Laws of the Alamans and Bavarians

Laws of the Alamans and Bavarians PDF Author: Theodore John Rivers
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 1512805955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
The survival of Germanic law codes affords us invaluable insight into pre­feudal society. The inviolability of custom and the spontaneity of punishment so characteristic of primitive law served to perpetuate a rigid class structure in which the principal crimes were settled by a monetary recompense based on the victim 's social status. The codes reflect the principles of this culture. For example, the murderer of a freeman was required to pay one hundred and sixty solidi to the victim's family, but a slave's life required a payment of only twenty solidi to his owner. In the Introduction to the first English translation of these early medieval codes of law, the Lex Alamannorum and the Lex Baiuvariorum. Rivers provides a history of the Alamans and Bavarians from their migration into the provinces of the Roman Empire and their settlement in southern Germany to their final assimilation into the Carolingian Empire. He discusses the influence of economic conditions, the Church, and the judicial traditions of the Franks and other tribes upon them. His sensible rendering of texts that are nearly twelve centuries old remains as close as possible to the Latin, allowing the laws to speak for themselves. In addition to an introduction Rivers' translation is accompanied by extensive notes that supply historical and editorial information: a glossary of Germanic and Latin terms; a bibliography to the scholarship on the laws and to the literature on Germanic kingdoms in general, and an ample index.

Laws of the Alamans and Bavarians

Laws of the Alamans and Bavarians PDF Author: Theodore John Rivers
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 1512805955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
The survival of Germanic law codes affords us invaluable insight into pre­feudal society. The inviolability of custom and the spontaneity of punishment so characteristic of primitive law served to perpetuate a rigid class structure in which the principal crimes were settled by a monetary recompense based on the victim 's social status. The codes reflect the principles of this culture. For example, the murderer of a freeman was required to pay one hundred and sixty solidi to the victim's family, but a slave's life required a payment of only twenty solidi to his owner. In the Introduction to the first English translation of these early medieval codes of law, the Lex Alamannorum and the Lex Baiuvariorum. Rivers provides a history of the Alamans and Bavarians from their migration into the provinces of the Roman Empire and their settlement in southern Germany to their final assimilation into the Carolingian Empire. He discusses the influence of economic conditions, the Church, and the judicial traditions of the Franks and other tribes upon them. His sensible rendering of texts that are nearly twelve centuries old remains as close as possible to the Latin, allowing the laws to speak for themselves. In addition to an introduction Rivers' translation is accompanied by extensive notes that supply historical and editorial information: a glossary of Germanic and Latin terms; a bibliography to the scholarship on the laws and to the literature on Germanic kingdoms in general, and an ample index.

The Merovingian Kingdoms and the Mediterranean World

The Merovingian Kingdoms and the Mediterranean World PDF Author: Stefan Esders
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350048402
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
This book explores the Merovingian kingdoms in Gaul within a broader Mediterranean context. Their politics and culture have mostly been interpreted in the past through a narrow local perspective, but as the papers in this volume clearly demonstrate, the Merovingian kingdoms had complicated and multi-layered political, religious, and socio-cultural relations with their Mediterranean counterparts, from Visigothic Spain in the West to the Byzantine Empire in the East, and from Anglo-Saxon England in the North to North-Africa in the South. The papers collected here provide new insights into the history of the Merovingian kingdoms by examining various relevant issues, ranging from identity formation to the shape and rules of diplomatic relations, cultural transformation, as well as voiced attitudes towards the “other”. Each of the papers begins with a short excerpt from a primary source, which serves as a stimulus for the discussion of broader issues. The various sources' point of view and their contextualization stand at the heart of the analysis, thus ensuring that discussions are accessible to students and non-specialists, without jeopardizing the high academic standard of the debate.

The Magician, the Witch, and the Law

The Magician, the Witch, and the Law PDF Author: Edward Peters
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812211016
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
"Helps to place our understanding of medieval witchcraft into a broader context. . . . Sheds light on the various genres of literature in which magic was discussed."—Speculum

Wergild, Compensation and Penance

Wergild, Compensation and Penance PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004466126
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This volume offers the first comprehensive account of the monetary logic that guided the payment of wergild and blood money in early medieval conflict resolution. In the early middle ages, wergild played multiple roles: it was used to measure a person’s status, to prevent and end conflicts, and to negotiate between an individual and the agents of statehood. This collection of interlocking essays by historians, philologists and jurists represents a major contribution to the study of law and society in Western Europe during the early Middle Ages. Contributors are Lukas Bothe, Warren Brown, Stefan Esders, Wolfgang Haubrichs, Paul Hyams, Tom Lambert, Ralph W. Mathisen, Rob Meens, Han Nijdam, Lisi Oliver, Harald Siems, Karl Ubl, and Helle Vogt. See inside the book.

Christianity and Paganism, 350-750

Christianity and Paganism, 350-750 PDF Author: J. N. Hillgarth
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812212136
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Using sermons, exorcisms, letters, biographies of the saints, inscriptions, autobiographical and legal documents—some of which are translated nowhere else—J. N. Hillgarth shows how the Christian church went about the formidable task of converting western Europe. The book covers such topics as the relationship between the Church and the Roman state, Christian attitudes toward the barbarians, and the missions to northern Europe. It documents as well the cult of relics in popular Christianity and the emergence of consciously Christian monarchies.

Repression of Heresy in Medieval Germany

Repression of Heresy in Medieval Germany PDF Author: Richard Kieckhefer
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 1512803294
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.

The Republic of St. Peter

The Republic of St. Peter PDF Author: Thomas F. X. Noble
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812212396
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
The Republic of St. Peter seeks to reclaim for central Italy an important part of its own history. Noble's thesis is at once original and controversial: that the Republic, an independent political entity, was in existence by the 730s and was not a creation of the Franks in the 750s. Noble examines the political, economic, and religious problems that impelled the central Italians--and a succession of resolute popes--to seek emancipation from the Byzantine Empire. He delineates the social structures and historical traditions that produced a distinctive political society, describes the complete governmental apparatus of the Republic, and provides a comprehensive assessment of the Franco-papal alliance.

Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart PDF Author: Frank Tobin
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 151280942X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Meister Eckhart was a thirteenth-century Dominican mystic who became famous as a teacher, thinker, and preacher. His brilliant career, which included a chair of theology at the University of Paris and several important posts within his order, ended tragically when he was tried and convicted of heresy. In Meister Eckhart Frank Tobin presents an overview of Eckhart's thought and language and of the relationship between the two. Tobin finds Eckhart's thinking unusual in its insistence that neither the division nor the union between God and creation had been expressed adequately. Moreover, Eckhart was radical in uncompromisingly applying metaphysics to a study of human spiritual progress and insisting that all ethical value derives from the "interior" work of the soul rather than its expression in "exterior" work. The originality of Eckhart's thought is nowhere more evident than in his interpretations of the Bible. His sermons and treatises are distinguished from others by his ability to uncover unexpected and intellectually stimulating, and at times breathtaking, meaning of a speculative or mystical nature in what often seemed to be straightforward and even drab biblical passages. Part of this originality stemmed from Eckhart's attitude toward exegesis and his theory of language, both of which centered on the difficulty of expressing speculation on the infinite through finite and limited language. As a result of this attitude, Eckhart became a master of the startling paradox. Through an analysis of Eckhart's linguistic strategies, Tobin shows that the Dominican's use of language follows with remarkable consistency from his view of language. He shows also that an understanding of Eckhart's style gives invaluable insight into his thought. Tobin compares Eckhart's ideas with those of Thomas Aquinas to help clarify both Eckhart's originality and his place in the scholastic tradition. Meister Eckhart: Thought and Language will be of value to scholars interested in medieval studies, church history, philosophy, intellectual history, and medieval German language and literature.

Households

Households PDF Author: Robert McC. Netting
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520322940
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1984.

From Servitude to Freedom

From Servitude to Freedom PDF Author: William C. Jordan
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Anniversary Collection
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
Manumission--the freeing of serfs--was of major significance to medieval French society. William Chester Jordan studies the causes and consequences of the movement.