'The virgin, the temptress and the godess' is a visual exploration of love, longing and beauty from the carnal though to the sublime. The narrative of the research has several subtexts: one that explores female archetypes, the muse as figurative source of inspiration and also beauty as a transcendental catalyst. I have sought to represent a comprehensive vision of the female muse that embraces both the spiritual and the sensual and explores the duality of corporeal and metaphysical yearning. This is done through photographic imagery; the journey that it evokes is an interior landscape that takes place in the purgatory that is longing and ascends to a sublime state of stillness and peace through the experience of the divine.

La thèse a pour objet d’établir le catalogue critique de l’œuvre d’Albrecht Bouts (1451-55 / 1549). Fils de Dirk Bouts (1410-1420 / 1475), peintre officiel de la ville de Louvain, Albrecht et son frère aîné, Dirk le Jeune (1448 / 1491), héritent de l’atelier de peinture à la mort de leur père. L’œuvre de l’aîné reste très controversée, aucun tableau ne pouvant lui être attribué avec conviction. Il en est autrement du puîné, Albrecht, à qui la paternité du Triptyque de l’Assomption de la Vierge des Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique peut être donnée avec beaucoup de vraisemblance. Le corpus de son œuvre, établi, en 1925, par Max J. Friedländer et, en 1938, Wolfgang Schöne, autour de ce retable autographe, comprend un nombre important de peintures. Ce catalogue n’a, toutefois, jamais fait l’objet d’une révision par les historiens de l’art. Seules quelques peintures ont été publiées de manière ponctuelle. Devant l’abondance des tableaux attribués au peintre, il convenait donc de réaliser une étude fondamentale afin de distinguer ses propres créations de celles de ses collaborateurs. La thèse se compose de cinq chapitres. Le premier établit une biographie complète, sélective et chronologique, se basant sur les sources livrées par les archives de la ville de Louvain. Leur interprétation critique renouvelée et enrichie livre ainsi de nombreux arguments pour mieux définir l’individualité d’Albrecht Bouts et justifier le développement de sa carrière. Le second chapitre concerne l’étude de l’œuvre d’Albrecht Bouts et débute par un examen approfondi de la seule peinture au caractère autographe reconnu, le Triptyque de l’Assomption de la Vierge. L’examen combiné du style et de la technique d’exécution de cette œuvre de maturité du maître permet de mettre en exergue les influences de Dirk Bouts et d’Hugo van der Goes et de définir la personnalité artistique singulière d’Albrecht Bouts. Suite à cette analyse, le catalogue de son œuvre est reconstitué de façon linéaire, depuis sa genèse jusqu’à son terme. Chacune des peintures qui lui sont attribuées est ensuite étudiée de façon chronologique et détaillée, précédée d’une notice technique préliminaire reprenant les données matérielles et bibliographiques, dans le cinquième chapitre consacré au catalogue raisonné. La révision du corpus de l’œuvre d’Albrecht Bouts est fondée sur un travail d’attribution reposant à la fois sur l’approche stylistique traditionnelle et sur les résultats fournis par les documents de laboratoire. Une importante documentation photographique et technologique des œuvres, dont certaines inédites, a ainsi été rassemblée et sa confrontation constitue un support essentiel à la démonstration. Le troisième chapitre propose, à partir des hypothèses émises à propos de la biographie et du catalogue des œuvres d’Albrecht Bouts, une analyse de la production de son atelier, particulièrement intense à partir de la première décennie du XVIe siècle. Dans cette partie, l’objectif n’est pas d’établir un exposé circonstancié et complet de chaque peinture abordée, mais plutôt de rassembler des groupes cohérents d’œuvres, également fondés sur une approche combinée du style et de la technique d’exécution. Un même principe de renvoi aux notices dans le catalogue raisonné est adopté. Enfin, le quatrième chapitre est consacré à la réalisation en série d’œuvres de dévotion privée dans l’atelier du maître. De nombreuses généralités et quelques études ponctuelles ont préparé le terrain, annonçant l’importance de ce phénomène sans, toutefois, en mesurer l’ampleur. C’est pourquoi, nous lui accorderons une investigation la plus exhaustive tant sur les pratiques en vigueur dans l’atelier, que sur l’iconographique et le contexte socio-économique de la création de prototypes par Albrecht, dans la foulée de l’héritage des modèles paternels. Ainsi, ce travail permettra de mieux cerner la personnalité d’Albrecht Bouts, de retracer son individualité artistique, mais aussi de réévaluer la participation de son atelier, afin de rétablir chacun de ces éléments à leur juste place au sein de la peinture flamande de la fin du XVe siècle et du début du XVIe siècle The subject of the thesis is to establish a critical catalogue of Albrecht Bouts’ (1451-55/1549) work. Son of Dirk Bouts (1410-1420/1475), official painter to the city of Leuven, Albrecht and his elder brother, Dirk the Younger (1448-1491), inherited their father’s workshop after his death. The work of the elder son, Dirk the Younger, is still a discussed topic since no painting could be attributed to him with certainty. It is quite different for Albrecht who is the likely author of the Tryptich of the Assumption of the Virgin from the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts of Belgium. The corpus of his work, established in 1925 by Max J. Friedländer and in 1938 by Wolfgang Schöne based on this autograph altarpiece, includes an important number of paintings. This catalogue has however never been revised by art historians since then. Only some paintings have occasionally been published. Considering the high number of paintings attributed to the master, there was a need to undertake a deeper study in order to distinguish Albrecht Bouts’ own creations from those of his workshop. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first one includes a complete, selective and chronological biography of the master, based on the data found in the archives of the city of Leuven. A newly enriched critical interpretation of these documents has allowed a better definition of Albrecht Bouts’s personality and a clearer understanding of the development of his career. The second chapter is devoted to the study of the master’s work and starts with an in-depth examination of the Tryptich of the Assumption of the Virgin, the only painting recognized as an autograph work. The combined examination of the style and the technical execution of this altarpiece, painted during the mature period of his career, underlines both the influences of Dirk Bouts and Hugo van der Goes and helps to display his original artistic personality. From there, the catalogue of his work is re-established, in the last chapter, from the very beginning to the end of his working life. In the last chapter devoted to the catalogue, each painting attributed to the master is carefully studied, on a chronological basis and in details, with an introductive technical note giving material as well as bibliographical information. The review of the corpus of Albrecht Bouts’ work is based on a traditional stylistic approach and on the results given by laboratory documents. An important photographical and technological documentation of his works – some of them unpublished until now- has been gathered. Their comparison brought forward essential arguments on which our demonstration is based. The third chapter, which builds on the two first ones, consists of an analysis of Albrecht Bouts’ workshop production, which was particularly active at the beginning of the XVIth century. The purpose was not to study thoroughly each painting but to extract coherent groups of works thanks to the same combined examination of style and technique. Like the master’s autograph work, each painting is subject to a careful study in the critical catalogue. Finally, the fourth chapter is dedicated to the serial production of private devotional works carried out in the master’s workshop. There were already many general writings and some occasional studies on the subject, but none of them really measured the importance of the mass production. We therefore undertook a deep and thorough research on the workshop practices , on the iconography and on the social-economical context of the realisation of works by Albrecht following the prototypes created by his father. The thesis contributes to a better knowledge and understanding of the life, the personality and the work of Albrecht Bouts and re-evaluates the participation of his workshop. This will give to each of these elements its proper place in the Flemish Masters Painting of the end of the XVth and the beginning of the XVIth centuries.

The heterogeneity in species assemblages of epigeal spiders was studied in a natural forest and in a managed forest. Additionally the effects of small-scale microhabitat heterogeneity of managed and unmanaged forests were determined by analysing the spider assemblages of three different microhabitat structures (i. vegetation, ii. dead wood. iii. litter cover). The spider were collected in a block design by pitfall traps (n=72) in a 4-week interval. To reveal key environmental factors affecting the spider distribution abiotic and biotic habitat parameters (e.g. vegetation parameters, climate parameters, soil moisture) were assessed around each pitfall trap. A TWINSPAN analyses separated pitfall traps from the natural forest from traps of the managed forest. A subsequent discriminant analyses revealed that the temperature, the visible sky, the plant diversity and the mean diameter at breast height as key discriminant factors between the microhabitat groupings designated by the TWINSPAN analyses. Finally a Redundant analysis (RDA) was done revealing similar environmental factors responsible for the spider species distribution, as a good separation of the different forest types as well as the separation of the microhabitat groupings from the TWINSPAN. Overall the study revealed that the spider communities differed between the forest types as well as between the microhabitat structures and thus species distribution changed within a forest stand on a fine spatial scale. It was documented that the structure of managed forests affects the composition of spider assemblages compared to natural forests significantly and even small scale-heterogeneity seems to influence the spider species composition. / Um die Anpassungsfähigkeit von Organismen, bei sich ändernden Umweltbedingungen, sicher zu stellen, spielt die Erhaltung der Biologischen Vielfalt auf allen ökosystemaren Ebenen eine entscheidende Rolle. Eben diese Anpassungsfähigkeit kann durch waldbauliche Maßnahmen einschränkt werden, und zur Instabilität des Systems führen. Daher kommt der Untersuchung von aus der Nutzung genommenen Naturwaldzellen eine immer größere Bedeutung zu. Einerseits um die potentiell natürliche Diversität in Naturwäldern mit der in Wirtschaftswäldern zu vergleichen, andererseits um die ökologischen Zusammenhänge in einer natürlichen Waldentwicklung zu verstehen. Ziel diese Studie war es eben diese natürlichen Waldynamiken auf das Artengefüge von Spinnen (Araneae) zu untersuchen. Dabei sollte Mithilfe eines experimentellen Fangdesigns, auch der kleinräumige Einfluss von Strukturheterogenität untersucht werden.

This dissertation work presents a novel method for addressing system uncertainty to improve management of a small-scale fishery in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Using fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK), this research examines existing perspectives and biases through the Q-Method to identify regulatory inefficiencies in the management framework and strengthen the rationale for including fishers into the management process, develops a coupled behavior-economics model to predict the likelihood of fishing the preferred grounds under a range of physical and regulatory conditions, establishes a baseline assessment of a spawning aggregation of mutton snapper following sixteen years of protection through a no-take marine protected area, and conducts a discrete choice method test to examine likely public support for FEK-based proposed regulatory alternatives. This work contributes to an under-studied and much-needed area of fisheries management, that of incorporating socioeconomic motivations within an ecosystem-based framework. As fisheries management efforts begin to embrace ecosystem-based approaches, the need for understanding and incorporating the knowledge and behavior of fishers into management has never been greater. Ecological goals of fishery sustainability and continued habitat function cannot be achieved without first understanding how fishers view and respond to any regulatory environment and then developing a framework that achieves the greatest support for those regulations. The time has come for incorporating FEK into ecosystem-based fisheries management.

In this dissertation, the occurence of tuberculosis and it's causes are studied with special attention to developments in Sweden. The perspective is a comparative one. Secular trends as well as shortterm fluctuations are analysed. The decrease in the mortality rate in the West that has taken place in recent centuries has primarily been the result of a decrease in infectious diseases. Among the factors which have been cited as having an decisive role are: the decline in the death rate, the role of therapy, genetic changes in man and microorganisms, the immunologic process, and most commonly, the general increase in living standards. Tuberculosis is a social disease that is extremely sensitive to changes in the standard of living. The disease is an infection that is primarely spread directly from human being to human being. The degree of crowding and the standard of housing are therefore important factors when it comes to the spreading of the disease. Usually, steady contact is required in order that the disease should be transmitted. Tuberculosis is also sensitive to nutrition. Persons with good diets are far more resistant to the disease than those suffering from mal­nutrition or those with a poor diet. A protein deficiency is particularly dangerous. A reduc­tion of nutritional intake together with a greater degree of crowding should thus lead to an increase in tuberculosis in societies where the disease is endemic. On the other hand, a decrease in the tuberculosis frequency presupposes better standards of nutrition and housing, at least for the period prior to modern chemotherapy. Where diet and housing operate against each other, the frequency and occurence of tuberculosis functions as measure of the net result. Tuberculosis is a disease that shows clear symptoms in the lethal stage. The disease has been sufficiently widespread to permit statistical analysis even in small areas. This makes it possible to test the applicability of tuberculosis as an indicator of alterations in living standards. However, this presupposes that the effects of biological determinants can be accounted for. These biological determinants consist of both biological elements of the human body and changes in microorganisms. In this disseration, therefore, the following hypotheses are tested: —   that the extent of tuberculosis in a given society is governed by immunological processes resulting in an epidemic wave, —   that variations in the numbers of deaths from tuberculosis are an expression of changes in the standard of living. In addition to these hypotheses, the question is raised as to whether it is possible to measure deaths due to tuberculosis in historical populations with attention to each of the following: (1) changes in age and sex distributions; (2) possible changes in the virulence of the bacillus; and (3) also the results of changes in the degree of competition from other diseases. In the study, statistics for causes of death for counties, towns and parishes in northern Sweden were used together with parochial records and a number of other sources from seven parish districts with differing socio-economic structures. The thesis shows that tuber­culosis was endemic in both Sweden and Finland from about 1750. In Norrland, the disease was one of the most common causes of death. Thus, we can reject the hypothesis that the high tuberculosis frequency in Norrland during the 19th century was a result of a virgin population coming into initial contact with the disease. The regional distribution pattern and the rural/urban differences indicate a close relationship between different living standard factors. In the dissertation it is also shown that the age and sex structure was relatively constant during the period of study. Thus, we can reject the hypothesis of age transition. An age structure with an upper limit in youth is natural for the disease. The high level of tuberculosis in upper age strata during the 18th and early 20th centuries is seen as a residual effect of a higher tuberculosis mortality rate in earlier age cohorts. The major perspective is socio-economic, but the disease's histoire de mentalité has been treated . Popular beliefs concerning the disease and the attitudes formed in literature and in art — the myth-building that took place — is given particular treatment. The aim of this dissertation has been to investigate the relationship between bacilli, "human beings and society over a long period of time, 230 years. / digitalisering@umu

Although there is a marked increase in the number of surviving motets from the early sixteenth century, the context in which they were performed remains a mystery. The first five printed anthologies of motets, published by Petrucci in Venice between 1502 and 1508, include a significant proportion of Marian motets (95 of the 174 pieces). In the first chapter I provide evidence that these polyphonic Marian motets were used in the Venetian confraternities, or "scuole." The second chapter draws connections between the musical needs of the scuole and the Marian text types of the motet anthologies. The final chapter looks at settings of the most common devotional prayer of the early sixteenth century, the Ave Maria. This thesis thus proposes a new context---the Venetian scuole---for the consumption of printed motet books and the performance of motets, with a special emphasis on their role in lay Marian devotions.

The Night Nativity by Geertgen tot Sint Jans depicts the birth of Christ in a manner that emphasizes the role of the Virgin as mother and Christ as the enlightener of the world. In this paper, I will argue that the Night Nativity was directed primarily toward meeting the devotional needs and interests of the nuns of the Convent of Our Lady of the Visitation near Haarlem. This convent is of particular interest because it is associated with the Windesheim Congregation of the Modern Devotion, which was a religious movement that privileged certain forms of lay spirituality. In particular, the adherents of the Modern Devotion seemed to have preferred various forms of affective devotion often associated with “women’s spirituality.” Geertgen’s image, I believe, appealed to the women in the convent because it focuses on the role of the Virgin and, in doing so, activated well-known tropes of female spirituality.

This work begins by providing an historical overview of Mariology, tracing Marian issues from the early fathers, to the Mariology of the Middle Age, to the apex of Mariology during the time of the Reformation and beyond. A contrast is then noted between pre-Vatican II Mariology and post-Vatican II Mariology. Matthew 1:18-25 is our first treatment of the biblical text. Here the work surveys the various views of issues related to Mary, including the meaning of Joseph's "righteousness," the meaning of "before they came together" (v. 18) and the meaning of "until" (v. 25). An indepth study is provided on the use of the phrase ("until") in the NT to see whether there are any implications for the Roman Catholic teaching of Mary's perpetual virginity. The work continues its investigation of the phrase in the LXX and in the Hellenistic literature of the two centuries surrounding the birth of Christ to see whether any clear examples of this phrase can be adduced in support of the Roman Catholic understanding of Matt 1:25. Since much of the literature examined is not available in English translation, the author has done the primary translation work himself. Equally important in this regard is the identity of the "brothers" of Jesus in the NT. A survey is provided of the three major views on the identity of those called the brothers of Jesus in the NT, listing each one's strengths and weaknesses. The work also investigates the semantic range of the words in the LXX, the NT, and the surrounding Hellenistic literature. Again, Mary's perpetual virginity is at issue. Next, we begin our examination of the status of Mary in the New Testament, starting with the Synoptic Gospels. The work surveys the common Marian accounts found in the Synoptic Gospels, and examines their impact on our understanding of the relationship between Jesus and his mother vis-a-vis her status as mother. Special considerations are given to Luke's account, which includes Marian episodes not found in the other gospels. This intent is to determine whether Luke views Mary in a different way than the other Gospel writers, and what status he gives to Mary. The work also examines the evidence for seeing special Marian symbolism in Luke. It investigates the common understanding among Roman Catholic interpreters that Luke, in his Annunciation and Infancy narratives, intends for us to see in Mary OT allusions to the Ark of the Covenant, the daughter of Zion, the Ana win, and the like. Once our investigation of the Synoptics is over, we turn our attention to John's gospel, which contains two passages of particularly Marian significance. We first examine the issues surrounding the encounter between Jesus and his mother in John 2:1-6 to see what impact, if any, this passage has on our overall understanding of Mary's role and status in the church, particularly in regard to her role in Roman Catholicism as Mediat1:ix. Next, we examine the issues surrounding the encounter between Jesus and his mother in John 19:25- 27 (at the foot of the cross) to see what impact, if any, this passage has on our overall understanding of Mary's role and status in the church, particularly in regard to her role in Roman Catholicism as Mother of the church. Our inquiry reaches its conclusion with an investigation of the possible Marian significance in Revelation 12. Here we examine the meaning of the "woman clothed with the sun," to see whether there is an allusion to Mary, as well as to the Roman Catholic understanding of her Assumption. A survey of the various views is included, as well as a survey of views throughout the history of the church. Once finished, we propose a Mario logy that is at once biblical and honouring to the woman of whom it is said, "all generations will call [her] blessed." / Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002

This work begins by providing an historical overview of Mariology, tracing Marian issues from the early fathers, to the Mariology of the Middle Age, to the apex of Mariology during the time of the Reformation and beyond. A contrast is then noted between pre-Vatican II Mariology and post-Vatican II Mariology. Matthew 1:18-25 is our first treatment of the biblical text. Here the work surveys the various views of issues related to Mary, including the meaning of Joseph's "righteousness," the meaning of "before they came together" (v. 18) and the meaning of "until" (v. 25). An indepth study is provided on the use of the phrase ("until") in the NT to see whether there are any implications for the Roman Catholic teaching of Mary's perpetual virginity. The work continues its investigation of the phrase in the LXX and in the Hellenistic literature of the two centuries surrounding the birth of Christ to see whether any clear examples of this phrase can be adduced in support of the Roman Catholic understanding of Matt 1:25. Since much of the literature examined is not available in English translation, the author has done the primary translation work himself. Equally important in this regard is the identity of the "brothers" of Jesus in the NT. A survey is provided of the three major views on the identity of those called the brothers of Jesus in the NT, listing each one's strengths and weaknesses. The work also investigates the semantic range of the words in the LXX, the NT, and the surrounding Hellenistic literature. Again, Mary's perpetual virginity is at issue. Next, we begin our examination of the status of Mary in the New Testament, starting with the Synoptic Gospels. The work surveys the common Marian accounts found in the Synoptic Gospels, and examines their impact on our understanding of the relationship between Jesus and his mother vis-a-vis her status as mother. Special considerations are given to Luke's account, which includes Marian episodes not found in the other gospels. This intent is to determine whether Luke views Mary in a different way than the other Gospel writers, and what status he gives to Mary. The work also examines the evidence for seeing special Marian symbolism in Luke. It investigates the common understanding among Roman Catholic interpreters that Luke, in his Annunciation and Infancy narratives, intends for us to see in Mary OT allusions to the Ark of the Covenant, the daughter of Zion, the Ana win, and the like. Once our investigation of the Synoptics is over, we turn our attention to John's gospel, which contains two passages of particularly Marian significance. We first examine the issues surrounding the encounter between Jesus and his mother in John 2:1-6 to see what impact, if any, this passage has on our overall understanding of Mary's role and status in the church, particularly in regard to her role in Roman Catholicism as Mediat1:ix. Next, we examine the issues surrounding the encounter between Jesus and his mother in John 19:25- 27 (at the foot of the cross) to see what impact, if any, this passage has on our overall understanding of Mary's role and status in the church, particularly in regard to her role in Roman Catholicism as Mother of the church. Our inquiry reaches its conclusion with an investigation of the possible Marian significance in Revelation 12. Here we examine the meaning of the "woman clothed with the sun," to see whether there is an allusion to Mary, as well as to the Roman Catholic understanding of her Assumption. A survey of the various views is included, as well as a survey of views throughout the history of the church. Once finished, we propose a Mario logy that is at once biblical and honouring to the woman of whom it is said, "all generations will call [her] blessed." / Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002

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