The Early History of Music Writing in the West

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Treitler
Keyword(s):  
The West ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 197-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Carley

The earliest identified surviving manuscripts from Glastonbury Abbey date from the ninth and tenth centuries, but there are reliable post-Conquest traditions claiming that valuable books were found at the monastery as early as the reign of Ine, king of the West Saxons (688–726). By the tenth century at the latest there are reports of an ‘Irish school’ at Glastonbury, famous for its learning and books, and St Dunstan's earliest biographer, the anonymous. B., relates that Dunstan himself studied with the Irish at Glastonbury. During Dunstan's abbacy (940–56) – that is, at the period when most historians would place the beginnings of the English tenth-century reform movement – there was a general revival at Glastonbury which included a concerted policy of book acquisition and the establishment of a productive scriptorium. Not surprisingly, Dunstan's abbacy was viewed by the community ever afterwards as one of the most glorious periods in the early history of the monastery, especially since the later Anglo-Saxon abbots showed a marked falling off in devotion and loyalty to the intellectual inheritance of their monastery. Æthelweard and Æthelnoth, the last two Anglo-Saxon abbots, were especially reprehensible, and confiscated lands and ornaments for the benefit of their own kin. Nor did the situation improve immediately after the Conquest: the first Norman abbot, Thurstan, actually had to call in soldiers to quell his unruly monks. In spite of these disruptions, a fine collection of pre-Conquest books seems to have survived more or less intact into the twelfth century; when the seasoned traveller and connoisseur of books, William of Malmesbury, saw the collection in the late 1120s he was greatly impressed: ‘tanta librorum pulchritudo et antiquitas exuberat’.


1986 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Law

The history of the Yoruba, as is well known, is very poorly documented from contemporary European sources prior to the nineteenth century, in comparison with their neighbors Benin to the east and the states of the ‘Slave Coast’ (Allada, Whydah, and Dahomey) to the west. There is, however, one Yoruba kingdom which features in contemporary European sources from quite early times, and for which at least intermittent documentation extends through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This is the kingdom of Ijebu in southern Yorubaland. The availability of contemporary European documentation for the early history of Ijebu is especially valuable since the historical traditions of Ijebu itself do not appear to be very rich.Such, at least, is the impression given by published accounts of Ijebu history: although a large number of kings of Ijebu are recalled, thereby suggesting for the kingdom a considerable antiquity, and though there is some recollection locally of early contacts with the Portuguese, it does not seem that Ijebu traditions record much in the way of a detailed narrative of the kingdom's early history. At the same time, the European sources referring to Ijebu present considerable problems of interpretation, particularly with regard to establishing how far successive references to the kingdom constitute new original information rather than merely copying a limited range of early sources, and consideration of them helps to illuminate the character of early European sources for west African history in general. For these reasons, it seems a useful exercise to pull together all the available early European source material relating to Ijebu down to the late seventeenth century.


1881 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 174-215
Author(s):  
Henry H. Howorth

In the previous papers which I have had the honour of reading before the Royal Historical Society, I have tried to elucidate the first adventures of the Norse pirates in the west, as related in the contemporary Frank and Irish annals, and have thus laid the foundation for an examination of the earlier story as contained in the Sagas. This is a singularly difficult field of inquiry, and one which has baffled many explorers. I can only hope to throw a few more rays of light into a very dark and perplexed subject. The Sagas are divided by Mr. Laing into two classes, historical (including biographical) and fabulous. Of the former, the most important were the Sagas, included in the works of Saxo Grammaticus, and Snorro the son of Sturle—two works of world-wide repute, and which have been (especially the former) a riddle and puzzle to most inquirers. Before we grapple with the problem before us, we must first dissect these two famous compilations.


Author(s):  
Esailama G. A. Diouf

Esailama Diouf delves deep into history and genealogy to detail the significant politico-cultural figures, dance artists, institutions, and cultural nationalist positions that allowed for a reclaimed connection between African diasporic dance forms and spirit knowing. Dismantling still lingering European and North American notions of Africa and African dance and drumming, which permeate the early history of dance in the Americas, Diouf points to restoring notions of genetic birthrights and culture transmission for African Americans through a renaissance of West African dance and music on the West Coast, specifically in California. Her findings give dancers more awareness and understanding and thereby, the chance to embody their claim to spirit through communal African dance and music


Author(s):  
А.Л. Чибиров

В статье на основе историографических данных освещаются вопросы ранней истории иранских племен южной России, населявших обширные территории Великой Степи, протянувшейся от Байкала на востоке до среднего течения Дуная на западе. Будучи гигантским природным коридором, соединявшим цивилизации Азии и Европы, Великая Степь являлась естественным продолжением иранского культурного мира, определявшего собой культурный облик прикаспийской и приаральской Азии и тесно связанного с культурным миром Месопотамии. Великая Степь постоянно принимала поток мигрантов-кочевников, двигавшихся с востока на запад. В историографии зона постоянных ареальных контактов названа циркумпонтийским регионом, с разных сторон примыкающим к Черному морю. Данные археологии дают основания усматривать здесь экспансию кавказских металлургических центров и связанных с ними степных групп в балкано-дунайский регион, что является результатом расселения древних индоевропейцев из каспийско-черноморских степей на запад и юго-запад с дальнейшим выделением конкретных индоевропейских групп. Одним из первых ученых, уделившим пристальное внимание иранству и эллинству как основе, на которой зарождалось славянство в южнорусских степях, был М.И.Ростовцев, роль и значимость которого для российской археологии и антиковедения трудно переоценить. The article on the basis of the historiographic data highlights the early history of the Iranian tribes of Southern Russia, which inhabited the vast territory of the Great Steppe, stretching from the Baikal in the east to the middle reaches of the Danube in the west. Being a gigantic natural corridor connecting the civilizations of Asia and Europe, the Great Steppe was a natural continuation of the Iranian cultural world, which determined the cultural image of the Caspian and the Aral Sea Asia and was closely connected with the cultural world of Mesopotamia. The Great Steppe constantly received a stream of nomad migrants moving from east to west. In historiography, the zone of constant areal contacts is called the Circumpontic region, which from different directions was adjacent to the Black Sea. Archeological data give grounds to see here the expansion of the Caucasian metallurgical centers and related steppe groups into the Balkan-Danube region, which is the result of the settlement of the ancient Indo-Europeans from the Caspian-Black Sea steppes to the west and south-west with the further identification of specific Indo-European groups. One of the first scholars to pay close attention to Iran and Hellenism as the basis on which Slavs arose in the southern Russian steppes was M.I.Rostovtsev, whose role and significance for Russian archeology and study of antiquity can hardly be overestimated.


2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-81
Author(s):  
JESSICA NEUWIRTH ◽  
ROBERT PAYNTER ◽  
KEVIN SWEENEY ◽  
BRADEN PAYNTER ◽  
ABBOTT LOWELL CUMMINGS

Abstract This interview discusses Abbott Lowell Cummings' life and work as a public historian, focusing in particular on his long career at the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England). It deals with the early history of SPNEA under William Sumner Appleton and Bertram K. Little, but focuses particularly on the post-1955 development of the organization after Cummings' arrival and on the refinement of SPNEA's collection of historical buildings through deaccessioning and the establishment of increasingly professionalized standards for preservation, conservation, and interpretation. It also discusses important preservation battles in Boston, such as the fight to preserve the West End from urban renewal and the battle over whether to tear down Victorian architecture on Beacon Hill.


Author(s):  
Alexandr Malov

Introduction. The article is devoted to the first mention of people and events related to the fortress of Tsaritsyn restored in 1615 in the account books of the treasury court, starting with the first mention and up to 1622. Methods and materials. In total, the account books of the treasury court kept records of 36 cases of granting fabrics for the outlined period. These records on services at the fortress contain the names of 72 servicemen including: voivode, 8 boyar’s children, 2 colonels, 5 sotniks and 25 Tsaritsyn streltsy, 8 Tsaritsyn pathfinders. According to published materials of the Order-in-charge Prikaz, the paper analyzes the dynamics of Tsaritsyn garrison restoration correlating with the data of account records. Analysis. The analysis of systemized records from September 1619 shows that the Tsaritsyn garrison was fully restored after the restoration of the fortress and was able to defend not only the fortress, but also the entire territory controlled by it. The garrison carried out all the basic functions to combat the Cossack robberies on the Volga and cleared areas of steppe roads situated on the West and East of Tsaritsyn from the Azov, Nagai and Cossack robbers. Results. As a result, the study introduces a valuable set of written sources into scientific use, which made it possible to clarify a whole range of issues and problems of the early history of Tsaritsyn.


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