Best of
European-History

1984

Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor


Anne Edwards - 1984
    A detailed history of Princess May of Teck who married Duke of Clarence (House Of Windsor) who died before their marriage.

Islamic Architecture: Form, Function, and Meaning


Robert Hillenbrand - 1984
    Focusing on the multifaceted relation of architecture to society, Robert Hillenbrand covers public architecture in the Middle East and North Africa from the medieval period to 1700. Extensive photographs and ground plans-- among which are hundreds of newly executed three-dimensional drawings that provide an accurate and vivid depiction of the structure--are presented with an emphasis on the way the specific details of the building fulfilled their function.Included are chapters on religious and secular architecture and the architecture of tombs. Each building is discussed in terms of function, the links between particular forms and specific uses, the role of special types of buildings in the Islamic order, and the expressions of different sociocultural groups in architectural terms. Here the student or historian of Islamic architecture will find an astonishing resource, including Maghribi palaces, Anatolian madrasas, Indian minarets, Fatimid mausolea, and Safavid mosques, each rendered in lavish illustrations and explained with incomparable precision.

Realms of Memory: The Construction of the French Past, Volume 1 - Conflicts and Divisions


Pierre Nora - 1984
    "Symbols," the third and final volume, is the culmination of the work begun in "Conflicts and Divisions "and "Traditions."Pierre Nora inaugurates this final volume by acknowledging that the whole project of Realms of Memory is oriented around symbols, claiming "only a symbolic history can restore to France the unity and dynamism not recognized by either the man in the street or the academic historian." He goes on to distinguish between two very different types of symbols - imposed and constructed. Imposed symbols may be official state emblems like the tricolor flag or 'La Marsaillaise', or may be monuments like the Eiffel Tower - symbols imbued with a sense of history. COnstructes symbols are produced over the passage of time, by human effort, and by history itself.They include figures such as Joan d'Arc, Descartes, and the Gallic cock.Past I, Emblems, traces the development of four major national symbols from the time of the Revolution: the tricolor flag, the national anthem (La Marsaillaise), the motto Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" and Bastille Day. Far from having fixed identities, these representations of the French nations are shown to have undergone transformations. As French republics rose and regimes changed, the emblems of the French state - and the meanings accosiated with them - were also altered.Part II, Major Sites, focuses on those cities and structures that act as beacons of France to both Frenchman and foreigner. These essays range from the prehistory paintings in Lascaux - that cave which, though not originally French in any sense, has become the very symbol of France's immemorial national memory - to Verdun, the site of the terrible World War I battle, now a symbol of the nation's heaviest sacrifice for the "salvation of the fatehrland" and the most powerful image of French national unity.Identifications, the final section, explores the ways in which the French think of themselves. From the cock - that "rustic and quintessentially Gallic bird" - to the figures of Joan of Arc and Descartes, to the nation's twin hearts - Paris and the French language - the memory of the French people is explored.This final installment of Realms of Memory provides a major contribution not only to study the French nation and culture, but also to the study of symbols as cultural phenomena, offering, as Nora observes, "the possibility of revelation."

Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages


Jeffrey Burton Russell - 1984
    In Lucifer, Jeffrey Burton Russell continues his compelling study of the personification of evil in the figure of the Devil. The previous two volumes in this remarkable tertalogy--The Devil and Satan--trace the history of the concept of the devil comparatively as it emerged in diverse cultures and followed its development in Western thought from the ancient Hebrew religion through the first five centuries of the Christian era.The present volume charts the evolution of the concept of the devil from the fifth century through the fifteenth. Drawing on an impressive array of sources from popular religion, art, literature, and drama, as well as from scholastic philosophy, mystical theology, homiletics, and hagiography, Russell provides a detailed treatment of Christian diabology in the Middle Ages. Although he focuses primarily on Western Christian thought, Russell also includes, for the sake of comparison, material on the concept of the devil in Greek Orthodoxy during the Byzantine period as well as in Muslim thought.Russell recounts how the Middle Ages saw a refinement in detail rather than a radical alteration of diabological theory. He shows that the medieval concept of the devil, fundamentally unchanged over the course of the centuries, eventually gave rise to the unyielding beliefs that resulted in the horrifying cruelties of the witch-hunting craze in the 1500s and 1600s. This major contribution to the history of the Middle Ages and to the history of religion will enlighten scholars and students alike and will appeal to anyone concerned with the problem of evil in our world.

Louis XV


Olivier Bernier - 1984
    He had extraordinary good looks, absolute power, spectacular palaces, and the total grandeur that only eighteenth-century France could provide. The French people adored him and called him "the beloved." During his reign, France flourished, and had it not been for his successor, the chaos of the Revolution might never have happened. History, however, has not only been unkind in its assessment of Louis XV but also mistaken, as this absorbing biography demonstrates. In it, Olivier Bernier explains the development of the negative judgment, showing how the beloved Louis became maligned after his death. The author refutes the unfavorable assessment using such credible sources as the king's state papers, which remain intact in France's national archives. Louis XV emerges in these pages as one of the best French kings, thoughtful and caring, loving and loved by his people.

The Princess Of Siberia


Christine Sutherland - 1984
    Despite her family's and the tsar's opposition, Maria was determined to join her husband thousands of miles from St. Petersburg. She was more than halfway there when the tsar's decree that she could never return from Siberia was read to her. The reunion occured in the depths of a silver mine, where she fell at her husband's feet and kissed his chains.Christine Sutherland's fascinating portrait of Maria and members of the Decembrist circle is based on the unpublished memoirs and diaries of the princess, which the Volkonsky family made available to her. The exile in Siberia lasted for almost thirty years, when an amnesty following the tsar's death freed them.In exile, Maria brought to Prince Volkonsky her love, gaiety, and artistic talents, together with a force of character, courage, and integrity which sustained them through the long years. A second son and a daughter were born to them in the detention camp of Chita in Transbaikalia. The Volkonskys were eventually allowed to settle in Irkutsk in a large, well-furnished wooden house. Maria's benevolent influence on the govenor of the province, in establishing local schools, in building the first theater in Siberia, and in promoting farm cooperatives, won her the love of the populace as "our Princess."

The Spanish War: An American Epic, 1898


G.J.A. O'Toole - 1984
    battleship Maine was ripped in half by an explosion in Havana harbor with the loss of 266 American lives. War with Spain followed nine weeks later. After a three-month fight on two fronts half a world apart, the era of isolation was gone forever, as the United States formed alliances and gained spheres of influence that would shape its desstiny for decades to come.G. J. A. O'Toole colorfully depicts the sweep of events and also presents new findings on the mysterious mission of the Maine and on the part played by Washington in the expansion of the conflict.

Who's Who in Nazi Germany


Robert S. Wistrich - 1984
    It covers a representative cross-section of German society from 1933-1945, and includes: * Nazi Party leaders; SS, Wehrmacht and Gestapo personalities; civil service and diplomatic personnel* industrialists, churchmen, intellectuals, artists, entertainers and sports personalities* resistance leaders, political dissidents, critics and victims of the regime* extensive biographical information on each figure extending into the post-war period* analysis of their role and significance in Nazi Germany* an accessible, easy to use A-Z layout* a glossary and comprehensive bibliography

Rescue of Danish Jewry


Leni Yahil - 1984
    

Russia and the Formation of the Romanian National State, 1821-1878


Barbara Jelavich - 1984
    In the early nineteenth century the centers of Romanian political life were the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which were both under Ottoman rule but which had separate, autonomous administrations. Although welcoming Russian aid against the Ottoman Empire, the Romanian leadership at the same time feared that the Russian government would use its military power to establish a firm control over the Principalities or would annex Romanian lands, as indeed occurred in 1812. Here this difficult relationship is examined in detail as it developed during the century in connection with the major events leading to the international acceptance of Romanian independence in 1878.

Constantine and Eusebius


Timothy D. Barnes - 1984
    Barnes gives the fullest available narrative history of the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine. He analyzes Constantine's rise to power and his government, demonstrating how Constantine's sincere adherence to Christianity advanced his political aims. He explores the whole range of Eusebius' writings, especially those composed before Constantine became emperor, and shows that many attitudes usually deemed typical of the "Constantinian revolution" were prevalent before the new Christian empire came into existence. This authoritative political and cultural history of the age of Constantine will prove essential to students and historians of the ancient world.

Knowing One's Enemies: Intelligence Assessment Before The Two World Wars


Ernest R. May - 1984
    This cautionary tale, warns that intelligence agencies can do certain things very well--but other things poorly, if at all.Originally published in 1985.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Poland's Self-Limiting Revolution


Jadwiga Staniszkis - 1984
    The book description for the previously published Poland's Self-Limiting Revolution is not yet available.

Eva


Ib Melchior - 1984
    . . Counter Intelligence Corp agent Woody Ward uncovers evidence that it might not have been Eva Braun on Hitler's funeral pyre. Indeed, at that very moment, Eva is being escorted along the top-secret route mapped for the escape of the Nazi elite. It is a tortuous path where disaster appears at every turn to thwart their arrival at the Italian port of Bari. Ward persuades his superiors to let him go underground and pursue Eva in an attempt to prevent her escape. The chase that ensues holds constant deadly dangers for both fugitives and pursuer, as they make their way from the eerie caves of the Harz Mountains in Germany to a startling and spectacular climax in Bari. There, a ship is waiting to carry Eva to Argentina, where she will nurture the seed of the Fourth Reich. Only CIC Agent Ward has any chance of stopping the second coming of Hitler's Third Reich!

The Village Labourer


J.L. Hammond - 1984
    Powerless to stop them, driven to poverty and despair, unable to support their families, and reliant on the charity of the poor rates, there was widespread anger across rural England in 1830. Despite the peaceable nature of most of the so-called riots, the Government and ruling class reacted ferociously, and Special Commissions handed out numerous sentences of imprisonment, transportation, and even death. The Hammond's book is a forceful and moving indictment of hierarchical British society where the upper class was prepared to use the Government and the Law to maintain their privileged position and brutally crush all opposition.

The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages


Donald M. Nicol - 1984
    It retained its independence despite the recovery of Constantinople by the Greeks in 1261. Each of its rulers acquired the Byzantine titles of Despot, from which the term Despotate was coined to describe their territory. They preserved their autonomy partly by seeking support from their foreign neighbours in Italy. The fortunes of Epiros were thus affected by the expansionist plans of the Angevin kings of Naples and the commercial interests of Venice. Until 1318 it was governed by direct descendants of its Byzantine founder. Thereafter it was taken over first by the Italian family of Orsini, then conquered by the Serbians, infiltrated by the Albanians, and appropriated by an Italian adventurer, Carlo Tocco. Like the rest of Byzantium and eastern Europe it was ultimately absorbed into the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. The Despotate of Epiros illuminates part of Byzantine history and of the history of Greece in the Middle Ages.

After the Armada: Elizabethan England and the Struggle for Western Europe, 1588-1595


Richard Bruce Wernham - 1984
    This is an examination of the effect that the defeat of the Armada had on England's standing in international affairs.