Early Modern History

This paper examines the range of strategies available to those communities, groups and individuals engaged in negotiating enclosure, common rights and land use change in early sixteenth-century England. It examines the relationship between litigation and direct action, paying particular attention to those self help strategies other than hedge-breaking – itself already the subject of considerable scholarly interest – by which enclosure and agricultural change could be promoted or resisted. The paper focuses on strategies such as animal and human trespasses, animal rescues and mass ploughings, highlighting the importance of occupation and trespass as ways of resisting the extension of private property rights, even whilst possession was also property’s ultimate aim. In doing so, the paper explores enclosure and land use change as an ongoing process and contested practice through which local communities and individuals played a key role in the making of modern property relations.

The "Great Frost" of 1740 was one of the coldest winters of the eighteenth century and impacted many countries all over Europe. The years 1740–1741 have long been known as a period of general crisis caused by harvest failures, high prices for staple foods, and excess mortality. Vulnerabilities, coping capacities and adaptation processes varied considerably among different countries. This paper investigates the famine of 1740–1741 in Ireland applying a multi-indicator model developed specifically for the integration of an analysis of pre-famine vulnerability, the Famine Vulnerability Analysis Model (FVAM). Our focus is on Ireland, because famine has played a more outstanding role in Irish national history than in any other European country, due to the "Great Famine" of 1845–1852 and its long-term demographic effects. Our analysis shows that Ireland was already particularly vulnerable to famine in the first half of the eighteenth century. During and after the experience of hardship in 1740–1741, many Irish moved within Ireland or left the country entirely. We regard migration as a form of adaptation and argue that Irish migration in 1740–1741 should be considered as a case of climate-induced migration.

"The article presents selected dangers, real and imaginary, associated with animals in early modern England. As the dominant discourse was still based on anthropocentrism, animals were discussed almost entirely in terms of their utility or uselessness to humans. Although Renaissance naturalists did note that
animals may be a fascinating object of scientific observation or even religious reflection, most people treated them, in the first place, as a potential threat to them and their property. Since frightening wild beasts like wolves had already disappeared from the direct vicinity of human settlements, the lingering fear of nature was now transferred onto smaller animals living next to man.The greatest nuisance were creatures classified as vermin (mice, rats, birds, etc.) destroying crops, stored food and household property. Such rivalry for supplies, especially in time of dearth, made both state organs and individuals fight the agents responsible for losses. An interesting aspect of the „war" was peculiar anthropomorphisation of the vermin to which human-like fears, emotions, and even ability to think rationally were ascribed. Another reason for being afraid of animals was that they could transmit such deadly diseases as rabies and plague. It was the latter that caused special horror, which consequently led to systematic extermination of dogs and cats, the two species accused of spreading the epidemic."

Translating Resurrection examines the debate between William Tyndale and George Joye at the beginning of the English Reformation. Occasioned by Joye’s coining ‘life after this’ for Tyndale’s ‘resurrection’ in Joye’s 1534 edition of Tyndale’s New Testament, this fascinating but little-known debate provides unique insights into the reformers’ beliefs concerning post-mortem existence, such as the question of immortality of the soul, soul-sleep, prayers to saints and the doctrine of Purgatory. By providing a thoroughgoing historical and theological context, the book presents an original look at this important episode from the life of the exiled protestant English community. The result will realign scholarship on Tyndale as well as centuries of neglect of Joye’s contributions to early modern bible translation.

""Development of the Trogir’s fraternity of the Holy Spirit depended on several elements: a common emergence of such fraternities in Europe, social and political position of commoners in Trogir during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as well as the maintenance of city’s hospital which probably was under the influence of hospitaler’s order of Santo Spirito. It is important to stress that the period of the fraternity
emergence (together with the city’s hospital) conveys with the urban growth of Trogir. Members of the fraternity came from various social groups but leadership
was always under the influence of the rich citizens. The importance of this fraternity was such that during the rule of Louis the Great this was the only fraternity in Trogir
that was not abolished in 1365. During the fifteenth century this fraternity was leading, so called, commoners council, which was a kind of opponent to the city’s council
of noblemen. Investigation of the fraternity’s statute (matrikula) revealed that fraternity of the Holy Spirit owned a significant amount of mobile and immobile
property. The chief income was coming from the gifts, mostly from testaments. Because
of this wealth the fraternity was economically independent and often communal turbulences did not affect it. In 1442 all the property of the fraternity was evaluated
and listed: the fraternity possessed 60 possessions in the city’s district, several houses within the city walls among which some were rented. With these incomes
fraternity financed maintenance of the hospital. All the possessions of the fraternity were supervised by fraternity’s župan (headmaster). The extent documents reveal
dynamics of the fraternity’s business, rents and loans. The fraternity’s statue contains approximately 470 names of fraternity members over the period of 160 years
(1429-1589). Some of the fraternity members were prominent citizens, holding a significant property in the city and performing various important offices. Therefore,
the fraternity of the Holy Spirit in Trogir represented an important political, social and economic institution that significantly influenced culture of medieval and early
modern Trogir.""

The Raccolta Putelli, now in the Museo Camuno at Breno, preserves fragments of the chancery-archive of the Community of Valle Camonica, mainly produced during its Venetian age (1428-1797). By means of these documents, we can understand when that archive was born and how it grew; lastly, we are able to compile a chronological list of the chancellors of the Community.

This article is mainly concerned with the dissemination of Jacob Boehme’s writings rather than their reception and accordingly focuses upon the contribution of intermediaries, patrons, translators, biographers, printers, and publishers.  It shows how Boehme’s texts were copied, transmitted, issued and translated, demonstrating the key role Samuel Hartlib’s circle played in facilitating the project.  Furthermore, it uncovers the translators’ networks, revealing their ties through kinship and friendship, as well as shared professional and commercial interests.  Indeed, these extensive connections, which included sympathetic publishers, largely explains why Boehme’s works were acquired so readily in printed English translations and later selectively rendered into Welsh.

"Systems of land assessment from the Middle Ages to the 17th century

The papers published in this volume were contributed at a conference on land assessment from the Middle Ages to the 17th century. The conference took place in Stockholm at The Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, October 25–26, 2006. The aim of the conference was to bring together scholars
working with problems of land assessment and related topics, i.e. ownership of land, taxes, land prices and inheritance systems in former rural societies, and present an outline of the present state of research. It was also discussed how the assessment systems were manifested in field divisions and other patterns in the rural landscape. Some of the papers present completed research projects, others are still in progress. The geographical limits of the contributions are restricted to the present ones of Sweden and Finland. Some provinces in the medieval kingdoms of Denmark and Norway are therefore also included. A considerable regional variation is appreciable. This variation depends on different rural traditions, based on different principles of assessment. The federative character of the medieval Swedish kingdom is shown in the field of land assessment.

Keywords: Rural societies, land assessment, ownership of land, systems of inheritance, land prices, field divisions, regional variation"