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The improvvisatore tradition in Florence Italy during the second half of the quattrocento featured poet-musicians who sang poetry for music (poesia per musica) accompanied by the lira (da braccio). This thesis researches Florentine literati and threads of humanism in relation to poetry written for music. By doing so, philosophical and literary trends are analyzed in relation to the Florentine improvvisatore style: frottola versification forms and divinus furor. Marsilio Ficino’s (1433-1499) direction at the Platonic Academy (founded c. 1463) outside Florence in the hills of Carregi influenced some of the greatest artists and musicians of his time. This thesis focuses on lyric improvisation as a means of connecting mind and body with the universe. In doing so, Ficino’s music-spirit-theory and astrological program are looked at in light of the Platonic sources. The instrument of the improvvisatore, the lira, will be analyzed in relation to affect (ethos) and wellness for mind (soul) and body

ix, 115 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Friar Bernardino de Sahagún's Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva Espana, more commonly known as the Florentine Codex, begun in 1558, is arguably the most comprehensive source of information concerning the pre-colonial and colonial indigenous cultures of New Spain. This compilation, produced both by Sahagún and indigenous aides, documents the convergence of Aztec and European cultures. As such it represents the hybrid nature of colonial culture and is best approached from an understanding of both its European and Aztec influences. It is the aim of this thesis to consider the Florentine Codex, and Book Eleven ("Earthly Things") specifically, in the context of the European bestiary tradition. This thesis will illuminate Sahagún's role as a Franciscan missionary and the ways in which he utilized Aztec animal imagery syncretically, for the purpose of evangelization. Analysis takes the form of case studies concerning the jaguar, birds, and serpents. / Committee in Charge: Dr. James Harper, Chair; Dr. Lauren Kilroy; Dr. Robert Haskett

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This thesis examines the changes Spain was forced to make toward their colonial patterns due to Nahua resistance. Each chapter assesses different periods during the colonial era, tracing how the Virgin of Guadalupe's meaning changed according to Spanish colonial needs.

Humanism and ritual combined to establish a new foundation for the Florentine Republic in the fifteenth century. Leonardo Bruni’s History of the Florentine People was at the center of this new foundation. In 1428 and again in 1439, Bruni formally presented portions of his History to the Florentine government in the midst of crucial events in Florentine foreign affairs. For example, Bruni’s book presentation in 1428 occurred in the midst of rituals celebrating peace between Florence and Milan. During the celebration, a procession behind the sacred icon of Our Lady of Santa Maria Impruneta paused at the government palace. At that moment, Leonardo Bruni formally announced the peace, gave an oration, and presented a volume of his History to the Florentine governors. Following the presentation, trumpets sounded and the procession began anew. In this ritual, Bruni’s History became a key ritual object. On the most basic level, Bruni’s book served as a tangible, physical reminder of the peace for future rulers of the Florentine Republic. Yet, Bruni’s History provided much more than a material memento of a monumental moment. The content of the work created a Florence that was founded free and, after several battles against tyrannical oppressors, had once again become free. By creating a new foundation and history of Florence, the Florentines could add new authority and legitimacy to its dealings with the world outside its walls. This article will examine the rituals surrounding the presentation of Bruni’s work combined with a close literary analysis of the History itself. Through this investigation, the article will examine how and why the Florentines sought to refound their city in an official Latin history by establishing its independence from outside powers, particularly the Roman and Holy Roman Emperors.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Springing up in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Indiana women's study clubs provided generations of women with the opportunity to improve their educations in a friendly environment. They also brought culture to their communities by hosting art exhibits, musical entertainments, and lectures, building libraries and museums, and participating in community improvement endeavors. The activities of urban clubs in big cities have been documented in histories of the women's club movement, but small towns have recieved little attention even through they were vital parts of their communities. This study considers the characteristics, organization, study practices, and civic improvement work of three small-town Indiana women's clubs in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. The Zerelda Reading Club (Warsaw) studied a wide variety of subjects, while the Ladies' Piano Club (Salem) and Florentine Club (Lebanon) limited their studies to art and music, respectively. All three clubs participated in community improvement efforts that helped their towns achieve urban amenities. The Zerelda Reading Club helped to establish a ladies' rest room, the Ladies' Piano Club worked with other community organizations to build a Carnegie public library, and the Florentine Club raised money to beautify Oak Hill Cemetery. Forming in decades of tremendous growth in popularity of club activity, the organization of all three clubs shows influences of those associations already in existence. This study argues that the individual circumstances of members and their communities resulted in the organization of three women's clubs that prospered under the guidance of extant clubs, but served their members and their communities by adapting activities to suit local needs.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2008. / Title from screen (viewed on July 8, 2008). Department of History, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Robert G. Barrows, Nancy Marie Robertson, Marianne S. Wokeck. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-172).

Towards the end of the 19th century Oscar Wilde wrote the four society plays that would become his most famous dramatical works: Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). The plays combined characteristic Wildean witticisms with cunning social criticism of Victorian society, using stereotypical characters such as the dandy, the fallen woman and the “ideal” woman to mock the double moral and strict social expectations of Victorian society. These plays, and to an extent also Wilde’s symbolist drama Salomé (1891), have been the object of a great deal of scholarly interest, with countless studies conducted on them from various angles and theoretical perspectives. Widely under-discussed, however, are Wilde’s two Elizabethan-Jacobean tragedies, The Duchess of Padua (1883) and A Florentine Tragedy (1894). This thesis therefore sets out to explore The Duchess of Padua and A Florentine Tragedy in order to gain a broader understanding of Wilde’s forgotten dramatical works, while also rediscovering two of Wilde’s most transgressive female characters—Beatrice and Bianca. Challenging traditional ideas of gender and female sexuality, Beatrice and Bianca can be read as proto-feminist figures who continually act transgressively, using their voice and agency to stand up against patriarchy and asserting their rights to experience their lives on their own terms. Through an in-depth study of these plays, this thesis will demonstrate that Wilde’s Elizabethan-Jacobean tragedies, with their strong, modern female characters Beatrice and Bianca deserve greater critical attention on a par with the extensive scholarship on Wilde’s well-known dramatical works.

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