Not available / text

By combining a descriptive meihod with a comparative one, this thesis attempts to understand the ideas of method of Muslim learning as illustrated in a medieval Muslim treatise, Ta'lim al-Muta'allim Tariq al-Ta'allum (Instruction of the Student: the Method of Learning), of Burhan al-Din al-Zarnuji (flourished circa 620/1223). It is apparent throughout the present study that the method of Muslim learning is not simply a technique by which a student seeks to deal, in an appropriate manner, with any academic assignment, but rather, an approach, the very heart of which rests on the problem of ethics, which brings a student into a situation where he maintains his commitment to God, his respect to his teacher, and his invigorated desire in the search for knowledge. The fundamental reason for such an approach to learning is that knowledge ('ilm) in Islam is placed in a religiously special position in that it is recognized as derived from God and given by Him for the nobility of human beings, so that the search for knowledge is a part of the Muslim's religious manifestations of submission to God ('ibadah li-Allah).

No description available.

Edward I's Jewish policy attempted to curb usury and transform the lives and financial practices of the Jews. Historians have claimed that the policy, which is embodied in the Statutum de Judeismo of 1275, was a failure and resulted in the Expulsion of 1290. Although the Expulsion has received some attention from historians, very little work has been done on Edwardian Jewry as a whole and therefore it has not been possible to discern the exact effect of the Statutum within a general context. The best account and examination of the source material for the Expulsion still remains that of B.L.Abrahams. In the light of his work, the majority of historians have seen the Statute as an end to Jewish moneylending, a curtailing of Jewish livelihoods and an anti-semitic prelude to the Expulsion. It has not, however, always been clear how such historians have reached such conclusions. This thesis re-examines the Statutum de Judeismo and analyses, from the records of over 2000 bonds, the shift in Jewish financial interests that it brought about. In doing so, it highlights the way in which, in Edward's reign, certain Jews tempered their moneylending activities with commercial concerns. The method used to illustrate this change is tripartite. Firstly, Anglo-Jewish society and its relationship with the host community in the late thirteenth century is examined. Secondly, the specific histories of the three Jewish communities of Canterbury, Hereford and Lincoln are scrutinised. Finally, a discussion of Jewish financial practices after 1275 attempts to identify the changes brought about by the Edwardian Experiment.

The aim of this thesis is to provide a thorough introduction to shorter satirical poetry in Middle English, and also to provide stimulus and material for further study in this somewhat neglected area of medieval English literature. The thesis presents 83 newly transcribed, edited and annotated shorter (approximately 200 ll. or less) poems, which have never before been collected. Strictly political poems, more properly the subject of a separate study, are not included, nor are the poems of Dunbar, Skelton, Henryson and Hoccleve, which are available in excellent editions. The poems are loosely grouped according to the subjects they satirize: clergy, women and marriage, money and venality, rogues and fools, specific people, and medical recipes. A lengthy introduction briefly discusses the problem of defining satire in the Middle English period before going on to discuss the background of medieval satire for each group. For each poem there are notes which clarify difficult points as well as give information on the manuscripts and editions in which the poem appears. Appendix A prints a not hitherto recognized parody of Lydgate's A Valentine to Our Lady with the text of Lydgate's poem facing, and discusses some of the difficulties of recognizing parody in Middle English in light of this particular example. Appendix B is an index which attempts to list all nonnarrative satirical verse in English which appeared between the thirteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A glossary of difficult words in the texts is included.

This thesis traces the way in which the growing political consciousness of the English nation in the thirteenth century led the king to pay more attention to public opinion, and considers the arguments he used to justify his policies, and in particular his military undertakings, before a wider public audience. The development of such political propaganda began during Henry Ill's reign. Yet he felt little need to explain his policies until this increasingly unrealistic position was exposed during 1258-65, when the barons made strenuous and successful attempts to exploit public opinion. Edward I probably learnt much from his father's experience, and during his reign took considerable care to explain how his wars were in the interests of the realm. The traditional means of communication and the arguments put across both underwent considerable development as a result. Much of the material for this study is in print. The king's arguments can be established from the writs entered on the chancery rolls, supplemented by the accounts of the chroniclers, while the outline of the barons' arguments in 1258-65 can be established from the same sources. Bishops' registers and the memoranda rolls provide further information towards the end of the century. Throughout an attempt has been made to show how the king's claims and arguments were viewed, which is not particularly easy. The main sources for public opinion, the chronicles, supplemented by political songs, reflect mainly the views of literate churchmen, and the opinions of the laity can be ascertained only indirectly. Yet the picture which emerges is of an increasingly politically conscious nation following the main political events with interest, and able to judge the merits of the king's arguments for itself.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine what facts the documentary 13th presents and how they are portrayed filmically. By conducting, both, a discourse analysis and a neoformalist film analysis those two factors can be fully examined. And by later adding the three theoretical perspectives of discourse analysis, hegemony, and neoformalist film theory, the results of the analyses can be discussed in a way that covers both the narrative part of the film and the aesthetic and stylistic ones.The result is that the discourse of the documentary concerns the American prison system and the resistance to it is the acknowledgement of the blatant racism within it. And this racism is what the leadership of the hegemonic dominance of that discourse is built upon.13th consists of interviews and voiceovers which present the facts. These are accompanied by video clips, graphics, and animations, and music, which are all in black and white, in order to strengthen the message of those facts. These elements of the film work together to convey a collective theme and emotion to the viewer.

À partir du fonds de la Vaticane cette thèse vise à établir une typologie du manuscrit arabe chrétien au XIIIe siècle. Les différents signes présents sur les manuscrits sont analysés et mis en perspective : la numérotation des cahiers, la numérotation des bifeuillets, la foliotation, les marques de milieu de cahier, les marques de fin de cahier et enfin la réglure. Une analyse chimique du papier et de l’encre est aussi présentée. Les informations récoltées permettent une meilleure connaissance de l’histoire des textes mais aussi d’appréhender les spécificités des pratiques chrétiennes en langue arabe. / From the funds of the Vatican library this thesis aims to establish a typology of the Christian-Arabic manuscript of the thirteenth century. The different signs found on the manuscripts are analyzed and put into perspective: the numbering of the quires, the numbering of the bifolium, the foliation, the marks of the middle of the quire, marks the end of the quire and finally the ruling. A chemical analysis of the paper and the ink is also presented. The information collected enable a better understanding of the history of the texts and also to understand the specificity of Christian practices in the Arabic language.

This paper follows up archaeological finds from left bank of Prague, which are dated to Romanesque period. The main topic are situations documented in Malá Strana and Hradčany, which are completed with informations from an area of whole left bank of todays city. Paper tries to follow up a spatial development and interactions between smaller parts of the agglomeration. Finally local development is compared with urban tendencies in Europe.

Love and Suffering in Mechthild of Magdeburg’s workThis study asks how love and suffering are expressed in Mechthild of Magdeburg’s The Light ofthe Flowing Godhead, with an emphasis on how the two are connected. What do the two termsmean and how do they influence each other and Mechthild’s understanding of them? Empirically,this study is based on Mechthild’s book, which was composed between about 1250 and 1283 inseven parts and distributed even while Mechthild was still working on later parts. The study alsodraws upon modern research to explain the wider religious contexts in which Mechthild wasworking, such as the clerical understanding of suffering as a means of contrition, and the use ofromantic and erotic metaphors to express a relation to God. In accordance with this, both love andsuffering are found to have shifting meanings depending on their respective contexts. Both havethe ability to bring humans closer to God, but, if used for the wrong purpose, can separate thehuman entirely from God. However, a shift in focus can be found over time. While the concept oflove becomes less allegorical and more abstract, the concept of suffering becomes more prevalentand central for Mechthild’s understanding of life and spirituality. At the same time, Mechthild’spositive relation to her faith and its power remains mostly unchanged.This study shows how Mechthild understands and interprets the themes of love and sufferingas a lay sister, woman and human being. Using Barbara Rosenwein’s term “emotionalcommunity”, Mechthild is found to be part of such a community, tying together academic religiousunderstandings of suffering and female mystics’ understandings of love. By examining one thinkerand drawing possible connections to a bigger, as of yet mostly unexplored, community, itcontributes to the overall picture of medieval mysticism.