Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-267).

L’usurpation politique sous l’Empire romain a fait l’objet d’approches historiographiques récentes et novatrices avec les travaux, notamment, d’Egon Flaig et de Joachim Szidat, au point d’occuper une place essentielle dans la définition du pouvoir impérial. Le travail ici mené se propose de faire une étude en deux temps de ce phénomène, qui exista avant d’être nommé tardivement (au IVè siècle). Une première partie se propose d’en étudier le vocabulaire riche et varié à travers l’examen de l’ensemble des sources disponibles considérées dans leur évolution chronologique afin de voir peu à peu émerger ce concept politique et d’en proposer une définition tenant compte de cette analyse philologique. La lecture des différents auteurs de la fin de la République et des premiers siècles de l’Empire, mais aussi des époques plus tardives, permettent de mettre en évidence la structuration de leur pensée politique du phénomène, tant dans le domaine des idées abstraites reprises de la philosophie grecque (Platon et Aristote), que dans le recours au mythe comme clé d’analyse (depuis Virgile jusqu’à Sénèque).A cette étude des mots et des idées succède une seconde partie qui se donne pour but d’appliquer la définition proposée dans la première partie à l’étude de la période du Haut-Empire. Les usurpations y sont recensées d’une façon exhaustive en prenant en compte non seulement celles qui eurent effectivement lieu (au demeurant peu nombreuses) mais aussi toutes celles qui firent l’objet d’un soupçon et d’une mise en accusation. Ainsi sont mis en valeur des types de profils de candidats, des scénarios de conquête du pouvoir et de légitimation de celui-ci, mais aussi des techniques de contrôle et de conservation du pouvoir de la part de ceux qui se présentent comme des détenteurs légitimes parce qu’ils prétendent incarner le consensus de tous les citoyens de l’Empire. L’usurpation se révèle alors comme étant un phénomène politique central dont la menace réapparaît chaque fois que ce consensus faiblit, et qui s’efface lorsque ce consensus est rétabli. Moteur de l’évolution politique, il est un moyen d’expérimenter des modèles de conquête et de conservation du pouvoir faisant office d'exempla, et dont la prise en compte permet de modifier quelque peu la périodisation par règne. / Political usurpation in the days of the Roman Empire has been the topic of many recent and innovative historiographical approaches, among which those of Egon Flaig and Joachim Szidat, to the point of becoming a defining feature of imperial power. This political phenomenon, whose existence preceedes its late denomination as « usurpatio » (during the IVth century AD) is what this present work will attempt to study in a two-step approach.The first step consists in studying the rich and varied vocabulary of usurpation through the examination of all available sources, which will be reviewed in chronological order, so as to observe the gradual emergence of this political concept and to offer a definition which takes this philological analysis into account. Besides, perusing the writings of various authors from the end of the Republic to the Principate era, as well as those from later centuries, will help bring to light the structuring of their political thought on the phenomenon, be it in the field of abstract ideas inspired from Greek classical philosophy (Plato and Aristotle) or in the use of myths as a key element of analysis (from Virgil to Seneca).The aim of the second part of this work is to apply the definition put forward in the first one to the study of the Principate era. The comprehensive list of usurpations you will find there takes into account not only those which actually happened (all in all a limited number) but also all those which fell under suspicion and resulted in an indictment. Consequently, candidate profiles start to emerge, as well as patterns of power conquest and the legitimation of it, but also techniques to control and hold that power by those who identify themselves as legitimate rulers, because they claim to embody the public consensus in the Empire.Therefore, usurpation seems to be a central political phenomenon which threatens to reappear every time that consensus is weakened, and disappears whenever it is restored. It fuels political development, it is a way of experimenting with different models of power conquest and the retainment of it. Taking it into consideration allows for a slight modification of the traditional periodising by reign.

Cette recherche s’inscrit dans une double démarche : restitution d’une cohérence globale à l’œuvre d’Ibn Qutayba et essai de définition de la littérature d’adab. Elle s’articule autour de la fonction auteur dans les 'Uyºn al-AÏbær, et dans ce type de textes, ainsi que de la fonction rhétorique de cet ouvrage qui l’apparente à un recueil d’exempla de l’Occident médiéval. La parenté des 'Uyºn al-AÏbær avec le genre de l’encyclopédie y est également abordée. Enrichie d’un éclairage comparatiste apporté par la littérature médiévale occidentale, la confrontation critique de ce texte avec les interprétations qui en ont été données est fondée sur l’analyse rhétorique et stylistique du prologue des 'Uyºn al-AÏbær, ainsi que sur la lecture transversale des introductions des trois ouvrages fondamentaux d’adab d’Ibn Qutayba, que sont l’Adab al-Kætib, les 'Uyºn al-AÏbær et les Ma'ærif. La traduction annotée des deux dernières citées accompagne cette recherche. / The objectives of this thesis were twofold : the first was to restore to the work of Ibn Qutayba its overall coherence ; with this primary objective in view, it was necessary to elucidate its literary context : adab literature.The analysis is conducted firstly in terms of the author-function both in the 'Uyûn al-Akhbâr and in texts similar to it, and secondly in terms of the rhetorical function wich allies it with the Medieval exempla collections of the Western tradition. Drawing on rhetorical and stylistic analysis of the Prologue of the 'Uyûn al-Akhbâr, as well as on a transversal reading of the introductions to the three primary adab works : the Adab al-Kâtib, the 'Uyûn al-Akhbâr and the Ma'ârif of Ibn Qutayba, it was possible to confront the original with critical interpretations of the work. Annotated translations of the introductions to two of these three sister works (the 'Uyûn al-Akhbâr and the Ma'ârif) accompany this study.

(anglicky) The main question of this thesis is whether the Christian church used stories containing monster beings with the aim of converting the Anglo-Saxon society to the new faith. This question is looked at through interpretative and content analysis of several Old English texts from the Nowell Codex. These are: the heroic-elegiac poem Béowulf, the travelogue The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle, the hagiographic text The Passion of St Christopher and the bestiary Liber Monstrorum, which is the only afore mentioned text not included in the Nowell Codex. The first chapter of this thesis provides a basic summary of the perception of monster beings from the prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. The next chapter analyses the role of the hero, nature and the distance of the British Isles from the centre of the World as perceived at the time. This chapter ends with the analysis of the pagan elements in the poem Béowulf. The last chapter focuses on the interpretations of monster beings in Christian settings and analyses the chosen Old English texts on a Christian interpretative level. The thesis arrives at the conclusion that the Church of the 6th to 10th century didn't use the motifs of various monsters on purpose. On the contrary, it seems that Germanic and Christian elements freely converged, and...

This thesis aims to discern whether cyclical history can be appropriately applied to the Ab Urbe Condita, and from these findings discern Livy's authorial implications for the contemporary political program. This process is conducted by analyzing exempla , as well as constructing a new definition of metus hostilis. Doing so allows for the detection of patterns, that when imprinted upon the existing formulaic model, examines whether the metus hostilis enhances the case for Livy writing the AUC with cyclical intent. Based on this analysis, the implications for contemporary Rome are clear in that the narrative insinuates the Augustan regime's necessity.

Zugl.: Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2005

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Though much has been made of Chaucer's saintly characters, relatively little has been made of Chaucer's approach to hagiography. While strictly speaking Chaucer produced only one true saint's life (the Second Nun's Tale), he was repeatedly intrigued and challenged by exemplary literature. The few studies of Chaucer's use of hagiography have tended to claim either his complete orthodoxy as hagiographer, or his outright parody of the genre. My study mediates the orthodoxy/parody split by viewing Chaucer as a serious, but self-conscious, hagiographer, one who experimented with the possibilities of exemplary narrative and explored the rhetorical tensions intrinsic to the genre, namely the tensions between transcendence and imminence, reverence and identification, and epideictic deliberative discourse.

Thèse de doctorat : ETUDES LATINES : Metz : 1998. / 1998METZ005L. 128 ref.

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