Medieval rural settlements have seen a variety of transformations from dispersed to nucleated settlements, from shifting settlements to permanent villages. There are regional developments as well as general trends. In many landscapes in Central and Western Europe these processes resulted in the formation of the late medieval village nucleated…[Read more]

This collection of essays celebrates 50 years since the founding of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University Library. Three generations of scholars contributed their research and memories from their time at the GRU, stretching back to 1974. Their work comprises 18 articles on medieval Jewish History, Hebrew and Arabic…[Read more]

This book chapter represents a comprehensive discussion of the theory of cognition found in the ancient Greek philosopher Plotinus. Plotinus was the founder and most significant exponent of Neoplatonism, which represented the interpretation of Plato that was prevalent in late antiquity. His thought had a considerable impact on all three Abrahamic…[Read more]

AI generated conversation on the origins of the modern calendar created with NotebookLM (Audio Overview) on the basis of:
Marco Heiles, Die Entstehung des modernen Kalenders. Zur ungeschriebenen Medien- und Literaturgeschichte der deutschsprachigen Kalender von den Anfängen bis um 1600, in: Mittelalter. Interdisziplinäre Forschung und R…[Read more]

“Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world!”- K Gergen
models (mapping, mental categories, etc.) make the human mind “go-round” So, a “Model” of human consciousness and the real world without a proper “Map” of social consciousness and spirituality creates an unhealthy and often dysfunctional model! When one digs into t…[Read more]

Almost one thousand years ago, the Jews of Old Cairo began to place their worn-out books and scrolls into a hidden storage room – a genizah – of their synagogue. Over the years, they added all sorts of writings to the pile, sacred and secular texts alike. When the chamber was emptied at the end of the 19th century, it held hundreds of tho…[Read more]

This article provides information about the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Ragusa and some important Albanian noble families in the Middle Ages. The paper aims to introduce the most important diplomas and agreements these families have made with the state of Ragusa. The agreements are mostly economic and are mainly related to the…[Read more]

People are somewhat similar to computers – garbage in – garbage out! No scoial consciousness means – “no social consciousness”
Types of pro-social norms-stereotypes
1. Kenneth Gergen: “relations precede and are more fundamental than self”
2. Christian Community The ideal of the prophets is a community, society, or state of god like men and…[Read more]

Few of the parables found in the gospels have received more attention than the parable of the man with two sons, commonly known as the parable of the Prodigal Son. In this paper, I argue that discourses of queer futurity can help make new sense of the parable, highlighting its use of family structures and its assumptions about time, and attending…[Read more]

Christian merchants, artisans, and service providers were explicitly targeted by early critics of the movement, who felt, in line with contemporary prejudices, that such people were dirty, ignorant, and prone to the vices of greed and deceit. Detractors hoped to attack Christianity on two intersecting fronts: that the faith was morally bankrupt…[Read more]

The volume includes some of the papers presented in the Museikon section of the Annual Scientific Conference organised in 2023 by the Alba Iulia National Museum of the Great Union (Romania). The studies cover topics such as: the pious behavior of women in the Transylvanian Middle Ages, the possession of slaves and gypsies by the Wallachian…[Read more]

Desde su establecimiento en 1938, la Oficina del Historiador de la Ciu-dad de La Habana ha sido un baluarte fundamental en la preservación y difusión del rico patrimonio cultural cubano, rescatando y rehabilitando monumentos, y creando instituciones clave como la Biblioteca Histórica Cubana y Americana y el Archivo Histórico. Del valioso ace…[Read more]

In a series of Papal Bulls from the 15th century developed what is now known as the “Doctrine of Christian Discovery” (DoCD). These documents granted land title to Christian explorers when they entered the territories not ruled by a Christian Prince. While there have always been localized expressions of intolerance and hatred toward other cul…[Read more]

This article was prepared for the Carolingian Minuscule Mapping Project in 2016. It surveys the development of Carolingian minuscule, a Latin script used in the earlier Middle Ages, at Freising in Bavaria. The article provides an overview of manuscripts copied, corrected, or annotated in Carolingian minuscule at Freising and summarises the…[Read more]

This article was prepared for the Carolingian Minuscule Mapping Project in 2016. It surveys the development of Carolingian minuscule, a Latin script used in the earlier Middle Ages, at Freising in Bavaria. The article provides an overview of manuscripts copied, corrected, or annotated in Carolingian minuscule at Freising and summarises the…[Read more]

This article was prepared for the Carolingian Minuscule Mapping Project in 2016. It surveys the development of Carolingian minuscule, a Latin script used in the earlier Middle Ages, at Freising in Bavaria. The article provides an overview of manuscripts copied, corrected, or annotated in Carolingian minuscule at Freising and summarises the…[Read more]

This article was prepared for the Carolingian Minuscule Mapping Project in 2016. It surveys the development of Carolingian minuscule, a Latin script used in the earlier Middle Ages, at Freising in Bavaria. The article provides an overview of manuscripts copied, corrected, or annotated in Carolingian minuscule at Freising and summarises the…[Read more]

This essay will focus mostly on the Tang dynastic empire (618–907 CE), a “second
wave” empire as defined in the Introduction to this volume, and its relations with
Buddhism, although it will be necessary to say something about earlier Chinese dynasties
and about other religions. As we shall see, an awareness of history permeates
the relat…[Read more]

I am grateful for this opportunity to revisit some issues that remain
unresolved after my earlier publications on Buddhist self-immolation.

Abstract: The early eighth-century Chinese Buddhist apocryphal scripture
known as Lengyan jing or Śūraṃgama sūtra contains some vivid and
lengthy descriptions of demonic states that may arise for the practitioner in
deep states of meditation. In some of these states, the practitioner is said to
experience profound mis-perceptions of real…[Read more]