History Commons^™

Delno C. West Award Winner (2006)

Quidditas

Margaret Harp

The West Award recognizes the most distinguished paper given by a senior scholar at the annual conference.

Temples Of Caesar: The Politics Of Renaissance Georgics Translations, Kimberly Johnson

Quidditas

Between the last years of Elizabeth I’s reign and the regicide of Charles I, three major English translations of Virgil’s middle poem, the Georgics, were published. Each translation appeared at a moment of religio-political crisis in England, a coincidence made more significant by the ambivalent political stance of Virgil’s text, which simultaneously communicates praise for Octavian and suspicion about an imperial program that disenfranchised the agricultural classes, an oversight which Virgil records in the Georgics as impiety. This paper charts the ways in which seemingly innocent translation decisions manage to perform a critical interrogation of monarchal authority, particularly as it …

William Of Auvergne And Popular Demonology, Thomas De Mayo

Quidditas

Theologian and bishop of Paris during St. Louis’ early reign, William of Auvergne (d. 1249) aimed in his life and writings to combat the myriad threats he perceived as facing Christianity. The early thirteenth century saw many potential competitors to official doctrines concerning the natural and supernatural worlds—Arabic philosophy imported into the universities, heretical attacks on the institutional church, and persistent folk beliefs and practices. William attributed these challenges to an underlying demonic conspiracy directed against humankind. This paper examines William’s treatment of popular beliefs on the Wild Hunt, a mysterious congregation of spirits, and related beliefs about female spirits …

Charlemagne’S Denarius, Constantine’S Edicule, And The Vera Crux, John F. Moffitt

Quidditas

In 806 a much-discussed silver denarius bearing the likeness of Charlemagne was issued. This is called the “temple-type” coin due to the (as yet unidentified) architectural structure illustrated on the reverse side, and which is explicitly labeled as representing the epitome of “Christian Religion.” By examining different kinds of archeological and documentary evidence, this building can now be finally identified. It is, in short, the “Edicule” built by Constantine the Great in 326 to cover the Tomb of Christ (or Holy Sepulcher) in Jerusalem.

Old Icelandic Gaglviðr, Aurelijus Vijūnas

Quidditas

This essay discusses a debated word form gaglviðr occurring in stanza 42 of the Old Icelandic poem VÄluspá 'The Prophesy of the Seeress'. The noun gaglviðr is problematic both from the semantic point of view (Old Icelandic gagl 'gosling', viðr 'tree; forest' 'gosling forest'?), and because it possesses a variant spelling galgviðr ('gallows' tree;’gallows' forest') which occurs in another manuscript containing the same poem. In the present paper, the form gaglviðr is considered to be the correct and the original form of this word, whereas the form galgviðr is interpreted as a scribal error. Various existing semantic analyses of the …

Twentieth-Century Illustrators’ Interpretations Of The Works Of Rabelais, Margaret Harp

Quidditas

Gustave Doré's mid-nineteenth-century illustrations of François Rabelais's oeuvre have become as well-known as the text itself: their fanciful details capture the literally larger-than-life personality of the French sixteenth-century humanist's protaganist-giants, Pantagruel and Gargantua. Equally intrigued by the thematic complexity and imaginative narrative of this Renaissance masterpiece, subsequent artists and illustrators of Rabelais continue to create new and unexpected artistic representations. This paper presents the illustrations of a lesser-known twentieth-century French wood engraver, Jean Chièze. His notable contributions to a 1935 commemorative edition of Pantagruel simultaneously highlight the medieval woodcut, emphasize the playful tone of Rabelais's narrative and allude to contemporary …

Rendering Shakespearean Rhetoric Visible In The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery, Katherine Kickel

Quidditas

Traditionally, the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery is considered an important moment in England’s art history narrative. In this essay, I argue that the Boydell collection also reflects a new preference for reading Shakespeare’s plays in the eighteenth century via its editorial illustration of parts of the plays that would not normally be emphasized in theatrical productions.

Review Essay: Some Thoughts On The Greater Integration Of Islamic Sources Into The Wider Framework Of Medieval History, John J. Curry

Quidditas

The study of Islam has been attracting greater interest in recent years, due to high-profile political and economic events. In addition, the rise of world history programs has generated a need for resources by which both students and faculty alike can strengthen their knowledge in this field. Still, general knowledge on the field is limited. This disparity has occurred, in part, because the field of Islamic history, especially in its formative and medieval periods, has been oriented toward specialists rather than a general audience. Often, world history sourcebooks are content to give only short selections from religious sources such as …

History As A Detective Story, James H. Forse

Quidditas

Josephine Tey (nom de plume of Elizabeth MacKintosh). The Daughter of Time, with Introduction by Robert Barnard (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995; original copyright 1951 by Elizabeth MacKintosh). 206 pages. $14.00.

Valmiki And Hesse: Maya Through The Ages, Kevin Blankinship

BYU Asian Studies Journal

The Vedic poet Valmiki could hardly have imagined that, with his discovery of shloka, or poetic meter, and the subsequent advent of literature as a separate aesthetic genre, Hindu notions of reality would lend expression of outrage to war-weary Germans thousands of years later. Or perhaps he did: Brahma’s benediction provided that, “so long as the mountains and rivers . . . stay on the face of the earth / So long will the story of Rama endure / So long will your fame remain.”1

Saikaku's Tales From Various Provinces, Josh Dalton

BYU Asian Studies Journal

n 1685, Ihara Saikaku published his Tales from Various Provinces, a five-volume collection consisting of thirty-five short stories. Saikaku explained: “I went throughout the provinces in search of subject matter for my writings.” The result was a compilation of humorous and bizarre local legends. “Reflecting on the experience,” Saikaku wrote, “I can only conclude that people are all spooks.” By interweaving his own wit and imagination into the tales he gathered, Saikaku closed the gap separating fantasy from reality. As a result, he simultaneously emphasized both the unique nature of the human experience and the universal aspects that everyone can …

Kim Chi-Ha's Poetry Of Yesterday And Today, Gerrit Van Dyk

BYU Asian Studies Journal

I n the 1970s, the Korean poet Kim Chi-ha was perhaps the most internationally well known Korean artist. During this time, Kim wrote many poems speaking out against the Park Chung Hee regime which began with Park’s coup in 1961. One of Kim’s most famous works, “The Five Bandits” (The Golden-Crowned Jesus and Other Writings) was so politically charged that it began a series of incarcerations of the poet on allegations of communist sympathies. Many international organizations and dignitaries defended Kim and called on Park to release the poet from prison. After Park’s death, Kim was released, and …

Exploration Of Japanese Gothicism In Izumi Kyoka's World, Emily Mitarai

BYU Asian Studies Journal

Kyoka draws upon his inspiration of the past and seeks, in his own words, “not to portray reality as reality, but to seek beyond reality for some more powerful truth” (Carpenter 154). Izumi Kyoka (1873–1939) was a prolific writer in the Meiji Era of Japan who depicted the literature of his past from the kusazoshi (illustrated fiction of the Edo Era), the ghostliness of Ueda Akinari, and the supernatural of the No Theater (Carpenter 154). Although a prolific writer, few of Kyoka’s works have been translated into English. His works are rich with imagery, yet the scenes are not in …

Liu Na'ou And The May Fourth Tradition, Katie Stirling

BYU Asian Studies Journal

According to Leo Ou-fan Lee, the city was, for Liu Na’ou, “the only world of [his] existence and the key source of [his] creative imagination” (191). Liu Na’ou stands among Shi Zhecun and Mu Shiying as writers preoccupied with the fast-paced life and materiality of the city of Shanghai in the 1930s. Considered to be one of the leaders of the Japanese-inspired neo-sensationist school in China, Liu pioneered the use of descriptions of sensory experiences and experimentations with time in narrative in order to create his cityscapes and develop the tension between fascination and repulsion with the city that characterizes …

Writing Over Silence: The Asian-American In-Between Identity, Amy Scott

BYU Asian Studies Journal

My daily routine is pure ritual and thus pure theatre. A routinely perfect production of a comfortable unwritten script: stage dark, save for a dim morning light; spot on tousseled black hair, white pillow, and a blanket nest. Wake up, pad into the bathroom; mise-en-scène a student’s sanctuary. In the bathroom, suit up: costume, makeup/mask, deliberately casual—as if any day could become a beach day. Flip on Elvis and dance while pouring milk onto cold cereal. The door opens, and the play begins en force.

Heloise And Abelard Today: A Student Response Approach, Carol Breslin, Donald F. Duclow

Quidditas

The story of Heloise and Abelard has aged remarkably well. We teach their “Personal Letters” and Abelard’s Historia calamitatum in two undergraduate courses. This article discusses an informal writing assignment, in which our students adopt the persona of Astralabe, the son of Heloise and Abelard, and write a letter to Heloise concerning his parents’ lives and loves. Often students read the correspondence through the filter of contemporary experience. They consider Abelard’s behavior as patriarchal and boorish, and object to what they see as Heloise’s extreme humility and acceptance of the anti-feminist palaver of her day. However, when students remember and …

Alan D. Breck Award Winner (2006)

Quidditas

Kimberly Johnson

The Breck Award recognizes the most distinguished paper given by a junior scholar at the annual conference.

Full Issue

Quidditas

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

Reading The Fairytales Of Hans Christian Andersen And The Novels Of Horatio Alger As Proto-Entrepreneurial Narrative Or A True Story Of Two Boys Who Grew Up To Write Stories Which Shaped The Entrepreneurial Attitude Of Their Nations!, Robert Smith, Helle Neergaard

The Bridge

We believe that these two very different fairytales are a fitting introduction to the first part of this two part exploration by the authors into Danish and Danish-American Enterprise Culture. This is because they capture the spirit of their respective nations as it stood in 19th Century Denmark and America. The idea for the article flourished from an email conversation, between the authors Helle Neergaard and Robert Smith in late December 2005. The basis of the conversation was that with the year 2005 being the 200th anniversary of the birth of Denmark's favourite son Hans Christian Andersen it would be …

Front Cover

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

A Question Of Motive: The Chris Madsen Story Revisited, Johan Windmuller

The Bridge

Upon first hearing the story of Chris Madsen, I recall the vivid intrigue I experienced when learning of a Danish immigrant who had become a famous lawman in the United States. As an immigrant from Denmark and a member of the American police brethren myself, I seemed to have discovered a kindred spirit in Madsen. I promptly began reading bits and pieces of information and soon had the basics down. Here was a real life hero who had served in three armies, surviving wars and Indian attacks and on top of that had enough gusto to join up with the …

Reviews

The Bridge

In the days of "horse culture," farmers needed to have a market town every six to twelve miles in order to get there and back in one day. Towns sprang up like mushrooms as agricultural settlement sped across the Middle West in the half-century 1830-80. Some became county seats, and one of these was Benson, Minnesota.

Becoming American - According To The Jorgensens, Torben Tvorup Christensen

The Bridge

For those who have waited a long time for this article about integration among Danish-American immigrants I can only say that I am sorry. Lack of time has kept me away from my Danish-English dictionary and thus prevented me from writing a more public friendly version of my Masters Thesis. Knowing how difficult it would be to convert more than a hundred pages into a few readable lines-I guess-is the real reason why I have not undertaken this task before now. Another reason is simply that I each time I began thinking about doing something I was being overwhelmed by …

Denmark's Forgotten Film Star: Karl Dane, Laura Petersen Balogh

The Bridge

"Slim of 'Big Parade' Dead Amid Poverty," "Riches to Rags," and "Actor Who Once Made $1500 a Week Saved From Pauper's Grave." These were some of the headlines that appeared in American newspapers in April 1934 after the suicide of Copenhagen-born silent film star Karl Dane.

Not For The King, But For God And Country: Scandinavians And Ethnic Identity During The American Civil War, Anders Rasmussen

The Bridge

The history of the United States is essentially a history of immigration. From the Spanish arrival in Florida in 1565 to present-day America, immigration has been a continuous factor in the history of the United States, and it has repeatedly challenged notions of what it means to be American. Among the many immigrant groups which came to the United States were the Scandinavians. The Civil War between 1861 and 1865 forced these newly arrived immigrants to make important decisions in regards to ethnicity, politics and nationality. This article explores the Scandinavian Civil War experience through the prism of ethnicity and …

Immigrant Utopias, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

Europe was in ferment during the nineteenth century. The American Revolution and the French Revolution, both of which had taken place during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, had brought to the fore new questions as to the status of the individual in society. The emphasis in the one on the equality of all men, and in the other on "Liberty, equality and fraternity," had inspired and given hope to some, but had struck fear into the hearts of others. It was inevitable that this should give rise to reformers, particularly in England and France, reformers who were concerned …

The Yellow Envelope, J. Christian Bay

The Bridge

This short story is an example of a collaboration of two outstandingly productive Danish Americans, one in literature, the other in the world of art. The names of J. Christian Bay (1871-1962) and Christian Petersen (1885-1961) have appeared before in The Bridge. Two translations of Bay's work have been published; the first was in an article about an account of a fictional visit to Chicago by Hans Christian Andersen.2 The second was a translation of his article about the plant scientist Niels Ebbesen Hansen.3 Two reviews of books about Christian Petersen have appeared in The Bridge.4

Urban Danish Foodways And Ethnic Marketing Strategies In Bien, 1900-1950, Catrine Kyster Christensen Giery

The Bridge

Food culture is an integral part of popular culture. Fabio Parasecoli defines popular culture as “the totality of ideas, values, embodied experiences, representations, material items, practices, social relations, organizations, and institutions that are conceived, produced, experienced, and reciprocally connected within environments influenced by markets and consumption, with or without the specific economic goal of reaping a profit.” When food culture appears in the semi-public sphere—for example, in grocery stores, restaurants, bars, butcher stores, and bakeries, it demarcates a space where the desires and strategies of businessmen and consumers meet. Consumers want the products they need at an affordable price, and …

Editorial Statement

The Bridge

No abstract provided.