Stuart Carroll
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199290451
- eISBN:
- 9780191710490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290451.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, ...
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The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, evidence for feuding in France before 1559 is fragmentary. Among the aristocracy at least private violence was increasingly under control during the late Middle Ages: revenge killing as a feature of high politics had been eradicated by the beginning of the 16th century. Factors often identified with modernity did much to create the conditions for a recrudescence of vindicatory violence: social mobility, Protestantism, and duelling. Vindicatory violence increased in France because of, not in spite of, the social and economic dynamism associated with the Renaissance, as the traditional elite was challenged by the enterprising and socially mobile.Less
The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, evidence for feuding in France before 1559 is fragmentary. Among the aristocracy at least private violence was increasingly under control during the late Middle Ages: revenge killing as a feature of high politics had been eradicated by the beginning of the 16th century. Factors often identified with modernity did much to create the conditions for a recrudescence of vindicatory violence: social mobility, Protestantism, and duelling. Vindicatory violence increased in France because of, not in spite of, the social and economic dynamism associated with the Renaissance, as the traditional elite was challenged by the enterprising and socially mobile.
Cynthia Herrup
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195139259
- eISBN:
- 9780199848966
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195139259.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
Sex, privilege, corruption, and revenge—these are elements that we expect to find splashed across today's tabloid headlines. But in 17th-century England, a sex scandal in which the 2nd Earl of ...
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Sex, privilege, corruption, and revenge—these are elements that we expect to find splashed across today's tabloid headlines. But in 17th-century England, a sex scandal in which the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven was executed for crimes so horrible that “a Christian man ought scarce to name them” threatened the very foundations of aristocratic hierarchy. This book presents a new interpretation both of the case itself and of the sexual and social anxieties it cast into bold relief. Castlehaven was convicted of abetting the rape of his wife and of committing sodomy with his servants. More than that, he stood accused of inverting the natural order of his household by reveling in rather than restraining the intemperate passions of those he was expected to rule and protect. The book argues that because an orderly house was considered both an example and endorsement of aristocratic governance, the riotousness presided over by Castlehaven was the most damning evidence against him. Castlehaven himself argued that he was the victim of an impatient son, an unhappy wife, and courtiers greedy for his lands. Eschewing simple conclusions about guilt or innocence, the book focuses instead on the legal, social, and political dynamics of the case and its subsequent retellings.Less
Sex, privilege, corruption, and revenge—these are elements that we expect to find splashed across today's tabloid headlines. But in 17th-century England, a sex scandal in which the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven was executed for crimes so horrible that “a Christian man ought scarce to name them” threatened the very foundations of aristocratic hierarchy. This book presents a new interpretation both of the case itself and of the sexual and social anxieties it cast into bold relief. Castlehaven was convicted of abetting the rape of his wife and of committing sodomy with his servants. More than that, he stood accused of inverting the natural order of his household by reveling in rather than restraining the intemperate passions of those he was expected to rule and protect. The book argues that because an orderly house was considered both an example and endorsement of aristocratic governance, the riotousness presided over by Castlehaven was the most damning evidence against him. Castlehaven himself argued that he was the victim of an impatient son, an unhappy wife, and courtiers greedy for his lands. Eschewing simple conclusions about guilt or innocence, the book focuses instead on the legal, social, and political dynamics of the case and its subsequent retellings.
Robin Frame
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206040
- eISBN:
- 9780191676949
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206040.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, Political History
This book offers a complementary, rather than an alternative, perspective on the history of politics in the British Isles from 1100 to 1400. A view that ...
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This book offers a complementary, rather than an alternative, perspective on the history of politics in the British Isles from 1100 to 1400. A view that takes in the British Isles as a whole may highlight themes and relations that otherwise are only dimly visible; it can help to pin-point similarities and differences, and prompt questions that might otherwise remain unasked; above all, it should have the capacity to set well-known features in an unfamiliar context. Two stand out. The first, inevitably, is the impact on the British Isles of the dominant power within them, represented by the Anglo-Norman aristocracy, church, and monarchy, and by their successor, the English state. The expansion of that power, the responses it encountered, and the limits that were placed upon it form an important thread in a somewhat winding story. Comparisons and contrasts between the different parts of the British Isles form a second prominent theme.Less
This book offers a complementary, rather than an alternative, perspective on the history of politics in the British Isles from 1100 to 1400. A view that takes in the British Isles as a whole may highlight themes and relations that otherwise are only dimly visible; it can help to pin-point similarities and differences, and prompt questions that might otherwise remain unasked; above all, it should have the capacity to set well-known features in an unfamiliar context. Two stand out. The first, inevitably, is the impact on the British Isles of the dominant power within them, represented by the Anglo-Norman aristocracy, church, and monarchy, and by their successor, the English state. The expansion of that power, the responses it encountered, and the limits that were placed upon it form an important thread in a somewhat winding story. Comparisons and contrasts between the different parts of the British Isles form a second prominent theme.
Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261185
- eISBN:
- 9780191601507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261180.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
State formation to be an essential part of the capitalist revolution and of the modernization process that begins with the Renaissance and the commercial revolution. Its completion, which happened ...
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State formation to be an essential part of the capitalist revolution and of the modernization process that begins with the Renaissance and the commercial revolution. Its completion, which happened with the industrial revolution, required definite and regulated markets, which were brought by the absolute state. Hypothetically, the absolute state was the outcome of a Hobbesian social contract; in actual terms, the consequence of a historical agreement between the monarch and the new emerging merchant bourgeoisie at the expense of the feudal lords’ power. The monarch used tax revenues to maintain a dependent patrimonial aristocracy, living at the court, to take care of war, and a patrimonial bureaucracy to collect taxes and administer justice. It is a mistake to see patrimonial administration as merely corrupt and inefficient. Under such bureaucracy, the state apparatus advanced hugely in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.Less
State formation to be an essential part of the capitalist revolution and of the modernization process that begins with the Renaissance and the commercial revolution. Its completion, which happened with the industrial revolution, required definite and regulated markets, which were brought by the absolute state. Hypothetically, the absolute state was the outcome of a Hobbesian social contract; in actual terms, the consequence of a historical agreement between the monarch and the new emerging merchant bourgeoisie at the expense of the feudal lords’ power. The monarch used tax revenues to maintain a dependent patrimonial aristocracy, living at the court, to take care of war, and a patrimonial bureaucracy to collect taxes and administer justice. It is a mistake to see patrimonial administration as merely corrupt and inefficient. Under such bureaucracy, the state apparatus advanced hugely in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
K. D. Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207276
- eISBN:
- 9780191677601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207276.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
By examining the lives of aristocratic women during the first forty years of Victoria's reign, this book proposes a reading of aristocratic political society which does not rest on a notion of ...
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By examining the lives of aristocratic women during the first forty years of Victoria's reign, this book proposes a reading of aristocratic political society which does not rest on a notion of ‘separate spheres’, and in which women played an active part. It tries to show that aristocratic women were actively engaged in the pursuits of their families — whether on their estates, in local institutions, in national politics, or at the court. Politics, whether national or local, was the motivating force of aristocratic society. Unlike other Victorian institutions, a working aristocracy required women as well as men to function fully, and not simply in the hereditary dimension. This chapter suggests that it is more constructive to regard aristocratic women as an integral part of an aristocratic culture in which they had important roles which were the consequence of their membership of the aristocracy.Less
By examining the lives of aristocratic women during the first forty years of Victoria's reign, this book proposes a reading of aristocratic political society which does not rest on a notion of ‘separate spheres’, and in which women played an active part. It tries to show that aristocratic women were actively engaged in the pursuits of their families — whether on their estates, in local institutions, in national politics, or at the court. Politics, whether national or local, was the motivating force of aristocratic society. Unlike other Victorian institutions, a working aristocracy required women as well as men to function fully, and not simply in the hereditary dimension. This chapter suggests that it is more constructive to regard aristocratic women as an integral part of an aristocratic culture in which they had important roles which were the consequence of their membership of the aristocracy.
David G. Hunter
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279784
- eISBN:
- 9780191707391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279784.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
In the background of the Jovinianist controversy there is plentiful evidence of Christian opposition to asceticism, especially at Rome. One reason for this is that by the mid‐fourth century a ...
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In the background of the Jovinianist controversy there is plentiful evidence of Christian opposition to asceticism, especially at Rome. One reason for this is that by the mid‐fourth century a Christian aristocratic culture had begun to develop, in which ‘assimilation and accommodation’ (Salzman) to traditional aristocratic values was the norm. Even when late Roman aristocrats adopted asceticism, they often did so in line with traditional aristocratic expectations of their class and without significant disruption of lifestyle. The adoption of asceticism by female members of the gens Anicii is a notable example.Less
In the background of the Jovinianist controversy there is plentiful evidence of Christian opposition to asceticism, especially at Rome. One reason for this is that by the mid‐fourth century a Christian aristocratic culture had begun to develop, in which ‘assimilation and accommodation’ (Salzman) to traditional aristocratic values was the norm. Even when late Roman aristocrats adopted asceticism, they often did so in line with traditional aristocratic expectations of their class and without significant disruption of lifestyle. The adoption of asceticism by female members of the gens Anicii is a notable example.
Max. M Edling
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195148701
- eISBN:
- 9780199835096
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195148703.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The first two sections of this chapter discuss the two main approaches to the analysis of the ratification debate over the US Constitution. Until the late 1960s, the predominant interpretation ...
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The first two sections of this chapter discuss the two main approaches to the analysis of the ratification debate over the US Constitution. Until the late 1960s, the predominant interpretation described the debate over ratification as a conflict between “aristocratic” and “democratic” ideals and interests, but at about that time, scholars began to shift to a second approach that used the terms “liberalism” and “classical republicanism” to account for ideological differences during the revolutionary era; this shift was also accompanied by a change in the interpreters’ concerns away from social struggle toward the study of the development of political ideas. The argument presented here is that the terminology so far favored by historians and political scientists has obscured important aspects of the ideological differences between the Federalists and their opponents because it has drawn attention away from the actual issues debated during the ratification struggle. This claim can be supported in different ways, but the approach used here is to look closely at what prominent interpreters say about the limits of their own interpretation, even though this it risks being unfair to the perspectives reviewed. The last two sections of the chapter present an approach that promises better to capture the essence of the ideological disagreement between the Federalists and the Antifederalists as presented in the debate over ratification, and suggest that the debate is best seen as neither about democracy nor about liberalism, but about state formation.Less
The first two sections of this chapter discuss the two main approaches to the analysis of the ratification debate over the US Constitution. Until the late 1960s, the predominant interpretation described the debate over ratification as a conflict between “aristocratic” and “democratic” ideals and interests, but at about that time, scholars began to shift to a second approach that used the terms “liberalism” and “classical republicanism” to account for ideological differences during the revolutionary era; this shift was also accompanied by a change in the interpreters’ concerns away from social struggle toward the study of the development of political ideas. The argument presented here is that the terminology so far favored by historians and political scientists has obscured important aspects of the ideological differences between the Federalists and their opponents because it has drawn attention away from the actual issues debated during the ratification struggle. This claim can be supported in different ways, but the approach used here is to look closely at what prominent interpreters say about the limits of their own interpretation, even though this it risks being unfair to the perspectives reviewed. The last two sections of the chapter present an approach that promises better to capture the essence of the ideological disagreement between the Federalists and the Antifederalists as presented in the debate over ratification, and suggest that the debate is best seen as neither about democracy nor about liberalism, but about state formation.
Anne Pippin Burnett
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277940
- eISBN:
- 9780191707841
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277940.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book examines choral performance, audience response, and the poetic means used by Greek lyric poet Pindar to control this response. It consists of individual studies of Pindar's eleven odes for ...
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This book examines choral performance, audience response, and the poetic means used by Greek lyric poet Pindar to control this response. It consists of individual studies of Pindar's eleven odes for Aiginetan victors, preceded by a brief survey of the history of the island and the nature of its aristocracy. The discussion focuses in particular on questions of mythic self-presentation in Pindar's choral songs, as exemplified by such non-literary evidence as the pedimental sculptures of the Aphaia Temple, and the parallel ‘narrative’ sections of the odes. The overall concern is with Pindaric techniques for unifying an audience and leading it into a shared experience of inspired success, but there is also a concern with the realities of athletic contest and its celebration.Less
This book examines choral performance, audience response, and the poetic means used by Greek lyric poet Pindar to control this response. It consists of individual studies of Pindar's eleven odes for Aiginetan victors, preceded by a brief survey of the history of the island and the nature of its aristocracy. The discussion focuses in particular on questions of mythic self-presentation in Pindar's choral songs, as exemplified by such non-literary evidence as the pedimental sculptures of the Aphaia Temple, and the parallel ‘narrative’ sections of the odes. The overall concern is with Pindaric techniques for unifying an audience and leading it into a shared experience of inspired success, but there is also a concern with the realities of athletic contest and its celebration.
Thomas L. Pangle
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294962
- eISBN:
- 9780191598708
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294964.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The civic republican public philosophy is rooted in Aristotle and Machiavelli. It stresses the civic virtues deliberative self-government requires in the citizenry, and makes the formation of ...
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The civic republican public philosophy is rooted in Aristotle and Machiavelli. It stresses the civic virtues deliberative self-government requires in the citizenry, and makes the formation of character–that is, the fostering of the capacities for active citizenship–a chief and direct aim of legislation and public policy. There are severe unexplored tensions among some of the virtues that Sandel’s narrative evokes, and he appeals to Jeffersonian republicanism while hiding the aristocratic cornerstone of authentic Jeffersonianism in embarrassment. If Sandel were to reconsider Aristotle attentively, he would be forced to enlarge his conception of virtue, and of what Aristotle–and the entire classical tradition through Jonathan Swift–means by “virtue.”Less
The civic republican public philosophy is rooted in Aristotle and Machiavelli. It stresses the civic virtues deliberative self-government requires in the citizenry, and makes the formation of character–that is, the fostering of the capacities for active citizenship–a chief and direct aim of legislation and public policy. There are severe unexplored tensions among some of the virtues that Sandel’s narrative evokes, and he appeals to Jeffersonian republicanism while hiding the aristocratic cornerstone of authentic Jeffersonianism in embarrassment. If Sandel were to reconsider Aristotle attentively, he would be forced to enlarge his conception of virtue, and of what Aristotle–and the entire classical tradition through Jonathan Swift–means by “virtue.”
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
There is no question that the 4th century saw a revival of Latin literature. After the nadir of the 3rd century there was only one way to go. But in much of the modern literature it has been widely ...
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There is no question that the 4th century saw a revival of Latin literature. After the nadir of the 3rd century there was only one way to go. But in much of the modern literature it has been widely characterized as a pagan revival and associated with the aristocracy of late 4th-century Rome, reacting to the threat of Christianity. However, this chapter argues that this is perhaps the single most serious obstacle to a true understanding of this important development.Less
There is no question that the 4th century saw a revival of Latin literature. After the nadir of the 3rd century there was only one way to go. But in much of the modern literature it has been widely characterized as a pagan revival and associated with the aristocracy of late 4th-century Rome, reacting to the threat of Christianity. However, this chapter argues that this is perhaps the single most serious obstacle to a true understanding of this important development.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
The “editing” of classical texts has long been identified as one of the principal ways the pagan aristocracy of Rome tried to maintain and promote the old order. At the end of certain works (or ...
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The “editing” of classical texts has long been identified as one of the principal ways the pagan aristocracy of Rome tried to maintain and promote the old order. At the end of certain works (or individual sections or books within those works) some manuscripts preserve subscriptions—notes stating that some person with impressive sounding titles has “emended,” “reviewed,” or “checked” the text at such and such a time and place. Some of these subscribers are familiar names, and it is clear that many were members of the elite of their day. This chapter discusses Greek subscriptions, subscriptions by owners and other private subscriptions, subscriptions in manuscripts copied for friends, and subscriptions in newly copied texts.Less
The “editing” of classical texts has long been identified as one of the principal ways the pagan aristocracy of Rome tried to maintain and promote the old order. At the end of certain works (or individual sections or books within those works) some manuscripts preserve subscriptions—notes stating that some person with impressive sounding titles has “emended,” “reviewed,” or “checked” the text at such and such a time and place. Some of these subscribers are familiar names, and it is clear that many were members of the elite of their day. This chapter discusses Greek subscriptions, subscriptions by owners and other private subscriptions, subscriptions in manuscripts copied for friends, and subscriptions in newly copied texts.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This introductory chapter first sets out the main purpose of the book, which is to dismantle the myth that transformed pagan nobles from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into ...
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This introductory chapter first sets out the main purpose of the book, which is to dismantle the myth that transformed pagan nobles from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture as well as the traditional cults. It then discusses the supposed pagan revival spearheaded by the aristocracy of Rome and the idea of a pagan opposition. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter first sets out the main purpose of the book, which is to dismantle the myth that transformed pagan nobles from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture as well as the traditional cults. It then discusses the supposed pagan revival spearheaded by the aristocracy of Rome and the idea of a pagan opposition. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Antony Black
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199281695
- eISBN:
- 9780191713101
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281695.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Romans conceived their state as a public domain (res publica), governed by responsible patriots, prepared to die for their country. Their unwritten constitution allocated most power to the senate of ...
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Romans conceived their state as a public domain (res publica), governed by responsible patriots, prepared to die for their country. Their unwritten constitution allocated most power to the senate of notables; citizen assemblies also took part. There were numerous checks and balances. Polybius thought that Rome successfully combined rule by one, the few, and the many. Conquest and empire led to tension between aristocratic and democratic principles. Cicero preached political uprightness, harmony between classes, and freedom of speech. He argued that the various forms of human association, culminating in the state, are all based on consent. He opposed putting expediency before morality. With Augustus, Rome became a de facto monarchy; some personal freedom for citizens under a rule of law survived. Unlike elsewhere, there was little monarchical theory before the adoption of Christianity. Stoicism provided a moral framework for some. The contrast with China, where empire was the culmination of age-old aspirations, was significant.Less
Romans conceived their state as a public domain (res publica), governed by responsible patriots, prepared to die for their country. Their unwritten constitution allocated most power to the senate of notables; citizen assemblies also took part. There were numerous checks and balances. Polybius thought that Rome successfully combined rule by one, the few, and the many. Conquest and empire led to tension between aristocratic and democratic principles. Cicero preached political uprightness, harmony between classes, and freedom of speech. He argued that the various forms of human association, culminating in the state, are all based on consent. He opposed putting expediency before morality. With Augustus, Rome became a de facto monarchy; some personal freedom for citizens under a rule of law survived. Unlike elsewhere, there was little monarchical theory before the adoption of Christianity. Stoicism provided a moral framework for some. The contrast with China, where empire was the culmination of age-old aspirations, was significant.
Julian Swann
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265383
- eISBN:
- 9780191760433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265383.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter examines the historiographical debates inspired by the French Revolution, discussing how the impact of the Revisionist attack on the social (or Marxist) interpretation led to a richer, ...
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This chapter examines the historiographical debates inspired by the French Revolution, discussing how the impact of the Revisionist attack on the social (or Marxist) interpretation led to a richer, but ultimately more confused picture as historians pursued a wide variety of political, cultural, and intellectual approaches to the origins of 1789. It argues that current historiography has reached something of an impasse and that in order to understand the breakdown of the absolute monarch it is necessary to reconsider the central political preoccupations of the absolute monarchy, that is to say its military, diplomatic, colonial, and financial policies, and to examine how these interacted with broader social and cultural issues, such as the need to manage social elites, to cope with the expectations of public opinion, and to cope with the broader intellectual changes that were undermining deference for a monarch still officially justified as reigning by the grace of God.Less
This chapter examines the historiographical debates inspired by the French Revolution, discussing how the impact of the Revisionist attack on the social (or Marxist) interpretation led to a richer, but ultimately more confused picture as historians pursued a wide variety of political, cultural, and intellectual approaches to the origins of 1789. It argues that current historiography has reached something of an impasse and that in order to understand the breakdown of the absolute monarch it is necessary to reconsider the central political preoccupations of the absolute monarchy, that is to say its military, diplomatic, colonial, and financial policies, and to examine how these interacted with broader social and cultural issues, such as the need to manage social elites, to cope with the expectations of public opinion, and to cope with the broader intellectual changes that were undermining deference for a monarch still officially justified as reigning by the grace of God.
Nigel Aston
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265383
- eISBN:
- 9780191760433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265383.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
Jacques Necker progressively advocated political values for the French monarchy that were broadly in line with those operative within a British constitutional nexus. He came to see the value of a ...
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Jacques Necker progressively advocated political values for the French monarchy that were broadly in line with those operative within a British constitutional nexus. He came to see the value of a bicameral constitutional settlement that would allow ‘aristocracy’ in one chamber to act as a counterweight to ‘democracy’ in another. However, he was slow to acknowledge the core difference between the tightly defined British nobility — synonymous with the peerage — and the tensions that existed within the formal, juridical unity of the French Second Estate. Necker's view of what a publicly responsible nobility might undertake within a state had its origins in his (and his wife, Suzanne's) many conversations with David, Seventh Viscount Stormont, British Ambassador to France, 1772–78, whom they saw as the embodiment of aristocratic state service. With the failure of the proposal for a two-chamber National Assembly in the autumn of 1789, Necker was forced to admit that the majority of his countrymen had turned against British models just as he had decided to embrace them wholeheartedly.Less
Jacques Necker progressively advocated political values for the French monarchy that were broadly in line with those operative within a British constitutional nexus. He came to see the value of a bicameral constitutional settlement that would allow ‘aristocracy’ in one chamber to act as a counterweight to ‘democracy’ in another. However, he was slow to acknowledge the core difference between the tightly defined British nobility — synonymous with the peerage — and the tensions that existed within the formal, juridical unity of the French Second Estate. Necker's view of what a publicly responsible nobility might undertake within a state had its origins in his (and his wife, Suzanne's) many conversations with David, Seventh Viscount Stormont, British Ambassador to France, 1772–78, whom they saw as the embodiment of aristocratic state service. With the failure of the proposal for a two-chamber National Assembly in the autumn of 1789, Necker was forced to admit that the majority of his countrymen had turned against British models just as he had decided to embrace them wholeheartedly.
David A. Bell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265383
- eISBN:
- 9780191760433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265383.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter examines the development of the ‘culture of war’ in Europe, focusing on France, from the Old Regime through the First Empire. It argues that before the Revolution, French aristocratic ...
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This chapter examines the development of the ‘culture of war’ in Europe, focusing on France, from the Old Regime through the First Empire. It argues that before the Revolution, French aristocratic elites saw warfare as an ordinary part of human existence — and indeed, if kept under proper control, a positive and desirable one. It then shows how this idea was challenged during the Enlightenment, by critics who saw warfare as extraordinary and aberrant, with some deeming it extraordinarily horrible, and others depicting it, at least potentially, as extraordinarily sublime and regenerative. The chapter discusses how these conflicting ideas helped to shape the actual practice and course of the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, looking particularly at the question of why these wars proved so terribly difficult to control, restrain, and bring to an end.Less
This chapter examines the development of the ‘culture of war’ in Europe, focusing on France, from the Old Regime through the First Empire. It argues that before the Revolution, French aristocratic elites saw warfare as an ordinary part of human existence — and indeed, if kept under proper control, a positive and desirable one. It then shows how this idea was challenged during the Enlightenment, by critics who saw warfare as extraordinary and aberrant, with some deeming it extraordinarily horrible, and others depicting it, at least potentially, as extraordinarily sublime and regenerative. The chapter discusses how these conflicting ideas helped to shape the actual practice and course of the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, looking particularly at the question of why these wars proved so terribly difficult to control, restrain, and bring to an end.
Tim Blanning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265383
- eISBN:
- 9780191760433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265383.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter discusses Bill Doyle's contribution to the study of the origins of the French Revolution. It shows how his early work delivered a powerful critique of the dominant Marxist ...
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This chapter discusses Bill Doyle's contribution to the study of the origins of the French Revolution. It shows how his early work delivered a powerful critique of the dominant Marxist interpretation, already under attack from revisionists led by Alfred Cobban. It examines the three editions of his book Origins of the French Revolution, with both continuities and changes identified. Particular importance is assigned to Doyle's ground-breaking work on the part played by venality in eroding the old regime monarchy. A second topic of major importance to which Doyle's researches have contributed a great deal is the role of the Parlements. This is placed in the context of Doyle's critique of the notion of an ‘aristocratic reaction’ in late-eighteenth century France. The chapter concludes with a discussion of his most recent work on aristocracy.Less
This chapter discusses Bill Doyle's contribution to the study of the origins of the French Revolution. It shows how his early work delivered a powerful critique of the dominant Marxist interpretation, already under attack from revisionists led by Alfred Cobban. It examines the three editions of his book Origins of the French Revolution, with both continuities and changes identified. Particular importance is assigned to Doyle's ground-breaking work on the part played by venality in eroding the old regime monarchy. A second topic of major importance to which Doyle's researches have contributed a great deal is the role of the Parlements. This is placed in the context of Doyle's critique of the notion of an ‘aristocratic reaction’ in late-eighteenth century France. The chapter concludes with a discussion of his most recent work on aristocracy.
Geoffrey de Ste. Croix
David Harvey and Robert Parker (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199255177
- eISBN:
- 9780191719844
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255177.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book presents a number of interconnected essays, in which the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, ...
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This book presents a number of interconnected essays, in which the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, rational, and impartial than has usually been acknowledged. One major essay provides a new view of Aristotle's use of sources in The Constitution of the Athenians, on which so much of our knowledge of Athenian constitutional history depends. The essays also argue that commercial factors had much less influence on Greek politics than modern scholars tend to assume, and that there was no such thing in any Greek state as a ‘commercial aristocracy’. As always, Ste. Croix works out these general positions with lucidity and pungency, and in meticulous detail. Though written in the 1960s, these hitherto unpublished essays by a great radical historian will still constitute a major contribution to contemporary debate.Less
This book presents a number of interconnected essays, in which the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, rational, and impartial than has usually been acknowledged. One major essay provides a new view of Aristotle's use of sources in The Constitution of the Athenians, on which so much of our knowledge of Athenian constitutional history depends. The essays also argue that commercial factors had much less influence on Greek politics than modern scholars tend to assume, and that there was no such thing in any Greek state as a ‘commercial aristocracy’. As always, Ste. Croix works out these general positions with lucidity and pungency, and in meticulous detail. Though written in the 1960s, these hitherto unpublished essays by a great radical historian will still constitute a major contribution to contemporary debate.
Catherine Homes
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279685
- eISBN:
- 9780191707353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279685.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter continues analysis of John Skylitzes' history (the Synopsis Historion) which was begun in the previous chapter. It seeks to uncover more clues about Skylitzes' methods, source materials, ...
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This chapter continues analysis of John Skylitzes' history (the Synopsis Historion) which was begun in the previous chapter. It seeks to uncover more clues about Skylitzes' methods, source materials, and preoccupations through a close comparative reading of John Skylitzes' narrative of the reign of Emperor Romanos Lekapenos (920-44) and his principal source for this period — the history known as Theophanes Continuatus. The chapter explains why the absence of any of Skylitzes' sources for the reign of Basil makes this close reading of an earlier section of the Synopsis Historion so vital. This close comparative analysis can shed light on Skylitzes' treatment of Basil II's reign, especially his preoccupation with the Byzantine aristocracy, Byzantine martial culture, and his interest in the emperor's campaigns in Bulgaria.Less
This chapter continues analysis of John Skylitzes' history (the Synopsis Historion) which was begun in the previous chapter. It seeks to uncover more clues about Skylitzes' methods, source materials, and preoccupations through a close comparative reading of John Skylitzes' narrative of the reign of Emperor Romanos Lekapenos (920-44) and his principal source for this period — the history known as Theophanes Continuatus. The chapter explains why the absence of any of Skylitzes' sources for the reign of Basil makes this close reading of an earlier section of the Synopsis Historion so vital. This close comparative analysis can shed light on Skylitzes' treatment of Basil II's reign, especially his preoccupation with the Byzantine aristocracy, Byzantine martial culture, and his interest in the emperor's campaigns in Bulgaria.
Catherine Homes
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279685
- eISBN:
- 9780191707353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279685.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter examines John Skylitzes' Synopsis Historion within the context of the late 11th-century period when the text was composed. It draws attention to the extent to which Skylitzes' ...
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This chapter examines John Skylitzes' Synopsis Historion within the context of the late 11th-century period when the text was composed. It draws attention to the extent to which Skylitzes' preoccupations with the Byzantine aristocracy and martial culture have parallels in other Byzantine literature of the later 11th centuries. Such also were the interests of the principal audience for whom Skylitzes wrote. However, the chapter goes beyond seeing Skylitzes' preoccupations as a mere reflection of contemporary social and cultural contexts. Instead, it argues that Skylitzes' narrative belongs to an important political context: the restoration of imperial authority during the reign of Emperor Alexios Komnenos. The chapter ends with a discussion of how these late 11th-century compositional contexts distorted any understanding of the political and social structures of the earlier periods of Byzantine history about which Skylitzes writes, including the reign of Basil II.Less
This chapter examines John Skylitzes' Synopsis Historion within the context of the late 11th-century period when the text was composed. It draws attention to the extent to which Skylitzes' preoccupations with the Byzantine aristocracy and martial culture have parallels in other Byzantine literature of the later 11th centuries. Such also were the interests of the principal audience for whom Skylitzes wrote. However, the chapter goes beyond seeing Skylitzes' preoccupations as a mere reflection of contemporary social and cultural contexts. Instead, it argues that Skylitzes' narrative belongs to an important political context: the restoration of imperial authority during the reign of Emperor Alexios Komnenos. The chapter ends with a discussion of how these late 11th-century compositional contexts distorted any understanding of the political and social structures of the earlier periods of Byzantine history about which Skylitzes writes, including the reign of Basil II.
