Lost Books

Questions of survival and loss bedevil the study of early printed books. Many early publications are not particularly rare, but many have disappeared altogether. Here leading specialists in the field explore different strategies for recovering this lost world of print. ; Readership: Scholars of early modern history, literature and religion, students of bibliography, book history. Advanced level undergraduates and postgraduate students with interest in these fields, members of the antiquarian book trade

Intestinal parasites in the Roman Empire, their regional distribution and ecosocial determinants

As one of the main categories of pathogens, an understanding of parasitic infection in the past is essential to understanding disease in past populations. Evidence for parasites in the human past is steadily growing with examples from many different continents and time periods. Studies have been done in the Roman period however, this evidence does not cover all regions of the Roman empire. At its greatest extent the empire covered much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East and different regions had strong cultural influences, not only from pre-existing cultural groups, but also from connections outside the empire. For these reasons there are likely to be variations in disease presence regionally. One of the main aims of this dissertation is to illuminate possible regional variations in parasitic infection in the Roman empire and compare this to earlier and later time periods in order to consider possible explanations for parasite taxonomic diversity in the empire. Archaeological sediments were collected from Roman period sites in previously understudied regions, such as Italy, Turkey, and the frontier regions, as well as pre-Roman and post-Roman time periods that had limited or no data. These samples were analysed for preserved parasite eggs and cysts using microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the Roman period, predominately soil-transmitted helminths were found in samples from the Mediterranean region while those from northern Europe had additional zoonotic taxa. In the pre-Roman period the taxonomic diversity found was much higher, especially at the Bronze Age site of Must Farm in the marshes of Britain. The parasites found in the post-Roman sites studied here were very similar to that in the Roman period. A consideration of sanitation infrastructure presence, design, and use based on archaeological and historical evidence points to some potential reasons for the consistent presence of roundworm and whipworm across the Roman empire. Additionally, differences in diet, cooking practices, animal husbandry, and climate are considered as contributors to taxonomic diversity in different regions of the empire

The Medieval Globe 1 (2014) - Pandemic Disease in the Medieval World: Rethinking the Black Death

The plague organism (Yersinia pestis) killed an estimated 40% to 60% of all people when it spread rapidly through the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe in the fourteenth century: an event known as the Black Death. Previous research has shown, especially for Western Europe, how population losses then led to structural economic, political, and social changes. But why and how did the pandemic happen in the first place? When and where did it begin? How was it sustained? What was its full geographic extent? And when did it really end? Pandemic Disease in the Medieval World is the first to synthesize the new evidence and research methods that are providing fresh answers to these crucial questions. It was only in 2011, thanks to ancient DNA recovered from remains unearthed in London’s East Smithfield cemetery, that the full genome of the plague pathogen was identified. This single-celled organism probably originated 3000-4000 years ago and has caused three pandemics in recorded history: the Justinianic (or First) Plague Pandemic, around 541-750; the Black Death (Second Plague Pandemic), conventionally dated to the 1340s; and the Third Plague Pandemic, usually dated from around 1894 to the 1930s. This ground-breaking book brings together scholars from the humanities and social and physical sci­ences to address the question of how recent work in genetics, zoology, and epi­de­miology can enable a rethinking of the Black Death\u27s global reach and its larger historical significance. It forms the inaugural double issue of The Medieval Globe, a new journal sponsored by the Program in Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This issue of The Medieval Globe is published with the support of the World History Center at the University of Pittsburgh

Oceans Apart: Ideologies of Extraterritorial Foreign Policy in Northern Europe and the USA

In the study of international relations, domestic variables have rather seldom been used to explainphenomena on the international level. In comparative politics and historical sociology, explainingdomestic outcomes have been based upon reductionist concepts of the international system, if thislevel has been addressed at all. In the latter discipline, analysis is often truly sociological, while inthe former, economic models of action and systems are predominant.In contrast, this thesis is a demonstration of the utility of comparing states by using explanatoryvariables from international relations, while at the same time presenting a sociological analysis ofinternational institutions.The interplay between international and domestic politics is highlighted, asis the interplay between material and ideational incentives for action, since the state is embedded ina domestic as well as an international society. By combining the strategic and the habitual reservoirof action, interesting perspectives emerge through an empirical analysis of extraterritorial foreignpolicy. Extraterritorial foreign policy is maritime and naval state policies, and these policies wereshaped by domestic and international factors, just as the policies in turn shaped internationalrelations and institutions. It is argued here, that both the interplay between the domestic andinternational, and the combination of strategic and habitual state preferences can be studied byapplying a typology of states based on ideological principles and degrees of overseas interests.From the second half of the 17th century, the international system showed a higher degree ofhierarchical properties than what often portrayed in neorealism. Therefore, the moulding ofinternational institutions was highly dependent upon both preferences and ideational motives onbehalf of the strongest powers in the international system. For smaller states, the alternatives werebandwagoning or sovereignty-seeking behaviour. However, the nature and content of theinternational institutions created structures that could be utilised by all states in the internationalsociety. It is demonstrated here that the post-war era therefore led to a major upheaval in thehistory of the international system, since it represented more formal equality for all states in asystem where power was unevenly distributed. In spite of globalization and large-power rivalry, theautonomy of smaller states increased: sovereignty was transformed, not eroded. State autonomyincreased for the majority of states as liberalism increasingly was institutionalised on theinternational level. Nevertheless, the thesis demonstrates that historically, other organizations thanstates have also waged war and used political power at, and from, the sea