En Kabylie, société de tradition patriarcale à domination masculine, les femmes ont recouru pendant des siècles à une multitude de pratiques détournées, décrites dans la littérature comme des « contre-pouvoirs » (Lacoste-Dujardin, 1985, 2008). À travers nombre de processus, elles semblent avoir de tout temps défié l’autorité dominante par le recours à des pratiques magiques, par une adaptation aux normes et valeurs de la société, mais surtout par la subtilité et la maîtrise de l’art de la parole. L’injure féminine, en tant qu’acte de langage, fait également partie des stratégies qu’utilisent les femmes kabyles afin d’exercer leur pouvoir de manière indirecte sur la société dominante, autrement dit, sur les hommes.La plupart des recherches qui se sont penchées sur la question de l’injure en Kabylie ont été menées par des anthropologues qui l’abordent dans son aspect ritualisé (Aït-Ferroukh, 1999 ; Rabia, 1988) ou par des linguistes dont les réflexions portent essentiellement sur le critère sémantique envisagé en rapport avec la vision du monde et la société (Mebtouche-Nejai 2012). Dans la perspective anthropologique qui m’intéresse, l’injure sera appréhendée comme un ensemble d’actes sociaux porteurs de conséquences (Laforêt et Vincent, 2004), plutôt que comme une catégorie de parole dépréciative, d’où la nécessité de prendre en compte sa valeur pragmatique dans la dimension du tort causé ou subi ou effet injure (Larguèche 1983, 1993, 2004, 2009) qui est nécessaire à sa compréhension.En m’appuyant sur les spécificités typologiques de l’injure féminine, je tenterai de montrer, dans une optique essentiellement pragmatique, comment dans une société à domination masculine où la parole est codifiée, l’injure, en tant que transgression langagière, permet aux femmes d’exercer leur pouvoir de manière indirecte. L’examen de ces procédés permettra de cerner les enjeux du pouvoir féminin et de voir dans quelle mesure l’injure peut être utilisée comme contre-pouvoir. / In Kabylia, a society with a male-domination patriarchal tradition, women have employed for many centuries a set of indirect practices, defined in the literature as « counter-powers » (Lacoste-Dujardin, 1985, 2008). Through several processes, they looked as they have always defied the dominant authority by exercising magical practices, adapting to the norms and values of society, but also, by their mastery and subtle use of the art of speech. Female term of abuse, as an act of language, is one of the strategies used by kabyle women to exert their power in an indirect manner on the dominant society, constituted by the men.Most of the research work that focused on the issue of insults in Kabylia has been conducted by anthropologists who analyzed it in its ritualized aspect (Aït-Ferroukh, 1999, Rabia, 1988) or by linguists whose reflections were conducted essentially on the semantic criterion in relation with the worldview and society (Mebtouche-Nejai, 2012). In the anthropological perspective that interests me, the insult will be apprehended as a set of social acts with consequences (Laforêt and Vincent, 2004), rather than as a category of deprecating speech, hence the need to take into account its pragmatic value in the dimension of the harm caused or suffered or the insulting effect (Larguèche, 1983, 1993, 2004, 2009) which is necessary for its comprehension.Based on the typological specifics of female insults, I will try to show, from an essentially pragmatic perspective, in a male-dominating society where the speech is codified, how the insult, as a linguistic transgression, allows women to exert their power indirectly. Examining these processes will help to identify the stakes of feminine power and to see at what extent the insult can be used as a counter-power.

The literature of Medieval Europe has been studied so extensively that there are a great number of academic contributions that can be analyzed by current and future generations. The purpose of this particular work is to examine this topic, but as it pertains to the Medieval Iberian Peninsula. The medieval age of Spain has been considered a period wrought with conflict and religious persecution throughout the confines of its borders. From the inception of the invasions of various European tribes into the Iberian Peninsula, the stage was set for a continual onset of conquest for many years to come. This conquest took place during the 800 years that the Muslims maintained control of the southern half of the Medieval Iberian Peninsula. Such an occupation was achieved by way of the Strait of Gibraltar in which a mixed force of Arabs and Moroccan Berbers overthrew the Visigothic kingdom, giving this Muslim power an unquestioned supremacy (O'Callaghan 1). In an effort to closely examine this period, this study analyzed Las jarchas, El cantar de mio Cid, and Las coplas por la muerte de su padre. The first two literary works written anonymously, the third by Jorge Manrique. With all three being key works from the Iberian Peninsula during the early part of the Middle Ages, the goal was to apply their principles to modern day culture. This work has interpreted in depth the code of honor and its use during the Middle Ages as a key element of its time, and has demonstrated that it is no longer followed as closely as it once was. It has supported the idea that although the Medieval Iberian Peninsula saw its conflicts, there was in fact a certain level of coexistence among the various religious groups sharing the peninsula. Along with these findings, this work presents the conclusion that although the distance in time is clear, it is important to analyze the literary works of the past in order to have a clearer image of what the life and culture may have been like for the individuals who lived and breathed when the Middle Ages was their present time.