<p>In 1917, the Romanov dynasty in Russia came to an end as Tsar Nicholas II abdicated during the February Revolution and the First World War. The Romanovs ruled Russia for over three-hundred years as absolute monarchs and until 1917, Nicholas II and his wife Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna fervently clung to their autocratic rule and projected an image of power and stability. Yet, their choices not only shaped Russia itself but also dictated Russia’s diplomatic and cultural relationship with their future allies in the First World War: Great Britain, France, and the United States of America. From 1896 to 1917, Tsar Nicholas II floundered amid a series of crisis and this dissertation considers five key moments in his reign that illustrate the complex relationship between Russia and the allies of the First World War. These events are: the Coronation of Nicholas II in 1896; Bloody Sunday and the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905; the Romanov Tercentenary in 1913; the role of Tsarina Alexandra in the First World War from 1914-1917; and the abdication of Nicholas II and asylum request by the Romanovs in 1917. All of these events showcase the diplomatic and media representations of the Romanovs among allied nations and how Nicholas performed and presented his view of himself to the rest of the world. Each Tsar of Russia fashioned himself into a mythic and ceremonial figure to the Russian people and this dissertation argues that the governments of Great Britain, France, and the United States accepted Nicholas’ self-representations for many years and ignored his autocratic rule in favor of their own military and financial interests. In 1917, after years of excusing his behavior, they finally rejected him. Ultimately, the Romanovs held great power at home and abroad and were major players in international events in the early twentieth century but they were unable to reconcile their autocratic regime with modern democracies. In the end, Nicholas’ and Alexandra’s failure to adapt and perform their roles effectively cost them their throne and left Russia in a state of war and disarray.</p>

<p>  </p> <p>This dissertation is the first comprehensive biography and study of Richard Allestree. Allestree was a soldier, spy, professor, theologian, a survivor of the plague (1665) and Great Fire (1666) of London, and supposed author of the best-selling Protestant classic, <em>The Whole Duty of Man </em>(1658). Throughout his life, Allestree attempted to protect those institutions through his voice, vocation, and violence. His work contributes to our understanding of the dilemmas faced by the late seventeenth-century clergy, caught between the secular rationalism of the Enlightenment and the wild enthusiasm of Protestant dissenting groups. Using his positions of power and influence, he sought to make Christianity accessible to “the meanest of reader,” moving away from perceptions of a rigid faith and seeking to make Christianity a vibrant, active belief in the lives of everyday people. This work presents a finalized canon of the works of Richard Allestree using new tools in digital humanities. Implementing statistical analysis from data gathered from his personal library at Christ Church, Oxford, clerical records, and marginalia, this dissertation settles the three hundred- and sixty-five-year dilemma of Allestree’s uncertain authorship.</p>

This thesis places Chaucer within the tradition of philosophical poetry that begins in Plato and extends through classical and medieval Latin culture. In this Platonic tradition, poetry is a self-reflexive epistemological practice that interrogates the conditions of art in general. As such, poetry as metapoetics takes itself as its own object of inquiry in order to reinforce and generate its own definitions without regard to extrinsic considerations. It attempts to create a poetic-knowledge proper instead of one that is dependant on other modes for meaning. The particular manner in which this is expressed is according to the idea of the loss of the Golden Age. In the Augustinian context of Chaucer’s poetry, language, in its literal and historical signifying functions is an effect of the noetic fall and a deformation of an earlier symbolism. The Chaucerian poems this thesis considers concern themselves with the solution to a historical literary lament for language’s fall, a solution that suggests that the instability in language can be overcome with reference to what has been lost in language. The chapters are organized to reflect the medieval Neoplatonic ascensus. The first chapter concerns the Pardoner’s Old Man and his relationship to the literary history of Tithonus in which the renewing of youth is ironically promoted in order to perpetually delay eternity and make the current world co-eternal to the coming world. In the Miller’s Tale, more aggressive narrative strategies deploy the machinery of atheism in order to make a god-less universe the sufficient grounds for the transformation of a fallen and contingent world into the only world whatsoever. The Manciple’s Tale’s opposite strategy leaves the world intact in its current state and instead makes divine beings human. Phoebus expatriates to earth and attempts to co-mingle it with heaven in order to unify art and history into a single monistic experience. Finally, the Nun’s Priest’s Tale acts as ars poetica for the entire Chaucerian Performance and undercuts the naturalistic strategies of the first three poems by a long experiment in the philosophical conflict between art and history. By imagining art and history as epistemologically antagonistic it attempts to subdue in a definitive manner poetic strategies that would imagine human history as the necessary knowledge-condition for poetic language.

This thesis defines ‘classical lyricism’ as any mode of appropriation of Greek and Latin monodic lyric whereby a poet may develop a wider discourse on poetry. Assuming classical lyricism as an internal category of enquiry, my thesis investigates the presence of Sappho and Catullus as lyric archetypes in Italian and North American poetry of the 20th century. The analysis concentrates on translations and appropriations of Sappho and Catullus in four case studies: Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) and Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968) in Italy; Ezra Pound (1885-1972) and Anne Carson (b. 1950) in North America. I first trace the poetic reception of Sappho and Catullus in the oeuvres of the four authors separately. I define and evaluate the role of the respective appropriations within each author’s work and poetics. I then contextualise the four case studies within the Italian and North American literary histories. Finally, through the new outlook afforded by the comparative angle of this thesis, I uncover some of the hidden threads connecting the different types of classical lyricism transnationally. The thesis shows that the course of classical lyricism takes two opposite aesthetic directions in Italy and in North America. Moreover, despite the two aesthetic trajectories diverging, I demonstrate that the four poets’ appropriations of Sappho and Catullus share certain topical characteristics. Three out of four types of classical lyricism are defined by a preference for Sappho’s and Catullus’ lyrics which deal with marriage rituals and defloration, patterns of death and rebirth, and solar myths. They stand out as the epiphenomena of the poets’ interest in the anthropological foundations of the lyric, which is grounded in a philosophical function associated with poetry as a quest for knowledge. I therefore ultimately propose that ‘classical lyricism’ may be considered as an independent historical and interpretative category of the classical legacy.

This thesis provides a fresh investigation of a collection of Roman imperial biographies conventionally known as the 'Historia Augusta'. The thesis supports the authenticity of the texts included in this corpus, in particular the claims they make about their dates, authorship, and scope, through philological, literary, prosopographical, and historical arguments. It shows that this corpus of texts, if the main conclusions are accepted, potentially improves our understanding of the tetrarchic-Constantinian era. It also explores the wider implications for the historiography of the fourth century; the transmission and formation of multi-author corpora in antiquity and the middle ages. It also suggests that the canon of Latin imperial biographies be widened. The thesis has two parts. Part I explores the actual state of the corpus, its textual transmission, and relation to other texts. It shows that the ancient and medieval paratexts presented the corpus as a collection of imperial biographies. The paratexts are compatible with the authorial statements in the main text. It then explores the corpus' medieval transmission, and the interest medieval scholars had in such texts. This part suggests that the corpus’s current state explains well the inconsistencies found in it. Finally, it shows that words and phrases, once thought peculiar to the corpus and the holy grail of the forgery argument, are intertextual links to earlier texts. Part II explores chronological statements and historical episodes relevant to the Diocletianic-Constantinan period. It establishes the actual dates of each author, and suggests that the confusion found in these biographies is similar to that of other contemporaries. The few apostrophes are shown to be authentic, and the historical and prosopographical passages are shown to represent, and improve our understanding of, the zeitgeist and history of the period. The final conclusion weaves the various arguments together, and emphasises the authenticity and significance of the corpus' texts. It suggests separating the composition of the texts from the disinterested formation of the corpus as a whole, as part of a new hypothesis and further lines of enquiry.

The introductory study presents overall Apollonius Dyscolus, the most significant ancient greek grammarian. It deals with his person, important technical issues of his work, and particularly with his grammar study, focusing on fundamental grammar classifications and thougt structure. The introductory study is accopanied by the translation of a few introductory chapters (GG II,1,1,3.1-17.17) of Apollonius' treatise Περὶ ἀντωνυμίας (Peri antonymias, On Pronouns), and by scholarly commentary to the translation.

A concepção arquitetônica dos templos dóricos gregos é abordada na interface da análise entre as fontes textuais e a cultura material. Verificamos a relevância e o papel que tiveram a \"elegância\" e a \"sutileza\", segundo Vitrúvio, no modus operandi dos arquitetos gregos, como recursos técnicos e metodológicos para o desenvolvimento do projeto do templo dórico grego entre o século V-II a.C. Visamos esclarecer e estabelecer vínculos entre esses conceitos relativamente subjetivos e a lógica subjacente que norteou os arquitetos, tanto em projeto como nas aplicações precisas em obra, verificando assim a Hipótese Modular proposta por Mark Wilson Jones, para a concepção dos templos dóricos gregos. Para isso, abordarmos os fundamentos científicos da arquitetura grega a partir da análise de dois grupos de templos: o Grupo 1, composto de oito templos hexastilos, 6 x 13, do século V a.C. e o Grupo 2, composto de nove templos hexastilos perípteros de configuração de colunata lateral variada, datados entre o IV-II século a.C. Adotamos como ponto de partida da pesquisa, e referência fundamental, os artigos publicados por Mark Wilson Jones em 2001 e 2006, respectivamente, nos periódicos: American Journal of Archaeology e Nexus. Procuramos sistematicamente atualizar o debate apoiados nas discussões mais recentes e em nossas próprias análises e conclusões. / This thesis addresses the conception of Greek Doric Temple Design and architecture found in the analysis of and interface between textual sources and material culture. This thesis notes the importance of and the role that \"elegance\" and \"subtlety\" played, according to Vitruvius, in the modus operandi of Greek architects, including technical and methodological resources in the development of Greek Doric temples between the fifth and second centuries BC. This work aims to clarify and establish links between these relatively subjective concepts and the subjacent logic that guided these architects, both in design as well as in their precise application in construction, thus verifying the Modular hypothesis proposed by Mark Wilson Jones. Towards this end, this thesis addresses the scientific foundations of Greek architecture by analyzing two groups of temples: Group 1, comprised of eight 6 x 13 hexastyle temples from the fifth century BC and Group 2, comprised of nine hexastyle peripteral temples in varied peristyle lateral configuration, dated between the fourth and second centuries BC. The starting point of and the fundamental reference for the research are scholarly articles published by Mark Wilson Jones in 2001 and 2006 in The American Journal of Archaeology and Nexus, respectively. This work seeks to systematically update the latest debates and discussions surrounding this topic via the author\'s own analysis and subsequent conclusions.

A concepção arquitetônica dos templos dóricos gregos é abordada na interface da análise entre as fontes textuais e a cultura material. Verificamos a relevância e o papel que tiveram a \"elegância\" e a \"sutileza\", segundo Vitrúvio, no modus operandi dos arquitetos gregos, como recursos técnicos e metodológicos para o desenvolvimento do projeto do templo dórico grego entre o século V-II a.C. Visamos esclarecer e estabelecer vínculos entre esses conceitos relativamente subjetivos e a lógica subjacente que norteou os arquitetos, tanto em projeto como nas aplicações precisas em obra, verificando assim a Hipótese Modular proposta por Mark Wilson Jones, para a concepção dos templos dóricos gregos. Para isso, abordarmos os fundamentos científicos da arquitetura grega a partir da análise de dois grupos de templos: o Grupo 1, composto de oito templos hexastilos, 6 x 13, do século V a.C. e o Grupo 2, composto de nove templos hexastilos perípteros de configuração de colunata lateral variada, datados entre o IV-II século a.C. Adotamos como ponto de partida da pesquisa, e referência fundamental, os artigos publicados por Mark Wilson Jones em 2001 e 2006, respectivamente, nos periódicos: American Journal of Archaeology e Nexus. Procuramos sistematicamente atualizar o debate apoiados nas discussões mais recentes e em nossas próprias análises e conclusões. / This thesis addresses the conception of Greek Doric Temple Design and architecture found in the analysis of and interface between textual sources and material culture. This thesis notes the importance of and the role that \"elegance\" and \"subtlety\" played, according to Vitruvius, in the modus operandi of Greek architects, including technical and methodological resources in the development of Greek Doric temples between the fifth and second centuries BC. This work aims to clarify and establish links between these relatively subjective concepts and the subjacent logic that guided these architects, both in design as well as in their precise application in construction, thus verifying the Modular hypothesis proposed by Mark Wilson Jones. Towards this end, this thesis addresses the scientific foundations of Greek architecture by analyzing two groups of temples: Group 1, comprised of eight 6 x 13 hexastyle temples from the fifth century BC and Group 2, comprised of nine hexastyle peripteral temples in varied peristyle lateral configuration, dated between the fourth and second centuries BC. The starting point of and the fundamental reference for the research are scholarly articles published by Mark Wilson Jones in 2001 and 2006 in The American Journal of Archaeology and Nexus, respectively. This work seeks to systematically update the latest debates and discussions surrounding this topic via the author\'s own analysis and subsequent conclusions.

The Marillac were one of the most important noble families in early modern France. My analysis of this pivotal and deeply political family during the turbulent era of the French Wars of Religion (1562-1629) examines and explains the importance of the interaction of familial alliances, religion and diplomacy in the making of the state. This period represents a critical moment in the process of state development. In contrast to prevailing studies of early modern state formation that concentrate on a centrally-directed program, this dissertation argues that it was the expansion of family strategy, and its interplay with religion and diplomacy, that drove the ongoing construction of the early modern state. There was no blueprint for the creation of this state. Rather, it was born out of an accretion of policies formed by politically important clans working to advance their familial interests. By closely tracing the fortunes of the Marillac clan through archives and research libraries in France, this study discloses the nature of power in early modern Europe in its daily, practical manifestations. My project reaffirms the agency of the family and the individual in the making of the state. It showcases the importance of religious devotion to the formation of family strategy, and especially how Marillac women were drivers of this devotion. My research demonstrates how one family successfully negotiated the Wars of Religion. Additionally, I discuss the impactful role of the individual diplomat in the practice of foreign affairs. Finally, by tracing the fortunes of the Marillac family, I show how a family not only rises to power, but falls, as well as the consequences and limits of disgrace. My research will therefore contribute to the fields of early modern state-building, diplomacy, religious politics, and women and gender through the prism of Marillac family strategy and its interaction with religion and diplomacy.

<div>When, each holiday season, William Shakespeare’s newest plays were presented for King James I of England and his court, they shared the stage with propagandistic performances and ceremonies intended to glorify the monarch and legitimate his political ideals. Between 1608 and 1613, however, the King’s son, Prince Henry Frederick, sought to use the court stage to advance his own, oppositional ideology. By examining the entertainments through which James and Henry openly competed to control this crucial mythmaking mechanism, the present investigation recreates the increasingly unstable conditions surrounding and transforming each of Shakespeare’s last plays as they were first performed at court. I demonstrate that, once read in their original courtly contexts, these plays speak directly to each stage of that escalating rivalry and interrogate the power of ceremonial display, the relationship between fiction and statecraft, and the destabilization of monarchically imposed meaning, just as they would have then.<br></div>