We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The author talks about a fashionable phenomenon at the beginning o the '60s: the periodization and the criteria used (time periods, gendre) and their variation and adaptation in time. Generating new concepts helps a correct "periodization".
More...
In this article I discuss the role of the market on the different branches of the agriculture in a Transylvanian village analyzing the complex forms of the market and market behaviour that exist in this rural settlement. Regarding the links between agricultural production and the market the article delimitates three behavioural patterns, namely self-suffi ciency, partial market integration and dominant market integration (differentiating the locations where farmers place their products, too), arguing that in fact these patterns may be found many times in the same households and there are no clear forms of market behaviour. In concordance I argue also that self-suffi ciency is not more than a scientifi c tool used in the description of traditional economies but it does not really exist, and self-suffi ciency and market are not opposed, but on the contrary, they complement each other. Consequently the article tries to demonstrate that the peasant farming depends in many ways - both in its consumption and production - on the market and that the market effects in fact mean inequalities.
More...
The story of Barbara von Tiesenhausen drowned in an icy lake by her own brothers as punishment for her misalliance, has been used both in the Baltic German and in the Estonian literary traditions. The article discusses the historical background of the story and follows its evolution in folk tradition as well as in literary versions. The execution of Barbara von Tiesenhausen has been recorded in the chronicles of the 16th century. In addition, the hostilities of her lover Franz Bonnius against the Tiesenhausen family and Livonia can be followed in the correspondence of the potentates and legal documents of the time. The conflict ensued from the (planned) marriage that was not considered acceptable by the family. At the same time, the social station of the fiancé Franz Bonnius has remained somewhat ambiguous. Considering his later activities aimed at establishing his rights in Prussia and Lithuania, at whose courts his claims were heard, one is left with an impression that he may have been less of an outsider to the aristocratic society than hitherto depicted. Despite the real restrictions to marriage with men of a lower rank no historian has found convincing proof of the legitimacy of Barbara’s execution. This leaves the exact nature of the conflict unclear. In any case, the killing of Barbara was shocking even by 16th-century standards. In folklore and literature, in their close mutual interaction, the story is living its own life. The Baltic German literary tradition keeps to the chronicles, associating the story with Rannu manor and Lake Võrtsjärv, as well as with concrete historical figures (T. H. Pantenius). In Estonian literature and folklore, however, a divergence can be observed. One tradition feeds on the book Ennemuistsed jutud („Folk tales”) by F. R. Kreutzwald. Here the Barbara of Rannu transforms into the young lady of Porkuni manor, while the story, shedding off its concrete realia, acquires mythical dimensions and becomes an explanatory legend (F. R. Kreutzwald, M. Under). Aino Kallas, however (as well as the opera „Barbara von Tiesenhusen” written by E. Tubin on the inspiration of A. Kallas’s prose ballad of the same name), draws on the chronicles and Pantenius. The modern approach of Maimu Berg treats the innocent girl in love as a vicious vamp and the heroic Bonnius as a cynical egoist. There are more (unrealized) options to the story of Barbara. And yet, running through the literary versions like a red line is the tragedy of a misalliance, innocent love and criticism of rank restrictions.
More...
The Habans’ pottery as a challenge for research. The history of Anabaptists and Hutterites. Antitrinitarians, Arianists and „New Christians“. The adoption of Italian pottery. The Hutterite movement’s encroach upon Hungary. The Arianianist arcanists as agents of technical progress.
More...
"Dans les études sur l’imaginaire, les historiens ne sont pas encore sur un terrain familier ; souvent, ils ne parviennent pas à se retrouver dans des règles méthodologiques déjà fondées. Les psychologues, philosophes, sociologues, anthropologues ont mis en évidence les structures de l’imaginaire et élaboré des théories à l’intérieur du domaine ; les historiens ont travaillé davantage sur les mentalités, définissant rigoureusement les concepts utilisés et la problématique abordée et raffinant inlassablement sur ceux-ci. Le succès, en histoire, des études sur les mentalités a en quelque sorte marginalisé l’imaginaire, parce que les nombreuses zones de contact entre les deux domaines pourraient laisser l’impression du doublement de la problématique : [...]"
More...
"La diversité religieuse est de nos jours en Europe de l’Ouest un phénomène bien installé et dont l’évolution s’accélère1. De plus, la circulation des valeurs culturelles, de l’information, des personnes rend cette diversité visible, normale, sinon acceptée par la majorité des Européens. « La pluralisation culturelle du religieux” constitue, selon J.-P. Willaime (1996, p. 294), une mutation importante du sentiment religieux : [...]"
More...
Im Februar 1954 veröffentlicht Hugo Hausl in der Bukarester deutschen Tageszeitung „Neuer Weg“ eine Rezension zu der Anthologie „Deutsche Dichter der RVR“. Darin stellt er die Frage: „Ob wohl unsere Nachkommen, wenn sie dieses [...] Gedichtsbuch in die Hand nehmen, sich darüber Rechenschaft geben können, wie unsere deutschen werktätigen Menschen lebten und arbeiteten, welches ihre Gefühle und Gedanken waren, mit denen sie für den Aufbau eines neuen besseren Lebens und für die Erhaltung des höchsten Gutes der Menschheit, den Frieden, gekämpft haben?“ Diese Frage, in dem für die Zeit typischen pathetischen Stil gestellt, deutet auf das Bedürfnis, allgemeine kulturelle Anliegen der deutschen Bevölkerung in Rumänien über die Tagesereignisse hinaus auszusprechen. Ein halbes Jahr später, am 2. Juli 1954, erschien zu Nr. 1624 die „Erste Beilage für Literatur und Kunst“.
More...
Inhabited by the end of the 17th century by ca 350 thousand Jews, the Commonwealth of Poland was the largest marketplace for Jewish prints. Yet, in this country there was not a single active Hebrew printing house capable of satisfying the demand for Hebrew and Yiddish books. The printing houses in Kraków and Lublin turned out their last publications in 1672 and 1691 respectively. Polish Jews’ huge demand for books was met by foreign printers. Dutch printers exploited this situation to perfection. Amsterdam became the hub of Jewish printing and the main supplier of Hebrew books to the Commonwealth. In addition, Jewish printing houses gave work to printers and typesetters from Poland. One of them was Kalisz-born Shabbethai Bass (1641-1718). After studying in Prague, he finally settled in Amsterdam. There, he published Sifte Chachamim, his sub-commentary to Rashi’s commentary to the Pentateuch, next a guide for travelers entitled Masseket Derek Erez, and also Siftei Yeshenim, the first Jewish bibliography written by a Jewish author. Several years later, Bass decided to start his own printing activity. Competition in Amsterdam being too fierce, he found a suitable location in Silesia, close to the Commonwealth border, under the assumption that the output of his printing shop would be destined for Polish Jews. In 1689 he moved to the town of Dyhernfurth. This proved to be a sensible location, because of the proximity of the Polish marketplace, as well as the closeness of Wrocław, owing to its fairs the largest trading center for Jewish books in Central and Eastern Europe in the 17th century. Bass’ employees were Polish and Bohemian Jews from Kraków, Wodzisław and Prague. In 1689 he published his first book, Beit Shmuel - a commentary to Shulchan Aruch by Samuel ben Uri Shraga Phoebus from Wodzisław. Before 1718, his printing presses turned out 132 publications, among them Majim Chajim by Chaim ben Yoshua Segal - a book of special significance as far as the history of Hebrew printing in the Commonwealth is concerned, for it reveals the role played by the Council of the Four Lands in the collapse of Jewish printing houses in the second half of the 17th century. In 1712 the Jesuits accused Bass of spreading anti Christian contents. After a trial that ended with a definite vindication of Shabbethai Bass and his son, the printing house’s activity slowed down before it was finally sold in 1717. Shabbethai Bass, one of the most prominent Jews living in Silesia at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, achieved fame as the first Jewish bibliographer, successful publisher and founder of the first long-lasting and significant Jewish printing house in Silesia.
More...
I ascribe to early Hassidic literature four publications printed in 1780-81 in Korzec: three anthologies of sermons by Jacob Josef of Połonne and an anthology of teachings of Dov Ber of Międzyrzecz. Until 1780, any transmission of Hasidic teachings happened mainly orally. Yet, out of fear that they may be forgotten, or even perverted by the tradents, written records were not always avoided. Committing them in writing was not synonymous with the intention to have them printed. Yet, refraining from print carried a price, inflating as Hasidism transformed itself into a massive movement. The growing demand for texts with Hasidic teachings led to a mass copying of notes initially intended for personal use only. While copied, the notes were completed with personal commentaries and expanded. No one was able to control this avalanche of handwritten texts. The first Hasidic publications were anthologies of sermons delivered during the Sabbath and on holidays. From the testimony of Salomon Majmon, who spent some time at the court of Dov Ber in Międzyrzecz, we know that sermons were said in Yiddish, with Hebrew or Aramaic quotes from holy books inserted. Many students, without or with the preachers’ permission wrote them down from memory on the following day. Often this record was only a paraphrase of teachings heard, suitably completed on the basis of known teachings by other masters. Historians are not unanimous in regard to the language in which these notes were written. Owing to their personal character, Yiddish seems to be the natural language of the records. Nevertheless, they were printed solely in Hebrew, causing some historians to assume, that the editor already used notes in that language. Yet, I am inclined to admit the first possibility, all the more that the editors themselves complained about the difficulties they had with the translation, or they boasted to have translated the notes in their possession. Between 1780 and 1815, no less than 68 Hasidic titles have been printed in 165 editions, all in Hebrew. The fact that the printed sermons were translations from Yiddish was acknowledged by many autors and editors, among others in the introduction to the work of Gedaliah of Ilińce, Teshuot hen by the editor and translator thereof. Similarly wrote in the introduction to Maggid Devarav le-Yaakov Shlomo from Łuck. The process leading from the delivery of sermons, through their transcription, editing and translation to the creation of the final version, has not been well researched yet. In any case, this is a difficult task, as we do not have any notes or handwritten texts which served as basis for the edition. Hence, the main remaining source of information are title pages from the publications and the introductions written by editors. The historians mostly concentrate on the final product of a long and often complex process – the print, the link of which with the teachings and the persons to whom authorship is attributed, is not that obvio
More...
The illustrated Esther’s scroll C-331 from JHI collections is one of about twenty preserved manuscripts falling into the category described as Gaster I. They can now be found in various collections in Europe, Israel and the United States. These scrolls were produced in Italy (most likely in Venice) in the latter half of the 17th century (arguments to support the hypothesis are presented in the text). They stand out with the richly ornamented borders (illustrations embracing no fewer than 36 episodes based on the narrative from Esther’s Book, pleatings, a floral pattern, an expansive decoration with which the scroll begins and ends), which were impressed on parchment from copperplate engraving. The copies were painted by hand with multi-color tempera, and the Hebrew text of Esther’s Book was written by a scribe. In addition to the embellishments, the article presents the handwriting and the alignment of the text in the scroll, with a brief history of megilot Ester ornamentation presented in the foreword.
More...
The article focuses on literary images of Poland as a Jewish homeland presented in postwar Yiddish poetry written under Communism (1945-1968) by Polish Jews rescued from the Holocaust. The author put the emphasis on changes visible in the poetry depending on the social and political situation of Jewish writers and intellectuals. There are four main phases when the poets under discussion define their homeland differently: • 1939-1945 - years of the Holocaust; • 1945-1948 – years of both strong anti-Semitic atmosphere in Poland and of hope for rebuilding of Jewish culture in the Socialist Poland; • 1949-1955 – years of Socialist Realism in literature (which was used mainly for propaganda purposes); • 1956-1968 – years of anti-Semitic moods and riots. Each of those phases influences the way how Polish-Yiddish poets, expressing such feelings like: love, longing, disappointment, and despair, present Poland as their homeland.
More...
Historiographies of Hebrew literature maintain that centers of Hebrew literature began to flourish in Eastern Europe, especially in Poland, towards the end of the 19th century. They were based on defined groups of writers, readers and several entrepreneurs in the book industry, who created, for the first time in the history of Modern Hebrew literature, a solid literary center. In this paper I challenge this common view of the Hebrew literary centers in Eastern Europe by describing and analyzing the growth in the reading public which generated euphoric emotions among contemporary men of letters. I contend that the nature of the reading public and its structure were misinterpreted. The Hebrew men of letters failed to notice that the increase in readership resulted from the reading of popular literature and failed to grasp that Hebrew literature had begun to fulfill for its readers functions of popular reading that were previously fulfilled by Yiddish literature. This mistaken understanding of the new reading public resulted from the high status attributed to Hebrew literature as the most significant manifestation of national yearnings and Revival. In this framework there was no room for popular literature. Light reading of Hebrew literature was inconceivable and thus the emergence of a new group of readers was immediately and almost automatically wrongly interpreted. The growth in the reading public was not associated with a change in the structure of the reading public and with the fact that Hebrew literature had become more heterogeneous in nature. This process of stratification of the literary system, which might have led to a normalization of the Hebrew system, was much too premature for the cultural consciousness. Hebrew literature had to wait more than 60 years before it allowed for such stratification of the literary field in Eretz-Israel, and even then reluctantly allowed a popular literature to develop.
More...
The Reformation opened in Europe a new era of studies in the Hebrew original of the Bible and simultaneously – an era of studies in Semitic languages on the basis of comparative methods. The early European scholars adopted the Jewish medieval grammar theory, and this new-made hybrid became the main type of Biblical Hebrew grammars till now. A great deal of works on Biblical Hebrew in 16th–17th centuries was compiled in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, England and Low Countries. But also we can find a number of grammars compiled by East-European authors or published in East Europe. In 1534 a grammar of one of the first western Christian Hebraists, Jan van Kampen, was republished in Kraków (where he taught Hebrew). It was a Latinized compilation of the grammatical works of the Jewish scholar Eliah Levita. At the end of 16th century another Hebrew grammar was published in Danzig (Gdansk). It was a work of the Danzig professor of philosophy, Bartholomew Keckermann. The only Polish scholar of the period discussed who compiled the Biblical Hebrew grammar was a Krakow University professor Marcin Słonkowicz (died in 1658). The grammar by Słonkowicz of 1651 is composed according to the standard formula. Słonkowicz is also famous as a translator of Aulus Persius Flaccus into Polish. The other scholar who worked in the Baltic region was Andreas Mylius (1602–1649) – professor of Hebrew at the cathedral school in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia). In 1639 he published a Hebrew syntax in addition to the book of syntax of a very popular author in that period – Martin Trost (1588–1636). At the same place, in Königsberg, in 1644 a professor of Oriental languages Hieronymus Ernesti published his two works on Hebrew and related languages. The first one is a philological analysis of the verse of Genesis 1:1, and the second one is a theoretical essay on the role of other Semitic languages for the best translation of the Bible texts. Also in 1644 he published a short Hebrew grammar. In 1643 a little-known Hungarian author Paul Kis-Mariai published a brief compilative grammar in Franeker (Netherlands). Later, in 1654 in Utrecht a grammar of another Hungarian scholar, György Csipkés Komáromi was published. In Franeker, too, Michael Szathmar Nemethi in 1667 published his brief grammar for beginners. And in the same 1677 a Hungarian Hebraist Esaias Pilarik published in Wittenberg his own version of Hebrew grammar. Finally we should mention a German scholar of the Hungarian origin, Daniel Parschitz. In the very end of 17th he published his tabular grammar in Rostock. Biblical Hebrew was studied and taught at the universities of Eastern Europe; the East-European scholars contributed to the process of the European Christian studies in Biblical Hebrew; as a rule they worked at the academic centers of West Europe; most of their works were standard practical grammars based on the earlier patterns having been composed by the famous European Hebraists in 16th centu
More...
Ever since the cinema came to Polish lands, a significant part of Warsaw cinema theaters were in the hands of Jewish owners. The two most important among them were Aleksander Hertz and Mordechaj Towbin, who opened the first cinemas as well as film-making studios in Warsaw. The competition between cinema owners and the producers bore fruit in the form of the first full-length films in the history of Polish cinematography. When Poland regained independence, the number of cinemas in Warsaw increased significantly. Some cinemas that had Jewish owners were located in the Jewish quarter, which mostly screened films in Yiddish. However, most of the theatres were located along Marszałkowska or Nowy Świat streets. They mostly screened the productions of the biggest foreign, in particular U.S., studios, which willingly cooperated with the Jewish cinema owners at the time. In the inter-war period, the cinema owners played an important role not just in the distribution but also the production of films. Many of them had their own production companies (such as Aleksander Hertz’s Sfinks), some sat on the supervisory boards of film studios operating as joint-stock companies. Interestingly, they focused on making films in Polish, including patriotic and religious productions. This was driven by commercial considerations. The level of anti-Semitism in the film-makers’ milieu of the inter-war period was low. While these were difficult times for Warsaw cinemas, with endless strikes and disputes with the Town Hall (sparked off by an unfavorable tax policy), the Jewish cinema owners and film-makers occupied senior posts in labour unions associated with the film industry. Neither was there a single film produced by the Polish film industry during that period that would have anti-Semitic overtones. On the other hands, such tenor could fairly often be found in newspaper reviews of new films.
More...
In this article I focus on two areas: first – the genre typology of texts that belong to the sphere of the so-called personal document, their specific character as a historical source for Holocaust studies; second –the methodological challenge this type of sources posits for the historiography (not only) of the Holocaust. I raise the following questions: what is the value of personal documents for Holocaust historians, being a formally diverse record of experiences; how are they used in their research; how do they read those personal narratives? A more general context for these considerations is the debate on the conditions for Holocaust historiography going on among contemporary theoreticians of history. One one form of this debate could be described as a conflict between “historical discourse” and ”memory discourse”.
More...