Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

1. General While flax and hemp were widely used for apparel from antiquity on, cotton came into use in central Europe in the High Middle Ages --initially, in the 16th century, as a component of a mixed fabric; then, from the 17th century, as pure cotton, it took its place alongside linen woven from flax. Sisal fiber derived from the Mexican agave was first imported from Yucatán in the first half of the 19th century and used in the manufacture of sacks and sails.Rolf Kießling 2. Flax Flax (Lat . linum usitatissimum) flourishes primarily in temperate climates with abundant rain. …

Fictionality (from Latin  fictio, “ invented literature”) is the defining characteristic of the category of texts that deal with invented characters, subjects, or events. The term indicates the pragmatic status of the language, in contrast to factual (unambiguous, referential) language - while the adjective fictive (as opposed to  real) refers to the ontological status of fictionality. [5]. Fictional language differs from everyday language in its lack of referentiality; in other words, none of its expression is based on components outside of the …

1. Definition and functionIn early modern times, a  fideicommissum was a special piece of property under private law created by a formal act of endowment that thereby became tied to a specific noble family in perpetuity and could neither be divided, alienated, or subject to collection for debt; it also became subject to specific rules of succession (Inheritance law) so that this family’s glory (Latin, splendor familiae) could be maintained [2]. This legal institution traced its roots back to the Roman Republic. In his will, the testator placed his trust in t…

See Lazaret

Figura serpentinata describes an ideal artistic figure: a stylized rotated body compared to a coiled snake, either at rest or in motion, ideally conceived as viewable from multiple perspectives [4]. Throughout the early modern era, theory of art (Art theory) treated this ideal figure, with its crucially close ties with mannerism, as one of the central ways to conceive of poise and motion. It was originally formulated by the art theorist Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo (1584) [2. 22–24], who compared the figura serpentinata to a flame and ascribed its invention to Michelange…

Figured bass is a kind of shorthand in musical technique that came into use in the 17th century, whereby only the bass line of harmonic accompaniment, performed on plucked or keyboard instruments, was written out (Notation, musical). The harmonic chords to be filled in above this bass line were improvised (Improvisation); these were built on standardized chord progressions or were indicated by a system of numbered intervals. In this system, a given triad usually required just one number. Around the year 1607, the two earliest schools of figured bass [1]; [2] designated special form…

Since the early 20th century, the historiography of music (Music, historiography of) has faced the same challenges as other cultural histories. Disciplines aimed at characterization of an historical style reflect on the abstract common distinguishing features of a canon of unknown works considered crucial for a specific epoch. Wilhelm Dilthey's Einleitung in die Geisteswissenschaften (Leipzig 1883, “Introduction to the Humanities”) presented a strong stance on this: he declared concentration on musical texts the only basis for historiography of…

See Sinology

The term filibuster derives from the Dutch word  vrijbuiter (“privateer”), which became French  flibustier, Spanish  filibustero and German  filibuster. Initially, this was the name for a specific type of privateer in the Caribbean context, but the scope of the term changed and expanded in the course of the 19th century. (In a second sense, the English  to filibuster denotes the deliberate holding up of a ballot, especially in the US Senate, by means of an exaggeratedly long speech.)In the parlance of Spanish colonialism, filibuster was a pejorative term for those who f…

See German Confederation | Vienna, Congress of

See Public finances | Urban administration

1. Conceptual framework The expression fine art (French  beaux-arts, German  schöne Künste) refers collectively to the various arts that “aim at the representation of beauty” and are thereby oriented toward the intellect or the  sense of beauty. These traditionally included the plastic arts (French  arts plastiques, German  bildenden Künste) - painting, sculpture (Sculpture [subtractive]), graphic arts, architecture, music, dance, and literature. In German, the term also covered theater and opera, and in English, eloquence (Rhetoric).Alongside this broad scope of re…

See Penalty | Penance

See Dechristianization

See Infinity

1. Definition and overview The control of fire is a cultural technique that, unlike the use of hands, language, tools, or communication, which are also available to animals, is unique to humans. It is thus unsurprising that fire holds a position of some importance in the mythological and philosophical systems of all cultures [7. 11]. In the tradition of European thought, fire was one of the four elements of which all things of the sublunar world (beneath the first planetary sphere) were composed. Called into question in the 17th century by Robert …

See Artillery | Weapon

See Elements

1. Combating and preventing fires Fires have always been feared events that threaten life and property, and during the Middle Ages and early modern period, especially in towns and cities (Town), entire quarters and districts, even whole towns fell victim to them because of the high density of buildings (Fire, town/city; Building code). Measures introduced by magistrates for combating and preventing fires were reflected in municipal fire regulations ( Feuerordnung) from the Late Middle Ages, and these were regularly added to through the early modern period. All …

1. Introduction Forest fires have a range of causes. They may be started by lightning strikes, by spontaneous ignition after long periods of drought, or by deliberate or accidental human influence, such as premeditated arson or slash-and-burn clearance (Shifting cultivation). One of the main problems of forest fires and forest clearance in particular is that the humus layer is generally destroyed in the process, with light ash easily dispersed by wind, rain, meltwaters, or avalanches [3. 463]. However, certain tree species, such as mountain pines, do apparently regen…