Saturday, August 31, 2024

Some works of Jean Bodin

 Jean Bodin, who is this these days perhaps best known for his musings on Historiography, engaged in problems of religion and tolerance as well. His only posthumously published Conference of the Seven Wise Men on the Hidden Secrets of Sublime Things (Colloquium heptaplomeres de rerum sublimium arcanis abditis) clearly belongs into this category. It's seven speakers represent the views that Bodin was familiar with (summary by ChatGPT 3.5):

  • Coronaeus - Represents traditional Catholicism.
  • Fridericus - A Lutheran who defends Protestantism.
  • Curtius - A Calvinist, representing the Reformed tradition.
  • Torres - A Jew, offering a Jewish perspective.
  • Senamus - A skeptic, embodying the voice of doubt and questioning.
  • Salomon Barcassius - A Muslim, representing Islamic thought.
  • Octavius Fagnola - A Deist, who argues for a natural religion devoid of specific dogma.
  • Late-Antiquity Military Thinking

     In the form of the Stratagems of Polyanus and the writings of Aneas Tacticus.

    Post Roman Migration into England

     A summary article for a Nature article in The Past from 2022.

    Van Houts on Early Norman Poetry

     Elisabeth Van Houts, as so often, offers an exciting interpretation of Jezebel and Semiramis, two 10th century Norman poems that may be related as critiques of Emma of Normandy.

    Economic History of the Fugger

    This post just notes the important research of Aloys Schulte, Die Fugger in Rome, from 1904 (also available on Google Books).

    Notes on Pacific Warfare

    There have been many questions about what causes warfare to develop, esp in pre-state societies, and to what extend it differs from raiding; how lethal it is; and how important the symbolic bravery on display is for the standing within the community.

    I recently ran into the following work on Pacific warfare, 

    Raid, Retreat, Defend (Repeat): The Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Warfare on the North Pacific Rim--by Herbert D.G. Maschner & Katherine L. Reedy-Maschner.

    The work points out that warfare for strict resource control was less common, and that its impact on development of the North Pacific Rim in the end can only be considered formative.

    1960s English Pop Art

    Having read the autobiography of Pattie Boyd, wife of George Harrison & Eric Clapton, I ran into this website that showcases the famous Birds of Britain project.

    Some Notes on the City of Horn

     This is some links that have been sitting around for a long time.

    The city of Horn was very important during the Protestant Reformation and Counter Reformation. There is a nice history of that city written by my former Church Law professor, Gustav Reingrabner, which one can purchase at the Rathaus or the local bookshop.

    This Hungarian Website has a nice view of the city from the Austrian City Atlas. Of course, Horn is on the Schweickert map as well.

    In this context, I also ran into this paper on avoiding or even working against the Black Plague in the Wachau of the 1680s.