This thesis in two volumes is a study of the paintings of David ill Ryckaert (1612- 1661 ). Ryckaert grew up in a family of artists, and painted within a close community of fellow artists. According to several twentieth-century critics, Ryckaert was no more than a minor imitator of other Flemish painters. Underlying such relegation of Ryckaert is an uncritical and distinctly Modernist glorification of originality, or merely novelty. The chief argument of this thesis is that a careful reconstruction of the socio-cultural circumstances ofRyckaert's work calls into question the destructive employment of originality as a criterion of artistic greatness. Much of the vocabulary of Flemish art of the time was established. Artists thus proved their excellence both to fellow painters and a public fully conversant with the artistic traditions of subject and style, if such pictorial conventions were notably refmed or treated with a remarkable grace. Embracing the criteria of personal style and the beauty of the work, this environment is clearly averse to the blank veneration of new or original art. I argue that the term originality is itself dangerous therefore and that to neglect Ryckaert's work as that of a minor imitator is invalid and unhelpful. A careful examination of Ryckaert's known oeuvre reveals that his work is distinguished by a fine modelling, harmonious composition and a warm palette with colourful highlights. Although he relied on an established iconographic repertory, he maintained creative variation, thereby ensuring a steady demand. Ryckaert's imitation of other artists' work requires us to adjust twentieth-century criteria which tend to be pejorative of those who borrow from fellow artists. In fact Ryckaert could be said to have refmed his individuality as a painter through the testing creative encounter with and imitation of other artists. / Art / D.Litt. et Phil. (History of Art)

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My dissertation examines radical Protestant propaganda of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). It investigates the radicals’ depiction of foreign allies of the German Protestants as well as the presentation of German Catholic leaders in pamphlets and broadsheets of the war. Through analysis of representative sources portraying Prince Bethlen Gabor of Transylvania and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, it examines the arguments used to gain support for foreign Protestant figureheads among the moderates of the Protestant camp. The dissertation also investigates the presentation of Emperor Ferdinand II and Duke Maximilian of Bavaria in order to determine how propagandists denounced German Catholic rulers as no longer worthy of German Protestant allegiance or tolerance. My conclusion demonstrates how radical propagandists sought to change moderate Protestant attitudes towards German Catholic rulers and foreign allies through a cohesive and sophisticated campaign.

Alors que la parabole du Fils Prodigue fut un support aux vives controverses religieuses du XVIe siècle qui touchèrent Anvers, les productions artistiques (peintures, gravures, dessins) restituèrent une image plus consensuelle de cette histoire. Au lieu de matérialiser les nombreuses exégèses théologiques (contradictoires) sur le message du Christ, les artistes préférèrent puiser dans la culture profane (comme les pièces de théâtre) et mettre l’accent sur la scène de la dissipation avec les courtisanes ou insister sur des détails triviaux.Cette thèse étudie les nombreuses raisons qui les ont conduits à de tels choix (poids de la censure, recherche d’une vaste clientèle, flatterie du spectateur…) et analyse les choix de mise en scène, épisode par épisode. Elle démontre comment les ateliers d’artistes ont reproduit des formules répétitives ; comment les choix iconographiques favorisèrent tour à tour la méditation spirituelle, la délectation visuelle ou les pensées condescendantes envers autrui. / While the parable of the Prodigal Son was a support in the deep religious controversies which affected Antwerp during the 16th century, the artistic productions (paintings, prints and drawings) gave back a more consensual image of this history. Instead of representing the numerous contradictory theological exegeses about the message of Christ, the artists preferred to drawn their inspiration from profane culture (as plays) and to emphasize the scene of the waste with the courtesans or to insist on everyday and coarse details.This thesis studies the numerous reasons which led them to such choices (weight of censorship, search for a vast clientele, flattery of the spectator…) and analyses the choices of setting, episode by episode. It demonstrates how artist studios reproduced repetitive formulae and how the iconographic choices facilitated alternately the spiritual meditation, the visual enjoyment or the condescending thoughts to others.

The purpose of this thesis is to study the court narratives of serious crimes in the district courts of Jämtland-Härjedalen in the latter half of 17th century. This is done by studying the negotiated aspects of criminal court proceedings; how did stories of crime, guilt and character come together in the records to form narratives that became accepted truths by the local community and the authorities? Investigations of serious crime have been sampled from the collected records of five district courts in the period 1649–1700. These records have been analysed by identifying the different actors and voices of the narratives, the social stratification of the participants, their speech acts and how they were depicted by the court and by other participants. The analysis of the social stratification of accusers, defendants and witnesses shows evidence of a deeply hierarchical and patriarchal society: men and women of lower social status were not only grossly overrepresented as defendants in criminal investigations, they were also mostly excluded from participating as a witness. The inverse could be said about local elites and landed peasantry. Women were more often accused of crime, and while they were allowed to testify as witnesses, they were less so than men. The negotiation of the truth took place in three parallel and intersecting spheres of discourse, differing in what kind of questions were asked and what problems were being discussed between different categories of participants. The nature of crime was negotiated when accusers, defendants and witnesses debated the presented narratives; the accepted narrative of the crime was found by the assessment of the honesty of the individual participants, by considering their reputation and standing in the local community. While the word of the law was unrelenting and impossible to legally negotiate at the district court level, a kind of negotiation was done by the local community and sometimes also the district court taking the side of the defendant, pleading and petitioning the Royal High Court to find mercy for the convicted criminal.

Grâce aux concepts développés par l’histoire du genre et des femmes, ce mémoire cherche à jeter un regard nouveau sur le parcours de la courtisane libertine du XVIIe siècle Anne de Lenclos, surnommée Ninon. C’est que l’image qui a été véhiculée de Ninon depuis le XVIIIe siècle ne rend pas compte de la complexité du personnage : elle ne met l’accent que sur sa liberté sexuelle, ou au contraire, sur son intelligence et son rôle dans la vie littéraire du Grand Siècle. Une relecture de la correspondance de la courtisane et des documents notariés (actes économiques, testament et inventaire après-décès) la concernant permet cependant de mettre au jour le portrait d’une femme de tête bien différente de celle qui avait jusqu’alors été décrite, réussissant à concilier les transgressions qu’elle n’a cessé de commettre contre l’ordre établi jusqu’à la fin de sa vie à la réputation d’une salonnière admirée et respectée. / Thanks to the concepts developed by the gender history, this Master's thesis seeks to re-evaluate the life of the seventeenth century libertine courtesan Anne de Lenclos, known as Ninon. The courtesan’s image promoted since the eighteenth century doesn’t reveal the complexity of the character: it only focuses on Ninon’s sexual behaviours or on her intellectual abilities and her role in the literary life of the “Grand Siècle”. A new reading of the courtesan’s correspondence and notarial acts (economical acts, testament, post-mortem inventory) allows us to gain a new understanding of the figure of Ninon. Indeed, our research demonstrates how the courtesan succeeded conciliate transgressions against the established order with an admired and respected “salonnière” reputation.

Afin d’étudier l’influence de la migration sur l’alimentation à Montréal aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, 64 individus de la collection du cimetière Notre-Dame, daté de 1691 à 1796, ont fait l’objet d’analyses ostéologiques et isotopiques. Les analyses isotopiques ont portées sur le carbone (d13C) et l’azote (d15N) du collagène des os, ainsi que sur le d13C et l’oxygène (d18O) du carbonate de l’apatite des os et des dents (prémolaires et troisièmes molaires). Le d18O des dents a permis de définir approximativement trois régions d’origine (région de Montréal, région enrichie en 18O (i.e. Acadie, Louisiane, Nouvelle-Angleterre, France, Antilles et Afrique) et région appauvrie en 18O (intérieur des terres et plus au nord) pour 58 individus, et sept possibles parcours migratoire (N=27). Plus de la moitié de l’échantillon est composé d’individus possiblement natifs de Montréal (55 %). De plus, les résultats indiquent que les gens étaient peu mobiles avant l’âge de 16 ans. Toutefois, 12 individus ont entrepris des déplacements entre 7 et 16 ans, majoritairement d’un environnement enrichi vers Montréal (N=5) ou de Montréal vers une région appauvrie (N=5). L’âge de recrutement des mousses sur les navires, la traite de la fourrure, la coupe du bois et possiblement aussi l’esclavage pourraient expliquer cette « jeune » migration. Sur le plan alimentaire, les végétaux de type C3, la viande nourrie aux ressources C3 et le poisson faisaient partie du menu montréalais. Les plantes C4 (majoritairement maïs mais aussi sucre de canne [rhum]) étaient consommées en quantité variable. La question de l’influence de la migration sur l’alimentation n’a pu être explorée en profondeur en raison de contraintes liées à la contamination du d18O du carbonate des os. La combinaison des données ostéologiques et isotopiques à la distribution spatiale des sépultures, a permis d’étudier un aspect de l’archéologie funéraire à l’échelle individuelle (identité possible), sans toutefois fournir de résultats probants, à l’échelle du cimetière et de son organisation globale. / In order to study whether the migration had an influence on diet in Montréal during the 17th and 18th centuries, 64 human skeletons from Notre-Dame cemetery were used for osteological and isotopic analysis. The latter was carried on bone collagen (carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N)) and on carbonate apatite (d13C and oxygen (d18O)) from bone and tooth (premolars and third molars). d18O obtained on the two types of teeth revealed approximately three origins (Montréal, region enriched in 18O (i.e. Acadia, Louisiana, France, New England, Antilles and Africa) and region depleted in 18O (inland or northern territories)) for 58 persons. Seven possible mobility patterns were also proposed (N=27). More than half of the sample was born in Montreal (55%). It appears that people were often not mobile under the age of 16. However, 12 of the specimens migrated from an 18O enriched environment to Montréal (N=5) or from Montréal to a more 18O depleted area (N=5). The recruiting age of the French “mousses” on transatlantic ships, the fur trade, the wood industry and possibly the slavery could explain that migration at a young age. The diet included C3 plants, meat from animal fed on C3 plants and fish. People of Montreal consumed C4 resources (mostly maize, but sugar cane too as in rhum) in different proportions. We were unable to explore thoroughly whether the migration had an influence on diet due to biases related to the d18O of bone carbonate apatite. Combining data from different sources (osteology, isotopes and spatial organization of the cemetery) allowed us to address issues related to funerary archaeology on an individual level (possibly identity), without any concluding results on a broader level (organization of the cemetery).

En français contemporain, l’hésitation dans le choix entre être et avoir comme auxiliaire dans les formes verbale composées (par ex. le passé composé) de certains verbes intransitifs (par ex. tomber), surtout dans des variétés non standards du français, démonte clairement l’écart qui existe entre le français normé et le français oral quotidien. Cette hésitation, voire l’incertitude, dans le choix de l’auxiliaire n’est pas une particularité arbitraire ou aléatoire de la langue contemporaine; elle s’inscrit plutôt dans une tendance diachronique et pan-romane que l’on a pu observer dans la langue française depuis son émancipation du latin. Notre étude, qui se fonde sur la théorie de la grammaticalisation, propose une analyse du discours grammatical de 1500 – époque où sont apparues les premières grammaires du français – jusqu’à 1789 avec la Révolution française, signalant le moment où la langue se serait stabilisée et aurait adopté sa forme moderne. Nous divisons les trois siècles de notre étude en quatre périodes distinctes, déjà bien établies dans les études historiques. Ce sont : - Le XVIe siècle (1530-1599) - La première moitié de la période classique (1600-1650) - La deuxième moitié de la période classique (1651-1715) - Le Siècle des lumières (1716-1789) Pour chacune des quatre périodes, l’analyse se fait en trois temps. Premièrement, nous recensons les grammairiens, les lexicographes et les essayistes qui se sont prononcés, soit explicitement, soit implicitement, sur l’emploi des auxiliaires être et avoir dans les formes verbales composées (FVC). Nous identifions, là où cela est possible, le dialecte maternel de chaque auteur et son modèle d’usage. Deuxièmement, nous résumons les observations et les commentaires sur l’emploi des auxiliaires dans les FVC formulés par chaque auteur, y compris les tentatives d’explication quant à la variation dans le choix de l’auxiliaire. Finalement, nous rapportons la description de l’emploi des auxiliaires dans les FVC proposée par des historiens de la langue française pour la période en question. Notre étude nous permet de confirmer, en ce qui concerne les FVC, certaines tendances déjà reconnues dans la langue française et d’en identifier d’autres. Également, nous avons pu repérer, voire circonscrire des facteurs qui ont eu une influence sur le choix, tels les verbes plus sensibles à l’alternance, les grammairiens dont l’autorité s’est imposé plus que d’autres ou avant les autres dans l’établissement de la norme sur ce point, les contextes sociaux dans lesquels le débat a eu lieu et la période pendant laquelle les préoccupations sur ce choix était les plus intenses. / In contemporary French, the hesitation in the choice between être and avoir as an auxiliary verb in compound verb forms (i.e. the passé composé) of certain intransitive verbs (i.e. tomber), especially in non-standard varieties of French, clearly demonstrates the gap that exists between normative French and everyday spoken French. This hesitation, or uncertainty, in the choice of the auxiliary is not an arbitrary or random characteristics of contemporary French; it falls squarely within a diachronical and cross-Romance trend that can be observed in the French language since its emancipation from Latin. This study, which is based on Grammaticalisation Theory, is an analysis of grammatical discourse from 1500 - the era when the first grammars of French appeared - to 1789 and the French revolution, a period when the language is said to have been standardised and its modern form established. The three centuries that this study covers are divided into four distinct periods, already well established by previous historical studies. These periods are : - The 16th century (1530-1599) - The first half of the Classical Period (1600-1650) - The second half of the Classical Period (1651-1715) - The Enlightenment (1716-1789) For each of these four periods, there are three levels of analysis. First, we identify the grammarians, lexicographers and essayists who, explicitly or implicitly, express their views on the use of the auxiliaries avoir and être in compound verbs forms, as well as, where possible, their native dialect and the model of French (usage) they promote. Second, we summarize the observations and commentaries of each author on the choice of auxiliary in compound verb forms, including any attempts to explain the variation attested during the period. Finally, we look at the description, for each period, of the use of auxiliaries in compound verb forms put forward by historians of the French language. Our study has allowed us to confirm certain established trends related to auxiliary use in compound verb forms in French and to identify others. As well, we identify, or define, the factors that influence auxiliary selection, such as the verbs most likely to alternate between the two auxiliaries, the grammarians who had the greatest influence or who set the groundwork for establishing the norm for this grammatical point, the social contexts in which the grammatical debate took place and the periods during which the concern over auxiliary selection was the most intense.

This study examines the constructions and uses of the figure of Ovid in French writing of the second half of the seventeenth century, and explores how they were modulated by contemporary aesthetic and cultural concerns. As the influence of Ovid’s poetry made itself felt in various ways – in the mythopoeia of the Sun-King and the fashionable galant salons – interest in the story of Ovid’s life blossomed. This, I argue, was facilitated by new forms of ‘life-writing’, the nouvelle historique and histoire galante, and fuelled in unexpected ways by the escalating querelle des Anciens et des Modernes. Research has been done on the reception and influence of Ovid’s poetry in this period, but little attention has been paid to the figure of Ovid. This thesis offers a new perspective and, informed by recent renewed interest in life-writing, argues that analysis of biographical depictions is vital for establishing a coherent picture of the uses of Ovid in the ‘Grand Siècle’. I explore a diverse range of textual descriptions of Ovid (Vies; prefatory material attached to translations and editions of his work; correspondence; dialogues des morts; biographical dictionaries and historical novels), organized according to their different, though intersecting, ways of writing about this poet. He was constructed as a historical figure, an author, a fictional character and a ‘parallèle’ – a point of identification or contrast for contemporary writers. Through close analysis of a multi-authored corpus, this thesis identifies and examines two instances of paradox: though an ancient poet, Ovid became emblematic of 'Moderne' movements and was used to explore aspects of galanterie; and, though his creative work was mobilized in the service of royal propaganda, Ovid, as a figure for the exiled poet, was also used to express anxieties about the sway of power and the machinations and pitfalls of the world of the court.