In a atemporal space where the real and the fantastic intertwine, the heroes of Chretien de Troyes represent projections of an ideal personality. Their symbolic quest is but means of individuation, since, through voyage, the heroes undertake a task of double exploration: that of the exterior and that of the interior world. The confrontation with Evil is the expression of the hero's internal struggle and his adventures translate into initiatic terms. The plot of Chretien de Troyes' works evinces a mythical structure: the voyage of the hero into the "Other World" and his triumphant return. His characteristics of "the chosen one", of the champion of order, as well as his newly acquired status will be acknowledged by the community. Redeemed either by a religious experience or by submission to a lady and/or to the code of conduct, the hero reconquers his place in the world. An approach based on parallelism and juxtaposition has allowed this study to look into the archetypal nature of Chretien de Troyes' heroes, to interpret the recurrent motifs and patterns, which lend the hero an archetypal dimension. Structured around the hero's identity crisis and quest this study explores the relationship between myth, tale and romance.

Solarljo∂ is an Old Icelandic poem in which a deceased father advises his son from beyond the grave. The poem consists of a series of parables and proverbs, a moving description of dying, and accounts of both heaven and hell. Solarljo∂ is concerned with eschatological mystery, and this mystery is reinforced by the poet through the use of obscure imagery and enigmatic presentation. This study begins with an introduction to the general form, content and composition of Solarljo∂. There then follows a description of the manuscripts in which Solarljo∂ has been preserved, adding several new records to the list recently begun by Njor∂ur P. Njar∂vik. The manuscripts are cross referenced to the editions which have been based upon them. Previous research has traditionally resulted in new readings of Solarljo∂ which have been embodied in new editions or rewritings of the poem. This has produced a confusing proliferation of different poems claiming to be Solarljo∂. No "improved" edition is offered here. Instead, the editorial tradition is broken and previous editions are compared on their merits. The versions in Sophus Bugge's Norroen Fornkvae∂i and Finnur Jonsson's Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning are supported as standards to be used pending a more accessible and legible version of Njor∂ur Njar∂vik's Solsangen . The literature is otherwise examined with the aim of clarifying bibliographical contradictions and providing a critical evaluation of the sources regularly cited in connection with Solarljo∂ . Finally, Solarljo∂ is examined within the context of gnomic poetry, particularly the Disticha Catonis, Hugsvinnsmal , and Havamal. Solarljo∂ is stylistically related to these works less in terms of direct influence than in an attempt by Solarljo∂'s poet to appropriate the authority of the genre in order to reinforce his or her own didactic message. This message is one simply of memento mori , comprehensible on a strong emotional level even today, despite or, indeed, because of a great deal of ambiguity in the poem's symbolism and imagery. This reading of Solarljo∂ breaks away from the philological hermeneutics of previous studies to take a broader view of Solarljo∂ as literary art, seen as a living work with a voice that can still be understood.

This work is an edifying text in which the interlocutors are experts in evil deeds--they are none other than Sathan and Lucifer. Sathan, at the request of his master, reveals numerous details on the way in which people lived at the end of the Middle Ages: their work and their leisure activities, their sins and their good deeds. With its humour and richness of language, the dialogue between the devils is in the best tradition of the "Rhetoriqueurs" and Francois Villon. Furthermore, as an historical document, it bears witness to the medieval conception of Hell and the representatives of Good and Evil. / We are proposing a new edition of Eloy d'Amerval's Le Livre de la Deablerie, an edition fully justified by the richness of both text and language. Our reconstruction of the twenty thousand eight hundred and four verses of the incunabulum of 1508 (no manuscript of this book has appeared to date) is based on the principles of Bedier's method of text editing. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The Livre de vieillesse pertains to the field of study concerning late medieval Humanism, where the first royal patronage of translations from ancient Latin texts proved to be of enormous consequence for the French language, and especially for the formation of its vocabulary. / Our critical edition of the Livre de vieillesse presents the text of the first French translation of Cicero's De senectute , completed in 1405 by Laurent de Premierfait and dedicated to the Duke Louis de Bourbon. This text is unpublished. / We possess the bilingual copy of the translation, which constitutes a privileged component of authentication of variants. / The choice of the manuscript to edit was simple, for, of the twenty-six copies of the translation, two only bear the Latin original: Paris, B.N., lat 7789 (P) and Milan, Trivulz., 693 (T), where T presents itself as a copy of P. We thus follow the text of P, collated to T, and we adopt Bedier's method of text editing.

No description available.

No description available.

<p> This thesis examines the complicated network of deities and divine forces in Geoffrey Chaucer's &ldquo;Troilus and Criseyde&rdquo; and how these forces contribute to the lovers' tragic ends. The gods of Love and War&mdash;Venus, Cupid, Mars, and Minerva&mdash;are the central focus of this study, but Fortune and the Christian God are examined as well. I propose that both the beginning and end of the affair are brought about by the gods in order to punish Troilus or Criseyde for excessive pride. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of French and Italian, 2008. / Title from home page (viewed on May 7, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-07, Section: A, page: 2707. Adviser: Harry W. Storey.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 1968. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-247). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 12, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.