Tradition in the study of Beowulf has held that the discussion between Beowulf and Unferth regarding Beowulf’s victory over Breca concerns a swimming competition. However, some scholars have suggested that this section refers to a rowing or sailing adventure, due to some ambiguity in the language of the passage. Linguistic evidence for the rowing interpretation, mostly from the 1970's, is well-known but has been neither accepted by editors nor effectively countered by subsequent scholarship. By applying literary, dramatic and cultural theoretical principles to the two alternative explanations it became apparent that the rowing interpretation of the Breca episode is more appropriate within the literary and social context of Beowulf. This more-or-less ambiguous episode has been modified to fit Beowulf into a folk-tale ethos in which scholarship no longer admits it has a place. This nineteenth-century interpretation has now passed out of favour, but recent scholarship has remained committed a traditional interpretation of the Breca episode which now is clearly incongruous.

This master thesis constitutes a review of literature from a post-colonial perspective to analyze the current conflict in south Sudan between the ethnic groups, the Nuer and the Dinka. The method used in this work is qualitative, with elements of hermeneutics. The work is based on the theories of postcolonial theory and the ethnicity and assumes the thesis of the grooves of the colonial era are also found in south Sudan and in particular by the ethnic groups that today live in the country. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the role of the colonial times have been, in the question of how the ethnic pattern looks in today's south Sudan, but also find out how the emergence of the current conflict in the country can be seen as a colonial consequence. The result shows that colonialism had a major impact on the population in the southern region and by the policy, the oppression and the new ranking structures in south Sudan strengthened the hatred between the ethnic groups and the conflict between the Nuer and Dinka could live on.

This study centres on the biblical and theological work behind Dorothy L. Sayers' 12-part play-cycle, The Man Born to be King, aired on the BBC between 1941-42. Investigation begins by testing various unsubstantiated statements by biographers and scholars through a line-by-line analysis of the scripts, the results of which can be found in two large tables of information about how Sayers used each pericope in the Gospels (Appendix A) and a list of every known biblical reference within the play-cycle (Appendix C). Sayers' reported privileging of the Gospel of John gives way to evidence that Synoptic content outweighs Johannine by sheer bulk of material while preference is clearly given to stories that appear in both John and the Synoptics. Sayers' reported avoidance of the Authorized Version gives way to limited but consistent use of the AV for the narrator, for Old Testament quotations, and a special use of the Coverdale Psalms from the Book of Common Prayer. A study of Sayers' six secondary sources shows significant influence upon historic details and characterisation. By covering new ground through in-depth script and source analysis, these studies reveal, expand upon, and often contradict previous assumptions regarding Sayers' sources and working process. In the area of theological studies, investigation begins with Sayers' own claim that she had no original theology—that she merely re-stated the Church's teaching. First, Sayers' identity as an Anglo-Catholic is explored to understand what she means by ‘Catholic' and ‘the Church'. Having thus located Sayers within a particular tradition, Sayers' Christology (building upon her emphasis on the Creed) and Eschatology (building upon her chosen theme of the Kingship of Christ) within the plays are considered within their broader context of early twentieth-century Anglo-Catholic and wider theology. Sayers' theological originality is then proposed in relation to how she brought theology to life in dramatic form.

In Januarie 1914 het ‘n algehele industriële staking in die Unie van Suid-Afrika (SA) uitgebreek en die Unieverdedigingsmag (UVM) sou vir die eerste keer operasioneel aangewend word om die staking te onderdruk. Die Staande mag van die UVM was nog nie gereed om die staking op hul eie te onderdruk nie en gevolglik is die kommando’s van die Burgermagreserwes opgekommandeer vir diens. Probleme is dus destyds met die samestelling en organisasie van die UVM, as gevolg van die intergrasie van die verskillende militêre kulture, ondervind. Die Unieregering het op baie van die gewone burgers wat in die Anglo-Boereoorlog (ABO) in kommando’s geveg het, se ondersteuning en deelname om die staking te onderdruk, staatgemaak. Die tradisionele kommandostelsel van die voormalige Boererepublieke sou dus vlugtig tydens die 1914-staking herleef. Die Afrikaner het as gevolg van verskeie redes op kommando gegaan om die staking te help onderdruk. Die groeiende gees van nasionalisme onder die Afrikaner kon ook tydens die staking waargeneem word en sou tesame met die suksesvolle aanwending van die kommando’s tydens Januarie 1914 bydra tot die Rebellie later die jaar. Die politieke, ekonomiese en sosio-maatskaplike omstandighede van destyds het tot die nywerheidstaking van Januarie 1914 bygedra. Die rol wat die vakbonde en mynbedryf in die tydperk voor die Eerste Wêreldoorlog gespeel het, het ook bygedra tot die staking. Die ervaringe en omstandighede van die kommandolede tydens ontplooiing in Januarie 1914 is ‘n belangrike aspek van die sosiale militêre geskiedskrywing in SA. Onderwerpe soos, mobilisasie, voorrade, vervoer, dissipline, asook demobilisasie en kompensasie werp dus lig op die ervaringe en omstandighede van gewone burgers op kommandodiens tydens die staking. Die aanwending van die kommando’s tydens die 1914-staking het uiteenlopende reaksies van die verskillende groepe in die gemeenskap tot gevolg gehad. Die betrokkenheid van ander rolspelers, soos swart mense en vrouens, tydens die staking was gering, dog belangrik vir die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis. Copyright / Dissertation (MHCS)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted

In her lifetime Jacoba Elizabeth (Nonnie) de la Rey, née Greeff (1856-1923) was widely known not only for being the wife of the eminent General Koos de la Rey, but also for her exceptional tenacity during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). From December 1900 to the conclusion of the war in May 1902 she and her children lived a nomadic life. Nonnie's experiences were recorded in her memoirs, Mijne omzwervingen en beproevingen gedurende den oorlog, which were published in Amsterdam in 1903. Shortly thereafter – also in 1903 – the English edition, A Woman's Wanderings and Trials During the Anglo-Boer War, as translated by Lucy Hotz, was published in Londen. The 18 months that Nonnie spent wandering through the country probably constitute the most important phase of her life, but she experienced a great deal more, which she recorded in another memoir. Her childhood and pioneer's life are well documented. At the age of eighteen Nonnie met Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey; they were married on 24 October 1876 and settled in the vicinity of Lichtenburg. The period from 1880 to 1899 constitute a kaleidoscope of events in Nonnie's life, for example the First Anglo-Boer War (1880-1881), the loss of Nonnie's father and mother, and a move to the farm Elandsfontein. The South African War broke out in 1899. Nonnie's life during the war years can be divided into two phases, namely the period when she lived in Lichtenburg (October 1899 to November 1900), and the period characterised as her wandering years (December 1900 to May 1902). Events in Nonnie de la Rey's life from 1902 to 1923 include their official visit to Europe, the restoration of Elandsfontein, Union (1910) and Koos de la Rey's political involvement, the Rebellion of 1914 and the death of Koos de la Rey. In her final years Nonnie was involved with various organisations. She was an eminent presence in her community, being revered as a “volksmoeder” by her compatriots. She died in 1923. / Dissertation (MHCS)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted

This study describes the verse design of Old English poetry in terms of modern phonological theory, developing an analysis which allows all OE verse lines to be described in terms of single metrical design. Old English poetry is typified by a single type of line of variable length, characterised by four metrical peaks. The variation evident in the lengths of OE metrical units has caused previous models to overgenerate acceptable verse forms or to develop complex typologies of dozens of acceptable forms. In this study, Metrical phonology and Optimality theory are used to highlight some aspects of the relationship between syntax, phonology and verse metrics in determining how sentences and phrases interact with the verse structure to create variation. The main part of the study is a metrical model based on the results of a corpus analysis. The corpus is centred on the OE poems Genesis and Andreas, complemented by selected shorter poems. A template of a prototypical line is described based on a verse foot which contains three vocalic moras, and which can vary between 2 and 4 vocalic moras distributed across 1 to 4 syllables. Each standard line is shown to consist of four of these verse feet, leading to a line length which can vary between 8 and 16 vocalic moras. It is shown that the limited variation within the length of the verse foot causes the greater variation in the length of lines. The rare, longer ‘hypermetric’ line is also accounted for with a modified analysis. The study disentangles the verse foot, which is an abstract metrical structure, from the prosodic word, which is a phonological object upon which the verse foot is based, and with which it is often congruent. Separate sets of constraints are elaborated for creating prosodic words in OE, and for fitting them into verse feet and lines. The metrical model developed as a result of this analysis is supported by three smaller focused studies. The constraints for creating prosodic words are defended with reference to compounds and derivational nouns, and are supported by a smaller study focusing on the metrical realisation of non-Germanic personal names in OE verse. Names of biblical origin are often longer than the OE prosodic word can accommodate. The supporting study on non-Germanic names demonstrates how long words with no obvious internal morphology in OE are adapted first to OE prosody and then to the verse structure. The solution for the metrical realisation of these names is shown to be patterned on derivational nouns. The supporting study on compound numerals describes how phrases longer than a verse are accommodated by the verse design. It is shown that compound numerals, which consist of two or more numeral words (e.g. 777 – seofonhund and seofon and hundseofontig) are habitually rearranged within the text to meet the requirements of verse length and alliteration. A further supporting study discusses the difference between the line length constraints controlling OE verse design and those for Old Norse and Old Saxon verse. Previous studies have often conflated these three closely related traditions into a single system. It is shown that despite their common characteristics, the verse design described in this study applies to all OE verse, but not to ON or OS.

While many riddles exist in the Anglo-Saxon Exeter Book containing female characters, both as actual human females and personified objects and aspects of nature, few scholars have discussed how the anthropomorphized “females” of the riddles challenge and broaden more conventional portrayals of what it meant to be “female” in Anglo-Saxon literature. True understanding of these riddles, however, comes only with this broader view of female, a view including a mixture of ferocity and nobility of purpose and character very reminiscent of the valkyrie (OE wælcyrige), a figure mentioned only slightly in Anglo-Saxon literature, but one who deserves more prominence, particularly when evaluating the riddles of the Exeter Book and two poems textually close to the riddles, The Wife's Lament and Wulf and Eadwacer, the only two poems with a female voice in the entire Old English corpus. Riddles represent culture from a unique angle. Because of their heavy dependence upon metaphor as a vehicle or disguise for the true subject of the riddle, the poet must employ a metaphor with similar characteristics to the true riddle subject, or the tenor of the riddle. As the riddle progresses, similarities between the vehicle and the tenor are listed for the reader. Within these similarities lie the common ground between the two objects, but the riddle changes course at some point and presents a characteristic the vehicle and tenor do not have in common, which creates a gap. This gap of similarities must be wide enough for the true solution to appear, but not so wide so that the reader cannot hope to solve the mental puzzle. Because many of the riddles of the Exeter Book involve women and portrayal of objects as “female,” it is important to analyze the use of “female” as a vehicle to see what similarities arise.

The void in available literature pertaining to the origin of the official architecture of the 'Publieke Werken Departement' in the 'Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek', the destruction of the Department by the Anglo Boer-War and the subsequent reconstruction of the Department as the Public Works Department of the Transvaal Colony, is addressed. A new perspective is set regarding the architectural data of the period, by analysis of the cultural doctrine of the different departments. The history of the Department is divided into four periods. The first deals with the era from the establishment of the Department in 1877, until the appointment of Sytze Wierda. The second incorporates the time from 1887 with his engagement up to the outbreak of the Anglo Boer-War in 1899. This period is generally seen as the golden age of Transvaal Republican architecture. The third relates the effect of the war on the Department and the architects while the fourth deals with the colonial time from the annexation of Pretoria in 1900, until Unification in 1910. The structure and work procedure of each department are examined to derive an image of the type of training the architects had undergone and a survey is made of what can be found of the original libraries of the departments. Specific careers are investigated. In this context, buildings are chosen from the researched lists, to be examined. The designated buildings are regarded as documents, and are analized with regard to cultural doctrine and business stance. The first period produced pragmatic thatched buildings. During the second phase, Wierda attained the embodiment of cultural doctrine in architecture, rising above mere utility in building. He strived to create a sophisticated, ideal townscape for the Z.A.R. Continuity was lacking, however, as the Department was at first brought to a standstill, and then wiped out by the war. During the fourth phase, the British Colonial Department brought about specialization of architects as quantity surveyors, engineers and architects. At first, only utility buildings were designed by the Department while prestige projects were given to private architectural firms. / Thesis (PhD (Architecture))--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Architecture / unrestricted

American military plans for a war with the British Empire, first discussed in 1919, have received varied treatment since their declassification. the most common theme among historians in their appraisals of WAR PLAN RED is that of an oddity. Lack of a detailed study of Anglo-American relations in the immediate post-First World War years makes a right understanding of the difficult relationship between the United States and Britain after the War problematic. As a result of divergent aims and policies, the United States and Great Britain did not find the diplomatic and social unity so many on both sides of the Atlantic aspired to during and immediately after the First World War. Instead, United States’ civil and military organizations came to see the British Empire as a fierce and potentially dangerous rival, worthy of suspicion, and planned accordingly. Less than a year after the end of the War, internal debates and notes discussed and circulated between the most influential members of the United States Government, coalesced around a premise that became the rationale for WAR PLAN RED. Ample evidence reveals that contrary to the common narrative of “Anglo-American” and “Atlanticist” historians of the past century, the First World War did not forge a new union of spirit between the English-speaking nations. the experiences of the War, instead, engendered American antipathy for the British Empire. Economic and military advisers feared that the British might use their naval power to check American expansion, as they believed it did during the then recent conflict. the first full year of peace witnessed the beginnings of what became WAR PLAN RED. the foundational elements of America’s war plan against the British Empire emerged in reaction to the events of the day. Planners saw Britain as a potentially hostile nation, which might regard the United States’ rise in strength as a threatening challenge to Britain’s historic economic and maritime supremacy.

With the recent rise in interest in critical readings of our history, scholars have begun noticing that historical documents such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle may have functioned as propaganda (e.g., Yorke, 2006; Konshuh, 2020). The present study examines how Britons (i.e., Brythonic-Celtic-speaking people) are discursively represented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The aim of the study is twofold. First, drawing upon theories from Role and Reference Grammar (RRG, e.g., Van Valin, 1993), this study applies the notion of thematic roles to investigate what roles Britons may take as arguments in the Chronicle. Secondly, the study takes a socio-cognitive approach to discourse (e.g., van Dijk, 2017), conceptualizing arguments and the roles they take as corresponding to the Anglo-Saxons’ shared mental representations of the referents. The results show Britons are construed mainly as passive, often taking the roles of Theme or Patient as they are fought, slain and put to flight. When taking an Agent role, Britons are mostly performing actions related to fear caused by the Anglo-Saxons.  Based on this, it was concluded that the Britons are construed as a cowardly and rather anonymous group, whom the Anglo-Saxons have all the right to eradicate. The portrayal of Britons in the Chronicle furthermore resembles portrayals of other colonized peoples, and it appears that strategies observed in orientalist discourses may have parallels in medieval English discourses.  Moreover, the results provide linguistic empirical evidence for what previous research in history has indicated: that the Anglo-Saxons used opposing groups as part of their narrative in which they were the rightful rulers of Britain (Yorke, 2006; Konshuh, 2020).