The Date, Purpose, and Historical Context of the Original Greek and the Latin Translation of the So-calledExcerpta Latina Barbari

Traditio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 1-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Burgess

TheExcerpta Latina barbari, also known as theBarbarus Scaligeri, is a peculiar and unfairly neglected text that has been compared to a Russian nested doll. It survives alone in Parisinus latinus 4884 of the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, a manuscript of sixty-three folios, usually dated to the late seventh or early eighth century. The nature of the text demonstrates that it was translated from a Greek exemplar, usually dated to the second half of the first quarter of the fifth century, which was lavishly illustrated. Although spaces were left for illustrations in the Latin translation, no attempt was ever made to undertake them. Little is generally known about the origins or purpose of this Latin translation or the Greek original, in spite of a magisterial study by Carl Frick in 1892, and recent renewed interest in this text makes it imperative that it be subjected to a careful analysis in the light of modern paleographical research and a better understanding of the sources of its Greek exemplar.

Author(s):  
David Wright

This chapter surveys capital letterforms, which have been in use from the second century BC until the present day. It defines two types of capitals in use since the Augustan Era: formal Square Capitals and informal Rustic Capitals, and traces the development of Rustic Capitals as a text hand in manuscripts of classical authors until the sixth century AD as well as the use of Square Capitals until the late fifth century AD. It closes with a look at the use of Rustic Capitals in rubrics of eighth-century manuscripts from England, and Rustic and Square Capitals found in Carolingian contexts.


1970 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Vickers

In a recent important article on the mosaics of the basilica of St. Demetrius at Thessaloniki, R. S. Cormack proposes a list of churches in the city with mosaics ‘for which a late fifth century date must be considered.’ The list comprises the Acheiropoietos basilica, the first phase of the basilica of St. Demetrius, and Hosios David. The purpose of this article is to show that the mosaics of the second phase of the Rotunda (now known as the church of St. George) should be included in Cormack's list.The first thing to note about the Rotunda mosaics is that there has been less than unanimity concerning the date of their construction. Volbach, Lazarev and Cormack, amongst others, follow Dyggve and Torp in dating the mosaics to c. 400 or slightly earlier; Diehl and Dalton dated them to the fifth century, Weigand to the sixth and Holtzinger to the seventh or eighth century, all on largely stylistic grounds. What are obviously needed are some objective dating criteria, and these are to be found, not so much in the mosaics themselves, but rather in the building fabric and the furniture of the converted Rotunda. The conversion of the Rotunda, incidentally, consisted of the blocking of an opaion in the cupola and the addition of an ambulatory, a monumental entrance to the south, an apse to the east (Plate XXIII) and various subsidiary buildings to east and west. The mosaics were placed in the cupola and in the niches which connected the main body of the Rotunda with the ambulatory.


Author(s):  
Stephen Rippon

Writing in the early eighth century, Bede described how three separate peoples— the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—had settled in Britain some three hundred years earlier, and ever since the genesis of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ scholarship in the nineteenth century archaeologists have sought to identify discrete areas of Anglian, Saxon, and Jutish settlement (e.g. Leeds 1912; 1936; 1945; Fox 1923, 284–95). The identification of these peoples was based upon different artefact styles and burial rites, with most attention being paid to brooches. The degree of variation in the composition of brooch assemblages across eastern England is shown in Table 9.1. Cruciform brooches with cast side knobs, for example, were thought to have been ‘Anglian’, and saucer brooches ‘Saxon’ (although even in the early twentieth century Leeds (1912) had started to doubt the attribution of applied brooches to the West Saxons). In recent years, however, this traditional ‘culturehistorical’ approach towards interpreting the archaeological record has been questioned, as it is now recognized that, rather than being imported from mainland Europe during the early to mid fifth century, regional differences in artefact assemblages emerged over the course of the late fifth to late sixth centuries (e.g. Hines 1984; 1999; Hilund Nielsen 1995; Lucy 2000; Owen- Crocker 2004; 2011; Penn and Brugmann 2007; Walton Rogers 2007; Brugmann 2011; Dickinson 2011; Hills 2011). In early to mid fifth-century England, in contrast, it now appears that Germanic material culture was in fact relatively homogeneous, with objects typical of ‘Saxon’ areas on the continent being found in so-called ‘Anglian’ areas of England, and vice versa. The earliest material from East Anglia, for example—equal-arm, supporting-arm, and early cruciform brooches—are most closely paralleled in the Lower Elbe region of Saxony, with the distinctive ‘Anglian’ identity of EastAnglia onlyemerging through later contact with southern Scandinavia (Hines 1984; Carver 1989, 147, 152; Hills and Lucy 2013, 38–9). Indeed, many elements of the classic suite of early Anglo-Saxon material culture actually developed within Britain as opposed to having been created on the continent (Hills 2003, 104–7; Owen-Crocker 2004, 13), with new identities beingmade in Britain rather than being imported frommainland Europe (Hills 2011, 10).


Arts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Bennett

This paper analyzes the trends in depictions of women in Athenian vase-painting during the 5th century BCE through an examination of approximately 88,000 vases in the Beazley Archive Pottery Database. It found a 15% increase in depictions of women during the 5th century BCE and a diversification in subject matter in which women appear. By considering these trends within the historical context of the hegemonic position of Athens in the Delian League and its wars, this paper proposes that the changes in representations and subject matter denote an expanded marketability of vases to female viewers. As targeted imagery, the images give perceptible recognition to an increased valuation of women’s work and lives at a time when their roles in Athenian society were essential for the continued success of the city-state. This paper suggests that these changes also point to the fact that a greater share of the market was influenced by women, either directly or indirectly, and successful artists carefully crafted targeted advertisements on their wares to attract that group. This paper provides new insights into the relationships between vases and their intended audiences within the context of the cultural changes occurring in Athens itself.


Author(s):  
Magali Coumert

Ethnogenesis theory has brought about a seminal shift in research on ethnic identities. This chapter maps the fluidity of Frankish identity in the Merovingian realm, illustrating that the assertion and role of ethnic identity depended on the specific context in which such claims were made. In the fifth century, elite Romans and Franks were open to innovation and local collaborations. As demonstrated by Salic Law, the Merovingians built their kingdom on territorial authority. Only after 580 did they choose to be linked with the Franks as a specific group, in the context of the civil wars and the partition of the territory among different kings. From the seventh century, the Merovingian kings voluntarily increased the legal diversity inherited from the conquests with laws for specific groups, like the Lex Ribuaria, distinguished by their place of origin. This custom highlighted royal authority as well as autonomy within the kingdom. Interest in the gens Francorum grew in parallel. The eighth century brought a new unification of the Franks with Merovingian and Pippinid leaders.


1970 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Cunliffe

SummaryExcavations at Portchester Castle have produced evidence of occupation throughout the Saxon period. After the cessation of standard Roman wares and local hand-made types early in the fifth century two Grubenhäuser were built. The contemporary assemblage, assignable to the mid fifth century, included (?) imported carinated bowls and local hand-made grass-tempered wares made in the Roman tradition. Late in the fifth or early in the sixth century stamped Saxon urns appear and probably continue, alongside the grass-tempered tradition, into the seventh century. An association of a grass-tempered pot with an imported glass vessel of eighth-century date shows that the local tradition persisted, but by the middle of the eighth century hand-made jars in gritty fabrics, like those from Hamwih, appear in a substantial rubbish deposit which belongs to the initial occupation of the hall complex. By the tenth century a new style of wheel-thrown pottery, called here Portchester ware, is dominant. It is mass produced and distributed largely from the Isle of Wight to central Hampshire and from the Sussex border to the River Mean. Contemporary forms include imported wares, green-glazed pitchers, pots from the Chichester region, and an assemblage made in a wheel-made continuation of the local gritty-fabric tradition. Portchester ware had gone out of use by 1100 at the latest.


Author(s):  
Brekoulakis Stavros

This chapter argues that the doctrine of public policy currently adopted by legal discourse in arbitration is conceptually and methodologically confusing, and outdated. It is conceptually confusing because there is usually no explanation about how the content of public policy is ascertained or whether the doctrine functions as a legal principle or a set of legal rules. The doctrine of public policy, as a structured set of legal rules, can be better conceived of as a doctrine of national law. The rules of public policy can also be ascertained from a careful analysis of the historical context and jurisprudential development of the doctrine. The chapter first looks into the concept and function of public policy in English law and jurisprudence. It then focuses on the role of public policy in English private international law, before finally ascertaining the rules of public policy in English arbitration law.


What are divine powers? What is their relation to divine nature? Is power the essence of divinity, or are divine powers distinct from divine essence? Are they divine hypostases or are they divine attributes? How are they manifested? In what do their differ from the physical powers we find instantiated in nature? In which way, if at all, can they be apprehended by our limited cognitive capacities? The twelve chapters in this volume examine the way in which such and suchlike questions were addressed in the philosophical and theological debates that took place in a broad geographical spectrum, extending from Syria to Italy and from Greece to Egypt and North Africa, over a span of four centuries, from the first down to the fifth century CE. The first part of the volume deals with the treatment of divine power in the work of the four major figures of Neoplatonism, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus, as well as in the Orphic Rhapsodies, the Neoplatonic ‘Sacred Discourse’ par excellence. The second part of the volume investigates the Christian doctrines of divine power from the beginnings to the Cappadocian Fathers. Special importance is attached to the canonical texts of early Christianity. Thus, through the close and careful analysis of the shared but disputed notion of divine power, the volume as a whole makes a strong claim that pagan Platonic and Christian thought of that period should be examined comparatively.


2017 ◽  
Vol 04 (02) ◽  
pp. 1750009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Frei ◽  
Petra Kelly-Voicu

During the late summer and early autumn of 2011, the Catskill Mountains in south-central New York State experienced devastating flooding associated with former Hurricane Irene and former Tropical Storm Lee. Even in this particularly flood-prone region, the events of fall 2011 are perceived to be unique in the known history of the region and marked a turning point in the perceptions of residents about climate change. Here, precipitation and stream gage records are analyzed to determine just how unusual this season was. The historical precipitation gage record requires careful analysis due to the changing availability of stations. After a set of stations is developed that is appropriate for this analysis, events of lengths 1 day, 5 days, and 60 days are analyzed to identify regionally significant events (as opposed to events localized to one basin) since the early 20th century and to evaluate Irene and Lee in that historical context. Gage record results corroborate the perceptions of local residents that the period between 1996 and 2011, and in particular the events of fall 2011, were unprecedented in the last 100 years and as inferred from analyses of regional tree rings, probably in the last 500 years.


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