A Cultural History of Democracy in the Medieval Age

A Cultural History of Democracy in the Medieval Age PDF Author: David Napolitano
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350042757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
A wide-ranging overview of the cultural history of democracy in the medieval age

A Cultural History of Democracy in the Medieval Age

A Cultural History of Democracy in the Medieval Age PDF Author: David Napolitano
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350042757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
A wide-ranging overview of the cultural history of democracy in the medieval age

A Cultural History of Democracy in the Medieval Age

A Cultural History of Democracy in the Medieval Age PDF Author: David Napolitano
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350272825
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Offering a broad exploration of the cultural history of democracy in the medieval age, this volume claims that, though not generally associated with the term, the Middle Ages deserve to be included in a general history of democracy. The term was never widely employed during this period, the dominant attitude towards democracy was outright hostility, and none of the medieval polities thought of itself as a democracy. Despite this, this study highlights a wide variety of ideas, practices, procedures, and institutions that, although different from their ancient predecessor (direct democracy) or modern successor (liberal representative democracy), played a significant role in the history of democracy. This volume covers almost 1,000 years and a wide range of territories. It deals with different political spheres (ecclesiastical and secular) and socio-political settings (courtly, urban, and rural) and examines the phenomenon from the local level up to the universal realm. This volume adopts a broad cultural approach and is structured thematically. Each chapter takes a theme as its focus: sovereignty; liberty and the rule of law; the common good; economic and social democracy; religion and the principles of political obligation; citizenship and gender; ethnicity, race, and nationalism; democratic crises, revolutions, and civil resistance; international relations; and the scalability of democracy beyond the limits of a single city. These ten themes add up to an extensive, synoptic coverage of the subject.

A Cultural History of Democracy

A Cultural History of Democracy PDF Author: Eugenio Biagini
Publisher:
ISBN: 1350440345
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A wide-ranging overview of the cultural history of democracy from antiquity to the present day, published in 6 volumes.

A Cultural History of Marriage in the Medieval Age

A Cultural History of Marriage in the Medieval Age PDF Author: Joanne M. Ferraro
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350001821
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Marriage in Europe became a central pillar of society during the medieval period. Theologians, lawyers, and secular and church leaders agreed on a unique outline of the institution and its legal framework, the essential features of which remained in force until the 1980s. The medieval Western European definition of marriage was unique: before the legal consequences of marriage came into being, the parties had to promise to engage in sexual union only with one partner and to remain in the marriage until one of the parties died. This requirement had profound implications for inheritance rules and for the organization of the family economy; it was explained and justified in a multitude of theological discussions and legal decisions across all faiths on the European continent. Normative texts, built on the foundations of the scriptures of several religious traditions, provided an impressive intellectual framework around marriage. In addition, developments in iconography, including sculpture and painting, projected the dominant model of marriage, while social, demographic and cultural changes encouraged its adoption. This volume traces the medieval discussion of marriage in practice, law, theology and iconography. It provides an examination of the wider political and economic context of marriage and offers an overview of the ebb and flow of society's ideas about how expressions of human sexuality fit within the confines of a clearly defined social structure and ideology. A Cultural History of Marriage in the Medieval Age presents an overview of the period with essays on Courtship and Ritual; Religion, State and Law; Kinship and Social Networks; the Family Economy; Love and Sex; the Breaking of Vows; and Representations of Marriage.

Democracy

Democracy PDF Author: Paul Cartledge
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199837457
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
In ancient Greece there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of anti-democratic thought. In Democracy: A Life, Paul Cartledge provides a detailed history of this ancient political system.

Civic Identity and Civic Participation in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

Civic Identity and Civic Participation in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages PDF Author: Cedric Brelaz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782503590103
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
During the Ancient Greek and Roman eras, participation in political communities at the local level, and assertion of belonging to these communities, were among the fundamental principles and values on which societies would rely. For that reason, citizenship and democracy are generally considered as concepts typical of the political experience of Classical Antiquity. These concepts of citizenship and democracy are often seen as inconsistent with the political, social, and ideological context of the late and post-Roman world. As a result, scholarship has largely overlooked participation in local political communities when it comes to the period between the disintegration of the Classical model of local citizenship in the later Roman Empire and the emergence of 'pre-communal' entities in Northern Italy from the ninth century onwards. By reassessing the period c. 300-1000 CE through the concepts of civic identity and civic participation, this volume will reassess both the impact of Classical heritage with regard to civic identities in the political experiences of the late and post-Roman world, and the rephrasing of new forms of social and political partnership according to ethnic or religious criteria in the early Middle Ages. Starting from the earlier imperial background, the fourteen chapters examine the ways in which people shared identity and gave shape to their communal life, as well as the role played by the people in local government in the later Roman Empire, the Germanic kingdoms, Byzantium, the early Islamic world, and the early medieval West. By focusing on the post-Classical, late antique, and early medieval periods, this volume intends to be an innovative contribution to the general history of citizenship and democracy.

A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages

A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages PDF Author: Emanuele Conte
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350079286
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
In 500, the legal order in Europe was structured around ancient customs, social practices and feudal values. By 1500, the effects of demographic change, new methods of farming and economic expansion had transformed the social and political landscape and had wrought radical change upon legal practices and systems throughout Western Europe. A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages explores this change and the rich and varied encounters between Christianity and Roman legal thought which shaped the period. Evolving from a combination of religious norms, local customs, secular legislations, and Roman jurisprudence, medieval law came to define an order that promoted new forms of individual and social representation, fostered the political renewal that heralded the transition from feudalism to the Early Modern state and contributed to the diffusion of a common legal language. Drawing upon a wealth of textual and visual sources, A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages presents essays that examine key cultural case studies of the period on the themes of justice, constitution, codes, agreements, arguments, property and possession, wrongs, and the legal profession.

Everyday Life in Medieval England

Everyday Life in Medieval England PDF Author: Christopher Dyer
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0826419828
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Everyday Life in Medieval England captures the day-to-day experience of people in the middle ages - the houses and settlements in which they lived, the food they ate, their getting and spending - and their social relationships. The picture that emerges is of great variety, of constant change, of movement and of enterprise. Many people were downtrodden and miserably poor, but they struggled against their circumstances, resisting oppressive authorities, to build their own way of life and to improve their material conditions. The ordinary men and women of the middle ages appear throughout. Everyday life in Medieval England is an outstanding contribution to both national and local history.

American Political History

American Political History PDF Author: Donald T. Critchlow
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199393737
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
The Founding Fathers who drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 distrusted political parties, popular democracy, centralized government, and a strong executive office. Yet the country's national politics have historically included all those features. In American Political History: A Very Short Introduction, Donald Critchlow takes on this contradiction between original theory and actual practice. This brief, accessible book explores the nature of the two-party system, key turning points in American political history, representative presidential and congressional elections, struggles to expand the electorate, and critical social protest and third-party movements. The volume emphasizes the continuity of a liberal tradition challenged by partisan divide, war, and periodic economic turmoil. American Political History: A Very Short Introduction explores the emergence of a democratic political culture within a republican form of government, showing the mobilization and extension of the mass electorate over the lifespan of the country. In a nation characterized by great racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, American democracy has proven extraordinarily durable. Individual parties have risen and fallen, but the dominance of the two-party system persists. Fierce debates over the meaning of the U.S. Constitution have created profound divisions within the parties and among voters, but a belief in the importance of constitutional order persists among political leaders and voters. Americans have been deeply divided about the extent of federal power, slavery, the meaning of citizenship, immigration policy, civil rights, and a range of economic, financial, and social policies. New immigrants, racial minorities, and women have joined the electorate and the debates. But American political history, with its deep social divisions, bellicose rhetoric, and antagonistic partisanship provides valuable lessons about the meaning and viability of democracy in the early 21st century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Black Legacies

Black Legacies PDF Author: Lynn T. Ramey
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813055040
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
Black Legacies looks at color-based prejudice in medieval and modern texts in order to reveal key similarities. Bringing far-removed time periods into startling conversation, this book argues that certain attitudes and practices present in Europe’s Middle Ages were foundational in the development of the western concept of race. Using historical, literary, and artistic sources, Lynn Ramey shows that twelfth- and thirteenth-century discourse was preoccupied with skin color and the coding of black as “evil” and white as “good.” Ramey demonstrates that fears of miscegenation show up in all medieval European societies. She pinpoints these same ideas in the rhetoric of later centuries. Mapmakers and travel writers of the colonial era used medieval lore of “monstrous peoples” to question the humanity of indigenous New World populations, and medieval arguments about humanness were employed to justify the slave trade. Ramey even analyzes how race is explored in films set in medieval Europe, revealing an enduring fascination with the Middle Ages as a touchstone for processing and coping with racial conflict in the West today.