This thesis explores the search for the sublime in a contemporary context. The 'Wilderness' can be viewed as a metaphysical space which can only be circumscribed. The dust storms of the Australian continent provides the space where in this experience is located, metaphorically. If the perceptions of reality are to be seen as filtered through the experiences and conditions of the human spirit, the sites or 'Stations' as the author has called them layer and reveal a personal reflection on the timelessness and commonality of the human condition. Space and time seem to collapse folding over and into itself, with a layering of memories and senses. Growing up in the Mallee in Victoria the author's formative years were shaped particularly by the land and the elements. In these works, the sense of identity is enveloped into a rather cosmic sense of being, when the author became inseparable from the red earth, its duststorms, the sense of space and the feeling of isolation. The most constant experience is that of the sense of interconnectedness and of being able to reach down and stroke the land from a distant vantage point. Consequently, the spiritual found in nature has been a re-occurring motif in the author's artistic practice. The location of the duststorm entitled 'God's Breath', is in flying over Adelaide, towards the Mallee. The grid indicates the impositions of perception which is projected on the land by the viewer, often from a cultural or political viewpoint. In this case the author's perception is influenced by the auto-biographical gaze and the duststorm itself becomes a metaphor for memory and interiority. The medium of wax as a preserving substance is used in the artworks, however this can be seen as being an agent of change, able to re-define it's form according to environmental conditions. The land as 'Self' or 'Mother' is not a constant location, but as in the 'Wilderness' can be seen as a spiritual and/or psychological space, a multi-dimensional filter for the senses and the mind, wherein the spirit can be expanded and be still in it's receptiveness. The four wax rectangles are representative of a duststorm, as seen from the interior perspective of the sensory. These works suggest a multitudinal level of experiences, not necessarily definable but open ended in concept. The void as a creative fullness nurtures the more transient moments of the sensory and temporal. From scarification and pain, through breath and loss, the journey through the wilderness results in a melodic tonal experience, indicative of memory, place and identity / Master of Arts (Hons) (Visual Arts)

O recorte temático desta tese são a Vita Apostolica e o Mistério Sacramental como sentido existencial e missão cristã para os homens do Ocidente Europeu na Idade Média Central (séculos XI-XIII) O documento a ser investigado é a versão alemã de Heidelberg do roman arturiano A Demanda do Santo Graal, cujo manuscrito germânico original foi compilado ao final do século XIII. O corpus corresponde ao códice 147 da Bibliotheca Palatina Germaniae de Heidelberg, não se tratando de mera versão dos originais bretões para o alemão medieval (Mittelhochdeutsch). A presente fonte constitui um corpus inaugural, um texto propriamente alemão, ainda que filiado ao Ciclo da Vulgata (Ciclo do Pseudo-Gautier Map), que correspondeu ao primeiro ciclo de prosificação das narrativas do Graal. Pretende-se perscrutar um elemento central do imaginário que caracterizou a experiência dos homens do Ocidente Europeu no apogeu da Idade Média Central. Tratase do sacramento, e a compreensão do sentido sacramental da existência humana no plano da imanência constitui relevante senha de compreensão e predicação de significado às experiências concretas destes homens. Isso se pode atingir por intermédio da apreensão do elemento axial de seu imaginário. / The thematic cutting of this dissertation are the Vita Apostolica and the sacramental mystery as life meaning and Christian mission for the people of the European Western World during the Central Middle Ages (11th to 13th centuries). The document to be analysed is the German version of the Arthurian romance The Quest of the Holy Grail, whose original German manuscript was compiled by the end of 13th century. The corpus corresponds to the codex 147 pertaining to the Bibliotheca Palatina Germaniae in Heidelberg, and this is no sheer translation of the original Bretonnic version to Middle German (Mittelhochdeutsch). The present source constitutes an original corpus, a properly German text, although linked up to the Vulgate Cycle (Pseudo-Gautier Map Cycle), which corresponds to the first prosification cycle entailing the Grail narratives. This study aims at scruting a central element of the imaginary concerning the historical experience of people of Western European World at the peak the Central Middle Ages. It is the sacrament, and the comprehension of the sacramental meaning of human life in the sphere of immanence builds up a relevant key to understanding and endowing concrete experiences with meaning. This can be achieved by means of aprehending the shaft element concernig their imaginary.

Our perception of the Holy Grail is, for the most part, the result of orthodox views that have dominated literary interpretation. However, the first appearance of the Holy Grail in literature does not conform to the orthodox rules and traditions. In fact, the narrative of Perceval is filled with evidence that points to a very different form of Christianity, one that would have been considered heretical at the time that Chrétien de Troyes was writing it. The twelfth century in France is often called the "Golden Age" of heresies. As Manichaeism and Bogolism swept through the country, they gave birth to a new heresy, that of Catharism. A defining factor shared by these three heresies is dualism, a belief in two gods, one being good and the other evil. These beliefs can all be traced to early Christianity and to groups who believed that they were the true followers of Christ. This study seeks to look at evidence of these beliefs in Perceval, while showing at the same time the implausibility of an orthodox interpretation. Research for this study extends to the beginnings of Christianity, more specifically to Gnostic beliefs. It also looks at other religious influences in France in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and at the Cathars. It examines what little we know about Chrétien de Troyes and the likelihood that he was influenced by heretical beliefs. In conclusion, it offers a new perspective on the Grail narrative and the mystery that surrounds Chrétien's famously unfinished work. Through exploration of knowledge, the treatment of women, and the famous "grail" scene, we demonstrate the prevalence of Gnostic influences, and how these influences were likely to occur at the time. Although the true essence of the Grail may always remain a mystery, this study offers an "unorthodox" outlook on what has become a predominantly "orthodox" symbol.

This essay investigates why the Myth of the Holy Grail continue to occur within popular culture. Myths, tales and legends from ancient times have inspired authors throughout the centuries. The readers are not only served with a spectacular adventure, but the myths also contain messages with a moral and ethical guidance for us as beholders. This particular myth can be found within different media in our time and the essay will attempt to give some answers as to why the myth reappears in new forms over and over again. An analysis is performed by using the methodology of aesthetic reception within reception theory. The material chosen for the analysis is the work of art; The Da Vinci Code by author Dan Brown, where two different media forms will be represented, the novel and the film. The findings in the analysis revealed that the key to understanding the reasons for the occurrence of this medieval myth is the element of a quest that is present within the myth. This ingredient, where you embark on an adventure, will create feelings of excitement for the beholder. A second aspect found is that we as humans have an interest in our history. Therefore, myths and legends from our historical past will be naturally alluring for beholders and especially if they are linked to philosophical questions and ideas that can be applied to our modern society. The success that has followed The Da Vinci Code has its explanation in the fact that Brown has managed to make the myth of the Holy Grail more contemporary, the myth has then been rejuvenated. A suggestion for further research is to perform a study on beholders in focus group interviews in order to validate the findings in the analysis.

A figura da mulher ocupa significativo papel nas novelas de cavalaria do Ciclo Bretão. Emergindo como um elemento que traz liga às narrativas do lendário artúrico, constitui-se adjuvante essencial e multifacetada na construção dos episódios, numa interação constante com o masculino representado, principalmente, pelos cavaleiros. O Medievo traz à tona uma imagem matizada do feminino: a mulher socialmente vista sob clivagens diversas é refletida na literatura de cavalaria, conforme se pode verificar em A Demanda do Santo Graal. A presença feminina é importantíssima na narrativa, sobretudo na sua tensa relação com a cavalaria, agora ligada ao elemento religioso - monastizada, celibatária e ascética. O objetivo precípuo de nossos estudos é investigar de que maneira a fôrma sociocultural medieva, na qual foi moldada A Demanda do Santo Graal, se relaciona com seu substrato: as narrativas provindas da cosmovisão inerente ao imaginário céltico. Desta feita, nosso viés analítico verticaliza-se no elemento feminino presente na obra. Mais especificamente, toma-se por escopo a imagem de personagens que refletem a ideologia clerical moralístico-didatizante do século XIII, mas, sobretudo, resgata-se a imagem de personagens imbuídas de singular dualidade; ambigüidade esta que é marca não só do medievo paradoxal concernente ao feminino, mas também de personas literárias concebidas entre dois mundos, dois pólos ideológicos distintos. Em outros termos, fala-se de personagens que são seres ficcionais bifrontes: personagens localizadas entre as herdades e as identidades. Foram tomados como corpora de pesquisa os episódios em que estas damas polidimensionais aparecem e se tornam adjuvantes na ação literária, seja para cooperar, confundir ou prejudicar os cavaleiros que empreendem a sagrada, inefável e venturosa busca do Santo Cálix que dará fim às aventuras do Reino de Logres / The figure of woman takes leading role in the novels of chivalry Cycle Breton. Emerging as an element that links the narratives of the legendary Arturo, it constitutes a vital and multifaceted adjuvant in the construction of the episodes in an ongoing interaction with the male represented mainly by knights. The Medieval brings up a nuanced picture of the female: the woman socially viewed under various divisions is reflected in the literature of chivalry, as it can be seen in The Quest for the Holy Grail. The female presence is important in the narrative, especially in its tense relationship with the chivalry, now linked to the religious element monasticated, ascetic and celibaterian. The main objective of our study is to investigate how the sociocultural medieval mold, in which was shaped The Quest for the Holy Grail relates to its substrate, the narratives originated of the worldview inherent in the Celtic imagination, thus our analytical bias uprights in the female element in this work. More specifically, it becomes a scope which the image of characters reflects the ideology of clerical didactic and moralistic of the thirteenth century. However it redeens the image of characters imbued with singular duality; that ambiguity which is not only a mark of the medieval paradoxical concerning the female, but also of literary characters designed between two worlds, two distinct ideological poles. In other words, it is about personas who are "bifront fictional beings". Characters located between the inheritances and identities. The research bases were the episodes in which these polidimensionals ladies appear and become adjuvants in literary action, either to cooperate, confuse or impair the knights who undertake the sacred, ineffable and "fortunate" quest for the Holy Chalice which will end the adventures of the Kingdom of Logres

Staging Medievalisms analyzes how twentieth- and twenty-first century performance constructs the Middle Ages. This work is in conversation with medievalism, the academic field concerned with the diverse ways post-medieval societies have re-imagined medieval narratives and tropes, often in service of their own values. As a result of centuries worth of re-definition, the term "medieval" is unstable, referring simultaneously to a fairytale prehistory and a dark age of oppression. I argue that performance, both in theatrical productions and in medieval-focused tourist spaces, allows an affective connection between the medieval past and the present, casting the Middle Ages as an inherently flexible backdrop for contemporary political and social concerns. In tourist spaces and plays about the Middle Ages, the performing body becomes the site where the medieval and the modern touch. I conduct close readings of six productions and three public spaces which stage the Middle Ages, examining which particular versions of the medieval they create, how they stage moments of historiographical contact, and how each uses the medieval to imagine their own historical contexts. Chapter one provides an overview of medievalism and its connection to performance studies, and subsequent chapters take up contemporary productions of medieval history, legend, and fantasy, respectively. Chapter two examines three recent stagings of Shakespeare's medieval history play Henry V, a work which stages two opposing versions of the medieval simultaneously. The Royal Shakespeare Company (1994), National Theatre (2003), and Austin, Texas (2009) productions offer commentary on modern warfare, using Henry's medieval battles as both evidence and setting. Chapter three analyses representations of the Holy Grail in Mort d'Arthur (2010), Spamalot (2005), and Proof (2001). Each re-imagines the Grail as a symbol of achievement and power, drawing different conclusions about contemporary society's need for the mystical. Chapter four takes up performances of the Middle Ages in the public sphere, examining how Disneyland, Medieval Times, and the Renaissance Faire offer visitors varying degrees of freedom to experience the medieval through their own bodies. Throughout, I argue that performance encourages affective connections to the medieval past as a reflection of contemporary desires. / text

A figura da mulher ocupa significativo papel nas novelas de cavalaria do Ciclo Bretão. Emergindo como um elemento que traz liga às narrativas do lendário artúrico, constitui-se adjuvante essencial e multifacetada na construção dos episódios, numa interação constante com o masculino representado, principalmente, pelos cavaleiros. O Medievo traz à tona uma imagem matizada do feminino: a mulher socialmente vista sob clivagens diversas é refletida na literatura de cavalaria, conforme se pode verificar em A Demanda do Santo Graal. A presença feminina é importantíssima na narrativa, sobretudo na sua tensa relação com a cavalaria, agora ligada ao elemento religioso - monastizada, celibatária e ascética. O objetivo precípuo de nossos estudos é investigar de que maneira a fôrma sociocultural medieva, na qual foi moldada A Demanda do Santo Graal, se relaciona com seu substrato: as narrativas provindas da cosmovisão inerente ao imaginário céltico. Desta feita, nosso viés analítico verticaliza-se no elemento feminino presente na obra. Mais especificamente, toma-se por escopo a imagem de personagens que refletem a ideologia clerical moralístico-didatizante do século XIII, mas, sobretudo, resgata-se a imagem de personagens imbuídas de singular dualidade; ambigüidade esta que é marca não só do medievo paradoxal concernente ao feminino, mas também de personas literárias concebidas entre dois mundos, dois pólos ideológicos distintos. Em outros termos, fala-se de personagens que são seres ficcionais bifrontes: personagens localizadas entre as herdades e as identidades. Foram tomados como corpora de pesquisa os episódios em que estas damas polidimensionais aparecem e se tornam adjuvantes na ação literária, seja para cooperar, confundir ou prejudicar os cavaleiros que empreendem a sagrada, inefável e venturosa busca do Santo Cálix que dará fim às aventuras do Reino de Logres / The figure of woman takes leading role in the novels of chivalry Cycle Breton. Emerging as an element that links the narratives of the legendary Arturo, it constitutes a vital and multifaceted adjuvant in the construction of the episodes in an ongoing interaction with the male represented mainly by knights. The Medieval brings up a nuanced picture of the female: the woman socially viewed under various divisions is reflected in the literature of chivalry, as it can be seen in The Quest for the Holy Grail. The female presence is important in the narrative, especially in its tense relationship with the chivalry, now linked to the religious element monasticated, ascetic and celibaterian. The main objective of our study is to investigate how the sociocultural medieval mold, in which was shaped The Quest for the Holy Grail relates to its substrate, the narratives originated of the worldview inherent in the Celtic imagination, thus our analytical bias uprights in the female element in this work. More specifically, it becomes a scope which the image of characters reflects the ideology of clerical didactic and moralistic of the thirteenth century. However it redeens the image of characters imbued with singular duality; that ambiguity which is not only a mark of the medieval paradoxical concerning the female, but also of literary characters designed between two worlds, two distinct ideological poles. In other words, it is about personas who are "bifront fictional beings". Characters located between the inheritances and identities. The research bases were the episodes in which these polidimensionals ladies appear and become adjuvants in literary action, either to cooperate, confuse or impair the knights who undertake the sacred, ineffable and "fortunate" quest for the Holy Chalice which will end the adventures of the Kingdom of Logres

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L’étude des romans attribués à Robert de Boron s’inscrit dans le sillage des travaux sur l’autoréflexivité romanesque et auctoriale, ainsi que sur le développement et la diffusion du mythe du Saint-Graal. Robert de Boron apparaît comme le fondateur d’une importante tradition graalienne, explicitement associée à la figure du Christ et promise à un avenir littéraire considérable. Nous croyons que l’approche mythopoétique, qui permet à la littérature de créer des mythes, s’accorde avec les enjeux socio-historiques des laïcs, ce qui explique pourquoi le projet de Robert s’est étendu jusqu’au cycle du Lancelot -Graal où il a servi de fondation à la chevalerie célestiele. Dans la première partie de ce travail, nous examinons le Saint-Graal et la tradition incarnée par Robert (occurrences, scènes, senefiance et Hauts Livres). Dans la deuxième partie, nous étudions la figure de Robert (éléments de biographie, figure auctoriale, autorité). La dernière partie nous donne l’occasion de remettre les mythes littéraires dans leur contexte afin de montrer qu’ils sont transformés en mythes socio-historiques grâce au savant mélange du discours laïque et du discours clérical. / The study of the French romances attributed to Robert de Boron lies within the recent works on self reflexivity in medieval literature and on the rise and spreading of the Holy Grail myth. Robert de Boron has become known as the founder of a new Grail tradition, explicitly related to Jesus Christ and destined to a great popularity. We think that mythopoétique approach, which allows literature to create myths, is consistent with the socio-historical issues of the laity, which is why Robert’s undertaking has spread to the Lancelot-Grail cycle where it served as the foundation of celestial chivalry. This dissertation consists of three main parts. In the first one, we examine the occurrences of the « Holy Grail » expression in the selected books. Furthermore, we go deeper in our analysis of the Grail tradition embodied by Robert de Boron. In the second part of the thesis, we focus of the figure of Robert, by studying some biographical information, his status as a writer and the nature of medieval authority and authorship. The last section of our work gives us the opportunity to set the literary myths in context to show that they are transformed into socio-historical myths through both secular and clerical discourses in the Arthurian romances.

This dissertation examines Robert Penn Warren‘s use of Arthurian legend, Judeo-Christian folklore, Norse mythology, and ancient vegetation rituals in his first four novels. It also illustrates how the use of these myths helps define Warren‘s Agrarian ideals while underscoring his subtle references to these ideals in his early fiction.