The essays in this volume illustrate the passage and influence of Greek into Latin from the earliest period of Roman history until the end of the period in which Latin was a living literary language. They show how the Romans, however much they were influenced, to begin with, by the Greek literary language and Greek literature and its forms, were conscious of being not mere conquerors and rulers of the Greek world, but active participants in the further development of the culture initiated by the Greeks; how the importance of ancient Greek culture continued to be felt, with greater and lesser emphasis, in the Western Middle Ages, and the reintroduction of the Greek language in Renaissance Europe only made this interest in the Greek heritage more pronounced; and how ancient Greek works were received and transformed into Latin at various stages in the process of the rediscovery of ancient Greek culture in the West.

The first encounters between the Islamic world and Tibet took place in the course of the expansion of the Abbasid Empire in the eighth century. Military and political contacts went along with an increasing interest in the other side. Cultural exchanges and the transmission of knowledge were facilitated by a trading network, with musk constituting one of the main trading goods from the Himalayas, largely through India. From the thirteenth century onwards the spread of the Mongol Empire from the Western borders of Europe through Central Asia to China facilitated further exchanges. The significance of these interactions has been long ignored in scholarship. This volume represents a major contribution to the subject, bringing together new studies by an interdisciplinary group of international scholars. They explore for the first time the multi-layered contacts between the Islamic world, Central Asia and the Himalayas from the eighth century until the present day in a variety of fields, including geography, cartography, art history, medicine, history of science and education, literature, hagiography, archaeology, and anthropology.

This volume, the third by Charles Burnett in the Variorum series, brings together articles on the different numeral forms used in the Middle Ages, and their use in mathematical and other contexts. Some pieces study the introduction of Hindu-Arabic numerals into Western Europe, documenting, in more detail than anywhere else, the different forms in which they are found, before they acquired the standard shapes with which we are familiar today. Others deal with experiments with other forms of numeration within Latin script: e.g., using the first nine Roman numerals as symbols with place value, abbreviating the Roman numerals, and using the Latin letters as numerals. The author discusses how different types of numerals are used for different purposes, and the application of numerals to the abacus, and to calculation with pen and ink. The studies include the critical edition of several Latin texts.

The first encounters between the Islamic world and Tibet took place in the course of the expansion of the Abbasid Empire in the eighth century. Military and political contacts went along with an increasing interest in the other side. Cultural exchanges and the transmission of knowledge were facilitated by a trading network, with musk constituting one of the main trading goods from the Himalayas, largely through India. From the thirteenth century onwards the spread of the Mongol Empire from the Western borders of Europe through Central Asia to China facilitated further exchanges. The significance of these interactions has been long ignored in scholarship. This volume represents a major contribution to the subject, bringing together new studies by an interdisciplinary group of international scholars. They explore for the first time the multi-layered contacts between the Islamic world, Central Asia and the Himalayas from the eighth century until the present day in a variety of fields, including geography, cartography, art history, medicine, history of science and education, literature, hagiography, archaeology, and anthropology.

This collection of Charles Burnett's articles on the transmission of Arabic learning to Europe concentrates on the identity of the Latin translators and the context in which they were working. The articles are arranged in roughly chronological order, beginning with the earliest known translations from Arabic at the end of the 10th century, progressing through 11th-century translations made in Southern Italy, translators working in Sicily and the Principality of Antioch at the beginning of the 12th century, the first of the 12th-century Iberian translators, the beginnings and development of 'professional' translation activity in Toledo, and the transfer of this activity from Toledo to Frederick II's entourage in the 13th century. Most of the articles include editions of texts that either illustrate the style and character of the translator or provide the source material for his biobibliography.

After discussing the terminology of talismanic magic (or necromancy) and its position in divisions of science in the Middle Ages, this book traces the history of talismanic texts from the Classical period through the Arabic world to the Latin Middle Ages. The principal authorities are Hermes and Aristotle, and the search for the 'secret knowledge' of these ancient sages is shown to have been a catalyst for the translating activity from Arabic into Latin in 12th-century Spain. The second half of the volume is devoted to examples of the kinds of divination prevalent in Arabic and Latin-reading societies: chiromancy, onomancy, scapulimancy, geomancy and fortune-telling. The book ends with advice on when to practice alchemy and a prophetic letter of supposed Arabic provenance, warning of the coming of the Mongols. Several editions of previously unedited texts are included, with translations.

This volume, the second in the series of Marie-Therese d'Alverny's selected articles to be published by Variorum, gathers the majority of her studies on the understanding of Islam in the West from the early Middle Ages until the mid-13th century; some related works will be included in a further selection. In the 12th century, as she shows, a serious effort was for the first time made to learn something of the reality behind the fabulous and scurrilous stories about Muhammad and Islam. A collection of translations from Arabic, including the Koran, was commissioned in 1140 by Peter the Venerable of Cluny, and d'Alverny found the manuscript in which his secretary wrote these out. This discovery led her to explore other translations into Latin of the Koran and other Islamic texts, to identify the work of the translators Hermann of Carinthia, Robert of Ketton and Mark of Toledo, and to depict the milieu in which this work was possible.

A collection of seven films - brought together by executive producer Martin Scorsese - exploring the evolution of blues music through the personal styles and perspectives of seven renowned directors. The films included are: 'Feel Like Going Home' by Martin Scorsese; 'The Soul of a Man' by Wim Wenders; 'The Road to Memphis' by Richard Pearce; 'Warming by the Devil's Fire' by Charles Burnett; 'Godfathers and Sons' by Marc Levin; 'Red, White and Blues' by Mike Figgis; and 'Piano Blues' by Clint Eastwood.

Essays looking at the process of teaching and learning to write in the middle ages, with evidence drawn from across Europe. The capacity to read and write are different abilities, yet while studies of medieval readers and reading have proliferated in recent years, there has so far been little examination of how people learnt to write in the middle ages- an aspect of literacy which this volume aims to address. The papers published here discuss evidence adduced from the "a sgraffio" writing of Ancient Rome, through the attempts of scribes to model their handwriting after that ofthe master-scribe in a disciplined scriptorium, to the repeated copying of set phrases in a Florentine merchant's day book. They show how a careful study of handwriting witnesses the reception of the twenty-three letter Latin alphabet in different countries of medieval Europe, and its necessary adaptation to represent vernacular sounds. Monastic customaries provide evidence of teaching and learning in early scriptoria, while an investigation of the grammarians is a reminder that for the medieval scholar learning to write did not mean simply mastering the skill of holding a quill and forming one's letters properly, but also mastering a correct understanding of grammar and punctuation. Other essays consider the European reception of the so-called Arabic numbers, provide an edition of a fifteenth-century tract on how to use abbreviations correctly, and illustrate how images of writing on wax tablets and learning in school can throw light on medieval practice. The volume concludes with a paper on the ways in which a sixteenth-century amateur theologican deployed Latin, Greek and Hebrew alphabets. P.R. Robinson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of English Studies, University of London. Contributors: Paolo Fioretti, David Ganz, Martin Steinman, Patrizia Carmassi, Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Annina Seiler, Alessandro Zironi, Jerzy Kaliszuk, Aslaug Ommundsen, Erik Niblaeus, Gudvardur Mar Gunnlaugsson, Cristina Mantegna, Irene Ceccherini, Jesus Alturo, Carmen del Camino Martinez, Maria do Rosario Barbosa Morujao, Charles Burnett, Olaf Pluta, Lucy Freeman Sandler, Alison Stones, Berthold Kress

The present volume arose from a colloquium on magic and divination intended to apply the study of the history of the classical tradition to the specific area of magic. Magic is interpreted in a very broad sense, and the book includes discussions of Neoplatonic theurgy, Hermetic astrological talismans, the occult activities of oracles and witches, demon-possession, popular beliefs and party tricks. While several articles look at magic in the Graeco-Roman tradition, others deal with practices in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Byzantium and Russia. The emphasis is on showing transmission through time, and across cultural and linguistic borders, and the continuing importance of classical or ancient authorities among writers of more recent periods. The editions of several previously unpublished Latin texts are included.

When did the sentimental start to mean awful? Why are many popular mainstream films so often dismissed for their sentimentality? What are the key differences between the sentimental and the melodramatic? These are some of the questions to be addressed in this illuminating genealogy of the sentimental as both literary genre and aesthetic philosophy, a tradition that prefigures the advent of film yet serves as a vital framework for understanding its emotional and ethical appeals.

With an off-putting title and a decidedly retrograde premise, the CW dramedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a surprising choice for critical analysis. But, loyal viewers quickly came to appreciate the show's sharp cultural critique through masterful parody, and this strategy has made it a critical darling and earned it several awards throughout its run. In ways not often seen on traditional network television, the show transcends conventional genre boundaries-the Hollywood musical, the romantic comedy, the music video-while resisting stereotypes associated with contemporary life. The essays in this collection underscore the show's ability to distinguish itself within the current television market. Focusing on themes of feminism, gender identity, and mental health, contributors explore the ways in which the show challenged viewer expectations, as well as the role television critics play in identifying a show's "authenticity" or quality.

Adelard of Bath was one of the most colourful personalities of the Middle Ages. He travelled to the Crusader kingdoms, to Sicily and south Italy, and translated texts on astronomy, astrology and magic from Arabic into Latin. He acquired a lasting reputation as a pioneering mathematician, and he was a gifted teacher. He addressed one of these works, on cosmology and the astrolabe, to the future King Henry II, and it is in the context of the education of the nobility that the three works edited in this book are to be viewed. Adelard meant them to be both entertaining and instructive. They deal with all kinds of topics, from the nature of the soul to the cause of earthquakes, from the effects of music to how to train a hawk. A preface provides the results of research on Adelard's life and work.

Adelard of Bath was one of the most colourful personalities of the Middle Ages. He travelled to the Crusader kingdoms, to Sicily and south Italy, and translated texts on astronomy, astrology and magic from Arabic into Latin. He acquired a lasting reputation as a pioneering mathematician, and he was a gifted teacher. He addressed one of these works, on cosmology and the astrolabe, to the future King Henry II, and it is in the context of the education of the nobility that the three works edited in this book are to be viewed. Adelard meant them to be both entertaining and instructive. They deal with all kinds of topics, from the nature of the soul to the cause of earthquakes, from the effects of music to how to train a hawk. A preface provides the results of research on Adelard's life and work.

This volume attempts to bring together, to our knowledge for the first time, aspects of the whole of the long history of Latin as written in Great Britain. The papers explore the use of Latin in different contexts at different periods, from the early Middle Ages until the twentieth century. They range over the subjects of philology, philosophy, scholarship, humanism and teaching methods, with separate chapters for Scotland and Wales. This book arose from a conference sponsored by the Fondazione Cassamarca, which also contributed generously to its publication.

With an off-putting title and a decidedly retrograde premise, the CW dramedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a surprising choice for critical analysis. But, loyal viewers quickly came to appreciate the show's sharp cultural critique through masterful parody, and this strategy has made it a critical darling and earned it several awards throughout its run. In ways not often seen on traditional network television, the show transcends conventional genre boundaries-the Hollywood musical, the romantic comedy, the music video-while resisting stereotypes associated with contemporary life. The essays in this collection underscore the show's ability to distinguish itself within the current television market. Focusing on themes of feminism, gender identity, and mental health, contributors explore the ways in which the show challenged viewer expectations, as well as the role television critics play in identifying a show's "authenticity" or quality.

The rediscovery of Ptolemy's "Geography" has long been hailed as a key moment in the emergence of Renaissance culture, symbolizing a new rational spatiality, and preparing the way for the Age of Discovery. And yet, the process of the "Geography's" introduction, integration and impact in Western Europe, as the essays in this volume collectively suggest, was more complex and less predictable than has been traditionally assumed. Whereas previously Ptolemy's maps attracted most scholarly attention, in this volume the textual tradition of "the Geography" - Ptolemy's text, added prefaces, annotations and treatises - stand at the centre. Bringing together a wealth of previously unexplored sources and contexts, the essays examine "the Geography" as it took part in and influenced diverse areas of Renaissance culture, such as visual theory and communication, humanistic philological, historical and antiquarian practices, astrology, education and religion. The emerging "Geography" is perhaps less revolutionary but more satisfyingly embedded into the culture that produced and used it. This volume points to new directions for the study of the remaining questions that still hover around Ptolemy's seminal work and for the study of early modern geography as a whole.

When did the sentimental start to mean 'awful'? Why are so many popular mainstream films dismissed for their sentimentality, and are there any meaningful differences between the sentimental and the melodramatic? These are some of the questions addressed in Charles Burnetts' illuminating genealogy of the concept as both a literary genre and an aesthetic philosophy, a tradition that prefigures the advent of film yet serves as a vital framework for understanding its emotional and ethical appeal. Examining 18th century 'moral sense' philosophy as a neglected but still important intellectual area for film theory, and drawing on case studies of film sentimentality during the early, classical and post-classical eras of US cinema, Improving Passions is an innovative exploration of the sentimental tradition as both theatrical genre and cultural logic.

This is a Latin translation made in the mid-12th century of a lost Arabic astrological text on nativities and anniversaries, probably by Masha'allah (762-c.815). The Latin text, the work of Hugo of Santalla, who was in the entourage of Michael, Bishop of Tarazona, in 1145, sheds light on the early stage of Arabic astrology in Baghdad, which was based on Greek and Middle Persian sources, and it includes a bibliography of these sources. This work provides English translations of the parallel passages based on Masha'allah's text - the "Book of Nativities" of Sahl b. Bishr. The book concludes with an index of the sources mentioned and a comprehensive word index.

CONTENTS Preface Galen and al-Razi on time / Peter Adamson The Hikam or aphorisms of al-Ghazali: some examples / M. Afifi al-Akiti Some Syriac pseudo-platonic curiosities / Sebastian Brock Al-Jahiz on Ashab al-Jahalat and the Jahmiyya / Patricia Crone Jawhar and Dhat in some medieval Arabic philosophers (or, on 'Dhis and Dhat') / Julian Faultless Le scepticisme et sa refutation selon al-Malahimi / Charles Genequand Mediating the medium: the Arabic Plotinus on vision / Rotraud Hansberger Shi'i views of the death of the Prophet Muhammad / Etan Kohlberg Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's exposition of mayl / Y. Tzvi Langermann 'Isa ibn 'Umayr's Ibadi theology and Donatist Christian thought / Wilferd Madelung The absurdaties of infinite time: Shahrastani's critique of Ibn Sina and Tusi's defence / Goby Mayer The Islamic literature on encounters between Muslim renunciants and Christiam monks / Christopher Melchert The development of translation techniques from Greek into Syriac and Arabic: the case of Galen's On the faculties and powers of simple drugs, book six / Peter E. Pormann The working files of Rhazes: are the Jami' and the Hawi identical? / Emilie Savage-Smith Waiting for Philoponus / Richard Sorabji [Greek title] / Manfred Ullman On coincidence: the twenty-seventh and twenty-eight nights of al-Tawhidi's al-Imta' wa-l-mu'anasa. An annotated translation / Geert Jan van Gelder Fragments of the hitherto lost Arabic translations of Galen's On my own opinions in the philosophy reader MS Oxford, Bodleian Library, Oriental Collections, Marsh 539 / Elvira Wakelnig A list of publications of Fritz Zimmermann Index of proper names.