works published in eighteenth-century Germany "for the fair sex." Moving between prescriptions about musical practice specifically and women's character and place in the world more broadly, this music evinces cautionary and disciplinary rhetorics that accord with Leppert's readings. But whereas Leppert deals with paintings-more or less official representations-musical performance and reception complicate the picture. In performance, music offers possibilities for negotiation. On closer examination, instrumental music for the fair sex reveals a complex web of generic and stylistic motifs that undermine the manifest rhetoric of easiness and simplicity in the repertory and invoke the professional and public spheres. Questioning as well as espousing virtue, and haunted by the figure of the rake, songs for ladies reflect the instability in the emergent discourses of bourgeois femininity and the private sphere.


1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-195
Author(s):  
Seiji Hata ◽  

Following the I st congress in Besancon in 1992, the 2nd Japan-France Congress on Mechatronics was held at Takamatsu City in Japan from November 1 to 3, 1994. The congress was co-sponsored by Kagawa University, the Japan Society for Precision Engineering, and l'Institut des Microtechniques de Franche-Comte. A total of 282 persons participated in the congress, 49 from France, 209 from Japan, and 24 from other countries including China, U.S., Turkey, Korea, and Switzerland. Researchers and engineers from a total of 15 countries participated in the congress. The congress continues to become more international and exciting. There are six sessions at the congress. The session names and the number of the papers belonging to each are as follows: (1) Mechatronics, 33 papers; (2) Robotics, 53 papers; (3) Sensors, 26 papers; (4) Vision, 33 papers; (5) Microelectro Mechanical Systems, 20 papers; and (6) CIM & Systems, 21 papers. The total number of papers 186. Additionally, three keynote speakers discussed the current status and future of the mechatronics technologies. The papers were presented at the oral sessions and the poster sessions. In this special issue, 11 papers from these fields are presented to describe the current technological status in Japan. Takamatsu is charming old city near Osaka. The congress was held at the exhibition center in Intelligent Park in Takamatsu, which was newly developed as the technological center of the area. The congress was held at such a location so that participants from abroad could gain a feel for ordinary life in Japan. In addition to the congress, there were two technical tours before and after the congress. The technical tour to the industries in Takamatsu showed the vivid medium size manufacturers in Japan. It is the another viewpoint contrary to the huge companies of Japan. During the congress, there were warm and friendly technological interactions between Japan and Europe. This should be further encouraged, and more countries should be included in the congress. The 3rd French-Japanese Congress on Mechatronics will be held at Besancon, France in 1996. It will also be the first European-Asia Congress. I hope that many researchers and engineers from all over the world, will participate in the congress and that the warm and friendly atmosphere of the past congress is provided at the next congress.


PMLA ◽  
1930 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 1014-1022
Author(s):  
Charles David Abbott

Few lyric poems of the eighteenth century have aroused as much interest during the past fifty years as Christopher Smart's Song to David. Poets, critics, and scholars have lavished praises upon it ever since Browning so liberally commended it in his Parleyings. It appears—usually only in part—in nearly all the anthologies, and in England the entire text has several times been separately reprinted. So much attention to the poem has led inevitably to a desire for more knowledge about the poet, and various scholars have attempted to satisfy this desire. Nearly all, however, have been baffled by the complications of the poet's periods of insanity, or else have jumped to conclusions that will not fit the facts. The late Sir Edmund Gosse, by the beauty and urbanity of his appreciation of Smart's poetic genius, in Gossip in a Library in 1891, did much to rehabilitate him in the world of letters. Unfortunately, Sir Edmund was seriously wrong in many of his most essential statements concerning the poet's life, and his misconceptions and misinterpretations of the facts have served as the basis of nearly all subsequent accounts, including that by Thomas Seccombe in the Dictionary of National Biography.


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