Suchergebnisse

Historical Research into the Nobility during the Late Mediaeval and Early Modern Period in Belgium and the Netherlands: A SnapshotThis introduction to a special issue on the history of the nobility in the Netherlands and Belgium gives a 'snap-shot' of the subject in two different ways. On the one hand, the collected essays demonstrate the state-of-the-art in the research carried out in 2008 on the nobility, on the other, they focus on the mediaeval and early modern periods. The major themes and problems of this historiographical tradition are evoked, emerging from the study outlined in another special issue of a historical journal, the Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis of 1980, which looked at perspectives for future research. This introduction mainly examines the methods used by historians to confront inevitable questions such as: 'What exactly is the nobility?' and 'How can this historical phenomenon be situated within processes and historical movements such as economic structures and conjunctures, social mobility and political centralization and decentralization?'

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.

Provides an introduction to "Ancrene Wisse", one of the most important works in English of the thirteenth century. This book offers a fresh contextualisation which engages with the history of lay piety and vernacular spirituality in the Middle Ages. This book is innovative in that it provides an introduction to "Ancrene Wisse", one of the most important works in English of the thirteenth century. It offers a new contextualisation which engages with the history of lay piety and vernacular spirituality in the Middle Ages, thus extending analysis of the book beyond its original purpose as a guide for anchoresses. The placing of "Ancrene Wisse" within this context also allows comparisons to be made with other literature for semi-regular women, such as sermons preached to beguines - semi-religious women who formed communities in the Low Countries and France in the High Middle Ages.

In recent years much scholarly attention has been paid to the role of commercial institutions in the failure of the economies of the late medieval Middle East to keep up with Europe. In the first three centuries after the Arab conquests, the argument goes, international trade in the Islamic world was stimulated by the rise of a vast unified empire that removed trade barriers and by the favourable legal institutions that developed under Islamic law, in particular the arrangements for commercial partnerships and credit. However, in the late Middle Ages increasing political fragmentation was not, as in Europe, compensated for by 'bottom-up' institutions such as urban communes and merchant guilds. In addition, the legal institutions that had been so useful before gradually came to be handicaps. Islamic law did not acknowledge partnerships with a legal standing of their own, able to outlive the individuals who constituted the partnership. In combination with an egalitarian inheritance law this created incentives for keeping partnerships small, which in turn dampened the need for organizational innovations. While commercial institutions in Europe adapted to changing needs, in the Middle East institutional sclerosis hindered further growth.

In recent years much scholarly attention has been paid to the role of commercial institutions in the failure of the economies of the late medieval Middle East to keep up with Europe. In the first three centuries after the Arab conquests, the argument goes, international trade in the Islamic world was stimulated by the rise of a vast unified empire that removed trade barriers and by the favourable legal institutions that developed under Islamic law, in particular the arrangements for commercial partnerships and credit. However, in the late Middle Ages increasing political fragmentation was not, as in Europe, compensated for by 'bottom-up' institutions such as urban communes and merchant guilds. In addition, the legal institutions that had been so useful before gradually came to be handicaps. Islamic law did not acknowledge partnerships with a legal standing of their own, able to outlive the individuals who constituted the partnership. In combination with an egalitarian inheritance law this created incentives for keeping partnerships small, which in turn dampened the need for organizational innovations. While commercial institutions in Europe adapted to changing needs, in the Middle East institutional sclerosis hindered further growth.

Dit proefschrift beschrijft enige aspecten van de politiek-theoretische opvattingen van de hertogen van Bourgondië (m.n. Filips de Goede en Karel de Stoute) in de vijftiende eeuw en van hun hoogste ambtenaren. . Zie: Samenvatting

Books before print – manuscripts – were modified continuously throughout the medieval period. Focusing on the ninth and twelfth centuries, this volume explores such material changes as well as the varying circumstances under which handwritten books were produced, used and collected. An important theme is the relationship between the physical book and its users. Can we reflect on reading practices through an examination of the layout of a text? To what extent can we use the contents of libraries to understand the culture of the book? The volume explores such issues by focusing on a broad palette of texts and through a detailed analysis of manuscripts from all corners of Europe. - Gedurende de middeleeuwen waren manuscripten voor boeken voortdurend onderhevig aan veranderingen. Deze kwamen voort uit nieuwe inzichten in bijvoorbeeld het gebruik van koppen bij teksten of de toepassing van hoofdstuknummering. Met de focus op de negende en twaalfde eeuw verkent dit boek de veranderingen die er plaatshadden in de keuze van het gebruikte materiaal, maar ook de veranderende omstandigheden waaronder handgeschreven boeken werden geproduceerd, gebruikt en verzameld. Door een onderzoek naar een breed palet aan teksten en gedetailleerde analyse van handschriften uit alle hoeken van Europa onthult dit boek de relatie tussen het boek en zijn gebruikers.