The purpose of this thesis is to investigate in detail certain aspects of Hadewijch's poetic form which have never been made the subject of an independent study. While taking into account what has been written on the subject -mostly as part of general studies - my conclusions are the result of independent judgment based on the poems themselves. The introductory chapter is concerned with the meaning of the central concept of the Strofische Gedichten, Minne, and its function in the poems. Various aspects of stanza-structure are then considered, including the variety of stanza-forms and the different types of rhyme: also the use of stress-verse and the musical effect produced by the combination of lines of different numbers of stresses and varying stress-patterns, and of similar and dissimilar sounds. In this connection I also consider the question of whether the songs were set to music. The use of rhetorical techniques to heighten interest or add emphasis is also discussed, paying special attention to different forms of repetition - of words, phrases or ideas - and to the frequent use of contrast and paradox, as well as to less common features such as personification and irony. Considerable study is devoted to the imagery, summarizing and classifying the different types employed and the way in which they are used, and distinguishing between those drawn directly from the troubadour convention and those personal to Hadewijch. Finally, the overall structure of the poems is investigated and two poems analysed in detail. I have tried to demonstrate where relevant the extent to which Hadewijch adheres to troubadour convention or, alternatively, modifies it, and also the manner in which her choice of form, techniques and imagery is governed by her complex character, thus creating great poetry in a largely stereotyped genre.

This study sets out to consider the terms used to designate buildings and agglomerations in Old French literary texts dated from c. 1150 to c. 1300. It begins with a definition of the field of vocabulary under review and a chronological enumeration of the texts from which our observations are made. There follows a discussion of various former and current theories on the possible semantic treatment of such a field of vocabulary. It is proposed that the field be considered as a structured whole; the units making up this structure are identified from textual examples, and the different relationships obtaining between the units are defined and illustrated. An onomasiological study presents all the terms which may occur within each unit, making special reference to their relative frequency, meaningfulness and stylistic nuance. Next, treating each term individually, there follows a semasiological study. This consists of commentaries on the conception of each term hitherto held and on the new conceptions which result from the closer definition made possible by our structural approach. Consequent lacunae in the Old French dictionaries are pointed out. The advantages of this kind of approach are next discussed, and the possible practical application of this study illustrated by means of a number of critical essays on the defined field of vocabulary in individual texts. The aim of this thesis is to present this section of Old French vocabulary as a whole and in relief, and our claim is that it will enable compilers of dictionaries and of glossaries to individual texts to assess each term in the field against the background of a structured and clearly dimensioned whole.

Since the poems of Marcabru contain criticisms of twelfth-century aristocratic society, an attempt has been made initially to determine, as far as this is possible, his place in and relationship to that society. Marcabru's representation of female figures is considered in the light of the contrast he establishes between true and false love, itself an aspect of an ideological and poetic conflict with contemporary troubadours concerning the nature of love and its expression in lyric poetry. This theme of the dichotomy of love pervades Marcabru's works. The means by which it finds expression are explored through consideration of the vocabulary, images and sources on which the troubadour draws in order to convey approbation of finamors and condemnation of false love. Several of the studies focus on individual poems (PC 293, 31; 44; 25; 26; 15), of particular interest for the striking and detailed depictions of love and women which they contain: in analysing these songs in detail, reference is made to other songs where these elucidate particular ideas or images, and consideration is given to elements deriving from learned Christian orthodoxy and especially its misogynist tradition. Examination of apparently unorthodox uses of courtly terminology and lyric commonplaces suggests that these also are employed by Marcabru to convey his consistently radical view. Dejeanne's edition of Marcabru's works has been taken as a basis for this investigation, and attention is also paid to proposed corrections to this edition, recent partial re-editions and to the manuscript readings. In all cases account has been taken of previous interpretations and of the development of critical opinion concerning Marcabru's works. These studies are intended to complement existing work by attempting to elucidate the conception of love of this complex and influential troubadour through an investigation of his treatment of a number of representative female figures.

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Kavi Dayarambhai or Dayaram (1777-1852), considered to be one of the three greatest poets of Gujarati, brought to an end not only the age of the great bhakta-poets, but also the age of Gujarati medieval literature. After Dayaram, a new age of Gujarati literature and language began, influenced by Western education and thinking. The three chapters of Part I of the thesis look at the ways of approaching North Indian devotional literature which have informed all subsequent readings of Dayaram in the hundred and fifty years since his death. Chapter 1 is concerned with the treatment by Indologists of the Krsnaite literature in Braj Bhasa, which forms a significant part of Dayaram's literary antecedents. Chapter 2 then considers studies of Dayaram by Gujarati scholars which tend to focus on him as a devotee of Krsna and a member of the Pustimarga. It also looks at literary criticism of his writings in the context of the Gujarati literary world. Chapter 3 discusses Dayaram's lyrics from an Indological perspective, concentrating on form and language. Part II puts forward a new approach to a study of Dayaram's lyrics. Chapter 4 argues that these texts deserve treatment as literary texts in their own right and suggests a reading informed by the thought of Mikhail Bakhtin (1895- 1975). Chapter 5 discusses Dayaram's lyrics in the light of Bakhtin's concept of the camivalesque, Chapter 6 looks at the functions of chronotopic features in the lyrics. Part III is a selection of Dayaram's lyrics. The Gujarati texts are given in Roman transliteration, followed by literal translations into English. A full bibliography of primary and secondary sources consulted is included. The thesis introduces a poet scarcely known to western scholars and makes a selection of his work available to those who do not know Gujarati. It examines a number of approaches which have conventionally been brought to bear on literature of this kind. It finds much which is valuable in them but highlights some of their limitations for a study of this poet; a new critical approach from literary theory, using the ideas of Bakhtin (in particular those of the carnivalesque and the chronotope) allows the thesis to re-examine the position of Dayaram in the history of Gujarati literature.

<p> Monstrosity and transformation were intrinsically connected topics during premodern times. From Ovid&rsquo;s <i>Metamorphoses</i> (<i> circa</i> 8 CE) to Isidore of Seville&rsquo;s <i>Etymologies</i> (560&ndash;636 CE), intellectuals of all fields of knowledge explored the possibility of human physical transformation, and its consequences. This dissertation will approach hybrid monstrosity in imaginative literature of medieval Iberia on the basis of its textual and formal representations, but also as the repository of cultural significance and ideologies that characterize a particular time and place. My study focuses on five medieval Spanish texts: the <i>Libro del cavallero Zifar</i> (<i>Book of the Knight Zifar</i>, c. 1300) often considered one of the first chivalric novels written in Spain; the <i>Libro de buen amor</i> (<i>Book of Good Love</i>, c. 1330&ndash;1343) a satirical and parodic poem fully grounded in both learned and popular culture; the <i>Amad&iacute;s de Gaula</i> (<i> Amad&iacute;s of Gaul</i>) (1508) and its sequel, <i>Las sergas de Esplandi&aacute;n</i> (<i>The Adventures of Esplandi&aacute;n </i>) (1510); and the <i>Alborayque</i> (<i>circa</i> 1454&ndash;74), an anti-Jewish illustrated pamphlet published in Castile at the end of the fifteenth century. My dissertation unpacks the concepts of monstrosity and transformation present in medieval European culture, and the ways these are displayed in a variety of texts in order to reinforce or undermine religious, gender, and ethnic anxieties. In addition, my research traces the shifts in attitudes akin to processes of transformation in monstrous beings between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. It will be clear that during the fourteenth century monstrosity and change were connected to religious identity, while during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the texts studied embody the political agenda aimed at unifying the Peninsula through the idea of the <i>Reconquista</i> (the Christian retaking of Muslim lands), and the cultural and social struggles between the different cultural and religious communities.</p><p>

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This study examines interfaith relationships in Christian, Muslim, and Sephardic songbooks from Medieval Spain in connection with Foucault’s concepts of power and counter-conduct. These interreligious sexual and romantic interactions are addressed in various songs, although at a significantly lower rate in comparison to those which lack religious implications. This disparity points to act of (self) censorship by the poets and reflects the realities of their time. Moreover, there is a notable pattern of different textual mechanisms meant to allude to interfaith relationships as a way to defy established legal and religious codes on the Iberian Peninsula. This thesis analyzes mechanisms like symbolic and evocative poetic language as well as the partial or total absence of such relationships in the lyrics at hand, thereby revising these texts and offering new interpretations that ultimately reinforce the notion of cultural exchange of the Tres culturas. / Spanish

The story of king Pelayo is one of the first legends of the Iberian Peninsula after the Moorish invasion of 711. It is clearly a necessary response to this invasion, and also an attempt to legitimize the newly established monarchy of the Kingdom of Asturias. In its effort to restore the "glories" of the now extinct Gothic kingdom, these monarchs needed a miracle and a foundational hero as the backbone of their national historiography. Furthermore, from its early conception until the present day, the legend of Pelayo has never been cast into shadows, and even though it has seldom been a popular story, it has always served as vehicle to the prevailing ideology of its time. In other words, the story of Pelayo was never an innocent one. It has always been subordinated to a very specific ideology and to society's attempts to legitimize itself. This dissertation examines the ties between the historiographic fictions of Spain and the concept of nation-building. My research attempts to analyze the story as it is, a literary fiction that can be traced back to other, older stories and, in short, to prove that this story has been the backbone of Spain's national identity—at least one of them—ever since its first recorded manifestation in the 9th century. The main thesis of this dissertation is not so much the analysis of the origin of this legend—as this is easily found in the Albeldense and Alphonsine chronicles—but, rather, its debt to other "fictions" and its development throughout the Spanish Middle Ages. The different rewritings of the legend during these centuries are an exceptional witness as to what was the prevailing ideology of each different time period, so that, accordingly, every reworking of the legend must be checked against the religious, political and sociological culture that produced it. What is being analysed here is not merely the development of a literary hero, but rather the foundational fiction in which a country's ideological grounds are based.

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