Gift-giving in Byzantine Diplomacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-165
Author(s):  
Jorg Kustermans

Summary Gift exchange was an integral and crucial part of Byzantine diplomacy. The practice of Byzantine gift-giving varied with diplomatic context. The main division is that between Byzantine diplomacy with Muslim rulers and Byzantine diplomacy with (Christian) rulers to the North and West. While the former happened on a more egalitarian footing, the latter was structured in more explicitly hierarchical terms. This difference was reflected in the practice of gift exchange: in who participated, how they comported themselves and the nature of the objects being exchanged. Even so, in both contexts, the function of diplomatic gift-giving was to claim and justify authority, be that the authority of the One (Byzantine Emperor) over the Many (Christian rulers, people of the Roman lands), or the authority of the Few (Byzantine Emperor and Muslim Caliph) over the Many (their respective subordinates).

1981 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-238
Author(s):  
Judie Newman

Emerson's essay on “Gifts” perceptively highlights the ambivalence felt in gift-giving or receiving, an ambivalence which lies at the heart of Saul Bellow's most recent novel, Humboldt's Gift. The importance of literal gift-giving has been insufficiently recognised as a factor which governs the action of the novel, our understanding of which is enhanced by an examination and application of the sociological analysis of gift-exchange.Gift-exchange has been most extensively studied in relation to the North-West Coast American Indians, notably the Kwakiutl, in whose culture the “potlatch” is a central activity. The term “potlatch” is applied to a variety of gift-giving ceremonies, involving both the giving away of quantities of possessions and their wilful destruction. The whole of a man's worldly goods may be dispersed or destroyed in this fashion, in an attempt to maintain status. To eclipse a rival chief, for example, a man may destroy all his own accumulated wealth. While in theory the “gift” is spontaneous and disinterested, in practice it is based on political or economic self-interest.The gift of property implies an obligation in the recipient which, if not fulfilled, results in his loss of face.


2021 ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Л.Б. ХАВЖОКОВА

Статья посвящена изучению поэтического наследия – одной из многочисленных граней творчества кабардинского поэта, писателя, драматурга, ученого-лингвиста Бориса Кунеевича Утижева. Актуальность исследования продиктована, с одной стороны, недостаточной разработанностью некоторых жанров (сонет, баллада, стихотворения в прозе) в адыгской (кабардинской) литературе, с другой – необходимостью восполнения существующего пробела в изучении поэтического наследия Б. Утижева. Научная новизна исследования заключается в том, что поэзия указанного автора впервые стала предметом отдельного комплексного изучения в диалектике формы и содержания. В центре исследовательского внимания – лирические стихи и сонеты поэта. Отдельное внимание уделяется новаторскому жанру стихотворений в прозе, выявляется специфика их идейно-тематической и структурно-композиционной организации. Детализированному анализу подвергается единственная баллада «Песнь», дается жанровая характеристика, выявляется степень соответствия произведения заявленному автором жанру. В целом, в статье рассмотрена тематика и проблематика, эстетика и поэтика лирических и лиро-эпических произведений: выявлены основные мотивы, изучен богатый поэтический язык, представлена характеристика индивидуально-авторского стиля Утижева. Определен вклад поэта в эволюцию национальной поэзии. В работе использован ряд научных методов, в числе главных – анализ, описание, а также герменевтический метод. Полученные результаты могут стать подспорьем при изучении истории адыгских (адыгейской, кабардинской, черкесской, черкесского зарубежья) литератур, в более общем плане – литературы народов Северного Кавказа и Российской Федерации, а также при составлении спецкурсов и написании квалификационных и другого рода исследовательских работ. The article is devoted to the study of the poetic heritage of Boris Kuneevich Utizhev, that is one of the many facets of the work of the Kabardian poet, writer, playwright, scientist-linguist. The relevance of the study is dictated, on the one hand, by the insufficient development of some genres (sonnets, ballads, prose poems) in the Adyghe (Kabardian) literature, on the other hand, by the need to fill the existing gap in the study of B. Utizhev's poetic heritage. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the poetry of this author for the first time became the subject of a separate comprehensive study in the dialectic of form and content. The focus of research is the poet's poems and sonnets. Special attention is paid to the innovative genre of prose poems, the specificity of their ideological-thematic and structural-compositional organization is revealed. The only ballad "Song" is subjected to a detailed analysis, a genre characteristic is given, the degree of conformity of the work to the genre declared by the author is revealed. In general, the article examines the topics and problems, aesthetics and poetics of lyric and lyric-epic works: the main motives are revealed, the rich poetic language is studied, the characteristic of Utizhev’s individual author style is presented. The contribution of the poet to the evolution of national poetry is determined. A number of scientific methods were used in the work, among the main ones - analysis, description, as well as comparative-historical and hermeneutic methods. The results obtained can be helpful in studying the history of the Adyghe (Adyghean, Kabardian, Circassian, Circassian abroad) literatures, more generally – the literature of the peoples of the North Caucasus and the Russian Federation, as well as in the preparation of special courses and writing qualification and other types of research work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27

U uvodu se daju temeljni podatci o genezi, rasprostiranju i podjeli kajkavskog narječja. Najbliže se činje- ničnom stanju o genezi kajkavskog narječja smatra mišljenje Z. Junkovića koji je smatrao da je kajkavski dijalekt pripadao panonskoj skupini zapadnoga južnoslavenskoga prajezika koju bi po njemu još spadali prleški, prekmurski i neki zapadnoštajerski govori. Osmanlijska osvajanja uzrokovala su velike migracije stanovništva prema sjeveru i zapadu, a stanovništvo koje ga je kasnije supstituiralo bilo je uglavnom s pod- ručja štokavskog narječja. Od mnogih podjela kajkavskog narječja apostrofira se ona Mije Lončarića koji ga je podijelio na 15 dijalekata.U daljem dijelu rada prikazuju se neke najtipičnije jezične osobine kajkavskih govora na fonološkoj, mor- fološkoj i sintaktičkoj razini. Daju se primjeri minimalnih fonoloških parova između različitih istovrsnih samoglasnika o- ili e- kategorije u pojedinim kajkavskim govorima. U nekim govorima izgubljena je opreka po kvantiteti jer je u tim govorima, kako bi se nadoknadila razlikovna obilježja koja postoje u govorima gdje postoje te opreke, došlo do prefonologizacije prozodijskih suprasegmentalnih obilježja u segmentne. Eliminacija kvantitete važna je poveznica kajkavskog govora s istokom slavenskoga sjevera te poljskim i lužičkim jezicima.Od morfoloških osobina posebno se ističe izricanje morfoloških kategorija s alternacijama samoglasni- ka u nekim dijalektima. Još se apostrofira čuvanje supina, gubitak vokativa, nepostojanje duge množine u A-deklinaciji i nestanak dvojine.U zaključku se kaže da će većina opisa kajkavskih govora koji se u dijalektološkoj literaturi još uvijek navode kao sinkronijska činjenica vrlo brzo postati jezična dijakronija jer su kod većine ispitanika prisutni su znakovi procesa erozije govora koje navodi C. Hagège. Tih promjena ispitanici uglavnom nisu svjesni i oni su većinom još uvijek uvjereni da govore izvornom kajkavštinom, a ne interdijalektom u kojem je veći- na specifičnih osobina njihovih mjesnih govora reducirana. Zaključuje se da kajkavsko narječje ipak neće doživjeti svoj nestanak, već će nestati specifičnosti pojedinih skupina i mjesnih govora s trajno očuvanim „čvrstim dijelovima“.The introduction provides basic data on the genesis, distribution, and division of the Kajkavian dialect. It is thought that the closest to the factual situation on the genesis of the Kajkavian dialect is the opinion of Z. Junković, who believed that the Kajkavian dialect belonged to the Pannonian group of the Western South Slavic proto-language, which according to him would still include the dialects of Prlekija, the dialect of Prekmurje as well as some West Styrian dialects. The Ottoman conquests caused large migrations of the population to the north and west, and the population that later replaced it was mainly from the area of the Štokavian dialect. Of the many divisions of the Kajkavian dialect, the one by Mijo Lončarić is usually em- phasized; it divides the Kajkavian dialect into 15 dialects.The following part of the paper continues to present some of the most typical linguistic features of the Kajkavian vernaculars at the phonological, morphological, and syntactic level. Examples of minimal phono- logical pairs between different identical vowels of the o- or e-category in individual Kajkavian vernaculars are given. In some vernaculars, the opposition in quantity was lost because in these vernaculars, in order to compensate for the distinctive features that exist in vernaculars where these contradictions exist, the prosodic suprasegmental features were transformed into segmental ones. The elimination of quantity is an important link between the Kajkavian dialect and the east of the Slavic North as well as the Polish and the Lusatian language.Among the morphological features, the pronunciation of morphological categories with vowel alterna- tions in some dialects stands out. The emphasis is on the preservation of the supine, the loss of the vocative, the absence of the long plural in the A-declension, and the disappearance of the dual.In conclusion, it is said that most descriptions of Kajkavian vernaculars that are still cited in the dialec- tological literature as a synchronic fact will soon become linguistic diachrony because most respondents have signs of the vernacular erosion process cited by C. Hagège. Respondents are largely unaware of these changes and are mostly still convinced that they speak the original Kajkavian rather than an interdialect in which most of the specific characteristic features of their local dialects have been reduced. It is concluded that the Kajkavian dialect will not disappear but the specific features of individual groups and local dialects with permanently preserved “solid parts” will not be preserved.


1945 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 245-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fowler

The Magnesian Limestone of England forms a comparatively narrow outcrop stretching southwards for about 150 miles from South Shields to Nottingham. At either end the formation is fairly well known from the many quarries and sections opened up in the industrial areas of East Durham on the one hand and South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire on the other. Away from these regions, however, our knowledge is scanty, and particularly so in the North Riding of Yorkshire, in the tract of country between the rivers Tees and Swale. Information is lacking mainly because the district is so thickly covered with Glacial and Recent deposits that, except at the extreme ends of this Tees-Swale stretch, rock is nowhere exposed. All the way from the Darlington country down to Catterick and beyond, for sheer lack of evidence the Trias—Magnesian Limestone boundary was assumed to be of normal, unfaulted character, but all was so uncertain that any borings in the area were likely to prove invaluable. How invaluable will be gathered from the following account of two recent bores, which throws an entirely new light, not only on the geological structure but also on the stratigraphy of this obscure region.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Aitken

Bailey, Linda.  When Santa Was a Baby, illustrated by Geneviève Godbout.  Tundra Books, 2015.Linda Bailey draws heavily on Clement C. Moore’s  The Night Before Christmas in creating this portrait of the child Santa Claus.  As an infant, his dimples are “merry;” his nose, “Like a cherry.” His baby voice booms “Ho! Ho! Ho!” and his preferred color is red.  As a young child, he hitches eight baby hamsters to a matchbox sled and begins to name his chargers: “ Dasher…Dancer…Comet…Vixen.” By the time he develops an interest in chimneys, and sullies his clothing with ashes and soot, we are beginning to feel that the literary allusions are a bit forced. To be fair, young readers and listeners who have heard the recitation of Moore’s classic not nearly so often as has this reviewer might find the allusions quite provocative and amusing.Bailey does attempt to convey the spirit of St. Nicholas, the legendary fourth-century Bishop of Myra, with whom, we believe, many stories of generous and anonymous gift giving began.  We know that over the course of the centuries, the idea of a gift-giving saint gave rise to such figures as “Sinterklaas” in the Netherlands, “Father Christmas” in the British Isles, and “Santa Claus” in North America.  Bailey’s assertion that the young Santa was a child who gave his presents away is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the original saint.  Her suggestion, however, that he preferred frigid surroundings, hence, settled at the North Pole, does not square so easily with what we know of a bishop who lived on a Mediterranean shore where the legends of his charitable acts arose.  None-the-less, if Moore could use artistic license in his vision of Santa Claus, so can Bailey.The illustrations of Geneviève Godbout are a lively accompaniment to this tale.  Godbout’s experience as a film animator are evident in her ability to produce facial expressions with strong, simple lines, good color contrast between background and foreground figures, and excellent focal points even in fairly detailed illustrations.  These features make her work a good choice for use in classroom or library story hours.In sum, the storyline of When Santa Was a Baby is very dependent upon The Night Before Christmas and would succeed best with (and seem most humorous to) children who are familiar with that classic verse.   Fortunately, the many reprintings, picture book interpretations and performances of Moore’s work are widely available. Teachers, parents and librarians should have no trouble laying the groundwork for an appreciation of Bailey’s picture book.Reviewer:  Leslie AitkenRecommended: 3 out of 4 starsLeslie Aitken’s long career in librarianship included selection of children’s literature for school, public, special and academic libraries. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-110
Author(s):  
Rachel Fensham

The Viennese modern choreographer Gertrud Bodenwieser's black coat leads to an analysis of her choreography in four main phases – the early European career; the rise of Nazism; war's brutality; and postwar attempts at reconciliation. Utilising archival and embodied research, the article focuses on a selection of Bodenwieser costumes that survived her journey from Vienna, or were remade in Australia, and their role in the dramaturgy of works such as Swinging Bells (1926), The Masks of Lucifer (1936, 1944), Cain and Abel (1940) and The One and the Many (1946). In addition to dance history, costume studies provides a distinctive way to engage with the question of what remains of performance, and what survives of the historical conditions and experience of modern dance-drama. Throughout, Hannah Arendt's book The Human Condition (1958) provides a critical guide to the acts of reconstruction undertaken by Bodenwieser as an émigré choreographer in the practice of her craft, and its ‘materializing reification’ of creative thought. As a study in affective memory, information regarding Bodenwieser's personal life becomes interwoven with the author's response to the material evidence of costumes, oral histories and documents located in various Australian archives. By resurrecting the ‘dead letters’ of this choreography, the article therefore considers how dance costumes offer the trace of an artistic resistance to totalitarianism.


Imbizo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54
Author(s):  
Oyeh O. Otu

This article examines how female conditioning and sexual repression affect the woman’s sense of self, womanhood, identity and her place in society. It argues that the woman’s body is at the core of the many sites of gender struggles/ politics. Accordingly, the woman’s body must be decolonised for her to attain true emancipation. On the one hand, this study identifies the grave consequences of sexual repression, how it robs women of their freedom to choose whom to love or marry, the freedom to seek legal redress against sexual abuse and terror, and how it hinders their quest for self-determination. On the other hand, it underscores the need to give women sexual freedom that must be respected and enforced by law for the overall good of society.


EMPIRISMA ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fathimatuz Zahra Dan Abdul Azis

Pati is a region on the north coast, according to the hypothesis of the researcher, the region is divided into three categories. The northern regions are more religious, the central is more plural, while the southern region is in the middle. In the central region there are many relics of tombs believed to be the those of the Muslim proselytizers in the area of Pati. The one that attracts the researcher is a tomb in the Gambiran area, where there are five local Muslim saints buried, one of them belons to mbah Hendro Kusumo, the son of Syech Ahmad Mutamakkin. This article attempts to trace back the spreading of Islam in Pati based on the existence of thetomb of Mbah Hendro Kusumo. It wants to answer question of whethere the existence of his tomb is due to his studying there or marital relationship, and how it relates to the spreading of Islam.Keywords: Mbah Hendro Kusumo, Traces of Islamic Dakwah, Islam


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