Aaron P. Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296132
- eISBN:
- 9780191712302
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296132.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter seeks a reappraisal of Eusebius’ political theology from the standpoint of ethnic argumentation. Often characterized as laying the basis for later Christian conceptions of kingship and ...
More
This chapter seeks a reappraisal of Eusebius’ political theology from the standpoint of ethnic argumentation. Often characterized as laying the basis for later Christian conceptions of kingship and Byzantine ‘caesaro-papism’, his political thought must be analyzed in the context of his portrayal of Hellenic political or civic theology (that centered upon ancestral cult sites) and his synchronism of Augustus and Christ. Eusebius criticizes Greek polis religion as fundamentally controlled by wicked daemons, who have misled the Greeks and others (including the Romans) into the abominable practices of animal, and even human, sacrifices. Even though the lifetimes of Christ and Augustus are synchronized, Eusebius does so in a way that slights Rome’s power in emphasizing the victory of Christ over daemonic activity. Through close readings of important passages, this chapter shows that Eusebius’ conceptions of Rome and its empire were more ambivalent than previously thought. Furthermore, passages from his later works, which seem to offer theological support to the imperial office, are suggested to carry similar implications to those of his earlier apologetic writings.Less
This chapter seeks a reappraisal of Eusebius’ political theology from the standpoint of ethnic argumentation. Often characterized as laying the basis for later Christian conceptions of kingship and Byzantine ‘caesaro-papism’, his political thought must be analyzed in the context of his portrayal of Hellenic political or civic theology (that centered upon ancestral cult sites) and his synchronism of Augustus and Christ. Eusebius criticizes Greek polis religion as fundamentally controlled by wicked daemons, who have misled the Greeks and others (including the Romans) into the abominable practices of animal, and even human, sacrifices. Even though the lifetimes of Christ and Augustus are synchronized, Eusebius does so in a way that slights Rome’s power in emphasizing the victory of Christ over daemonic activity. Through close readings of important passages, this chapter shows that Eusebius’ conceptions of Rome and its empire were more ambivalent than previously thought. Furthermore, passages from his later works, which seem to offer theological support to the imperial office, are suggested to carry similar implications to those of his earlier apologetic writings.
William M. Aird
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Edward A. Freeman travelled extensively throughout his life and was far from being a sedentary gentleman-scholar confined to his country residence at Somerleaze, Somerset. According to Freeman, the ...
More
Edward A. Freeman travelled extensively throughout his life and was far from being a sedentary gentleman-scholar confined to his country residence at Somerleaze, Somerset. According to Freeman, the successful historian needed to see the places about which he wrote. His historical travels took him to all parts of Europe, into North Africa and to the United States. Freeman’s foreign tours were carefully organised and conducted with the central purpose of informing and guiding his historical work. Over many years, Freeman developed a methodology for his historical travels that he seems to have applied consistently. On occasion, his travels took him into dangerous regions, such as Dalmatia in the late 1870s. Edward Freeman’s travels reflected his interest in historical geography and his recognition of the importance of place in the study of the past marks him out as one of the pioneers of the so-called ‘spatial turn’ in modern historiography.Less
Edward A. Freeman travelled extensively throughout his life and was far from being a sedentary gentleman-scholar confined to his country residence at Somerleaze, Somerset. According to Freeman, the successful historian needed to see the places about which he wrote. His historical travels took him to all parts of Europe, into North Africa and to the United States. Freeman’s foreign tours were carefully organised and conducted with the central purpose of informing and guiding his historical work. Over many years, Freeman developed a methodology for his historical travels that he seems to have applied consistently. On occasion, his travels took him into dangerous regions, such as Dalmatia in the late 1870s. Edward Freeman’s travels reflected his interest in historical geography and his recognition of the importance of place in the study of the past marks him out as one of the pioneers of the so-called ‘spatial turn’ in modern historiography.
Andrew Pettinger
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199601745
- eISBN:
- 9780191741524
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199601745.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The introduction points out that the Principate established by Augustus is usually treated as a benign and popular political structure, but that the case of M. Scribonius Drusus Libo throws doubt on ...
More
The introduction points out that the Principate established by Augustus is usually treated as a benign and popular political structure, but that the case of M. Scribonius Drusus Libo throws doubt on this view. The case is connected with the conspiracy of the pseudo Agrippa Postumus, (i.e. Clemens). Drusus Libo was chosen as heir to a political movement bent on denying Tiberius his right. Finally, the reader learns that the result of the book is a re-conception of the Principate: it was brutal, destructive and met with serious opposition.Less
The introduction points out that the Principate established by Augustus is usually treated as a benign and popular political structure, but that the case of M. Scribonius Drusus Libo throws doubt on this view. The case is connected with the conspiracy of the pseudo Agrippa Postumus, (i.e. Clemens). Drusus Libo was chosen as heir to a political movement bent on denying Tiberius his right. Finally, the reader learns that the result of the book is a re-conception of the Principate: it was brutal, destructive and met with serious opposition.
Steven J. Green and Katharina Volk (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199586462
- eISBN:
- 9780191724961
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199586462.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The Astronomica of Manilius is a poem in five books, at least partly written under Augustus, which purports to teach the reader the art of astrology and the means by which an accurate horoscope may ...
More
The Astronomica of Manilius is a poem in five books, at least partly written under Augustus, which purports to teach the reader the art of astrology and the means by which an accurate horoscope may be cast. It is, therefore, a text from the classical age of Latin literature which deals with a topic to whose enduring popular interest any daily western newspaper will testify. And yet, despite some notable modern exceptions, the infamously harsh verdict of Manilius’ most famous twentieth-century editor, A. E. Housman, continues to cast an imposing shadow on the poem, especially for Anglophone readers. The current volume—seeks to lift this shadow once and for all, as it brings together an international contingent of scholars for an interdisciplinary exploration of Manilius at an auspiciously significant time, close to the bimillennial celebration of the poem’s composition. The range of perspectives from which Manilius is approached in the present volume is testament to both the complexity of Manilius and the differing fruitful avenues for modern interdisciplinary enquiry. Matters of literary interest, especially generic affiliation and intertextuality, are complemented by approaches which assess the socio-political, philosophical, scientific, and astrological resonance of the poem. Moreover, as a salutary counterbalance to the relative neglect of our author in recent times, the popular reception of the poem, especially in Renaissance times, is also explored.Less
The Astronomica of Manilius is a poem in five books, at least partly written under Augustus, which purports to teach the reader the art of astrology and the means by which an accurate horoscope may be cast. It is, therefore, a text from the classical age of Latin literature which deals with a topic to whose enduring popular interest any daily western newspaper will testify. And yet, despite some notable modern exceptions, the infamously harsh verdict of Manilius’ most famous twentieth-century editor, A. E. Housman, continues to cast an imposing shadow on the poem, especially for Anglophone readers. The current volume—seeks to lift this shadow once and for all, as it brings together an international contingent of scholars for an interdisciplinary exploration of Manilius at an auspiciously significant time, close to the bimillennial celebration of the poem’s composition. The range of perspectives from which Manilius is approached in the present volume is testament to both the complexity of Manilius and the differing fruitful avenues for modern interdisciplinary enquiry. Matters of literary interest, especially generic affiliation and intertextuality, are complemented by approaches which assess the socio-political, philosophical, scientific, and astrological resonance of the poem. Moreover, as a salutary counterbalance to the relative neglect of our author in recent times, the popular reception of the poem, especially in Renaissance times, is also explored.
Steven Green (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277773
- eISBN:
- 9780191708138
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277773.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This collection of essays on Ovid's corpus of erotodidactic poetry from an international contingent of Ovidian scholars finds its origins in a major conference held at the University of Manchester in ...
More
This collection of essays on Ovid's corpus of erotodidactic poetry from an international contingent of Ovidian scholars finds its origins in a major conference held at the University of Manchester in 2002. The contributors between them offer a series of perspectives on the issues that have dominated scholarship on the poems in recent decades: questions of genre, intertextuality, narratology, and reception; the socio-historical Augustan context for the poems; and the nature of ‘love’ as it is constructed in the poems. Moreover, the introduction provides a comprehensive history of scholarship on the poems in the last fifty years, in which the current papers are situated. As the first collection of critical essays on Ovid's erotodidactic poetry to appear in English, one final aim of the present volume (and its original conference) is to bring together the important cultural or national traditions – German, Italian, Anglophone (British, Irish, and American) – of scholarship on the Ars and Remedia that have so far existed largely in isolation.Less
This collection of essays on Ovid's corpus of erotodidactic poetry from an international contingent of Ovidian scholars finds its origins in a major conference held at the University of Manchester in 2002. The contributors between them offer a series of perspectives on the issues that have dominated scholarship on the poems in recent decades: questions of genre, intertextuality, narratology, and reception; the socio-historical Augustan context for the poems; and the nature of ‘love’ as it is constructed in the poems. Moreover, the introduction provides a comprehensive history of scholarship on the poems in the last fifty years, in which the current papers are situated. As the first collection of critical essays on Ovid's erotodidactic poetry to appear in English, one final aim of the present volume (and its original conference) is to bring together the important cultural or national traditions – German, Italian, Anglophone (British, Irish, and American) – of scholarship on the Ars and Remedia that have so far existed largely in isolation.
G.A. Bremner and Jonathan Conlin (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Edward Augustus Freeman (1823–92) was one of the founding fathers of the discipline of academic history in Britain, known to medievalists in particular on account of his multi-volume History of the ...
More
Edward Augustus Freeman (1823–92) was one of the founding fathers of the discipline of academic history in Britain, known to medievalists in particular on account of his multi-volume History of the Norman Conquest (1867–79). He was also known in his own time as an influential thinker on empire and federalism, as well as a fierce and acerbic critic of all things relating to history and politics. As his most famous quote ‘history is past politics, politics present history’ demonstrates, Freeman had a way of collapsing barriers of time and a gift for making his readers feel part of history rather than merely its student. Today he is regularly cited with respect to scholarly debates over British identity and historical method. In the thirty years since John Burrow and Arnaldo Momigliano first addressed it in the 1980s, the tension between Freeman’s attention to constitutional institutions on the one hand and racial character on the other has divided scholars. In the absence of a modern biography, however, gaining the full measure of Freeman’s thought has been difficult: his lifelong interests in architecture and antiquarianism in particular have been sidelined. This volume is the first attempt to bring Freeman the medievalist, political commentator, religious thinker, and student of architecture together. Freeman emerges from this analysis as a leading public intellectual of his age.Less
Edward Augustus Freeman (1823–92) was one of the founding fathers of the discipline of academic history in Britain, known to medievalists in particular on account of his multi-volume History of the Norman Conquest (1867–79). He was also known in his own time as an influential thinker on empire and federalism, as well as a fierce and acerbic critic of all things relating to history and politics. As his most famous quote ‘history is past politics, politics present history’ demonstrates, Freeman had a way of collapsing barriers of time and a gift for making his readers feel part of history rather than merely its student. Today he is regularly cited with respect to scholarly debates over British identity and historical method. In the thirty years since John Burrow and Arnaldo Momigliano first addressed it in the 1980s, the tension between Freeman’s attention to constitutional institutions on the one hand and racial character on the other has divided scholars. In the absence of a modern biography, however, gaining the full measure of Freeman’s thought has been difficult: his lifelong interests in architecture and antiquarianism in particular have been sidelined. This volume is the first attempt to bring Freeman the medievalist, political commentator, religious thinker, and student of architecture together. Freeman emerges from this analysis as a leading public intellectual of his age.
David Levene
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199558681
- eISBN:
- 9780191720888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558681.003.0018
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
There is a long-standing controversy over how far Tacitus's Annals drew on the work of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus. Various parallels in language have been observed, but this may be the ...
More
There is a long-standing controversy over how far Tacitus's Annals drew on the work of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus. Various parallels in language have been observed, but this may be the result of Trogus's epitomator Justin imitating Tacitus rather than of Tacitus imitating Trogus. This chapter argues that where there is a congruence of theme, especially when allied to linguistic parallels, there are strong reasons for seeing allusions to Trogus by Tacitus. It argues further that Tacitus, while drawing on Trogus, also reworks his ideas in an ironic and critical way, seeing (for example) Augustus as a perverted recreation of Trogus' idealized primitive monarchs, or Tiberius as the embodiment of Trogus' suggestion that the true threat to the Roman empire is from within itself.Less
There is a long-standing controversy over how far Tacitus's Annals drew on the work of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus. Various parallels in language have been observed, but this may be the result of Trogus's epitomator Justin imitating Tacitus rather than of Tacitus imitating Trogus. This chapter argues that where there is a congruence of theme, especially when allied to linguistic parallels, there are strong reasons for seeing allusions to Trogus by Tacitus. It argues further that Tacitus, while drawing on Trogus, also reworks his ideas in an ironic and critical way, seeing (for example) Augustus as a perverted recreation of Trogus' idealized primitive monarchs, or Tiberius as the embodiment of Trogus' suggestion that the true threat to the Roman empire is from within itself.
Alden A. Mosshammer
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199543120
- eISBN:
- 9780191720062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543120.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Early Christian Studies
The date of Dionysius Exiguus for the first year of Christ in AD 1 disagrees with almost all other ancient authorities. Many scholars state that Dionysius synchronized his year 1 with the year 754 ...
More
The date of Dionysius Exiguus for the first year of Christ in AD 1 disagrees with almost all other ancient authorities. Many scholars state that Dionysius synchronized his year 1 with the year 754 from the foundation of Rome. That synchronism is a modem inference that nowhere appears in the writings of Dionysius. Some have argued that Dionysius incorrectly dated the years of Augustus. Another hypothesis holds that Dionysius generated his date by adding the 532‐year Paschal period to the presumed age of Jesus at his death of 3l years, then designating as 563 the year in the tables that produced a date for Easter on 25, March. Several scholars have claimed that Dionysius derived his date from Eusebius of Caesarea. One has argued that Dionysius designated as 2000 the year in which he thought the present age would come to and end. None of these hypotheses is persuasive.Less
The date of Dionysius Exiguus for the first year of Christ in AD 1 disagrees with almost all other ancient authorities. Many scholars state that Dionysius synchronized his year 1 with the year 754 from the foundation of Rome. That synchronism is a modem inference that nowhere appears in the writings of Dionysius. Some have argued that Dionysius incorrectly dated the years of Augustus. Another hypothesis holds that Dionysius generated his date by adding the 532‐year Paschal period to the presumed age of Jesus at his death of 3l years, then designating as 563 the year in the tables that produced a date for Easter on 25, March. Several scholars have claimed that Dionysius derived his date from Eusebius of Caesarea. One has argued that Dionysius designated as 2000 the year in which he thought the present age would come to and end. None of these hypotheses is persuasive.
G. A. Bremner and Jonathan Conlin
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This introductory essay outlines the early life and career of Edward Augustus Freeman, setting the context for the subject-specific essays that follow. It discusses the influences that shaped ...
More
This introductory essay outlines the early life and career of Edward Augustus Freeman, setting the context for the subject-specific essays that follow. It discusses the influences that shaped Freeman’s worldview and argues for a closer reading of his contributions to key debates of the late Victorian period. Because of his attitude towards race, in particular his insistence on ‘Teutonic’ superiority, Freeman has often been written off or misunderstood. It is true that in light of social developments today many of his views are unpalatable, but he was not unusual for his time, and was seen by both his allies and adversaries as a prime interlocutor on issues ranging from architecture, politics, and historical method, to foxhunting and vivisection. Unsavoury many of his views may have been, but ill-considered they were not. Ultimately we are asked to reconsider Freeman’s importance and reputation in the whole as an intelligent, fiercely independent, and above all fearless contributor to the world of Victorian cultural politics.Less
This introductory essay outlines the early life and career of Edward Augustus Freeman, setting the context for the subject-specific essays that follow. It discusses the influences that shaped Freeman’s worldview and argues for a closer reading of his contributions to key debates of the late Victorian period. Because of his attitude towards race, in particular his insistence on ‘Teutonic’ superiority, Freeman has often been written off or misunderstood. It is true that in light of social developments today many of his views are unpalatable, but he was not unusual for his time, and was seen by both his allies and adversaries as a prime interlocutor on issues ranging from architecture, politics, and historical method, to foxhunting and vivisection. Unsavoury many of his views may have been, but ill-considered they were not. Ultimately we are asked to reconsider Freeman’s importance and reputation in the whole as an intelligent, fiercely independent, and above all fearless contributor to the world of Victorian cultural politics.
James Kirby
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
One of the most striking features of E. A. Freeman’s life and thought is the contrast between the young Tractarian student of architecture and the mature liberal, even radical, historian. This essay ...
More
One of the most striking features of E. A. Freeman’s life and thought is the contrast between the young Tractarian student of architecture and the mature liberal, even radical, historian. This essay explains that the transition from the one to the other was not a process of sudden conversion or rupture, but rather a natural development. To understand the crucial years c.1846–50, when Freeman’s thought was most in ferment, a number of his early, hitherto unidentified, publications have been tracked down, including his earliest published study of the Norman Conquest. From these sources, among others, it has been possible to reconstruct how his early medievalism and anti-Erastianism evolved into a general commitment to liberty, democracy, and republicanism, without repudiating the High Anglicanism of his youth. Though apparently idiosyncratic, this intellectual development was shared to some extent by a number of prominent Victorian liberals, not least Gladstone himself.Less
One of the most striking features of E. A. Freeman’s life and thought is the contrast between the young Tractarian student of architecture and the mature liberal, even radical, historian. This essay explains that the transition from the one to the other was not a process of sudden conversion or rupture, but rather a natural development. To understand the crucial years c.1846–50, when Freeman’s thought was most in ferment, a number of his early, hitherto unidentified, publications have been tracked down, including his earliest published study of the Norman Conquest. From these sources, among others, it has been possible to reconstruct how his early medievalism and anti-Erastianism evolved into a general commitment to liberty, democracy, and republicanism, without repudiating the High Anglicanism of his youth. Though apparently idiosyncratic, this intellectual development was shared to some extent by a number of prominent Victorian liberals, not least Gladstone himself.
Colm Ó Siochrú
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This essay explores E. A. Freeman’s conception of the ‘unity of history’. Often presented in ‘Whiggish’ and secular terms, as the development of Roman imperialism into Teutonic liberty and ...
More
This essay explores E. A. Freeman’s conception of the ‘unity of history’. Often presented in ‘Whiggish’ and secular terms, as the development of Roman imperialism into Teutonic liberty and nationality, this idea had deep religious roots and significances. Modernity, for Freeman, evolved in creative ‘continuity’ with Rome; but he considered that legacy contested by rival forms of Catholic Christianity – the papal-Roman, and the Orthodox-Anglican. From the emergence of this tension in Freeman’s youthful notions of the Church, history, and liberty, the essay charts a deepening aversion to ‘ultramontanism’, conceived as an integral programme of papal oppression – ecclesiastical, political, and scientific. The fall of papal Rome to the liberal-national campaign for Italian unification (1870) should have meant the vindication of Freeman’s liberal Catholic vision. The ambivalence marking his response, however, suggested his deepening anxieties concerning the future of modernity’s Christian order.Less
This essay explores E. A. Freeman’s conception of the ‘unity of history’. Often presented in ‘Whiggish’ and secular terms, as the development of Roman imperialism into Teutonic liberty and nationality, this idea had deep religious roots and significances. Modernity, for Freeman, evolved in creative ‘continuity’ with Rome; but he considered that legacy contested by rival forms of Catholic Christianity – the papal-Roman, and the Orthodox-Anglican. From the emergence of this tension in Freeman’s youthful notions of the Church, history, and liberty, the essay charts a deepening aversion to ‘ultramontanism’, conceived as an integral programme of papal oppression – ecclesiastical, political, and scientific. The fall of papal Rome to the liberal-national campaign for Italian unification (1870) should have meant the vindication of Freeman’s liberal Catholic vision. The ambivalence marking his response, however, suggested his deepening anxieties concerning the future of modernity’s Christian order.
William Kelley
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
While E. A. Freeman’s History of the Norman Conquest has tended to monopolise the attention of historians of historiography, this essay argues that the Eastern Question occupies a central place in ...
More
While E. A. Freeman’s History of the Norman Conquest has tended to monopolise the attention of historians of historiography, this essay argues that the Eastern Question occupies a central place in his historical thought. Freeman was an ardent and influential contributor to debates on the Eastern Question, which he construed as an historical problem. In works such as his four-volume History of Sicily, his Chief Periods of European History, his third series of Historical Essays and his monographs History and Conquest of the Saracens and The Ottoman Power in Europe, Freeman elaborated a conception of universal history to which the Eastern Question was central. Freeman’s prominent role in the Bulgarian Agitation of 1876 must be seen in the context of this deeply historical engagement with the Eastern Question.Less
While E. A. Freeman’s History of the Norman Conquest has tended to monopolise the attention of historians of historiography, this essay argues that the Eastern Question occupies a central place in his historical thought. Freeman was an ardent and influential contributor to debates on the Eastern Question, which he construed as an historical problem. In works such as his four-volume History of Sicily, his Chief Periods of European History, his third series of Historical Essays and his monographs History and Conquest of the Saracens and The Ottoman Power in Europe, Freeman elaborated a conception of universal history to which the Eastern Question was central. Freeman’s prominent role in the Bulgarian Agitation of 1876 must be seen in the context of this deeply historical engagement with the Eastern Question.
G. A. Bremner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This essay examines the long known but little studied relationship between E. A. Freeman and George Gilbert Scott (1811–78), one of the foremost architects of the Victorian age. Given his interests ...
More
This essay examines the long known but little studied relationship between E. A. Freeman and George Gilbert Scott (1811–78), one of the foremost architects of the Victorian age. Given his interests in architecture, it was only natural that Freeman would be drawn within the ambit of the key practitioners of his day. It is argued that the close friendship that developed between Freeman and Scott from the early 1840s influenced appreciably the latter’s historical conception of architecture, thus affecting his architectural output, both theoretical and practical. Their engagement over such topical issues as the ‘national question’ in British architecture, John Ruskin, the cultural origins and significance of Gothic architecture, and the debate over style, particularly with regard to the New Government Offices (1857–68), Whitehall, are all discussed. It is concluded that Freeman’s ideas, despite being overshadowed by those of Ruskin and the Ecclesiologists, had a wider impact in the world of Victorian architecture than previously thought.Less
This essay examines the long known but little studied relationship between E. A. Freeman and George Gilbert Scott (1811–78), one of the foremost architects of the Victorian age. Given his interests in architecture, it was only natural that Freeman would be drawn within the ambit of the key practitioners of his day. It is argued that the close friendship that developed between Freeman and Scott from the early 1840s influenced appreciably the latter’s historical conception of architecture, thus affecting his architectural output, both theoretical and practical. Their engagement over such topical issues as the ‘national question’ in British architecture, John Ruskin, the cultural origins and significance of Gothic architecture, and the debate over style, particularly with regard to the New Government Offices (1857–68), Whitehall, are all discussed. It is concluded that Freeman’s ideas, despite being overshadowed by those of Ruskin and the Ecclesiologists, had a wider impact in the world of Victorian architecture than previously thought.
Theodore Koditschek
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This essay explores some of the ways in which E. A. Freeman’s 19th-century political investments shaped his approach to history. Like other liberals, Freeman read history as the story of progress. ...
More
This essay explores some of the ways in which E. A. Freeman’s 19th-century political investments shaped his approach to history. Like other liberals, Freeman read history as the story of progress. But it was racial more than material progress that drove his vision of history forward. For Freeman, the superiority of Aryans over other races, of Teutons over other Aryans, and of Anglo-Saxons over other Teutons was the product of their respective histories. Paradoxically, it was the Anglo-Saxons’ penchant for racial purity that especially fitted them for their career of political evolution and institutional hybridity. For this reason Freeman was inclined to see Britain’s 19th-century empire as a trap, luring the superior Anglo-Saxons into the temptation of miscegenation, wasting their strength in missionary outreach to savages, and into an enervating alliance with the hated Ottoman Turk. His Comparative Politics (1873), Historical Geography of Europe (1881), and History of Sicily (1891–4) were all warnings in this regard.Less
This essay explores some of the ways in which E. A. Freeman’s 19th-century political investments shaped his approach to history. Like other liberals, Freeman read history as the story of progress. But it was racial more than material progress that drove his vision of history forward. For Freeman, the superiority of Aryans over other races, of Teutons over other Aryans, and of Anglo-Saxons over other Teutons was the product of their respective histories. Paradoxically, it was the Anglo-Saxons’ penchant for racial purity that especially fitted them for their career of political evolution and institutional hybridity. For this reason Freeman was inclined to see Britain’s 19th-century empire as a trap, luring the superior Anglo-Saxons into the temptation of miscegenation, wasting their strength in missionary outreach to savages, and into an enervating alliance with the hated Ottoman Turk. His Comparative Politics (1873), Historical Geography of Europe (1881), and History of Sicily (1891–4) were all warnings in this regard.
Duncan Bell
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This essay analyses E. A. Freeman’s views on the past, present, and future of the British Empire. It elucidates in particular how his understanding of Aryan racial history and the glories of Ancient ...
More
This essay analyses E. A. Freeman’s views on the past, present, and future of the British Empire. It elucidates in particular how his understanding of Aryan racial history and the glories of Ancient Greece helped to shape his account of the British Empire and its pathologies. Freeman was deeply critical of both the British Empire in India and projects for Imperial Federation. Yet he was no ‘little Englander.’ Indeed, it is argued that Freeman’s scepticism about modern European forms of empire-building was informed by an ambition to establish a globe-spanning political community composed of the ‘English-speaking peoples’. At the core of this imagined racial community, united by kinship and common citizenship, stood the Anglo-American connection, and Freeman repeatedly sought to convince people on both sides of the Atlantic about their collective history and their shared destiny. For Freeman, the institutions of formal empire stood in the way of this grandiose vision of world order.Less
This essay analyses E. A. Freeman’s views on the past, present, and future of the British Empire. It elucidates in particular how his understanding of Aryan racial history and the glories of Ancient Greece helped to shape his account of the British Empire and its pathologies. Freeman was deeply critical of both the British Empire in India and projects for Imperial Federation. Yet he was no ‘little Englander.’ Indeed, it is argued that Freeman’s scepticism about modern European forms of empire-building was informed by an ambition to establish a globe-spanning political community composed of the ‘English-speaking peoples’. At the core of this imagined racial community, united by kinship and common citizenship, stood the Anglo-American connection, and Freeman repeatedly sought to convince people on both sides of the Atlantic about their collective history and their shared destiny. For Freeman, the institutions of formal empire stood in the way of this grandiose vision of world order.
Ian Hesketh
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
When J. A. Froude published his articles on Thomas Becket in the Nineteenth Century (1877), he found himself attacked again by his nemesis E. A. Freeman, who published a 100-page review, concluding ...
More
When J. A. Froude published his articles on Thomas Becket in the Nineteenth Century (1877), he found himself attacked again by his nemesis E. A. Freeman, who published a 100-page review, concluding that Froude’s history of Becket was in fact a fiction. It has been argued that such criticisms were motivated by the professionalising historian’s need to exclude the literary and artistic Froude from a discipline seeking to promote its newly adopted scientific methodology. But the nature of Freeman’s review of Froude’s ‘Becket’ suggests that there was something deeply personal at the core of Freeman’s vitriol, originating not in a methodological dispute but rather in ecclesiastical debates that embroiled Oxford life while both Froude and Freeman were students and later fellows there almost 30 years before, when a very different history of Becket was first published.Less
When J. A. Froude published his articles on Thomas Becket in the Nineteenth Century (1877), he found himself attacked again by his nemesis E. A. Freeman, who published a 100-page review, concluding that Froude’s history of Becket was in fact a fiction. It has been argued that such criticisms were motivated by the professionalising historian’s need to exclude the literary and artistic Froude from a discipline seeking to promote its newly adopted scientific methodology. But the nature of Freeman’s review of Froude’s ‘Becket’ suggests that there was something deeply personal at the core of Freeman’s vitriol, originating not in a methodological dispute but rather in ecclesiastical debates that embroiled Oxford life while both Froude and Freeman were students and later fellows there almost 30 years before, when a very different history of Becket was first published.
Herman Paul
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Why did E. A. Freeman’s The Methods of Historical Study (1886) meet with mostly negative responses from late 19th-century American and Continental European historians? This essay argues that while ...
More
Why did E. A. Freeman’s The Methods of Historical Study (1886) meet with mostly negative responses from late 19th-century American and Continental European historians? This essay argues that while Freeman adopted the language of ‘historical methods’ that was becoming customary in the 1880s, he did not understand the term to refer to techniques of source criticism, as many of his contemporaries did, but to a comparative method firmly rooted in Thomas Arnold’s unity of history doctrine. Confusingly, then, Freeman’s method promoted a philosophy of history of the kind that, by the 1880s, was increasingly rejected in the name of historical method. It is not without irony, therefore, that The Methods of Historical Study was sometimes mistaken for a methodology manual like Ernst Bernheim’s Lehrbuch der historischen Methode (1889) and as such found wanting by historians interested in the newest techniques of source criticism.Less
Why did E. A. Freeman’s The Methods of Historical Study (1886) meet with mostly negative responses from late 19th-century American and Continental European historians? This essay argues that while Freeman adopted the language of ‘historical methods’ that was becoming customary in the 1880s, he did not understand the term to refer to techniques of source criticism, as many of his contemporaries did, but to a comparative method firmly rooted in Thomas Arnold’s unity of history doctrine. Confusingly, then, Freeman’s method promoted a philosophy of history of the kind that, by the 1880s, was increasingly rejected in the name of historical method. It is not without irony, therefore, that The Methods of Historical Study was sometimes mistaken for a methodology manual like Ernst Bernheim’s Lehrbuch der historischen Methode (1889) and as such found wanting by historians interested in the newest techniques of source criticism.
John Jory
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199232536
- eISBN:
- 9780191716003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232536.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The poets Statius and Lucan are both said to have written pantomimes, and this chapter considers the relationship of pantomime art to poetic texts. The chapter underlines the importance of the ...
More
The poets Statius and Lucan are both said to have written pantomimes, and this chapter considers the relationship of pantomime art to poetic texts. The chapter underlines the importance of the enunciated narrative to the performance. The chapter considers a wide range of evidence about the libretti of pantomime, from disparaging comments on the quality of the words composed specifically for the pantomime dancer, to the alleged small fragments embedded in authors including Petronius. The chapter considers the possible reasons for the apparent wholesale loss of the words which accompanied pantomime, and discusses what sort of poetry and verse forms would have been most suitable; in adapting the text for a tragedy, for example, monologue would have proved much more practicable than stichomythia. The performance evidence relating to Bathyllus and Pylades, the pantomime dancers credited with introducing the art form in the reign of Augustus, is given detailed attention.Less
The poets Statius and Lucan are both said to have written pantomimes, and this chapter considers the relationship of pantomime art to poetic texts. The chapter underlines the importance of the enunciated narrative to the performance. The chapter considers a wide range of evidence about the libretti of pantomime, from disparaging comments on the quality of the words composed specifically for the pantomime dancer, to the alleged small fragments embedded in authors including Petronius. The chapter considers the possible reasons for the apparent wholesale loss of the words which accompanied pantomime, and discusses what sort of poetry and verse forms would have been most suitable; in adapting the text for a tragedy, for example, monologue would have proved much more practicable than stichomythia. The performance evidence relating to Bathyllus and Pylades, the pantomime dancers credited with introducing the art form in the reign of Augustus, is given detailed attention.
Yvette Hunt
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199232536
- eISBN:
- 9780191716003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232536.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter concentrates on the themes chosen for the earlier pantomimes performed in Rome at the time of Augustus' public endorsement of the medium. It suggests that the literary sources can be ...
More
This chapter concentrates on the themes chosen for the earlier pantomimes performed in Rome at the time of Augustus' public endorsement of the medium. It suggests that the literary sources can be usefully supplemented by thinking about two aspects of Augustus' relationship with pantomime that have hitherto received little attention. The first is the particular myths and symbols that Augustan propaganda utilised in Public Relations activities, such as the Roman Games, and architectural decoration (Apollo, Mars and Venus, the Danaids and the Niobids); the second is the incorporation of pantomime in festivals held in his honour, such as the Augustalia and the Sebasta Games held in Naples.Less
This chapter concentrates on the themes chosen for the earlier pantomimes performed in Rome at the time of Augustus' public endorsement of the medium. It suggests that the literary sources can be usefully supplemented by thinking about two aspects of Augustus' relationship with pantomime that have hitherto received little attention. The first is the particular myths and symbols that Augustan propaganda utilised in Public Relations activities, such as the Roman Games, and architectural decoration (Apollo, Mars and Venus, the Danaids and the Niobids); the second is the incorporation of pantomime in festivals held in his honour, such as the Augustalia and the Sebasta Games held in Naples.
PAUL ZANKER
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197262764
- eISBN:
- 9780191753947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262764.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
A Roman emperor was defined not simply by his own actions, but also by the manner in which he presented himself, the way he appeared in public, and the personal style he adopted in his interaction ...
More
A Roman emperor was defined not simply by his own actions, but also by the manner in which he presented himself, the way he appeared in public, and the personal style he adopted in his interaction with the Senate and the people. A major element of that style lay in the manner of his domestic life and, closely related to this, how he handled the rituals associated with the imperial residence, such as the salutation and, above all, the invitations to an imperial convivium. Should the power of the emperor be put on display or concealed? In what kinds of settings should he carry out his duties? How could he simultaneously show off his status and power while playing the princeps in the manner of Augustus? It was evident from the very start that here was a fundamental flaw in the artful construction of Augustus. This is most evident in the honorific statues and other monuments associated with the worship of the emperor, in which Augustus and his Julio-Claudian successors, during their lifetimes, were represented both as civic officials in the toga and as nude figures with bodies modelled on gods and heroes. This chapter tries to understand better the new residence that Domitian built on the Palatine, at vast expense, to the plans of the architect Rabirius (according to Martial 7. 56), as a monument of imperial projection.Less
A Roman emperor was defined not simply by his own actions, but also by the manner in which he presented himself, the way he appeared in public, and the personal style he adopted in his interaction with the Senate and the people. A major element of that style lay in the manner of his domestic life and, closely related to this, how he handled the rituals associated with the imperial residence, such as the salutation and, above all, the invitations to an imperial convivium. Should the power of the emperor be put on display or concealed? In what kinds of settings should he carry out his duties? How could he simultaneously show off his status and power while playing the princeps in the manner of Augustus? It was evident from the very start that here was a fundamental flaw in the artful construction of Augustus. This is most evident in the honorific statues and other monuments associated with the worship of the emperor, in which Augustus and his Julio-Claudian successors, during their lifetimes, were represented both as civic officials in the toga and as nude figures with bodies modelled on gods and heroes. This chapter tries to understand better the new residence that Domitian built on the Palatine, at vast expense, to the plans of the architect Rabirius (according to Martial 7. 56), as a monument of imperial projection.
