There are many exercises included at the ends of chapters in Parts I and II of book. This appendix provides brief solutions or at least answers to most of these exercises.

Chapter 3 offers a double biography of Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) and Alexander von Humboldt (1767–1859) until the latter’s departure for the Americas, and does so for two reasons: Not only did the two brothers grow up together in an intimate fraternal relationship (with their father lost and their mother estranged), and did so despite differences in personality and interest, but Alexander also became a major resource through his own linguistic-ethnographic observations with Indigenous peoples of the Americas and as a liaison for resources from American contacts on his elder brother’s behalf. In short, Alexander served as the eyes and ears of William, who never crossed the Atlantic. On his return to Europe, Alexander then brought along major linguistic works for Wilhelm’s library. Over the years, the two Humboldts would grow even closer to each other, as evident in their organismic perspectives of language and nature.

Ancient historians regularly argue that the classical Athenians held sailors in much lower esteem than hoplites. They cite in support of this the extant funeral speech of Pericles. Certainly, this famous speech said a lot about courageous hoplites but next to nothing about sailors. Yet, it is also clear that this was not a typical example of the genre. Funeral speeches usually gave a fulsome account of Athenian military history. In rehearsing military history, funeral speeches always mentioned naval battles and recognised sailors as courageous. Old comedy and the other genres of public oratory depicted sailors in the same positive terms. All these non-elite genres assumed that a citizen fulfilled his martial duty by serving as either a sailor or a hoplite. They used a new definition of courage that both groups of combatants could easily meet. In tragedy, by contrast, characters and choruses used the hoplite extensively as a norm. In spite of this, tragedy still recognised Athens as a major seapower and could depict sailors as courageous. In Athenian democracy, speakers and playwrights had to articulate the viewpoint of non-elite citizens. Their works put beyond doubt that the Athenian people esteemed sailors as highly as hoplites.

Service-based leadership: This chapter explores the concept of political and religious leadership as articulated in Fatima’s sermon, emphasizing leadership for service rather than power. She warned against the ramifications of a power-driven leadership on Muslims’ well-being and resources. Fatima’s metaphor for servant leadership focuses on fostering care, safety, and justice and makes space for contributions of gendered and political minorities.

Cuthbert of Wearmouth-Jarrow wrote the wonderful letter giving a moving eye-witness account of the calm death of Bede in 735. He later became abbot of Wearmouth-Jarrow for many years, during which time he corresponded with Anglo-Saxon missionaries working in Germany. Here are included the complete work on the death of Bede and a letter from Cuthbert to Lul, written some thirty years later, in which he notes that he is sending Lul Bede’s prose and verse works on Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, and he asks for a skilled glassmaker as well as a cithara player to come to Northumbria to teach him to play.

The author reviews earlier chapters about the interpretation of the mandate and traditional concerns, concluding that some review and trimming is in order. He believes this is especially so on some matters pertaining to urban “other violence” and also irregular migration. He also believes ICRC “early recovery” programs need clearer limits and at present are not sustainable. The new president from fall 2022 seems open to some changes, which may include revisiting in some ways the nature of the Assembly. A pressing question will remain that of “localization” of the global humanitarian response, and whether Western-based, governed, and financed actors such as the ICRC should yield over time to more local actors when confronting humanitarian concerns. The author believes that, while the quest for a more democratic and less imperial global humanitarian system is good, many have overlooked the importance of what the ICRC has brought to the subject of humanitarian response, namely a reputation for neutrality and appropriate action in conflict situations. These trends are precisely why donors such as the World Bank have continued or even expanded their support for the organization. Similar to Mark Twain, reports of the demise of the ICRC are premature. But that does not mean that all is in order for this oldest of humanitarian actors.

This section contains examples of four wills made by members of the laity, both men and women, at the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth centuries. This is a genre of which many examples survive in local records and in episcopal registers. Here one can see the kind of things that people would leave to their relatives or to the poor, from domestic articles, often associated with their profession, and clothes, to sums of money.