			Home About us Contact

Medieval Society (medieval + society)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	83%

Selected Abstracts

Postcolonialism and the Study of the Middle Ages

HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2008
Nadia R. Altschul
This article focuses on the use of postcolonial criticism in the study of the European Middle Ages. It concentrates on two issues critiqued in particular by historians: anachronism and applicability. The article is thus structured around two questions: Why should medievalists explore contemporary postcolonial issues instead of strictly medieval ones? And why should the tools of postcolonial theory be considered applicable to medieval societies and times? [source]

The Ethics and Practice of Islamic Medieval Charity

HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2007
Yaacov Lev
Charity is deeply embedded in the religious thought and teachings of the three monotheistic religions. This article, while focusing on medieval Islam, is set in a wider framework with references to both Jewish and Christian parallels. Three main topics are examined: the religious meaning of charity, the social and political ramifications of almsgiving, and the impact of the institutional form of charity (the pious endowment system, waqf pl. awqaf) on Muslim medieval society. In the course of this examination, the article deals with the motives and attitudes of the donors (mainly people of the ruling class and the wealthy) and with the recipients of charity (the poor as well as the learned class). The article equally provides an overview of the charitable institutions and functions that existed in Muslim medieval societies. [source]

Viking and native: re,thinking identity in the Danelaw

EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 1 2002
D.M. Hadley
This paper addresses the impact of the Scandinavian settlements in England in the ninth and tenth centuries, and the role that ethnic identity and affiliation played in the society of the so,called Danelaw. It is argued that ethnic identity was not a constant factor, but one that only became relevant, at least in the evidence available to us, at certain times. It is suggested that the key to understanding expressions of ethnicity lies in the absorption of new ruling elites in northern and eastern England, and in subsequent political manoeuvring, rather than in the scale of the Scandinavian settlement. Indeed, the scale of the settlement does not easily explain most of our evidence, with the exception of some of the linguistic data. This paper stresses the importance of discussing the Scandinavian settlements not simply by reference to ethnic factors, but within the social and political context of early medieval society. [source]

The Ethics and Practice of Islamic Medieval Charity

Adaptations to humeral torsion in medieval Britain

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
Jill A. Rhodes
Abstract Adaptations to the humeral torsion angle have been identified in the professional throwing athlete. This movement pattern increases the humeral torsion angle, and also increases the extent of external rotation movements in the dominant, throwing limb when compared with the nondominant limb. The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that the humeral torsion angle is an adaptation to upper limb use. This project examines the humeral torsion angle in a number of medieval British populations, as well as a modern cadaver-based sample. The results identify significant differences in the humeral torsion angle both between and within male (P < 0.001, ANOVA) and female (P < 0.014, ANOVA) populations, although the results are not consistent with expected behavior patterns. Statistically significant differences between males and females within the same site were identified in 2 of the 5 samples examined. The mean level of bilateral asymmetry does not approach that reported for the professional throwing athlete. However, a number of individuals have high levels of asymmetry in excess of that identified in the professional throwing athlete. This analysis demonstrates the need for individual rather than population-based analyses, as the heterogeneity within population samples obscures individual variation in activity patterns. The diversity within British medieval society and a lack of specific known behaviors prevent further identification of the functional significance of the humeral torsion angle within the archaeological record examined here. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Closing Ranks: Fundamentals in History, Politics and Anthropology

THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
Kirsten Hastrup
In this presentation, I discuss fundamentalism from a processual perspective, seeking to tease out some general qualities of the processes involved in a return to fundamentals amidst social change. I start with an analysis of the historical dynamics of Icelandic society in the period 1400,1800, showing how the increasing insistence on old patterns and cultural fundamentals contributed to the gradual destruction of a one time flourishing medieval society. This devolution, I suggest, is closely correlated with a process of amplification (Sahlins) of a particular set of values, leading to a loss of flexibility in the response to environmental and other changes. Next follows a discussion of present day concerns with nationalism and other interests in bounding oneself off from the surrounding world, and demanding recognition in return. One of the processes discussed is a process of transvaluation (Tambiah), assimilating particulars to a larger and less context-bound scheme and thereby gradually deepening the cleavage between selves and others, sometimes to the point of epistemological closure (Ignatieff). Finally, one of the anthropological fundamentals, holism, is discussed with a view to reassessing its potential for present-day anthropology. It is argued that through the process of knowing implied in fieldwork, anthropologists arrive at a dual understanding of perceived wholes and creative agents. A new sense of holism may still grant both consistency and uniqueness to the anthropological discipline. [source]