This thesis examines the relationship, in theory and in practice, between the concepts of justice (iustitia) and mercy (misericordia) in English courts between c. 1100 and c. 1250. During this period English judges (in courts of both common and canon law) were faced with a serious dilemma. The emergence of systematic law had fundamentally altered the pastoral foundations of the act of judgement. On the one hand, judges were incorporated into a system of law in which justice was expected to be routine and regular. They were bound by procedure, and ‘justice’ was considered to lie in the return of due punishment for injury. On the other, this notion of strict justice coexisted with an alternative way of conceiving of judicial responsibilities, which emphasised that justice was incomplete unless it incorporated within it the principle of mercy. This tradition argued that, both for the benefit of the offender and the judge’s own soul, it was safer and more virtuous to mitigate the punishments prescribed by law. English judges were caught in a dilemma, and were, in effect, obliged to choose between two fundamentally opposed ideas of justice, and two starkly contrasting approaches to sentencing. This thesis argues that such a choice was a problem which concerned the schools of theology as much as it did the courts of law. It examines the attempts of theologians and lawyers to resolve the dilemma and provide practical counsel to judges. Scripture, classical philosophy and patristic texts were the key sources in a discussion of how judicial discretion should be exercised in choosing between punitive and merciful courses of action. Rather than conceiving of justice as a purely procedural exercise, English law, and English judges, appreciated that the act of giving judgement was a complex pastoral challenge.

This thesis is an exercise in the archaeology of memory. It investigates the reuse and ‘reinvention’ of late antique sarcophagi during the Middle Ages in the southern part of Gaul, with a particular emphasis on their reinvention for saints. The region of Provence has a large number of sarcophagi reused for the burial of saints (at least 20), including many of its most important holy figures such as Mary Magdalene, Cassian and Honorat. I shall analyse three groups of sites: the Alyscamps in Arles, Saint-Maximin and Tarascon (the sites connected with Mary Magdalene and her companions) and the monastery of Saint Victor in Marseille. In each case, the sarcophagi became part of an invented narrative created around the imagined antiquity of the site. These narratives varied significantly: some were monastic, others episcopal or biblical, still others heroic: but all were created around antique sarcophagi. Antiquities thus became monumental realms of memory for individuals and events that were thought to have been of significant historical importance in Provence. They formed part of the popular history and collective identity of the region. I will show that their association with saints changed the very function of these objects, as many were no longer seen simply as tombs but also as relics in their own right. I use a variety of sources to help reconstruct this imagined history, particularly saints’ vitae that often provide information about cults, particularly regarding the location of sarcophagi and sometimes even details of miracles that they produced, but also medieval chartae, sermons, and pilgrims’ descriptions of sites and rituals. The results of this study show that sarcophagi were of major importance in the religious history of Provence during the Middle Ages, as they became "proof" of the antiquity of local cults and of the histories based on these legends that the region created for itself. My work contributes to our knowledge of medieval Provence and the history of its collections of sarcophagi.

The assertion that the Mahābhārata (MBh) narrative is innately incapable of achieving a conclusion has attained the status of a disciplinary truism in the epic’s study. My thesis challenges this prevalent assumption by proposing an un-investigated path of inquiry into the philological, historical, literary and semantic aspects of the epic. The thesis discusses the ending of the MBh, the Svargārohaṇa parvan (SĀ) by exploring several trajectories: the study of the SĀ in epic scholarship; its reception in the later tradition in Sanskrit literature; and finally, the problematic aspects of the SĀ and its relation to the rest of the narrative. It first points out that in comparison to other MBh episodes, the SĀ has been received with significant disregard or suppression in the literature commenting on the epic. Second, it characterizes the nature of the suppression of the SĀ in each of the three literary strands commenting on the MBh (epic scholarship, Sanskrit adaptations and theoretical discourses). It argues that all of these considerations, which are external to the MBh, have tended, in various modes, to suppress, ignore or overlook the importance of the SĀ. The thesis then proceeds to argue that on the most significant and internal level of the text itself, the SĀ is intrinsically consistent with the rest of the MBh narrative, and that this makes it thematically integral to the text as a whole. This argument derives from the importance with which this study addresses the moment of the condemnation of dharma in the SĀ, and is furthered by a philological and semantic study, as well as textual analyses of the multiple occurrences of the Sanskrit verb garh throughout the MBh. The use of this verb by the epic protagonist, Yudhiṣṭhira, in condemning his father, Dharma, at the last scenes of the SĀ comprises a key moment that bears significant and myriad implications upon the understanding of this pivotal concept (dharma), to which the entire epic is devoted.

Esta tese aborda o imaginário da ocupação pré-colombiana das Américas por parte das civilizações do Mediterrâneo antigo, nomeadamente grega e fenícia, tal como abordada nas Inscripções e Tradições da America Prehistorica, de Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos (1858-1931). As Inscripções, publicadas entre 1930-1939, são o resultado de décadas de pesquisa do autor sobre esta teoria, especulada no século XIX nos círculos da arqueologia brasileira, mas que por ocasião do fim do século caída em descrédito. Esta obra, publicada pela Imprensa Nacional com subsídios governamentais, é o último momento onde o imaginário da Antiguidade brasileira ainda encontrou algum respaldo institucional, passando a partir daí a persistir apenas em meios pseudohistóricos e pseudocientíficos, entre outros. Concluiu-se que a argumentação das Inscripções é marcada por um discurso de resignificação do território nacional e seus monumentos, e constituía uma tentativa de valorização do passado nacional através da vinculação com as culturas da Antiguidade. / This thesis deals with the imagery of pre-Columbian colonization of the Americas by the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, such as Greek and Phoenician, as seen on the work Inscripções e Tradições da America Prehistorica, (Inscriptions and Traditions of Prehistoric America) de Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos (1858-1931). That work, published between 1930-1939, was the result of decades of research on that theory, which was entertained by some circles of Brazilian archaeology on the 19th century but later discredited. The Inscripções, published by the Imprensa Nacional (National Press) with governmental funding, is the last moment in which the imagery of Brazilian Antiquity still found some institutional support, later belonging only to pseudohistorical and pseudoscientifical speculation. It was concluded that the argumentation of the Inscripções consists of a strong discourse of reinterpretation of the country and its monuments, and that it attempted to enhance the national past by linking it with the cultures of Classical Antiquity.

Esta tese aborda o imaginário da ocupação pré-colombiana das Américas por parte das civilizações do Mediterrâneo antigo, nomeadamente grega e fenícia, tal como abordada nas Inscripções e Tradições da America Prehistorica, de Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos (1858-1931). As Inscripções, publicadas entre 1930-1939, são o resultado de décadas de pesquisa do autor sobre esta teoria, especulada no século XIX nos círculos da arqueologia brasileira, mas que por ocasião do fim do século caída em descrédito. Esta obra, publicada pela Imprensa Nacional com subsídios governamentais, é o último momento onde o imaginário da Antiguidade brasileira ainda encontrou algum respaldo institucional, passando a partir daí a persistir apenas em meios pseudohistóricos e pseudocientíficos, entre outros. Concluiu-se que a argumentação das Inscripções é marcada por um discurso de resignificação do território nacional e seus monumentos, e constituía uma tentativa de valorização do passado nacional através da vinculação com as culturas da Antiguidade. / This thesis deals with the imagery of pre-Columbian colonization of the Americas by the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, such as Greek and Phoenician, as seen on the work Inscripções e Tradições da America Prehistorica, (Inscriptions and Traditions of Prehistoric America) de Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos (1858-1931). That work, published between 1930-1939, was the result of decades of research on that theory, which was entertained by some circles of Brazilian archaeology on the 19th century but later discredited. The Inscripções, published by the Imprensa Nacional (National Press) with governmental funding, is the last moment in which the imagery of Brazilian Antiquity still found some institutional support, later belonging only to pseudohistorical and pseudoscientifical speculation. It was concluded that the argumentation of the Inscripções consists of a strong discourse of reinterpretation of the country and its monuments, and that it attempted to enhance the national past by linking it with the cultures of Classical Antiquity.

Esta tese aborda o imaginário da ocupação pré-colombiana das Américas por parte das civilizações do Mediterrâneo antigo, nomeadamente grega e fenícia, tal como abordada nas Inscripções e Tradições da America Prehistorica, de Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos (1858-1931). As Inscripções, publicadas entre 1930-1939, são o resultado de décadas de pesquisa do autor sobre esta teoria, especulada no século XIX nos círculos da arqueologia brasileira, mas que por ocasião do fim do século caída em descrédito. Esta obra, publicada pela Imprensa Nacional com subsídios governamentais, é o último momento onde o imaginário da Antiguidade brasileira ainda encontrou algum respaldo institucional, passando a partir daí a persistir apenas em meios pseudohistóricos e pseudocientíficos, entre outros. Concluiu-se que a argumentação das Inscripções é marcada por um discurso de resignificação do território nacional e seus monumentos, e constituía uma tentativa de valorização do passado nacional através da vinculação com as culturas da Antiguidade. / This thesis deals with the imagery of pre-Columbian colonization of the Americas by the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, such as Greek and Phoenician, as seen on the work Inscripções e Tradições da America Prehistorica, (Inscriptions and Traditions of Prehistoric America) de Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos (1858-1931). That work, published between 1930-1939, was the result of decades of research on that theory, which was entertained by some circles of Brazilian archaeology on the 19th century but later discredited. The Inscripções, published by the Imprensa Nacional (National Press) with governmental funding, is the last moment in which the imagery of Brazilian Antiquity still found some institutional support, later belonging only to pseudohistorical and pseudoscientifical speculation. It was concluded that the argumentation of the Inscripções consists of a strong discourse of reinterpretation of the country and its monuments, and that it attempted to enhance the national past by linking it with the cultures of Classical Antiquity.

Seneca’s contribution to the development of Western European theatre and conceptions of theatricality has been underestimated in comparison to that of Greek tragedy. This thesis argues for the continuous importance of Senecan drama in theatrical theory and practice from the sixteenth century until the present day. It examines significant instances of Seneca in performance, and shows how these draw on particular aspects of Seneca’s style and dramaturgical technique to coalesce into a sub-genre of tragedy termed here ‘hypertragedy’ or the ‘senecan aesthetic’. The underlying premise of this representational mode is that verbal (vocal) performance is a physical act and induces physical responses. This entails the consequential inference that Senecan theatre is not mimetic – that is, based on an isomorphic identification of character with performer – but rather affective; like oratory, it functions through direct, quasi-musical manipulation of the auditor’s senses. The goal of this theatrical form is to articulate extreme states of mind or experiences which cannot be conveyed via conventional mimetic means: pain, frenzy, dissolution of the self. In tracing the theories of tragedy which comprise a narrative contrapuntal to the reception of Seneca onstage, it is possible to identify the factors which have successively constructed, promoted, suppressed, reviled and finally reinstated the senecan aesthetic as philhellenism’s other.

Clement of Alexandria, active in the second half of the second century AD, is one of the first Christian authors to explain and defend the nascent religion in the terms of Greek philosophy and in relation to Greek paideia. His major work, the Stromateis, is a lengthy commentary on the true gnosis of the Christian faith, with no apparent overarching structure or organisational principle, replete with quotations from biblical, Jewish, Greek 'gnostic' and Christian works of all genres. This thesis seeks to read this complex and erudite text in conversation with what has been termed the ‘Second Sophistic’, the efflorescence of elite Greek literature under the Roman empire. We will examine the the text as a performance of authorial persona, competing in the agonistic marketplace of Greek paideia. Clement presents himself as a philosophical teacher in a diadoche from the apostles, arrogating to himself a kind of apostolic authority which appeals to both philosophical notions of intellectual credibility and Christian notions of the authentic handing down of tradition. We will also examine how the work engages key thematic concerns of the period, particularly discourses of intellectual eclecticism and ethnicity, challenging both Greek and Roman forms of hegemony to create a space for Christian identity. Lastly, this thesis will critically examine the Stromateis' intertextual relationship with the Homeric epics; the Iliad and the Odyssey are used as a testing ground for Christian self-positioning in relation to Greek culture as a whole. As we trace this variable relationship, we will also see the cross-fertilisation of reading strategies between Homer and the bible; these developing complex allegorical methods not only presage the rise of Neoplatonism, but also lay the foundations for changes in cultural authority which accompany the Christianisaton of the Roman empire in the centuries after Clement.

Dans la réadaptation d’un mythe, l’évolution des mentalités, notamment en ce qui concerne les représentations familiales, donne lieu à de larges remaniements de l’intrigue proposée par la tradition antique. Le mythe d’Electre, peut-être parce qu’il propose un modèle déjà compliqué à assumer pour les Grecs anciens (un fils tuant sa mère), est l’objet d’une transmission difficile. La rareté des Electre au XVIIe siècle, puis les innovations auxquelles les dramaturges sont contraints pour les adapter dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle, attestent ces difficultés. Le personnage d’Electre, en tant que sœur, subit des modifications en profondeur, même si elle demeure toujours fidèle à l’idéal de réunion familiale : désormais, cette réunion inclut la mère, ce qui implique un regard très différent sur le matricide. Les réactions de la jeune fille sont parfois difficiles à comprendre ; on peut néanmoins les rattacher, d’un point de vue juridique et social, à des normes auxquelles elles obéissent, même lorsqu’elles semblent les transgresser. La période durant laquelle le mythe d’Electre est le plus dynamique en Europe correspond à un nouvel intérêt pour les relations familiales. L’on peut noter, dans la tragédie, une transition entre des pièces (au XVIIe siècle) où le rôle de la sœur demeure largement indifférencié, vers des pièces (au XIXe) où la sœur est un personnage compris pour la richesse de la relation qu’il entretient avec le frère. Les intrigues consacrées à Electre mettent en avant la relation du frère et de la sœur : cette spécificité contribue à expliquer pourquoi la fable connaît un tel essor, à l’époque même du drame bourgeois. / When adapting a myth to theatre, the plot from the original antique tradition is often largely modified to suit the audience’s mentality of the time, especially as far as the reprensentation of the family ties is concerned. Perhaps because it proposes a model which is complicated even for ancient Greeks to accept (that of a son killing his mother)The Electra myth has had a difficult transmission through the ages. The rare occurences of Electra in the XVIIth century, and the necessary innovations that playwriters had to invent to adapt the subject during the second half of the XVIIIth century confirm those difficulties. As a sister, Electra’s character is deeply modified. Even if she remains attached to an ideal of family unity, this reunion now includes the mother, which implies a totally different view of the matricide in the original text. Although the young woman’s reactions are sometimes difficult to understand, from a legal and social point of view they can be linked to the norms to which they obey, even when they seem to break them. The Electra myth is at its most dynamic time in Europe when a new interest in familial relationships is growing. In tragedy, there is a noticible transition between plays in the XVIIth century where the role of the sister is widely unspecialized, to plays in the XIXth century where the sister character is recognised for its rich relationship with the brother. Intrigues dedicated to Electra stress the relationship between the brother and sister: that specificity helps to explain why this antique fable is so popular at the very same time as the drame bourgeois.

I examine Wilde’s Hellenism in terms of the specific texts, editions and institutions through which he encountered ancient Greece. The late-nineteenth-century professionalisation of classical scholarship and the rise of the new science of archaeology from the 1870s onwards endangered the status of antiquity as a textual source of ideal fictions rather than a material object of positivist study. The major theme of my thesis is Wilde’s relationship with archaeology and his efforts to preserve Greece as an imaginative resource and a model for right conduct. From his childhood Wilde had accompanied his father Sir William Wilde on digs around Ireland. Sir William’s ethnological interests led him to posit a common racial origin for Celts and Greeks; thus, for Wilde, to read a Greek text was to intuit native affinity. Chapters 1–3 trace his education, his travels in Greece, his involvement with the founding of the Hellenic Society, and his defence of the archaeologically accurate stage spectaculars of the 1880s, arguing that in his close association with supporters of archaeology such as J.P. Mahaffy and George Macmillan Wilde exemplifies the new kind of Hellenist opposed by Benjamin Jowett and R.C. Jebb. Chapter 4 makes a case for Wilde’s final repudiation of archaeology and his return to the textual remains of Greek antiquity, present as an intertexual resource in his mature works. Thus I examine the role of Aristotle’s Ethics in ‘The Soul of Man Under Socialism’ and of Platonism in the critical dialogues, The Picture of Dorian Gray and ‘The Portrait of Mr W.H.’ I present The Importance of Being Earnest as a self-conscious exercise in the New Comedy of Menander, concluding that Wilde ultimately returned to the anachronistic eclecticism of the Renaissance attitude to ancient texts.