The complex relationship between women and arms in Europe, from Roman times to about 1200, is reexamined in light of literary traditions, historical records, and the modern preoccupation with women warriors that inevitably inflects historical judgments. Overall, the issue has suffered from a scarcity of hard evidence and an abundant politics of interpretation. Some historical examples indicate an acceptance of female hereditary governance in Europe during the early middle ages, including the command of troops. Yet many historians have greeted the idea of a woman wielding a sword in battle with skepticism. Figures such as Boudicca who led a revolt against the Romans in Britain, the Anglo-Saxon queen Aethelflaed, and the later women who fought in the crusades, or defended their own property, have been politicized. Narratives like that of the Old Testament Judith and the Nibelungenlied became ideological tools to raise the alarm about phallic women. By the thirteenth century, Saxon law declared that a widow must immediately surrender her husband's sword to the male heir. Female fighters were increasingly vilified, culminating in the accusation of heresy against Joan of Arc, and her execution.
Rethinking the boundaries of Europe is an earnest exercise that calls for critical reconsideration of our existing spatio-temporal constructions. First of all, it should be established that this kind of an exercise does not only necessitate a re-mapping of the cartographical space within which "Europe" is placed, but more so a re-thinking of the intellectual space within which history is situated.
"Of all the illustrations depicting a section of the earth's surface, the first to resemble the actual circumstances closely are Medieval sea charts known as Portolan charts. These depictions appeared quite suddenly in the thirteenth century and exhibit a conspicuous chordal network, a linear system based on the point of the wind. Mathematical investigations of the coastlines shown on these sea charts have revealed an astonishing degree of precision in comparison to modern charts. It is not known what methods were used to determine the geodetic foundations for the Portolan works. The question of authorship leads back to Roman and Hellenistic antiquity, and it is not impossible to imagine a set of circumstances that could have allowed these mysterious documents to survive ancient times and be handed down through the generations to the Medieval period." (author's abstract)
Die Arbeit widmet sich der Geschichte der Juden in den "niederen Landen" von ca. 1200 bis um 1520, mit einem Epilog über die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. In der Hauptsache werden dabei die Landesherrschaften Hennegau, Brabant und Geldern in vergleichender Perspektive betrachtet. - Teil I beschreibt die Siedlungsgeschichte von den Anfängen um das Jahr 1200 über die Verdichtung des Niederlassungsnetzes bis zur Katastrophe der Jahre 1349-50 und weiter bis in die Zeit der spätmittelalterlichen Vereinzelung von Juden und ihres Ausweichens unter kleinere Herrschaften. - Teil II bietet neue Bausteine für eine Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte der jüdischen Geldleihe, welche auch in den mittelalterlichen Niederlanden der bestimmende Erwerbszweig der Juden war. - Teil III widmet sich ausführlich den Judenverfolgungen des 14. Jahrhunderts - dem "Kreuzzug" von 1309, der Verfolgung zur Zeit des "Schwarzen Todes" 1349-50 und der Brüsseler Hostienfrevelaffäre von 1370. Wichtige, weiterführende Ergebnisse bietet vor allem die Analyse der Quellen über die Katastrophe zur Zeit der Pest. - Teil IV spürt den historischen Veränderungen des christlichen Judenbildes und den Entstehungs- und Verbreitungsformen verschiedener judenfeindlicher Legenden (Ritualmord, Bilder- und Hostienschändung) im Untersuchungsraum nach. - Die im zweiten und vor allem im vierten Teil gemachten Beobachtungen werden abschließend im Hinblick auf die Frage nach dem Einfluss der Bettelorden reflektiert. Dabei wird ein Modell entworfen, in dem diese Orden vor allem in ihrer Vermittlerfunktion wirksam waren; entscheidend war auch in diesem Zusammenhang der Faktor Herrschaft. ; This study is devoted to the history of the Jews in the Low Countries from c.1200 to around 1520 (with an epilogue on the mid-sixteenth century). It mainly compares the territories of Hainaut, Brabant, and Guelders. - Part I outlines the history of Jewish settlement from c.1200 through the period of its greatest density before the calamties of 1349-50, and further on to the time of late-medieval isolation of individual Jews and their evasion into small territories. - Part II offers new elements towards the social and cultural history of Jewish moneylending - the dominant trade of Jews in the medieval Low Countries as elsewhere. - Part III contains an in-depth analysis of the persecutions against Jews in the fourteenth century: the "crusade" of 1309, the Black Death persecution of 1349-50, and the host desecration affair of Brussels in 1370. Far-reaching new conclusions are reached in the analysis of the plague pogroms. - Part IV traces the historical change in the Christian image of the Jew and analyses the rise and spread of anti-Jewish libels (ritual murder, image and host desecration) in the Low Co9untries. - The observations made in parts II and IV are finally reflected in view of the role of the mendicant orders. The author proposes a model in which the mendicants are regarded as agents of communication; the more decisive factor must be seen in political rule.
Die Arbeit widmet sich der Geschichte der Juden in den "niederen Landen" von ca. 1200 bis um 1520, mit einem Epilog über die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. In der Hauptsache werden dabei die Landesherrschaften Hennegau, Brabant und Geldern in vergleichender Perspektive betrachtet. - Teil I beschreibt die Siedlungsgeschichte von den Anfängen um das Jahr 1200 über die Verdichtung des Niederlassungsnetzes bis zur Katastrophe der Jahre 1349-50 und weiter bis in die Zeit der spätmittelalterlichen Vereinzelung von Juden und ihres Ausweichens unter kleinere Herrschaften. - Teil II bietet neue Bausteine für eine Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte der jüdischen Geldleihe, welche auch in den mittelalterlichen Niederlanden der bestimmende Erwerbszweig der Juden war. - Teil III widmet sich ausführlich den Judenverfolgungen des 14. Jahrhunderts - dem "Kreuzzug" von 1309, der Verfolgung zur Zeit des "Schwarzen Todes" 1349-50 und der Brüsseler Hostienfrevelaffäre von 1370. Wichtige, weiterführende Ergebnisse bietet vor allem die Analyse der Quellen über die Katastrophe zur Zeit der Pest. - Teil IV spürt den historischen Veränderungen des christlichen Judenbildes und den Entstehungs- und Verbreitungsformen verschiedener judenfeindlicher Legenden (Ritualmord, Bilder- und Hostienschändung) im Untersuchungsraum nach. - Die im zweiten und vor allem im vierten Teil gemachten Beobachtungen werden abschließend im Hinblick auf die Frage nach dem Einfluss der Bettelorden reflektiert. Dabei wird ein Modell entworfen, in dem diese Orden vor allem in ihrer Vermittlerfunktion wirksam waren; entscheidend war auch in diesem Zusammenhang der Faktor Herrschaft. ; This study is devoted to the history of the Jews in the Low Countries from c.1200 to around 1520 (with an epilogue on the mid-sixteenth century). It mainly compares the territories of Hainaut, Brabant, and Guelders. - Part I outlines the history of Jewish settlement from c.1200 through the period of its greatest density before the calamties of 1349-50, and further on to the time of late-medieval isolation of individual Jews and their evasion into small territories. - Part II offers new elements towards the social and cultural history of Jewish moneylending - the dominant trade of Jews in the medieval Low Countries as elsewhere. - Part III contains an in-depth analysis of the persecutions against Jews in the fourteenth century: the "crusade" of 1309, the Black Death persecution of 1349-50, and the host desecration affair of Brussels in 1370. Far-reaching new conclusions are reached in the analysis of the plague pogroms. - Part IV traces the historical change in the Christian image of the Jew and analyses the rise and spread of anti-Jewish libels (ritual murder, image and host desecration) in the Low Co9untries. - The observations made in parts II and IV are finally reflected in view of the role of the mendicant orders. The author proposes a model in which the mendicants are regarded as agents of communication; the more decisive factor must be seen in political rule.
The late Middle Ages witnessed the transformation of the county of Holland from a peripheral agrarian region to a highly commercialised and urbanised one. This book examines how the organisation of commodity markets contributed to this remarkable development. Comparing Holland to England and Flanders, the book shows that Holland's specific history of reclamation and settlement had given rise to a favourable balance of powers between state, nobility, towns and rural communities that reduced opportunities for rent-seeking and favoured the rise of efficient markets. This allowed burghers, peasants and fishermen to take full advantage of new opportunities presented by changing economic and ecological circumstances in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries
The analysis of the shipping activities and harbours of Marienburg leads to the conclusion that a town harbour existed here during the Middle Ages, and that it may have been connected with the fishing harbour. The source material which has come down to us confirms the assumption that there was a separate timber wharf near the town, complete with specialized personnel. The harbour of Marienburg played no more than a minor role, and was not as important a commercial centre as the harbour in Thorn, for example. The volume of cargo transhipped here was relatively small, serving, as it did, the regular needs of the residents. The ship-masters - some of them simple fishermen - lived in the town and hired their vessels out to the Teutonic Order on occasion. Independently of the town, the order also possessed its own harbour. The latter was originally located at the Chapel of St. Nicholas, directly adjacent to the oldest warehouse. It was later replaced by the harbour on the bank of the Nogat nearby the long warehouse in the outermost fortification. It is to be assumed that, alongside the harbour of the Teutonic Order, there was also a timber canal in which the order kept the material it had purchased to meet its needs. The wharfs on the canal served the Teutonic Order as a shipyard. The only surviving sources in which reference is made to the vessels on the Vistula are the inventory books of the Marienburg commandery offices. The source material on the topic of shipping and harbours in Marienburg confirms the conjecture that the existence of the river harbours was closely related to the establishment of warehouses on the riverbanks, from which mass goods were transported via waterways. Questions pertaining to the construction of the vessels of the Teutonic Order as well as the operation of the shipyard at Marienburg Castle have yet to be analyzed in detail. In that context, archaeological sources bearing a connection to the Medieval construction of inland waterway vessels in the Vistula delta may well prove particularly helpful. Taking into consideration the results of the site analysis of the town and Teutonic Order harbours in Marienburg, it appears worthwhile to undertake similar investigations into other harbour centres on the Lower Vistula as well.
The paper considers the social statuses and roles of women in Imperial China since the Zhou era. The portrait of a woman proposed by Confucian thinkers is compared with the real historical and cultural representations of women in China. It is proved that despite serious and sometimes just criticising the Confucianism by modern liberal researchers, the doctrine of Confucius in most cases considered a woman as a legally emancipated creature equal to a man. Confucianism legitimised the high social statuses of widows and mothers, and gave women the right to perform a wide range of social roles outside the scope of family: from a midwife to a military general. The treatment of women in Imperial China is compared in the paper with the cultural gender traditions of medieval Europe.
"Another challenge for contemporary historians consists of widening the German perspective to the European context without becoming an apologist for the EU. This essay departs from the assertion that at present the Europeans possess only a rudimentary consciousness of a common past. Most contemporary historians still seem to do their research within a national framework, although many of their questions actually transcend it. This historical amnesia of the European dimension has is largely a result of the lack of a shared understanding of the twentieth century within which research results could be placed. As an alternative to an acclamatory history of integration, culminating in the Brussels institution, a critical perspective is necessary which takes seriously the immense suffering of wars, revolutions, and racial murder. The European memory deficit will only be overcome by the pluralization of narratives that makes space for different memories and acknowledges the mutually inflicted pain as a basis for a dedication to a better future." (author's abstract)
Die Aufnahme und Bearbeitung von Quellen ist in der Geschichtswissenschaft in den letzten Jahren zunehmend mit Hilfe der EDV vorgenommen worden. Die Möglichkeiten von Expertensystemen sind jedoch in diesem Bereich noch eher begrenzt. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt ein Forschungsprojekt vor, das die automatische Auflösung mittelalterlicher Zeitdatierungen in frei definierbare Subsysteme anstrebt. Bearbeitet und elektronisch gespeichert werden 9.000 Datierungen nach dem Heiligenkalender, da die Zeitschematisierung im Mittelalter nach Fest- und Heiligentagen geschah. (pmb)
Mit der Europäischen Rechtsgeschichte verfügt die Rechtsgeschichte seit vielen Jahrzehnten über eine Tradition transnationaler rechtshistorischer Forschung. Sie wurde von deutschsprachigen Wissenschaftlern der Vor- und Nachkriegszeit geprägt – Emil Seckel, Paul Koschaker, Franz Wieacker, Helmut Coing – und stand im Kontext des westeuropäischen Nachkriegsprojekts. Noch heute bauen wir auf ihren großen Leistungen auf. Sie war, wie alle Geschichtswissenschaft, Teil eines Prozesses der gesellschaftlichen Selbstverständigung über die eigene Identität und zeichnete das Bild einer distinkten europäischen Rechtskultur. In den letzten Jahren sind im Zuge der Diskussion um postkoloniale Perspektiven auf die Geschichte, um Transnationale und Globalgeschichte, viele Grundlagen der traditionellen Europahistoriographie kritisiert und massiv erschüttert worden. Das wirft Fragen auch an die Europäische Rechtsgeschichte auf: Welches Europabild liegt ihr zu Grunde? Auf welchen intellektuellen und konzeptionellen Grundlagen beruht sie? Wie antwortet sie auf die Vorwürfe des Eurozentrismus, des epistemischen Kolonialismus, wie auf die Forderung, Europa zu 'provinzialisieren'? Wie definiert sie das Verhältnis der Europäischen zur Transnationalen und Globalen Rechtsgeschichte? - Diesen und ähnlichen Fragen wenden sich die folgenden Überlegungen zu. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf einer Auseinandersetzung mit der Tradition, ihren konzeptionellen Grundlagen und deren wissenschaftshistorischem Kontext (1. Teil, 1.-6.). Aus dieser kritischen Bestandsaufnahme und den Ergebnissen der Debatte um Globalgeschichte ergeben sich Ausgangspunkte und Aufgaben einer in vielem auf den Leistungen der Disziplin aufbauenden, doch notwendigerweise auf einer anderen Konzeption beruhenden Rechtsgeschichte Europas in globalhistorischer Perspektive (2. Teil, 7.-11.). ; For decades, European Legal History has been a strong field of scholarship on the history of law in a transnational perspective. It has been shaped especially by German-speaking scholars such as Emil Seckel, Paul Koschaker, Franz Wieacker, and Helmut Coing, and it was set up in the context of European post-war projects of political integration. To this day, we build upon this tradition. Like all historical scholarship, European Legal History was part of a broad communicative process of identity-building. It depicted European Legal Culture as something clearly distinct from other traditions. In the last years though, postcolonial studies and scholars engaged in Transnational and Global History criticized harshly the very fundaments of European historiography. Thus, European Legal History faces serious challenges regarding some of its fundamental assumptions: What was its underlying vision of Europe? What are its intellectual and conceptual foundations? How does it address allegations of Eurocentrism and epistemic colonialism? How does it respond to the postulation of a necessity to provincialize European history? How do we define the relationship of European to Transnational and Global Legal History? - These and other related questions will be addressed by the following considerations. They will focus on a critical review of the academic tradition on European Legal History, its conceptual foundations and its historical context (1. Part, 1.-6.). As a result of this critical assessment, and taking into account findings of the debate on Global History, I present an outline of some starting points and possible assignments for a Legal History of Europe in Global Historical Perspective, which can build upon some results of the tradition, but has to be conceptualized necessarily in a different way (2. Part, 7.-11.).
In: Kultur und Gesellschaft: gemeinsamer Kongreß der Deutschen, der Österreichischen und der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, Zürich 1988 ; Beiträge der Forschungskomitees, Sektionen und Ad-hoc-Gruppen, p. 804-807
