This work addresses the nationalistic elements in the 1570 work Kunst des Fechtens by Joachim Meyer of Strassburg. Meyer's teachings on the longsword are attached to the Swabian Johannes Liechtenauer and then transferred to the Italian rapier thus establishing Meyer as less concerned with nationalist purity as others of his century. His teachings are examined for their pleadings for moral conduct and the preservation of martial studies to the youth of Germany and the young Duke of Bavaria, Johann Casimir. Using modern examples alongside Meyer's writings the case is also made for the integration of nationalist sentiments, moral and ethical instruction, and martial arts training.

Broad changes in early-modern English society were often reflected in the community via a 'war of words'. A close investigation of the social circumstances of individuals and of the relationships between individuals who were caught up in verbal crime provides a detailed context or 'micro-history' of this phenomenon, which in turn sheds light on the socio-economic changes occurring in the Northwest during this period. Since crimes associated with speech increased fourfold between 1580-1680, an investigation of the symbolic domain of speech is important to an understanding of early-modern society. This includes an investigation of chiding, cursing and scolding. In this thesis, the sources of female power in the early-modern community are examined, as well as the dynamics of ill-will behind female verbal crime. Such crimes are researched from manuscripts of proceedings in the local church courts and quarter sessions, which often provide insights into the popular politics of early-modern towns. By examining such texts, we may access a 'micro-history' of gossip that contributes to the debate over such micro-historical questions as gender, social politics and female social space. Networks of power and factional divisions with the community are revealed by exploring the attitudes of those involved in cases of female verbal crime, since individuals from every walk of life appeared in order to give evidence / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation investigates the extent of knowledge of China in Europe and, more particularly, Chinese influence on European art and architecture in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It attempts to answer the following questions: 1. What visual and literature resources on China and Chinese art in Europe were available in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? 2. To which extent was there any understanding of Chinese art and architecture in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? 3. To which extent might this understanding have affected European art and architecture in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? Although European contacts with China began in the early sixteenth century, few scholars have touched on the evidence that exists of the extent of European knowledge of Chinese architecture before 1720, even on the possible impact of the Chinese architectural designs that were depicted on Chinese porcelains and other merchandise imported into Europe for two centuries before that date. This dissertation examines the evidence for the employment of new and differing aesthetics derived from Chinese artifacts and then assimilated in European art, architecture and landscape in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. After examining the variety of resources from which the new aesthetics derived from Chinese artifacts imported into Europe was evolved, the dissertation analyzes Chinese influence in different nations in an order which follows the most consistently open and effective communications to the Far East. In the process, the dissertation quotes the contemporary historical descriptions of those Chinese artifacts as well as attempting to identify their influence on European art and architecture, thus providing evidence that the interaction between China and Europe served as subtle but active, generative force in European art throughout the period. In sum, the thesis attempts to explore the European understanding of Chinese art in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and to examine the consequences of that influence as they were reflected in European art and architecture. It analyzes some of the most influential and related social, political, and religious aspects that acted as powerful stimuli, which in turn affected in the growth of Chinese influence on European art, architecture and landscape. This dissertation thus attempts to push back the significance of the Chinese influence on aspects of European artistic styles from the accepted date of the early eighteenth century to the seventeenth and even earlier - the sixteenth century.

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This thesis details the rise to power of one of the great families of late sixteenth-century France, the Gondi. Antoine de Gondi, the last of fifteen children, left his native Florence to settle permanently in France in the first decade of the sixteenth century. Like many other Italian immigrants of his time, he established himself in Lyon as a merchant and banker. He later bought the Seigneurie du Perron, and married a woman of Piedmontese origin, Marie-Catherine de Pierrevive. Catherine de’ Medici met the couple and soon after invited them to court, giving them positions in the royal households. Antoine’s children, most notably Albert and Pierre, distinguished themselves at court, and not long afterwards were awarded the highest offices of state and church. Albert became Marshal of France in 1573, and Pierre became Bishop of Paris in 1570. At the same time, they proved themselves indispensable servants to the monarchy, and served the crown diplomatically, politically and financially, both in France and on foreign missions. Both brothers had large Parisian real estate holdings, both inside and outside the city centre. The essential role of the Gondi women in family strategy is also analysed. Albert and Pierre’s sister, Jeanne, became Prioress at the royal Priory of Saint-Louis de Poissy. The cousins of Albert and Pierre, Jean-Baptiste and Jérôme Gondi, stayed closely connected to the world of international banking and, together with other bankers, facilitated loans to the increasingly insolvent crown. The Gondi were often targets of anti-Italian hostility from various segments of French society, and contemporary perceptions of the Gondi family are examined. This study shows the family’s deployment of and reliance on close kin to expand their web of influence throughout France and abroad. This dissertation details the many mechanisms employed by the Gondi family to consolidate and expand their influence during the tumultuous French wars of religion.

During the civil wars between the conquistadores, Peru was a field of experimentation for the new military tactics developed in Europe following the introduction of portable infantry firearms. This article suggests that, however, the techniques introduced by Francisco de Carvajal, Gonzalo Pizarro’s fieldmaster, predated those used in Europe by several decades, especially regarding the rate of fire in combat. In the battle of Huarina (1547), Carvajal used his own method to ensure his infantry’s ability to deliver heavy fire. The technique relied on adequate training and on the number of weapons each soldier carriedin battle, rather than on the number of men. / Las nuevas tácticas militares desarrolladas en combate en Europa a raíz de la introducción de las armas de fuego portátiles en la infantería también se experimentaron en el Perú en el transcurso de las guerras civiles entre los conquistadores. En el presente artículo, postulo que Francisco de Carvajal, maestre de campo de Gonzalo Pizarro, se adelantó en varios decenios a las tácticas empleadas en Europa a la hora de sostener la cadencia de fuego en batalla. Así, en la batalla de Huarina (1547), Carvajal consiguió desarrollar su propio método para asegurar un nutrido fuego de su infantería, el que dependía, más que del número de hombres, del entrenamiento de los mismos y de la cantidad de armas que cada uno portaba en batalla.

Ce travail a pour vocation d’interroger, dans un corpus de pièces françaises compris entre 1537 et 1583, la spécificité de la présence féminine en tragédie et son rôle dans l’élaboration de l’esthétique tragique, supposée entre autres à partir du constat de la préférence des premiers dramaturges pour les héroïnes. Nous examinons la place du féminin et ses enjeux à trois niveaux différents. Tout d’abord, nous étudions les textes théoriques et paratextes qui définissent la tragédie. Dans ce cadre, nous ne trouvons aucune association explicite du tragique et du féminin, néanmoins le féminin y est défini de manière problématique, entre nécessité de la norme (la convenance) et constat de la transgression (Electra qui émerveille par sa virilité). Ensuite, dans les textes eux-mêmes, nous observons une profusion de discours des personnages portant sur la question du féminin. Bien souvent, les lieux communs sont convoqués pour mieux marquer le décalage de l’héroïne avec les femmes du commun ; parfois, le cas de l’héroïne est même utilisé pour contester le lieu commun. Dès lors, nous étudions enfin l’action des femmes sur la scène tragique en la comparant à celle des hommes : l’étude de la spécificité des rôles féminins dans l’intrigue, du type de jeu et de spectacle qu’elles mettent en place, celle de leur effet moral et idéologique sur le spectateur enfin, nous permettent de redéfinir l’héroïsme féminin dans le corpus. Étant donné que la tragédie se construit, d’après nous, sur la recherche de l’action extraordinaire, les héroïnes, plus admirables justement parce qu’elles appartiennent au sexe faible, paraîtraient d’abord plus favorables à la renaissance de la tragédie à l’antique de langue française et lui conféreraient ainsi ses premiers traits. / From a study of a corpus of French plays written 1537-1583, this dissertation examines in detail the female presence in tragedy and its role in the development of the aesthetics of tragic drama. The place of the feminine and the issues arising from it are analyzed on three different levels. First, the theoretical and paratextual works that define tragedy were studied. In this corpus of work, no explicit association between the tragic and the feminine is found. However, the feminine is defined throughout in a problematic way, between the necessity to conform to the norm (the decorum) and the evidence of departures from this norm (Electra will amaze because of her virility). Secondly, within the plays themselves, there are many speeches made by the characters pertaining to the question of femininity. Frequently, the common norms are referenced in order to better differentiate between the heroine and ordinary women; on occasion, the case of the heroine herself is used to contest more strongly the common norms. Finally, the action of the women in the tragic dramas is compared to that of the men. This entails the study of the roles of females in the plot, of the style of acting and performance required of them, of their moral and ideological effect on the audience, all of which allows for a redefinition of female heroism in the corpus. Given that tragic drama is constructed, in this author’s view, from the quest for extraordinary action, these heroines, all the more admirable precisely because they belong to the weaker sex, would primarily appear to be highly favorable for the successful revival of French classical tragedy, thus conferring upon it its first characteristics.

The present article studies the role of the missionary in the transmission of knowledge between Europe and Asia, particularly China, in the sixteenth century. Thanks to educational institutions established by the Jesuits and other religious orders in various parts of the world, there was an exchange of texts between Europe and the Far East. The result was a first orientalism, with missionaries (Jesuit and otherwise) as its principal agents, which not only translated European texts to China, but also carried knowledge to Europe from the Ming Empire. / El presente artículo estudia el rol del misionero en la transmisión de conocimientos entre Europa y Asia, en particular China, en el siglo XVI. Gracias a las instituciones educativas establecidas por los jesuitas y los miembros de otras órdenes religiosas en distintas partes del mundo, hubo un intercambio de textos entre Europa y el Lejano Oriente. El resultado fue un primer orientalismo, que tuvo como sus principales agentes a misioneros (fueran o no jesuitas), el cual no solo tradujo al chino textos producidos en el Viejo Continente, sino que también trasladó conocimientos a Europa desde el imperio de los Ming.

Using the sixteenth-century theories of sympathies to examine the inter-character relationships in Hamlet, I argue for a period reading that offers insight into Hamlet’s delay and the basis for his problematic relationships with Gertrude and Ophelia. Asserting Hamlet’s character as an observer in the play with the ultimate goal of healing the infected state of Denmark, this examination of Hamlet explores how sympathetic healing would function between the characters of Hamlet, the Ghost, Gertrude, and Ophelia. Such a reading would present these characters as vulnerable bodies capable of directly affecting each other over a physical distance. Hamlet’s ultimate tragedy then would arise from his failures to engage with these sympathetic forces effectively, resulting in his inability to find the proper cure for his state.

“The Pastoral Field: Local Ecologies in Early Modern Literature” excavates the ways in which pastoral literature registers the role nature-human interaction played in shaping protracted struggles over land use and ownership, and in the degradation and improvement of natural landscapes. Revising a longstanding critical tradition that understands early modern pastoral as primarily allegorical, the project instead insists that the form can also accommodate topical thinking about regional ecologies. Shifting the emphasis away from the Elizabethan court towards local agricultural politics, it unearths the ways in which natural crises such as flooding, famine, sheep rot, and soil degradation hastened processes of agricultural improvement and enclosure—and how those processes were in turn mediated, counter-factually imagined, and actively promoted within the literary devices of pastoral. Each of my four chapters locates pastoral plays, poems, romances, and country-house entertainments in the particular landscapes that shaped their development— landscapes that were, in turn, reconfigured by the literary and political concerns of Elizabethan authors.