Gilbert Márkus
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748678983
- eISBN:
- 9781474435208
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748678983.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This book offers a history of ‘Scotland’ before Scotland existed, and before people even thought of this area as a single ‘country’. It traces the emergence and disappearance of various ethnic and ...
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This book offers a history of ‘Scotland’ before Scotland existed, and before people even thought of this area as a single ‘country’. It traces the emergence and disappearance of various ethnic and political groups from Roman times till circa AD 900, and their shifting relationships. But it also calls into question what are often seen as straightforward and obvious concepts such as ‘ethnicity’, ‘Christian conversion’, ‘law’. While following a broad chronological narrative over nine centuries, and dealing with political and large-scale developments, it also explores in some depth the culture of the societies (and there were several) of the time. In addition to the more narrowly political dimension, it explores the texture of experience in people’s lives: how they imagined themselves and their own identities; how they saw their place in the world; how communities managed their own internal affairs such as marriage, childhood and social conflict; how people understood gender, wealth, political power and religious belief. Important texts which have sometimes been read rather naively are here read in new ways, identifying the commitments of their authors, and seeking the literary influences which shaped them (which means we must read and understand not only what early medieval writers wrote, but also what they were reading).Less
This book offers a history of ‘Scotland’ before Scotland existed, and before people even thought of this area as a single ‘country’. It traces the emergence and disappearance of various ethnic and political groups from Roman times till circa AD 900, and their shifting relationships. But it also calls into question what are often seen as straightforward and obvious concepts such as ‘ethnicity’, ‘Christian conversion’, ‘law’. While following a broad chronological narrative over nine centuries, and dealing with political and large-scale developments, it also explores in some depth the culture of the societies (and there were several) of the time. In addition to the more narrowly political dimension, it explores the texture of experience in people’s lives: how they imagined themselves and their own identities; how they saw their place in the world; how communities managed their own internal affairs such as marriage, childhood and social conflict; how people understood gender, wealth, political power and religious belief. Important texts which have sometimes been read rather naively are here read in new ways, identifying the commitments of their authors, and seeking the literary influences which shaped them (which means we must read and understand not only what early medieval writers wrote, but also what they were reading).
Konrad Hirschler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474408776
- eISBN:
- 9781474418812
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474408776.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
The written text was a pervasive feature of cultural practices in the medieval Middle East. At the heart of book circulation stood libraries that experienced a rapid expansion from the twelfth ...
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The written text was a pervasive feature of cultural practices in the medieval Middle East. At the heart of book circulation stood libraries that experienced a rapid expansion from the twelfth century onwards. While the existence of these libraries is well known our knowledge of their content and structure has been very limited as hardly any medieval Arabic catalogues have been preserved. This book discusses the largest and earliest medieval library of the Middle East for which we have documentation – the Ashrafiya library in the very centre of Damascus – and edits its catalogue. This catalogue shows that even book collections attached to Sunni religious institutions could hold rather unexpected titles, such as stories from the 1001 Nights, manuals for traders, medical handbooks, Shiite prayers, love poetry and texts extolling wine consumption. At the same time this library catalogue decisively expands our knowledge of how the books were spatially organised on the bookshelves of such a large medieval library. With over 2,000 entries this catalogue is essential reading for anybody interested in the cultural and intellectual history of Arabic societies. Setting the Ashrafiya catalogue into a comparative perspective with contemporaneous libraries on the British Isles this book opens new perspectives for the study of medieval libraries.Less
The written text was a pervasive feature of cultural practices in the medieval Middle East. At the heart of book circulation stood libraries that experienced a rapid expansion from the twelfth century onwards. While the existence of these libraries is well known our knowledge of their content and structure has been very limited as hardly any medieval Arabic catalogues have been preserved. This book discusses the largest and earliest medieval library of the Middle East for which we have documentation – the Ashrafiya library in the very centre of Damascus – and edits its catalogue. This catalogue shows that even book collections attached to Sunni religious institutions could hold rather unexpected titles, such as stories from the 1001 Nights, manuals for traders, medical handbooks, Shiite prayers, love poetry and texts extolling wine consumption. At the same time this library catalogue decisively expands our knowledge of how the books were spatially organised on the bookshelves of such a large medieval library. With over 2,000 entries this catalogue is essential reading for anybody interested in the cultural and intellectual history of Arabic societies. Setting the Ashrafiya catalogue into a comparative perspective with contemporaneous libraries on the British Isles this book opens new perspectives for the study of medieval libraries.
Bruce P. Lenman (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781845861209
- eISBN:
- 9781474406093
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781845861209.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
The book examines the unique role of European military engineers in the service of both kingdoms and republics from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. They were usually the only servants ...
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The book examines the unique role of European military engineers in the service of both kingdoms and republics from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. They were usually the only servants of the state, apart from artillery or naval officers, with training in mathematics, which explains the frequent overlap between gunners, sailors, and the emerging profession of military engineering. Military engineers were natural polymaths who defended and empowered sovereign authority, especially after the development of artillery made the widespread construction of bastion-defended, low-lying fortifications essential. They also offered services ranging from town planning to basic cartography. They were active in European sovereignties from Lisbon to Istanbul, and also in the fortified port enclaves and dominions acquired by their employers overseas. Originally, as highly-paid, cosmopolitan denizens of an international market, their primary loyalty was a contractual one, often to an individual sovereign. Under the influence of men like the French Marshal Vauban, they became highly-trained elites in several European states, as well as the young United States of America. With the evolution of civilian professions such as civil engineering and pressure to specialise as combat engineers, they finally narrowed their scope, leading to underestimation of their wider earlier significance.Less
The book examines the unique role of European military engineers in the service of both kingdoms and republics from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. They were usually the only servants of the state, apart from artillery or naval officers, with training in mathematics, which explains the frequent overlap between gunners, sailors, and the emerging profession of military engineering. Military engineers were natural polymaths who defended and empowered sovereign authority, especially after the development of artillery made the widespread construction of bastion-defended, low-lying fortifications essential. They also offered services ranging from town planning to basic cartography. They were active in European sovereignties from Lisbon to Istanbul, and also in the fortified port enclaves and dominions acquired by their employers overseas. Originally, as highly-paid, cosmopolitan denizens of an international market, their primary loyalty was a contractual one, often to an individual sovereign. Under the influence of men like the French Marshal Vauban, they became highly-trained elites in several European states, as well as the young United States of America. With the evolution of civilian professions such as civil engineering and pressure to specialise as combat engineers, they finally narrowed their scope, leading to underestimation of their wider earlier significance.
Alasdair Raffe
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474427579
- eISBN:
- 9781474445221
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474427579.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Scotland in Revolution, 1685–1690 is a study of the transformative reign of the Catholic King James VII and the revolution that brought his fall. Whereas previous accounts concentrate on high ...
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Scotland in Revolution, 1685–1690 is a study of the transformative reign of the Catholic King James VII and the revolution that brought his fall. Whereas previous accounts concentrate on high politics, this book draws on neglected sources to examine the relationship between central power and the Scottish localities. James was a radically experimental ruler, who granted unprecedented religious toleration and intervened systematically in urban government. The book begins with a chapter surveying the principal political developments of the period. There follow two chapters on the major religious reform of James’s reign, the granting of toleration in 1687. Arguing that James’s religious experiment should be understood in the context of European multiconfessionalism, these chapters examine the competition and controversy engendered by the toleration. Chapter four then investigates James’s attempt to reconfigure the leadership of Scotland’s urban communities, and thereby to influence in his favour the composition of a future parliament. Chapter five is a detailed narrative of the revolutionary overthrow of James and his government in Scotland. As chapter six argues, the revolution of 1688–90 saw a reaction in favour of religious uniformity and local autonomy. But the revolution was less decisive than the union settlement of 1707–12 in determining Scotland’s future development.Less
Scotland in Revolution, 1685–1690 is a study of the transformative reign of the Catholic King James VII and the revolution that brought his fall. Whereas previous accounts concentrate on high politics, this book draws on neglected sources to examine the relationship between central power and the Scottish localities. James was a radically experimental ruler, who granted unprecedented religious toleration and intervened systematically in urban government. The book begins with a chapter surveying the principal political developments of the period. There follow two chapters on the major religious reform of James’s reign, the granting of toleration in 1687. Arguing that James’s religious experiment should be understood in the context of European multiconfessionalism, these chapters examine the competition and controversy engendered by the toleration. Chapter four then investigates James’s attempt to reconfigure the leadership of Scotland’s urban communities, and thereby to influence in his favour the composition of a future parliament. Chapter five is a detailed narrative of the revolutionary overthrow of James and his government in Scotland. As chapter six argues, the revolution of 1688–90 saw a reaction in favour of religious uniformity and local autonomy. But the revolution was less decisive than the union settlement of 1707–12 in determining Scotland’s future development.
1895
Academic General Practice in the UK Medical Schools, 1948-2000
Adam Smith, Radical and Egalitarian
The American Counterculture
Arab Christians in British Mandate Palestine
Bannockburn
Border Liberties and Loyalties
Britain, Ireland and the Second World War
The Celts
