Between ] 922-] 940 the Italian government sought to win over to Fascism the Ital ian communities abroad. These communities, it was hoped, would playa part in extending the influence of Italy under the Fascist regime, and were to be used as a tool for the expansion of the Fascist ideal. Through the establishment and use offasci abroad and the development of Italian schools, youth groups and centres of community activity, the Ital ian government sought to "fascistize" the Italian colonies, and to persuade the already patriotic community institutions that Fascism and ltalianita were synonymous. Through the use of a range of documents, and particularly through the testimony of 130 witnesses from three different Italian communities, Manchester, Glasgow and London, this thesis analyses the impact of the approaches of the Italian government on the Italian community in Britain. This thesis explores the experience of Fascism for British-Italians and examines the basis and extent of their response to it. Through a study of membership patterns of the fascia and the youth movements; through an assessment of community participation in fascia activities, and through an assessment of the interviewees memories of their own and their parents' responses to, and memories of, Fascism, this thesis will demonstrate the limits of the success of the Italian government in securing the allegiance of Italians in Britain. It will demonstrate that despite the apparent success of the fascia in securing hegemonic control of virtually all the community institutions (certainly in London and Glasgow), and in securing the participation of large sections of the community to events and organisations under its auspices, a great proportion of the British-Italian community was untouched and unconvinced by the rhetoric of Fascism. Furthermore, it will demonstrate that amongst those who came to a support of Fascism, in sentiment or membership, this support. amongst the great majority, was limited and conditional.

The main subject of the Thesis is the unedited work of Domenico di Bardino the De Viris Claris. Domenico was born in krezzo about 1335, and this work, which is a great diction-try of world-biography embracing lives of famous men of every type and brofession, forms part of Domenicois enormous encyclopaedia, "The Pons Memorabilium üniversi", and may well have been intended as its epitome. The object of the research was to examine the lives of famoue men at a point of parti. ular interest - the early Penaissance in It-ly - and through thr cork of a representativA humanist. A life of Domenico is therefore given, and the influences which shaped his t, oint of view noted; there is a description of his life work, the Fons, and this is related to the encyc.. ct, &fdic tradition. Tho pxtant copies of the MSS. vary greatly in content, and airferences are described, ana reasous given for supposing that some parts may tie the work of his son. The contents ox ttie De viril Claris is aerined, is svu. rces eaamined, and the whole relatea uo +n. e zraaition of such works; finis is sappienented by an analysis of the text, an index of sources, and extracts from those biographies containing original material. Finally an attempt has been made to asses the importance of the authors achievement in assimilating the new learning, and the contribution he made to the recovery of classical learning.

The thesis is concerned with the later stages of Christianisation of Scandinavia, following the missionary period, when the church was consolidated and given secure foundations for worship and pastoral care, including the building and equipment of thousands of local churches, and the creation of a lasting diocesan structure. It argues that the German influence during this period, while often taken for granted, deserves to be investigated in more detail, and has been underplayed in recent scholarship. It is divided into five chapters, the first three more general in scope, concerned with the whole of Scandinavia, the last two more specific studies organised according to geographical area. Chapter one is introductory. Chapter two considers in general and comparative terms the importance of liturgy and books in the process of Scandinavian Christianisation. Chapter three is a consideration of the German interest in Scandinavia as it developed from the eleventh to the twelfth century, first in secular terms, second in religious terms, including a discussion of the clergy with German affiliations who held office in Scandinavia. It also includes an investigation of the clerical ideals of the principal narrative primary source to the period, Adam of Bremen's History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen. Chapters four and five deal with questions of the introduction of German liturgy and German books into the churches of Denmark and Sweden respectively. They consist of, first, a discussion of interaction with German centres during the formation of a library and a liturgical identity in the first Danish metropolitan cathedral, St Lawrence's cathedral in Lund; second, a discussion of a surprisingly large corpus of breviary fragments (the liturgical book for the celebration of the divine office par excellence in the later middle ages, but often considered relatively uncommon in twelfth-century Europe) from a poor area in southern Sweden

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This thesis examines the organication of defence in the towns of southern Fn6noe during the Mmdred Years Wart and contributes to the debate on the part played by the non-oombatant civilian population in late-medieval warfare* The constructionj maintenanceg funding and architecture of the fortifioational which were at the centre of the defensive effortp are dealt with extensively# although equal emphasis is placed on the bv=-ai aspectal on the obligations of guett arrilra! -ýuetp gardeq corvess and service in the militia$ incumbent on every citizen* The wartime government of towns by consuls and syndiosp complemented in some cases by special war committeeal and the often uneasy relationship between the Munioipality and its seigneurl the kinge the kingle officers and other towns and villages in the area# form an important part of the study* The broad chronological limits are 1337 and 1453t although the greatest attention has been paid to the thirty years after 13559 which were the most crucial of the war in the Midi* The impression emerges that$ for all its flawst town defence was in most instances efficiently and conscientiously organised, and the larger conclusion drawn is thatp while there were limits to the ability of the towns to protect themselves against the garrison warfare of the 137013 and -80st the greater preparedness of the towns of Ianguedoo in the later fourteenth ýentury probably discouraged the D2gliah from attempting again the kind of chevauchGe undertaken by the Prince of Wales in 1355.

The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamics of perceptions of Germanness during the last hundred years, from a Swedish and an American perspective, and how time and distance affect ethnic identity, as experienced from without and within. Field research was undertaken in two places during a year: Milwaukee in Wisconsin, United States and Sweden as a whole. These two choices were considered as good examples of different connections to Germany and Germans, and influences of Germanness, and constituted a relevant comparison. The material was collected through participant observation, interviews, archive material such as personal documents and old newspapers. The research was explorative through empirical methods, and the data collected is of qualitative character. This thesis has brought out some interesting and important aspects of identity, and more specifically about perceiving Germanness. Perceptions have emerged in both static images, and dynamic processes of events or developments in history. The world wars caused damage to German identity, especially the First World War to Germanness in America. The Second World War, and especially the Holocaust, has had a great effect in both countries. But also less dramatic events influenced perceptions of Germanness. At the same time as perceptions have changed completely due to certain events, there have been parallel perceptions upheld by different groups in society. Many of the stereotyped ideas of Germanness have been the same during the last hundred years, and changes in perceptions have often stayed within similar categories. Certain events or processes have made it difficult to be German at times, but expressing ethnic identity also depends on social developments such as multiculturalism.

This thesis is a social and cultural history of pet keeping across Western Europe in the late medieval period (and the early modern period where relevant). A central argument is that women and clerics were the majority of pet keepers in the period, and a change towards the acceptability of pet keeping by secular lay men was due to the influence of humanist scholars, who kept pets and eulogised them in their literary compositions. Topics discussed in depth are the display of status through pet keeping, practicalities of pet keeping (such as care and food), the place of the pet in space, especially in domestic interiors, social tolerance towards pets and contemporary criticism of the practice, pet keeping by scholars and elegies written in praise of pets. I end with a discussion of pet keeping at court in the early modem period, concentrating on a case study of pets at the Mantuan court.

This thesis investigates the reconstruction of German cities under British occupation between 1945 and 1949. During this period of political instability, economic crisis, material want and social rupture, German politicians, planners and city inhabitants slowly began to rebuild their cities and their lives and in the process transformed cities of rubble into viable, modern living spaces. The thesis argues that the British occupation had a much greater influence over this process of German urban reconstruction than is generally perceived. In support of this argument three key arenas of British Control Commission policy are analysed: housing, the revival of the building industries, and town and country planning. The core of the thesis is a comparative study of two reconstructing cities in the British Zone, Cologne and Kiel, and considers the influence of their history, geographical location, place within their wider regional network and existing urban resource base on the direction of their reconstruction. By analysing examples of negotiations over urban planning and reconstruction, the author examines how dominant discourses in Britain shaped the approach of British occupiers to the German city. Furthermore, the author considers how British policies were contested and negotiated by German planners and municipal governments, as they struggled to find new, viable economic bases and identities for their devastated cities. Finally, the research considers how occupation, memory and history interact in the construction of city identities, and exposes how these identities take physical form and become crucial stakes in determining the future of particular areas, neighbourhoods and districts. The thesis concludes that postwar developments in German cities can only be understood through a detailed study of the interaction between occupation policies and German designed plans for reconstruction.

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No description available.