In the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the Middle Ages provide several of the most important historical reference points for national identity. This thesis analyses how this period was given its significance. It studies the presentation of several medieval figures through historiography from their own lifetime to the present, how they entered collective memory and a national narrative of history, and how the symbolic values attributed to them shifted according to changing political needs. In addition, it identifies those figures that were forgotten, so as to explore the mechanisms of historiographical selection. The purported founder of Luxembourg is the tenth-century Count Sigefroid, who was (wrongly) regarded as the first ‘count of Luxembourg’ by the late sixteenth century. In his posthumous career he became the builder of the local castle and city, the creator of the country and father of the nation. He is often joined by his mythological fish-tailed wife Melusine, borrowed from a late medieval French roman that already hints at links to the rulers of Luxembourg. The two founders are linked to later themes through Countess Ermesinde. She was a thirteenth-century ruler, rediscovered by nineteenth-century liberals as an early precursor to their political ideals, while a group of Belgian Jesuits used her to foster a pilgrimage tradition. Historiography of the past two hundred years preferred her persona rather than her two husbands’ for creating a continuity within the different medieval dynasties, adding to their national character. Her descendant John of Bohemia was transformed quickly into the national hero par excellence. This process had its origin in late medieval literature where his ‘heroic’ death at the battle of Crécy is remembered. His tomb within the city of Luxembourg helped to keep him in local memory, while the loss of his remains to Prussia in the early nineteenth century created simmering discontent that lasted until their recovery in 1946. Interestingly, John stands for the pinnacle of a glorious age, whereas his successor Emperor Sigismund tended to embody the miserable decline of an era, despite having been endowed with many crowns and titles. This thesis borrows some of its theoretical framework from the study of lieux de mémoire, and makes use of a broad range of different sources, from historical writing to literature, visual art and popular gimmickry.

Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2014-09-15T12:45:41Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao Thaisy Sosnoski.pdf: 2595086 bytes, checksum: 826dd1ad24660dbc6a6155fa09b503c5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-09-15T13:51:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao Thaisy Sosnoski.pdf: 2595086 bytes, checksum: 826dd1ad24660dbc6a6155fa09b503c5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-15T13:51:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao Thaisy Sosnoski.pdf: 2595086 bytes, checksum: 826dd1ad24660dbc6a6155fa09b503c5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In the commemorations of 150th anniversary Brazil's Independence (1972) the government of General Médici by means of a central commission organized an extensive schedule of commemorative events, among the events was the elaboration the Sesquicentenary's Library, carried out in partnership with the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute (IHGB). This thesis addresses the setting up of the Library, this collection aimed to edit and reissue works on Brazil’s Independence and others that were considered important to the understanding of the period. The creating of a library with works on Brazil’s Independence points up the mnemonic feature of historiography, in which it records the writing of history is sometimes confused with the national history. The works that make up the Library deal with two different times , 1822 and 1972. Thus in addition to structure a speech about the event celebrated (Independence), the Library also had the function of legitimizing the power effect at the time of the celebrations. / Nas comemorações do Sesquicentenário da Independência do Brasil (1972) o governo do General Médici por meio de uma comissão central organizou um extenso cronograma de eventos comemorativos, entre os eventos estava a elaboração da Biblioteca do Sesquicentenário, realizada em parceria com o Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB). A presente dissertação aborda a constituição da Biblioteca, tal coleção tinha como intuito editar e reeditar obras sobre a Independência do Brasil e outras que fossem consideradas importantes para a compreensão do período. A criação de uma biblioteca com obras sobre a Independência do Brasil ressalta a característica mnemônica da historiografia, na qual o que se registra na escrita da história se confunde por vezes com a história nacional. As obras que compõem a Biblioteca falam de dois tempos 1822 e 1972. Desta forma além de se estruturar um discurso sobre o acontecimento comemorado (Independência), a Biblioteca também tinha como função legitimar o poder vigente á época das comemorações.

Notre thèse de doctorat porte sur la crise de Semana Santa, un soulèvement militaire qui a provoqué l’une des plus grandes mobilisations populaires du XXème siècle argentin, entre le 16 et le 19 avril 1987. Elle s’introduit dans les histoires respectives du système judiciaire, de l’Armée, des partis politiques, des médias et du Mouvement des Droits de l’Homme afin de rendre compte de la complexité de l’événement. Elle démontre comment la mobilisation populaire est le résultat d’un changement culturel, qui implique tous les acteurs susnommés, initié avec le nouveau régime démocratique fondé en 1983. Notre thèse cherche aussi des méthodes pour replacer le peuple, comme acteur politique, dans l’historiographie actuelle. Pour cela elle s’inscrit dans l’historiographie de la mémoire, à laquelle elle apporte le concept de « mémoire active » qui permet de dépasser l’approche commémorative du phénomène mémoriel. / The subject of our doctoral thesis is the crisis of « Semana Santa », a military rebellion that triggered one of the most massive popular uprisings of the Argentinian Twentieth Century, April 16th and April 19th, 1987. This crisis penetrates the respective histories of the judicial system, the Army, the political parties, the media, the Human Rights Movement, in order to account for the complexity of the event. The thesis demonstrates how the popular mobilization was the result of a cultural transformation that involved all the actors mentioned, and that was pioneered under the new democratic regime founded in 1983. Our thesis is a methodological attempt to restore, in current historiography, the people as a political actor. For that purpose it is connected with the historiography of memory, to which it contributes the concept of “active memory” that allows to surpass the commemorative approach of the memorial phenomenon.