No description available.

This dissertation examines how early modern English playwrights employ absence to enrich their representations of the unknown, including witchcraft and the supernatural. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries magical themes were often dramatized through visual and linguistic excess. Whether this excess was manifested through the use of vibrant costumes, farcical caricatures, or exaggerated dialogue, magic was often synonymous with theatricality. Playwrights such as William Rowley, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare, however, challenge stereotypical depictions of magic by contrasting excessive magic with the subtler power of restrained or off-stage magic. Embedded in the fantastical events and elaborate plots of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, absence, whether as an unstaged thing or person or an absent ideology, becomes a crucial element in understanding how playwrights represented and understood occult issues during the early modern period. Further, when gendered feminine, magical absences serve to combat oppressive silences within scripts and provide female subjects with an unimpeded and inherently magical space from which to challenge pre-established patriarchal systems of control. Each chapter in this dissertation, therefore, appraises the magical possibilities that theatrical absences provide to women as a platform from which to develop their narrative voice. Partnered with a complementary discussion of Jonson’s The Masque of Queens and two thematically linked witchcraft cases, my first chapter argues that Mistress Ford uses the complete stage absence of both a witch and a queen in The Merry Wives of Windsor to reform her community and critique her society’s unjust categorization of women. In chapter two, I examine a series of “vanishing acts” in The Birth of Merlin and argue that Rowley’s female characters use their final moments on stage to contextualize their impending absences for audiences as moments of magical defiance rather than defeat in the face of male tyranny. In my final chapter, I look at how magical objects, such as the handkerchief in Shakespeare’s Othello or the belt in Jonson’s The Sad Shepherd resist the absence of their female creators and continue to provide physically absent or dead women with magical agency. By structuring my dissertation on these three specific gradations of absence, I provide a nuanced analysis of the purposes these dramatic omissions serve by focusing on how these shades of absence subtly alter the ways in which we interpret and define early modern magical belief. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

La presente investigación propone analizar la vivencia y construcción de las masculinidades de un grupo de Drag Queens peruanas, quienes son personas que nacieron como hombres, se identifican como hombres gais y realizan una caracterización para un show nocturno. Este es un estudio cualitativo con un enfoque fenomenológico descriptivo. Para ello, se realizaron siete entrevistas semi-estructuradas para explorar la construcción de sus masculinidades a lo largo de las distintas etapas de la vida y tomando en cuenta la influencia que ejerce el Dragqueenismo en este proceso. El análisis de los resultados fue estructurado en tres áreas principales: a) Significado del género y de las masculinidades, b) Vivencia de ser distintos desde pequeños y c) ¿El Dragqueenismo como factor liberador del modelo hegemónico? De manera general, se encontró que estas personas se encuentran en un proceso constante de reconstrucción de su masculinidad y presentan ciertas características que se oponen al modelo hegemónico. Estas abarcan el entendimiento del género como un fenómeno fluido y diverso, la exploración de la feminidad que se encuentra dentro de ellos como una posibilidad placentera y la presencia de gustos y preferencias distintas a los estereotipos hegemónicos de la masculinidad como jugar con muñecas o practicar vóley. No obstante, si bien su trabajo como Drag Queens les brinda la posibilidad de profundizar en su identidad y autoestima, aún existen ciertos rasgos que mantienen las estructuras hegemónicas como las demandas estéticas femeninas, las cuales se exigen a sus personajes Drags. Este trabajo busca brindar aportes acerca de lo favorable que resultan las masculinidades disidentes para cambiar las estructuras tradicionales que limitan el desarrollo integral de los varones y genera violencia y desigualdad en nuestra sociedad. Del mismo modo, espera ser una guía para futuras investigaciones donde se aborde a la misma población con el objetivo de acabar con los prejuicios que sufren en nuestro contexto. / The present research seeks to analyze the experience and construction of the masculinities of a group of Peruvian Drag Queens, people who were born as men, identify themselves as gay men and perform a characterization for a night show. This is a qualitative study with a descriptive phenomenological approach. To reach this, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the construction of their masculinities throughout the different stages of life and considering the influence that Drag has on this process. The analysis of the results was structured in three main areas: a) Meaning of gender and masculinities, b) Experience of being different since childhood and c) Dragqueenism as a liberating factor of the hegemonic model? In general, it was found that the participants of this study are in a constant process of reconstructing their masculinity and present certain characteristics that are opposed to the hegemonic model. These include the understanding of gender as a fluid and diverse phenomenon; the exploration of femininity found within them as a pleasurable possibility; and the presence of preferences that does not match with the hegemonic stereotypes of masculinity, such as playing with dolls or playing volleyball. However, although their work as Drag Queens gives them the possibility to go deeper in their identity and self-esteem, there are still certain traits that maintain hegemonic structures such as feminine aesthetic demands. This work seeks to provide contributions about how favorable dissident masculinities are to change the traditional structures that limit the integral development of men and generate violence and inequality in our society. In the same way, it hopes to be a guide for future research where the same population is approached with the objective of ending the prejudices they suffer in our context.

Esta investigación estudia las identidades de género de jóvenes de entre 20 y 26 años de estratos medio-altos limeños que hacen drag. Lo orienta una pregunta por las formas en que la práctica del drag se vincula con dichas identidades. Adicionalmente, analiza el rol que cumplen ciertos recursos, entendidos como capitales, en las mismas. Se encuentra que el drag es un recurso cultural cercano para los jóvenes, especialmente considerando su condición socioeconómica y su contacto con la cultura global gay (Martel, 2014). Así, el pertenecer a estratos medio-altos de la sociedad limeña, y los capitales social, cultural, económico y simbólico que se asocian a estos, han marcado sus rutas en lo drag y su manera de entender nociones como la identidad. De la mano de eso, encontramos que la relación entre la práctica del drag y las identidades de género es heterogenea y está vinculada con las formas de entender y conceptualizar ambos conceptos. Ahora bien, mediante el drag, los jóvenes experimentan devenires identitarios en relación con el género (Perlongher, 2016), a través de una performance que combina elementos asociados a lo femenino y lo masculino, que les permite experimentar con identidades que distan de las que se ha buscando presentar como clasicas (hombre-masculino y mujer-femenina) y que revierten fuera de su práctica drag. Así, la identidad de género y el drag se vinculan mediante este proceso al que llamamos devenir drag, el cual solo puede ocurrir en la medida en que exista un tiempo y espacio seguro (físico y simbólico) para ello; ambiente al que denominamos laboratorio identitario.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study is to investigate the. lifestyles and and romantic relationships of adolescent girls in the Bishop Lavis community. The study also explores the 'taxi-queen' phenomenon as a particular form of relationship. The study employed a qualitative methodology. Data were collected by means of a combination of two methods: firstly, two focus groups each consisting of seven high school learners between the ages of 16 and 18 years and secondly, in-depth interviews conducted with three adolescent girls between the ages of 16 and 20 years who were identified as'taxi-queens'. Regarding lifestyles of the young girls special attention was afforded to leisure activities, the role of the consumer market, domestic circumstances and future expectations. In the case of romantic relationships the study focused on the type of relationship the girls are involved in, reasons for their involvement, the nature and functions of romantic emotions, adolescent dating patterns, sexual behaviour and sexual violence. Regarding lifestyles findings indicate that leisure activities as well as the consumer market playa central role in the lives of these young girls. Leisure activities not only provide pleasure but also function as an escape mechanism from parental supervision, rules and interference. Young girls tend to experience romantic relationships as particularly positive and within these relationships sexuality represents a central component. Sexual activities appear to cornmense during earlier stages of the dating process. Furthermore, such activities are kept secret from parents due to fear of negative reactions and sex-related topics are seldom discussed with parents. Sexual violence often forms a component of romantic relationships between adolescent girls and boys. In conclusion the 'taxi-queen' relationship as a relatively unique form of romantic relationship is demonstrated with reference to the experiences of three young girls involved in such relationships. Recommendations for future research are made on the basis of the findings of this study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om ondersoek in te stel na die lewenstyle en romantiese verhoudings van 'n groep adolessente meisies in die Bishop Lavis gemeenskap. Die studie skenk ook aandag aan die 'taxi-queen' verskynsel as 'n besonderse vorm van romantiese verhouding. 'n Kwalitatiewe metodologiese benadering is gevolg. Data insameling het 'n kombinasie van twee metodes behels: eerstens, twee fokusgroepe bestaande uit sewe hoerskoolmeisies elk tussen die ouderdomme van 16 en 18 jaar en tweedens, in-diepte onderhoude met drie adolessente meisies tussen die ouderdom van 16 en 20 jaar wat as 'taxi queens' geidentifiseer is. Wat lewenstyle vanjong meisies betrefis daar veral gefokus op vryetydsbesteding, die rol van die verbruikersmark, huishoudelike omstandighede en toekomsverwagtinge van die groep meisies. Met betrekking tot romantiese verhoudings is daar hoofsaaklik op die volgende aspekte gefokus: die tipe verboudings waarin die meisies betrokke is, die redes vir hul betrokkenheid, die aard en funksies van romantiese emosies; adolessente hofmakery, die voorkoms van seksuele gedrag, seksuele geweld en dwang. Die studie bevind dat vryetydbesteding en die verbruikermark 'n sentrale rol in die lewe van hierdie meisies speeL Benewens die plesier wat daaruit geput word, funksioneer vryetydbesteding as 'n ontsnappingsmeganisme van ouerlike toesig, reels en inmenging van die kant van ouers. Die studie bevind verder dat jong meisies romantiese verhoudings as besonder positief beleef. Binne sodanige verhoudings verteenwoordig seksualiteit 'n sentrale komponent en seksuele aktiwiteite neem in aanvang tydens 'n vroee stadium in die proses van hofinakery. Betrokkenheid by seksuele aktiwiteite word vir ouers geheim gehou uit vrees vir negatiewe evaluering en jong meisies kommunikeer selde met hul ouers oor sekverwante onderwerpe. Verder is bevind dat seksuele geweld dikwels 'n komponent vorm van romantiese verhoudings tussen adolessente meisies en seuns. Ten slotte word die besonderse aard van die sogenaamde 'taxi-queen' verhouding beklemtoon aan die hand van die ervaringe van drie jong meisies betrokke by sodanige verhoudings. Op grond van die studie word daar aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing gemaak.

Com o avanço da meliponicultura, a utilização das abelhas sem ferrão, assim como de seus subprodutos, tem abrangido novas áreas, como a polinização de culturas agrícolas. Assim, a demanda pelo aumento do número de colônias tem sido constante, porém devido ao pouco conhecimento sobre a biologia reprodutiva dessas abelhas, há dificuldade de produção de colônias em larga escala, acarretando uma séria limitação quanto à utilização comercial desses polinizadores. Buscamos com este trabalho, oferecer ferramentas que possibilitem a multiplicação de colônias de abelhas sem ferrão em grande quantidade em um curto período de tempo. Nas abelhas indígenas sem ferrão (exceto no gênero Melipona e nos casos onde ocorrem rainhas-miniatura) a quantidade de alimento ingerido pelas larvas fêmeas é o fator responsável pela diferenciação das castas, pois as larvas que se tornam rainhas ingerem mais alimento que as larvas de futuras operárias, não havendo diferença qualitativa entre o alimento fornecido às larvas que originarão ambas as castas. De acordo com este modelo de determinação de castas, buscamos estabelecer a produção in vitro de rainhas em Tetragonisca angustula oferecendo maior quantidade de alimento às larvas de operárias, induzindo seu desenvolvimento em rainhas, que após a emergência foram introduzidas em mini-colônias órfãs para verificação da sua viabilidade (fecundação natural e postura de ovos). Em condições naturais as larvas de T. angustula que se tornam rainhas e operárias recebem respectivamente 55 µL e 8 µL de alimento em média. Assim, para a produção in vitro de rainhas oferecemos 55 µL de alimento a larvas de operárias coletadas em estágio pré-alimentação de ninhos naturais e conseguimos uma taxa de sobrevivência de até 51% e de 19% na obtenção de rainhas fisiogástricas, configurando um avanço em relação à taxa natural de emergência de rainhas, que foi de 0,21%. Das mini-colônias onde foram introduzidas rainhas virgens, 41% tiveram sucesso e se tornaram colônias perenes. A utilização de larvas de operárias na produção in vitro de rainhas é possível devido ao fato de as larvas serem totipotentes, assim como a utilização de alimento coletado de células de cria de operárias/machos, pois os resultados das análises comparativas do conteúdo protéico e de aminoácidos totais e livres dos alimentos contidos em células de cria de operárias/machos e células reais mostraram não haver diferenças significativas. A utilização de alimento larval de Scaptotrigona aff. depilis na criação in vitro de rainhas de T. angustula mostrou a possibilidade de produção de rainhas viáveis com esta nova técnica embora os perfis protéicos dos alimentos larvais de ambas as espécies sejam diferentes. Os experimentos de produção in vitro de rainhas com diferentes quantidades de alimento oferecido às larvas mostraram a existência de uma quantidade limite de alimento entre 35 µL e 45 µL acima da qual todos os indivíduos se tornam rainhas e abaixo da qual todos se tornam operárias, não havendo a ocorrência de indivíduos intermediários (intercastas). Introduzindo as rainhas produzidas in vitro em mini-colônias órfãs, conseguimos o estabelecimento de 16 colônias perenes a partir de seis colônias doadoras de material no período de seis meses, o que configura um avanço de 33% em relação às técnicas tradicionais de multiplicação de colônias que conseguiriam formar, no máximo, 12 colônias no mesmo período. A verificação da freqüência de produção de sexuados nas colônias naturais ao longo do ano mostrou que os machos são produzidos sazonalmente com alta taxa no período de fevereiro a abril, e embora as rainhas possuam uma produção baixa e homogênea ao longo do ano, concluímos que aquelas produzidas no período onde ocorre maior disponibilidade de machos possuem maiores chances de serem fecundadas. Assim, foi extremamente importante sincronizar a produção in vitro de rainhas com o período de maior disponibilidade de machos, uma vez que a fecundação destas ocorreu naturalmente. A produção in vitro de rainhas e a multiplicação de colônias nas abelhas sem ferrão se tornam ferramentas importantes para as técnicas de manejo que visam obter colônias em larga escala, com emprego na polinização, meliponicultura e conservação. / With the improvement of meliponiculture, the use of stingless bees, as well as their byproducts, has comprised new areas, such as the pollination of crops. Thus, the requirement by increasing the number of colonies has been constant, but due to poor knowledge about reproductive biology of these bees, have been difficult produce colonies on a large scale, what causes serious limitations on the commercial use of these pollinators. Our goals were to offer tools that allowed the multiplication of stingless bees colonies in large quantities in a short time. In stingless bees (except in the genus Melipona and in cases where there are miniature-queens) the amount of food ingested by female larvae is the responsible feature for caste differentiation, because the larvae that will become queens must to ingest more food than the larvae of future workers, and there is no qualitative difference between the food provided to larvae of both castes. According to this model of caste determination, we aimed at to establish the in vitro production of queens in Tetragonisca angustula, offering a large quantity of larval food to the workers larvae, thus inducing their development into queens that after rearing were introduced in orphaned mini-colonies to verify their feasibility (natural mating and egg laying). Under natural conditions the larvae of T. angustula that become queens and workers receive respectively, 55 µL and 8 µL of food on average. Thus, for the in vitro production of queens we offered 55 µL of food to workers larvae collected in pre-feeding stage from natural nests and we were able to get a survival rate up to 51 % and 19% in obtaining viable queens, which is an improvement compared to 0,21% of rearing queens observed in natural hives. About 41% of mini-colonies, where viable queens were introduced were successful and have become perennial colonies. The use of workers larvae on in vitro production of queens is possible because the larvae are totipotent, as well as the use of food collected from workers/males brood cells, because the results of comparative analysis of protein content and total and free amino acids of food stored in worker/males brood cells and royal cells showed no significant differences. The use of larval food from Scaptotrigona aff. depilis on in vitro rearing of T. angustula queens showed the possibility of producing viable queens, with this new technique, although the protein profiles of larval food of both species were different. The experiments of in vitro production of queens with different amounts of food offered to the larvae showed the existence of a threshold quantity of food between 35 mL and 45 mL above which all individuals become queens and below which all individuals become workers, without the occurrence of intermediate individuals (intercaste). Inserting the queens produced in vitro in orphaned mini-colonies, we were able to establish 16 perennial colonies as from six colonies donors of material in six months, constituting an increase of 33% compared to traditional techniques of multiplication of colonies which would form up only 12 colonies in the same period. Verification of frequency of sexuals reared in natural colonies over the year showed that males are produced seasonally with high rate in the period from February to April, and although the queens have a low and homogeneous occurrence over the year, we concluded that the queens produced during the period where there is greater availability of males, have higher chances of being fertilized. Thus, was extremely important synchronize the in vitro production of queens with the period where there is greater availability of males, since fertilization of these queens occurred naturally. The in vitro production of queens and multiplication of colonies in stingless bees become important tools for handling techniques that aim to obtain colonies on a large scale, with employment in pollination, meliponiculture and conservation.

A criação racional de abelhas sem ferrão, conhecida como meliponicultura, é uma atividade crescente no Brasil e sua demanda abriu o campo para pesquisas que favorecem esse mercado. Além disso, o papel essencial desempenhado por esses insetos na polinização tem chamado atenção para o seu uso sustentável na prática agrícola. Nesses aspectos, alguns trabalhos são direcionados à aquisição de conhecimento básico sobre a biologia dessas abelhas que embasem técnicas de manejo e aprimoramento da sua criação. Um fator crucial é a multiplicação de colmeias em um intervalo de tempo menor a partir da obtenção artificial de rainhas, que foi o foco deste trabalho. A espécie aqui envolvida, Tetragona clavipes, tem distribuição ampla em território brasileiro e um potencial relevante no fornecimento de produtos como mel, pólen, cera e resinas, apesar dos poucos dados sobre seu manejo na literatura afim. Sua diferenciação de castas depende da quantidade de alimento ingerido durante a fase larval. A primeira parte da pesquisa envolveu a criação de larvas in vitro, onde foi caracterizada a quantidade limiar de alimento larval para diferenciação de castas: entre 45 e 50 µL. Nessas condições emergiram operárias e rainhas; entre 20 e 40 µL, apenas operárias e a partir de 60 até 110 µL, apenas rainhas. Houve mortalidade alta das larvas, com média de 40%, sendo o controle de umidade relativa o ponto crítico. A segunda parte do trabalho envolveu a formação de minicolônias, em que grupos de operárias jovens (aproximadamente 50) foram mantidos com rainhas virgens em caixas pequenas. 26 minicolônias foram montadas, dentre estas, 5 com rainhas naturais. Somente duas rainhas naturais foram fecundadas e tiveram sucesso na fundação dos ninhos. Nesses dois casos o número de operárias utilizado foi maior (em torno de 200) e com idades diferentes. O principal fator que limitou essa etapa foi a agressividade das operárias durante a fase para aceitação das rainhas virgens. Nesse ponto, a estratégia mais eficiente foi a introdução de rainhas, ainda em fase de pupa, dentro de cápsulas de cerume da própria minicolônia, apesar de não terem permanecido nas caixas mesmo depois de terem sido aceitas. Uma análise por morfometria geométrica, com os programas de computador tpsDig e MorphoJ, mostrou a diferença no padrão de venação entre as asas de operárias e rainhas obtidas em laboratório. Em todas as colônias observadas foi constatada a presença de um fungo que se desenvolve naturalmente no interior das células de cria, cujas hifas são ingeridas pela larva. Entretanto, não foi possível o seu isolamento em meio de cultivo. Apesar do número pequeno de ninhos novos formados, o estudo desta espécie possibilitou a aquisição de dados importantes para a continuidade das pesquisas e também para conduzir seu manejo mais eficiente, acrescentando informações até então desconhecidas sobre sua biologia e seu comportamento. / The rational creation of stingless bees, known as meliponiculture in Brazil, is a growing activity and its demand opened the field for research and many works that favor this market. Moreover, the essential role played by these insects as pollinators has drawn attention for its sustainable use in crop pollination. In these respects, some studies are directed to the acquisition of basic knowledge about the biology of these bees which to base management techniques and improvement on its creation. A crucial factor is the multiplication of hives in a shorter interval of time by the artificial obtainment of queens, which is the focus of present work. The species involved here was Tetragona clavipes, which has a wide distribution in Brazil and a significant potential to supply products such as honey, pollen, wax and resins, despite the few data about its management in the related literature. Its caste differentiation depends only on the amount of larval food ingested at the larval stage. The first step of the research involved the development of larvae in vitro, when was characterized the amount of larval food that is the threshold for its caste differentiation: between 45 and 50 µL. In these conditions workers and queens emerge; between 20 and 40 µL, only workers and from 60 to 110 µL, only queens. There was a high mortality of larvae with an average of 40%, where the control of relative humidity was the critical point. The second part of the work involved the attempted to form mini colonies, where groups of young workers (aroud 50) with virgin queens were kept in small boxes. 26 mini colonies were assembled, among these, five with virgins natural queens. Only two natural queens were fertilized and founded nests with success. In these cases the number of workers put inside box was higher (around 200) and with different ages. The main factor that had limited this step was the aggressiveness of the workers during the acceptance of the virgin queens. At this point, the most effective strategy was the introduction of queens still in the pupal stage, inside capsules of cerumen from the own mini colonies, despite not having stayed in the boxes probably by other reasons, even when already were accepted. Additional analysis using geometric morphometrics, with the computer programs tpsDig and MorphoJ, showed a difference in the pattern of wing venation between workers and queens obtained in laboratory. In all colonies observed also was found the presence of a fungus that grows naturally inside of brood cells, whose hyphae are ingested by the larvae. However, it could not be isolated in culture medium. Despite the small number of new nests acquired, the study of this species allowed the acquisition of important data for further research and also to conduct its management more efficient, adding previously unknown details about its biology and behavior.

Devido a restrições de aplicabilidade presentes nos algoritmos para a solução de problemas de otimização combinatória, os sistemas baseados em redes neurais artificiais e algoritmos genéticos oferecem um método alternativo para solucionar tais problemas eficientemente. Os algoritmos genéticos devem a sua popularidade à possibilidade de percorrer espaços de busca não-lineares e extensos. Já as redes neurais artificiais possuem altas taxas de processamento por utilizarem um número elevado de elementos processadores simples com alta conectividade entre si. Complementarmente, redes neurais com conexões realimentadas fornecem um modelo computacional capaz de resolver vários tipos de problemas de otimização, os quais consistem, geralmente, da otimização de uma função objetivo que pode estar sujeita ou não a um conjunto de restrições. Esta tese apresenta uma abordagem inovadora para resolver problemas de conexão em otimização combinatória utilizando uma arquitetura neuro-genética. Mais especificamente, uma rede neural de Hopfield modificada é associada a um algoritmo genético visando garantir a convergência da rede em direção aos pontos de equilíbrio factíveis que representam as soluções para os problemas de otimização combinatória. / Due to applicability constraints involved with the algorithms for solving combinatorial optimization problems, systems based on artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms are alternative methods for solving these problems in an efficient way. The genetic algorithms must its popularity to make possible cover nonlinear and extensive search spaces. On the other hand, artificial neural networks have high processing rates due to the use of a massive number of simple processing elements and the high degree of connectivity between these elements. Additionally, neural networks with feedback connections provide a computing model capable of solving a large class of optimization problems, which refer to optimization of an objective function that can be subject to constraints. This thesis presents a novel approach for solving connection problems in combinatorial optimization using a neurogenetic approach. More specifically, a modified Hopfield neural network is associated with a genetic algorithm in order to guarantee the convergence of the network to the equilibrium points, which represent feasible solutions for the combinatorial optimization problems.

Dans le Royaume de Sicile, le patronage religieux entrepris par les femmes des dynasties normande et Hohenstaufen sous-tend la question de l'affirmation de l'individu dans la société médiévale. Comme dans les représentations iconographiques des reines et des princesses, ces actions mettent l'accent plus sur le pouvoir de la dame aristocratique que sur son appartenance au genre féminin. Mais le patronage féminin est aussi lié à la question de la mémoire du lignage; l'individu se définissant par rapport à un groupe formé de morts et de vivants, la commémoration des ancêtres disparus participe aussi à la création d'un mémoire aristocratique véhiculée par les femmes. / In the Realm of Sicily, the religious patronage begun by the women of the dynasties Norman and Hohenstaufen underlies the question of the assertion of the individual in the medieval society. As in the iconographic representations of the queens and the princesses, these actions emphasize more the power of the aristocratic lady than her membership in the feminine genre.But the feminine patronage is also connected to the question of the memory of the nobility; the individual defining itself with regard to a group formed by deaths and by alive, the remembrance of the disappeared ancestors also participates in the creation of an aristocratic report conveyed by the women.

Dans le Royaume de Sicile, le patronage religieux entrepris par les femmes des dynasties normande et Hohenstaufen sous-tend la question de l'affirmation de l'individu dans la société médiévale. Comme dans les représentations iconographiques des reines et des princesses, ces actions mettent l'accent plus sur le pouvoir de la dame aristocratique que sur son appartenance au genre féminin. Mais le patronage féminin est aussi lié à la question de la mémoire du lignage; l'individu se définissant par rapport à un groupe formé de morts et de vivants, la commémoration des ancêtres disparus participe aussi à la création d'un mémoire aristocratique véhiculée par les femmes. / In the Realm of Sicily, the religious patronage begun by the women of the dynasties Norman and Hohenstaufen underlies the question of the assertion of the individual in the medieval society. As in the iconographic representations of the queens and the princesses, these actions emphasize more the power of the aristocratic lady than her membership in the feminine genre.But the feminine patronage is also connected to the question of the memory of the nobility; the individual defining itself with regard to a group formed by deaths and by alive, the remembrance of the disappeared ancestors also participates in the creation of an aristocratic report conveyed by the women.