A study of the historical development of the origins of ballet in Italy and France during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Specifically focuses on the ballet-comique de la reine and the ballet de cour.

No description available.

Revised Thesis (doctoral)--University of Oxford, 2004. / Foreign cultural models at the English royal court -- International events and musical exchanges -- Building a foreign musical establishment at the early Tudor court -- Anglo-continental relations in music manuscripts -- English music theory and the international traditions. Includes bibliographical references (p. [297]-315) and index.

Ugolino (c. 1380-1457) wrote one of the largest treatises on music theory in the first half of the fifteenth century. This work, the "Declaratio musicae disciplinae," is comprised of five books that cover everything a musician of the era would need to know, from plainchant to harmonic proportions, from musica practica to musica speculativa. However, the treatise has received contradictory interpretations by modern scholars, some viewing it as mainly practical, others as mainly theoretical. I argue that in Book 2, which deals with counterpoint, Ugolino crystallizes the relationship between theory and practice, while offering distinctive contrapuntal practices. Ugolino presents a unique view music's place in the structure of knowledge, one which is highly dependent on Aristotelian philosophy. He posits that music is a science and that it is a branch not of mathematics, as it had traditionally been categorized, but of natural philosophy. This viewpoint shapes the entire treatise and is evident in the book on counterpoint. There, he presents an Italian tradition of teaching counterpoint known as the "regola del grado." Ugolino is the first author to present this tradition entirely in Latin. In addition, he offers an unusual description of musica ficta. In it, he presents a diagram, the "duplex manus," that mixes together both musica recta and musica ficta. Ugolino's work suggests that theory and practice, although arranged hierarchically, need not be in conflict, and that a treatise such as his can be both eminently practical and highly theoretical.

No description available.

Because the Dallas Museum of Art has not compiled a catalogue of its graphic collection, the researcher has written a comprehensive catalogue of the museum's prints in conjunction with a history of printmaking from 1400 to 1700. The sources of data include observation of the prints plus catalogue raisonnés of major printmakers, and books and articles on printmaking. The thesis is organized as follows: a history of printmaking, which is divided into three chapters, Woodcut, Engraving, and Etching, and a catalogue which cites the pertinent data on each print. Gaps in the collection and recommendations for future acquisitions are discussed in the preface to the catalogue.

The thesis deals with masters of arts who lectured at the Prague faculty of arts or graduated from it in the years between 1437 and 1448. The work includes a reconstruction of the corps of masters for the period, their individual descriptions, and an analysis of the academic community, with special attention to the ties between masters and groups of masters.

L'attrait exercé par le Décaméron sur quelques grandes figures de l'humanisme (telles qu'Antonio Loschi, Leonardo Bruni, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Leon Battista Alberti, ou Bartolomeo Facio) et quelques représentants de second plan (par exemple Filippo Beroaldo, Benedetto Colucci, ou encore Francesco Tedaldi) a donné naissance au XVè siècle à un véritable corpus de récits originaux et de traductions latines de nouvelles isolées de Boccace, qui témoigne d'une fertilisation réciproque des cultures vernaculaire et humaniste. Dans le contexte du XVè siècle, marqué en ce qui concerne la littérature en langue vulgaire par l'ancrage de la nouvelle dans sa tradition populaire, le corpus humaniste se distingue par la volonté des auteurs d'élever le genre. Sur le plan stylistique, la prose latine, riche de réminiscences antiques, est appelée à rehausser l'écriture, tandis que sur le plan des contenus et des finalités, l'accentuation de la dimension historique et éducative des nouvelles doit ennoblir le genre. / During the 15th century, the attraction of the Decameron on both some of the most prominent figures of humanism (Antonio Loschi, Leonardo Bruni, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Leon Battista Alberti, or Bartolomeo Facio) and some lesser authors (such as Filippo Beroaldo, Benedetto Colucci, and Francesco Tedaldi) gave rise to a whole corpus of original stories and Latin translations of isolated short stories by Boccace, which testifies of the cross-fertilization at work between vernacular and humanist cultures. In the context of the 15th century, more particularly of 15h century literature written in the vernacular, which was marked by the propensity of short stories to be rooted in popular tradition, the humanist corpus is characterized by the willingness of its authors to bring the genre to a higher level. As regards the style, Latin prose, which is highly reminiscent of antiquity, is called on to elevate the writing, while from the point of view of the content and the goals to be reached, putting the stress on the historical and educational dimension of short stories is to ennoble the genre.

Sous l’égide de Cosme l’Ancien puis de Pierre le Goutteux et de Laurent le Magnifique, la Florence médicéenne entretient avec l’Orient, et l’empire ottoman en particulier, une relation toujours plus étroite et plus ambiguë au fil du XVème siècle : c’est tout ensemble le séduisant ennemi et le modèle redoutable, fascinant par son exotisme et sa puissance. Le sultan et son Orient attirent les Florentins, subjugués par la différence de culture et l’ampleur des possibilités commerciales que propose le monde ottoman. Où se situe donc Florence, entre volonté de se poser en gardienne de la chrétienté, donc fermement opposée à l’onde déferlante des janissaires, et attirance naturelle pour un pays riche et raffiné ? Quellesconséquences a la relation de la ville du lys avec le Grand Turc sur l’Europe du XVème siècle ? Ce travail se propose de donner un éclairage des liens qu’entretient Florence avec le monde oriental, chrétien ou mulsulman, tout au long du XVème siècle, de l’avènement de Cosme en 1434 jusqu’à la mort de son petit-fils Laurent en 1492 : suivant une parabole chronologique et suivant les aléas des relations culturelles et diplomatiques, selon une connaissance qui se fait plus directe, Florence se présente tour à tour comme le rempart des chrétiens orientaux menacés par l’expansion de l’empire de Mehmet II, puis comme leur patrie d’accueil ouverte à la leçon grecque et enfin comme l’alliée de ce puissant seigneur, dont toute l’Europe reconnaît de fait la puissance redoutable. / Under the rule of Cosimo the Elder then Piero the Gouty and Lorenzo the Magnificent, the Florence of the Medici throughout the fifteenth century maintained increasingly tighter and more ambiguous relationships with the Eastern Ottoman empire which appeared both an attractive enemy and a formidable model with its fascinating exoticism and power. The Turkish civilisation attracted the Florentines dazzled by the different culture and the huge commercial possibilities it offered. What was then the real position of Florence caught between its wish to stand as the bulwark of Christendom (and therefore staunchly opposed to the Eastern invasion) and its natural inclination for a rich, refined country? What was the impact of the links between Florence and the Oriental Empire on fifteenth century Europe? This study aims at explaining the relationships between Florence and the Oriental world from the coming into power of Cosimo in 1434 until the death of his grandson Lorenzo in 1492: according to the ups and downs of cultural and diplomatic relashionships, Florence appeared one moment as the protection of the Oriental Christians threatened by the expansion of Mehmet II’s empire and the next as an alternative to their mother country by integrating Greek elements and compromising with the Sultan’s power, to eventually become the unofficial ally of the powerful emperor feared by all European states. / Sotto il dominio di Cosimo il Vecchio, di Piero il Gottoso e di Lorenzo il Magnifico, la Firenze medicea mantiene con l’Oriente, e più particolarmente con l’impero ottomano, una relazione sempre più stretta e più ambigua lungo il XV secolo : è, nello stesso tempo, il nemico seducente e il modello terrificante, affascinante col suo esotismo e la sua potenza. Il Sultano e la sua civiltà attraggono i Fiorentini, soggiogati dalla differenza di cultura e dalle immense possibilità commerciali che il mondo ottomano propone. Come si situa dunque Firenze, tra la volontà di proporsi quale baluardo della cristianità, quindi saldamente opposta all’invasione dei gianizzeri, e il fascino naturale nei confronti di un paese ricco e raffinato ? Quali conseguenze avrà la relazione della città del giglio e del Gran Turco sull’Europa del Quattrocento ? Questo studio propone una messa in luce dei legami che Firenze mantenne con l’Oriente lungo tutto il XV secolo, ovvero dall’avento di Cosimo nel 1434 fino alla morte del nipote Lorenzo nel 1492 : seguendo una parabola cronologica e a seconda degli eventi culturali e diplomatici, con una conoscenza che diventa sempre più diretta, Firenze si atteggia prima come baluardo dei cristiani orientali minacciati dall’espansione dell’impero di Maometto II, quindi come un’alternativa alla loro patria d’origine con l’integrazione della lezione greca da una parte e dall’altra con l’affermazione della potenza del sultano, e infine come l’alleata inconfessabile di questo signore, la cui potenza è riverita in tutta Europa.

Drawing on the literatures of history, sociology, epidemiology, and microbiology, this thesis compares syphillis with human immunodeficiency virus, with special reference to the social and historical factors likely to be relevant to the control or eradication of acquired imune dificiency syndrom (AIDS). The sudden appearance of a new disease causing suffering and death in a community, engenders apprehension and fear which is often manifested as hysteria against, and vilification of, those who have the disease. This fear is greatly increased should the disease be sexually-transmitted. Syphilis in a venereal form, occured in Europe toward the end of the 15th Century. Initially it was an acute, fulminating disease which rapidly spread through Europe and Asia. Attempts to control the disease have gone through periods of either partial successes or massive failures and have ended in frustration for the authorities. When the syndrome of acquired immune deficiency (AIDS) was first reported, it was seen in Western countries in homosexual men. However, as non-homosexual community members and children became infected, it became apparent to authorities that a pandemic was accurring. Within a few years, the disease was identified worldwide. Isolation of the virus (HIV-1), and development of test for detection of carriers, plus restoration of clean blood and blood-product supplies, have reassured the community to some extent. The history of syphilis shows that neither the epidemiological medical, nor the economic political approaches to disease control work, although there are positive aspects resulting from both. It is social responses that will offer the most hope in the long term for the control of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.