Patrick Amory

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Patrick Amory (born 1965) is a historian and an executive in the recorded music industry.

Contents

Early life

Patrick Amory was born in New York City on July 10, 1965, to literary parents. His father, the late Hugh Amory, was noted as the most "rigorous" and "methodologically sophisticated" historian of the book in early America. [1] He attended the Commonwealth School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Academia

Patrick Amory graduated from Commonwealth School in Boston, gained a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard University where he founded the Record Hospital program on radio station WHRB. Amory subsequently earned an M. Phil. and Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in late antique and early medieval history and published People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554 (Cambridge University Press). Amory's book was considered an "illustration of the recent interest of historians in ethnogenesis" [2] and described as "brilliant and remorseless" [3] by Peter Brown. The book attempted to up-end the theory of the barbarian invasions and the fall of the Western Roman Empire, via a case-study of individual reactions in the province of Italy, a core region of the Mediterranean culture-province, during a period of intense political change. The main ideas of the book have met with mixed response, with historians such as Peter Heather objecting to some of its more radical theses. [4]

Music industry

In the mid-late 80s Amory ran the small independent record label Amory Arms which released a handful of records only including the first Lemonheads 7" 'Laughing All The Way To The Cleaners' in 1989 and Deathwish 'Tailgate' 7" in 1989 (recorded in 1983) which is now a now highly collectable Boston Hardcore record.

Amory had been active in independent rock since the 1980s, including stints as Rock Director and Program Director at WHRB-FM (Harvard's radio station). In 1994 he left academia to work as general manager of Matador Records, one of the premier independent rock record labels of the 1990s. Amory together with Gerard Cosloy and Chris Lombardi at Matador Records are credited with pursuing the preservation of artistic freedom while preserving a viable business model through "realistic success". [5] Amory has lived and worked in New York since 1994.

Works

Related Research Articles

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WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College. The station is owned by Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Harvard University.

Widin was the last attested Ostrogothic noble in Italy. After Teia's defeat at the hands of the Byzantine eunuch general Narses at the Battle of Mons Lactarius, south of present-day Naples, in October 552 or early 553, organized Ostrogothic resistance ended. Widin, however, was able to organize a Gothic revolt in northern Italy in 561. According to Paul the Deacon, Widin comes Gothorum and Amingus, a Frank, rebelled against Narses.

Gothic Christianity refers to the Christian religion of the Goths and sometimes the Gepids, Vandals, and Burgundians, who may have used the translation of the Bible into the Gothic language and shared common doctrines and practices.

Peter John Heather is a British historian of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Heather is Chair of the Medieval History Department and Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. He specialises in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Goths, on which he for decades has been considered the world's leading authority.

Ereleuva was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theoderic's father, Theodemir, although that Gelasius refers to her as regina ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir.

Record Hospital is the long-running underground music program on radio station WHRB in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1984, Record Hospital is run by the radio station's rock department and currently broadcasts on weeknights after classical music programming ends, running until the following morning when jazz programming begins. Staffed primarily by Harvard University undergraduates and alumni, Record Hospital serves the Boston area airwaves with an all-night punk and indie rock radio show with forays into noise and experimental music.

Eutharic Cilliga was an Ostrogothic prince from Iberia who, during the early 6th century, served as Roman Consul and "son in weapons" alongside the Byzantine emperor Justin I. He was the son-in-law and presumptive heir of the Ostrogoth king Theoderic the Great but died in AD 522 at the age of 42 before he could inherit Theoderic's title. Theoderic claimed that Eutharic was a descendant of the Gothic royal house of Amali and it was intended that his marriage to Theoderic's daughter Amalasuintha would unite the Gothic kingdoms, establish Theoderic's dynasty and further strengthen the Gothic hold over Italy.

Gennadius Avienus was an influential politician of the Western Roman Empire. He was consul in 450, alongside Valentinian III. In 452, he was an envoy to Attila; together with Pope Leo I and Trigetius he successfully negotiated a truce. He had a son and a daughter; his son would go on to be consul in 490.

Baduarius was a Byzantine general, active early in the reign of Justinian I in Scythia Minor.

Mataswintha, also spelled Matasuintha, Matasuentha, Mathesuentha, Matasvintha, or Matasuntha,, was a daughter of Eutharic and Amalasuintha. She was a sister of Athalaric, King of the Ostrogoths. Their maternal grandparents were Theodoric the Great and Audofleda.

Ascum was a general of the Byzantine Empire, active early in the reign of Justinian I. He was in command of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. His name is reported by John Malalas. Both Theophanes the Confessor and George Kedrenos render his name "Ακούμ" (Acum).

Chilbudius or Chilbuldius was a Byzantine general, holding the rank of magister militum per Thracias in the early 530s. He was apparently killed in battle c. 533, but an impostor claimed his identity c. 545–546. The only source for both men is Procopius.

Ragnaris was a Hunnic warlord who fought for the Ostrogoths in the final stages of the Gothic War against the Eastern Roman Empire. Procopius calls him a Goth, but the better informed Agathias records that he was of the Hunnic tribe of the Vittores or Vitgores.

Valaris

Valaris was a Gothic soldier who fought for the Ostrogoths against the Eastern Roman Empire in the Gothic War.

Coccas was an Eastern Roman soldier who deserted to the Ostrogoths during the final stages of the Gothic War. Procopius calls him "a Roman soldier" and "a man of the Gothic army". His name is not Germanic, and might be Thracian.

Asbadus was a Gepid leader fighting for the Eastern Roman Empire against the Ostrogoths in the final stages of the Gothic War.

Vacis was an Ostrogothic commander under King Witigis during the Graeco-Gothic War (535–554).

Uraias or Uraïas was an Ostrogothic general during the Gothic–Roman War of 535–540.

References

  1. (2005), Bibliography and the Book Trades (quoted from front flap) . (by Hugh Amory)
  2. (March 1998), History: Review of New Books . (by Sivan, Hagith)
  3. (Fall 2002), The Study of Elites in Late Antiquity . (Arethusa - Volume 33, Number 3, Fall 2000, pp. 321-346)
  4. The Ostrogoths From the Migration Period to the Sixth Century: An Ethnographic Perspective. 2007. Passim. Also reviewed here.
  5. (December 27, 2005), The Net Is a Boon for Indie Labels . (New York Times)