Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The preceding chapters show that rabbinic thought is intertwined with the nature of its texts, with rabbinic textuality. In the absence of a compelling textual Gestalt, the formal self sufficiency ...
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The preceding chapters show that rabbinic thought is intertwined with the nature of its texts, with rabbinic textuality. In the absence of a compelling textual Gestalt, the formal self sufficiency and independence of the single statement allows it to enter into many diverse relationships with other statements, so that it can be difficult to determine its exact scope and import. Direct knowledge of the halakhic practice of a text's own time and place, which would resolve many such ambiguities, is mostly not available. Nevertheless, the absence of a sentence-connecting Gestalt is not a mere lack. It is, like all sustained text formation, an achievement and a contrivance: Gestalt of another order. Several factors are discussed in detail, which contribute to this outcome in various measure.Less
The preceding chapters show that rabbinic thought is intertwined with the nature of its texts, with rabbinic textuality. In the absence of a compelling textual Gestalt, the formal self sufficiency and independence of the single statement allows it to enter into many diverse relationships with other statements, so that it can be difficult to determine its exact scope and import. Direct knowledge of the halakhic practice of a text's own time and place, which would resolve many such ambiguities, is mostly not available. Nevertheless, the absence of a sentence-connecting Gestalt is not a mere lack. It is, like all sustained text formation, an achievement and a contrivance: Gestalt of another order. Several factors are discussed in detail, which contribute to this outcome in various measure.
Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The book—the second volume of my trilogy Political Theory and the Human Sciences—is divided into two sections. The first and shorter section (Chs. 1 and 2) deals with methodological and interpretive ...
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The book—the second volume of my trilogy Political Theory and the Human Sciences—is divided into two sections. The first and shorter section (Chs. 1 and 2) deals with methodological and interpretive questions and advocates a methodologically `pluralist’ and `problem‐driven’ approach to the interpretation and reappraisal of works of political theory. The second and much longer section (Chs. 3–12), applying the method outlined and defended in the first, consists of a series of reinterpretations and reappraisals of thinkers, texts, themes, and topics in political theory.Less
The book—the second volume of my trilogy Political Theory and the Human Sciences—is divided into two sections. The first and shorter section (Chs. 1 and 2) deals with methodological and interpretive questions and advocates a methodologically `pluralist’ and `problem‐driven’ approach to the interpretation and reappraisal of works of political theory. The second and much longer section (Chs. 3–12), applying the method outlined and defended in the first, consists of a series of reinterpretations and reappraisals of thinkers, texts, themes, and topics in political theory.
Nicholas Sims-Williams (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197262856
- eISBN:
- 9780191753961
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
The recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed in this book by a group of linguists and archaeologists. In the ...
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The recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed in this book by a group of linguists and archaeologists. In the last few years, the materials available for the study of the older Indo-Iranian languages have increased dramatically: there have been discoveries of birch-bark scrolls bearing Buddhist texts in the Gandhari language of north-west India, and of leather documents in Bactrian, the ancient language of northern Afghanistan. Previously known data has been exploited in new ways using innovative techniques for compiling, manipulating, and disseminating electronic text and digital images. And archaeological finds in India, Pakistan, and Central Asia, including the ‘Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex’, have given rise to new hypotheses concerning the history and pre-history of the Indo-Iranian peoples. The volume also pays tribute to the pioneering work of the philologist Sir Harold Bailey (1899–1996).Less
The recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed in this book by a group of linguists and archaeologists. In the last few years, the materials available for the study of the older Indo-Iranian languages have increased dramatically: there have been discoveries of birch-bark scrolls bearing Buddhist texts in the Gandhari language of north-west India, and of leather documents in Bactrian, the ancient language of northern Afghanistan. Previously known data has been exploited in new ways using innovative techniques for compiling, manipulating, and disseminating electronic text and digital images. And archaeological finds in India, Pakistan, and Central Asia, including the ‘Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex’, have given rise to new hypotheses concerning the history and pre-history of the Indo-Iranian peoples. The volume also pays tribute to the pioneering work of the philologist Sir Harold Bailey (1899–1996).
Christopher Tuckett
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199212132
- eISBN:
- 9780191705922
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212132.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter introduces the second part of the book, which provides critical editions in the original languages and an accompanying English translation of each of the manuscripts containing the text ...
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This chapter introduces the second part of the book, which provides critical editions in the original languages and an accompanying English translation of each of the manuscripts containing the text of the Gospel of Mary. The critical editions are based on a re-examination of the original manuscripts themselves, together with a consideration of previous editions of the text. The English translations also take into account previous published translations. However, in relation to the translations, two issues are considered: line divisions and lacunae, and inclusive language.Less
This chapter introduces the second part of the book, which provides critical editions in the original languages and an accompanying English translation of each of the manuscripts containing the text of the Gospel of Mary. The critical editions are based on a re-examination of the original manuscripts themselves, together with a consideration of previous editions of the text. The English translations also take into account previous published translations. However, in relation to the translations, two issues are considered: line divisions and lacunae, and inclusive language.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. Although it is one of the few religious traditions that can legitimately claim a 2000‐year ...
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The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. Although it is one of the few religious traditions that can legitimately claim a 2000‐year literary history, there has been very little written about them in English. What little study of the religion there has been has focused on the ancient Mandaeans and their relationship to early Christianity. This book examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans, who live mainly in Iran and Iraq but also in diaspora communities throughout the world, including New York and San Diego (USA). The author seeks to cross the boundaries between the traditional history‐of‐religions study of the Mandaean religion (which ignores the existence of living Mandaeans) and the beliefs and practices of contemporary Mandaeans. She provides a comprehensive introduction to the religion, examining some of its central texts, mythological figures, and rituals, and looking at surviving Mandaean communities – showing how their ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa. The book is arranged in three parts: Beginnings; Rituals; and Native hermeneutics. A glossary and extensive endnotes are included.Less
The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. Although it is one of the few religious traditions that can legitimately claim a 2000‐year literary history, there has been very little written about them in English. What little study of the religion there has been has focused on the ancient Mandaeans and their relationship to early Christianity. This book examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans, who live mainly in Iran and Iraq but also in diaspora communities throughout the world, including New York and San Diego (USA). The author seeks to cross the boundaries between the traditional history‐of‐religions study of the Mandaean religion (which ignores the existence of living Mandaeans) and the beliefs and practices of contemporary Mandaeans. She provides a comprehensive introduction to the religion, examining some of its central texts, mythological figures, and rituals, and looking at surviving Mandaean communities – showing how their ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa. The book is arranged in three parts: Beginnings; Rituals; and Native hermeneutics. A glossary and extensive endnotes are included.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This study explores the early history of purgatory as it developed from the first to the eighth centuries. Approaching the subject from a variety of angles, the book examines how ideas of post-mortem ...
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This study explores the early history of purgatory as it developed from the first to the eighth centuries. Approaching the subject from a variety of angles, the book examines how ideas of post-mortem purgation as religious belief were forged from contested theology and eschatology, and how purgatory became the focus for such religious practices as prayer for the dead and the hope for intercession. Illuminating the various interests and influences at play in the formation of purgatorial ideas in late antiquity, this book discusses ideas about punishment and correction in the Roman world, slavery, medical purges at the shrines of saints, visionary texts, penitentials, and law codes. Confronting arguments that have viewed purgatory as a symptom of cultural shifts or educational decline, this book questions the extent to which Irish and Germanic views of society, and the sources associated with them — penitentials and legal tariffs — played a role in purgatory’s formation. In reassessing the significance of patristic discussion of purgatory, this study highlights Bede’s contribution to purgatory’s theological underpinnings allowing the future acceptance of purgatory as orthodox belief. Among those whose writings are examined are Origen, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Bede.Less
This study explores the early history of purgatory as it developed from the first to the eighth centuries. Approaching the subject from a variety of angles, the book examines how ideas of post-mortem purgation as religious belief were forged from contested theology and eschatology, and how purgatory became the focus for such religious practices as prayer for the dead and the hope for intercession. Illuminating the various interests and influences at play in the formation of purgatorial ideas in late antiquity, this book discusses ideas about punishment and correction in the Roman world, slavery, medical purges at the shrines of saints, visionary texts, penitentials, and law codes. Confronting arguments that have viewed purgatory as a symptom of cultural shifts or educational decline, this book questions the extent to which Irish and Germanic views of society, and the sources associated with them — penitentials and legal tariffs — played a role in purgatory’s formation. In reassessing the significance of patristic discussion of purgatory, this study highlights Bede’s contribution to purgatory’s theological underpinnings allowing the future acceptance of purgatory as orthodox belief. Among those whose writings are examined are Origen, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Bede.
Gurinder Singh Mann
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130249
- eISBN:
- 9780199834433
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130243.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
At present numbering twenty million adherents and spread the world over, the Sikhs represent a monotheistic tradition founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) in the Punjab, a region that served as a ...
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At present numbering twenty million adherents and spread the world over, the Sikhs represent a monotheistic tradition founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) in the Punjab, a region that served as a cultural bridge between the Middle East and South Asia. The Sikhs are fortunate to have in their possession a large number of early sacred manuscripts, including sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century protoscriptural texts. This unique context makes it possible for scholars to trace the history of Sikh canon formation with a degree of accuracy unimaginable in other major religious traditions. On the basis of a close examination of the extant manuscripts and other early Sikh sources in private custody of families in the Punjab, the author presents a detailed reconstruction of the making of the Adi Granth (“original book”) – the primary Sikh scripture, which comprises about 3,000 hymns. In the process, he traces its origin, expansion, canonization, and place within the institutional development of the Sikh community. His findings on many key issues differ from the traditional Sikh position, as well as from the hypotheses of other twentieth‐century scholars; they also raise some entirely fresh questions. The revised and expanded picture of the history of the text and institution of Sikh scripture will be of interest not only to scholars of Sikhism and Sikh religionists, but to scholars of comparative canon formation.Less
At present numbering twenty million adherents and spread the world over, the Sikhs represent a monotheistic tradition founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539) in the Punjab, a region that served as a cultural bridge between the Middle East and South Asia. The Sikhs are fortunate to have in their possession a large number of early sacred manuscripts, including sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century protoscriptural texts. This unique context makes it possible for scholars to trace the history of Sikh canon formation with a degree of accuracy unimaginable in other major religious traditions. On the basis of a close examination of the extant manuscripts and other early Sikh sources in private custody of families in the Punjab, the author presents a detailed reconstruction of the making of the Adi Granth (“original book”) – the primary Sikh scripture, which comprises about 3,000 hymns. In the process, he traces its origin, expansion, canonization, and place within the institutional development of the Sikh community. His findings on many key issues differ from the traditional Sikh position, as well as from the hypotheses of other twentieth‐century scholars; they also raise some entirely fresh questions. The revised and expanded picture of the history of the text and institution of Sikh scripture will be of interest not only to scholars of Sikhism and Sikh religionists, but to scholars of comparative canon formation.
Heinrich Schenker
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195151510
- eISBN:
- 9780199871582
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195151510.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This chapter argues that a composer's mode of notation indicates the desired effect, and that the performer must grasp the intention behind it. Examples demonstrate that interpreting indications ...
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This chapter argues that a composer's mode of notation indicates the desired effect, and that the performer must grasp the intention behind it. Examples demonstrate that interpreting indications literally can actually prevent the desired effect. The performer has the challenge of finding dissembling means which enable him to realize the composer's intentions. The importance of using an authentic text based on manuscripts and first editions is stressed.Less
This chapter argues that a composer's mode of notation indicates the desired effect, and that the performer must grasp the intention behind it. Examples demonstrate that interpreting indications literally can actually prevent the desired effect. The performer has the challenge of finding dissembling means which enable him to realize the composer's intentions. The importance of using an authentic text based on manuscripts and first editions is stressed.
Veena Das
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077404
- eISBN:
- 9780199081172
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077404.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Hindu caste and ritual are two features of the Hindu society that are discussed in Structure and Cognition. The book presents a thorough analysis of two Sanskrit texts, the Dharmaranya Purana and the ...
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Hindu caste and ritual are two features of the Hindu society that are discussed in Structure and Cognition. The book presents a thorough analysis of two Sanskrit texts, the Dharmaranya Purana and the Grihya Sutra of Gobhila; the former contains information on Hindu castes, while the latter contains information on Hindu rituals. The discussions try to show that Sanskrit texts—which are not normally used to study Indian social institutions—may also be used to study different features of Hindu social life. It introduces topics such as jatis and the categories of the Brahman, sanyasi, and king, and studies the issue of the sacred and the profane. It also considers the differences between the Chaturvedi Brahmans and Trivedi Brahmans, and narrates several myths found in the Dharmaranya Purana. The book also contains discussions on the right and left and the basic categorization of space that is used in Hindu rituals.Less
Hindu caste and ritual are two features of the Hindu society that are discussed in Structure and Cognition. The book presents a thorough analysis of two Sanskrit texts, the Dharmaranya Purana and the Grihya Sutra of Gobhila; the former contains information on Hindu castes, while the latter contains information on Hindu rituals. The discussions try to show that Sanskrit texts—which are not normally used to study Indian social institutions—may also be used to study different features of Hindu social life. It introduces topics such as jatis and the categories of the Brahman, sanyasi, and king, and studies the issue of the sacred and the profane. It also considers the differences between the Chaturvedi Brahmans and Trivedi Brahmans, and narrates several myths found in the Dharmaranya Purana. The book also contains discussions on the right and left and the basic categorization of space that is used in Hindu rituals.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The Great ‘First World’ and its companion text, The Lesser ‘First World’, are both examples of Mandaean priestly esoteric literature, and have been hardly studied since their ...
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The Great ‘First World’ and its companion text, The Lesser ‘First World’, are both examples of Mandaean priestly esoteric literature, and have been hardly studied since their publication in 1963. An odd figure appears in the scroll of the The Great ‘First World’, along with a number of other illustrations, but the identity of the figure depicted is not specified, although it is in the same style as other Mandaean Lightworld beings and priestly prototypes in illustrated documents. Drower, the translator, hazards no guess at its identity. The author gives her own translation of the text on the body, and suggests on the basis of various arguments that the enigmatic figure might be the priestly prototype Hibil Ziwa, but might also invite interpretation as the mystic sage Dinanukht; it might, in fact, intentionally invite both interpretations.Less
The Great ‘First World’ and its companion text, The Lesser ‘First World’, are both examples of Mandaean priestly esoteric literature, and have been hardly studied since their publication in 1963. An odd figure appears in the scroll of the The Great ‘First World’, along with a number of other illustrations, but the identity of the figure depicted is not specified, although it is in the same style as other Mandaean Lightworld beings and priestly prototypes in illustrated documents. Drower, the translator, hazards no guess at its identity. The author gives her own translation of the text on the body, and suggests on the basis of various arguments that the enigmatic figure might be the priestly prototype Hibil Ziwa, but might also invite interpretation as the mystic sage Dinanukht; it might, in fact, intentionally invite both interpretations.
MARTIN GOODMAN
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264744
- eISBN:
- 9780191734663
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264744.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about rabbinic texts of late antiquity and their application in the study of the history of late-Roman Palestine. It ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about rabbinic texts of late antiquity and their application in the study of the history of late-Roman Palestine. It investigates whether these rabbinic texts existed in anything like their present form in late antiquity and examines the differing status as historical evidence for late antiquity of different sorts of rabbinic literature. It provides a series of thematic studies of historical topics for which rabbinic evidence has been considered as useful evidence and denied such a role by others.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about rabbinic texts of late antiquity and their application in the study of the history of late-Roman Palestine. It investigates whether these rabbinic texts existed in anything like their present form in late antiquity and examines the differing status as historical evidence for late antiquity of different sorts of rabbinic literature. It provides a series of thematic studies of historical topics for which rabbinic evidence has been considered as useful evidence and denied such a role by others.
Mark L. Blum
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195125245
- eISBN:
- 9780199833993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019512524X.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based. Appendix A gives a concordance ...
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This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based. Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.Less
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based. Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.
Mark L. Blum
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195125245
- eISBN:
- 9780199833993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019512524X.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based, Appendix A gives a concordance ...
More
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based, Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.Less
This is a facsimile (in Japanese) of the 1814 xylograph of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō on Pure Land school of Buddhism upon which the translation in Part II is based, Appendix A gives a concordance between the pages of the translation and those of the facsimile.
Loriliai Biernacki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195327823
- eISBN:
- 9780199785520
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327823.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This appendix presents background information and detail for a variety of Tantric texts to offer a more comprehensive picture of the texts used for this study as well as for other Tantric texts not ...
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This appendix presents background information and detail for a variety of Tantric texts to offer a more comprehensive picture of the texts used for this study as well as for other Tantric texts not used. This appendix offers a comparison with other Tantric texts specifically as they pertain to representations of women. Some prominent examples of other texts referenced here include for instance the Kulārṇava Tantra, Yoginī Tantra, Kaulajñānanirṇaya, Kālikā Purāṇa, Mahānirvāṇa Tantra. Also, looking at the history of the Northeast region of India, Assam in particular, and the wider cultural images of women for medieval Assam may help to explain some of the particular attitudes towards women found in the group of texts used for this study. Thus, after addressing the sources, the second part of this appendix addresses the historical context, particularly with a view to women and attitudes towards women.Less
This appendix presents background information and detail for a variety of Tantric texts to offer a more comprehensive picture of the texts used for this study as well as for other Tantric texts not used. This appendix offers a comparison with other Tantric texts specifically as they pertain to representations of women. Some prominent examples of other texts referenced here include for instance the Kulārṇava Tantra, Yoginī Tantra, Kaulajñānanirṇaya, Kālikā Purāṇa, Mahānirvāṇa Tantra. Also, looking at the history of the Northeast region of India, Assam in particular, and the wider cultural images of women for medieval Assam may help to explain some of the particular attitudes towards women found in the group of texts used for this study. Thus, after addressing the sources, the second part of this appendix addresses the historical context, particularly with a view to women and attitudes towards women.
Annabel Patterson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199573462
- eISBN:
- 9780191702112
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573462.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
After a short account of Milton's life as a writer, this book guides us through Milton's poetry and polemical prose. What do Milton's words look like when we acknowledge their personal and political ...
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After a short account of Milton's life as a writer, this book guides us through Milton's poetry and polemical prose. What do Milton's words look like when we acknowledge their personal and political history; when we track them from text to text; when we consider both the big learned words and the very small ones; when we consider the frequency and uniqueness of words; when we tackle these issues in the Latin texts; when we consider the possibility that certain words gain or lose value for Milton through his life, or become keywords to a particular text; when we reconsider the question of Milton's coinages? This book explains the shape of Milton's writing career and the life-long tension between his literary ambitions and the pressures of political circumstances. The effect on his vocabulary of his campaign to reform his country's church government and its divorce laws was galvanic. He discovered that he enjoyed verbal conflict and he developed a new set of verbal resources. He never got over the experience of writing the divorce tracts. It was still on his mind when he revised his Latin treatise on theology, De Doctrina Christiana. When he was called upon to justify the Long Parliament's execution of Charles I, it forced him to come to terms with the political keywords of his generation. Milton's poetry and prose have been segregated for so long that we have not tended to track his favourite political words into the great poems, where they change their valence.Less
After a short account of Milton's life as a writer, this book guides us through Milton's poetry and polemical prose. What do Milton's words look like when we acknowledge their personal and political history; when we track them from text to text; when we consider both the big learned words and the very small ones; when we consider the frequency and uniqueness of words; when we tackle these issues in the Latin texts; when we consider the possibility that certain words gain or lose value for Milton through his life, or become keywords to a particular text; when we reconsider the question of Milton's coinages? This book explains the shape of Milton's writing career and the life-long tension between his literary ambitions and the pressures of political circumstances. The effect on his vocabulary of his campaign to reform his country's church government and its divorce laws was galvanic. He discovered that he enjoyed verbal conflict and he developed a new set of verbal resources. He never got over the experience of writing the divorce tracts. It was still on his mind when he revised his Latin treatise on theology, De Doctrina Christiana. When he was called upon to justify the Long Parliament's execution of Charles I, it forced him to come to terms with the political keywords of his generation. Milton's poetry and prose have been segregated for so long that we have not tended to track his favourite political words into the great poems, where they change their valence.
Ann Rigney
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199644018
- eISBN:
- 9780191738784
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199644018.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
Using street-names referring to Waverley and Abbotsford as a starting point, this book explains how the work of Walter Scott (1771-1832) became an all-pervasive point of reference for cultural memory ...
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Using street-names referring to Waverley and Abbotsford as a starting point, this book explains how the work of Walter Scott (1771-1832) became an all-pervasive point of reference for cultural memory and collective identity in the nineteenth century, and why he no longer has this role. It breaks new ground in memory studies and the study of literary reception by examining the dynamics of cultural memory and the ‘social life’ of literary texts across several generations and multiple media. Attention is paid to the remediation of the Waverley novels as they travelled into painting, the theatre, and material culture, as well as to the role of ‘Scott’ as a memory site in the public sphere for a century after his death. Using a wide range of examples and supported by many illustrations, this book demonstrates how remembering Scott’s work helped shape national and transnational identities up to World War I, and contributed to the emergence of the idea of an English-speaking world encompassing Scotland, the British Empire, and the United States. It shows how Scott’s work provided an imaginative resource for creating a collective relation to the past that was compatible with widespread mobility and social change; and that he thus forged a potent alliance between memory, literature, and identity that was eminently suited to modernizing. In the process he helped prepare his own obsolescence. But if Scott’s work is now largely forgotten, his legacy continues in the widespread belief that showcasing the past is a condition for transcending it.Less
Using street-names referring to Waverley and Abbotsford as a starting point, this book explains how the work of Walter Scott (1771-1832) became an all-pervasive point of reference for cultural memory and collective identity in the nineteenth century, and why he no longer has this role. It breaks new ground in memory studies and the study of literary reception by examining the dynamics of cultural memory and the ‘social life’ of literary texts across several generations and multiple media. Attention is paid to the remediation of the Waverley novels as they travelled into painting, the theatre, and material culture, as well as to the role of ‘Scott’ as a memory site in the public sphere for a century after his death. Using a wide range of examples and supported by many illustrations, this book demonstrates how remembering Scott’s work helped shape national and transnational identities up to World War I, and contributed to the emergence of the idea of an English-speaking world encompassing Scotland, the British Empire, and the United States. It shows how Scott’s work provided an imaginative resource for creating a collective relation to the past that was compatible with widespread mobility and social change; and that he thus forged a potent alliance between memory, literature, and identity that was eminently suited to modernizing. In the process he helped prepare his own obsolescence. But if Scott’s work is now largely forgotten, his legacy continues in the widespread belief that showcasing the past is a condition for transcending it.
Carolyne Larrington
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198119821
- eISBN:
- 9780191671210
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198119821.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry
This is a comparative study of Old Icelandic and Old English wisdom poetry. It examines problems of form, unity, and coherence, and how the genre responds to social change, both reflecting and ...
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This is a comparative study of Old Icelandic and Old English wisdom poetry. It examines problems of form, unity, and coherence, and how the genre responds to social change, both reflecting and shaping the thinking of the communities that originate it. The author analyses the differences between the pagan wisdom of Norse, ranging through everyday practical advice, rune magic, and spells, and the Christian, socially oriented ideals of Old English wisdom poetry, strongly rooted in Christian concepts of ‘natural’ order and hierarchy in God’s Creation. Close reading in primary texts, both runic and magical, lays bare the skilful, structural integration of pragmatic, social wisdom with other kinds of knowledge. The book explores the possibility of Christian influence on Norse texts and demonstrates the impact of Christian learning on the ancient pagan genre. The existence of a gnomic ‘key’ in Norse and English narrative verse is also shown. Far from being platitudinous moralizing, the wisdom poets of the two literatures reveal themselves as comic, ironic, dramatic, and grandiose by turns, exploring a gamut of themes unequalled in any other genre of the period.Less
This is a comparative study of Old Icelandic and Old English wisdom poetry. It examines problems of form, unity, and coherence, and how the genre responds to social change, both reflecting and shaping the thinking of the communities that originate it. The author analyses the differences between the pagan wisdom of Norse, ranging through everyday practical advice, rune magic, and spells, and the Christian, socially oriented ideals of Old English wisdom poetry, strongly rooted in Christian concepts of ‘natural’ order and hierarchy in God’s Creation. Close reading in primary texts, both runic and magical, lays bare the skilful, structural integration of pragmatic, social wisdom with other kinds of knowledge. The book explores the possibility of Christian influence on Norse texts and demonstrates the impact of Christian learning on the ancient pagan genre. The existence of a gnomic ‘key’ in Norse and English narrative verse is also shown. Far from being platitudinous moralizing, the wisdom poets of the two literatures reveal themselves as comic, ironic, dramatic, and grandiose by turns, exploring a gamut of themes unequalled in any other genre of the period.
John Scheid
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199572069
- eISBN:
- 9780191738739
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572069.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
A graffito discovered in the temple of Hercules Curinus at Sulmo allows us to explore the ritual logic of the Roman vow, undoubtedly one of the most characteristic rites in Roman religion, with its ...
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A graffito discovered in the temple of Hercules Curinus at Sulmo allows us to explore the ritual logic of the Roman vow, undoubtedly one of the most characteristic rites in Roman religion, with its specific vocabulary and timing, unlike, for example, the Christian vow. In most cases, vows — whether they are modest such as the one from the temple at Sulmo, or grand such as those we find on offerings in metal or marble — recall one aspect or phase of the rite. The text from Sulmo is one of the rare votive texts that gives us the two principal phases of the vow, announcement and fulfilment.Less
A graffito discovered in the temple of Hercules Curinus at Sulmo allows us to explore the ritual logic of the Roman vow, undoubtedly one of the most characteristic rites in Roman religion, with its specific vocabulary and timing, unlike, for example, the Christian vow. In most cases, vows — whether they are modest such as the one from the temple at Sulmo, or grand such as those we find on offerings in metal or marble — recall one aspect or phase of the rite. The text from Sulmo is one of the rare votive texts that gives us the two principal phases of the vow, announcement and fulfilment.
B. Barry Levy
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195141139
- eISBN:
- 9780199834945
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019514113X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Many scholars and learned readers believe that rabbinic Judaism assumes a dogmatic commitment to the notion that the Bible text, particularly the Torah text, is letter perfect; orthodox Jews often ...
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Many scholars and learned readers believe that rabbinic Judaism assumes a dogmatic commitment to the notion that the Bible text, particularly the Torah text, is letter perfect; orthodox Jews often accept this notion as fact, others, as normative rabbinic doctrine. This position developed over the centuries as an internal theological and interpretative posture and as a response to external pressures. These factors include rabbinic indifference to alternative forms of the Bible text recovered from pre‐rabbinic times or non‐rabbinic sources, attacks from Christians and Muslims who accused the Jews of falsifying the text or failing to transmit it accurately, and mystical Jewish teachings that saw in the Torah a divinely revealed and perfectly transmitted document whose letters were, in their entirety, a divine name. The assumption of letter‐perfect accuracy sustains much of the midrashic literature and has become a cornerstone of the postmodern fad of decoding the text to reveal alleged references to phenomena that occurred long after its books were written. This study, based on careful examination of hundreds of authoritative rabbinic writings, offers a very different picture of the Bible's textual reality and the rabbinic beliefs about it. Beginning with late antiquity and progressing throughout the subsequent ages, this book explores Talmudic, midrashic, medieval, Renaissance, and modern rabbinic texts that address the question of the letter‐perfect accuracy of the Bible text; it is particularly attentive to the writings of Rabbis Solomon ben Adret, Jacob ben Ibn Adoniyah, and David Ibn Zimra, as well as others who lived between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The documents analysed have been chosen from Bible commentaries, responsa, halakhic codes, guidebooks for scribes, studies of Bible manuscripts and the printed Bible, and many other rabbinic works. In presenting these sources, many translated here for the first time, the author explores the various rabbinic attempts to fix the Bible text—to correct it and to establish its authoritative spelling. He demonstrates conclusively that many of the same rabbinic figures whose teachings inform other contemporary Orthodox doctrines were quite open about the fact that their Bible texts, even their Torah scrolls, were not completely accurate. Moreover, though many of the variations are of little exegetical significance, these rabbis often acknowledged that, textually speaking, the situation was beyond repair.Less
Many scholars and learned readers believe that rabbinic Judaism assumes a dogmatic commitment to the notion that the Bible text, particularly the Torah text, is letter perfect; orthodox Jews often accept this notion as fact, others, as normative rabbinic doctrine. This position developed over the centuries as an internal theological and interpretative posture and as a response to external pressures. These factors include rabbinic indifference to alternative forms of the Bible text recovered from pre‐rabbinic times or non‐rabbinic sources, attacks from Christians and Muslims who accused the Jews of falsifying the text or failing to transmit it accurately, and mystical Jewish teachings that saw in the Torah a divinely revealed and perfectly transmitted document whose letters were, in their entirety, a divine name. The assumption of letter‐perfect accuracy sustains much of the midrashic literature and has become a cornerstone of the postmodern fad of decoding the text to reveal alleged references to phenomena that occurred long after its books were written. This study, based on careful examination of hundreds of authoritative rabbinic writings, offers a very different picture of the Bible's textual reality and the rabbinic beliefs about it. Beginning with late antiquity and progressing throughout the subsequent ages, this book explores Talmudic, midrashic, medieval, Renaissance, and modern rabbinic texts that address the question of the letter‐perfect accuracy of the Bible text; it is particularly attentive to the writings of Rabbis Solomon ben Adret, Jacob ben Ibn Adoniyah, and David Ibn Zimra, as well as others who lived between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The documents analysed have been chosen from Bible commentaries, responsa, halakhic codes, guidebooks for scribes, studies of Bible manuscripts and the printed Bible, and many other rabbinic works. In presenting these sources, many translated here for the first time, the author explores the various rabbinic attempts to fix the Bible text—to correct it and to establish its authoritative spelling. He demonstrates conclusively that many of the same rabbinic figures whose teachings inform other contemporary Orthodox doctrines were quite open about the fact that their Bible texts, even their Torah scrolls, were not completely accurate. Moreover, though many of the variations are of little exegetical significance, these rabbis often acknowledged that, textually speaking, the situation was beyond repair.
Michael Hawcroft
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159841
- eISBN:
- 9780191673726
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159841.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether spoken or written. The first chapter of this book sets out its principles providing an easily-consulted outline of key terms and a wide range of ...
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Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether spoken or written. The first chapter of this book sets out its principles providing an easily-consulted outline of key terms and a wide range of illustrative examples. Subsequent chapters explore rhetoric at work in different genres, via close reading of texts which range from the drama of Moliere, Racine, and Beckett; Montaigne, Sevigne, and Gide on the self; the prose fiction of Laclos, Zola, and Sarraute; poetry by DʼAubigne, Baudelaire, and Cesaire; and the oratory of de Gaulle and Yourcenar. Rhetorical analysis uncovers subtleties and complexities in texts which emerge as exciting dramas of communication.Less
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether spoken or written. The first chapter of this book sets out its principles providing an easily-consulted outline of key terms and a wide range of illustrative examples. Subsequent chapters explore rhetoric at work in different genres, via close reading of texts which range from the drama of Moliere, Racine, and Beckett; Montaigne, Sevigne, and Gide on the self; the prose fiction of Laclos, Zola, and Sarraute; poetry by DʼAubigne, Baudelaire, and Cesaire; and the oratory of de Gaulle and Yourcenar. Rhetorical analysis uncovers subtleties and complexities in texts which emerge as exciting dramas of communication.
