Early Modern Intellectual History

The prevailing belief, dating from Adam Smith, that the balance- of-trade was the dominant facet of English economic policy since the time of Thomas Mun, is questioned. It is argued that Samuel Fortrey is a more likely "founder" for this doctrine and that the influence of the balance-of-trade is due almost entirely to politics. THE POLITICAL BALANCE OF TRADE . . . ? ? "Before they learn there Is a God to be worshipped they learn there are Frenchmen to be detested," Fougebert de Montbron, quoted by Roy Porter, English Society in the Eighteenth Century * It is well-known that concern for the Balance-of-Trade is the distinguishing mark of the economic thought of the century prior to Adam Smith. No one would deny that the balance-of-trade is one impor- tant aspect of trade. What is striking is the enormous importance attached to the Balance-of-Trade under the Mercantile System. Was the almost hysterical stress laid upon the Balance-of-Trade a sign of demented economic thought or was the hysteria a cover for some noneconomic objectives of the pamphleteers? Adam Smith attributed the Balance-of-Trade doctrinea phase I shall use throughout to indicate the near exclusive emphasis given to this concept -to a failure to distinguish real from nominal wealth and suggested that the doctrine originated with Thomas Mun In the 1620s. In this paper, I shall try to focus more precisely on the rise of the Balance-of-Trade (interpreted in the extreme sense noted above) in order to suggest that Thomas Mun had very little to do with the rise of this doctrine. Rather, Samuel Fortrey appears to have been the most influential figure in arousing popular concern. This suggests that the doctrine of the Balance-of-Trade may have been a cover for discussing the non- economic dangers of the Anglo-French Trade and, if the conjecture is reasonable, it would require a substantial change in our view about "Mercantilism." A long-established tradition in the history of economic thought credits the East India merchant, Thomas Mun, with being the chief

Alchemy, originating from ancient Egypt, India, China, and Greece, is a philosophical and scientific pursuit. It aims to perfect nature through art, utilizing knowledge of natural laws to accelerate life’s perfection. The Hermetic tradition, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, emphasizes the pursuit of internal illumination and the perfection of human nature through the arts of the soul.

Alchemy, a spiritual science using chemical symbolism, has a long history, with early practitioners seeking both material wealth and spiritual enlightenment. While some alchemists focused on creating gold, others viewed it as a path to spiritual regeneration. Throughout history, alchemical ideas have influenced various cultures, from ancient Egypt to medieval Europe and the Far East, sparking debates about its origins and true nature.

Alchemy, initially focused on transmuting metals, evolved to encompass spiritual and societal transformation. The Rosicrucians, a secret society of philosophical reformers, applied alchemical principles to social reform, aiming to restore the Golden Age. While the pursuit of physical gold waned, alchemy’s legacy persists as a philosophy of spiritual regeneration, utilizing ancient symbols to unlock the secrets of the soul.

Alchemy is a symbolic practice that uses gold as a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment. The king, queen, and Mercury represent the union of spirit and matter, leading to the transmutation of base metals into gold. This process, akin to the death and resurrection of Christ, symbolizes the release of the soul from the body, achieving spiritual perfection.

Alchemy, a practice steeped in symbolism and esoteric knowledge, utilized astrological and biblical motifs to represent the transmutation of metals and the pursuit of the Philosopher’s Stone. The literature of alchemy, spanning from manuscripts to printed works, offers a fascinating glimpse into this pursuit, though many valuable collections remain private. Despite the advancements of modern science, the enduring legacy of alchemy, particularly its emphasis on spiritual transformation, continues to resonate, influencing fields like psychology and suggesting a potential resurgence of interest in its principles.

A total of 154 sonnets are attributed to Shakespeare. These sonnets explore the vividity of human expressions and sentiments that have engulfed our existence throughout centuries. Since the golden era of English Literature blessed by the inks of a plethora of writers, Shakespeare"s creative fingers have dominated the discourse like no other. Throughout his 154 sonnets, he has shared his own idea of love and longing for someone which has caused a huge jolt in the discourse of the English critics. From his dedication to the anonymous Fair Youth to his admiration of a feminine Dark Lady, Shakespearean sonnets have been the cause of major controversies in this respective field. The first 126 sonnets of his creative sphere have been dedicated to a mysterious character called "Fair Youth" by our great dramatist. The rest of the sonnets have been addressed to a Dark Lady, who sprinkles a similar extent of mystery if we compare it with the case of Fair Youth. However, his sonnets titled to the Fair Youth have been the talk of the literary sphere, because of the Homoerotic elements present in them. This seminar paper is an assessment of the findings of homoeroticism evident in the first 126 sonnets written by the great dramatist and writer William Shakespeare. The very idea of Fair Youth being a man, instead of a woman points out the fact that the poetic persona, which is most probably Shakespeare himself, is a bisexual character. Furthermore, through a close reading of the sonnets, we will uncover the extent of societal norms and constraints placed upon same-sex relationships in 16th-century England. This seminar paper, overall aims to explore the Shakespearean idea of same-sex desire at a time when it was not considered as a topic to openly discuss. By exposing the idea of the presence of homoeroticism in Shakespearean sonnets, we aim to contribute to a diverse perspective on Shakespearean literature, something so widely talked about and yet often overlooked.

*D'un décor sur bois gravé (de moule à pâtisserie) datant de 1617 à Cesky-Krumlov (Bohème) et le lien possible avec un méreau huguenot français (Calviniste)-Jesse Le Botain-CERF. Il n'est pas rare, lorsque l'on étudie l'histoire de la Réforme protestante, de trouver des objets du quotidien qui comportent un aspect symbolique et une emblématique très précise et insistant sur des motifs religieux faisant sens pour ce culte ! C'est ce que j'ai pu découvrir en parcourant les collections d 'histoire locale de Cesky-Krumlov, qui se trouve à deux pas du château féodal remanié à la Renaissance sur le fief de PETR VOK ROSENBERG. Il faut savoir que cette famille fut toujours la garante d'une protection pour les minorités religieuses, qu'elles soient protestantes, calvinistes refugiées en Bohème à la suite des Guerres de Religion Françaises, ou issues du schisme religieux associé aux hussites ou aux Frères Moraves ! Or ce bois-gravé reproduit, pour qui a étudié le mouvement protestant français du xvii-ème siècle, l'emblématique des méreaux de messe distribués pour la Cène huguenote et Calviniste en France… En effet à partir de 1586, Jean Calvin préconise que soient utilisés de tels méreaux afin de pouvoir les distribuer aux personnes qui étaient régulière de la messe et d'ainsi procéder a une sorte d'appel et de procédure de contrôle des participants réguliers par comptage et distribution (appelés ''token'' dans les pays anglo-saxons et gardés dans les Loges Franc-maçonnique après etc…) ''tickets'' servant au recensement rapide (par distribution) des participants à

У даній статті досліджується біографія та діяльність Григорія Гамалії, однієї з найвизначніших постатей Гетьманщини XVII століття. Стаття ґрунтується на шести ключових критеріях: соціальне походження, освіта і кар'єра перед вступом на посаду, особливості управління, подальша кар'єра після служби, родинні зв'язки та спадкоємці, а також багатство і благодійність, що дозволяє всебічно охарактеризувати його особистість та вплив на тогочасне суспільство. Походячи з шляхетського роду, Гамалія отримав належну освіту, яка стала основою для його успішної кар'єри в адміністративній та військовій сферах. Його дипломатичні та військові здібності забезпечили йому значний вплив і довіру гетьманів. На посаді лубенського полковника він проявив себе як рішучий і талановитий керівник, особливо під час боротьби з Павлом Тетерею, а також менш успішно, але все ще помітно у боротьбі з Московією. Незважаючи на складнощі та політичні інтриги, він завжди зумів знайти спосіб утриматися на політичній арені протягом довгих років. Стаття також розкриває особисте життя Гамалії, яке було позначене трагедією бездітності. Відсутність спадкоємців означала, що його великий статок і накопичені знання не могли бути передані наступним поколінням. Гамалія був людиною складною і неоднозначною: його здатність пристосовуватися до обставин іноді вимагала зраджувати союзників і змінювати сторони, що негативно впливало на долю Гетьманщини. Втім, його вплив на політичне життя України був значним, і він залишив по собі спадок, відзначений не лише військовими і політичними досягненнями, але й значною благодійною діяльністю. Актуальність теми полягає у висвітленні важливих сторінок історії Гетьманщини через призму життя і діяльності Григорія Гамалії, що дає можливість зрозуміти внутрішньополітичні реалії того часу, включаючи складні стосунки між місцевою старшиною та центральною владою. Ця стаття сприяє кращому розумінню епохи та ролі окремих особистостей у формуванні політичного і соціального ландшафту України XVII століття.

Pomen metafor in analogij telesa ter z njim povezanih stanj (predvsem bolezni) je bil v srednjeveški in novoveški politični misli velik. Izhodiščno vprašanje besedila je, kaj se skriva za na videz samoumevnimi izrazi, analogijami in metaforami, ki obravnavajo telo, kaj so želeli avtorji povedati s sklicevanjem na različne organološke metafore in zakaj so jih uporabili. V analizi se bom osredotočil na delo Franza Alberta Pelzhofferja Neu-entdeckte Staats-Klugheit in hundert politischen Reden oder Discursen (v nadaljevanju Neu-entdeckte Staats-Klugheit). Na začetku se velja vprašati, čemu kot izhodišče razmisleka izbrati ravno telo in bolezen. Zakaj je bilo ravno telo priljubljena metafora za opis političnega stanja? 1 Najprej moramo ozavestiti dejstvo, da ima vsakdo izkušnjo telesa, zato je bila, in še vedno je, ta izkušnja univerzalna. Telo je splošna antropološka konstanta, ki jo pozna vsakdo, zato so tisti, ki jo uporabljajo, prepričani, da jo bo vsakdo razumel. 2 Po drugi strani sklicevanje na telo omogoča predstaviti naravnost politike, njeno pogojenost z naravnim in (posledično za predmoderno obdobje) božjim zakonom. 3 Tako kot človek 1 Metafora telesa je ena najpomembnejših političnih metafor. Temeljno delo obravnave metafore v politični misli je Peil, Untersuchungen zur Staats-und Herrschaftsmetaphorik. V njem Peil izpostavi šest temeljnih metafor, ki prečijo politično misel od antike do danes: pastir in čreda, krmar, čebele (oziroma čebelja država), telo, država kot stroj, država kot zgradba. Pogosto je prišlo tudi do prepleta različnih metafor. Gl. tudi Draženović, »Metafore telesa in bolezni v srednjem in zgodnjem novem veku«. 2 Podobno je z analogijo družine oziroma družinskih odnosov. Gl. Strohmayer, Svoboda politike in moč vere. 3 O povezanosti naravnega in božjega zakona v srednjeveški in novoveški misli glej izjemno koncizno: Schröder, »Gesetz« und »Naturgesetz«. Obširneje: Scattola. Das Naturrecht vor dem Naturrecht.

This article is an in-depth review of Tomasz Stawiszyński’s journalistic book Powrót fatum (Kraków 2024), which attempts to capture the state of contemporary Western culture. The paper critically presents Stawiszyński’s theses in the book and disputes its main components: both the accounts Stawiszyński proposes and his manner of argumentation. It is argued that the book does not deliver what it promises as Stawiszyński’s historical overviews (therein of the religious history of Europe) are not reliable, and his description of culture is distorted, both by what he one-sidedly exaggerates and by what he systematically omits or minimises (in particular, the dynamics of capitalism).

This essay explores the symptomatic absence of the German Peasants' War (1525)-the largest popular uprising in Europe before the French Revolution-from classical political thought. It begins with Leo Strauss's and Sheldon Wolin's appraisals of what united the body of literature, namely, that the role of the political theorist is to articulate and advocate visions of order. The abundant archive of peasant demands, sermons, ordinances, territorial constitutions, and prophecies were inscrutable to the order-oriented assumptions of traditional political philosophy. First, because the theory produced in the struggle was not separate from insurgent action. The uprising was led, articulated, and theorized by those who were dismissed as fanatics rather than engaged by authorities and by political thinkers like Sir Thomas More. The essential unit of organization and voice of the Peasants' War was collective-no singular author appears to reflect on the conjuncture from a detached vantage. The political aims of this period were at once theological, existential, and economic. These aims were expressed through a "political theology of ingression" whose key gesture was to bridge separations. Peasants sought to literalize metaphor and to discern the literal as already allegorical: the material condition of serfdom was simultaneously a form of spiritual bondage; biblical images of divine common life could be actualized by sharing life, land, and goods on earth.

Ivana Sanković * Lovranska glagolitica i dosadašnja istraženost Lovranska glagoljaška baština dosad u literaturi nije ocijenjena suviše reprezentativnom. U radu se takva teza preispituje i predstavljaju se dosad poznati glagoljski spomenici s područja Lovranštine uz kratak pregled postojeće literature o njima. Prikazuje se različitost očuvanih glagoljičnih spomenika s obzirom na njihovu funkciju: liturgijski tekstovi, grafi ti, Kvaderna kapitula lovranskoga, ostali pravni spomenici. Premda lovranska glagoljaška baština obimom nije prevelika, dostupni podaci svjedoče o kontinuitetu i nekadašnjoj dubokoj ukorijenjenosti glagoljanja na tome prostoru.

A major conference to celebrate, in a scientific garb, the third centenary of Giacomo Casanova's birth. I personally will deal with suicide, having published, for the first time in Italian, Casanova's Dialogues on Suicide (2006), and having later worked on Casanova's views on suicide with Diego Lucci (AUBG).

Osmanlı düşüncesinin ürettiği en etkili literatürlerden biri olan mukaddimât-ı erbaʿanın telif sebeplerindeki değişimi izlemek üzere kaleme aldığımız bu tebliğde haşiyeler iki grup olarak tasniflenmiştir. İlk grubu Fatih dönemi haşiyeleri oluştururken ikinci grup 18. yüzyılda kaleme alınan haşiyelerden oluşmaktadır. Fatih döneminde kaleme alınan haşiyelerde sebeb-i telifte siyasal iradenin talebinin öne çıktığı anlaşılmaktadır. Nitekim Kâtib Çelebi’nin (ö. 1067/1657) ve haşiye müelliflerinin aktardığına göre Fatih Sultan Mehmed, dönemin ulemasından mukaddimât-ı erbaʿaya haşiye yazmalarını istemiştir. Bunun üzerine Kestelî (ö. 901/1496), Molla Samsûnîzâde (ö. 891/1486), Hatibzâde (ö. 901/1496), Molla Alâeddin Arabî (ö. 901/1496) gibi önemli simalar haşiye kaleme almışlardır. Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in isteğiyle başlayan bu gelenek 15. yüzyılla sınırlı kalmamış; Siyâlkûtî (ö. 1067/1657), Kavukcîzâde (ö. 1133/1721), Büyük Hafız Efendi (ö. 1154/1741), Kazâbâdî (ö. 1163/1750), İsmail Konevî (ö. 1195/1781), Hafîd en-Nisârî (ö. 1188/1774) gibi isimler tarafından devam ettirilmiştir. Özellikle 18. yüzyıla gelindiğinde mukaddimât-ı erbaʿa haşiyelerinin telifinde ciddi bir artış gözlemlenmiştir. Zira bu dönemde yedi adet haşiye kaleme alınmıştır. 18. yüzyılda kaleme alınan mukaddimât-ı erbaʿa haşiyelerinin telif sebeplerinde “efâl-i ibâd” konusunda doğru olan yaklaşımın ortaya konulmasına yönelik çaba etkili olmuştur. Bu tebliğde, mukaddimât-ı erbaʿa muhaşşîlerinin, Mâtürîdîlerin özellikle Sadrüşşerîa’nın insan fiilleri konusundaki yaklaşımını “hakk” olarak değerlendirilip bir çözüm olarak sunduklarına işaret edilmiştir. Aynı yüzyılda ve benzer saiklerle telif edilen irâde-i cüz’iyye literatürünün mukaddimât-ı erbaʿa haşiyeleriyle irtibatına dikkat çekilmiştir. Buna göre 18. yüzyılda mukaddimât-ı erbaʿaya olan ilginin artmasında Mâtürîdîlik vurgusu ve dönemde etkin olan irâde-i cüz’iyye tartışmaları önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Bu tebliğin amacı, 15. yüzyılda Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in emriyle kaleme alınan haşiyelerin sebeb-i telifinde siyasal talebin; 18. yüzyılda kaleme alınan haşiyelerde ise insan fiilleri konusunda “hak” olan görüşün tespitine yönelik ilmi sebebin öne çıktığını göstermektedir.

Se alla filosofia di Pirrone di Elide e alle scuole di pensiero scettico orientali e occidentali antiche e moderne si sono dedicati e si dedicano studi e commenti innumerevoli, lo stesso non si può dire dello scetticismo di matrice ebraica, che continua a restare alquanto trascurato. In questa raccolta di saggi si approfondisce la riscoperta in età moderna della tradizione scettica ebraica, prendendo in esame sguardi diversi di pensatori ebrei e cristiani, che con lo scetticismo hanno in qualche modo fatto i conti. I diversi contributi, frutto anche di ricerche svolte presso il Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies dell’Università di Amburgo, mirano a documentare la ricchezza e la potenzialità dello scetticismo per la storia e l’interpretazione della tradizione ebraica.

The deists have commonly been characterized as irreligious thinkers who believed in a distant and inactive deity. This characterization of deism is undermined by the large number of French Revolutionary deists who believed that God worked miracles. Some French Revolutionary deists claimed that God continually led the French armies to victory, while others said that God worked a single miracle. After eliminating the French Revolutionaries who were following the party line when Maximilien Robespierre was in power, there were 72 French Revolutionary deists who believed God worked miracles to help the French Revolution. The French Revolutionary deists shared a common theology with the earlier deists, and many earlier deists also believed that God worked miracles. The Enlightenment deists were much more religious than commonly thought.

This essay focuses on two technical and difficult notions in the thought of Thomas Aquinas: the object of the intellect and self-knowledge. I argue that the object of the intellect determines the character and content of self-knowledge. Prosecuting this case requires disambiguating our everyday use of object from Thomas’ technical sense of obiectum and unpacking Thomas’ ambiguous use of one term, “object of the intellect,” for multiple notions. For Thomas, self-knowledge occurs in virtue of the cognition of being (ens), and I show how the multiple senses of “object of the intellect” relate to and determine self-knowledge as related to the cognition of being. Recognizing the determining influence of the object of the intellect on self-knowledge also provides an account of why human self-knowledge is a complicated, episodically actualized, and variegated affair.

In diesem Artikel wird ein vergleichender Einblick in die jüdische Responsen-Literatur 1 und in die muslimische Fatwa-Literatur 2 gegeben und herausgearbeitet, welche Fragen sich für weiterführende Studien ergeben. Beide Religionen haben ein normatives Bezugssystem (halacha und fiqh), das sich auf alle Bereiche des Lebens erstreckt. Die klassische Position beider Religionen sieht in der Ausübung dieser Normen den authentischsten Weg, Gottes Willen näherzukommen. Nach traditioneller Auffassung benötigen religiöse Menschen dabei eine permanente Supervision durch vertrauenswürdige Gelehrte, die sie bei Bedarf um Rat bitten können. Die große Zahl der Fragen, die Gelehrten -über das Internet, den Briefverkehr oder das Telefon -gestellt werden, zeigt einen auch in der Gegenwart ungebrochenen Bedarf an fachkundigen Auskünften im Bereich religiöser Normen. Im vorliegenden Artikel sollen die Grundzüge dieses Prozesses religiöser Rechtsauskünfte im Judentum und Islam vergleichend dargestellt werden. Dabei können an dieser Stelle nur die bedeutendsten Momente festgehalten und auf Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede hin betrachtet werden. Als Methode dient

In diesem Artikel wird ein vergleichender Einblick in die judische Responsen Literatur und in die muslimische Fatwa-Literatur gegeben und herausgearbeitet, welche Fragen sich fur weiterfuhrende Studien ergeben. Beide Religionen haben ein normatives Bezugssystem (halacha und fiqh), das sich auf alle Bereiche des Lebens erstreckt. Die klassische Position beider Religionen sieht in der Ausubung dieser Normen den authentischsten Weg, Gottes Willen naherzukommen. Nach traditioneller Auffassung benotigen religiose Menschen dabei eine permanente Supervision durch vertrauenswurdige Gelehrte, die sie bei Bedarf um Rat bitten konnen. Die grose Zahl der Fragen, die Gelehrten – uber das Internet, den Briefverkehr oder das Telefon – gestellt werden, zeigt einen auch in der Gegenwart ungebrochenen Bedarf an fachkundigen Auskunften im Bereich religioser Normen. Im vorliegenden Artikel sollen die Grundzuge dieses Prozesses religioser Rechtsauskunfte im Judentum und Islam vergleichend dargestellt we...

1. The practical legal problems caused by AI and the (legal) theoretical problem that a currently dominating way of dealing with one of these leads to. 2. An alternative approach to solving the particular practical problem in question that does not require an investigation of the nature of the legal subject. 3. The virtues of the alternative approach from the perspective of legal theory and practice.

Political arguments in an age of confrontation. C.A. Romein iii The Use of Fatherland, Patria and Patriot in the Cases of Jülich, Hesse-Cassel and Brittany (1642-1655). Political arguments in an age of confrontation. Het gebruik van Vaderland, Patria en Patriot in Jülich, Hessen-Kassel en Bretagne (1642-1655). Politieke argumenten in een eeuw van confrontatie.

most prominent leader of the modern birth control and 'free love' movements. 1 Sanger's mother was a devout Irish Catholic; her father, Michael Higgins, was an unstable man unable to provide adequately for his large family. Although a skilled stonemason and tombstone carver, Mr Higgins was unable to properly care for his family because he alienated many of his customers with his radical politics. 2 He drank heavily when he had the money while his 11 children 'suffered bitterly from cold, privation, and hunger.' 3 He was so anti-Christian that when Margaret was baptized at St. Mary's Catholic church on March 23, 1893, the event 'had to be kept secret, as her father would have been furious.' Sanger left her unhappy home as a teen, never to return-except briefly to study nursing at a co-educational boarding school called 'Claverack College'. She was reportedly a poor student, skipped classes and neglected her part-time job. She dropped out of school and, after a brief stay at home to help care for her dying mother, moved in with her older sister and worked as a first grade teacher. She taught the children of immigrants but left after only two terms. This unhappy experience may have contributed to her later enthusiastic embrace of eugenics. About this time she married William Sanger, an architect and painter, in 1902 and soon had three children. Her husband tried everything within his power to please his wife, but she turned out to be very difficult to satisfy. Margaret was also a distracted mother who did not like caring for children, including her own. 6 She detested domestic life and grossly neglected her children to the point that neighbours had to step in to care for them. The letters her children wrote to their mother vividly reveal this neglect. Margaret Sanger's second husband, oil magnate and founder of the 3-in-1 Oil Company James Noah H. Slee, was also very wealthy. 8 She wrote to her secretary, 'I don't want to marry anyone, particularly a stodgy churchgoer … Yet ... how often am I going to meet a man with nine million dollars?' In the first issue of her journal titled The Woman Rebel, she wrote that marriage is 'a degenerate institution' and that modesty is an 'obscene prudery'. Following her father's footsteps, Sanger became involved in radical politics. When she was formally introduced to Marxism, anarchism, secular humanism, free love and Darwinism, she found her passion in life. Sanger used her husbands' wealth to support her activities. Her sexual passion, though, resulted in free-love behaviour that neither of her two husbands could cope with. 10 Margaret Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood, the leading organization advocating abortion in the United States today. Darwinism had a profound influence on her thinking, including her conversion to, and active support of, eugenics. She was specifically concerned with reducing the population of the 'less fit', including 'inferior races' such as 'Negroes'. One major result of her lifelong work was to support the sexual revolution that has radically changed our society.

Hz. Peygamber'in, Kur'an âyetlerini gerektiğinde tefsir ettiğini gösteren hadislerin mevcudiyeti bilinmektedir. 1 Hz. Peygamber ve sahabe dönemi, tefsir faaliyetlerinin sözlü rivayete dayanması, bu dönemde Kur'an'ı başdan sona tefsir etmeyip, manası kapalı âyetlerin tefsirini ihtiva etmesi sebebiyle "tefsirin birinci merhalesi" olarak kabul edilmektedir. Ali b. Ebî Tâlib (40/660), Abdullah b. Mes'ud (32/652), Ubey b. Ka'b (19/640), Abdullah b. Abbâs (68/687), Ebû Mûsâ el-Eş'arî (44/664), Zeyd b. Sâbit (45/665) gibi sahabe müfessirlere isnat edilen tefsir rivayetleri, Kur'an'dan bir âyetin veya âyet grubunun tefsiri ya da bir âyet içerisindeki kelime ya da kavramın anlaşılmasına yönelik tefsirlerdir. Müstakil tefsir yazma faaliyeti ise bir sonraki döneme tekabül etmektedir. 2 Hz. Peygamber'in Kur'an'ı âyet âyet tefsir etmesi günümüz konulu tefsirin başlangıcı, sahabe dönemi de bu anlayışın devamı kabul edilmektedir. 3 Günümüz Tefsir araştırmaları içerisinde önemli bir yer tutan "Konulu Tefsir" faaliyetleri, alanında müstakil olarak kaleme alınan eserlerin çoğunda konulu tefsir; "konu tefsiri (Kur'an'ın tamamından bir konunun tefsir edilmesi), sûre bütünlüğünü esas alan tefsir, kelime ve kavram tefsiri" olmak üzere üçe ayrılır. 4 Âyet tefsirleri, son dönem kaleme alınan bazı eserlerde "Âyet Çerçeveli Konulu Tefsir" başlığıyla, konulu tefsir alanındaki eserlerde zikredilmiştir. 5

Kastamonu Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi 417/2 nu.da kayıtlı vr. 89 b-146 b arasında yer alan Tefsîru Âyet el-Kursî 3 isimli eserin müellifi bilinmemektedir. 4 Esere isim olarak verilen "Tefsîru Âyet el-Kursî" ibaresi, eserlerde ismi yer almayan risalelerin aksine bu eserde 90 a'da yer almaktadır. Eserde sayfa numaraları mevcut olmadığından katalog verilerinde bize sunulan vr. 89 b-146 b sayfa numaralarından hareketle 89 b'den başlamayı uygun bulduk. Eserdeki yazım farklarından müstensihlerin birkaç defa değiştiği de anlaşılmaktadır. Eserin elimizde resim olarak mevcut son sayfası olan 147 a'nın son sayfa olup olmadığı anlaşılmamaktadır. Katalog verilerinde 146 b son sayfa olarak belirtilmiş ise de elimizde mevcut 147 a'da da ayetin tefsirine dair bilgiler devam etmektedir.

Osmanlı tefsir geleneği içerisinde önemli bir yer tutan müstakil ayet tefsirlerinin her biri tek tek incelenmeye ve araĢtırmaya değer niteliktedir. Bu alanda yapılacak çalıĢmalar Osmanlı tefsiri hakkında bizim açımızdan karanlıkta kalmıĢ olan ciddi bir ilmî birikimi ortaya çıkaracaktır. El yazması eserler kültürümüzün etkilerini takip etme açısından önemli birer ipucu niteliğindedir. Bu çalıĢmamızda Saraybosna Gazi Hüsrev Bey Kütüphanesinde bulunan 7167/2 nu.da kayıtlı Tefsîru Ayeti"l-Kursî ve R-2856/5 nu.da kayıtlı Terceme Ayeti"l-Kursî isimli eserler karĢılaĢtırılacaktır. Ayet tefsirleri kaleme alınırken genel anlamda klasik tefsir usulünde kullanılan usulün takip edildiğini müĢahede etmekteyiz. Buna göre, ayette yer alan kavramların anlaĢılması için filolojik tahliller yapılmaktadır. Burada modern bilimsel anlayıĢta olduğu gibi kaynak verme durumu çok azdır. Bazen kaynak olarak kullanılan eserlerin eser ismi ya da müellif isminin zikredildiği görülmektedir. Bu araĢtırmamızda Tefsîru Ayetil-Kursî isimli eser incelenecek ve bu eserin bilimsel değeri ile Tefsir ilmi açısından önemi ortaya konulmaya çalıĢılacaktır.

Manuscripts serve as an important lead to follow the traces of our culture. Each distinct verse description which has an important role in Ottoman tafsir tradition is worth to be examined and researched one by one. Studies in this field will reveal a significant accumulation of knowledge on Ottoman tafsir which was in the dark for us. This study will try to detect Turkish Culture Traces on the Balkans with the manuscript called Tefsîru Ayeti'l-Kursî registered as 7167/2 in Sarajevo Gazi Husrev Bey Library Manuscripts. We observe that classical tafsir method is generally followed when writing the description of verses. Therefore, philological analysis is examined to understand the terms in the verse. Contrary to modern scientific understanding, citing is rare in this field. It's observed that sometimes work title or the author name of the manuscript used as a source is cited. When expounding the verses, other Quran verses related to that topic are also referred. Besides, sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (hadith) are commonly included to these tafsirs. It's also observed that narrative knowledge other than the verse and hadiths is cited. While there are people who pay attention to the accuracy and integrity of these narratives, there are also people who use weak narratives thinking that they are related to the topic. Narrative and sagacity methods which take place in classical tafsir method are also used with some differences. This research manuscript called Tefsîru Ayeti'l-Kursî will be examined and its scientific value and its importance in tafsir will be revealed.

Among the various entertainments celebrating the wedding of Maria de’ Medici and Henri IV of France in October 1600, Ottavio Rinuccini and Jacopo Peri’s "Euridice" and Gabriello Chiabrera and Giulio Caccini’s "Il rapimento di Cefalo" have gained the most scholarly attention. However, they formed part of a coherent series of events modelled on the Classical epithalamic tradition and its early modern counterparts designed to convey specific messages at particular moments within the celebration. The "festa" held in the lavish Riccardi gardens during the festivities is a case in point and presents a somewhat different perspective on the various political and other agendas lying behind the marriage of a Medici princess with the King of France.

Anti-liberalism is often highlighted as central to interpretations of fascism. This article discusses the existence of a liberal-fascist current in Italian Fascism. Very active during the first years of the Fascist government, this current was expressed in the pages of the journals La Nuova Politica Liberale, which brought together disciples of the philosopher Giovanni Gentile, and Critica Fascista, an organ of the revisionists led by Giuseppe Bottai. Anti-individualist, anti-naturalist and anti-democratic, this current asserted that the rights of the nation preceded individual rights, that freedom would not exist in a supposed state of nature and would be the creation of a political society. It rejected the opposition between freedom and authority, stating that only a strong and orderly state would allow freedom to occur. Although the existence of a liberal-fascist current does not impugn the predominantly anti-liberal character of Italian Fascism, bringing it to light contributes to a more complex assessment of Italian Fascism, underlining the existence of different intellectual currents, ideological clashes, and political antagonism within the movement.

Cephalus and Procris. Narcissus (1595) is a unique and rare work containing two poems. It holds significance for several reasons:
• It has the first reference in print of Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis
• It is a contemporary twin and companion piece to Venus and Adonis
• They are both written by the same author behind the mask of William Shakespeare and Thomas Edwards

By the beginning of the seventeenth century, a relatively well-functioning system of primary and secondary education was in place that catered to the sons and daughters of labourers, skilled artisans, small-time merchants, and sailors. With ninety-two Latin Schools, six Illustrious Schools, and five universities, the Dutch Republic likely had Europe’s densest network of classical humanist education. The solid infrastructure of large numbers of schools offering primary, secondary, and tertiary education was the foundation of both Dutch prosperity and the fame of the United Provinces as a centre of learning. But, just as elsewhere in Europe, many children continued to receive at least part of their education outside these schools.

An essay by Mark Alexander and Prof. Daniel Wright


I think the Oxfordian theory — that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author behind the works attributed to William Shakespeare — is intellectually stimulating, and certainly more than a fringe idea. It poses serious, stimulating questions about authorship, class, education, and the nature of genius. It’s no surprise it attracts thoughtful, sensitive readers — especially poets and writers — who sense something "off" in the traditional narrative.

From a purely literary and stylistic angle, de Vere’s known writing, his education, life experiences, and connections to court culture do seem to echo through the Shakespearean corpus — especially in the Sonnets, where the intimacy, courtly anxiety, and learned melancholy feel almost autobiographical. One could say they belong to someone writing within the structures of power, not merely about them. De Vere’s documented life offers rich parallels — Italy, court scandals, theatrical patronage, and linguistic refinement — that make for an alluring candidate.

Here I am posting an intriguing article which I found informative.  The essay weaves together historical analysis, literary criticism, and also some personal reflections on the value of authorship and identity in the dilemma of the work signed by William Shakespeare.

That said, the theory does face strong resistance from academic orthodoxy,

(E. Passannanti)

ABSTRACT
The fourth chapter examines how key ideas in Campanella’s City of the Sun also resonate with the Quirós Memorials. Amongst the numerous ideas that exist about the meaning of the City of the Sun is the argument by various historians that it relates to ‘arcana’ or arcane information Campanella claimed he had omitted from his Monarchy of Spain and would deliver personally to the Spanish monarch. Given the evidence in Chapters 1 and 2 that the Memorials of Quirós shared similar ideas to the Monarchy of Spain, this section examines the possibility that the Quirós writings might also aid in disentangling the significance of the City of the Sun. This chapter contextualises the numerous ways that the City of the Sun has been interpreted over the centuries. It then compares the similarities between the societies of Campanella’s idyllic Taprobana and Quirós’s Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. The chapter highlights how it is possible to sustain the idea that the society he described in the City of the Sun is very similar to the culture Quirós imagined would emerge on Terra Australis Incognita. It further examines the similarities between the actual city in the City of the Sun and the New Jerusalem, particularly in the role they were to play at the heart of their imagined societies. Evidence in this chapter supports the interpretation that the utopian ideas in the Quirós Memorials concerning the End Time and Terra Australis Incognita matched not only with Campanella’s Monarchy of Spain but also his City of the Sun.

Two expanding worlds-one a subjective, deep inner realm of the self, the other a terrestrial sphere, suddenly better known but in an increasingly unbounded universecollide in interesting ways in the essays brought together in this beautifully illustrated collection. Frank Lestringant masterfully sets the stage in the introduction where he contends that thinking about the cosmos during the Renaissance stood poised between the books of Nature and Revelation. Meditation, he reminds us, mainly served moral ends as a means of self-examination and amendment. The world without provided a prompt for such exercises of the soul; representations of God's universe emphasized striving upward along the Great Chain of Being, while medieval mappamundi ("world maps") plotted a spiritual pilgrimage for the faithful to follow using either their feet or imaginations. Major changes as a result of overseas discoveries, the revival of Ptolemaic cartography, and the privileging of individual conscience by the Reformers, while not overturning the original moral nature of cosmographical meditation, certainly reoriented it in new, ultimately more secular directions of development that eventually gave rise to modern science. The book is organized into three parts. Part 1 considers the abiding significance of medieval traditions of meditation and views of the world during the Renaissance. Patrick Gautier Dalché examines the pagan and Christian sources on meditation from antiquity into the Middle Ages. Flights of the soul throughout the world and beyond

This volume deals with original mystical initiatives and related artistic realizations, which were created in the circle of the outstanding Silesian poet and theologian, Johannes Scheffler, known as Angelus Silesius, abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Krzeszów, Bernhard Rosa and the most outstanding Silesian artist, Michael Willmann. Although the 17th century Silesian mysticism is now very popular worldwide, we know very little about the relationship between mysticism and art in former Silesia. This issue has never been the subject of a comprehensive study. It is not surprising, therefore, that the research so far overlooked the unusual and unique joint initiative mentioned above by two outstanding Silesian mystics and the best Silesian artist of the Baroque era. Its aim was to combine elements of mystical experience with various forms of mass piety of a counter-Reformation nature. Importantly, all forms of mass mystical piety were closely linked to the use of devotional works of art, which were designed primarily by Michael Willmann. They became the most popular images in the religious culture of Silesia until the end of the 18th century. Just as the literary and philosophical achievements of Silesian mystics led by Angelus Silesius, so also works of art serving mystical piety, which were created by Willmann, we can safely consider as a kind of event and an important contribution of Silesia to the culture of European Baroque.

Theism is the belief in the existence of God or gods, especially a personal God who created the universe and continues to be involved in it. A theist believes that God is not just a creator but also a guide who listens to prayers, helps people, and sets moral rules. The word "theism" comes from the Greek word "theos," which means "God." The term started becoming popular in the 17th century as philosophers and thinkers in Europe began to use it to clearly describe belief in a personal God, especially in contrast to other views like atheism (no belief in God) or deism (belief in a non-involved creator). Theism is often linked with major world religions like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, which teach that God is loving, powerful, and actively involved in human life. Theistic beliefs include ideas such as God being the source of morality, the creator of the universe, and someone with whom humans can have a personal relationship. Theism is important in philosophy because it raises big questions like: Does God exist? What is God like?, and How can we know God? These are questions people have asked for thousands of years. 1. Belief in a Personal God: Theism holds that God is personal and conscious-meaning God is not just a force, but someone who can think, will, love, and act. God is often seen as a loving parent, guiding the world and caring for people. 2. God as Creator: In theism, God is the origin of everything. God created the universe, life, and all natural laws. This makes God the first cause and the reason behind existence. 3. God's Ongoing Involvement: Theistic belief includes the idea that God is not distant, but actively involved in the world. God hears prayers, performs miracles, and influences human history and lives. 4. Moral Authority: God is believed to be the source of morality-the one who decides what is right or wrong. Theists follow divine commandments or teachings given through sacred texts. 5. Eternal and Unchanging: God is seen as eternal (without beginning or end) and unchanging. God does not grow, weaken, or die. This gives believers comfort that God is always reliable. 6. All-Knowing and All-Powerful: Theism teaches that God is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful). God knows everything-past, present, and future-and has the power to do anything that is logically possible. 7. Relationship with Humans: Unlike deism, which sees God as distant, theism emphasizes a close relationship between God and humans. People can talk to God through prayer and seek guidance for their lives.

At the crossroads of modernity: Bálint Keserű and Tibor Klaniczay’s debate on Hungarian Stoicism


Tibor Klaniczay’s study, the Problems of the Hungarian Late Renaissance: Stoicism and Mannerism, originally a lecture given in 1959 and published in 1960, is one of the rare papers covering a wide range of literary, political, ideological and stylistic phenomena that created a productive research paradigm for decades at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The reception of New Stoic thought, especially the works of Justus Lipsius, and the Mannerist stylistic movements closely associated with it, reflected the shattering of the worldview of the domestic intellectual elite of the period, the crisis of Renaissance ideals, and provided the framework for a major literary and intellectual history of the period. The study proved to be highly inspiring for Bálint Keserű, himself a renowned scholar, but it also stimulated debate. In his unpublished doctoral thesis (his doctoral thesis Religious dissent in the Hungarian late Renaissance, 1973) he formulated fundamental objections in two respects. The first concerned the neglect of the religious aspect, which, according to Keserű, was much more dominant in the intellectual life of the period than the Klaniczay research paradigm, which focused on the ’inter-confessional’ elite, suggested. The other, closely related, concerned the periodisation model of a literary history handbook published in the early 1960s, in which, according to Keserű, the Stoic-Mannerist ‘late Renaissance’ period begins (around 1600) when its real heyday had already come to an end. It is mainly in the context of the latter critique that the lecture will attempt to situate the debate between the two influential scholars within the framework of European modernisation by means of the history of ideas, and to interpret it in the light of recent research on Stoicism. In this perspective the similarities between the two will be more important than the points at issue. Bálint Keserű’s fundamental insight is that members of the emerging modern elite ‘cynically exploited the passion of the fanatics of the new religious wave against their opponents’, and indeed: ‘stoic pacifism with an inter-confessional outlook’ was often coupled in the same actors with ‘biased and fanatically proclaimed (possibly radically innovative) religious-ideological convictions’. And Klaniczay warns that ‘not only absolutism, but also an anti-absolutist politics of order could be theoretically justified from Lipsius’. The paper tries to interpret this parallel without losing sight of the fact that the debate naturally also reflects the stakes of the intellectual search for a way forward and attempts at modernisation in the decade and a half after 1956.

Rabbi Moses Zacuto was the most prominent rabbi and kabbalist in Italy in the second half of the 17th century. His outstanding lexical enterprise in the field of Kabbalah of the holy names (kabbalat hashemot) was also a substantial contribution to the field of practical Kabbalah (kabbalah maʽasit). The ms Moscow, Russian State Library, Guenzburg 1448 contains the initial phase of this endeavor-a short work titled A Commentary on a Few Names, which is the focus of this article. We open with a discussion of the manuscript and the place of the Commentary in it. We then present the tract and discuss its contents, the kind of interest that Zacuto had in holy names, his information sources, his use of them, and the link between this preliminary treatise and his larger and more developed lexicon, Alphabet of the Names. Finally, we offer an annotated translation of the Commentary.

In a thematic issue of the European History Yearbook Jahrbuch für Europäische Geschichte / European History Yearbook, we aim to look at the wide variety of transitions and transformations in the reading and writing of letters brought on by, and having contributed to, the Renaissance in Europe and beyond. The special issue we propose here offers to study letters as cultural and social performances. We want to query how the writing and reading of letters can be understood as performances through which individual and group identities were built, displayed, and transformed.
We invite the submission of abstracts of up to 500 words accompanied by select bibliography and a short bio (maximum of 250 words). These elements should be sent in one pdf-file to Sahin.53@osu.edu and reinhardt@ieg-mainz.de by 1 June 2025. Prospective contributors will be notified by 15 June 2025; complete first drafts are expected by 15 October 2025 and will be discussed and reviewed further in an online workshop in December 2025. The publication of the thematic issue is planned for 2026. The European History Yearbook is fully open access.

Se conocen muchas mujeres cultas en la Italia de los siglos XV y XVI. Nobles, cortesanas, poetisas que escribieron sus versos de estilo petrarquista dedicados a un amor imposible: desde Veronica Gambara a Vittoria Colonna. Sin embargo, otras mujeres que intentaron romper ese esquema y escribir algo que no fueran versos, como Isotta Nogarola, tuvieron que sufrir el desprecio y la soledad, y tuvieron que sumirse en el silencio, a pesar de su lucha. Otras incluso murieron por su "rebeldía" como Isabella di Morra, a manos de sus propios hermanos que, ante la sola sospecha de una relación epistolar con un noble poeta español, Diego Sandoval de Castro, asesinaron a ambos. En este artículo presentaremos la historia de ambas mujeres, separadas por casi un siglo, sometidas al olvido y el silencio por mantener una voluntad firme, por querer "transgredir aquellas reglas de silencio impuestas a las mujeres". PALABRAS CLAVE: mujeres, siglos XV y XVI, Italia, silencio, muerte. Il dramma della poesia femminile è in questo suo essere la voce dell'altro, di ciò che la donna non è, della violenza storica e materiale che la donna subisce.

This chapter discusses the impact of humanism, the reformation and the counter reformation on early modern institutions of education, with a particular focus on central Europe and the Iberian peninsula. The institutional landscape was in broad terms largely the same across
Europe: a secondary tier prepared students for a tertiary education based
on scholastic and humanist learning, rooted in a productive combination
of Greco-Roman and Christian traditions, which were also shaped in many
ways by Arabic and Jewish scholarship. Latin was important as a European lingua franca, despite the rise of Italian in the sixteenth century and French in the seventeenth century. What is particularly striking is the high number of schools. With the overarching frames of Christendom and
classical tradition ensuring a common frame of reference, learning might have appeared conservative locally, but from a bird’s-eye view, the educational landscape was rich and variegated, creating a relatively open market for ideas.

In the seventeenth century, Isaac Casaubon had been remembered by the Reformed scholarly community of North-Western Europe as a champion of learning against what was perceived as a disingenuous and philologically flawed interpretation of Catholic historical traditions. However, these religious propagandists did not keep the memory of Casaubon’s martyrdom alive singlehandedly: in this particular case, the oddity of the ‘monstrous bladder’ fascinated medical scholars throughout the seventeenth century, and was spread by humanistic and medical scholars rather than theologians. Casaubon’s ‘double bladder’ grew into a medical cause célèbre. Now forgotten, it kept alive the memory of Casaubon in the century following his death.