Eighteenth Century Research Articles

Гравированный автопортрет и портрет гравера. К вопросу о самосознании и социальном статусе граверов в России второй половины XVIII века

This paper examines the unique self-portrait prints which provide rich material for raising a number of previously overlooked questions related to Russian art in the age of Catherine the Great. It reveals why self-portrait prints were so rare in eighteenth-century Russia; what were the motives of those few printmakers who decided to turn to such an unpopular type of portrait at the time; what was the social position of printmakers; how they viewed themselves and their profession and what are the specifics of self-portraiture in printmaking in comparison with self-portraits in other media. As is shown in this work, the printed self-portrait allowed a printmaker to freely express himself in the way he wanted and also claimed a privileged social position for the depicted, reflecting the desire of the author-model to fit his image into the social hierarchy. The phenomenon was set somewhat apart from the official strategy for the development of Russian art in the eighteenth century, for it presumed a higher status for the artist as individual than was usual at the time, and anticipated, however unconsciously, the depths that would be discovered in artist’s self-portraits in the era of romanticism.

The history of floristic research of forest biogeocenoses in the Northern Steppe Dnipro region

The study of the history of flora research in the forests of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine is extremely important for understanding the ecological processes and changes occurring in this region. The forests of the Northern Steppe Dnipro region, as unique ecosystems, have undergone significant transformations under the influence of anthropogenic factors. Understanding the historical aspects of these changes allows us to assess the current state of the forests and develop effective strategies for their conservation and restoration. This article aims to highlight the historical development of botanical research, from ancient historians' descriptions to modern scientific works. Despite its importance, the historical course of flora research in the forests of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine has remained insufficiently studied. The lack of a systematic review of research, from ancient times to the present, has limited the ability to fully understand the changes in species composition and ecological conditions of these forests. It is also important to assess the contributions of the first European travelers and scientists to the study of the region's flora and to determine the impact of anthropogenic factors on these ecosystems. The article provides a detailed review of historical sources related to the study of the flora of the forests of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. The works of ancient historians, such as Herodotus, and European travelers of the XVII–XVIII centuries, including Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan, Johann Anton Güldenstädt, and Peter Pallas, are considered. The contributions of XIX century scientists, such as Karl Friedrich von Ledebour and Ivan Schmalhausen, are analyzed. Special attention is given to the research of the XX century, which reflects changes in ecosystems under the influence of industrialization and agricultural development. The study revealed that anthropogenic factors, in particular, deforestation, the expansion of agricultural lands, and melioration works, have significantly affected the flora of the forests of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. The analysis of historical data showed that past botanical research is an important source of information for modern understanding of the region's ecological dynamics. These data help develop strategies for the conservation and restoration of forest ecosystems. The historical development of flora research in the forests of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine is an important part of the scientific heritage, which contributes to expanding knowledge about natural resources and ecological processes of this region. Studying the historical aspects of changes in species composition and ecological conditions of the forests allows for the development of effective strategies for their restoration and conservation. The results obtained emphasize the need for further research and efforts to preserve biodiversity and restore the forest biogeocenoses of the Northern Steppe Dnipro region.

‘I praie ye send for the courall’: children’s coral as the physical embodiment of parental hopes and fears in early modern England

ABSTRACT Mediterranean red coral has long been believed to be imbued with sacred, spiritual and healing power and was given to children across Europe in the form of an amulet, teether or medicine. In early modern England, portraits of children from affluent families and medical receipts provide snapshots of coral usage, a moment in time, which do not adequately reveal the spiritual, therapeutic and affective significance of this material within the context of unique family circumstances and a multitude of perceived threats to children’s health. Focusing on five case studies, this article delves into the lived experience of families who deemed coral objects an essential childhood accessory in the period from 1590 to 1775. Julian Herrick, a goldsmith’s widow, Sir John Oglander, a knight caught up in the civil war, Dr Garencières, a doctor confronting dangerous infection, Lady Blackett, a devoted grandmama, and Ann Lord, a woman facing destitution, all placed value on coral for their young children. This study draws on a diverse range of material and documentary evidence from the seventeenth and eighteenth century to unpack the significance of red coral for parents within a changing religious, political and medical landscape. Building on scholarship within material culture studies and the history of emotions, this study also situates children’s coral objects within emotional relationships and seeks to uncover the implicit meanings such objects held which could not be written or articulated due to illiteracy, controversy or persecution. By combining a micro-historical approach with a broader thematic analysis, the case studies presented indicate that coral occupies an important place in the history of the early modern family as the embodiment of the anxieties of parents and grandparents, a means to soothe and protect young children and a material expression of hope, love and faith, particularly during periods of crisis and separation.

W8banaki Subsistence Patterns During the 18th and 19th Centuries at the Fort Odanak Site, Québec, Canada

ABSTRACT Built in the early eighteenth century on the banks of the Saint-François River (Québec, QC, Canada), the fortified Jesuit mission of Saint-François-de-Sales was an important W8banaki centre during the colonial period. Between 2010 and 2021, archaeological excavations conducted by the W8banaki Nation led to the discovery of the mission’s remains at the Fort Odanak site (CaFe-7) in the historical centre of the village of Odanak. They revealed numerous pit features (used for food storage or refuse disposal), post moulds and hearths, along with diverse artifact assemblages. The analysis of plant macro-remains found in six pits and two hearths at the site was undertaken to document the evolution of culinary practices at the mission and to reconstruct the local environment and its exploitation by the mission’s inhabitants. Results suggest the persistence of traditional Indigenous subsistence patterns during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the integration of European foods into the Abenaki diet via trade and close contact with Canadien (i.e. French Canadian) farmers in the region.

Romanies within the interlocking matrix of racialization: How Ciganos in Brazil became accused of introducing an infectious disease

Brazilian medical texts sometimes forge a link between Ciganos (Romanies) and the spread of trachoma, an infectious eye disease. The form of the claim has become standardized into something like this: trachoma was brought to the country in the eighteenth century by Ciganos who were deported from Portugal to the provinces of Maranhão and Ceará. This article traces the origins of this claim to a group of early twentieth-century ophthalmologists from Northeast Brazil, particularly in Ceará. It reveals that several racial projects are folded into the claim and makes a case for the need to approach the dynamics of racialization of Romanies relationally. The analysis of the Romani societal position, characteristics ascribed to them in relation to other communities, and the ways those communities are racialized not only reveals new insights but breaches the continued insularity of Romani studies. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .

“Lost in Flowers & Foolery”: A Gendered Reading of the 9th Earl of Devon’s Flower Watercolors

William Courtenay, 3rd Viscount Courtenay and 9th Earl of Devon (1768–1835), has been most remembered for his romantic relationship with author and slave owner, William Beckford (1760–1844), which scandalized London society in 1784. However, the 9th Earl’s life after this event has received little attention despite his artistic contributions to the built environment of his ancestral home of Powderham Castle in Devon. In the 1790s, he created a series of flower watercolors on paper and cabinets under the supervision of his drawing master, William Marshall Craig (c.1765–1827). These artworks complicate ideas about gendered expectations of amateur artistic subjects, with flower painting being largely understood as a feminine accomplishment. This article explores the Earl’s watercolors in the context of the spaces at Powderham to argue they are evidence of his effeminate behavior and participation in female activities alongside his thirteen sisters. The association of these objects with a man attracted to those of his own sex contribute to studies of queerness, amateur art, and the country house in the late eighteenth century.

OCR quality and the resilience of algorithmic identification of linguistic register features in Eighteenth Century Collections Online

OCR quality and the resilience of algorithmic identification of linguistic register features in Eighteenth Century Collections Online

‘The Wild West of England’: Enclosure, Stag-Hunting, and the Creation of New Popular Perceptions of Exmoor in the Nineteenth Century

ABSTRACT Recent research emphasises parallels between agrarian enclosure campaigns in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain and Ireland, and neo-colonial discourses. Both used the ‘wasteful’ under-exploitation of land by indigenous populations as moral justifications for its appropriation for capitalist agriculture. Focusing on reclamation campaigns on Exmoor, a former royal forest in south-west England, sold by the Crown in 1818, this article shows how these discourses were displaced by emergent defences of undeveloped ‘wildness’, advanced in sustained media campaign by advocates of stag hunting. Although they pitted ‘wildness’ against ‘civilised’ agriculture, the article argues that this was an alternative discourse of modernity. 1

The Making and Unmaking of a Presidency: Envisioning Empire in British Bencoolen, 1685–1825

Abstract The English, and later British, settlement of Bencoolen was first established in 1685 and remained in British hands, barring French wartime occupation, until 1825, when it was handed over to the Dutch in a territorial exchange. Bencoolen was even elevated to the status of a Presidency in the second half of the eighteenth century. Why did the English East India Company and British officials maintain a presence in Bencoolen for so long? This article makes the case that multiple, overlapping visions of commercial and agrarian transformation, including projects focused on pepper and sugar cultivation, sustained British efforts to govern and maintain Bencoolen as part of a larger, trans-oceanic network of territories. Such visions of Bencoolen's economic and imperial potential evolved in sync with equally persistent concerns about Bencoolen's failure to become a thriving settlement. Yet even amid constant anxieties about producing enough pepper, maintaining a sizeable population, and generating sufficient revenue, numerous British imperial agents located in London and Calcutta as well as Sumatra argued over whether the settlement was likely to remain a permanent failure and how the problems that dogged it might be resolved. Thus, even in moments when Bencoolen appeared to be a failed outpost on the periphery of a growing British Empire, its success or lack thereof commanded the attention of British ministers and East India Company servants. In calling for Bencoolen's elevation, subordination, or even abolition as a settlement, Britons contributed to a wide-ranging discussion of what constituted a valuable colony and, indeed, empire.

“CONFESSIONS” BY J.-J. ROUSSEAU: TECHNIQUES OF AESTHETIC INFLUENCE AND STRATEGY OF READER’S RECEPTION

The study aims to explore the specific features of the modern reception of J.-J. Rousseau’s “Confessions”. The theoretical framework of the research is grounded on the ideas advanced by T. Avtuxovych, M.Czermińska, M.Głowiński, W.Iser, R. Jakobson, H.R.Jauss, P.Lejeune, Yu. Lotman, V.Tjupa, Zh. Starobinskiy and other scholars. The researchers describe the semiotic model of literary communication and the theory of the text by Yuri Lotman. The research was conducted using historic-functional, hermeneutic, receptive, and theoretical analysis methods. An attempt is made in this paper to show how the process of “decoding” the meanings intended by the author in the text takes place. In particular, the authors study how Rousseau’s “Confessions” functions in the structure of modern literary communication. The specific objectives of the present study are the meanings of “Confessions” are read by the contemporary recipient and which ones are relegated to the background compared to the literary communication of the eighteenth century. The common discourse code of the author and the reader is the key to successful communication and understanding of the specifics of the project of Rousseau’s life writing. At the same time, the success and specificity of artistic communication are influenced by the difference in discourse code meanings related to the time distance between the author and the recipient and the layering of new historical and cultural patterns in the reader’s consciousness. At the thematic level, three main themes are considered, including: a) the social origin of the autobiographical subject, b) his conflict with society, and c) the protagonist’s intimate self-disclosure. Thus, the article provides a detailed examination of the motif of the social origin of the autobiographical character. On the topic of the social origin of the character, instead of the plebeian’s right to public attention for the contemporary reader, the value of education and knowledge, freedom of speech and individual liberty are being actualised. Of particular note is the theme of the conflict between a character and society, the idea of the human right to otherness, the right to personal liberty and the right to choose the concept of one’s own life comes to the forefront. Thus, a literary text realises the social function of literature. The reading of the character’s self-disclosure by an attentive reader (from Rousseau’s contemporary to modern readers) has a twofold purpose: first, to encourage everyone to live the experience of the character and thus to think about themselves, and second, to reflect on society as a whole. It testifies to the fact that in the aspect of self-disclosure of the meaning of “Confessions”, the transformation of confession as an external form of a religious rite of repentance addressed to God into the narrative genre of confessional autobiography addressed to a human reader of the story is actualized. The study demonstrated a need for continuation of the study in the aspect of reader reception to contribute to the perception of its place in the contemporary literary and cultural space.

Proto-Endocrinological Theories of Masculinity/Femininity (1490-1904).

From the mid-seventeenth century, resorption of a testicular "ferment" and resorption of some part of the semen constituted reputable accounts of secondary sexual characteristics. Only in the early twentieth century was the latter, "recrementitious secretion" theory, explicitly considered superseded by one of internal secretion, an advance ushering in the hormone era. A reconstruction of these proto-endocrinological concepts is offered onward from the first, 1490 print edition of Galen's On Semen. Early modern physicians picking up from Galen deliberated widely on the medium and pathway of male and female testicular influences on "the entire body," including the mind, causing "femininity" and "masculinity" in physical, mental-temperamental, and behavioral terms. A switch is discernible from "heat and strength" (Galen) to blood-borne "virility" or testicular vapor (such as proposed in 1564 by Tomás Rodrigues da Veiga), to iatrochemical postulations of a "seminal ferment" (suggested in the late 1650s, perhaps independently, by Thomas Willis at Oxford and Lambert van Velthuysen in Utrecht), finally to a "seminal recrement" or "reabsorbed semen" concept soon after (emergent in the posthumous work of Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, among others). During the late eighteenth century, mounting controversy surrounded both the very idea of that concept and the involved anatomical pathways, informed by multiple experiments.

The originality of Chinoiserie-style garden architecture in England in the XVIII century

The article "The originality of Chinoiserie-style garden architecture in England in the XVIII century" explores the development and specifics of Chinoiserie style in the landscape architecture of England. Chinoiserie style refers to the use of Chinese motifs and stylistic techniques in European architecture. The aim of the work is to identify the specifics of the arrangement of English gardens and parks in the Chinoiserie style. The subject of the study is the stylistic features of the embodiment of Chinoiserie gardens and parks. The object of the study is parks and garden architecture in the Chinoiserie style in England. The study covers the 18th century, revealing the contribution of individual architects and the influence of Chinese art on the development of garden architecture. The presented analysis demonstrates how architectural styles of Western and Eastern culture can mix. English gardens and parks are evidence of the influence of Chinese aesthetics on landscape gardening, which later spread to continental Europe. In the course of the research, the following methods were mainly used: historical, historical-genetic, historical-comparative. In the study of specific objects of landscape architecture, methods of art criticism analysis were applied — formal, stylistic and comparative methods. The article examines specific English monuments of landscape architecture of the XVIII century taken as examples the Chinoiserie style. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the features of the Chinoiserie style in the landscape architecture of England were highlighted and a comparison of English architectural objects in the Chinoiserie style with Chinese analogues was carried out. The conducted research revealed the English specifics in the approach to interpreting Chinese designs of gardens and parks and architectural projects in the XVIII century. English gardeners and architects were inspired by Chinese aesthetics and used oriental elements for decoration, but did not follow all architectural canons and traditions. This gave rise to a new Chinoiserie style, a combination of Chinese and European landscape art that spread throughout Europe.

Roger Knight et Martin Wilcox Sustaining the Fleet, 1793-1815: War, the British Navy and the Contractor State, Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 2010, 262 p. - Rafael Torres Sánchez Military Entrepreneurs and the Spanish Contractor State in the Eighteenth Century, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, 320 p.

Roger Knight et Martin Wilcox Sustaining the Fleet, 1793-1815: War, the British Navy and the Contractor State, Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 2010, 262 p. - Rafael Torres Sánchez Military Entrepreneurs and the Spanish Contractor State in the Eighteenth Century, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, 320 p.

Siyaset or Politika?

Abstract In this article, we trace the diversification of Ottoman political vocabulary from the eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth in a time of dynastic restoration and administrative modernization. We focus particularly on the transformation of the concept siyâset (rule, politics) which had been in use in Muslim polities for centuries, and the emergence, in the late eighteenth century, of the word politika which has come to be used alongside siyâset since then. In making sense of this bifurcation, we demonstrate that the Ottoman elite conceptions of politics were not simply replaced by the European conceptions. Rather, the equivalence of siyâset and politika was clearly contested by Ottoman statesmen, and the political terminology of rule and administration evolved in tandem with the material transformation of the Ottoman dynasty and state.

Combined AMS 14C and archaeological dating of the Rouran period cemetery of Choburak-I (Northern Altai)

AbstractThis paper presents a detailed chronological study of the previously undisturbed burial ground of Choburak-I of the Bulan-Koby Culture in the Northern Altai using a program of comprehensive dating, including AMS 14C dating of human and animal remains (26 14C dates from 12 kurgans in total), and archaeological dating of the associated artifacts. This completely excavated cemetery contained numerous grave goods and various organic remains (anthropological and archaeozoological) critical for understanding the social and chronological dynamics of this culture during the Rouran period in Altai (second half of the 4th–first half of the 6th century CE). The results of archaeological dating, supported by the largest set of AMS 14C dates for the Bulan-Koby Culture, and further aided by Bayesian analysis, demonstrate the likely continuous existence of the necropolis within the period of 310–400 cal CE, which broadly corresponds to the beginning of the Rouran period in the history of Altai, with a maximum duration of 66 years. The presented results make it possible to consider the necropolis of Choburak-I as a chronologically defining monument of the Rouran period of Northern Altai and permit a new level of relative and absolute chronological reconstructions for archaeological sites of this region and adjacent territories at the turn of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

The Polish-Lithuanian legacy of Sir Thomas More in the rediscovered plays and playbills of the eighteenth century

The life and execution of Sir Thomas More, humanist writer and Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII Tudor, has captured the imagination of both Elizabethan and Continental playwrights. The article discusses the cultural context as well as the form and structure of a 1736 playbill, Messis immortalium trophaeorum ex triumphalibus palmis, Thomae Mori cancellarii Angliae (Wrocław Ossolineum Library, XVIII – 15241. IV), originally from Zamoyski Academy; and a newly discovered 1765 manuscript play, Morus Angliae Cancellarius tragedia (Vilnius University Library, MS F3-1118), from the Jesuit College in Lwów, both from the early modern Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The article argues that specific representations of More’s life and martyrdom in the Jesuit theatre of Poland-Lithuania can be explained and analyzed in the light of the political traditions and multi-denominational religious life of the Commonwealth up to its partitions in the second half of the eighteenth century. They raise interesting questions regarding the balance of spiritual and secular concerns, and creatively link Thomas More’s story with the Commonwealth’s political culture to offer moral and ethical exemplars for the young.

Sonic Boom: A Song to David , Periodization, and the Enchantment of Rhythm

Abstract: "Sonic Boom" emphasizes the sonic virtuosity of A Song to David and explores the relation between its heightened musicality and its peculiar route to placement in literary history. We should not let one of Smart's masterpieces, the anticipatory Jubilate Agno , supplant all discussion of the very different but equally masterly Song . Whether we position Smart between Pope and Wordsworth or between the Quakers and the Beats, his achievement necessarily alters our understanding of poetic possibilities in the middle of the eighteenth century. As a formally achieved religious ecstasy, the poem alters our sense of what the affordances of eighteenth-century poetry were.

Diplomatic Relations between the Kazakh and Dzungarian Khanates and the Influence of the Qing Empire on Them (the second half of the XVIII century)

Diplomatic Relations between the Kazakh and Dzungarian Khanates and the Influence of the Qing Empire on Them (the second half of the XVIII century)

EMERGING TRENDS IN CHUARCHITRARANGAL - TRADITIONAL MURAL ART OF KERALA

The south Indian state of Kerala is home to charismatic murals painted between 9th and 18thcentury CE and are proudly known as Chuarchitrarangal. These paintings adorn the walls of Shrikovil – the sanctum sanctorum of Hindu temples all over Kerala that narrates stories of God and Goddesses. Kerala murals have largest collection of secco, based on ancient Indian mythological stories.This study aims to identify, analyse and document the emerging trends in Kerala Mural Paintings. Also, it will make an effort to forecast the future trends. Primary data of renowned artists and secondary data of ancient murals will be referred for the study. 7 temples which hold the best condition murals will be included in the research. The medieval era (9th to 12th century CE) saw the height of this art. The entry of European art into academia in the 19th century, hampered the local art and Kerala murals began to face a significant decrease. Because of the realistic finish of European painting and the use of new convenient oil paints, local traditional art styles were no longer recognized and respected. The Kerala mural tradition had already faded into history by the end of the 1900s. Currently Kerala has a decent number of professional muralists who work extensively in conventional and contemporary methods. This art is being revived steadily. New generation artists are experimenting to keep up with the pace and preferences of new world. Getting inspired from various genres, creating novel styles yet keeping the conventional value intact has become a major trend in Kerala mural art.

Determining How Society's Opinion of Women in England Influenced Their Writing

This investigation inspects the multiple correlations between social prejudices against women and the literature produced by them. Spanning more than a hundred years, the research covers the late eighteenth century, the Regency Era, the Victorian Era, and the Edwardian Era. Some sources did not provide the relationship between treatment and literature produced but instead set up a historical background for England during the above periods. However, all the sources proved in one way or another that there was mistreatment of women present. With the sources covering the correlation between the treatment of women and the literature they wrote, these found a direct relationship and reflected in novels and poems via way of working women and spinsters.