Araltes: The Evolution of a Varangian Stereotype

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sverrir Jakobsson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Old Norse ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Medieval Romances ◽  
The Subject

In Old Norse texts, the legend of the Varangian is part of a larger trend in a positive textual relationship between the Nordic world and the Byzantine Empire. In this article, the subject of analysis is the evolution of the Varangian legend through the character of one of the best known Varangians, King Haraldr of Norway. The development of the narrative of Haraldr, from the earliest near-contemporary narratives to high medieval and late medieval romances, will be traced and used to highlight the evolution of the discourse on the Varangians and the development of certain narrative stereotypes.

scholarly journals Iδεολογικές αντιπαραθέσεις στα Βαλκάνια. Η προπαγανδιστική χρήση της λατρείας του αγίου Δημητρίου (τέλη 12ου-13ος αι.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Στέλιος ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΟΥ
Keyword(s):  
Sudden Death ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Counter Narrative ◽  
The Subject

St Demetrius, the patron of Thessaloniki through the ages, became the subject of an ideological dispute between the second Bulgarian State and the Byzantine empire (end of 12th c. and throughout the 13th century).The Bulgarians and Vlachs of Haemus attempted to appropriate St Demetrius as the divine protector of their revolt (1185/1186).Τhe Byzantines challenged this founding ideology of the new Bulgarian regime by materialising tsar Ioannitzes' sudden death in front of Thessaloniki's walls (1207) and interpreting the Bulgarian king's end as one of Demetrius’ numerous miracles. According to the author, the Byzantine counter-narrative was not only based on the visualization of St Demetrius' miraculous intervention in 1207 and the new iconographical type of the martyr on horseback, spearing or unhorsing Ioannitzes, but also on Radomeros' miraculous murder presumably carried out by the same saint. This later miracle constitutes a conceived historical parallel to Ioannitzes' death.

scholarly journals What Is Charity? William Langland’s Answers with Some Diachronic Questions

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 458
Author(s):  
David Aers
Keyword(s):  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Piers Plowman ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Medieval Christianity ◽  
Ethics And Politics

Charity turns out to be the virtue which is both the root and the fruit of salvation in Langland’s Piers Plowman, a late fourteenth-century poem, the greatest theological poem in English. It takes time, suffering and error upon error for Wille, the central protagonist in Piers Plowman, to grasp Charity. Wille is both a figure of the poet and a power of the soul, voluntas, the subject of charity. Langland’s poem offers a profound and beautiful exploration of Charity and the impediments to Charity, one in which individual and collective life is inextricably bound together. This exploration is characteristic of late medieval Christianity. As such it is also an illuminating work in helping one identify and understand what happened to this virtue in the Reformation. Only through diachronic studies which engage seriously with medieval writing and culture can we hope to develop an adequate grasp of the outcomes of the Reformation in theology, ethics and politics, and, I should add, the remakings of what we understand by “person” in these outcomes. Although this essay concentrates on one long and extremely complex medieval work, it actually belongs to a diachronic inquiry. This will only be explicit in some observations on Calvin when I consider Langland’s treatment of Christ’s crucifixion and in some concluding suggestions about the history of this virtue.

Piracy and law in medieval Genoa: the consilia of Bartolomeo Bosco

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 256-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Tai
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Medieval Europe ◽  
Legal Opinions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Mediterranean

AbstractThis essay contextualizes a series of learned legal opinions, or consilia, authored primarily by the Genoese jurist Bartolomeo Bosco (d. 1437) on the subject of maritime theft, or piracy, by referring to contemporaneous records for the practice of maritime theft in the Mediterranean, archival records in the Archivio di Stato for Bosco's career, and related consilia authored by Bosco. It argues that Bosco's opinions on matters related to the practice of piracy, overlooked despite revived scholarly interest in his work, illustrate the applications and limitations of consilia as practical documents in medieval civic governance, and suggest a divide between commercial and administrative perspectives in the maritime republics of late medieval Europe. Finally, it proposes that Bartolomeo Bosco be numbered among the "economic humanists" of the fifteenth century.

A Neglected Eucharistic Controversy: The Afterlife of John Wyclif's Eucharistic Thought in Bohemia in the Early Fifteenth Century

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela K. Perett
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
European Culture ◽  
Real Presence ◽  
The Subject ◽  
John Wyclif ◽  
Full Century

The renewed interest in John Wyclif (d. 1384) has brought this late medieval figure back into the spotlight of historians, giving rise to numerous studies evaluating his thought and its implications in the context of late fourteenth century England. However, it is not possible fully to appreciate Wyclif's importance in late medieval European culture without understanding the legacy of his ideas on the continent. According to the accepted narrative, John Wyclif's thought was mediated to the continent through the scholarly contacts between the universities in Oxford and in Prague, and re-emerged in the Latin writings of Jan Hus. This article argues that John Wyclif's thought, especially his critique of the church's doctrine of transubstantiation, found a larger audience among the rural clerics and laity in Bohemia, whom it reached through Peter Payne, who simplified and disseminated the works of the Oxford master. Wyclif's critique of transubstantiation sparked a nationwide debate about the nature of the Eucharist, generating numerous treatises, both in Latin and in the vernacular, on the subject of Christ's presence in the sacrament of the mass. This debate anticipated, a full century earlier, the famous debate between Luther and Zwingli and the Eucharistic debates of the sixteenth century Reformation more generally. The proliferation of vernacular Eucharistic tractates in Bohemia shows that Wyclif's critique of transubstantiation could be answered in a number of different ways that included both real presence (however defined) and figurative theologies—a fact, which, in turn, explains the doctrinal diversity among the Lollards in England.

The Source of Hooker's Knowledge of Marsilius of Padua

1974 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
W. D. J. Cargill Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Late Medieval ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Marsilius Of Padua ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Church

In the well-known passage in Book VII of Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, where Hooker admits to having changed his mind on the subject of the origins of episcopacy, he cites the Defensor Pacis of Marsilius of Padua among a list of marginal references to late-medieval and sixteenthcentury writers who maintained the view, which he states he had once considered ‘a great deal more probable than now I do’, that bishops were not introduced into the Church until after the death of the Apostles. Since the 1930s, when A. P. d'Entrèves, Gottfried Michaelis and C. W. Previté-Orton drew attention to the resemblances between some of Hooker's arguments and those of Marsilius, this passage has frequently been quoted as evidence that Hooker was familiar with the writings of Marsilius and it has been used to support the theory, which has come to be widely held in recent years, that his political ideas were directly influenced by the Defensor Pacis. D'Entrèves, for example, stated on the strength of this reference that ‘Hooker certainly knew the works of Marsilius’ and most subsequent writers on Hooker's political ideas have tended to follow d'Entrèves's lead in assuming that Hooker must have been acquainted with the Defensor Pacis at first hand.

Percy's Essay “On the Ancient Metrical Romances”

PMLA ◽  
1934 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Leah Dennis
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
English Poetry ◽  
The Third ◽  
Medieval Romances ◽  
Important Landmark ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Historical Function ◽  
King John

The essay “On the Ancient Metrical Romances,” introduced into the third volume of Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765), is an important landmark in the modern revival of interest in the medieval romances. Through the earlier part of the eighteenth century the infrequent comments on the romances had been incidental to something else (chivalry, for a conspicuous example) or had been concerned with theories, chiefly of origin, based on very little evidence. Of the romances themselves, little was known, but they were generally considered barbarous, uncultivated, and infantile. But in Percy's essay the subject is treated with some attempt at completeness, and includes not merely theories about their origin (though these are present) but a discussion of the romances themselves. Upon scrutiny, Percy's knowledge of the subject is found to be large, much larger than has been generally suspected, and toward the material he is seen to display a hesitating and diffident enthusiasm manifestly held in check by the disapproval of the current taste. A summary of his essay follows:The purpose of primitive poetry (according to Percy) was at first to record the valiant deeds and the genealogies of the race heroes; but as letters began to prevail, the bards gave over their historical function and devoted themselves to entertainment. From these songs of the Gothic bards are derived the romances of chivalry, which existed in their elements among the Teutonic peoples long before the days of the Crusades. Though romances first developed in France, the English had a native taste for this type of fiction, and there is reason to believe that they had romances of their own without French originals. These old romances throw light on the manners of the time and often have poetic merit. The publication of a judicious collection of them would thus be desirable. Our classical poets—Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser—abound in allusions that are understood only by a knowledge of romances. To illustrate these points Percy quotes a passage from Richard Cure de Lyon that explains an allusion in King John, and gives a detailed abstract of Libius Disconius, one of the romances found in his manuscript. A catalogue of such romances as he knows to be extant closes the essay.

scholarly journals Medieval “liberation theology” in the works of Theodore the Studite

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Oleg Alekssevich Novikov ◽  
Igor' Olegovich Nadtochii ◽  
Sergei Vyacheslavovich Nikishin
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Theological Orientation ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Scientific Value

The subject of this article is the political-legal ideas of the Byzantine philosopher, public figure and theologian Theodore the Studite. His life and activity were closely related with the policy of Byzantine Iconoclasm conducted in the VIII – IX centuries. The emperors of the Romans, in their struggle against the political and economic power of the Orthodox Church, used discrepancies in interpretation of one of the doctrinal questions of Christianity, which historically manifested as a “stumbling block” among the adherents of this religion. Western province of the Byzantine Empire were against the policy of “iconoclasm” and its monasticism, the prominent representative of this intellectual tradition of which (in the medieval understanding of the latter) was Theodore the Studite. The political-legal ideas of Theodore the Studite, unlike his theological views, are poorly studied in the Russian science. However, they have certain scientific value due to the uniqueness of views of the philosopher comparing to the works of contemporaries and the Byzantine political;-legal literature overall. In his polemical works of theological orientation, Theodore the Studite discusses the problems of the liberty of conscience, individual autonomy, human rights (in their medieval interpretation), boundaries of intrusion of public authorities in social life, etc. The ideas of the Byzantine philosopher represent one of the first attempts of apologetics of “democratic Christianity”.

scholarly journals A Search for the Hidden King: Messianism, Prophecies and Royal Epiphanies of the Kings of Aragon (circa 1250–1520)

Arts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Serra Desfilis
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Art History ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Common Space ◽  
Crown Of Aragon ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Point Of Departure

Modern historiography has studied the influence of messianic and millennialist ideas in the Crown of Aragon extensively and, more particularly, how they were linked to the Aragonese monarchy. To date, research in the field of art history has mainly considered royal iconography from a different point of view: through coronation, historical or dynastic images. This article will explore the connections, if any, between millennialist prophetic visions and royal iconography in the Crown of Aragon using both texts and the figurative arts, bearing in mind that sermons, books and images shared a common space in late medieval audiovisual culture, where royal epiphanies took place. The point of departure will be the hypothesis that some royal images and apparently conventional religious images are compatible with readings based on sources of prophetic and apocalyptic thought, which help us to understand the intentions and values behind unique figurative and performative epiphanies of the dynasty that ruled the Crown of Aragon between 1250 and 1516. With this purpose in mind, images will be analysed in their specific context, which is often possible to reconstruct thanks to the abundance and diversity of the written sources available on the subject, with a view to identifying their promoters’ intentions, the function they fulfilled and the reception of these images in the visual culture of this time and place.

THE RECASTING OF THE OTTOMAN PUBLIC DEBT AND THE ABOLITION OF THE CAPITULATIONS REGIME IN THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ACTION OF TURKEY LED BY MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierluigi SIMONE
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
The Political ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
International Debt ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Republic Of Turkey ◽  
Kemal Ataturk

The recast of the international debt contracted by the former Ottoman Empire and the overcoming of the capitulations regime that had afflicted Turkey for centuries, are two of the most relevant sectors in which the political and diplomatic action promoted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has been expressed. Extremely relevant in this regard are the different disciplines established, respectively, by the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 and then by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. After the Ottoman Government defaulted in 1875, an agreement (the Decree of Muharrem) was concluded in 1881 between the Ottoman Government and representatives of its foreign and domestic creditors for the resumption of payments on Ottoman bonds, and a European control of a part of the Imperial revenues was instituted through the Administration of the Ottoman Public Debt. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire was burdened by capitulations, conferring rights and privileges in favour of their subjects resident or trading in the Ottoman lands, following the policy towards European States of the Byzantine Empire. According to these capitulations, traders entering the Ottoman Empire were exempt from local prosecution, local taxation, local conscription, and the searching of their domicile. The capitulations were initially made during the Ottoman Empire’s military dominance, to entice and encourage commercial exchanges with Western merchants. However, after dominance shifted to Europe, significant economic and political advantages were granted to the European Powers by the Ottoman Empire. Both regimes, substantially maintained by the Treaty of Sèvres, were considered unacceptable by the Nationalist Movement led by Mustafa Kemal and therefore became the subject of negotiations during the Conference of Lausanne. The definitive overcoming of both of them, therefore represents one of the most evident examples of the reacquisition of the full sovereignty of the Republic of Turkey.

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