The following thesis is an attempt to illustrate the development of style in English Renaissance poetry from the beginning of the Reformation, under Henry VIII, through the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, using, as a principal guide to this development, the work of the major sonneteers: Wyatt and Surrey, Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton. The fundamental theorem upon which the thesis rests is dependent upon the following assumptions: that the unifying principle which gives art its structure resides in the artist's subconscious and is largely beyond his wilful control; that this principle is shaped to a great extent by various forces in the artist's intellectual environment which help to mold his whole personality; and that the structure of art in general and of poetry in particular must therefore reflect at least the more general characteristics of that intellectual environment, regardless of the artistes individual peculiarities. Even a very cursory examination of the intellectual history of the English Renaissance will reveal that the period is in a state of constant flux and can be divided into three distinct but consecutive phases: the ordered, certain world of the High Renaissance is brought to the peak of its stability during the last two decades of the sixteenth century; in the 1950’s it begins to show clear signs of breaking down, under the shattering impact of Copernicus and the New Philosophy, and by the early seventeenth century it has collapsed into chaos and generated a thoroughgoing neurotic insecurity; the remainder of the seventeenth century is devoted to a gradual philosophical reintegration, working toward the ultimate solidarity of eighteenth century rationalism, and reaching its first plateau with the relative calm of the early Restoration period. These three phases of intellectual development are all clearly represented In the literature of the period, as well as in the other arts, in the High Renaissance, mannerist, and baroque styles. The sonnets of the Renaissance are particularly useful for illustrating the development of literary style for three reasons: they are compact, well-defined, and therefore very convenient microcosms of poetic structure which, because of their precise definition, lend themselves readily to a comparative study; they display a great deal of attention to the strictly formal aspects of poetry and are therefore more than casually relevant to an examination of style; and finally, they are written in greater quantity than any of the shorter poetic forms and they appear continuously throughout the period in the work of most of the major poets. It appears that among the sonneteers of the Renaissance, Spenser, Donne, and Milton are respectively the most distinct representatives of the High Renaissance, mannerist, and baroque styles in poetry. Spenser, in his ordered ritualistic treatment of NeoPlatonism and courtly love typifies the High Renaissance; Donne, in his disingenuous inversion of Elizabethan idealism, reflects the insecurity of the Jacobean period; and Milton, in his broadly comprehensive affirmation of new certainties of vision, exhibits there integration of baroque thought. Wyatt and Surrey are working toward the Spenserian conception of poeticunity; Sidney is working away from Spenser, or at least from what Spenser represents, even though his sonnets appear several years earlier; and Shakespeare is progressively more and more caught up in the movement towards mannerism which is displayed so consistently in the poetry of Donne, in the sonnets of these seven poets, then, the style of English poetry can be seen to run through a complete cycle, reflecting in miniature not only the structural principles of art in general but the whole intellectual development of England's, golden age. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

The classical genre of marriage poems called epithalamia appeared in England in the late sixteenth century. The English epithalamia of the Renaissance form a closely related body of literature. This work will be a close analysis of this small body of English Renaissance poetry.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of THEOLOGY AND RELIGION STUDIES at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 2006. / This study aims to explore various strategies that address the decline in moral values in South Africa and also find solutions that shall enhance African Renaissance. A number of solutions will be explored to promote a positive sense of Africanism in different aspects of life. These will include morality, discipline, economy, culture, religion, languages, education and other related aspects. Moral regeneration is crucial in ensuring stability in our country; this could be the main reason why it has been embraced with such enthusiasm. It includes taking responsibility for all South Africans, young and old, rural or urban, rich or poor, male or female, black or white, etc. Some South Africans believe that an African Renaissance may be achievable through reverting to old traditional ways of life. It is through these ways that moral values may be inculcated successfully. 1hese views may, however, be challenged. It is also true that other avenues relevant to present days' situations and circumstances may be applicable and used successfully. Whilst keeping in mind that times change, it is imperative to bear in mind that traditional moral values stand beyond space and time. There are common values that are fundamental to all. Those are the values that will be investigated with a view to achieve the vision of the African Renaissance.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The problem of the dissertation is to formulate the relationship of John Colet (1467? -1519), Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, to the resurgent study of "humane letters" in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. More specifically, the purpose is to indicate what Colet thought humanism to be, what in it appealed to him, and how much of it he took for his own. Further, it is hoped that it may have a more general value in suggesting some of the reasons humanism held the interest it did in ecclesiastical and theological circles, and some of the results to which the pursuit of that interest led. The method of the dissertation is descriptive and historical. The plan of the dissertation is first to discover the kind of humanism which Colet actually encountered in England, France, and Italy--what it was saying and doing, the audience to which it was addressed, and the motives which directed it. Thus a wide variety of contemporary writings and of analytical studies in the Renaissance in general and in humanism in particular are used. Second, the study asks what Colet himself really understood the new "humane letters" to be, what the nature of their appeal was -- personally and ecclesiastically. This latter step has demanded that the bulk of the work be done in Colet's own writings and in other relevant primary sources. Out of the first part of the study the thesis emerges that Renaissance humanism was primarily a literary and linguistic phenomenon, not a philosophical, nor even an aesthetic one. Humanists were craftsmen above all else, skilled in the arts of letter and document composition, who found employment chiefly as personal or municipal secretaries, diplomats, and teachers of the skills basic to their work--grammar, rhetoric, "poetry," and somewhat later, history and moral philosophy. Classical literature and style were increasingly seen to furnish nearly unlimited resources and actual models for the development of these skills. The characteristics of this humanism are then used as the criteria of comparison by which Colet is examined. In exploring the significance of Colet's academic program, both at Oxford and on the continent, we discover that he exhibited a rather definite order in the importance he attributed to his various studies: Christian teaching, humanistic techniques of criticism, platonic studies. Further, his Latin style and even his handwriting suggest that among the current academic schools and fads, it was the humanists with whom he wished to be identified. More revealing than these inferences is the assortment of writers he used in his own studies. They were not the great figures of the previous three or four centuries, but the "poets" of the classical world, especially of Rome, and of the early Church--the latter were significantly viewed not simply as the Church Fathers, but as the "Christian classics." Indeed, for Colet it was only after one had received the teaching of the Scriptures and these Christian classics that he could make proper use of the pagan classics. This seems clearly to reinforce the order of preference already noted in connection with his academic career. It was also the reason why Colet was so careful in defining the ancient authors who should be read by the 153 scholars in his St. Paul's School. Though Colet is often not entirely successful in maintaining this order in his use of the two "classics," both his attempt to do so and the particular historical-textual approach he made to much of the ancient literature--Scriptural, patristic, and pagan classical--all tend to justify the label "Christian humanist" which has been applied to him. / 2999-01-01

The bibliographic project 'Renaissance Linguistics Archive' (R.L.A.) aimed at establishing a comprehensive database of secondary sources covering the linguistics ideas developed by Renaissance scholars in Europe. The database project, founded in 1986 by Mirko Tavoni (Pisa) and in 1994 transferred to Gerda Haßler (Potsdam), resulted so far in three print-outs, each of them counting 1000 records. It is the aim of this website to publish the results of the collective efforts undertaken thus far (R.L.A. 1.0, 1986-1999).

The Château d'Anet, France was a hunting lodge and familial residence commissioned and built in the years 1547 to 1555 at the behest of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II. The architecture of the château incorporates a set of devices cultivated by Diane to establish an association between herself and Diana, the Roman goddess of the Hunt; these were the crescent moon, the bow and arrow, and Diane's own initials. Devices, which were personal marks chosen to distinguish an individual through the expression of some idealized element of character or aspirations, had primarily appeared at the French Renaissance court in jewelry, clothing, or art. Beginning in the late 15th century, the Valois kings Louis XII and François I took the practice a step further by weaving devices into the architectural fabric of their residences, where they appeared in entrances, walls, balustrades, and dormers; while drawing on this precedent, the Château d'Anet is the first example of a château commissioned by a woman that featured a program of personalized architectural decoration specific to her character, interests, and position. In this thesis, I will catalogue and analyze the emblematic architectural decorations that permeate both the exterior and interior of the structure, focusing on those examples embedded in the exterior stonework. This catalogue will, in turn, lead to an examination of the impact of this imagery on the overall experience of the château in the 16th century, and the influence the château may have had on the perception of Diane de Poitiers at court. By layering the qualities of the goddess over her own attributes, she was able to create a persona that meshed Diane with Diana; the skillful utilization of the aspects of the deity's otherworldly nature, such as her beauty, chastity, and mystique, was very useful in a court enamored with novelty and chivalric romance, where Diane's power and social position depended on her ability to retain the king's interest. / text

Th. 3e cycle--Art et archéologie--Paris I, 1986. Titre de soutenance : Les retables niçois des 15e et 16e siècles, peints par Ludovic Bréa. / Bibliogr. p. 237-240.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Fachbereich Geschichtswissenschaft--Berlin--Freie Universität, 1989. / Bibliogr. p. 164-179. Index.

Thesis--Stockholm. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-178).