E. W. Heaton
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263623
- eISBN:
- 9780191601156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263627.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The method of investigation adopted in this book is to see how the diverse literary skills of Israel’s authors, in both poetry and prose, bear witness to their educational background. It is argued ...
More
The method of investigation adopted in this book is to see how the diverse literary skills of Israel’s authors, in both poetry and prose, bear witness to their educational background. It is argued that their knowledge of the school-books of Egypt and their use of didactic language and literary forms are explicable only in terms of their training in professional, established and stable institutions. Although there are little specific factual data about Israel’s schools as institutions, a great volume of suggestive evidence has been supplied by archaeologists working in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria, and some of this is described; there are also recent finds from two southern military outposts on the edge of the Judaean desert that may provide evidence for a Hebrew school in the eighth century BC, and there is incontrovertible evidence for schools in Hebrew kingdoms from the Siloam Tunnel inscription and the Lachish Letters. There are also scattered references to reading and writing, and various bits of evidence suggesting education in the books of the Old Testament itself, not to mention the editorial process that has been revealed by biblical scholarship. Other topics addressed in the chapter are the evidence for libraries in Israel, its close educational, literary and cultural relationship with Egypt, and evidence for cultivation of the art of speaking.Less
The method of investigation adopted in this book is to see how the diverse literary skills of Israel’s authors, in both poetry and prose, bear witness to their educational background. It is argued that their knowledge of the school-books of Egypt and their use of didactic language and literary forms are explicable only in terms of their training in professional, established and stable institutions. Although there are little specific factual data about Israel’s schools as institutions, a great volume of suggestive evidence has been supplied by archaeologists working in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria, and some of this is described; there are also recent finds from two southern military outposts on the edge of the Judaean desert that may provide evidence for a Hebrew school in the eighth century BC, and there is incontrovertible evidence for schools in Hebrew kingdoms from the Siloam Tunnel inscription and the Lachish Letters. There are also scattered references to reading and writing, and various bits of evidence suggesting education in the books of the Old Testament itself, not to mention the editorial process that has been revealed by biblical scholarship. Other topics addressed in the chapter are the evidence for libraries in Israel, its close educational, literary and cultural relationship with Egypt, and evidence for cultivation of the art of speaking.
J. M. Wallace‐Hadrill
- Published in print:
- 1983
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269069
- eISBN:
- 9780191600777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269064.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The Franks, or any other Germanic people, were not pagan one day and Christian the next; this simple solution does no justice to the texts and is overthrown by archaeological evidence. Fifth‐century ...
More
The Franks, or any other Germanic people, were not pagan one day and Christian the next; this simple solution does no justice to the texts and is overthrown by archaeological evidence. Fifth‐century Gaul was Christian and mostly Catholic in a formal sense, but behind the forms lay a scarcely converted countryside where Celtic and other pagan beliefs still worried the clergy, and remained active in the 6th and 7th centuries, not only in indigenous peoples, but also in the various settler enclaves; these pagan beliefs also affected the way the Franks accepted Christianity. This is one side of the picture; the other is the nature of Germanic paganism — no sense can be made of Frankish Christianity, when it comes, unless allowance is first made for the fact that all Germans were religious people, conditioned by the sense they had of good and evil, life and death, gods and demons. This can best be seen in the archaeological evidence from their remote homeland in a more distant time, and much can be inferred from later literary evidence. This chapter discusses Frankish (Germanic) interest in and worship of pagan gods and heroes (Woden, in particular), Frankish grave gods (and the grave gods of settlers, with which they can be easily confused), the new religion the Franks found and were converted to under Clovis (or Chlodovech), their conqueror from northern Gaul, who was himself a convert to Catholicism, and the difficulties in converting the people in the countryside, where there had been a fusion of Germanic and Celtic paganism.Less
The Franks, or any other Germanic people, were not pagan one day and Christian the next; this simple solution does no justice to the texts and is overthrown by archaeological evidence. Fifth‐century Gaul was Christian and mostly Catholic in a formal sense, but behind the forms lay a scarcely converted countryside where Celtic and other pagan beliefs still worried the clergy, and remained active in the 6th and 7th centuries, not only in indigenous peoples, but also in the various settler enclaves; these pagan beliefs also affected the way the Franks accepted Christianity. This is one side of the picture; the other is the nature of Germanic paganism — no sense can be made of Frankish Christianity, when it comes, unless allowance is first made for the fact that all Germans were religious people, conditioned by the sense they had of good and evil, life and death, gods and demons. This can best be seen in the archaeological evidence from their remote homeland in a more distant time, and much can be inferred from later literary evidence. This chapter discusses Frankish (Germanic) interest in and worship of pagan gods and heroes (Woden, in particular), Frankish grave gods (and the grave gods of settlers, with which they can be easily confused), the new religion the Franks found and were converted to under Clovis (or Chlodovech), their conqueror from northern Gaul, who was himself a convert to Catholicism, and the difficulties in converting the people in the countryside, where there had been a fusion of Germanic and Celtic paganism.
S. A. Mileson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199565672
- eISBN:
- 9780191721748
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199565672.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Many recent scholars have identified elements of design and aesthetic appreciation in the layout of medieval parks. This chapter explores the extent to which parks really were landscaped to provide a ...
More
Many recent scholars have identified elements of design and aesthetic appreciation in the layout of medieval parks. This chapter explores the extent to which parks really were landscaped to provide a contrived stage for aristocratic living. The evidence for the use of parks to enhance the appearance of castles and manor houses is examined, as well as the utilization of parkland for leisure activities other than hunting. There is also an analysis of the relationship between parks and gardens. The lack of contemporary documentary as opposed to literary evidence for an interest in park landscaping is noted, as well as the practical limitations imposed by finite resources. It is concluded that any interest in landscaping was subsidiary to the desire to create a hunting reserve.Less
Many recent scholars have identified elements of design and aesthetic appreciation in the layout of medieval parks. This chapter explores the extent to which parks really were landscaped to provide a contrived stage for aristocratic living. The evidence for the use of parks to enhance the appearance of castles and manor houses is examined, as well as the utilization of parkland for leisure activities other than hunting. There is also an analysis of the relationship between parks and gardens. The lack of contemporary documentary as opposed to literary evidence for an interest in park landscaping is noted, as well as the practical limitations imposed by finite resources. It is concluded that any interest in landscaping was subsidiary to the desire to create a hunting reserve.
Matthew L. Jockers
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037528
- eISBN:
- 9780252094767
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037528.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter discusses new approaches and new methodologies in literary evidence gathering. Science derives conclusions based on evidence, and ideally, is open to new methodologies. Furthermore, ...
More
This chapter discusses new approaches and new methodologies in literary evidence gathering. Science derives conclusions based on evidence, and ideally, is open to new methodologies. Furthermore, science attempts to be exhaustive in the gathering of evidence as much as possible and must therefore welcome new modes of exploration, discovery, and analysis. This chapter emphasizes literary criticism's heavy reliance on associations as evidence and explains how literary studies differs from scientific experimentation. It also considers the advantages of “close reading,” the primary methodology used in the study of literature, and proceeds by looking at the ways that big data—the equivalent to digital libraries in literary studies—is changing the way data sampling is being undertaken. Finally, it describes how new methods of analysis allow us to extract new forms of evidence from the digital library.Less
This chapter discusses new approaches and new methodologies in literary evidence gathering. Science derives conclusions based on evidence, and ideally, is open to new methodologies. Furthermore, science attempts to be exhaustive in the gathering of evidence as much as possible and must therefore welcome new modes of exploration, discovery, and analysis. This chapter emphasizes literary criticism's heavy reliance on associations as evidence and explains how literary studies differs from scientific experimentation. It also considers the advantages of “close reading,” the primary methodology used in the study of literature, and proceeds by looking at the ways that big data—the equivalent to digital libraries in literary studies—is changing the way data sampling is being undertaken. Finally, it describes how new methods of analysis allow us to extract new forms of evidence from the digital library.
Ramchandra Chintaman Dhere
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199777594
- eISBN:
- 9780199919048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199777594.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter examines the most extreme example of the synthesis accomplished by the poet-saints devoted to Viṭṭhal: the fact that he is also identified with the Buddha. The basis for this ...
More
This chapter examines the most extreme example of the synthesis accomplished by the poet-saints devoted to Viṭṭhal: the fact that he is also identified with the Buddha. The basis for this identification is primarily Viṭṭhal's silence as he stands on the brick and his nakedness (as the child Kṛṣṇa), but it also has to do with the fact that the Buddha is counted as the ninth of the ten best-known incarnations of Viṣṇu, whom Viṭṭhal also embodies. The chapter presents iconographic and literary evidence for the explicit identification of Viṭṭhal as the compassionate ninth incarnation of Viṣṇu. Dhere expresses regret for the story that the Buddha incarnation is the incarnation of “delusion.” The chapter concludes by suggesting that the cult of Vitṭṭhal is an important way in which Maharashtra has preserved the liberal Buddhist tradition that was once so widespread there.Less
This chapter examines the most extreme example of the synthesis accomplished by the poet-saints devoted to Viṭṭhal: the fact that he is also identified with the Buddha. The basis for this identification is primarily Viṭṭhal's silence as he stands on the brick and his nakedness (as the child Kṛṣṇa), but it also has to do with the fact that the Buddha is counted as the ninth of the ten best-known incarnations of Viṣṇu, whom Viṭṭhal also embodies. The chapter presents iconographic and literary evidence for the explicit identification of Viṭṭhal as the compassionate ninth incarnation of Viṣṇu. Dhere expresses regret for the story that the Buddha incarnation is the incarnation of “delusion.” The chapter concludes by suggesting that the cult of Vitṭṭhal is an important way in which Maharashtra has preserved the liberal Buddhist tradition that was once so widespread there.
Bernhard Maier
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748616053
- eISBN:
- 9780748672219
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748616053.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter traces the history of the Celts in northern Italy. It describes archaeological evidence showing the complex relationship of co-operation and cohabitation between the Celts, the ...
More
This chapter traces the history of the Celts in northern Italy. It describes archaeological evidence showing the complex relationship of co-operation and cohabitation between the Celts, the Etruscans, the Liguri and the Veneti and their respective cultures. Of particular note is the so-called Golasecca culture in the northern Italian lakes region north of Milan. The bearers of this culture clearly exercised an intermediary function between the Mediterranean south and the Celtic north, owing to their control of long-distance communication routes over the Alpine passes of St Bernard and St Gotthard. The discussion then turns to literary evidence and brief inscriptions that indicate the language of the Celts of northern Italy.Less
This chapter traces the history of the Celts in northern Italy. It describes archaeological evidence showing the complex relationship of co-operation and cohabitation between the Celts, the Etruscans, the Liguri and the Veneti and their respective cultures. Of particular note is the so-called Golasecca culture in the northern Italian lakes region north of Milan. The bearers of this culture clearly exercised an intermediary function between the Mediterranean south and the Celtic north, owing to their control of long-distance communication routes over the Alpine passes of St Bernard and St Gotthard. The discussion then turns to literary evidence and brief inscriptions that indicate the language of the Celts of northern Italy.
Charlotte Eubanks
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520265615
- eISBN:
- 9780520947894
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520265615.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter describes the different ways the sutra fragment is able to fit into a humanoid form. It studies statuary and chirographic practice and considers literary evidence in order to argue that ...
More
This chapter describes the different ways the sutra fragment is able to fit into a humanoid form. It studies statuary and chirographic practice and considers literary evidence in order to argue that the voice served as a “musical shuttle” which flowed between the body, mind, and scroll. The chapter also studies the overlap between the descriptions of medieval practices of copying, chanting, and memorizing sutras, and furthermore considers some visual art forms in order to understand the material reality of sutra scrolls in the medieval period.Less
This chapter describes the different ways the sutra fragment is able to fit into a humanoid form. It studies statuary and chirographic practice and considers literary evidence in order to argue that the voice served as a “musical shuttle” which flowed between the body, mind, and scroll. The chapter also studies the overlap between the descriptions of medieval practices of copying, chanting, and memorizing sutras, and furthermore considers some visual art forms in order to understand the material reality of sutra scrolls in the medieval period.
Barbara M. Levick
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195379419
- eISBN:
- 9780190261276
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195379419.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter addresses the challenge of reconstructing the history behind a pair of the more prominent women in Roman times, the Faustinas I and II. Many of the facts relating to their lives are ...
More
This chapter addresses the challenge of reconstructing the history behind a pair of the more prominent women in Roman times, the Faustinas I and II. Many of the facts relating to their lives are often cross-referenced from the evidence of their husbands and sons. By far the best sources of information on these Roman empresses are the imperial coinage, which contains dates, images, and even references to historical events, all of which can be used to corroborate literary evidence.Less
This chapter addresses the challenge of reconstructing the history behind a pair of the more prominent women in Roman times, the Faustinas I and II. Many of the facts relating to their lives are often cross-referenced from the evidence of their husbands and sons. By far the best sources of information on these Roman empresses are the imperial coinage, which contains dates, images, and even references to historical events, all of which can be used to corroborate literary evidence.
Dora P. Crouch
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195083248
- eISBN:
- 9780197560457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195083248.003.0015
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Greek and Roman Archaeology
The issues associated with this study are both physical and intellectual, as are the factors in urban development. The correlation of known data from ...
More
The issues associated with this study are both physical and intellectual, as are the factors in urban development. The correlation of known data from inscriptions (epigraphy), literary references (ancient history and more recent government and church documents), evidence from destroyed and rebuilt buildings (archaeology), and modern scientific and technical findings (several kinds of engineering and subfields of geology such as seismology and sedimentology) can give a more complete picture of each city’s development than does one kind of information alone. Most of the necessary site-specific studies, however, have not been done. Our problem parallels the study of global warming, where precise records of weather events have been kept for less than 200 years. Urban elements must be studied by experts in that building type and in social expression. Ramparts need more study by historians of warfare, theaters by scholars of drama and literature, stadia by those who study the history of sports, plumbing by hydraulic, civil, and fluids engineers, and temples by historians of comparative religion. Insights into institutional and political aspects of ancient studies and the historiography of all the disciplines involved in ancient studies would be both useful and fascinating (Kardulias 1994). The benefits and difficulties of interdisciplinary research are clearer now to us than when we started. In considering the physical setting and geological processes in the Mediterranean area, is description sufficient or should scholars strive for explanation, even if this involves theory building? “In much of art history and classical archaeology traditional practices have continued without explicit theoretical support” (McNally 1985; but cf. Preziosi 1989). The theorists of archaeology and urban history desire comprehensive and precise theories—even in the absence of enough data to make that possible. Some data may be rescued by followers of one discipline after being ignored or thrown out by followers of another. The awareness of theoretical difficulty is part of the increase in consciousness typical of the second half of the twentieth century when we began to question the nature of both knowledge and culture.
Less
The issues associated with this study are both physical and intellectual, as are the factors in urban development. The correlation of known data from inscriptions (epigraphy), literary references (ancient history and more recent government and church documents), evidence from destroyed and rebuilt buildings (archaeology), and modern scientific and technical findings (several kinds of engineering and subfields of geology such as seismology and sedimentology) can give a more complete picture of each city’s development than does one kind of information alone. Most of the necessary site-specific studies, however, have not been done. Our problem parallels the study of global warming, where precise records of weather events have been kept for less than 200 years. Urban elements must be studied by experts in that building type and in social expression. Ramparts need more study by historians of warfare, theaters by scholars of drama and literature, stadia by those who study the history of sports, plumbing by hydraulic, civil, and fluids engineers, and temples by historians of comparative religion. Insights into institutional and political aspects of ancient studies and the historiography of all the disciplines involved in ancient studies would be both useful and fascinating (Kardulias 1994). The benefits and difficulties of interdisciplinary research are clearer now to us than when we started. In considering the physical setting and geological processes in the Mediterranean area, is description sufficient or should scholars strive for explanation, even if this involves theory building? “In much of art history and classical archaeology traditional practices have continued without explicit theoretical support” (McNally 1985; but cf. Preziosi 1989). The theorists of archaeology and urban history desire comprehensive and precise theories—even in the absence of enough data to make that possible. Some data may be rescued by followers of one discipline after being ignored or thrown out by followers of another. The awareness of theoretical difficulty is part of the increase in consciousness typical of the second half of the twentieth century when we began to question the nature of both knowledge and culture.
