History Commons^™

The Jews And Ius Commune, Kenneth Stow

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

From the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, there was a gradually increasing integration of Jews into systems of ius commune, loosely, the law of the land, but actually a legal tradition based on Roman law, which subsumed local law, usually called ius proprium. The integration might be purely theoretical or in fact, as certainly occurred in the papal state and it seems elsewhere in Italy, too. This legal integration prepared the way for the major legal upheaval worked by the French Revolution. The implications are many. The details mostly unresearched. The Tractatus de Iudaeis of Giuseppe Sessa (Turin, 1713) is the …

When The Indelible Sacrament Of Baptism Met Mercantile Raison D'Etat, Benjamin Ravid

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

In theory, under almost all circumstances, once a Jew had been baptized, s/he became a Christian and any relapse constituted heresy and was liable to severe punishment, often by death. However, in the mid-sixteenth century the Papacy adopted a far more lenient policy out of considerations of commercial raison d' état and invited New Christian merchants to assume Judaism in Ancona with assurance of complete freedom from any persecution. At the same time, Venice expelled all Marranos from the city and forbade them to return. The papal attitude changed with the Counter-Reformation and former New Christians who had reverted to …

Trying Issues: Polish-Lithuanian Jews Under Multiple Jurisdictions, Adam Teller

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The texts presented here highlight issues of multiple jurisdiction Jews were subjected to in early modern Poland-Lithuania

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Privilege for the Jews of Lwów (1692)
• Privilege for the Jews of the Przemyśl Region and Rus' (1660)

Jews At The Court Of The Kadi, Yaron Ben-Naeh

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

One of the most astonishing phenomena of Jewish life in the Ottoman state is the widespread appeal to the kadi's court - a muslim court. I intend to describe the frequency of this norm, against explicit regulations, and explain the motivation to use the kadi's services, as well as the reasons for the ban against it. I shall conclude with the social and cultural significance of this practice.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Mordechai Halevi, Darkei Noam (Pleasant Ways) (Venice, 1697)
• The court records of istanbul/ Istanbul sher'iyye sijilleri (1662)

Obituary; 2008-08-19; Herod, Lizzie Mae, Hopewell Baptist Church

Hopewell Baptist Church

No abstract provided.

Lane, John E., 1841-1919 (Sc 1745), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1745. Letter, 10 March 1862, from John E. Lane, serving with the 17th Ohio in Nashville, Tennessee, to an unnamed uncle describing skirmishes near Somerset, Kentucky and his regiment's meandering progress from Ohio to Nashville.

Beijing Architecture: Part 2, Eric Setzekorn

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the midst of the forest of new skyscrapers, a subtle change is occurring in Beijing architecture which may have more lasting importance than the soaring towers of the Central Business District. Outside the fourth ring road massive new apartment blocks are greatly increasing the average living space and comfort level of the growing middle class.

Built in record time by massive crews of migrant laborers the new complexes promise residents a more controlled and relaxed life , but the centralized, homogenous designs hinder the development of neighborhood feeling and community. The new developments allow the beneficiaries of China’s thirty …

Under Imperial Protection? Jewish Presence On The Imperial Aulic Court In The 16th And 17th Centuries, Barbara Staudinger

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

From the middle ages on Jewish life in the holy roman empire was characterized by their egal status as servants of the imperial chamber (servi camerae, Kammerknechte). Paying taxes to the imperial chamber, the Jews stood under special protection of the Emperor. The so-called Speyrer Jew Privilege (1544) stated the legal framework of the Jewish community of the Empire, prohibiting expulsion, and „unjustified“ acusations of ritual murder and securing undisturbed religious practice, and imperial conduct and protection. But what was this privilege along with other privileges from indiviuals worth in reality? Based on two cases from the Imperial Aulic Court …

Evasion As A Legal Tactic: The 1616 Amsterdam Regulations Concerning The Jews, Miriam Bodian

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Early modern rulers (or ruling bodies) who chose to readmit Jews in places where they had long been banned were faced with theological dilemmas and practical problems. Although it is true that the principle of freedom of conscience was gaining increasing acceptance, its adherents were rarely clear about whether it could be applied to non-Christians. And while the economic interests of rulers favored the settlement of Jews in their lands, the opposition of guilds and clergy could not be ignored. In these circumstances, a rather striking policy of evasion was adopted - in France, in the Netherlands, and in England. …

The Herem As The Source Of Authority Of The Lay Governing Council, Anne Oravetz Albert

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

A treatise on the herem composed by Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, the head rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam. Specifically, this pamphlet defends the authority of the lay leadership council to do so, arguing against unnamed members of the community who are causing scandal by denying that authority.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Exhortation to those who fear the Lord, not to fall into sin due to lack of understanding of the precepts of his Holy Law by Isaac Aboab de Fonseca (1679/80)

Challenging Herem In Hamburg, 1732, David Horowitz

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

These documents represent one of the earliest calls for state intervention by the Hamburg authorities into the internal decisions of the bet din. The bed din of the Triple Community of Hamburg-Altona-Wandsbek compelled Joseph Jonas, a resident of Hamburg, to divorce his wife after she was suspected of adultery. When he refused, the chief rabbi and kahal put him and his wife in the ban (herem). Jonas turned to the Hamburg Senate for assistance in reversing the decision and removing himself from the ban. The documents comprise letters from Jonas and the Hamburg kahal in defense of their respective positions …

Takkanot Kahal And The Origin Of Communal Structures In A Franconian Village Community In The 17th Century, Stefan Litt

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Takkanot Kahal are clearly a phenomenon of early modern Jewry in Europe. Throughout the Ashkenazi world there were four common ways to enact them. By elaborating takkanot, Jewish leaders copied the Gentile custom of creating legal digests in that time, thus adapting the communities to the administrative structures of the early modern state. The short statutes of the community in Ühlfeld, dating fromm 1688, are a rare example for takkanot enacted in an early stage of the local Jewish history. The text clearly shows the efforts of the author, R. Asher Enslen of Schnaittach, to strenghten the ties in the …

The Legal Status Of The Wife In Ashkenazi Jewish Legal Tradition: Continuity And Change In The Sixteenth Century, Elimelekh Westreich

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The ban of Rabbenu Gershom forbade both polygamy and divorcing a woman against her will. The ban has been seen by historians as a key determinant of the singularity of Ashkenazi Jewish culture. In sixteenth-century Poland there were two main approaches among halakhic scholars towards the ban: one, represented by R. Solomon Luria adhered strictly to the Ashkenazi legal tradition; the second, represented by R. Shalom Shakhna and R. Moses Isserles, was open to other Jewish legal traditions. Is this phenomenon related to the Early Modern Period? And if so, how is it related? My discussion in the workshop shall …

Expanding Legal Horizons?, Edward Fram

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Legal change was not only a result needs to adapt the law to new situations but could be stimulated by new information. New sources were not always accepted and this presentation will attempt to locate the point in time in which acceptance of a large number of new sources took place in the eastern European community of the early modern age.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

• Shulhan `arukh, Yoreh De'ah 19.1 (1567)
• Siftei Kohen-The Priest's Lips on Yoreh De'ah 19.1 (1647)
• Turei Zahab-The Golden Columns on Yoreh De'ah 19.1 (1646)

Handing Out Five Media Medals

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Here is an admittedly quirky list of some pieces I’ve come across recently that seem medal-worthy. Not all deal with “big” topics. Isn’t that fitting where the Games are concerned, though, since Olympic athletes don’t just compete in globally popular sports (like soccer) but also in ones that have few practitioners and, shall we say, niche followings (like synchronized diving)?* This list focuses almost exclusively on Western and English language publications, so I hope readers will bring Chinese and other publications into the mix via their comments. And while I’d like to award medals to some China Beat pieces (they …

Ccu Newsletter, August 18, 2008, Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina University Newsletter

Coastal Carolina University's weekly on-campus newsletter.

Moore, Mary (Taylor) Leiper, 1885-1973 (Sc 1714), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1714. Letter from Mary Leiper Moore, Bowling Green, Kentucky to Ben Johnson, Bardstown, Kentucky, 27 September 1938, related to covered bridges at Bowling Green and Bardstown. Includes copy of an act passed by the Kentucky General Assembly authorizing reconstruction of bridges destroyed by Confederate guerrilla Billy Magruder.

Web-Based Resources For Learning Chinese

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Back in May, we posted a list of recommended language and literature sites for students of Chinese. We pointed out that these five sites were only the tip of the iceberg; there are literally hundreds of other sites offering live Chinese lessons, interactive exercises, flashcards, and other learning tools and tips. Here are five more of our top picks among sites with significant free offerings for language learners:

1. The rich collection of goodies on Eric Peterson’s Online Chinese Tools site includes Chinese dictionaries, file converters, a text annotator, a romanization converter, and a popular Chinese text reader program called …

Lanthorn, Vol. 43, No. 02, August 18, 2008, Grand Valley State University

Volume 43, July 10, 2008 - June 7, 2009

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Law: Continuity And Change In The Early Modern Period, Emw 2008

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The topic in 2008 was "Law: Continuity and Change in the Early Modern Period." It was chosen because various shifts in the legal sphere are among the many changes that mark the early modern period as transitional. These include issues of communal self-governance as well as the relationship of Jews to the laws and courts of the lands in which they lived. The participants looked at the primary texts through both an historical and a jurisprudential lens, and engaged in an interdisciplinary dialogue about how law evolves, and how it affects and is affected by historical developments. The 2008 workshop …

Hand Grenades And Olympics, Lijia Zhang

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

At my school, sports lessons included an exercise where we threw hand grenades (made from wood topped with metal to resemble the real thing) against a wall that stretched a red slogan with the reason for our militaristic “sport” – “exercise our bodies and protect our motherland.” We feared that China might be invaded one day by the American imperialists or Soviet revisionists. Indeed, the whole West seemed holding evil intent towards us. Living in a closed country, we had little idea about the outside world.

I went to school in Nanjing in the early 70s, when the revolutionary fever …

Ada News - 08/16/2008, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

ADA News

Established in 1970 as the official newspaper of the American Dental Association, the ADA News serves practicing dentists and others allied to the dental profession in the U.S. and internationally. It is the No. 1 source of news and information about the many benefits and services the ADA delivers to members daily as well as timely information on scientific, social, political and economic developments affecting dentistry and health care.

Bernard Jeffery "Bernie Mac" Mccullough

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

China: The Pessoptimist Nation, William A. Callahan

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China is the most optimistic nation in the world. 86 percent think that their country is headed in the right direction, up from 48 percent in 2002 according to the latest Pew Global Attitudes survey.

There are good reasons to be hopeful. 2008 is important not only because Beijing is hosting the Olympics. This year Chinese people are also celebrating thirty years of Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform policy, whose double digit economic growth has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, and created a new middle class that is larger than most European countries.

But China’s nationalistic pride takes pessimistic …

Rob Riggle Goes To China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

All week, Rob Riggle of The Daily Show has been acting out his exuberant American routine in China. Last night’s interview with BizChina’s anchor Rui Chenggang was a particular gem for China media watchers. Rui, who has interviewed a whole host of prominent American business leaders (not to mention Chinese ones), gives no ground to Riggle, parrying all Riggle’s Daily-Show style ambushes. Unfortunately, the only available online clip is the entire episode of last night’s show at Comedy Central (head here–the clip starts at 6:42, and you’ll have to watch a short ad).

Fairleigh, David William, Jr., 1896-1967 (Sc 1719), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1719. Letter from David William Fairleigh, Jr., Louisville, Kentucky, 30 September 1949, to Harold H. Helm, New York, related to an enclosed 26 August 1819 letter from Ben Helm, Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky to Presley Edwards, [Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky]. Fairleigh explains the 1819 letter in the context of Kentucky's early banking history.

Underwood, Johanna Louisa, 1840-1923 (Sc 1722), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1722. Diary kept 10 December 1860 to 8 September 1862 by Johanna "Josie" Louisa Underwood, eldest daughter of a prominent pro-Union family in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She vividly records her thoughts and activities about Bowling Green's occupation by Confederate troops, the harassment of her family, strained friendships, and the destruction of her home. The diary was edited by Nancy Disher Baird and published as Josie Underwood’s Civil War Diary (University Press of Kentucky, 2009).

Beard, Mary Atwood (Hobson), 1884-1962 (Sc 1716), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1716. Letter to Mary Atwood Beard, 17 April 1947, from Lue A. Kress; also, letter 26 April 1947 from Margaret T. Dickerson. Both letters contain information about historic family homes in Bowling Green, Kentucky: the "Adams home" on State Street and "Stony Lonesome," home to the Robinson family.

Cochran, Robert Gilmore, 1919-1971 (Sc 1724), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1724. Chiefly correspondence with the U.S. Army and Robert Gilmore Cochran's attorney related to his mother's eligibility to receive an allotment check while he was serving in the military. Also, correspondence related to Cochran's National Guard responsibilities in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Memoirs Of The Persecuted: Persecution, Memory, And The West As A Mormon Refuge, David W. Grua

Theses and Dissertations

The memory of past violence in Missouri and Illinois during the 1830s and 1840s shaped how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Latter-day Saints or Mormons) saw themselves, their persecutors, and the states and the nation where the violence occurred. This thesis explores the role of collective memory of violence in forming Mormon identities and images of place from 1838, when governor Lilburn W. Boggs expelled the Latter-day Saints from Missouri, to 1858, with the conclusion of the Utah War. I argue that Latter-day Saint authors during these two decades used the memory of persecution to …