A TANGLED WEB: THE COMMENTARY CYCLE ON SAMARQANDĪ’S TREATISE ON THE RULES OF DISPUTATION ( ĀDĀB AL-BAḤṮ )

As is customary, at the end of 1984 the Executive Secretary of ECLAC presented a review of developments in the Latin American economy during the past year, and the text of this review is reproduced in the present article.

Dan Michel's Ayenbite of Inwit (fl 1340), a (Kentish) Middle English translation of a French treatise, shows interesting idiosyncratic features in the areas of orthography and lexis (cf. Scahill, “Dan Michel: Fossil or innovator?”, John Benjamins, 2002, for example). From a syntactic perspective, a preliminary overview of the text reveals that Dan Michel has a strong preference for the verb of necessity bihoven (>PDE behove, see MED s.v. bihoven), itself a relatively marginal verb in the period, rather than for higher frequency verbs such as thurven (< OE þurfan, see Bosworth & Toller), dominant in Old English, and neden (>PDE need), incipiently gaining ground in Middle English (see Loureiro-Porto, The semantic predecessors of need in the history of English (c750-1710), Blackwell, 2009 for a recent corpus-based study of this). Such a preference for behove, however, is not found in any other Kentish text considered in the present article, which suggests that it is not a dialectal feature. The use of behove as a verb of necessity in Ayenbite of Inwit will be studied in this paper, looking at whether in addition to its unusually high frequency it also behaves in an idiosyncratic way from a semantic-syntactic point of view. The ultimate aim will be to discover reasons behind the exceptionally frequent use of this particular verb of necessity at the expense of other such verbs available in the language. I will pay close attention to its syntactic function and semantic connotations, in an attempt to ascertain whether the translator's choice is to some degree determined by intralinguistic factors. This study will also compare Ayenbite of Inwit to an older version of the same text, The Book of Vices and Virtues (c.1450), in order to establish whether this specific text-type requires the occurrence of behove. The conclusions will show that neither the linguistic context nor the text-type play any role in the author's exclusive selection of behove. Rather, his preference for behove as a semantic-syntactic substitute of thurven and need is a characteristic of his own idiolect, which brings it close to other Germanic languages in which cognates of behove are the main necessity verbs (Dutch, for example). At the same time, the conclusions drawn suggest that the features of behove in Ayenbite of Inwit might be interpreted as indicative of an incipient grammaticalization of this verb.

Of two articles devoted to the Thracian tribes attested in Aegean Thrace during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the first, published here, focuses on the tribe of the Corpiloi (the second article, under the title ‘Ἔθνη Θρᾳκῶν στὴ Θράκη τοῦ Αἰγαίου κατὰ τοὺς ἑλληνιστικοὺς καὶ ρωμαϊκοὺς χρόνους, ΙΙ. Σαπαῖοι καὶ Σαπαϊκή’, devoted to the Sapaioi, will be published in the following volume of Τεκμήρια). The relevant testimonia, exclusively literary, range from the first century BC ‒or the beginning of the second century BC, for those who accept the emendation Coreli-Corpili in the text of Livy‒ to the beginning of the second century AD. They consist of short references in Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Solinus, a reference to the στενὰ τῶν Κορπίλων by Appian in conjunction with the battle of Philippi in 42 BC, as well as a reference to a Κορπιλικὴ στρατηγία in Claudius Ptolemy. The present article tries to define Corpiloi’s localization, suggesting the lower course of the Hebrus river, mainly to the west but also, possibly, to the east of the river, up to the north of Ainos. In view of their relatively short emergence in ancient sources, the article also addresses the question of Corpiloi’s relation to the region’s major tribes, namely the Odrysai and the Sapaioi. Finally, a brief and preliminary overview of the region’s archaeological map indicates integration into the region’s wider cultural sphere.

This article explores a gradual shift towards metrical and linguistic imprecision in the four major commentaries on the Old Norse Eddic poems produced from the 1930s to today. This trend both affects and reflects the state of Eddic scholarship at large. Many scholars today do not avail themselves of metrical and linguistic criteria in the dating and textual restitution of Eddic poems but approach these issues either with agnosticism or by presenting vague arguments in favour of particular dates or variants. During the last three decades, however, testing along many parameters has placed the essentials of Eduard Sievers’ metrical analysis (1893) beyond reasonable doubt, which means that the gradual abandonment of precise description has taken place in a context where the preconditions for such description were improving. These analytical advances and mainstream Eddic scholarship have yet to meet, and the present article aims to facilitate such a convergence. Furthermore, since the Eddic commentaries will remain indispensable heuristic tools for the foreseeable future, the field of Old Norse philology stands to gain from a concise description of the implicit metrical and linguistic assumptions guiding their analysis.

The present article examines the editorial and ideological evolution of Nikos Kazantzakis’ Ascesis, focusing on the significant differences between its first edition (1927) and the extensively revised second edition (1945). While extant scholarship has predominantly focused on linguistic changes – most notably in the final section of Ascesis, the well-known “CREDO” – this study seeks to address a critical research gap by arguing that these revisions mark a far more significant transformation. The analysis draws on biographical sources and Kazantzakis’ correspondence as well as his political essays and philosophical influences (notably Nietzschean, Bergsonian, and Buddhist though) in order to contextualize Ascesis within the author’s philosophical development and evolving worldview. The study demonstrates how the work transitions from a politically charged, collectivist manifesto embedded in the ideological context of early 20th-century communist thought to a deeply personal and metaphysical text centered on existential struggle and ascent as well as a multifaceted engagement with nihilism. Special attention is given to the removal of overt political references, the addition of the “Silence” chapter, and the restructuring of the final “CREDO”, which collectively signal a shift from political engagement to lyrical-philosophical introspection. The findings indicate that Ascesis underwent not only a stylistic revision but a fundamental restructuring in Kazantzakis’ conception of spiritual struggle and in his Weltanschauung in general, all of which seemingly occurred in a considerably short time span. This evolution is indicative of the broader tensions between literature, ideology, and personal metaphysics in Kazantzakis’ works – the article contends that Ascesis should be read not as a lesser philosophical addition, but as a central work within the author’s repertoire. The study posits that Ascesis ultimately manifests as a lyrical expression of existential anguish and the will to struggle for its own sake, transcending ideological frameworks.

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Geopolymer material has a potential to function alongside Portland Cement as an efficient cementitious material for well cementing and plug and abandonment applications. Geopolymer material requires retarding agents to be displaced into the well while considering the properties required to maintain efficient zonal isolation through superior mechanical properties. Chemical admixtures affect the material structure and can, in some cases, jeopardize material integrity if not engineered properly to suite downhole conditions. The present article shows the effect of Zn2+ and K+ species have as retarding agents on slurry, mechanical, and microstructural properties. The approach has been carried out to obtain a preliminary overview of how retarding agents can behave in mix design slurries where eventually sealing performance was examined. Samples were cured and examined for periods of 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days at downhole conditions. The results obtained confirm a retardation effect by the addition of Zn2+ and K+ species and some shortcomings in early strength development due to a poisoning mechanism by Zn2+ species. This phenomenon indicates the formation of Ca-Zn phase that can hinder the nucleation of the geopolymeric gel structure. No significant effects were observed on the microstructural development throughout the curing period. The effect of Zn2+ species was also observed in increasing threshold for hydraulic sealability. It may be concluded that the tested retarding agents require furthermore development to minimize shortcomings in mechanical properties specifically early strength development.

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Of two articles devoted to the Thracian tribes attested in Aegean Thrace during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the second, published here, focuses on the tribe of the Sapaioi (the first, under the title «Ἔθνη Θρᾳκῶν στὴ Θράκη τοῦ Αἰγαίου κατὰ τοὺς ἑλληνιστικοὺς καὶ ρωμαϊκοὺς χρόνους, Ι. Κορπίλοι καὶ Κορπιλική», devoted to the Corpiloi, was published in Τεκμήρια 15 [2019-2020] 187-226). Once again, the relevant testimonia are mainly literary, spanning from the beginning of the fifth century BC (Xerxes’ march against Greece) to the second century AD (catalogue of strategiae of Thrace in Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographika). But in this particular case, references to the Sapaioi also include a couple of inscriptions; among them, most prominently, the famous catalogue of the theorodokoi from Delphi and the equally renowned Sosthenes’ inscription from Paros. By gathering and analyzing these testimonia, the present article aims at defining more accurately the tribal territory of the Sapaioi and the limits of the Σαπαϊκὴ στρατηγία; at highlighting the intense and complex reality of a Thracian tribe in direct and close contact with the Greek and Roman worlds; and, finally, at stressing ‒through a brief and preliminary overview of the region’s archaeological map‒ the need for further archaeological research.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

The present article explores representations of male-male sexuality and eroticism in humorous tales of the Edo period. The point of departure for the discussion is the metaphor of 'back' and ‘front’, which delineated the sexual options available to a grown-up man, namely anal sex with males and vaginal sex with female partners. A brief preliminary overview of the custom of male love (nanshoku), which forms the unifying theme of the tales under discussion, is provided. After an introduction to the genre of Edo-period humorous tales (shōwa or kobanashi), the article centres on the depiction of male-male intercourse and eroticism in this type of literature, and argues that certain discrepancies, relevant from a gender perspective, become discernible in the respective representations of the two partners of a nanshoku relationship. It is shown how the metaphor of ‘back’ and ‘front’ is grounded in sexual practice, how it functioned and how it is employed for the achievement of a comic effect in the tales. The article then goes on to address the question of the extent to which male sexuality can be said to move ‘between the back and the front’, and some thoughts on gender and desire in the Edo period are offered.

Objective/Context: This article, and those that comprise the present dossier, serve to encourage debate and critical reflection on the role of environmental history of Latin America, a scholarly field that has established a strong presence and recognition in academic communities across the world. Methodology: The article is based on an interpretive exercise focused on the main changes and continuities within the historiography of Latin American environmental history since 2005, when an earlier dossier on environmental history was published in Historia Crítica. Here, we offer a preliminary overview of the field by discussing three themes that are central to various texts: the predominance of “declensionist” history, the privileging of the nation-state and political-administration as a unit of analysis, and finally, the uneven concentration of publications in a few countries—above all, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. Following on these themes, we then engage a similar exercise in light of the three themes that animate the articles of this dossier: urban environmental history, the history of conservation, and the history of climate. Originality: The article is in dialogue with historiographic overviews published toward the end of the last decade that suggested possible future developments for the field. The present article responds to some of those questions while also suggesting some of its own, which can, in turn, be further developed in future work. Conclusions: Latin American environmental history continues to be a growing field, though with an already solidified core. Much of its legitimacy derives from the maturation of the Latin American Society for Environmental History, which for more than ten years has built a network for the field and served as a hub for new projects, along with its biannual conference and postgraduate workshops. As a scholarly field, there has also been the emergence of new themes such as the history of climate, along with other perspectives that were barely mentioned a decade ago. For example, articles that emphasize the symbolic dimension of climate change. However, there are still routes open for future expansion. Research led by teams from different countries about frontier regions and/or shared ecosystems, for instance, are becoming increasingly vital given the dynamics that cross national boundaries.