Conversations with the Malabar Pagans (according to the Documents of the Danish Royal Tranquebar Mission)

Author(s):  
Kseniia D. Nikolskaia

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Danish East India company (Dansk Østindisk Kompagni) was established in Europe. In particular, Tranquebar (Dansborg fortress) became the stronghold of the Danes in India. In another hundred years, at the very beginning of the 18th century, the first Lutheran missionaries appeared on the Coromandel coast. At this time the Danish Royal mission was established in Tranquebar, funded by king Frederick IV. It consisted mainly of Germans who graduated from the University of the Saxon city of Halle. Those missionaries not only actively preached among the local population, but also studied languages of the region, translated Gospels into local languages and then published it in the printing house they created. They also trained neophytes from among the local children. One of the first missionaries in Tranquebar was pastor Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, who lived in India from 1706 to 1719. Information about Pastor's activities in the Royal Danish mission has been preserved in his letters and records. These letters and papers were regularly printed in Halle in the reports of the Royal Danish Mission («Ausführliche Berichte an, die von der königlichen dänischen Missionaren aus Ost-Indien»). However, besides letters and reports, this edition constantly published texts of a special kind, called «conversations» (das Gespräch). They looked like dialogues between pastor Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and local religious authorities. Those brahmans explained the basic principles of the Hindu religion, and their opponent showed them the absurdity of their creed by comparing it with the main tenets of Christianity. The following is a translation of one of these dialogues.

2021 ◽  
pp. 133-155
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kaczor-Scheitler

Katarzyna Kaczor-Scheitler, PhD — assistant professor at the Department of Old Literature, Editing and Auxiliary Sciences at the University of Lodz. Author of books: Mistycyzm hiszpański w piśmiennictwie polskich karmelitanek XVII i XVIII wieku (Spanish Mysticism in the Literature of 17th and 18th-Century Polish Carmelites) (2005); Marianna Marchocka a św. Teresa z Avila (Marianna Marchocka and St. Theresa of Avila) (2009); Perswazja w wybranych medytacjach siedemnastowiecznych z klasztoru norbertanek na Zwierzyńcu (Persuasion in Selected 17th-Century Meditations from the Norbertine Monastery in Zwierzyniec) (2016). Co-editor of volumes of collected essays: Piśmiennictwo zakonne w dobie staropolskiej (Religious Writing in Old Poland) (2013) and Piotr Skarga — w czterechsetlecie śmierci (Piotr Skarga — on the 400th Anniversary of His Death) (2013). Author of works published in numerous conference proceedings and special volumes. Publishes her articles in Polish and foreign journals: “Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica”, “Analecta Praemonstratensia”, “Communio. Międzynarodowy Przegląd Teologiczny”, “Czytanie Literatury. Łódzkie Studia Literaturoznawcze”, “Pamiętnik Literacki”, “Poznańskie Studia Polonistyczne. Seria Literacka”, “Poznańskie Studia Teologiczne”, “Prace Polonistyczne”, “Przegląd Powszechny”, “Respectus Philologicus”, “Ruch Literacki”, “Studia Monastica”, “Świat i Słowo”, “Świat Tekstów. Rocznik Słupski”, “Tematy i Konteksty”. Main areas of interest: old religious literature, especially occasional, ascetic-mystical and meditative literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-95
Author(s):  
Konstantin V. Dushenko

La Palis is a literary character that appeared in anonymous couplets The Death of La Palis published in the early 18th century. The image of La Palis in songs is ambiguous: he is both a naive simpleton and a parodic counterpart of the panegyric image of Marshal Jacques de La Palice (1470–1525). The irony of these early verses about La Palis is usually explained by the simplicity of the soldiers who allegedly composed them in 1525 or by the further distortion of the original text. In reality, this irony bears the imprint of the 17th century burlesque poetry. In 1715, the literary image of La Palis was canonized by Bernard La Monnoy, the author of the term nizy style. The nizy style, also called the Lapalissade, is a special kind of tautology that, as Clement Rosset aptly put it, “for a moment causes a hallucination of difference.” In the 19th century, the typically Lapalissian formula “if they did not die, then they are still alive” is recorded in the tales of various peoples of Europe; the relationship between these national formulas remains unclear. The article also examines the mastering the nizy style by O. Goldsmith and Russian translators from the 18th century to the present day.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120
Author(s):  
Endang Susilowati

In the period of 17th  century up to 18th century, pepper was one of the important commodities of Southeastern Kalimantan. Pepper was produced by Dayak tribes in rural areas of Southeastern Kalimantan, transported through the rivers and traded in Banjarmasin, which was the most important port in the region.  Merchants from all around the globe visited Banjarmasin to trade for this commodity. This article aims to study the linkage of the pepper trade in Banjarmasin which involved pepper farmers in rural areas, Chinese and Banjar merchants as the middlemen, Sultan and court officials as the holders of privileges in pepper trade, and foreign traders (Chinese, Dutch, and the British) as the buyer of pepper in the port city of Banjarmasin. By discussing the role of each part of the link, the relationship between these parts can be seen clearly. The results of this study indicate that pepper farmers are the most disadvantaged party in this trade link, they hardly benefit from the growing trade of the pepper they produced. Meanwhile the middlemen, Sultan and court officials had enjoyed huge profits. The Sultan even used pepper as a political tool to gain the support of Dutch authorities (Dutch East-India Company) in dealing with their enemies. Another important link was the Chinese, Dutch and British merchants who competed for the pepper supplies. The Chinese traders who charged the pepper for a higher price had easier way to obtain the pepper supplies than the Dutch and British traders who were supported by their trading authorities.


1928 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Gibson

The centre of interest now shifts from St Andrews and Edinburgh to Glasgow. The troubles that afflicted Scotland during the 17th Century bore heavily on Glasgow University and more particularly on the position of Mathematics in the University; but in 1691 a distinct Professorship of Mathematics was founded, and from that date the old system of Regents disappeared from Glasgow so far as Mathematics was concerned. The first occupant of the Chair was George Sinclair, who is now chiefly remembered by the controversy in which James Gregory held up Sinclair's Treatise Ars nova et magna to ridicule. It is not fair however to take Gregory's pamphlet as a final estimate of Sinclair's contributions to science; Sinclair laid himself open to attack, but he rendered great service to the mining industry of Scotland and deserves the gratitude of posterity in spite of his many eccentricities. His contributions to mathematics however are of no importance, but during his tenure of the Chair the number of students grew rapidly and the new professorship made a good start.


1979 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  

William Hunter’s bequest of 1783 forms the nucleus of the University of Glasgow’s Art Collections. It included a Rembrandt, a Koninck, three Chardins and three Stubbs. Hunter’s gift was unmatched in importance until this century which brought the gifts and bequest of 1935,1954 and 1958 respectively by Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip of the large part of James McNeill Whistler’s estate consisting of 80 oils, 100 pastels, c. 150 drawings and watercolours, 500 etchings and 140 lithographs, and the Davidson family gift and bequest of 1945 of work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh which included over 500 designs and watercolours and about 70 pieces of furniture. The general collection of c. 800 oils and 850 drawings and watercolours includes good holdings of 17th century Dutch and Flemish work, 18th century British portraits and 19th and 20th century French and Scottish painting. The print collection of over 15,000 items provides a representative selection from the late 15th century to the present day.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-298
Author(s):  
Abd Ur-Rahman Mohamed Amin ◽  

This article discusses the contents of 17 letters from Sultan Mansur Shah I, the Sultan of Terengganu, are preserved in the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London with the reference number SOAS MS 40320. Written in Malay using Arabic script, these were sent between 1785 and 1794. The contents discuss the political history of Terengganu involving foreign relations with the Siamese and the British. The Siamese were a continuous threat to Terengganu, especially after the Siamese conquest of Patani in 1785. Therefore, Terengganu sought to establish diplomatic relations with the British East India Company to protect it from the Siamese invasion. However, the attempt was unsuccessful due to the East India Company’s principle of non-involvement in Malay affairs. In terms of economy, Terengganu had trade links with Palembang, which supplied pepper and tin, as well as with ports in Java and Borneo. Terengganu also had trade relations with China and India. The Sultan of Terengganu employed a royal merchant, Saudagar Nasruddin, to manage his trade. British ships were used to carry pilgrims to Mecca through ports in Pulau Pinang and India. The letters also discuss the lineage of Sultan Mansur Shah I, which closely links him to the Johor and Patani sultanates. The entire contents of these letters have helped to provide more detailed information on the politics and economy of the Terengganu sultanate in the late 18th century.


Gerundium ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-38
Author(s):  
Krisztina Farkas

Saint Ladislaus’ Day Orations at the University of Vienna in the 17th Century. The University of Vienna played a highly important role in the promotion of Saint Ladislaus’ cult in the 16th century. The festive oration was presented on the occasion of the annual solemnities held in honour of St. Ladislaus by a specially chosen student. Due to the king’s presence and under the influence of Jesuit supervision actual political topics and analogies between Habsburg sovereigns and St. Ladislaus were highly appreciated in the text of orations. There are two sources of collected editions of St. Ladislaus day’s orations available for study. The first one is owed to Franciscus Xaverius Cetto who collected and published in 1693 orations presented after 1655. The second volume was produced by Miklós Jankovich at the end of the 18th century. The latter is the only source of Miklós Zrínyi’s first prose work (1634). He depicts St. Ladislaus as hero of knight king, predecissor of Ferdinand III. with the inclusion of first clues to Zrínyi’s future political programme. His thoughts are also reflected in the orations by counts Esterházy in which comparison to Habsburg monarchs gains even more emphasis. Similar parallelism appears on the portrait St. Ladislaus of the Nádasdy- Mausoleum which was inspired by the Augsburg and Brunn edition of the Thuróczy’s Chronicle (1488).


Author(s):  
X. D. Nikolskaia ◽  

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Danish East India Company (Dansk Østindisk Kompagni) was established in Europe. The stronghold of the Danes in India was the city of Tranquebar (Dansborg fortress). At the beginning of the 18th century, the first Lutheran missionaries landed on the Coromandel Coast. They came to India from the German city of Halle. The University of Halle at this time was a center of pietism closely associated with the “Danish Royal mission” in Southern India. This mission was funded by king Frederick IV, but from the very beginning of its existence was staffed mainly by Germans. One of the first missionaries in Tranquebar was Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg. He lived in India from 1706 to 1719. His name is well known to modern orientalists, as he was among the first Europeans to study Indian languages and Indian culture. All the years of his life in Tranquebar, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg was engaged in translating Christian literature into Tamil, and he also compiled the first grammatical reference of this language. A large number of the pastor’s letters to his friends and colleagues have been preserved. Most of these letters have been published for today. But part of it is still stored in the archives. Mainly in his letters, the pastor talks about the work of the mission: converting local residents to Christianity, creating a printing house and publishing Christian literature, opening a school for children in Tranquebar and working in it. Only a small part of the letters contains detailed stories about Tranquebar, local traditions, religious views of the natives, etc. This publication provides a translation of one of Ziegenbalg’s letters, which includes answers to questions about India that the pastor’s friends asked in their messages.


1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hessel Miedema

AbstractThis article is a report on research undertaken in 1984-5 by a working group of art history students of the University of Amsterdam into the problem of the emancipation of artists f rom the craft guilds (Note 1). The research was based on Hoogewerff's excellently documented book on the Guilds of St. Luke and on published source material. The idea that artists and especially painters regarded the guilds as oppressive is a deeply rooted one (Note 2) and people are all too readily inclined to write of 'the artists' gaining their emancipation' from the Guilds of St. Luke. However, it is now clear that professional painters covered such a wide social spectrum that it is impossible to lump them all together under a single heading (Note 5), while a provisional investigation mainly, focussed on the first half of the 17th century even suggested that there could have been no question at all of emancipation. It became clear that the guilds continued to function all over the Northern Netherlands in the 17th century as Protectors of the profession, that there was no evidence of their hampering artistry and that if there was any emancipation, it took place within the guild itself. A factor that makes such research difficult is that the literary sources are by no means unambiguous or even reliable. In contrast to the meaning current in their day qf someone who does something with paint and a brush, Vasari and Van Mander used the term 'painter' only for those who painted scenes and portraits, not, for example, for those who did banners or ornamental work (Notes 7,8). Thus Van Mander's freguently cited tirade against the guild (Note 9) loses much of its force in respect of the emancipation theory. Moreover, it is the only text of that type in the Netherlands. Houbraken twisted the facts to fit his vision of the artist, projecting his idea of the artist's superiority on to the historical situation (Note II). Thus this study moved between two poles : on the one hand it again confirmed (Note 12) that the guilds continued to function until late in the 18th century, while on the other there was a growing need among their more successful members for an enhanced status and regard, which manifested itself in their assuming control of the guild and restructuring it more clearly and also in their uniting in additional groupings, in which the emphasis was laid on more intellectual and theoretical, aspects and links were sought with amateurs. Although both these moves could be regarded as a certain form of emancipation, neither can be ascribed to an urge for artistic freedom which was hampered by the guilds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Aguirre

This article studies some stages and debates about the access of New Spain’s Indians to major studies: The discussion about their mental capacity in the 16th century, the impulse of Carlos II to the indigenous nobility in the 17th century, or the reticence in the Royal University of Mexico and the Church to their acceptance in the 18th century. It also analyzes the responses given by the Crown to the interest of the Indians elites in superior studies, degrees and public positions, protected by their rights as free vassals of the kingdom and as nobles, comparable to the Spanish nobility. Despite the insistent resistance of sectors of the colonial government and society to the rise of Indians, they firmly defended, in the 18th century, the rights and privileges granted to them by the monarchy since the beginning of New Spain, thereby achieving their entry into the university, colleges, and clergy.


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