End Of Fifteenth Century Research Articles

Образ Тамерлана в «Повести о Темир-Аксаке»

Research objectives: The author investigates the evolution of the image of Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) in the Russian chronicles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to understand the specifics of his depiction in different chronicle texts. The author considers it important to analyze the dependence of the image of Tamerlane on the political situation in Russia. Research materials: Three important Russian chronicles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: the Moscow chronicle dating from the end of fifteenth century, the Typogra­phical chronicle, and the Nikon chronicle. In addition, sources of oral origin are investiga­ted – particularly legends. Results and novelty of the research: In the original version (the Moscow collection of the late fifteenth century) of the Tale of Temir Aksak, his image had religious significance and was important for demonstrating the religious idea of God’s intercession on behalf of the Orthodox people. In this text, Tamerlane was presented as a very proud and vicious king who wanted to destroy Orthodoxy. Tamerlane was at war with the religion of the Russians, threatening the Russian Orthodox faith. In the second version of the Tale, found in the Typographic Chronicle, the formidable conqueror is presented as an insidious robber who decided to attack the sacred borders of the Moscow principality. The realization of this idea required an appeal to a Biblical theme. As a result, the plot was based on the story of the invasion of Israel by the Assyrian emperor, Sennacherib. At the same time, the editor of the second version refused to recognize Tamerlane as an authentic emperor. The third version of the Tale, found in the Nikon Chronicle, reflected a new perspective on the events of 1395. To strengthen the motive of divine intercession for Moscow, the author turned Temir Aksak into a real tsar, a formidable conqueror, and a very proud ruler. He decided to conquer the possessions of the Moscow prince though nobody, even the best commander, ought to be permitted to invade the domains of the pious sovereign. For the first time ever, this article shows the evolution of Temir Aksak’s image. The author demonstrates the relationship between its editing and the political situation in Russia. In the sixteenth century, when the Nikon Chronicle was compiled, it was important that Tamerlane was a strong king and a famous commander. But after the decision of the prince Vasily I of Moscow to bring the icon of the Mother of God there, we see God putting the conqueror to flight. Moscow’s prince is the exclusive ruler chosen by God.

Gneisses ( Serizzo and Beola ) of the Verbano–Cusio–Ossola District (Piedmont, northern Italy): possible candidates for designation as Global Heritage Stone Resources

Abstract The Verbano–Cusio–Ossola quarrying district (Piedmont, northern Italy) produces many different ornamental stones (granites, gneisses, marbles); two important categories are represented by Serizzo and Beola gneisses. The Serizzo , a group of foliated orthogneisses, is the most important and extensively exploited ornamental stone, largely used to produce columns since the end of fifteenth century and used for many parts of the Duomo di Milano. Beola is the name of a group of heterogeneous orthogneisses with mylonitic foliation and strong mineralogical lineation, easy to split into thin slabs with hammer and chisel, occurring in the middle Ossola Valley. The quarries of Beola are probably the oldest of the Ossola Valley (since the Roman period), and the Beola trade probably started at the end of the thirteenth century. In general, Beola and Serizzo gneisses have been used for ornamental purposes and for the construction of churches, palaces and monuments, widely documented in many towns and villages of the Ossola Valley and in northern Italy. This contribution reviews the history and distinctiveness of these materials, their importance in local and national culture, and their present international diffusion. Both stones are recommended as Global Heritage Stone Resources within a Global Heritage Stone Province.

Modlitewnik Nawojki. Studium źródłoznawcze

Celem artykułu jest przeprowadzenie podstawowego studium źródłoznawczego, tj. ustalenie czasu, okoliczności oraz miejsca powstania, autorstwa i środowiska, z którego wyrósł Modlitewnik Nawojki – jeden z najstarszych pomników języka polskiego. Modlitewnik zawiera modlitwy adresowane do Maryi, z motywami eucharystycznymi oraz na różne okazje. Źródła tych modlitw można szukać w innych rozpowszechnionych, późnośredniowiecznych libri precum: Hortulus animae oraz Antidotarius animae. To spostrzeżenie nie pozwala łączyć Modlitewnika z jakimś środowiskiem. Prezentowane w historiografii odnośnie do tego domniemania są nieuzasadnione. Na podstawie niniejszego studium oraz badań Franciszka Krčeka i Aleksandra Brücknera dotyczących krytyki tekstu, a także analiz przedstawionych przez językoznawców, którzy datowali język Modlitewnika na koniec XV wieku, autor twierdzi, że Modlitewnik Nawojki jest kopią starszego rękopisu powstałego w końcu XV wieku. Rękopis Modlitewnika Nawojki został sporządzony w pierwszej połowie XVI stulecia i przypuszczalnie był używany przez szlachtę. Został on przygotowany przez zawodowego pisarza. Prawdopodobnie Modlitewnik Nawojki lub pierwotny manuskrypt powstał w Małopolsce. Jest on oceniany jako wyrafinowany literacko.

De beatas a monjas dominicas: el proceso de constitución del monasterio de Santa Catalina de Sena de Zamora a finales del siglo XV

The fifteenth century demonstrated a religious reformist environment that encouraged, besides that other aspects, an institutionalization process of the semireligious feminine life. This activity was often led by mendicants orders, especially franciscan friars. Nevertheless, dominican friars took part in this process, although our knowledge about their responsibility in this sense is lesser. Precisely through this research work we will try to illustrate this activity, introducing a specific case of a feminine community that was next to the church of Santiago del Burgo of Zamora. This community became a convent of dominican nuns at the end of fifteenth century, and it had to experience a spatial transformation process according to the new situation. Fundamentally through the visits book of the contiguous parish church we know the conflictive relation that set up between the nuns monastery and that parish church. This church was used by the nuns to carry out their liturgical activities, although they never achieve the ownership of it.

Nuri al‐Sa'id's Arab unity programme

From its inception the new Iraqi state was, on the one hand, apprehensive of most of its neighbours and, on the other, bound to the Arab world and the Mediterranean through Syria. Persia, since the establishment at the end of fifteenth century of the strong Safawi-Shiite dynasty, had been a persistent enemy of the Ottoman Empire, which conquered Iraq from the Safawis in 1534. Thereafter the boundary between these two empires along the Shatt al-Arab river had been a permanent bone of contention. Usually when the Ottomans were engaged in a war on their western or northern frontiers the Persians would use the opportunity to encroach upon Ottoman dominions in Iraq, until the latter power was strong enough to regain control of what had been lost to the Persians. The fact that the Shiite Holy Places of al-Najaf, Karbala and al-Kazimayn were located in Iraq under Ottoman Sunni rule formed a steady source of friction. This basic situation hardly altered with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. From a Persian point of view, as far as the boundary and the holy places were concerned nothing changed, with the substitution of Ottoman Sunni rule by an Arab-Hashemite Iraqi rule which was also Sunni.' From an Iraqi angle if there was a change it was for the worse. Persian pilgrims continued to visit their holy places, but now the government controlling these holy places was much weaker than that of the Ottoman Sultan. The new Iraqi monarch was afraid lest the more rigorous Pahlevi ruler exploit the existence of the holy places and the rights of the pilgrims to press various political demands upon Iraq. Iraq stuck to the provisions of the old Ottoman-Persian treaty which had conferred upon the Ottoman full rights of sovereignty over both banks of the Shatt al-Arab, and brought the matter before the League of Nations.Iraqi Shiites looked towards Persia (Iran since 1935) for guidance, inspiration and protection. Some Shiites, including school teachers, regarded themselves as Persians. Sometimes they expressed loyalty to Persia or propagated the idea of Persia taking over the Iraqi Mandate from Britain. Such manifestations of attachment to Persia only increased the suspicions of the Iraqi authorities towards its Shiite population, some of whom were Persian nationals or of Persian descent.3 Shiism was not the only Iranian factor which threatened Iraq. The new Pahlevi Shah, after having consolidated his position, adopted a more rigorous kind of nationalism and revived dreams of resurrecting the old Sassanian Empire. Iranian children were taught in schools to regard Ctesiphon in Iraq as the rightful capital of the Persian King of Kings. All these aggravated Iraq's apprehensions and misgivings as far as her eastern neighbour was concerned.4

ROLE OF THE SCIENTIST IN MODERN SOCIETY: THE FIRST THREE HUNDRED YEARS.

I am conditioned by pernickety and pedantic outlook of Oxford teachers, locally known as dons, so that when I started to write something on this general theme, I wondered what society was and, thence, what was modern. So I asked one of my colleagues, who is an historian, when he considered that history began. By and large, as far as England is concerned, he thought somewhere about end of fifteenth century. For purposes of today, I suppose it is legitimate to confine one's remarks to what has happened in Europe and western hemisphere, and it is generally agreed that modern science began there about end of sixteenth century. I thought, therefore, that it might be helpful in assessing our position today to try to get some historical perspective and to see what role, if any, scientists played at beginning of modern era, and to try to see how complex contemporary situation has been reached in which activities of scientists have become so important, not only in making and applying new discoveries, but in helping to determine state policy. We have recently been reminded of beginning of modern era because scientists in many parts of world have been celebrating fourth centenary of birth ofGalileo, whose complex and controversial character, I am happy to say, has kept up employment among historians, for they are still trying to unravel tortuous events of his somewhat stormy life. But it is certain, as Andrade has remarked, that the essence of Galileo's services to science was that he insisted upon and demonstrated