This is a study of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī’s al-Durr al-manthūr fi-l-tafsīr bi-l-ma’thur (The scattered pearls of tradition-based exegesis), hereinafter al-Durr. In the present study, the distinctiveness of al-Durr becomes evident in comparison with the tafsīrs of al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) and Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373). Al-Suyūṭī surpassed these exegetes by relying entirely on ḥadīth (tradition). Al-Suyūṭī rarely offers a comment of his own. Thus, in terms of its formal features, al-Durr is the culmination of tradition-based exegesis (tafsīr bi-l-ma’thūr). This study also shows that al-Suyūṭī intended in al-Durr to subtly challenge the tradition-based hermeneutics of Ibn Taymīyah (d. 728/1328). According to Ibn Taymīyah, the true, unified, interpretation of the Qurʼān must be sought in the Qurʼān itself, in the traditions of Muḥammad, and in the exegeses of the earliest Muslims. Moreover, Ibn Taymīyah strongly denounced opinion-based exegesis (tafsīr bi-l-ra’y). By means of the traditions in al-Durr, al-Suyūṭī supports several of his views in contradistinction to those of Ibn Taymīyah. Al-Suyūṭī’s traditions support the following views. First, opinion-based exegesis is a valid supplement to tradition-based exegesis. Second, the early Muslim community was not quite unified. Third, the earliest Qur’ānic exegetes did not offer a unified exegesis of the Qur’ān. Fourth, Qur’ānic exegesis is necessarily polyvalent since Muslims accept a number of readings of the Qur’ān, and variant readings give rise to various interpretations. Al-Suyūṭī collected his traditions from a wide variety of sources some of which are now lost. Two major exegetes, al-Shawkānī (d. 1250/1834) and al-Ālūsī (d. 1270/1854), copied some of these traditions from al-Durr into their Qur’ān commentaries. In this way, al-Suyūṭī has succeeded in shedding new light on rare, neglected, and previously scattered traditions.

Detractors of sentimental literature argue that such novels are unoriginal and concerned primarily with emotions. Feminist scholars redeem the reputation of sentimental literature to an extent. At present, a multitude of approaches present sentimental authors as active agents, engaging with public issues. Building upon the scholarship of prominent feminist historians and literary critics, this thesis provides direct evidence that three female authors embrace the responsibilities of being a social critic. The Wide, Wide World (1850) by Susan Warner, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and The Hidden Hand (1859) by Emma D.E.N. Southworth provide unique commentaries on the separation of the private and public spheres, market revolution, and religion. Decisive differences between the authors’ opinions reveal a high degree of engagement with the public issues.

This dissertation aims at providing a new critical edition of the fictitious Letters of the Courtesans attributed to Alciphron (late 2nd or early 3rd century AD). The first part of the introduction begins with a brief survey of the problematic dating and identification of Alciphron, followed by a general overview of the epistolary genre and the letters of Alciphron. The main part of the introduction deals with the manuscript tradition. Eighteen manuscripts, which contain some or all of the Letters of the Courtesans, are described and the relationship between them is analyzed based on complete collations of all the manuscripts. The conclusion, which is illustrated by a stemma codicum, is that there are four primary manuscripts from which the other fourteen manuscripts derive: Vaticanus gr. 1461, Laurentianus gr. 59.5, Parisinus gr. 3021 and Parisinus gr. 3050. The introduction concludes with a brief chapter on the previous editions, a table illustrating the selection and order of the letters in the manuscripts and editions, and an outline of the editorial principles. The guiding principle for the constitution of the text has been to use conjectural emendation sparingly and to try to preserve the text of the primary manuscripts wherever possible. The critical apparatus has been divided into a main apparatus below the text, which reports variant readings from the primary manuscripts and a small selection of conjectures, and two appendices which report scribal conjectures from the secondary manuscripts and conjectures by modern scholars with bibliographical references. A third appendix has also been added which lists all conjectures adopted into the  text. The parallel translation, which is accompanied by brief explanatory notes on names and places, is literal and serves as a complement to the commentary, which primarily deals with matters of textual criticism. In the commentary problematic passages are discussed, especially where an emendation has been adopted or where the present edition differs from previous editions. After the three appendices the dissertation ends with a bibliography.

This is a study of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī’s al-Durr al-manthūr fi-l-tafsīr bi-l-ma’thur (The scattered pearls of tradition-based exegesis), hereinafter al-Durr. In the present study, the distinctiveness of al-Durr becomes evident in comparison with the tafsīrs of al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) and Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373). Al-Suyūṭī surpassed these exegetes by relying entirely on ḥadīth (tradition). Al-Suyūṭī rarely offers a comment of his own. Thus, in terms of its formal features, al-Durr is the culmination of tradition-based exegesis (tafsīr bi-l-ma’thūr). This study also shows that al-Suyūṭī intended in al-Durr to subtly challenge the tradition-based hermeneutics of Ibn Taymīyah (d. 728/1328). According to Ibn Taymīyah, the true, unified, interpretation of the Qurʼān must be sought in the Qurʼān itself, in the traditions of Muḥammad, and in the exegeses of the earliest Muslims. Moreover, Ibn Taymīyah strongly denounced opinion-based exegesis (tafsīr bi-l-ra’y). By means of the traditions in al-Durr, al-Suyūṭī supports several of his views in contradistinction to those of Ibn Taymīyah. Al-Suyūṭī’s traditions support the following views. First, opinion-based exegesis is a valid supplement to tradition-based exegesis. Second, the early Muslim community was not quite unified. Third, the earliest Qur’ānic exegetes did not offer a unified exegesis of the Qur’ān. Fourth, Qur’ānic exegesis is necessarily polyvalent since Muslims accept a number of readings of the Qur’ān, and variant readings give rise to various interpretations. Al-Suyūṭī collected his traditions from a wide variety of sources some of which are now lost. Two major exegetes, al-Shawkānī (d. 1250/1834) and al-Ālūsī (d. 1270/1854), copied some of these traditions from al-Durr into their Qur’ān commentaries. In this way, al-Suyūṭī has succeeded in shedding new light on rare, neglected, and previously scattered traditions.

Cette thèse traite de la carrière politique et du « service de plume » de Blaise de Vigenère (1523-1596), agent du roi et voyageur, puis traducteur et commentateur érudit dans le dernier tiers de sa vie. À travers une étude biographique et contextuelle, elle met en évidence une figure sociale trop méconnue du champ des lettres et de l’histoire : celle du secrétaire. Elle interroge ensuite du point de vue de la poétique le statut d’observateur que Vigenère se donne dans ses écrits : le sens de la merveille et l'analyse de la raison technique y vont de pair. La riche expérience de serviteur de l'ombre théorisée dans les traités italiens, et surtout les pratiques d’écritures qui rejoignent l’humanisme constituent un héritage que Vigenère dépasse cependant. L’entreprise de publication, abondante et efficace, est remise en contexte et peut être comprise comme une prudente tentative de courtiser et de conseiller le pouvoir par l’image ou l’allusion. Dans les dernières œuvres où l’allusion le cède au symbole, Vigenère manie le plan littéral et le plan symbolique. Il se montre kabbalisant catholique et pré-nationaliste. En « Politique » de la fin des guerres de religion, il défend alors l’institution monarchique contre la Ligue catholique. Mais les images du Discours sur l’histoire du roy Charles VII (1594) sont les derniers feux d’une herméneutique inquiète. / This study deals with the career and the service to the monarchy of the penman Blaise de Vigenère (1523-1596), who was an agent to the king and was travelling through Europe. He became a translator and scholarly annotator during the last period of his life. I study biography, historical and sociological context, in order to highlight an essential yet overlooked figure : the secretary. I try to show that the personal point of view in his writings is double : while he admires wonders and signs in nature, he is also a sceptical analyst looking for technical explanations. He inherits the experience of those shadowy figures, awarely described in italian trattati, and their practices of writing – those of humanists. But he goes over. Publishing a lot of manuscripts in a short time, he tries to have an effect on the monarch and to court him. His last works are more explicit. Vigenère combines litteral meaning and symbolic interpretation : he uses a kind of catholic kabbalah in a pre-nationalist purpose. As a « Politique », at the end of the Civil Wars, he is a partisan of the monarchy against the Catholic League. But the images of the Discours sur l’histoire du roy Charles VII (1594) might be the swansong of the Renaissance hermetic symbolism.

Le texte du Bellum ciuile n'a pas fait l'objet, en France, d'une nouvelle édition ou d'une traduction complète depuis celle parue à la CUF entre 1927 et 1930. Ce phénomène est d'autant plus surprenant qu'à la fin du XXème siècle et au début du XXIème siècle ont été réalisées des éditions en langue anglaise, allemande et italienne. La présente thèse tente donc de pallier ce manque en proposant une édition, une traduction et un commentaire du livre II de la Pharsale. Après une brève présentation des éléments d'introduction au texte qui touchent à l'auteur, à son œuvre ainsi qu'à des spécificités du livre II de la Pharsale, le premier tome de ce travail est consacré à l'histoire du texte de Lucain. Il apparaît que la tradition manuscrite du Bellum ciuile est complexe et qu'il n'est pas possible d'établir de stemma classant les manuscrits. Bien plus, la contamination manifeste de la tradition manuscrite ne signifie pas que l'état général du texte tel qu'il a été conservé est bon : au contraire, il existe de très nombreux passages obscurs dans le texte de Lucain. Le texte établi dans le présent travail ne repose donc pas uniquement sur la tradition directe de la Pharsale : il s'appuie également sur une vaste étude de la tradition indirecte et surtout sur la consultation des nombreuses conjectures qui ont été formulées pour tenter de mieux comprendre le texte de Lucain. Le texte latin et sa traduction sont suivis, dans un second volume, d'un commentaire linéaire. Celui-ci regroupe des discussions philologiques sur l'établissement du texte, mais aussi des considérations littéraires et stylistiques ainsi que des explications visant à éclaircir les allusions savantes du poète. / Lucan's epic has not been edited nor translated in France since Bourgery's edition published between 1927 and 1930. This fact is surprising considering that English, German and Italian scholars did such a work at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. These two present volumes try to compensate this lack in contemporary French scholarship by furnishing a new edition, translation and commentary of Bellum ciuile's book 2. The first volume begins with an introduction to Lucan, to his epic and to some of the distinctive features of book 2, followed by an history of Lucan's text transmission. Pharsalia's textual tradition is complex and it is not possible to make a stemmatic recension fo the manuscripts. Moreover, the obvious contamination of Lucan's tradition does not imply that we are facing a well transmitted text : quite the opposite, many lines of the Bellum ciuile are certainly corrupted. The text established in this work doesn't rely on nothing but manuscripts of Pharsalia : I used as well the indirect tradition and, most importantly, the numerous conjectures made since the 15th century to improve the understand of Lucan's text. In the second volume of this work, the Latin text and its translation are followed by a line by line commentary. It is composed by critical discussion about text establishment, comments about stylistics and explanations of all the allusions made by the poet.

In the center of interest of this dissertation called The Pragmalinguistic analysis of Czech and French commentary lies in the qualitative methodological approach to a specific media communication form - a printed commentary. The dissertation has several objectives: firstly, it describes the methodological tools used in the francophone analysis of discourse which are consequently used to construct the author's own system as a basis for the analysis. The author has chosen the tools which create language subjectivity and manifestation of the author in the text which are in francophone areas traditionally called as a complex of "énonciation": discourse/history (É. Benveniste), "théorie des blocs sémantiques", polyphony and intertextuality, metaphors, modalisators, deictics, connectors. In the second part of the dissertation, the author uses the theoretical basis built in the first part and applies it to create her own analysis, comparison and final evaluation of two journalistic texts - one from Le Monde and the other one from Hospodářské noviny. The detailed analysis of the texts brings very interesting findings about the different character and construction of the Czech and French commentaries and at the same time, about the different coverage of Czech and French presidency of the Council of the European...

In Arabic. Arabic script can't be copied into UIR / The importance of this work rests upon the fact that notwithstanding Abu Huraira's eminent status among Prophet Muammad's companions as the most noteworthy reporter of Prophetic traditions on the basis of which scholars have compiled his reports on numerous subjects into separate tracts no research of academic standing has been done on his contributions to Qur'anic exegesis by systematically extracting his narrations and evaluating them. The current dissertation begins by offering this research contribution followed by a discussion of Abu Huraira's biography. Then all his narrations are systematically presented from beginning to end. Such reports contain both explicit and implicit statements that can be traced to the Prophet. Not all verses or chapters of the Qur'an are covered in this way for example there are no reports relating to chapter 77. They are followed by the conclusion the bibliography and appendices on Qur'anic verses and Prophetic reports cited. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Islamic Studies)

Les commentaires sportifs télévisés en anglais n’ont jamais été envisagés selon les principes de l’analyse du discours, c’est-à-dire en mettant en rapport leurs propriétés formelles avec les conditions dans lesquelles ils sont produits et avec les enjeux sociaux, économiques et culturels qu’ils portent. En nous appuyant sur un corpus transcrit par nos soins, composé de cinq retransmissions sportives de forme et de contenu variés (rugby, football, athlétisme et catch), nous tentons de répondre à la question suivante : les commentaires sportifs télévisés en anglais constituent-ils un genre de discours spécialisé ? Leur nature spontanée, de même que la tension entre information et divertissement qui les traverse, semblent incompatibles avec la conception dominante de la spécialisation, qui fait la part belle à la terminologie et à la transmission de connaissances. L’examen du corpus témoigne pourtant d’une réflexion sur les besoins des téléspectateurs et sur la manière d’y répondre. Ainsi, les commentateurs s’appuient sur les images pour réduire la syntaxe à l’essentiel et mettre en relief la dimension cognitive des procès ; par ailleurs, ils cherchent à refléter au mieux les valeurs du sport commenté et à s’accommoder des contraintes qui pèsent sur eux. En définitive, l’étude des commentaires sportifs télévisés démontre le bien-fondé d’une approche graduée de la notion de spécialité qui, en reposant principalement sur la recherche d’efficacité, présente l’avantage de valoir autant pour les discours « manifestement spécialisés » (Petit : 2010) que pour les sciences humaines. / Live sports commentary in English has never been studied following the principles of discourse analysis, which consist in linking its formal properties with its context of production and social, cultural and economic implications. Using the corpus that I transcribed, composed of five sports broadcasts of diverse forms and contents (rugby, football, athletics and wrestling), I attempt to answer the following question: is live sports commentary a specialised genre? Its spontaneous nature and its constant tension between information and entertainment seem hard to reconcile with the prevailing conception of specialisation, which is based upon such notions as terminology and knowledge transfer. Yet, the corpus study shows evidence of a reflection on the viewers’ needs and on how to address them. Commentators tend to rely on the images to reduce syntax to the essence and to emphasise the cognitive dimension of the situations they describe. They also strive to reflect the values of the sports they commentate and to put up with the constraints they face.The study of live sports commentary substantiates a graded approach of specialisation which, by resting mainly upon the speaker’s search for efficiency, has the benefit of applying to discourses that are “evidently specialised” (Petit 2010) as well as to social sciences.

For an eSports commentator, the ability to promote the rivalry between the competitors is just as important as fast and accurate commentary. Thus, it is of interest how an experienced commentator achieves this promotional language per some theoretical framework. Using the relatively new and unexplored linguistic field of promotional metadiscourse the quality of commentary can be evaluated quantifiably. Thus, this paper investigates the promotional language used by accomplished eSports commentators, in contrast to inexperienced novices, in the game StarCraft II. This is achieved with a lexical analysis of two StarCraft II commentaries using categories of promotional language previously identified in press releases. Experienced commentators were found to have a much more extensive and varied vocabulary than their inexperienced counterparts, adopting stronger evaluative adjectives and adverbs, as well as metaphorical language, in their commentaries. After comparing the commentaries with each other, the comments of two experienced commentators were compared. In this analysis, the same results were found in regards to commentator experience, as the less experienced commentator in this team featured less varied and weaker evaluative language than his more experienced co-commentator, yet more varied and evaluative than the novices. This paper shows that metadiscursive analysis methods can be fruitfully applied to non-academic discourses, as well as shining a light on the entertainment genre of eSports as a subject for further study. / Denna uppsats utforskar språket som används av etablerade eSportskommentatorer, i jämförelse med oerfarna nybörjare, i spelet StarCraft II. Detta har gjorts genom att analysera eSportskommentarmaterialet från två matcher med hjälp av en modell med kategorier för befrämjande språk, framställd för pressmeddelanden. Analysen fann att erfarna kommentatorer hade ett betydligt bredare och mer varierat ordförråd än sina mer oerfarna motparter, till exempel, genom användandet av mer starkt värderande adjektiv, förstärkande adverb och metaforer. Efter analysen av de två kommentarmaterialen gjordes en analys för liknande mönster av de två erfarna kommentatorernas språk. Denna jämförande analys fann att skillnaden i ordvalet även var knuten till kommentatorns erfarenhet, då den mindre erfarne kommentatorn hade ett mer begränsat och mindre varierat ordförråd än den mer erfarne kommentatorn, men betydligt mer varierat än noviserna. Denna uppsats visar att metadiskursiva metoder kan användas för att analysera icke-akademiskt språk, samtidigt som den visar på ett behov att undersöka E-sportsspråket som en genre.