The walls and ceilings of Italian churches in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were painted wit... more The walls and ceilings of Italian churches in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were painted with illustrations from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that conveyed the Christian message and served as a focus of veneration. The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, not only on walls but also on wood and as illuminations for manuscripts, were commissioned for churches, monasteries and other religious establishments. Strong links with the Eastern Christian world made Byzantine artistic compositions and conventions for depicting sacred subjects, particularly in icon painting and mosaic work, significant influences on thirteenth-century Italian painting. Byzantine art and artists entered Tuscany after the fall of Constantinople during a period of population growth and prosperity in Italy when monasticism, religious piety and the building of new churches flourished. Italian-born painters, trained initially by Byzantine artists, succeeded in making the Byzantine prototypes predominate and determined, with other factors, the early direction of painting in Siena and the subsequent course of European painting.
The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, on wood, on walls and as ill... more The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, on wood, on walls and as illuminations for manuscripts, were commissioned for churches, monasteries, other religious establishments and also for private dwellings. Strong links with the Eastern Christian world made Byzantine artistic compositions and conventions for depicting sacred subjects, particularly in icon painting and mosaic work, significant influences on thirteenth-century Italian painting. Byzantine art and artists entered Tuscany through the port of Pisa after the fall of Constantinople during a period of population growth and prosperity in Italy when monasticism, religious piety and the building of new churches flourished. Italian-born painters, trained initially by Byzantine artists, succeeded in making the Byzantine prototypes predominate in thirteenth-century Italy and, along with other influences, determined the direction of painting in Siena.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the walls and ceilings of Italian churches were extensively... more In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the walls and ceilings of Italian churches were extensively painted with illustrations from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that conveyed the Christian message and served as a focus of veneration. The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, on wood, on walls and as illuminations for manuscripts, were commissioned for churches, monasteries, other religious establishments and also for private dwellings. Strong links with the Eastern Christian world made Byzantine artistic compositions and conventions for depicting sacred subjects, particularly in icon painting and mosaic work, significant influences in thirteenth-century Italian painting. Byzantine art and artists entered Tuscany through the port of Pisa after the fall of Constantinople during a period of population growth and prosperity in Italy when monasticism, religious piety and the building of new churches flourished. Italian-born painters trained by Byzantine artists succeeded in making the Byzantine style predominate in thirteenth-century Italy and, along with other influences, determined the style and composition of painting in Siena.
Poverty in West Sussex took on a myriad of forms, had multiple causes and depended on the generos... more Poverty in West Sussex took on a myriad of forms, had multiple causes and depended on the generosity and understanding of parishioners and parish authorities for its relief.
In his 1833 report for the Poor Law Commission on poor relief in West Sussex, despite having foun... more In his 1833 report for the Poor Law Commission on poor relief in West Sussex, despite having found constables or tithing-men in every parish, beadles in larger villages who moved vagrants to the parish boundaries and 'very respectable, active and intelligent constables' in the small towns, Charles Hope Maclean deemed it necessary to introduce a system of rural policing as a more 'effective means of protecting both person and property'. As a result of his findings, Maclean advised establishing a network of salaried rural police that would reduce poverty and 'secure the peace of the country', and proposed the new police force be distributed according to the poor-law districts with, 'if care were taken to appoint proper persons', poor-law comptrollers having authority over the police in their districts. Maclean pictured the comptrollers in close contact with each other and with the Metropolitan Police Commissioners, and contemplated constables patrolling the roads 'so that depredators could be traced, and the earliest intelligence of riot or robbery conveyed in every direction at the same time'.
The government in London introduced measures in the first half of the nineteenth century that con... more The government in London introduced measures in the first half of the nineteenth century that contributed to the gradual decline in provincial political authority in West Sussex. Some county magistrates and parish elites were hostile to such overriding of local power structures and resisted control over the poor law, policing and prisons until parliament succeeded in removing local responsibility for them altogether. Government pressure to dominate the provinces by introducing professional and paid appointments in local administration began the erosion of the independence of the localities and of aristocratic and gentry power, although county elites on the grand jury had recourse to the county assizes to communicate their own priorities and concerns to central government's representatives who, in turn, communicated national policy to them. The role of West Sussex elites such as the duke of Richmond in these developments appears ambiguous, however.
Una investigación de los libros de bautismos de Ráquira que abarcan el perÃodo colonial dio a con... more Una investigación de los libros de bautismos de Ráquira que abarcan el perÃodo colonial dio a conocer las tendencias demográficas que consistÃan en la disminución de la población indÃgena y el aumento que le correspondió al sector 'blanco' [ver John Orbell,'Los Herederos del Cacique Suaya -Historia Colonial de Ráquira 1539-1810' (Bogotá, Colombia: Banco de la República, 1995]. Para complementar esta investigación con el fin de demostrar la continuación de las tendencias observadas y para identificar los acontecimientos históricos relacionados con este pueblo, se escogió un perÃodo de 75 años que siguió el de la Colonia que, a nivel nacional, resultó ser uno de bastante conflicto social y polÃtico.
In thirteenth-century Siena, favourable weather and the lack of military conflict could result in... more In thirteenth-century Siena, favourable weather and the lack of military conflict could result in a wide variety of food being available and consumed in both the city and the countryside. Although social class and access to land were major factors that defined which ingredients made up the different Sienese diets, bread in all its forms was an essential basic food for everybody. It was bread that forced Sienese governments to go to great lengths to ensure an adequate supply of grain in attempts to avoid famine and social turmoil.
Crime and criminal justice history relies strongly on criminal statistics as they facilitate the ... more Crime and criminal justice history relies strongly on criminal statistics as they facilitate the analysis of the types and quantity of crime, the social context and the institutional responses to it. Many different circumstances are measured by criminal statistics enabling an easier examination through reducing the complex information generated by crime and justice into numbers. There are limits though to how rigorously these numbers can reveal the criminal activity they suggest and could even misrepresent or distort reality. Whereas historians on the whole admit to having reservations about crime statistics, they do generally agree that the statistics reflect some sort of reality and therefore examine the data to discover ways it might benefit their research and arguments. It is this recognition of the inherent limitations of the statistics together with consideration of variables such as changes in justice legislation that permits historians to undertake more cautious but confident analyses of the data in comprehensive historical enquiries and which demonstrates the exceptional importance and value of criminal statistics for historical research. Examples of such research using criminal statistics as an essential component are considered below, showing ways in which the statistics might indicate actual levels of crime and criminal activity, ways they can test hypotheses about trends and, by comparing with complementary statistics using local, regional and international sources, ways they enable the development of a more meaningful picture of the history of crime and justice in a more manageable context. The quantification and categorisation of complex information bring an element of certainty into an array of circumstances that enables an objective statistical truth to emerge.
This essay explores the case of the clergyman Edward Cobden in relation to the clerical professio... more This essay explores the case of the clergyman Edward Cobden in relation to the clerical profession and society during the first half of the eighteenth century. It first establishes that the manner in which Cobden's career developed conforms to current understanding of the requirements at the time for attaining high office in the established Church. Secondly, using a selection of Cobden's sermons and writings expressing his views to parishioners, to the Court and other specific audiences, it argues that the content of his public discourse was representative of the Church at the time, although in some respects more particularly of the 'high church' group within it. Both arguments demonstrate and support Rosemary O'Day's view that academic qualification and patronage played their part in church appointment and also that one of the main tasks of a clergyman was to communicate with the laity by preaching or otherwise. Finally, the essay reveals further aspects of the clerical profession that arose with the Church hierarchy's disapproval of Cobden occasioned by a sermon he preached before George II. This is documented in Cobden's collection of his works that shows a change in content of his later discourse and his overt criticism of what he considered was undeserved preferment and corruption common in the Church and the government. Numerous sources document Cobden's education, preferment and the connections he relied upon to achieve what he did during his life, and his published sermons and writings provide ample resources to allow a selection illustrating aspects of contemporary clerical opinion concerning the issues of nonconformity and morality characteristic of the work of clergymen at that time. This essay broadly maintains that Cobden's career and discourse reflect the situation of his profession at that time, taking into consideration the division that existed in the Church and the problems that its members encountered.
The years 1780 to 1850 in West Sussex saw a gradual transition from a deeply ingrained 'moral eco... more The years 1780 to 1850 in West Sussex saw a gradual transition from a deeply ingrained 'moral economy' in which the enduring and resilient paternalism that struggled to maintain local decision-making powers was set against an overwhelming 'political economy', increasing pressure from central government to implement reforms and the removal of local or regional responsibility for the protection of its citizens. One of the most contentious matters during this period concerned the granting of poor relief to an economically vulnerable individual or family during sickness, unemployment or old age in an environment that was experiencing an industrialising economic system and Enlightenment ideas of political economy. These new ideas had penetrated the region in the form of the market economy and the commercialization of agriculture, and had begun transforming traditional relations, especially between farmers and farm servants who became employers and labourers respectively with the primacy of wages over customary living-in arrangements. This challenged the older paternalist moral economy or the right of the poor to demand a fair price and availability of food based on the traditional values of fairness and justice in a society where deference and mutual obligations also encompassed economic transactions. Peter Dunkley has pointed out that the existence of aristocratic estates in West Sussex ensured that deeply entrenched deferential and paternalistic attitudes benefited the poor during this period. The diverse responses in West Sussex to the central directives concerning the poor law, policing and prisons, amongst other matters, are an indication of the wider and changing relations in England between central government and the localities by the 1830s. These manifested
The walls and ceilings of Italian churches in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were painted wit... more The walls and ceilings of Italian churches in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were painted with illustrations from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that conveyed the Christian message and served as a focus of veneration. The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, not only on walls but also on wood and as illuminations for manuscripts, were commissioned for churches, monasteries and other religious establishments. Strong links with the Eastern Christian world made Byzantine artistic compositions and conventions for depicting sacred subjects, particularly in icon painting and mosaic work, significant influences on thirteenth-century Italian painting. Byzantine art and artists entered Tuscany after the fall of Constantinople during a period of population growth and prosperity in Italy when monasticism, religious piety and the building of new churches flourished. Italian-born painters, trained initially by Byzantine artists, succeeded in making the Byzantine prototypes predominate and determined, with other factors, the early direction of painting in Siena and the subsequent course of European painting.
The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, on wood, on walls and as ill... more The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, on wood, on walls and as illuminations for manuscripts, were commissioned for churches, monasteries, other religious establishments and also for private dwellings. Strong links with the Eastern Christian world made Byzantine artistic compositions and conventions for depicting sacred subjects, particularly in icon painting and mosaic work, significant influences on thirteenth-century Italian painting. Byzantine art and artists entered Tuscany through the port of Pisa after the fall of Constantinople during a period of population growth and prosperity in Italy when monasticism, religious piety and the building of new churches flourished. Italian-born painters, trained initially by Byzantine artists, succeeded in making the Byzantine prototypes predominate in thirteenth-century Italy and, along with other influences, determined the direction of painting in Siena.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the walls and ceilings of Italian churches were extensively... more In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the walls and ceilings of Italian churches were extensively painted with illustrations from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that conveyed the Christian message and served as a focus of veneration. The majority of the paintings surviving from the thirteenth century, on wood, on walls and as illuminations for manuscripts, were commissioned for churches, monasteries, other religious establishments and also for private dwellings. Strong links with the Eastern Christian world made Byzantine artistic compositions and conventions for depicting sacred subjects, particularly in icon painting and mosaic work, significant influences in thirteenth-century Italian painting. Byzantine art and artists entered Tuscany through the port of Pisa after the fall of Constantinople during a period of population growth and prosperity in Italy when monasticism, religious piety and the building of new churches flourished. Italian-born painters trained by Byzantine artists succeeded in making the Byzantine style predominate in thirteenth-century Italy and, along with other influences, determined the style and composition of painting in Siena.
Poverty in West Sussex took on a myriad of forms, had multiple causes and depended on the generos... more Poverty in West Sussex took on a myriad of forms, had multiple causes and depended on the generosity and understanding of parishioners and parish authorities for its relief.
In his 1833 report for the Poor Law Commission on poor relief in West Sussex, despite having foun... more In his 1833 report for the Poor Law Commission on poor relief in West Sussex, despite having found constables or tithing-men in every parish, beadles in larger villages who moved vagrants to the parish boundaries and 'very respectable, active and intelligent constables' in the small towns, Charles Hope Maclean deemed it necessary to introduce a system of rural policing as a more 'effective means of protecting both person and property'. As a result of his findings, Maclean advised establishing a network of salaried rural police that would reduce poverty and 'secure the peace of the country', and proposed the new police force be distributed according to the poor-law districts with, 'if care were taken to appoint proper persons', poor-law comptrollers having authority over the police in their districts. Maclean pictured the comptrollers in close contact with each other and with the Metropolitan Police Commissioners, and contemplated constables patrolling the roads 'so that depredators could be traced, and the earliest intelligence of riot or robbery conveyed in every direction at the same time'.
The government in London introduced measures in the first half of the nineteenth century that con... more The government in London introduced measures in the first half of the nineteenth century that contributed to the gradual decline in provincial political authority in West Sussex. Some county magistrates and parish elites were hostile to such overriding of local power structures and resisted control over the poor law, policing and prisons until parliament succeeded in removing local responsibility for them altogether. Government pressure to dominate the provinces by introducing professional and paid appointments in local administration began the erosion of the independence of the localities and of aristocratic and gentry power, although county elites on the grand jury had recourse to the county assizes to communicate their own priorities and concerns to central government's representatives who, in turn, communicated national policy to them. The role of West Sussex elites such as the duke of Richmond in these developments appears ambiguous, however.
Una investigación de los libros de bautismos de Ráquira que abarcan el perÃodo colonial dio a con... more Una investigación de los libros de bautismos de Ráquira que abarcan el perÃodo colonial dio a conocer las tendencias demográficas que consistÃan en la disminución de la población indÃgena y el aumento que le correspondió al sector 'blanco' [ver John Orbell,'Los Herederos del Cacique Suaya -Historia Colonial de Ráquira 1539-1810' (Bogotá, Colombia: Banco de la República, 1995]. Para complementar esta investigación con el fin de demostrar la continuación de las tendencias observadas y para identificar los acontecimientos históricos relacionados con este pueblo, se escogió un perÃodo de 75 años que siguió el de la Colonia que, a nivel nacional, resultó ser uno de bastante conflicto social y polÃtico.
In thirteenth-century Siena, favourable weather and the lack of military conflict could result in... more In thirteenth-century Siena, favourable weather and the lack of military conflict could result in a wide variety of food being available and consumed in both the city and the countryside. Although social class and access to land were major factors that defined which ingredients made up the different Sienese diets, bread in all its forms was an essential basic food for everybody. It was bread that forced Sienese governments to go to great lengths to ensure an adequate supply of grain in attempts to avoid famine and social turmoil.
Crime and criminal justice history relies strongly on criminal statistics as they facilitate the ... more Crime and criminal justice history relies strongly on criminal statistics as they facilitate the analysis of the types and quantity of crime, the social context and the institutional responses to it. Many different circumstances are measured by criminal statistics enabling an easier examination through reducing the complex information generated by crime and justice into numbers. There are limits though to how rigorously these numbers can reveal the criminal activity they suggest and could even misrepresent or distort reality. Whereas historians on the whole admit to having reservations about crime statistics, they do generally agree that the statistics reflect some sort of reality and therefore examine the data to discover ways it might benefit their research and arguments. It is this recognition of the inherent limitations of the statistics together with consideration of variables such as changes in justice legislation that permits historians to undertake more cautious but confident analyses of the data in comprehensive historical enquiries and which demonstrates the exceptional importance and value of criminal statistics for historical research. Examples of such research using criminal statistics as an essential component are considered below, showing ways in which the statistics might indicate actual levels of crime and criminal activity, ways they can test hypotheses about trends and, by comparing with complementary statistics using local, regional and international sources, ways they enable the development of a more meaningful picture of the history of crime and justice in a more manageable context. The quantification and categorisation of complex information bring an element of certainty into an array of circumstances that enables an objective statistical truth to emerge.
This essay explores the case of the clergyman Edward Cobden in relation to the clerical professio... more This essay explores the case of the clergyman Edward Cobden in relation to the clerical profession and society during the first half of the eighteenth century. It first establishes that the manner in which Cobden's career developed conforms to current understanding of the requirements at the time for attaining high office in the established Church. Secondly, using a selection of Cobden's sermons and writings expressing his views to parishioners, to the Court and other specific audiences, it argues that the content of his public discourse was representative of the Church at the time, although in some respects more particularly of the 'high church' group within it. Both arguments demonstrate and support Rosemary O'Day's view that academic qualification and patronage played their part in church appointment and also that one of the main tasks of a clergyman was to communicate with the laity by preaching or otherwise. Finally, the essay reveals further aspects of the clerical profession that arose with the Church hierarchy's disapproval of Cobden occasioned by a sermon he preached before George II. This is documented in Cobden's collection of his works that shows a change in content of his later discourse and his overt criticism of what he considered was undeserved preferment and corruption common in the Church and the government. Numerous sources document Cobden's education, preferment and the connections he relied upon to achieve what he did during his life, and his published sermons and writings provide ample resources to allow a selection illustrating aspects of contemporary clerical opinion concerning the issues of nonconformity and morality characteristic of the work of clergymen at that time. This essay broadly maintains that Cobden's career and discourse reflect the situation of his profession at that time, taking into consideration the division that existed in the Church and the problems that its members encountered.
The years 1780 to 1850 in West Sussex saw a gradual transition from a deeply ingrained 'moral eco... more The years 1780 to 1850 in West Sussex saw a gradual transition from a deeply ingrained 'moral economy' in which the enduring and resilient paternalism that struggled to maintain local decision-making powers was set against an overwhelming 'political economy', increasing pressure from central government to implement reforms and the removal of local or regional responsibility for the protection of its citizens. One of the most contentious matters during this period concerned the granting of poor relief to an economically vulnerable individual or family during sickness, unemployment or old age in an environment that was experiencing an industrialising economic system and Enlightenment ideas of political economy. These new ideas had penetrated the region in the form of the market economy and the commercialization of agriculture, and had begun transforming traditional relations, especially between farmers and farm servants who became employers and labourers respectively with the primacy of wages over customary living-in arrangements. This challenged the older paternalist moral economy or the right of the poor to demand a fair price and availability of food based on the traditional values of fairness and justice in a society where deference and mutual obligations also encompassed economic transactions. Peter Dunkley has pointed out that the existence of aristocratic estates in West Sussex ensured that deeply entrenched deferential and paternalistic attitudes benefited the poor during this period. The diverse responses in West Sussex to the central directives concerning the poor law, policing and prisons, amongst other matters, are an indication of the wider and changing relations in England between central government and the localities by the 1830s. These manifested
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