The goal of this thesis is the phonological analysis of a corpus of runic inscriptions in order to reconstruct the vocalic system(s) of the West Germanic dialects spoken in the Continental interior between the 5th-7th centuries A.D. The thesis presents a brief outline of the late Proto-Germanic vocalic system and of the principal sound changes involved in the development of the later dialects of the region (Old High German and Old Saxon). The main part of the thesis surveys the data retrievable from the runic inscriptions in an attempt to determine to what extent (if any) these sound changes are in evidence. In many respects, the data are consistent with the anticipated developments attested in OHG and OS; but for some of the sound changes – particularly those affecting the diphthongs – the existing models do not satisfactorily account for the data. There is also some evidence for processes not normally identified in accounts of the phonological background of the later dialects. The project endeavours to be rigorously empirical in approach; to avoid making unnecessary assumptions and prejudgements about the nature and content of the runic texts; and to resist the rejection of an interpretation unless it can be shown to be implausible. From this standpoint, we are confronted with the limited power of any conclusions based on such a small dataset, and with the more general problem of the imperfect correlation between written and spoken forms. If the makers of runic inscriptions cannot be relied on for phonological accuracy or orthographic consistency, to what extent is it possible to make inferences about spoken language from the texts which they created?

The aim of this thesis is the visual analysis of the corpus of Viking Age Scandinavian memorial stones that are decorated with figural images. The thesis presents an overview of the different kinds of images and their interpretations. The analysis of the visual relationships between the images, ornamentation, crosses, and runic inscriptions identifies some tendencies in the visual hierarchy between these different design elements. The contents of the inscriptions on runestones with images are also analysed in relation to the type of image and compared to runestone inscriptions in general. The main outcome of this analysis is that there is a correlation between the occurrence of optional elements in the inscription and figural images in the decoration, but that only rarely is a particular type of image connected to specific inscription elements.

This thesis sets out to identify and analyse two themes that underpin the theory of Bildung that Nietzsche develops in his works and notebooks from between 1870 and 1876, and to show that these themes both shape and reflect his view of Goethe. These themes will be designated as ‘Freiheit’, which denotes the autonomy of culture and the individual that permits their untrammelled development, and ‘Fruchtbarkeit’, which prioritises creative, life-enhancing activity over the acquisition of knowledge. The thesis will also show that these two themes remain central to Nietzsche’s philosophy in the later stages of his active life, and that the importance he attaches to them can help to illuminate some of the changes and shifts in his thought during those periods. They also continue to form the basis of his Goethebild in his later works.

The thesis is based on a psychological interpretation of the life and works of Heinrich von Kleist. The basis of the interpretation is the death instincts as formulated by Sigmund Freud in Jenseits des Lustprinzips (Beyond the Pleasure Principle) and is extended with the work of Melanie Klein, D.W. Winnicott and other authors who subscribe to the psychoanalytic school: use is made too, of C.G.Jung's analytical psychology. Part I discusses Freud's paper, which deals principally with the repetition compulsion, pathological aggression, sado-masochism and the biological basis of programmed cell death. The thesis then extends the concept of the death instincts to those psychological paradigms which inhibit authentic life such as psychosis, narcissism and unresolved oedipal issues. It examines the belief in the Romantic ethos of the corporeal afterlife which makes death both a fearless state which also provides the possibility of reuniting with one's love object. I argue that Kleist's confrontation with the subjectivity of Immanuel Kant's philosophy provides a fulcrum in Kleist's life which freed him from the idea of the perfectibility of his own life but also, for him destabilised language as an adequate means of achieving the symbiotic closeness he needed. Part II of the thesis discusses the congruence of Freud's theories with Kleist's stories, plays and letters. The sources of psychosis are examined which lead to cannabalism in Penthesilea and hate and repetition compulsion in Verlobung in St. Domingo: both result in death. This, too, is the fate of the eponymous hero of Michael Kohlhaas. He descends into pathological narcissism and his only recourse at the nadir of his life, to satisfy his sense of self and grandiosity, is to resurrect the revenant of his deceased wife to provide satisfactory supernatural assistance. By contrast, more positive themes are found in Prinz Friedrich von Homburg and Das Erdbeben in Chili. IN the former, a resolution of the oedipal issues leads to a satisfactory outcome for the Prinz and in the latter, the citizens of St Domingo are offered a Christ figure, the Divine Child, to counter endemic sadism. Kleist's last story, Der Findling, provides a nihilistic criticism of social and religious mores which reflect his own attitude to his times. The thesis concludes with a summary of its themes and a discussion of Kleist's meeting with Henriette Vogel, his partner in suicide into whom he projected his achievements and failures, which facilitated a longed for symbiotic closesness in hs passage to becoming todesreif (ripe for death).

No description available.

My thesis asks whether cultural commemorations helped the GDR to build a distinct national identity, and examines the role of political and cultural actors involved in them. Covering different strands of German cultural heritage, the aims, implementations and outcomes of anniversary commemorations are investigated as a longitudinal series of case-studies: Schiller (1959); Kollwitz (1967); Beethoven (1970); and Luther (1983). Substantial evidence from largely unpublished sources exposes recurring gaps between the theory and practice of these commemorations, essentially attributable to manifest examples of agency by commemoration stakeholders. Each commemoration produced some positive legacies. But driven mainly by demarcation motives versus West Germany, the appropriation of these German cultural icons as socialist role-models to promote national identity was mostly unsuccessful in three commemorations. Kollwitz was the exception as the GDRˈs claimed linkage to her political life was already undisputed in both German states. These research results are both new and important. They address a gap in both memory studies and GDR history scholarship regarding the relationship between commemorations and national identity. Furthermore, the findings of agency offer an original contribution to historiographical debates, by enhancing a ˈconsensusˈ- /ˈparticipatoryˈ dictatorship model of the GDR in preference to a top-down totalitarian system.

Thesis Abstract. The purpose of this thesis is to examine Old English and Old Icelandic literary examples of monstrosity from a modern theoretical perspective. I examine the processes of monstrous change by which humans can become identified as monsters, focusing on the role played by social and religious pressures. In the first chapter, I outline the aspects of monster theory and medieval thought relevant to the role of society in shaping identity, and the ways in which anti-societal behaviour is identified with monsters and with monstrous change. Chapter two deals more specifically with Old English and Old Icelandic social and religious beliefs as they relate to human and monstrous identity. I also consider the application of generic monster terms in Old English and Old Icelandic. Chapters three to six offer readings of humans and monsters in Old English and Old Icelandic literary texts in cases where a transformation from human to monster occurs or is blocked. Chapter three focuses on Grendel and Heremod in Beowulf and the ways in which extreme forms of anti-societal behaviour are associated with monsters. In chapter four I discuss the influence of religious beliefs and secular behaviour in the context of the transformation of humans into the undead in the Íslendingasögur. In chapter five I consider outlaws and the extent to which criminality can result in monstrous change. I demonstrate that only in the most extreme instances is any question of an outlaw’s humanity raised. Even then, the degree of sympathy or admiration evoked by such legendary outlaws as Grettir, Gísli and Hörðr means that though they are ambiguous in life, they may be redeemed in death. The final chapter explores the threats to human identity represented by the wilderness, with specific references to Guthlac A, Andreas and Bárðar saga and the impact of Christianity on the identity of humans and monsters. I demonstrate that analysis of the social and religious issues in Old English and Old Icelandic literary sources permits nuanced readings of monsters and monstrosity which in turn enriches understanding of the texts in their entirety.

No description available.

The thesis compares the values and attitudes promoted in the fiction of five authors associated with the 'Heimatkunst' movement. The introduction attempts a definition of the term 'Heimatkunst' and then proceeds to an examination of the theoretical writings of Adolf Bartels and Friedrich Lienhard, indicating the often considerable differences in attitude between the two critics and outlining such common ground as they share with each other and the "practitioners of the movement treated in this study. The thesis then moves to an analysis of single novels, where necessary relating these works to their authors' other writings. The novels chosen for analysis are Wilhelm von Polenz' Der Büttnerbauer, Adolf Bartels' Die Dithmarscher, Gustav Frenssen's Jörn Uhl, Ludwig Ganghofer's Der hohe Schein and Hermann Löns's Der Wehrwolf. These analyses confirm the existence of that common ground between the authors outlined in the introduction - their veneration of rural life and their suspicion of urban culture and values, their anti- intellectual bias, nationalist or racialist sympathies and their belief that contemporary ills may be cured or ameliorated by a return to the pre-industrial, nature-based values of the rural community. The manner, degree and consistency with which they commit themselves to these attitudes and views vary and there are certain preoccupations common to only some of the authors dealt with, although even these differing concerns can often be related to individual interpretations of shared premises. The thesis concludes with an examination of common stylistic and technical features of their fiction and the literary devices employed to direct the reader's sympathies.

A vocalisation may be described as a historical linguistic change where a sound which is formerly consonantal within a language becomes pronounced as a vowel. Although vocalisations have occurred sporadically in many languages they are particularly prevalent in the history of Germanic languages and have affected sounds from all places of articulation. This study will address two main questions. The first is why vocalisations happen so regularly in Germanic languages in comparison with other language families. The second is what exactly happens in the vocalisation process. For the first question there will be a discussion of the concept of ‘drift’ where related languages undergo similar changes independently and this will therefore describe the features of the earliest Germanic languages which have been the basis for later changes. The second question will include a comprehensive presentation of vocalisations which have occurred in Germanic languages with a description of underlying features in each of the sounds which have vocalised. When considering phonological changes a degree of phonetic information must necessarily be included which may be irrelevant synchronically, but forms the basis of the change diachronically. A phonological representation of vocalisations must therefore address how best to display the phonological information whilst allowing for the inclusion of relevant diachronic phonetic information. Vocalisations involve a small articulatory change, but using a model which describes vowels and consonants with separate terminology would conceal the subtleness of change in a vocalisation. The model presented here has therefore been designed to unite the descriptions of consonants and vowels to better demonstrate this change whilst allowing for relevant phonetic information to be included.