The creation of the city-commune in Pisa, Lucca, Siena, and Florence would have enormous ramifications for the future of the Europe. The institution of the commune is a more fundamental revolution than the establishment of the nation-state, and it will outlive the nation-state, in whose birth it played a significant part.
The other week I came across news reports of a crime that was apparently committed some years ago, but one that still captivates the mind.
This essay on George Garret appeared in a special volume of the Texas Review devoted to Garret.
With the death of Henry II (1024), the male line of the Saxon Emperors failed entirely. His successor Conrad II, was a Franconian or Salian Frank who traced his descent from the daughter of Otto I.
I once read somewhere that the tradition of Forgiveness Sunday, with which last week ended for the Orthodox, arose in Egypt, when monks bid their farewells to each other before leaving the safety of the monastery to wander in the desert for Great Lent. In Russian we still use the same word for “farewell” and “forgive.”
I enjoyed Randall Ivel’s article on William Goyen. The House of Breath is one of my favorite novels.
A Federal judge in Illinois has ruled that an illegal immigrant has the right to own and carry a firearm
Italian Medieval History could be read as a series of conflicts between the Empire (first Greek, then German) and the Republic of Saint Peter. Tuscany in general and its counts were caught in the middle.
We are honored to be able to publish this fine essay by Randall Ivey, well-known novelist and essayist, on the once-famous Texas writer, William Goyen.
