Gianluca Raccagni
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264713
- eISBN:
- 9780191734847
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264713.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The Lombard League was an association created by the city republics of northern Italy in the 12th century in order to defend their autonomy and that of the papacy in a struggle against the German ...
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The Lombard League was an association created by the city republics of northern Italy in the 12th century in order to defend their autonomy and that of the papacy in a struggle against the German Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The League has enjoyed an iconic status, and in the nineteenth century was glorified as a precursor of the Italian struggle for independence in political and historical pamphlets as well as in paintings, novels, and even operas. The League played a crucial role in the evolution of Italy’s political landscape, but it did more than ensure its continued fragmentation. Historiography, in fact, has overlooked the collegial cooperation among the medieval Italian polities and this volume examines the League’s structure, activity, place in political thought, and links with regional identities. Using documentary evidence, histories, letters, inscriptions, and contemporary troubadour poems as well as rhetorical and juridical treatises, the book argues that the League was not just a momentary anti-imperial military alliance, but a body that also provided collective approaches to regional problems, ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to the management of regional lines of communication, usurping, in some cases, imperial prerogatives. Yet the League never rejected imperial overlordship per se, and this book explains how it survived after the end of the conflict against Frederick I, one of its most lasting legacies being the settlement that it reached with the empire, the Peace of Constance, which became the Magna Carta of the northern Italian polities.Less
The Lombard League was an association created by the city republics of northern Italy in the 12th century in order to defend their autonomy and that of the papacy in a struggle against the German Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The League has enjoyed an iconic status, and in the nineteenth century was glorified as a precursor of the Italian struggle for independence in political and historical pamphlets as well as in paintings, novels, and even operas. The League played a crucial role in the evolution of Italy’s political landscape, but it did more than ensure its continued fragmentation. Historiography, in fact, has overlooked the collegial cooperation among the medieval Italian polities and this volume examines the League’s structure, activity, place in political thought, and links with regional identities. Using documentary evidence, histories, letters, inscriptions, and contemporary troubadour poems as well as rhetorical and juridical treatises, the book argues that the League was not just a momentary anti-imperial military alliance, but a body that also provided collective approaches to regional problems, ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to the management of regional lines of communication, usurping, in some cases, imperial prerogatives. Yet the League never rejected imperial overlordship per se, and this book explains how it survived after the end of the conflict against Frederick I, one of its most lasting legacies being the settlement that it reached with the empire, the Peace of Constance, which became the Magna Carta of the northern Italian polities.
Robert J. Fogelin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195387391
- eISBN:
- 9780199866489
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387391.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This work is a narrative study of the interactions between Hume's naturalism and his skepticism as they unfold in the Treatise of Human Nature and the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. More ...
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This work is a narrative study of the interactions between Hume's naturalism and his skepticism as they unfold in the Treatise of Human Nature and the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. More specifically, it examines the way in which the relationship between Hume's naturalism and skepticism shifts dramatically as he delves more deeply into the operations of the human understanding. At first, Hume's skeptical arguments largely play a subservient role of eliminating intellectualist competitors to his naturalistic account of belief formation. This is true, with one minor exception, in the first three parts of book 1 of the Treatise. The situation changes radically in part 4 of book 1, where Hume's investigation of human faculties reveals them to be capricious and unreliable. Hume finds the situation so dire that he comes to question whether anyone, himself included, possesses mental faculties capable of producing a science of human nature. This is Hume's skeptical crisis. The remainder of the book examines Hume's various efforts to extract himself from this difficulty, ending, in the Enquiry, with the claim that a suitable mitigated, or moderate, form of skepticism can arise by bringing radical Pyrrhonian doubts into a proper balance with common instinctive beliefs.Less
This work is a narrative study of the interactions between Hume's naturalism and his skepticism as they unfold in the Treatise of Human Nature and the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. More specifically, it examines the way in which the relationship between Hume's naturalism and skepticism shifts dramatically as he delves more deeply into the operations of the human understanding. At first, Hume's skeptical arguments largely play a subservient role of eliminating intellectualist competitors to his naturalistic account of belief formation. This is true, with one minor exception, in the first three parts of book 1 of the Treatise. The situation changes radically in part 4 of book 1, where Hume's investigation of human faculties reveals them to be capricious and unreliable. Hume finds the situation so dire that he comes to question whether anyone, himself included, possesses mental faculties capable of producing a science of human nature. This is Hume's skeptical crisis. The remainder of the book examines Hume's various efforts to extract himself from this difficulty, ending, in the Enquiry, with the claim that a suitable mitigated, or moderate, form of skepticism can arise by bringing radical Pyrrhonian doubts into a proper balance with common instinctive beliefs.
Elizabeth Clarke
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263982
- eISBN:
- 9780191682698
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263982.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature, Theology
In 17th-century England the poet George Herbert became known as ‘Divine Herbert’, his poetry a model for those aspiring to the status of inspired Christian poet. This book explores the relationship ...
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In 17th-century England the poet George Herbert became known as ‘Divine Herbert’, his poetry a model for those aspiring to the status of inspired Christian poet. This book explores the relationship between the poetry of George Herbert and the concept of divine inspiration rooted in devotional texts of the time. The book considers three very different treatises read and approved by Herbert: Savonarola’s De Simplicitate Christianae Vitae, Juan de Valdes’s The Hundred and Ten Considerations, and Francois de Sales’s Introduction to the Devout Life. These authors all saw literary production as implicit in a theological argument about the workings of the Holy Spirit. The book goes on to offer a new reading of many of Herbert’s poems, concluding that implanted in Herbert’s poetry are many well-established codes which to a 17th-century readership signified divine inspiration.Less
In 17th-century England the poet George Herbert became known as ‘Divine Herbert’, his poetry a model for those aspiring to the status of inspired Christian poet. This book explores the relationship between the poetry of George Herbert and the concept of divine inspiration rooted in devotional texts of the time. The book considers three very different treatises read and approved by Herbert: Savonarola’s De Simplicitate Christianae Vitae, Juan de Valdes’s The Hundred and Ten Considerations, and Francois de Sales’s Introduction to the Devout Life. These authors all saw literary production as implicit in a theological argument about the workings of the Holy Spirit. The book goes on to offer a new reading of many of Herbert’s poems, concluding that implanted in Herbert’s poetry are many well-established codes which to a 17th-century readership signified divine inspiration.
Ian Bostridge
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206538
- eISBN:
- 9780191677205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206538.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, Social History
This introductory chapter sets out the objective of this book, which is to explain how belief in witchcraft in England moved from the 17th century respectability of sermons and treatises to 19th ...
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This introductory chapter sets out the objective of this book, which is to explain how belief in witchcraft in England moved from the 17th century respectability of sermons and treatises to 19th century embarrassment. This book suggests that witchcraft theory had a serious constituency well beyond 1700 and that the reasons for its loss of credibility were at least partly partly. It argues that witchcraft cantered on the notion of a covenant with the Devil to do harm to others.Less
This introductory chapter sets out the objective of this book, which is to explain how belief in witchcraft in England moved from the 17th century respectability of sermons and treatises to 19th century embarrassment. This book suggests that witchcraft theory had a serious constituency well beyond 1700 and that the reasons for its loss of credibility were at least partly partly. It argues that witchcraft cantered on the notion of a covenant with the Devil to do harm to others.
Jeremy Waldron
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198239376
- eISBN:
- 9780191679902
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198239376.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Can the right to private property be claimed as one of the ‘rights of mankind’? This is the central question of this examination of the subject of private property. This book contrasts two types of ...
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Can the right to private property be claimed as one of the ‘rights of mankind’? This is the central question of this examination of the subject of private property. This book contrasts two types of arguments about rights: those based on historical entitlement, and those based on the importance of property to freedom. It provides a detailed discussion of the theories of property found in Locke's Second Treatise and Hegel's Philosophy of Right to illustrate this contrast. The book contains original analyses of the concept of ownership, the ideas of rights, and the relation between property and equality. The book's overriding determination throughout is to follow through the arguments and values used to justify private ownership. It finds that the traditional arguments about property yield some surprisingly radical conclusions.Less
Can the right to private property be claimed as one of the ‘rights of mankind’? This is the central question of this examination of the subject of private property. This book contrasts two types of arguments about rights: those based on historical entitlement, and those based on the importance of property to freedom. It provides a detailed discussion of the theories of property found in Locke's Second Treatise and Hegel's Philosophy of Right to illustrate this contrast. The book contains original analyses of the concept of ownership, the ideas of rights, and the relation between property and equality. The book's overriding determination throughout is to follow through the arguments and values used to justify private ownership. It finds that the traditional arguments about property yield some surprisingly radical conclusions.
Jerry A. Fodor
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199287338
- eISBN:
- 9780191700439
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287338.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language
This book looks to David Hume for help in advancing our understanding of the mind. The book claims his Treatise of Human Nature as the foundational document of cognitive science: it launched the ...
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This book looks to David Hume for help in advancing our understanding of the mind. The book claims his Treatise of Human Nature as the foundational document of cognitive science: it launched the project of constructing an empirical psychology on the basis of a representational theory of mind. Going back to this work after more than 250 years we find that Hume is remarkably perceptive about the components and structure that a theory of mind requires. Careful study of the Treatise helps us to see what's amiss with much 20th-century philosophy of mind, and to get on the right track. Hume says in the Treatise that his main project is to construct a theory of human nature and, in particular, a theory of the mind. This book examines his account of cognition and how it is grounded in his ‘theory of ideas’. It discusses such key topics as the distinction between ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ ideas, the thesis that an idea is some kind of picture, and the roles that ‘association’ and ‘imagination’ play in cognitive processes. It argues that the theory of ideas, as Hume develops it, is both historically and ideologically continuous with the representational theory of mind as it is now widely endorsed by cognitive scientists. This view of Hume is explicitly opposed to recent discussions by critics who hold that the theory of ideas is the Achilles heel of his philosophy and that he would surely have abandoned it if only he had read Wittgenstein carefully.Less
This book looks to David Hume for help in advancing our understanding of the mind. The book claims his Treatise of Human Nature as the foundational document of cognitive science: it launched the project of constructing an empirical psychology on the basis of a representational theory of mind. Going back to this work after more than 250 years we find that Hume is remarkably perceptive about the components and structure that a theory of mind requires. Careful study of the Treatise helps us to see what's amiss with much 20th-century philosophy of mind, and to get on the right track. Hume says in the Treatise that his main project is to construct a theory of human nature and, in particular, a theory of the mind. This book examines his account of cognition and how it is grounded in his ‘theory of ideas’. It discusses such key topics as the distinction between ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ ideas, the thesis that an idea is some kind of picture, and the roles that ‘association’ and ‘imagination’ play in cognitive processes. It argues that the theory of ideas, as Hume develops it, is both historically and ideologically continuous with the representational theory of mind as it is now widely endorsed by cognitive scientists. This view of Hume is explicitly opposed to recent discussions by critics who hold that the theory of ideas is the Achilles heel of his philosophy and that he would surely have abandoned it if only he had read Wittgenstein carefully.
Peter Clarke
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198202196
- eISBN:
- 9780191675201
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202196.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Economic History
If tactical commitments and opportunism fuelled Keynes's progress towards the position of the Treatise, can the origins of the General Theory be explained along similar lines? Keynes's abandonment of ...
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If tactical commitments and opportunism fuelled Keynes's progress towards the position of the Treatise, can the origins of the General Theory be explained along similar lines? Keynes's abandonment of the Treatise, so soon after publication, is remarkable, given the forceful way in which he deployed its rhetoric about a gap between savings and investment. However, this appealing rhetoric concealed difficulties in the formal logic of the theory. Keynes subsequently regarded his progress towards the theory of effective demand as the outcome of a series of ‘moments of transition’. It is an account which stands up to historical scrutiny, and it suggests that there were four chronological stages, of which the principle of effective demand constituted the second. The General Theory was thus a fundamental challenge to the theoretical basis of neo-classical economics.Less
If tactical commitments and opportunism fuelled Keynes's progress towards the position of the Treatise, can the origins of the General Theory be explained along similar lines? Keynes's abandonment of the Treatise, so soon after publication, is remarkable, given the forceful way in which he deployed its rhetoric about a gap between savings and investment. However, this appealing rhetoric concealed difficulties in the formal logic of the theory. Keynes subsequently regarded his progress towards the theory of effective demand as the outcome of a series of ‘moments of transition’. It is an account which stands up to historical scrutiny, and it suggests that there were four chronological stages, of which the principle of effective demand constituted the second. The General Theory was thus a fundamental challenge to the theoretical basis of neo-classical economics.
A. M. C. Casiday
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297184
- eISBN:
- 9780191711381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297184.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines this Cassian's Christocentrism with specific reference to the monastic character of Cassian's theology. Cassian's treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord, against Nestorius the ...
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This chapter examines this Cassian's Christocentrism with specific reference to the monastic character of Cassian's theology. Cassian's treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord, against Nestorius the heretic will be chiefly in evidence. It is argued that Cassian's Christological treatise is an indispensable part of his theological oeuvre. Against several detractors of Cassian's treatise, it is argued that it is a work of genuine interest, not simply for the light it throws on Cassian's other works, but in its own right as well. Indeed, it may fittingly be considered the apex of Cassian's literary career.Less
This chapter examines this Cassian's Christocentrism with specific reference to the monastic character of Cassian's theology. Cassian's treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord, against Nestorius the heretic will be chiefly in evidence. It is argued that Cassian's Christological treatise is an indispensable part of his theological oeuvre. Against several detractors of Cassian's treatise, it is argued that it is a work of genuine interest, not simply for the light it throws on Cassian's other works, but in its own right as well. Indeed, it may fittingly be considered the apex of Cassian's literary career.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198524953
- eISBN:
- 9780191711886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524953.003.0004
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
The year that saw the first publication of Oughtred's Clavis also saw the publication of an algebra of a completely different kind, the Artis analyticae praxis (1631), compiled posthumously from the ...
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The year that saw the first publication of Oughtred's Clavis also saw the publication of an algebra of a completely different kind, the Artis analyticae praxis (1631), compiled posthumously from the papers of Thomas Harriot (c.1560-1621). Since Harriot never published any of his scientific or mathematical findings in his lifetime, it has been difficult to establish his true place in the intellectual history of the period or to judge the extent of his mathematical influence on those who came after him. Wallis believed that Harriot should have been more acclaimed than he was, and devoted no less than a quarter of A treatise of algebra to extolling him. Furthermore, he repeatedly accused Descartes of having made use of Harriot's algebra without acknowledgement, and thereby inflamed a controversy that has never been satisfactorily settled.Less
The year that saw the first publication of Oughtred's Clavis also saw the publication of an algebra of a completely different kind, the Artis analyticae praxis (1631), compiled posthumously from the papers of Thomas Harriot (c.1560-1621). Since Harriot never published any of his scientific or mathematical findings in his lifetime, it has been difficult to establish his true place in the intellectual history of the period or to judge the extent of his mathematical influence on those who came after him. Wallis believed that Harriot should have been more acclaimed than he was, and devoted no less than a quarter of A treatise of algebra to extolling him. Furthermore, he repeatedly accused Descartes of having made use of Harriot's algebra without acknowledgement, and thereby inflamed a controversy that has never been satisfactorily settled.
Raymond Flood
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231256
- eISBN:
- 9780191710803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231256.003.0011
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter focuses on Lord Kelvin's collaboration with Peter Guthrie Tait. Probably the most influential legacy of their collaboration on ‘heavy mathematical work’ was the production in 1867 of The ...
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This chapter focuses on Lord Kelvin's collaboration with Peter Guthrie Tait. Probably the most influential legacy of their collaboration on ‘heavy mathematical work’ was the production in 1867 of The Treatise on Natural Philosophy, which became universally known as ‘T&T’. It was Tait's concern to have adequate textbooks for his students to support his lectures that led to the project that resulted in ‘T&T’.Less
This chapter focuses on Lord Kelvin's collaboration with Peter Guthrie Tait. Probably the most influential legacy of their collaboration on ‘heavy mathematical work’ was the production in 1867 of The Treatise on Natural Philosophy, which became universally known as ‘T&T’. It was Tait's concern to have adequate textbooks for his students to support his lectures that led to the project that resulted in ‘T&T’.
Helena Sanson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264836
- eISBN:
- 9780191754043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264836.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
Across Europe, as early as the seventeenth century (and even more so in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) women became the target of scientific treatises which aimed to explain new ...
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Across Europe, as early as the seventeenth century (and even more so in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) women became the target of scientific treatises which aimed to explain new scientific knowledge to an unspecialized audience. Women were the privileged recipients of popularizing works of science and literature, and therefore indirectly contributed to introducing the new philosophers. In view of women's limited education, and their ignorance of Latin, works ‘for the ladies’ became synonymous with something adapted so as to become elementary and easy to grasp. Knowledge ‘for the ladies’ extended also to language, with the production across various countries of grammatical works which claimed to be, according to their titles and prefaces, expressly meant for the female sex. In agreement with the viewpoint that saw women as being incapable of real intellectual efforts, authors of these grammars shunned dry, boring, and taxing ways of learning, in favour of quicker and more pleasant and entertaining ones.Less
Across Europe, as early as the seventeenth century (and even more so in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) women became the target of scientific treatises which aimed to explain new scientific knowledge to an unspecialized audience. Women were the privileged recipients of popularizing works of science and literature, and therefore indirectly contributed to introducing the new philosophers. In view of women's limited education, and their ignorance of Latin, works ‘for the ladies’ became synonymous with something adapted so as to become elementary and easy to grasp. Knowledge ‘for the ladies’ extended also to language, with the production across various countries of grammatical works which claimed to be, according to their titles and prefaces, expressly meant for the female sex. In agreement with the viewpoint that saw women as being incapable of real intellectual efforts, authors of these grammars shunned dry, boring, and taxing ways of learning, in favour of quicker and more pleasant and entertaining ones.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198524953
- eISBN:
- 9780191711886
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524953.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This book provides an accessible account of the rise of algebra in England from the medieval period to the later years of the 17th century. The book includes new research and is the most detailed ...
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This book provides an accessible account of the rise of algebra in England from the medieval period to the later years of the 17th century. The book includes new research and is the most detailed study to date of early modern English algebra. In its structure and content this book builds on a much earlier history of algebra, A treatise of algebra, published in 1685 by John Wallis (Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford). This book both analyses Wallis' text and moves beyond it. Thus, it explores the reception and dissemination of important ideas from continental Europe up to the end of the 16th century, and the subsequent revolution in English mathematics in the 17th century. In particular, the book includes chapters on the work of Thomas Harriot, William Oughtred, John Pell, and William Brouncker, as well as of Wallis himself.Less
This book provides an accessible account of the rise of algebra in England from the medieval period to the later years of the 17th century. The book includes new research and is the most detailed study to date of early modern English algebra. In its structure and content this book builds on a much earlier history of algebra, A treatise of algebra, published in 1685 by John Wallis (Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford). This book both analyses Wallis' text and moves beyond it. Thus, it explores the reception and dissemination of important ideas from continental Europe up to the end of the 16th century, and the subsequent revolution in English mathematics in the 17th century. In particular, the book includes chapters on the work of Thomas Harriot, William Oughtred, John Pell, and William Brouncker, as well as of Wallis himself.
Yaacob Dweck
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691145082
- eISBN:
- 9781400840007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691145082.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter traces the circulation of Ari Nohem in manuscript, from its composition through its first appearance in print. The different stages in the reception of Ari Nohem in manuscript offer an ...
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This chapter traces the circulation of Ari Nohem in manuscript, from its composition through its first appearance in print. The different stages in the reception of Ari Nohem in manuscript offer an alternative history of Kabbalah in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, one that has largely been told through the histories of Sabbatianism and Hasidism. The manuscript transmission of Ari Nohem was typical rather than aberrant for texts written by early modern Jewish intellectuals on a variety of subjects: polemical writings on Christianity, esoteric kabbalistic treatises, and epistolary campaigns against the mystical messiah Sabbatai Zevi and his followers. The evidence of these manuscripts, combined with repeated citation of and allusion to Ari Nohem in letters, diaries, treatises, responsa, and compendia composed between 1639 and 1840, indicate that Jews and Christians continued to read Modena's text in nearly every generation between the death of the author and the printing of his book.Less
This chapter traces the circulation of Ari Nohem in manuscript, from its composition through its first appearance in print. The different stages in the reception of Ari Nohem in manuscript offer an alternative history of Kabbalah in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, one that has largely been told through the histories of Sabbatianism and Hasidism. The manuscript transmission of Ari Nohem was typical rather than aberrant for texts written by early modern Jewish intellectuals on a variety of subjects: polemical writings on Christianity, esoteric kabbalistic treatises, and epistolary campaigns against the mystical messiah Sabbatai Zevi and his followers. The evidence of these manuscripts, combined with repeated citation of and allusion to Ari Nohem in letters, diaries, treatises, responsa, and compendia composed between 1639 and 1840, indicate that Jews and Christians continued to read Modena's text in nearly every generation between the death of the author and the printing of his book.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198526025
- eISBN:
- 9780191712364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198526025.003.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This introductory chapter begins with a background on Thomas Harriot. It then details Harriot's relationship with Nathaniel Toporley and their mutual interest in Viète's mathematics. Harriot's ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a background on Thomas Harriot. It then details Harriot's relationship with Nathaniel Toporley and their mutual interest in Viète's mathematics. Harriot's notation, Harriot's algebra after 1621, and Harriot's reputation and influence are discussed.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a background on Thomas Harriot. It then details Harriot's relationship with Nathaniel Toporley and their mutual interest in Viète's mathematics. Harriot's notation, Harriot's algebra after 1621, and Harriot's reputation and influence are discussed.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198526025
- eISBN:
- 9780191712364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198526025.003.0002
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter presents a section of Harriot's Treatise on equations, on operations of arithmetic in letters. An image of the manuscript is included.
This chapter presents a section of Harriot's Treatise on equations, on operations of arithmetic in letters. An image of the manuscript is included.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198524953
- eISBN:
- 9780191711886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524953.003.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the first substantial history of algebra published in 1685 by John Wallis, Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford. A profile of Wallis is given, ...
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This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the first substantial history of algebra published in 1685 by John Wallis, Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford. A profile of Wallis is given, followed by a detailed description of Wallis' A treatise of algebra. An overview of the chapters in this volume is presented.Less
This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the first substantial history of algebra published in 1685 by John Wallis, Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford. A profile of Wallis is given, followed by a detailed description of Wallis' A treatise of algebra. An overview of the chapters in this volume is presented.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198524953
- eISBN:
- 9780191711886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524953.003.0002
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter discusses the development of algebra in Europe. Topics covered include the origins from which European algebra began to evolve and from which it took its name; The Liber abbaci (1202) of ...
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This chapter discusses the development of algebra in Europe. Topics covered include the origins from which European algebra began to evolve and from which it took its name; The Liber abbaci (1202) of Leonardo of Pisa, which was the first major European mathematical text of any kind; the Ars magna, one of the great mathematical texts of all time; and Wallis' account of early algebra.Less
This chapter discusses the development of algebra in Europe. Topics covered include the origins from which European algebra began to evolve and from which it took its name; The Liber abbaci (1202) of Leonardo of Pisa, which was the first major European mathematical text of any kind; the Ars magna, one of the great mathematical texts of all time; and Wallis' account of early algebra.
Jacqueline A. Stedall
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198524953
- eISBN:
- 9780191711886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524953.003.0008
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This final chapter looks at some of the reactions to A treatise of algebra immediately after its publication and since, and draws together a few observations on Wallis' perspective on algebra and on ...
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This final chapter looks at some of the reactions to A treatise of algebra immediately after its publication and since, and draws together a few observations on Wallis' perspective on algebra and on history. In general Wallis' history drew more attention than his mathematics. That there were a number of criticisms in this respect can be inferred from revisions he made when the book was translated into Latin in 1693.Less
This final chapter looks at some of the reactions to A treatise of algebra immediately after its publication and since, and draws together a few observations on Wallis' perspective on algebra and on history. In general Wallis' history drew more attention than his mathematics. That there were a number of criticisms in this respect can be inferred from revisions he made when the book was translated into Latin in 1693.
Edith Hall
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199232536
- eISBN:
- 9780191716003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232536.003.0017
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
It was ancient pantomime's destiny to play a seminal role in the emergence of classical ballet, and subsequently, in the twentieth century, of avant‐garde Tanztheater. It is well known that the ...
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It was ancient pantomime's destiny to play a seminal role in the emergence of classical ballet, and subsequently, in the twentieth century, of avant‐garde Tanztheater. It is well known that the founding fathers of opera in the Florentine Camerata looked to ancient myth, and above all what they believed to have been the all‐sung form taken by ancient theatrical tragic performances, as the model for their new medium. But considerably less exposure has been given to the genealogy traced by the inventors of ballet in Enlightenment Italy, Spain, France and England, to the dancers described in the ancient texts on pantomime. The ancient dances, brought to such a high level of artistry and skill by the ancient star performers named Pylades or Bathyllus, Hylas, or Paris, fundamentally informed, many centuries later, the nature of modern dance theatre in Early Modern culture. The final chapter in this volume therefore briefly outlines some of the uses to which some late seventeenth‐ and eighteenth‐century dance theorists, such as Weaver and Noverre, put their knowledge of ancient pantomime in their treatises on dance.Less
It was ancient pantomime's destiny to play a seminal role in the emergence of classical ballet, and subsequently, in the twentieth century, of avant‐garde Tanztheater. It is well known that the founding fathers of opera in the Florentine Camerata looked to ancient myth, and above all what they believed to have been the all‐sung form taken by ancient theatrical tragic performances, as the model for their new medium. But considerably less exposure has been given to the genealogy traced by the inventors of ballet in Enlightenment Italy, Spain, France and England, to the dancers described in the ancient texts on pantomime. The ancient dances, brought to such a high level of artistry and skill by the ancient star performers named Pylades or Bathyllus, Hylas, or Paris, fundamentally informed, many centuries later, the nature of modern dance theatre in Early Modern culture. The final chapter in this volume therefore briefly outlines some of the uses to which some late seventeenth‐ and eighteenth‐century dance theorists, such as Weaver and Noverre, put their knowledge of ancient pantomime in their treatises on dance.
Indira Ghose
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719076923
- eISBN:
- 9781781700983
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719076923.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
This book examines laughter in the Shakespearean theatre, in the context of a cultural history of early modern laughter, and looks at various strands of the early modern discourse on laughter, ...
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This book examines laughter in the Shakespearean theatre, in the context of a cultural history of early modern laughter, and looks at various strands of the early modern discourse on laughter, ranging from medical treatises and courtesy manuals to Puritan tracts and jestbook literature. It argues that few cultural phenomena have undergone as radical a change in meaning as laughter, a paradigm shift that can be traced back to the early modern period, which saw some remarkable changes in the culture of laughter. Hitherto, laughter had been mainly regarded as a social corrective that mocked those who transgressed societal norms. The evolving cult of courtly manners that spread throughout Renaissance Europe stigmatised derisive laughter as a sign of vulgarity. Laughter became bound up with questions of taste and class identity. At the same time, humanist thinkers revalorised the status of recreation and pleasure. These developments left their trace on the early modern theatre, where laughter was retailed as a commodity in an emerging entertainment industry. William Shakespeare's plays both reflect and shape these changes, particularly in his adaptation of the Erasmian wise fool as a stage figure and in the sceptical strain of thought that is encapsulated in the laughter evoked in the plays.Less
This book examines laughter in the Shakespearean theatre, in the context of a cultural history of early modern laughter, and looks at various strands of the early modern discourse on laughter, ranging from medical treatises and courtesy manuals to Puritan tracts and jestbook literature. It argues that few cultural phenomena have undergone as radical a change in meaning as laughter, a paradigm shift that can be traced back to the early modern period, which saw some remarkable changes in the culture of laughter. Hitherto, laughter had been mainly regarded as a social corrective that mocked those who transgressed societal norms. The evolving cult of courtly manners that spread throughout Renaissance Europe stigmatised derisive laughter as a sign of vulgarity. Laughter became bound up with questions of taste and class identity. At the same time, humanist thinkers revalorised the status of recreation and pleasure. These developments left their trace on the early modern theatre, where laughter was retailed as a commodity in an emerging entertainment industry. William Shakespeare's plays both reflect and shape these changes, particularly in his adaptation of the Erasmian wise fool as a stage figure and in the sceptical strain of thought that is encapsulated in the laughter evoked in the plays.
