scholarly journals Social mobility and the Middle Ages

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANDRO CAROCCI

ABSTRACTNotwithstanding its relevance, social mobility has not been at the forefront of the agenda for historians of the Middle Ages. The first part of this paper deals with the reasons for this lack of interest, highlighting the role of historical models such as the French ‘feudal revolution’, the neo-Malthusian interpretations, the English commercialisation model and the great narrative of Italian medieval merchants. The second part assesses the extent to which this lack of interest has been challenged by conceptions of social space and social mobility developed in recent decades by sociologists and anthropologists. Therefore, it is really important to indicate the gaps in our understanding, and to clarify research questions, technical problems and methods. The paper examines the constitutive elements of social identities, the plurality of social ladders, and the channels of social mobility. It touches upon the performative role of learned representations, and upon the constraints imposed upon human agency by family practices and genre. It underlines the importance of studying the mobility inside social groups, and argues that we must distinguish between two different types of medieval social mobility: autogenous social mobility, and endogenous or conflictual social mobility.

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66
Author(s):  
Marcel Bubert

AbstractAlthough the medieval period was not part of Michel Foucault’s seminal study on ‘The Order of Things’, there are good reasons to believe that the learned cultures of the Middle Ages were to a certain degree based on specific epistemic orders, general organizing principles which were unconsciously presupposed in concepts of reality. Nevertheless, the extent as to which these concepts are in fact committed to the assumption of a metaphysically determined measuring of reality, is not altogether clear. This article aims to discuss this question in general, based on recent views of the role of the ‘subject’ in epistemic orders.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-157
Author(s):  
Dana Vasiliu

Abstract In “The Waning of the Middle Ages”, J. Huizinga has pointed out that “all things would be absurd if their meaning would be exhausted by their function and their place in the phenomenal world, if by their essence they did not reach into a world beyond this.” (1924:201) Starting from this assumption, I purport to analyze the role/roles played by everyday/ordinary objects in the miracle stories depicted in the Trinity Chapel glazing and argue that their individuation/haecceity is subject to practices of ritualistic and artistic encodings


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
M.V. Baleva

The article deals with the problem of disparate studies in social perceptions of different types of groups, which impede the understanding of its fundamental mechanisms. Different types of social groups appear in the research as stimulus descriptions of their artificial analogues, singled out according to ethnic, ideological and stratification criteria. As a mediating factor of social perception, the features of subject’s self-attitude (self-acceptance and self-rejection) are considered. The study involved 307 females and 109 males from 17 to 22 years old (M = 18.92, SD = 0.93). It was found that perceiving of different types of social groups determines the varying degrees of stereotyping and bias intensity. Both of these phenomena are most observable for the groups identified by stratification criterion. Ingroup favoritism is also more conspicuous for the subject’s “ideological” ingroup in comparison with the groups of different types. It was also shown that self-attitude plays a facilitating role in the manifestations of ingroup favoritism: both self-acceptance and self-rejection contribute to the growth of perceptional bias, but do not “participate” in outgroup stereotyping.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (S2) ◽  
pp. 284-302
Author(s):  
Iryna Yu Konovalova

The article is devoted to comprehension of specifics and formation prerequisites of composer’s and musical authorship phenomena historical formation in European culture of the Middle Ages. Genesis of composer’s phenomenon and individual musical authorship model is considered on the basis of historical, socio-cultural and aesthetic-artistic transformations, on awareness about their dynamic’s tendencies and general cultural institutionalization of an authorship phenomenon, as well as on an increasing role of individual creativity in an artistic realm. It is stated that multi-ethnic and anonymous culture of oral tradition, folklore and Christian singing practices, as well as instrumental improvisation’s traditions, became spiritual sources of this phenomena and turn into a strong foundation of musical professionalism and creative impulse for European authorial music evolution. It is emphasized that process of composer’s formation as a creativity subject and musical professionalism carrier was stimulated by the necessity of everyday vocal-choral practice, conditioned by the spiritual context of time, by intention on theocentric world’s picture and religious – Christian outlook dominance. Significant role of secular direction development in the context of music-author’s discourse formation and composer’s figure assertion in the late Middle Ages is highlighted. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-87
Author(s):  
O.A. Oparin ◽  

The article shows and analyzed the development of hospitals in the Middle Ages. The main features of hospitals in its different periods are shown. The deterrent role of medieval religious beliefs and dogma in the development of hospitals is shown and revealed


Author(s):  
John Kenneth Galbraith

This chapter discusses the basic economic life in the Middle Ages, noting the absence of trade or a market during the period. It first considers the legacy of the Romans with respect to economic and political life, including their commitment to the sanctity of private property and Christianity. In particular, it describes Christian attitudes toward wealth and the link between morality and the market. It also examines the ideas of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Nicole Oresme before turning to the role of markets in the Middle Ages, along with their special characteristics. Finally, it looks at other aspects of economic life during the medieval period, such as the intrusion of ethics on economics—the fairness or justice of the relationship between master and slave, lord and serf, landlord and sharecropper.


2020 ◽  
pp. 201-208
Author(s):  
Conor McCarthy

The Conclusion restates the book’s four key arguments. Firstly, legal exclusion in various related forms is a tactic of power. Secondly, legal exclusion is an enduring phenomenon, alive and well in disturbing new combinations in the twentieth and twenty-first century West. Thirdly, exclusion from law is a shared concern for the literature of outlawry and the literature of espionage, and hence a key theme in a range of writings about the state and its actions from the Middle Ages to the present day. Finally, the role of literature here is often to offer critique: in offering such critique it shares with law a demand for justice.


Author(s):  
Miri Rubin

‘The “Middle Ages” in our daily lives’ discusses some of the legacies of this period: universities, the printed book, and song. The 12th century saw increased specialization in centres of learning under the auspices of emperors, kings, and popes. Universities were first created in Bologna and Paris, and offered the highest training in medicine, church law, and civil law. It trained those who went on to become the highest state officials and prelates of the church. The culture of young adulthood fostered in universities, and the possibilities for social mobility they afforded, is still seen today. The development of the printed book and the combination of poetry and music in song is also considered.


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