Englishwomen who traveled to the "Orient" in the Victorian era constructed an identity that was British in its bravery, middle-class in its refinement, feminine in appearance and speech and Christian in its intolerance of Oriental heathenism. Studying Victorian female travel narratives that described journeys to the Orient provides an excellent opportunity to reexamine the diaphanous nature of the boundaries of the public/private sphere dichotomy; the relationship between travel, overt nationalism, and gendered constructions of identity, the link between geographic location and self-definition; the power dynamics inherent in information gathering, organization and production. Englishwomen projected gendered identities in their writings, which were both "imperially" masculine and "domestically" feminine, depending on the needs of a particular location and space. The travel narrative itself was also a gendered product that served as both a medium of cultural expression for Victorian women and a tool of restraint, encouraging them to conform to societal expectations to gain limited authority and recognition for their travels even while they embraced the freedom of movement. The terms "imperial masculinity" and "domestic femininity" are employed throughout this analysis to categorize the transient manipulation of character traits associated in Victorian society with middle- and upper-class men abroad in the empire and middle- and upper-class women who remained within their homes in Great Britain. Also stressed is the decision by female travelers to co-assert feminine identities that legitimated their imperial freedom by alluding to equally important components of their transported domestic constructions of self. Contrary to scholarship solely viewing Victorian projections of the feminine ideal as negative, the powers underlining social determinants of gender norms will be treated as "both regulatory and productive." Englishwomen chose to amplify elements of their domestic femininity or newly obtained imperial masculinity depending on the situation encountered during their travels or the message they wished to communicate in their travel narratives. The travel narrative is a valuable tool not only for deconstructing transient constructions of gender, but also for discovering the foundations of race and class ideologies in which the Oriental and the Orient are subjugated to enhance Englishwomen's Orientalist imperial status and position. This thesis is modeled on the structure of the traveling experience. In reviewing first the intellectual expectations preceding travel, the events of travel and finally the emotional reaction to the first two, a metaphoric attempt to better understand meaning through mimicry has been made. Over twenty travel narratives published by Englishwomen of varying social backgrounds, economic classes and motivations for travel between 1830 and World War I were analyzed in conjunction with letters, diaries, fictional works, newspaper articles, advice manuals, travel guides and religious texts in an effort to study the uniquely gendered nature of the Preface in female travel narratives; definitions of "travelers" and "traveling;" the manner in which "new" forms of metaphysical identification formulated what Victorian lady travelers "pre-knew" the "East" to be; the gendered nature in which female travelers portrayed their encounters with the "realities" of travel; and the concept of "disconnect," or the "distance" between a female traveler's expectation and the portrayed "reality" of what she experienced in the Orient.

Palestine is known as the birthplace of Christianity. However the Christian population of this land is relatively insignificant today, despite the continuing institutional legacy that the 19th century Western missionary focus on the region created. Palestinian Christians are often forced to employ politically astute as well as theologically radical means in their efforts to appear relevant within an increasingly Islamist-oriented society. My thesis focuses on two ecumenical Christian organisations within Palestine, the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem (headed by the Anglican cleric Naim Stifan Ateek) and Dar Annadwa Addawliyya (the International Centre of Bethlehem-ICB, directed by the Lutheran theologian Mitri Raheb). Based on my field work (consisting of an in-depth familiarisation with the two organisations in Palestine and interviews with their directors, office-staff and supporters worldwide, as well as data analyses based on an extensive literature review), I argue that the grassroots-oriented educational, humanitarian, cultural and contextual theological approach favoured by the ICB in Bethlehem is more relevant to the Palestinian situation, than the more sectarian and Western-oriented approach of the Sabeel Centre. These two groups are analysed primarily according to their theological-political approaches. One, (Sabeel), has sought to develop a critical Christian response to the Palestine-Israel conflict using the politico-theological tool of liberation theology, albeit with a strongly ecumenical Western-oriented focus, while the other (ICB), insists that its theological orientation draws primarily from the Levantine Christian (and in their particular case, the Palestinian Lutheran) context in which Christians in Israel-Palestine are placed. Raheb of the ICB has tried to develop a contextual theology that seeks to root the political and cultural development of the Palestinian people within their own Eastern Christian context and in light of their peculiarly restricted life under an Israeli occupation regime of over 40 years. In the process, I argue that the ICB has sought to be much more situationally relevant to the needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, given the employment, socio-cultural and humanitarian-health opportunities opened up by the practical-institution building efforts of this organisation in Bethlehem.

Russian Palestine Diploma thesis Vojtěch Kolář Praha 2013 Abstract This diploma thesis entitled "The Russian Palestine" deals with activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian diplomatic corps designed to help Russian pilgrims to the holy places in Palestine as well as local Orthodox believers in the Levant in the 19th and beginning of 20th century. These activities were accompanied by considerable tension not only between Russian activists in Palestine and in Russia, but also in their encounters with Greek hierarchy in Jerusalem and Constantinople as well as with Western diplomats and missionaries pursuing Catholic and Protestant interests in the same area. The aim of this thesis is to offer an insight into motivations, ways and results of their activities in Palestine and to call attention to the difficulties they were facing. This work is neither an apology nor a criticism of either of the instruments of Russian influence - the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (since 1847) and Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (since 1882) respectively. Because of the broadness of the subject it was not always possible to follow strict historiographic methods. Therefore this thesis is concerned mostly with biographical material of some of the most influential Russian personalities of the...

La présente thèse entend rendre compte d’un parcours de recherche entrepris il y a près de trente ans. Ces recherches ont connu divers développements pour lesquels une ligne conductrice peut cependant être dégagée : elles ont toutes trait à l’histoire des élites médiévales.Un premier axe concerne les enquêtes sur la société féodale de l’Orient latin. L’édition d’un texte généalogique, Les Lignages d’Outremer, a été le point de départ d’une série de publications sur ces familles, complétées par celle d’un récit de pèlerinage aux Lieux saints.Le second axe a pour objet la sigillographie. Le présent travail expose d’abord les travaux réalisés sur la sigillographie des reines et des enfants de France au Moyen Âge. L’autre volet de cette thématique a trait à la sigillographie des rois et empereurs des périodes mérovingienne et carolingienne, étude entreprise grâce à l’examen des 250 diplômes royaux conservés aux Archives nationales. À l’origine de ces publications, il y a une étonnante découverte, celle de la présence de cheveux humains dans les sceaux, pour laquelle nous tentons de trouver une explication, dans les diverses parties de ce travail et en particulier dans le mémoire De Anolo, joint au dossier.Enfin, un troisième axe est consacré à la pratique professionnelle que j’ai pu développer en tant que conservateur d’Archives. Les travaux proposés ici sont alors le témoignage des missions que j’ai pu exercer : au-delà de la publication d’instruments de recherche, une large place est faite aux problématiques de conservation préventive. / This thesis presents the results of research conducted over the past thirty years on the history of medieval elites.  The thesis focuses on two major topics. The first is the society of the Latin East. Publication of a genealogical text, Les lignages d’Outremer, has been followed by a series of studies of the noble families of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and an edition of an account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The second area is royal sigillography. Studies of the seals of medieval French queens and their children constitute one facet of this research, whereas examination of the seals found on 250 diplomas in the Archives nationales has facilitated exploration of the seals of Merovingian and Carolingian kings and emperors. The discovery of human hair in the seals has prompted the search for possible explanations of this phenomenon, which are proposed and discussed in different parts of the dossier, particularly in an appendix, "De anolo." An additional, supplementary part of my work has focused on the conservation of seals and the development of methods to prevent their deterioration.

This dissertation comparatively explores and critically evaluates the historical and traditional notions that are commonly held by Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land; and it does so by examining the archaeological, historical, and literary evidence, with specific reference to the existent material remnants that are closely associated with the burial of Christ Jesus. The research will highlight the impact that biblical archaeological findings and the results thereof have had on these identified pilgrimage sites. Both the strengths and the weaknesses of the evidence will be enumerated; and the implications for the practice and significance of pilgrimages will be set out. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)

Although Philippe de Mézières (ca 1327-1405) was born into a not very influential gentry family from northern France, his steep career brought him to the Holy Land. As a diplomat and an ardent supporter of the idea of the Crusades, he got to visit the most important European royal courts, thus securing the attention of historians. He consciously reflects the political and social climate in Europe at the time, he explores religious issues and even own experiences - in short, de Mézières vast literary work is one of the most remarkable images of Europe during the late Middle Ages and the thinking of a medieval man of a high social status. Thanks to Philippe de Mézières' presence at the Royal Court of Charles IV in Prague and their likely meeting in Paris in 1378, we can trace evident links to Luxembourg politics in his work, to the Czech Kingdom and even to Charles IV himself, including his son Wenceslas. As a Crusades theoretician, de Mézières got himself involved in the highest levels of European politics, yet he constantly emphasized the need for morality, peace and cohesiveness in the courts. The thesis uses an example of one of de Mézières' later works, his Letter to Richard II (Epistre au roi Richarti, 1395), to explore diplomatic ties in Western Europe in the fourteenth century and pursues...