scholarly journals Representations of political power in medieval Iceland: Íslendingabók

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-24
Author(s):  
Costel Coroban
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Strong Position ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Political Milieu

This paper aims to analyse emblematic sources from the Golden Age of literature in High Medieval Iceland, such as Íslendingabók, from the point of view of the ideology of power, in order to compare the findings to those from other sources of the time. If in Norway towards the 13th century all power gravitated around the person of the King and the institution of the court, in Iceland the political situation from the assembly of the Alþingi in 930 up to the country’s annexation (1262) was wholly different, owing to the different political organization of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth (Þjóðveldið). The Icelandic political milieu has not been researched very extensively from the point of view of political ideology, as one of the pioneers of this approach, Jón Viðar Sigurðsson noted. There is much to be said on the subject of the worthiness of the Icelandic Family sagas as useful in describing the political ideology of power due to their role as both historical and literary sources. These skaldic texts were sponsored with specific purposes by rulers who understood how songs and stories could improve a leader’s position and prestige. As a similarity to the literature sponsored by the kings of Norway, the texts created in Iceland during the literary miracle of the Middle Ages had a greater importance for those chieftains who did not enjoy a strong position, who were either attempting to legitimate themselves as rulers of newly usurped positions, or who were threatened by stronger neighbouring rulers.

scholarly journals Intercultural Political Models in Egils Saga and Other Literary Sources. A Philological Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-48
Author(s):  
Costel Coroban
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
The Political ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
The Way

This article examines the way rulers are depicted in Icelandic literary sources such as Egils saga and some other literary sources belonging to medieval Scandinavia. We may presume that the construction and description of the image of Norwegian kings in that age, when Christianity had not totally replaced the Old beliefs in Iceland, are conclusive when attempting to better understand and analyse the mixed ideology of power in 12th and 13th century Norway and Iceland. Our aim is to explore the foundations of the political ideology of Early Medieval Norway, which were consolidated in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the authors and sources constructed an intercultural model of kingship based on the recently Christianised culture over which the influences of the old faith was overlapping.

scholarly journals On the Possibilities of Researching the Marriage Policies of the Rurikids: The Case of Mstislav Fyodor Vladimirovich Monomakhovich

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 91-110
Author(s):  
Dariusz Dąbrowski
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Source Material ◽  
The Other ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
The Political ◽  
Know How ◽  
Cultural Sphere ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One

The main goal of the article is to present the possibilities and methods of research on the Rurikid’s matrimonial policy in the Middle Ages on the example of a selected group of princes. As the subject of studies were chosen Mstislav Vladimirovich and his children. In total, 12 matrimonial relationships were included. The analysis of the source material revealed very unfavorable phenomena from the perspective of the topic under study. The Rus’ primary sources gave information on the conclusion of just four marriages out of twelve. The next four matrimonial arrangement inform foreign sources (Scandinavian and Norman). It should be emphasized particularly strongly that – save for two exceptions of Scandinavian provenance – the sources convey no information whatsoever as regards the political aims behind this or that marriage agreement. It appears, then, that the chroniclers of the period and cultural sphere in question did not regard details concerning marriages (such as their circumstances or the reasons behind them) as “information notable enough to be worth preserving”. Truth be told, even the very fact of the marriage did not always belong to this category. Due to the state of preservation of primary sources the basic question arises as to whether it is possible to study the Rurikids’ matrimonial policy? In spite of the mercilessly sparse source material, it is by all means possible to conduct feasible research on the Rurikids’ marriage policy. One must know how to do it right, however. Thus, such studies must on the one hand be rooted in a deep knowledge of the relevant sources (not only of Rus’ provenance) as well as the ability to subject them to astute analysis; on the other hand, they must adhere to the specially developed methodology, presented in the first part of the article.

An introduction to the history of modern Persian Sufism, Part I: The Ni'matullāhī order: persecution, revival and schism

1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Lewisohn
Keyword(s):  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Literature And Philosophy ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Modern Development ◽  
Mystical Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

Following the political upheavals of 1978, the history and development of Shiite religious thought in modern-day Persia has been the subject of detailed scholarly studies, but the modern development of Sufism—the mystical tradition that lies at the heart of traditional Persian culture, literature and philosophy, which is, from the cultural and literary point of view at least, the most fascinating aspect of the Perso-Islamic religious tradition—remains almost completely uncharted. In contrast to the classical and medieval periods of Persian Sufism which have undergone much scholarly investigation in recent years, the study of the modern period of Iranian tasawwuf, though far better known and documented, has been seriously neglected by scholars.

One Shepherd, One Flock

2020 ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Devereux
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Christian Order

This chapter examines Spanish, as well as Christian and Islamic, thought on “universal empire.” It analyzes the thinking on universal empire as a form of political organization that developed as a result of the protracted dialogue of competing claims by fellow Christian and Islamic polities. It also addresses Portuguese, French, and Ottoman iterations of universalist claims as the expression of a utopian ideal of religiopolitical organization. The chapter covers the political ideology of the wide variety of literature that situated the Mediterranean at the center of a drama where a universal Christian order would be instated. It also focuses on the Castilian conquest of Granada and the acquisition of numerous presidios and cities along the coast of the Maghrib, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella deployed a variety of propaganda that successfully disseminated the image of the monarchs operating in this capacity.

The Peronist Left, 1955–1975

1976 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel James
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Extensive Study ◽  
The Political ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
The Subject

The ‘Peronist Left’ has become one of the chief actors in the often violent drama of Argentine politics today. It is the object of this article to place the events of the more recent past, at least since the return of Peronism to power in 1973, within the framework of the development of the ‘Peronist Left’ since the fall of Perón in 1955. Obviously the article makes no claim to be a comprehensive treatment of the subject. Such a treatment could only be part of a much more extensive study of the Argentine working class and the Peronist movement. In particular, the article concentrates on an analysis of the political ideology of the different currents that have made up the ‘Peronist Left’ since 1955, whilst recognizing that this ideology must ultimately be seen in the far wider context of the social and economic development of Argentine society. The first part will highlight the main features of this Left in the 1955–73 period and analyze the main currents within it. In the second part of the paper the events of the last two to three years will be looked at within this context.

From Parliament to Courtroom

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lubomír Kopeček ◽  
Jan Petrov
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Political System ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Lower House ◽  
Strong Position ◽  
The Government

The Czech Constitutional Court has gained a strong position within the political system. This article examines the judicial review of legislation from the point of view of the relation between the court and the parliament. The authors analyze trends in the use of petitions proposing the annulment of statutes, who makes use of the petitions, how successful the petitioners are, and what issues the petitions concern. The article pairs a quantitative view with a qualitative analysis of key selected decisions by the court, especially in the sphere of mega-politics. The authors test whether judicial review of legislation serves as a tool for parliamentary opposition. The results show the decisive effects of a legislative majority in the lower house of the parliament. If the government lacks a majority, the use of judicial review of legislation as an oppositional tool fades. Also important is the weakness of the upper house, which makes senators more likely to resort to using judicial review of legislation. An especially crucial factor is the presence of independent and semi-independent senators who, without broader political backing, see judicial review of legislation as a welcome tool. The most frequent topics of the petitions were transitional justice, social policy, and the legislative process.

Feudalism and the Tatar Polity of the Middle Ages

1958 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Krader
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nomadic Pastoralists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural World ◽  
The Middle Ages

During the first millenium A.D. a series of states were formed by Turkic and Mongol peoples, the nomadic pastoralists of the Asian steppes - the Tatars of European and Chinese record. These political enterprises enlarged their scope and power during the period of a millenium, reaching a climax in the empire of Chingis Khan in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; from this climactic achievement they have since declined. The social and political organization as well as the economy of these peoples are at once simple and complex, primitive and advanced. The characterization of this cultural world has been given focus in a sharp controversy, the controversy over the establishment and internal ordering of the political system.

La signoria di Arena in Oltrepò. I Beccaria e la forza della comunità (secoli XIII-XVI)

2021 ◽  
pp. 133-150
Author(s):  
Maria Nadia Covini
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Small Municipality ◽  
Financial Difficulties ◽  
Political Events ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Middle Ages

The lordship of the Beccaria, a branch of the great family from Pavia, on Arena Po, was established at the end of the thirteenth century, taking advantage of both the financial difficulties of the small municipality and the power of the family in Pavia. It was meant to last for centuries. Managed in a consortium form by various Beccaria exponents, it encountered difficulties also in relation to the political events of the duchy. Various documents are examined to investigate the nature, modalities and reality of the relations between the lords and the land in the final centuries of the Middle Ages, especially from the fiscal, economic and agricultural point of view.

Nationalism in Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages

1972 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitri Obolensky
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
General Definition ◽  
The Political ◽  
European Politics ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of

The divergent views held by historians and sociologists as to what does and does not constitute nationalism will, I hope, provide me with some excuse for not attempting here a general definition of this phenomenon. Nor will I presume to adjudicate between the opinions of scholars like Hans Kohn who, confining their attention to Western Europe, will not hear of nationalism before the rise of modern states between the sixteenth and the eighteenth century, and of historians like G. G. Coulton who, after surveying the policy of the Papacy, the life of the Universities, the internal frictions in the monasteries and the history of medieval warfare, concluded that nationalism, which had been developing in Western Europe since the eleventh century, became a basic factor in European politics by the fourteenth. My paper is concerned with the medieval history of Eastern Europe: an area which I propose to define, by combining a geographical with a cultural criterion, as the group of countries which lay within the political or cultural orbit of Byzantium. The subject is vast and complex, and I can do no more than select a few topics for discussion. These I would like to present as arguments in support of three theses.

The Danaid Tetralogy of Aeschylus

1957 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Diamantopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Past ◽  
Literary Source ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Spectator ◽  
The Way

The humour of the passage in the Frogs (1419 ff.), in which the tragic poets reply with riddles on burning political issues, is explicable: research on the Eumenides shows that in this play Aeschylus projected political notions in much the way that he is presented by Aristophanes speaking in the Frogs: concentrating the attention of the spectator on the past of the Areopagus and on the circumstance of its foundation, he touches directly on the question which arose in 462–1 through the abolition of the political competence of this body, but he replies to it through a parable which is enigmatic for us. It is obviously such an expression as this that Aristophanes had in mind. It rests with philological and historical criticism to show whether in surviving tragedies other than Eumenides themes of an immediate public interest are put forward under the cover of myth, themes which, through ignorance of the date or of the exact conditions of the composition of the plays, have so far not been revealed. This essay examines from this point of view the Danaid tetralogy of Aeschylus.The subject of the Danaid tetralogy is taken from the story of Danaos and his daughters. For this, Aeschylus could draw on both a literary source, the Danais, and probably also on Argive traditions.Very little is known about the Danais. It did, however, include an account of the events which took place in Egypt between the houses of Danaos and Aigyptos, and it is likely, therefore, that it traced the course of this quarrel from the beginning.

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