The social realities of old age have undergone profound changes since the middle ages. This study shows, however, that the images, attitudes and expectations of old people have changed for less. Shulamith Shahar shows how the status and social participation of the elderly varied according to gender, social stratum, economic resources, position, level of functioning, and personality, as well as according to regional custom. The book offers a broad cultural history of old age in medieval western Europe. Shahar examines the images, attitudes and advocated norms used in relation to the elderly and looks at the elderly in various social strata: churchmen and nuns, rulers, small office holders and soldiers, town dwellers and peasants. A valuable insight into life and society in the Middle Ages, this will prove an invaluable addition to history reading lists.

Despite the growing assimilation of the Jews with Czech language and culture in the late 19th-early 20th centuries, many sectors of the Czech national movement regarded the Jews as a Germanizing element. Ch. 8 (pp. 181-197), "Death and the Nation: Ritual Murder as Political Discourse in the Czech Lands" [an earlier version appeared in "Jewish History" 10 (1996)], describes cases of blood libels in 1892-1902 and reflects on the role played by ritual murder discourse in the rhetoric of Czech nationalism. Concludes that the ritual murder accusation against the Jews, as well as belief in their sexual licentiousness, added psychological dimensions to the rhetoric of economic nationalism - e.g. accusations of economic exploitation and "linguistic treason." Ch. 9 (pp. 198-216), "Masaryk and Czech Jewry: The Ambiguities of Friendship, " disputes the myth of Masaryk as a staunch opponent of antisemitism. Throughout his career Masaryk could not overcome antisemitic prejudices adopted in his childhood; he paradoxically combined support for the Jews of Bohemia with expressions of resentment and distrust.

The "Scientific Revolution" of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries continues to command attention in historical debate. What was its nature? How did it develop? Controversy still rages about the extent to which it was essentially a "revolution of the mind," or how far it must also be explained by wider considerations--social, economic, political and cultural. In this volume, leading scholars of early modern science argue the importance of specifically national contexts for understanding the transformation in natural philosophy between Copernicus and Newton. Distinct political, religious, cultural and linguistic formations shaped scientific interests and concerns differently in Italy, France, Britain, the Germanies, Spain, and so on, and explain different levels of scientific intensity. Questions of institutional development, and of the transmission of scientific ideas, are also addressed. The emphasis on national determinants makes this volume an entirely original contribution to the study of the scientific revolution.

Josef Korbel, whose career encompasses both scholarly and diplomatic roles, presents a crisp, up-to-date survey of postwar relations between East and West. Seeking analytic, reasoned answers to the question of détente, he discusses in detail the changes in mood, policy, and practice that have occurred and are occurring. What exactly does rapprochement mean to the U.S.S.R., the U.S., East and West Europe? Is its primary objective the relaxing of tension or the achievement of security? the expansion of national interests? ideological conversion? reduction of Soviet influence? What have been the practical results of the policy of detente in the political, economic, and cultural spheres? What are the "realities" of the situation? Are the Western and Eastern blocs willing to consider a general European settlement? What effect did the Czechoslovak invasion have? What of the future? The heart of Mr. Korbel's discussion is the cornerstone of a détente edifice, West Germany's Ostpolitik, her rapprochement strategies. His reasonable conclusion looks to the future: the assets, dangers, and prospects of détente for the peace-keeping of Europe. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Only by understanding Central and Eastern Europe's turbulent history during the first half of the twentieth century can we hope to make sense of the conflicts and crises that have followed World War II and, after that, the collapse of Soviet-controlled state socialism. Ivan Berend looks closely at the fateful decades preceding World War II and at twelve countries whose absence from the roster of major players was enough in itself, he says, to precipitate much of the turmoil. As waves of modernization swept over Europe, the less developed countries on the periphery tried with little or no success to imitate Western capitalism and liberalism. Instead they remained, as Berend shows, rural, agrarian societies notable for the tenacious survival of feudal and aristocratic institutions. In that context of frustration and disappointment, rebellion was inevitable. Berend leads the reader skillfully through the maze of social, cultural, economic, and political changes in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the Soviet Union, showing how every path ended in dictatorship and despotism by the start of World War II.

So, according to Peter Abelard, did his wife Heloise state in characteristically stark terms the antithetical demands of family and scholarship. Heloise was not alone in making this assumption. Sources from Jerome onward never cease to remind us that the life of the mind stands at odds with life in the family. For all that we have moved in the past two generations beyond kings and battles, fiefs and barons, motherhood has remained a blind spot for medieval historians. Whatever the reasons, the result is that the historiography of the medieval period is largely motherless. The aim of this book is to insist that this picture is intolerably one-dimensional, and to begin to change it. The volume is focussed on the paradox of motherhood in the European Middle Ages: to be a mother is at once to hold great power, and by the same token to be acutely vulnerable. The essays look to analyse the powers and the dangers of motherhood within the warp and weft of social history, beginning with the premise that religious discourse or practice served as a medium in which mothers (and others) could assess their situation, defend claims, and make accusations. Within this frame, three main themes emerge: survival, agency, and institutionalization. The volume spans the length and breadth of the Middle Ages, from late Roman North Africa through ninth-century Byzantium to late medieval Somerset, drawing in a range of types of historian, including textual scholars, literary critics, students of religion and economic historians. The unity of the volume arises from the very diversity of approaches within it, all addressed to the central topic.

This book is an account of Polish political life from the end of the Polish-Soviet war to the defeat of Poland by Nazi Germany, set against the social and economic background of the new state. It describes, above all, the failure of the highly democratic constitution adopted in March 1921 and its replacement by the semi-autocratic regime of Marshal Pilsudski, a regime which became steadily more authoritarian, particularly after the death of the Marshal in May 1935. Considerable attention has been devoted to foreign policy and to the place of Poland in European politics at the time. The book should thus prove of interest not only to East European specialists, but to all those interested in the history of the interwar years.

Provides insight into Europe's current political and financial crisis, citing such factors as dependence on foreign oil and a lack of a unified foreign policy and making predictions about future prospects while explaining the role of Europe's success in American security.

"'The economic history of European jews' attempts to make sense of the economic foundations of Jewish life in the different parts of late antique and early medieval Europe. In the first part Michael Toch describes the demographic arc, decline, subsequent rise, and spatial distribution of Jewish populations. This data is then broadened to include the range of economic activities. The second part analyses the actual share of Jews in different branches of the economy. This includes the idea of their pioneer role and the notion of an intercontinental network of Jewish commerce, the phenomenon of Jews in agriculture and entrepreneurship, gender roles and the household mode of production, and the difficult subject of the significance of minority status for economic activity, among others"--provided by publisher.

Ivan T. Berend is Distinguished Professor at the University of California Los Angeles, Director of the European Studies Program. He was one of the masterminds of regime change in Hungary. He made a career in Hungary as a university professor, Rector of the University of Economics (1973–79), and President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1985–90). He was President of the International Committee of Historical Sciences (1995–2000), and Vice-President of the International Economic History Association (1986–1994). His research interests are the complex economic, social, ideological, and cultural history of Central and Eastern Europe in the 19th–20th century; economic modernization; problems of European backwardness; transition from state socialism to capitalism. He published and 26 books and more than 120 studies. Before he became a professor at UCLA, Ivan Berend had survived five regime changes and two revolutions in Hungary, had been in prison and German concentration camp in 1944–45. His memoir offers an interesting case study, a subjective addition to the "objective" historical works on Central and Eastern European state socialism. It describes the hard choices of intellectuals in a dictatorial state: 1. remain in isolation, concentrate on scholarly works, and exclude politics in your personal life; 2. be in opposition, criticize and unveil the regime, accept discrimination and exclusion; 3. remain within the establishment and work for reforming the country using legal possibilities to criticize the regime and to achieve changes from within. Berend’s book raises basic historical questions and debates, compares East European and American higher education systems, and presents an eyewitness’ insights on life in the United States.

FOR SEVERAL decades German Labour was the pride and model of the international working-class movement. It led the nation out of the first World War and into the post-war period; it was the founder and...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Great Question: Tariff Reform or Free Trade? by Leopold Stennett Amery delves into the complex economic debate surrounding trade policies in early 20th-century Britain. Amery, a prominent political figure, presents a detailed analysis of the merits and drawbacks of tariff reform versus the traditional policy of free trade. This work explores the potential impacts of different trade strategies on British industries, employment, and the nation's overall economic prosperity. Offering insights into the historical context of the era, “The Great Question†provides a valuable resource for understanding the foundations of modern trade discussions. Readers interested in economic history, political economy, and the evolution of British trade policy will find Ameryâ€(TM)s arguments both insightful and historically significant. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.