Acts of Giving examines the issues surrounding donation - the giving of property, usually landed property - in northern 'Christian' Spain in the tenth century, when written texts became very plentiful, allowing us to glimpse the working of local society. Wendy Davies explores who gives and who receives; what is given; reasons for giving; and the place of giving within the complex of social and economic relationships in society as a whole. People gave land for all kinds of reasons - because they were forced to do so, to meet debts or pay fines; because they wanted to gain material benefits in life, or to secure support in the short term or in old age. Giving pro anima, for the sake of the soul, was relatively limited; and gifts were made to lay persons as well as to the church. Family interests were strongly sustained across the tenth century and did not dwindle; family land was split and re-assembled, not fragmented. The gender and status of donors are key themes, along with commemoration: more men than women took steps to memorialize, in contrast to some parts of western Europe, and more aristocrats than peasants, which is less of a contrast. Donation as a type of transaction is also examined, as well as the insights into status afforded by the language and form of the records. Buying and selling, giving and receiving continued in the tenth-century as it had for centuries. However this period saw the volume of peasant donation to the church increasing enormously. It was this which set the conditions for substantial social and economic change.
Acts of Giving
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
...a gem of a book...a maserful demonstration of the art of reading medieval chapters...an important contribution to a transregional study of early medieval Christian Iberia; and an object lesson in the rewards to br gained when an accomplished scholar of one region sets out to explore another. Early Medieval Europe ...it is most encouraging to find that an experienced and thoughtful expert such as Wendy Davies has devoted great care to understanding these documents...This is what archival research ought to be...an object lesson in how to read awkward archival data and draw undistracted conclusions from them, with a result that will be of use to future historians of many perspectives. Roger Wright The Journal of the British Records Association
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
This book is about northern Spain—so-called 'Christian' Spain—in the tenth century. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
This book is about northern Spain—so-called 'Christian' Spain—in the tenth century. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Ireland
- Books > History > Cultural History
- Books > History > Europe
- Books > History > Religious History > Christianity
- Books > History > World History
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Church History
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Reference
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
