Drawing cool Graphs Quickly

In the process of working out how to sketch the knowledge for my DH talk in Zagreb, I found a Graphviz website that allows one to experiment with the DOT material immediately.

WebGraphviz has a type-in box for the graph description and a display area below where a simple click of [Generate Graph] will output the results. I usually keep the DOT Language Guide close at hand in the adjacent tab. GraphViz supports such a rich set of output formats, but unfortunately, Google Slides (nor Blogger) will not handle SVGs correctly ... :P

Here a rather sizeable graph from my presentation for Zagreb.

Schedels Chronicle of Nuremberg

The World Chronice of Schedel is really a fascinating book. The Latin version is available online, from the Deutsche Forschungs Gemeinschaft, with the help of the Munich Digitalization Center and the Bavarian State Library.

Here for example is the city of Regensburg, were Albrecht Altdorfer worked as a painter and city head of construction (Baumeister). Or the two-page world map (missing the Euphrates and Tigris ...).

And the German translation of the Schedel'sche Weltchronik is available on Google books.

Mozart, Seraglio and Interest in Turkish Customs

On the face of it, one would be tempted to think that the Western fascination with Turkish culture coincided with its dominance (Treaty of Passarowitz 1718; Treaty of Belgrade & Nis 1739).

Consider Mozart’s abduction from the Seraglio: 

It may have been [Emperor] Joseph [II] himself who suggested the subject of Mozart's new opera [The Abduction from the Seraglio]. The occasion of its premiere was to be the state visit in September [1781] by Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia and his wife. The purpose of the visit -- to negotiate a secret agreement that would allow Austria and Russia to begin carving up the Ottoman Empire [Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, with Austrian assistance) -- made the Turkish subject of Belmonte und Constanze especially appealing. According to Nicholas Till, it was "a story that would serve the emperor's propagandist campaign against the Turks." 

Since Mozart did not finish the opera on time, two pieces by Gluck made for the less diplomatically problematic substitute (cf. Mozart Project on KV-384).

But the truth of the matter is that earlier interest had already given us visual feedback.

Codex Vindobonensis 8262, for example, I Turchi, contains images from harem scenes, such as this one, or the Turkish illustrated book of manners from the University Library in Kassel, or the so-called Bremen Album by Lambert de Vos, the Turkish Costume Book (though both of the latter contain images from the Osman possession in Asia minor as well, such as Greek priests or Jewish doctors).

See also the Turkish dress fans' website.

The Hermanns Monument as Reflection of German Sentiments toward France

Not for nothing was "Hermann" on his lofty monument facing west, brandishing his enormous sword, 7m long, in the direction of France, while the bronze inscription on the base was cast from melted-down French cannon captured at the battle of Sedan in 1870.

In Colin .M. Wells, Alesia and Kalkriese compared and contrasted: local chauvinism, nationalistic fervor, and sober archeology, pp.674-608, (here p.678), citing Cl. Nicolet (p.342) in the volume that Wells was reviewing in the article: Michel Redde, Sigmar von Schnurbein (ed), Alesia et La Bataille du Teutoburg. Un parallele Critique des Sources, Beihefte der Francia 66, Ostfildern (Jan Thorbecke Verlag) 2008, 345pps, 73 figs.

Public Data from Students on NFL kneeling and protests from 2014

From our friends at Data World.