‘Your flexible friend’: the bill of exchange in theory and practice in the fifteenth century †

The characteristic structural forms of large Renaissance churches-domes, drums, pendentives, and barrel vaults-were the products of innovation in theory and practice during the later fifteenth century in Italy that culminated in Bramante's projects for the new Saint Peter's. Significant ideas were contributed by Leon Battista Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio, and Leonardo da Vinci. Francesco di Giorgio's geometrical methods of design for churches as described in his second treatise incorporate a procedure for calculating the thickness of walls bearing vaults. Francesco di Giorgio tested the procedure in his own churches, and it was later used by Bramante.

Download Full-text

On Diminution and Proportion in Fifteenth-Century Music Theory

Journal of the American Musicological Society ◽

10.1525/jams.2005.58.1.1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 1-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

RUTH I. DEFORD

Keyword(s):

Fifteenth Century ◽

Music Theory ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Rational Systems

Abstract The interpretation of fifteenth-century diminution signs is problematic. Theorists describe three types of diminution, all of which may be represented by the same signs: proportional diminution, which reduces the durations of notes in relation to other notes in the same piece; mensural diminution, which reduces the number of mensurae, or counting units, with which each note is measured; and acceleratio mensurae, which reduces the duration of the mensura itself. The writings that describe these procedures are often ambiguous and have been interpreted in conflicting ways. Clarifying the distinctions among the categories of diminution helps to make sense of problematic theoretical statements and resolve apparent conflicts between theory and practice. Since most theorists apply the concept of proportional diminution only to simultaneous relationships and acceleratio mensurae probably arose no earlier than the 1460s, mensural diminution is the principal theoretical meaning of diminution signs in the first half of the fifteenth century. Placing the reformist ideas of Tinctoris and Gaffurio in the context of earlier theories leads to new interpretations of their views on diminution. Their struggles to resolve the conflicts between traditional practices and their own rigorously rational systems led to inconsistencies that laid the foundation for the controversies that have plagued interpretations of diminution signs ever since.

Download Full-text

Jihad in the Circassian Sultanate (1382–1517): The Phenomenon of Volunteering in the Context of the Mamluk-Ottoman Confrontation

Izvestia of the Ural federal university Series 2 Humanities and Arts ◽

10.15826/izv2.2021.23.1.004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 55-71

Author(s):

Evgeny I. Zelenev ◽

◽

Milana Yu. Iliushina ◽

Keyword(s):

Fifteenth Century ◽

Middle Ages ◽

Personal Responsibility ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Balanced Approach ◽

Fertile Ground ◽

The Difference ◽

Mamluk Period ◽

Key Aspects ◽

Critical Consideration

This article examines the development of the theory and practice of jihad under the Circassian Sultanate in Egypt and Syria (1382–1517). The article aims to trace the development of the key aspects of the concept of jihad and reveal the peculiarities of its perception in the Mamluk state. The article highlights an essential characteristic of the theory of jihad in the Mamluk period, i.e. the interpretation of jihad as farḍ al-‘ayn (the personal duty of every Muslim). A fertile ground for this paper was given by studies of M. Bonner and D. Cook, who supplemented a balanced approach to the interpretation of jihad from a historical perspective with a critical consideration of its religious and political meanings. The authors emphasise the importance of the difference between the understanding of jihad as a collective and individual obligation using the concept of minimalism and maximalism developed by Y. Waghid. The paper is based on works by Ibn al-Nahhas (d. 1411), an outstanding thinker of the Mamluk era. The interpretation of jihad as a personal responsibility of every Muslim substantiated by Ibn al-Nahhas was the basis of the volunteer movement that unfolded in Egypt and Syria in the fifteenth century. The doctrine of jihad concentrated around the most important Islamic values embodied in the concepts of “justice” (al-‘adl) and “truth” (al-ḥaqq) and was initially used by the Mamluks and subsequently by the Ottomans as a powerful ideological tool for manipulating the Muslims’ consciousness. This paper is relevant because the conclusions of the study are valid not only for the Middle Ages but are directly related to the present. The authors of the article emphasise this by drawing parallels with modern events in countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

Download Full-text