Neither Letters nor Swimming - The Rebirth of Swimming and Free-diving/Ни письма, ни плавания. Возрождение плавания и фридайвинга

Издание на английском языке
The book explores the development of swimming and underwater diving from antiquity to the Renaissance, describing their cultural, military and scientific significance. The author discusses myths, legends, training and diving techniques, emphasizing the role of human skill and the art of swimming in history.

Content
Preface
List of Figures
Introduction
1. The Classical Notion of an Art
2. The Classical Proverb
3. Classical Clues for Swimming as an Art
Part 1. Ancient Legacy
1. The Art of Swimming: Rationale and Training
1. The Age for Learning to Swim
2. Swimming Technology
3. Swimming and the Natural Environment
4. Swim Strokes
5. Learning to Swim
2. The Art of Swimming in Practice
1. Rescuers
2 The Further Benefits of Swimming
3. Swimming for Pay
3. The Profession of Free-Diving: Rationale and Training
1. Free-Diving as Metaphor
2. Terminology and Labor Organization
3. Training and Gender
4. Free-Diving to Earn a Living
1. Diving for Sponges
2. Diving for Other Marine Species
3. Underwater Mining and Salvage
4. Building Activities (Villas/Ports/Bridges)
5. Military Diving and Swimming: The Open Seas
1. Free-Diving for Military Purposes
2. Swimming for Military Purposes
3. Organized Rescue
4. Self-Rescue
5. Technological Aids
6. From the Open Seas to Rivers and Lakes
1. Greek Mercenaries in Persia
2. A Contrast: Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar
3. The Macedonians and Rome's Militarization
4. Swimming Enemies
5. The Batavi as Supreme Swimming Auxiliaries
6. Swimming Heroes Battle River Gods
7. The End of the Ancient Tradition and Nonnus of Panopolis
1. Vegetius on Training
2. Late Antique Poets and Historians on Military Swimming
3. A Shift in Mood: Ausonius and Erotic Aquatics
4. Nonnus and the Celebration of Erotic Aquatics
5. Hero and Leander on Stage and in Epyllion
6. Nonnus bis: Literary Evidence for Free-Diving
Part 2. Medieval Impoverishment
8. Legendary Aquatic Feats of the Middle Ages
1. Swimming and Diving in the Early Middle Ages
2. Aquatic Feats of the Heroes of Sagas and Epic
3. Free-Diving Heroes of Medieval Legend
4. Swimming and Free-Diving in Northern European Histories
9. The Medieval Profession of Free-Diving
1. Medieval Salvage Diving in Law and Practice
2. Free-Diving for Pearls in the Middle Ages
3. Free-Diving for Coral in the Middle Ages
4. Dante's Free-Diver Simile
Part 3. The Renaissance Conceptualization of Swimming and Free-Diving
10. Erasmus, Nicolas Wynman, and the First Art of Swimming
1. The Intuition: Italian Treatises on Education in the Humanities
2. The Imprimatur: The Adages of Erasmus
3. The Innovator: Wynman's Latin Dialogue on How to Swim
11. A Cambridge Don Tackles Swimming
1. Digby's Dedication to Richard Wortley
2. Why: Digby's Rationale for Swimming as an Art
3. When and Where
4. How: Entries, Strokes, and Rotation
5. How: Methods of Turning Around
6. How: Fun Things to Do (Festivitates)
7. Head-First Diving and Free-Diving (Urinatio)
8. Novelty and Survival
12. Scholars and Engineers Contribute
1. Swimming as Ideal and Metaphor
2. Renaissance Engineers and Swimming
3. Renaissance Engineers and Diving
13. Diving in the Renaissance
1. Traditional Tasks
2. Renaissance Origins of Archaeological Diving
3. Science, Mathematics, and Italian Salvage Companies
4. Globalization
Conclusion
1. Proverbial Ignorance in the Classical World
2. The Legacy of Antiquity
3. The Middle Ages: Legendary Swimmers
4. The Rebirth of Swimming
5. The Impact on Free-Diving
Appendices
Bibliography
Index