Humanities & Social Sciences
January 2021
Your Search Results
-
Promoted Content
-
Promoted Content
The ArtsMay 2016Representations of Renaissance monarchy
Francis I and the image-makers
by Lisa Mansfield
Representations of Renaissance monarchy analyses the portraits and personal imagery of Francis I, one of the most frequently portrayed rulers of sixteenth-century Europe. The distinctive likeness of the Valois king was widely disseminated and perceived by his French subjects, and Tudor and Habsburg rivals abroad. Complementing studies on the representation of Henry VIII, this book makes a dynamic contribution to scholarship on the enterprise of royal image-making in early-modern Europe. The discussion not only highlights the inventiveness of the visual arts in Renaissance France but also alludes to the enduring politics of physical appearance and seductive power of the face and body in modern visual culture. Coinciding with the five hundredth anniversary of Francis I's accession, this book will appeal to scholars and students of medieval and Renaissance art, the history of portraiture or anyone interested in images of monarchy and the history of France. ;
-
Trusted Partner
Humanities & Social SciencesOctober 2021Mary and Philip
The marriage of Tudor England and Habsburg Spain
by Alexander Samson
Mary I, eldest daughter of Henry VIII, was Queen of England from 1553 until her death in 1558. For much of this time she ruled alongside her husband, King Philip II of Spain, forming a co-monarchy that put England at the heart of early modern Europe. In this book, Alexander Samson presents a bold reassessment of Mary and Philip's reign, rescuing them from the neglect they have suffered at the hands of generations of historians. The co-monarchy of Mary I and Philip II put England at the heart of early modern Europe. This positive reassessment of their joint reign counters a series of parochial, misogynist and anti-Catholic assumptions, correcting the many myths that have grown up around the marriage and explaining the reasons for its persistent marginalisation in the historiography of sixteenth-century England. Using new archival discoveries and original sources, the book argues for Mary as a great Catholic queen, while fleshing out Philip's important contributions as king of England.
-
Trusted Partner
Humanities & Social SciencesJanuary 2020Mary and Philip
by Alexander Samson, Penny Roberts, William G. Naphy, Joseph Bergin
-
FictionThe Countess and the Organ Player
by Cesia Hirshbein
In the historical context of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the height of the Romantic era, the 19th century, Anton Bruckner, the famous Austrian composer and organist, falls in love with the imposing Countess Henriette. She had been appointed lady-in-waiting to Princess Charlotte of Belgium, the wife of Prince Maximilian of Habsburg, to attend to her during the couple's Mexican endeavor. They had been named Emperor and Empress of Mexico and would embark on a journey to America for this mission. Bruckner meets the countess by chance at the funeral of Maximilian, who had been assassinated in Querétaro in 1867, during the so-called Second Mexican Empire. On the recommendation of a musician friend of Henriette's, who sees him at the funeral, she takes piano lessons with Bruckner. When she tells him that she had accompanied the empress to Mexico, the composer becomes enchanted. He admired Maximilian and was passionate about Mexico; he had even wanted to accompany the emperor. Ultimately, the only trips he made were to give organ concerts in London and another at Notre Dame in Paris. Between classes, the countess tells him of the Atlantic crossing, the arrival in Veracruz, and the entrance to Mexico City. Gradually, they grow closer. In one of his concerts, Bruckner meets Franz Liszt, who was a patron of Maximilian's empire in Mexico. Meanwhile, the countess and the organist plan a Requiem, which will be the turning point between them.
-
Trusted Partner
Literature & Literary StudiesOctober 2020Vyshyvanyi. The King of Ukraine
by Serhiy Zhadan
Serhiy Zhadan's new book, "Vyshyvanyi. The King of Ukraine", is a story that is always relevant, especially nowadays. It is a story of love for Ukraine. Austrian Archduke Wilhelm Franz von Habsburg-Lothringen, known as Vasyl Vyshyvanyi, played a prominent role in the Ukrainian national liberation movement. Zhadan speaks about the project: "The figure of Vyshyvany is non-trivial, interesting, and deserves all kinds of mentions and study. The coming of Vyshivany to Ukrainianness and acceptance of his identity is not a fictional story. It is interesting to learn how many people are discovering Ukraine, Ukrainian history, Ukrainian culture, and the Ukrainian language." The book has already found its supporters and even received an award in the "Best Book Design 2020" competition, held by the "Book Arsenal" International Festival in cooperation with the Goethe Institute in Ukraine. This award is fully justified: the creative tandem of Zhuk&Kelm artistic talent has created a real gem. Designer Nadiya Kelm wrote about the work: "Vyshyvany got his nickname from Ukrainian soldiers because he liked to dress up in embroidered clothes. This was the starting point for the visual concept of the book. We took a very geometric embroidery scheme, which grows with each section, revealing more and more of the portrait of the Vyshyvanyi. The perforated pages allude to the Ukrainian vytynanka (paper cut ornament)".
-
Trusted Partner
Humanities & Social SciencesApril 2020Early modern war narratives and the Revolt in the Low Countries
by Raymond Fagel, Leonor Álvarez Francés, William G. Naphy, Beatriz Santiago Belmonte
-
Trusted Partner
February 2003Schwarzbuch der Habsburger
Die unrühmliche Geschichte eines Herrscherhauses
by Leidinger, Hannes; Moritz, Verena; Schippler, Berndt / Vorwort von Jagschitz, Gerhard; Vorwort von Vocelka, Karl
-
Trusted Partner
-
Trusted Partner
January 2005Habsburgs Diener in Post und Politik
Das 'Haus' Thurn und Taxis zwischen 1745 und 1867
by Grillmeyer, Siegfried
-
Trusted Partner
February 2009Daraus lassen sich ein paar Erzählungen machen
by Taras Prochasko, Maria Weissenböck
Ein dramatisches Zeitalter auf wenigen Seiten zu besichtigen, dazu bedarf es der minimalistischen Kunst eines großen Autors. Taras Prochasko verwandelt ein Familienepos, das Hunderte Geschichten birgt, in lauter erzählerische Extrakte, die eine versunkene Welt und ihre Bewohner heraufbeschwören und zum Gegenstand der Meditiation machen. Diese Welt heißt Stanislau und liegt im Karpatenvorland, einem Winkel des Habsburger Reichs. Nach zwei Weltkriegen ist dort nichts mehr wie zuvor. Nur der Enkel Taras wohnt noch immer im Haus seines tschechischen Großvaters an der Hauptstraße. Nicht nur ihre verworrenen Lebensläufe ruft er auf, sondern auch die vielen Dinge, die es einmal gab: »Manchmal, wenn ich nichts mache und nichts sage, scheint es mir, daß genau dies das allerrealste Ich ist. Eine Sammlung chaotischer, unnützer Dinge.«
-
Trusted Partner
March 2007Berichte aus der dunklen Welt
Prosa
by Dževad Karahasan, Brigitte Döbert, Dževad Karahasan
Zwanzig Minuten Fußweg sind es von der Lateinerbrücke, an der mit dem Attentat auf das Habsburger Thronfolgerpaar das »kurze 20. Jahrhundert« begann, bis zur Vrbanjabrücke, an der es 1992 mit der Ermordung zweier Studentinnen endete. Nüchtern und unspekulativ hellt Dževad Karahasan die Dunkelheit auf, die über diesem Weg und den Menschen liegt, die ihn gegangen sind. Karahasan folgt den Spuren, die das 20. Jahrhundert in seiner Heimatstadt Sarajevo und in Bosnien hinterlassen hat. Anatomie der Traurigkeit handelt von dem Sohn eines italienischen Partisanen und einer jugoslawischen Kommunistin, der im Exil sein Leben rekapituliert. In Prinzip Gabriel führen Recherchen den Erzähler nach Theresienstadt. Er entdeckt, daß dort auch Gavrilo Princip, der Attentäter von Sarajevo, inhaftiert war. Die Briefe aus dem Jahre 1993 berichten von einem Studenten, der seinen Dozenten mit den Briefen eines in Sarajevo Umgekommenen konfrontiert. Immer wieder verknüpft dieser Berichterstatter aus einer dunklen Welt scheinbar unzusammenhängende Ereignisse. In einer Prosa, die Authentisches und Fiktives geschickt ineinander verwebt, wird so die »spiralförmige Struktur der Zeit« sichtbar.
-
Trusted Partner
August 2013Blumenfresser
by László Darvasi, Heinrich Eisterer
Zwei Menschen sind in ihrer zugenagelten Wohnung verhungert: ineinander verschlungen liegen sie in einem mit Blumen vollgestopften Zimmer. Draußen tritt die Theiß über die Ufer, reißt die Behausungen der geflohenen Juden, Armenier und Serben mit sich fort und zerstört in einer Jahrhundertflut Szeged, die Stadt im Südosten des Habsburger Reichs. Bei den Toten handelt es sich um Klara Pelsőczy, eine leidenschaftliche, ungefügige Frau, die drei Männer liebt und „mit dem Fußabdruck eines Engels auf der Hand“ zur Welt kam; und um den Naturhistoriker Imre Schön, der nach der niedergeschlagenen Revolution von 1848 sieben Jahre im Gefängnis saß: ein Vortrag über Blumenfresser wurde ihm zum Verhängnis. In apokalyptischen und phantastischen Szenarien erzählt László Darvasi von Liebe und Gewalt in Mitteleuropa. Sein von surrealen Episoden durchsetzter Roman, im Jahrhundert der Freiheitsbewegungen angesiedelt, kennt neben der menschlichen und kreatürlichen Welt eine zarte und gefahrvolle Sphäre des Traums und des hellsichtigen Irrsinns, die man nach dem Verzehr von Blumen betritt.
-
September 2022Literary Travel Guide Galicia
On the road in Poland and Ukraine
by Marcin Wiatr
Galicia is an integral part of the Habsburg myth and the epitome of worldly seclusion, Eastern Jewish cultural traditions, the Kakan way of life and indescribable poverty. Even if the supranational entity called the Habsburg Monarchy, to which Galicia belonged between 1772 and 1918, no longer exists, the region lives on in literature. In addition to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Iwan Franko and Karl Emil Franzos, Joseph Roth, Bruno Schulz, Mascha Kaléko, Stanisław Vincenz, Józef Wittlin, Hnat Chotkevych, Zygmunt Haupt, Stanisław Lem, and Isaak Babel dealt with Galician themes. Today, Sophia and Juri Andrukhovych, Andrzej Stasiuk, Olga Tokarczuk, Martin Pollack, Tanya Maljartschuk, Taras and Jurko Prochasko, Ziemowit Szczerek, Natalka Sniadanko, Maxim Biller among others, do so. The book takes you to places of European history in the Southeast of Poland and in the West of Ukraine - from Krakow via Tarnow to Brody and from Lviv via Drohobych, Stanislau/Iwano-Frankiwsk and Boryslau to Zakopane. Marcin Wiatr reminds us that Galicia has historical lessons to teach us all in Europe.
-
FictionJuly 2016New King Palmers
by Peter Cowlam
Winner of the 2018 Quagga Prize for Literary Fiction. Set in the late 1990s, in the months up to and after the death of Princess Diana, New King Palmers is narrated by its principal character Humfrey Joel, a close friend of Earl Eliot d’Oc. The earl’s ancestry is bound up with the Habsburgs and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. D’Oc is a member of the British Privy Council and a close friend of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In the months preceding Diana’s death, he commissions a young theatre professional to develop a play. The play’s theme is constitutional issues surrounding Prince Charles, with the heir’s interests served by UK withdrawal from the EU, before it becomes a federal superstate. The commissioned play is called New King Palmers, and d’Oc maintains rigorous editorial control over it. When d’Oc’s death shortly follows Diana’s, Joel is named as d’Oc’s literary executor, with the task of bringing the play to the English stage. Supposedly written into the text is an encoded message from the British Privy Council on behalf of the House of Windsor, addressed to the stewards of the EU. When news of this leaks out no one in the British literary and theatrical worlds believes it. In fact most come to see Earl d’Oc as an invented character behind which Joel shields himself, when his own motives are themselves sinister. So sinister, an MI5 spook is put on the case. Available at Amazon and other online retailers.
-
Individual artists, art monographsJanuary 2019The Last Days of Mankind
A Visual Guide to Karl Kraus’ Great War Epic
by artwork by Deborah Sengl; contributions by Marjorie Perloff, Matthias Goldmann, Anna Souchuk and Paul Reitter
"Eye-catching": Top 10 Anticipated Art Books Publishers Weekly Garnering critical success over the past four years, Viennese artist Deborah Sengl has exhibited taxidermied rats, drawings and paintings to restage Karl Kraus’ infamous, nearly-unperformable play The Last Days of Mankind (Die Letzten Tage der Menschheit, 1915–22). Featuring Sengl’s entire installation, this edition includes essays that examine her ambitious dramaturgy, which condenses the 10-15 hour drama into an abridged reading of its themes: human barbarism, the role of journalism in war, the sway of popular opinion and the absurdities of nationalism. The Last Days of Mankind offers an agit-prop protest envisioning human folly through animal actors, who become more than human, while confronting a violence particular to humankind, laced with selfishness and greed. The work is a hundred years old, but for me it is still current. We may not have war in the immediate vicinity, but the war within us is as strong, if not stronger, as it was then.– Deborah Sengl
-
March 2020The Miracle of Survival
by Ernst Lothar
“The day the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell broke my heart ... something irreplaceable died.” Ernst Lothar was a child of the Habsburg Empire and remained so until his death. In the First Austrian Republic he made a name for himself as a theatre critic and until his emigration he co-directed the Theater in der Josefstadt with Max Reinhardt. In 1938 he emigrated to the USA, returning to Vienna after the end of the war as a Denazification officer; and despite hostilities later took on leading positions at the Burgtheater and the Salzburg Festival, which he co-founded. “It is difficult not to lose your heart to the ingenuity and child-like exuberance of these people,” writes Daniel Kehlmann in his epilogue to Das Wunder des Überlebens.
-
February 2019Ukrainian Bishop, American Church
by Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak
Constantine Bohachevsky was not a typical bishop. On the eve of his unexpected nomination as bishop to the Ukrainian Catholics in America, in March 1924, the Vatican secretly whisked him from Warsaw to Rome to be ordained. He arrived in America that August to a bankrupt church and a hostile clergy. He stood his ground, and chose to live а simple missionary life. He eschewed public pomp, as did his immigrant congregations. He regularly visited his scattered churches. He fought a bitter fight for the independence of the church from outside interference – a kind of struggle between the Church and the state, absent both. He refashioned a failing immigrant church in America into a self-sustaining institution that half a century after his death could help resurrect the underground Catholic Church in Ukraine, which became the largest Eastern Catholic church today. This trailblazing biography, based on recently opened sources from the Vatican, Ukraine and the United States, brings the reader from the placid life of the married Catholic Ukrainian clergy in the Habsburg Empire to industrial America.
-
FictionKronosova žetev/The Harvest of Chronos
by Mojca Kumerdej
The Harvest of Chronos looks at Central Europe, the Inner Austrian lands, modern-day Slovenian territory, an area plagued by ceaseless battles for supremacy between the Protestant political elite and the ruling Catholic Habsburg Monarchy. The battles for supremacy are fought among the rulers and between the rulers and the people. In this epic saga, history and fiction intertwine in wavelike fashion, producing a colourful portrait of the Renaissance, permeated by humanist attempts to resurrect antiquity through art, new scientific findings, and spirited philosophical and theological debates. This was a time of intrigues, accusations of heresy, political betrayal and burnings at the stake, an age that produced executioners, scapegoats brought to the sacrificial altar in the name of God, the sovereign or the common good, and extraordinary individuals who were prepared to oppose the dominant beliefs of the masses and dared to believe in a new order.In a language that is deliciously rich and slightly elevated, at times deliberately archaic but always cheerfully contemporary and imbued with humour, the novel tackles superstition, false beliefs and selective memory as well as the questions of God, of being and of nothingness.
-
January 2022
Victim of History
Cardinal Mindszenty, a biography
by Margit Balogh
“Victim of history,” “a martyr from behind the Iron Curtain,” “the Hungarian Gandhi” – these are just some of the epithets which people used to describe Cardinal Mindszenty, archbishop of Esztergom, who was the last Hungarian prelate to use the title of prince primate. Today, Mindszenty has been forgotten in most countries except for Hungary, but when he died in 1975, he was known all over the world as a symbol of the struggle of the Catholic Church against communism. Cardinal Mindszenty held the post of archbishop of Esztergom from 1945 until 1974, but during this period of almost three decades he served barely four years in office. The political police arrested him on December 26, 1948, and the Budapest People’s Court subsequently sentenced him to life imprisonment. Based on the Stalinist practice of show trials, one of the accusations against Mindszenty, referring to his legitimist leanings, was his alleged attempt to re-establish Habsburg rule in Hungary. He regained freedom during the 1956 revolution but only for a few days. He was granted refuge by the US Embassy in Budapest between November 4, 1956 –September 28, 1971. In the fifteen years he spent at the American embassy enormous changes took place in the world while his personality remained frozen into the past. When in 1971 Pope Paul VI received the Hungarian foreign minister, he called Mindszenty “the victim of history”. His last years were spent free at last, but far away from his homeland. In Hungary, the Catholic believers eagerly await his beatification.
