Telling and retelling of early history between the Middle Ages and the 18th century: the Hungarian raids. The cases of the battles of Pressburg (907) and Lechfeld (955)

2012 ◽  
pp. 1189-1197
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Early History ◽  
The Middle Ages

scholarly journals Procesy i egzekucje „żywych trupów” przed sądami miejskimi i wiejskimi w XVI–XVIII wieku – przyczynek do wierzeń w magia posthuma na Śląsku

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4 (1)) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Daniel Wojtucki
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Expert Witnesses ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Living Dead ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Middle Ages

There are references reaching back to the Middle Ages, regarding the fear of the “undead” or “living dead” who would rise from their graves in a local cemetery to haunt and harm the community. The fear of the “undead” was extremely strong, and the entailing hysteria often affected entire communities. In the 16th to the 18th century, in Silesia, effective forms of coping with the harmful deceased were developed. Analysing the preserved source material, we are able to determine that the basic actions involved finding the grave of the “undead” in the cemetery, exhuming the corpse and destroying it. However, this did not always mean the total annihilation of the poor man’s corpse. The trial and execution of the corpse of a person suspected of the harmful activity against the living took place observing almost the same rules as in the case of the living. Apart from the authorities, who usually commissioned local jurors to handle the situation, opinions and advice were also sought from the clergy as well as gravediggers and executioners. The last were considered to be experts of sorts and were often called upon to see corpses of the suspected dead. In the analysed cases of posthumous magic (magia posthuma) in Silesia, we deal with two directions of handling the corpse accused of a harmful posthumous activity. In both cases, the main decision was made to remove such corpses from the cemetery’s area. Costs of the trial and execution of the “undead” were considerable. They included expenses incurred due to rather frequent court hearings at which sometimes dozens of witnesses were heard, payments to expert witnesses, payments to guards watching graves, costs of legal instructions, services of gravediggers who would dig up suspicious graves, and, finally, the remuneration of executioners and their people. In the second half of the 18th century, despite relevant decrees issued by supreme authorities, trials and executions of the dead were not completely abandoned.

scholarly journals Romantic medievalism from a new comparative perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 253
Author(s):  
Dariusz Seweryn
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Third Reich ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
European Culture ◽  
Romantic Movement ◽  
The Middle Ages

From certain point of view a desperate defense of an aesthetic doctrine of classicism, undertaken by Jan Śniadecki, a Polish mathematician and astronomer of the eighteenth century, resembles the E. R. Curtius’ thesis on “Latinism” as a universal factor integrating European culture; it may be stated that post-Stanislavian classical writers in Poland were driven by the same “concern for the preservation of Western culture” which motivated Ernst Robert Curtius in the times of the Third Reich and after its collapse. But the noble-minded intentions were in both cases grounded on similarly distorted perspective, which ensued from a mistificatory attitude towards a non-Latin heritage of the European culture. The range of that mystification or delusion has been fully revealed by findings made by modern so-called new comparative mythology/philology. Another aspect of the problem is an uniform model of the Middle Ages, partially correlated with the Enlightenment-based stereotype of “the dark Middle Ages”, which despite of its anachronism existed in literary studies for a surprisingly long period of time. Although the Romantic Movement of 18th – 19th centuries has been quite correctly acknowledged as an anti-Latinistic upheaval, its real connections with certain traditions of Middle Ages still remain not properly understood. Some concepts concerning Macpherson’s The Works of ossian, put forward by modern ethnology, may yield clues to the research on the question. As suggested by Joseph Falaky Nagy, Macpherson’s literary undertaking may by looked into as a parallel to Acallam na Senórach compiled in Ireland between 11th and 13th centuries: in both cases to respond to threats to the Gaelic culture there arose a literary monument and compendium of the commendable past with the core based on the Fenian heroic tradition that was the common legacy for the Irish and Highlanders. Taking into consideration some other evidence, it can be ascertained that Celtic and Germanic revival initiated in the second half of 18th century was not only one of the most important impulses for the Romantic Movement, but it was also, in a sense, an actual continuation of the efforts of mediaeval writers and compilers (Geoffrey of Monmouth, Snorri Sturluson, Saxo Grammaticus, anonymous compilers of Lebor gabála Érenn and Acallam, Wincenty Kadłubek), who would successfully combine Latin, i.e. classical, and ecclesiastical erudition with a desire to preserve and adapt in a creative way their own “pagan” and “barbarian” legacy. A special case of this (pre)Romantic revival concerns Slavic cultures, in particular the Polish one. Lack of source data on the oldest historical and cultural tradition of Slavic languages, especially in the Western region, and no record about Slavic tradition in highbrow literary culture induced two solutions: the first one was a production of philological forgeries (like Rukopis královédvorský and Rukopis zelenohorský), the second one was an attempt to someway reconstruct that lost heritage. Works of three Romantic historians, W. Surowiecki, W. A. Maciejowski, F. H. Lewestam, shows the method. Seemingly contradicting theories they put forward share common ground in aspects which are related to the characteristics of the first Slavic societies: a sense of being native inhabitants, pacifism, rich natural resources based on highly-effective agriculture, dynamic demography, a flattened social hierarchy and physical prowess. The fact of even greater importance is that the image of that kind has the mythological core, the circumstance which remains hitherto unnoticed. Polish historians not only tended to identify historical ancient Slavs with mythical Scandinavian Vanir (regarding it obvious), but also managed to recall the great Indo-European theme of ”founding conflict” (in Dumézilian terms), despite whole that mythological model being far beyond the horizon of knowledge at that time. Despite all anachronisms, lack of knowledge and instrumental involvement in aesthetic, political or religious ideology, Romanticism really started the restitution of the cultural legacy of the Middle Ages, also in domain of linguistic and philological research. The consequences of that fact should be taken into account in literary history studies.

scholarly journals Maronite writer Jibri`il Jarmanus Farhat (1670–1732) and his attempts to include the works of Christian Arab authors in the “virtual catalogue” of Arabic Muslim literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-159
Author(s):  
N. I. Serikoff
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Data Base ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
Arabic Speaking ◽  
The Middle Ages

The article deals with the activities of the Maronite patriarch Gabriel German Farhat (1670–1732) in the field of the Arab bibliography. The author argues that by the 18th century AD in the Arabic-speaking literature of the Middle East, were used two types of introductions to the written texts, the Muslim and the Christian. The metalanguage, which was employed by Muslim authors in the introductions to their texts, was very convenient for constructing book-titles that by themselves built the “data base” of the so-called the Arabic Islamic “virtual catalogue”. The metalanguage used by Christian authors was different, and therefore in the library world of the Middle Ages two traditions were incompatible and therefore existed without intersecting. The Maronite Patriarch Gabriel German Farhat, being a bibliophile and a librarian, in his writings proposed organizing introductions to Christian texts in a Muslim manner, however, preserving their Christian content.The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

scholarly journals Jesuits, Transylvanian Baroque and the Middle Ages: Ignatius Batthyány and Saint Gerardus of Cenad

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Claudiu Marius Mesaroș
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
Scientific Collections ◽  
The Middle Ages

Although considered as the end of the Late (baroque) Scholasticism, in Central Europe the 18th century still bore the substance of philosophical thinking and education of the Jesuit baroque philosophy, especially its ideal of building study societies and classical libraries accompanied by astronomical observatories and scientific collections. The Jesuit model of Eger was brought by the Transylvanian Bishop Ignatius Batthyány at Alba Iulia where he has established a learning place consisting in a classical and theological library and founded a literary society, trained a professional librarian and aimed at offering a study place for meritory scholars. He was himself a theologian, paleographer and historian, edited and commented on the treatise Deliberatio supra hymnum trium puerorum ad Isingrimum liberalem by the 11th century Benedictine Bishop Gerardus of Cenad. Bishop Batthyány was for many reasons a baroque scholar although many times introduced as a man of Enlightenment by some historians.

Was hat «Holznot» mit «Hungersnot» zu tun? Reformbemühungen der Ökonomischen Kommission von Zürich im 18. Jahrhundert | The relationship between wood scarcity and food scarcity. Reform movement of the Economical Commission of Zurich in the 18th century

2004 ◽  
Vol 155 (8) ◽  
pp. 320-327
Author(s):  
Katja Hürlimann
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Reform Movement ◽  
Mutual Dependence ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Two Sectors ◽  
The Middle Ages

Shortages of wood and grain threatened pre-modern societies from the Middle-Ages onwards. The many economical societies,which arose in Europe in the second half of the 18th century,tried to combat such shortages by calling for agricultural and silvicultural reforms. The process of such reforms can be nicely illustrated using the example of the Economical Commission of Zurich. Not only does this provide an opportunity to examine the complicity and mutual dependence of the two sectors in question, it also serves to show the discursive character of both wood and food scarcity. The warnings and reform proposals emanating from the Zurich economists were rarely based, it must be said, on any personal experience of shortages.

Art. XIII.—The Origin and Early History of Chess

1898 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-141
Author(s):  
A. A. Macdonell
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
New World ◽  
Early History ◽  
European Languages ◽  
European Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Middle Ages

No game occupies so important a position in the history of the world as that of chess. It is not only at the present day, but has been for many centuries, the most cosmopolitan of pastimes; and though one of the oldest known to civilization, it is yet undoubtedly the most intellectual. Long familiar to all the countries of the East, it has also been played for hundreds of years throughout Europe, whence it has spread to the New World, and wherever else European culture has found a footing. A map indicating the diffusion of chess over the habitable globe would therefore show hardly any blanks. Probably no other pastime of any kind can claim so many periodicals devoted exclusively to its discussion; certainly no other has given rise to so extensive a literature. The influence of chess may be traced in the poetry of the Middle Ages, in the idioms of most modern European languages, in the science of arithmetic, and even in the art of heraldry. An investigation as to its origin, development, and early diffusion therefore forms a not unimportant chapter in the history of civilization.

The evolution of the goals and conditions of the execution of the penalty of deprivation of liberty from the Middle Ages to the present day

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-72
Author(s):  
Justyna Bieda ◽  
Katarzyny Rydz-Sybilak
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Basic Premise ◽  
Moral Improvement ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Republic ◽  
And Function ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
The Middle Ages

The functions of prisons in old Poland, their role and organization changed along with the evolution of views on the objectives of the institution of punishment in the system of criminal law. The picture will be completely different if the punishment is to have a main rehabilitation effect, and another when the basic premise of the penal policy is the principle of deterrence, not the moral improvement of the offender (it was in Poland until the 18th century). The penalty of deprivation of liberty could be carried out in five different ways. The choice of prison was primarily determined by the type of crime committed, but also the state of the convict was very important. The first, as early as the 12th-13th centuries are prisons, in which the population of lower states, ie townsmen, and peasants, were imprisoned. Initially, they play only a preventive role. In the Middle Ages, an upper tower was also developed, mainly applied to the nobility, it was an institution in which convicted in decent, even home conditions performed his penance. In the modern era, ie in the first half of the 16th century, a lower tower is being established, often not so much a place of imprisonment, but a place of slow death. Significant changes in the character and function of penitentiary institutions were brought by the 18th century, which was connected with the enlightenment flowing into the Republic of Poland, under which the punishment was also to be a means of improvement and rehabilitation, and not only revenge. The practice of imprisoning people in the tower, which was only a place of penance, deprived of any rehabilitation factors, slowly disappears, while prison comes to the fore. Here, the marshal prison should be pointed out, constituting a symbol of changes taking place, a modern facility in which the convict punished in humane conditions for those times, but above all, he was cared for his moral improvement, so that in the future he would not return to crime. The houses of improvement and forced labor houses started to play an extremely important role, the goal of which was to improve the prisoners through work and prayer.

Nicolas of Clairvaux and the Twelfth-Century Sequence with Special Reference to Adam of St. Victor

Traditio ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 149-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Benton
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Early History ◽  
Close Connection ◽  
Modern Drama ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Middle Ages ◽  
The Way

The vast number and variety of sequences, those liturgical interpolations which in the middle ages commonly followed the repetition of the Alleluia in the Mass, and the freedom of their development, show that they were an outlet for the creative talents of musicians and poets. A sample of sequences from successive periods allows the literary historian to trace the development of rhyme and accentual meter, and a musicologist has described the sequence ‘as the parent of oratorio and the grandparent of modern drama.’ But while a view which encompasses centuries reveals to us variety and change, the compositions of any given time were largely shaped by inherited traditions. Not the least value of studies on the early history of the sequence is their demonstration of the close connection between various Alleluia melodies and their sequences and the way in which appropriate texts were fitted to melodies for specific feasts.

First documented clinical account of brachial plexus palsy from the 12th century

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Jaafar Basma ◽  
Andrew J. Gienapp ◽  
Kenan I. Arnautovic ◽  
Petros Konofaos
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Clinical Description ◽  
Neurological Injuries ◽  
Western Perspective ◽  
The Middle Ages

OBJECTIVE Although literary depiction of brachial plexus injury can be traced to Homer’s Iliad, there is a scientific consensus that the first clinical description of brachial plexus palsy was not documented until the British physician Smellie reported it in the 18th century. However, the authors’ recent review of the Syriac Book of Medicines (12th century) has uncovered a much earlier clinical documentation. METHODS For this historical vignette, the authors reviewed the historical and anatomical literature regarding earlier descriptions of brachial plexus anatomy and pathology, including a thorough analysis of the Syriac Book of Medicines (attributed to an unknown Syriac physician in the Middle Ages) and Galen’s On Anatomical Procedures and On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body. RESULTS Building on the galenic tradition with reference to independent dissections, the Syriac physician discussed nervous system anatomy and the clinical localization of neurological injuries. He described a patient who, after initial pulmonary symptoms, developed upper-extremity weakness more pronounced in the proximal muscles. His anatomical correlation placed the injury “where the nerves issue from the first and second muscles between the ribs” (scalene muscles), are “mixed,” and “spread through many parts.” The patient’s presentation and recovery raise the possibility of Parsonage-Turner syndrome. The anatomical description of the brachial plexus is in line with Galen’s earlier account and step-by-step surgical exposure, which the authors reviewed. They also examined Ibn Ilyas’ drawing of the brachial plexus, which is believed to be a copy of the earliest artistic representation of the plexus. CONCLUSIONS Whereas the Middle Ages were seen as a period of scientific stagnation from a Western perspective, Galen’s teachings continued to thrive and develop in the East. Syriac physicians were professional translators, clinicians, and anatomists. There is evidence that brachial plexus palsy was documented in the Syriac Book of Medicines 6 centuries before Smellie.

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