Les deux romans de Guillaume Vigneault publiés à ce jour, Carnets de naufrage (2000) et Chercher le vent (2001), mettent en scène un personnage-narrateur-masculin confronté à une rupture amoureuse. La remise en question issue d'un tel traumatisme provoque un voyage à travers l'Amérique. Ce déplacement se veut une métaphore du cheminement intérieur du narrateur. C'est pourquoi l'étude de l'espace américain où les personnages évoluent acquiert sa pertinence. Dans le cas des romans de Vigneault, l'herméneutique des espaces fictionnels, qu'a développée Benoit Doyon-Gosselin (2008), révèle un conflit entre deux pôles mythiques que Jean Morency (1994) identifie comme moteurs du ± conflit fondateur¿ qui dynamise les fictions d'Amérique. Ce conflit entre deux systèmes de valeurs représentés par les archétypes du nomade et du sédentaire prend la forme chez Vigneault d'une oscillation. Le personnage-narrateur-masculin, rejeté par le pôle sédentaire, devenu nomade, cherche un renouvellement de son identité, un nouvel enracinement spatial afin de régler sa localité paradoxale, sa paratopie.

This dissertation examines the demonology of William of Auvergne, to determine why and how he constructed his theories out of contemporary lore about demons and other spirits. William was master of theology in the University of Paris and bishop of Paris from 1228 until his death in 1249, in which position he served as a major advisor to the young Louis IX. In addition to being one of the most politically influential people in the French kingdom, William was one of the greatest thinkers of his generation, producing numerous works of theology, philosophy and science. William's efforts combine an adoption of an Aristotelian "physics" for spiritual entities with an uncompromising reaffirmation of the view that demons are evil, fallen angels. He believed that a demonic conspiracy existed to deceive humans into false worship, and his concerns led him to precisely define the capabilities of demons according to the latest scientific views of spirits, to characterize opinions with which he disagreed as demonic lies and to label their holders as demonic dupes. William's demonology represented a choice between several alternative varied and contradictory conceptions of spirits that circulated among the western European populace. With his demonology, he hoped to help impose an order he considered doctrinally and politically-acceptable onto the turbulence of early thirteenth century France.

La Prise de Cordres et de Sebille est une chanson oubliée et délaissée, aussi bien par les éditeurs (la seule édition du texte remonte à 1896) que par les critiques. Il est vrai que l’état dans lequel elle nous est parvenue ne force pas immédiatement l’intérêt : cette chanson du Cycle des Narbonnais est considérée comme la continuation de Guibert d’Andrenas, sans pour autant posséder les qualités de cette dernière œuvre ; en effet, la Prise n’est conservée que dans un seul manuscrit et, de plus, elle est inachevée ! Il n’est qu’à lire le résumé rapide et sévère qu’en fait J. Frappier pour comprendre que cette chanson est considérée comme une caricature, une reprise dégradée et bouffonne, aussi bien de son modèle Guibert d’Andrenas que des topoï épiques les plus conventionnels. La Prise souffre donc, non seulement de la comparaison avec Guibert d’Andrenas, mais aussi de son appartenance au Cycle de Narbonne, longtemps considéré comme un « sous-produit » du Cycle de Guillaume et qui a amené à voir, dans ces chansons, des « récits marginaux », selon l’expression de Madeleine Tyssens. La Prise de Cordres et de Sebille, si elle n’a pas l’attrait des grands textes de la Geste, n’est pas pour autant dépourvue de tout intérêt ni de tout charme. Loin d’être seulement une pâle et insipide copie de Guibert d’Andrenas, la Prise possède des qualités propres, esthétiques et idéologiques, qui témoignent de la mutation aussi bien du genre épique que du public concerné par les chansons de geste au XIIIe siècle. C’est cette richesse et cette diversité que Joseph Bédier rappelle lorsqu’il parle de « romans de guerres et d’aventures, mais en même temps romans d’amour » ; à mi-chemin de l’épopée et du roman, mêlant tradition et nouveauté, la Prise constitue, selon B. Guidot, une « illustration convenable d’un genre qui continue à se transformer lentement ». Nous espérons donc que cette nouvelle édition, accompagnée d’une étude littéraire et d’une traduction, saura redonner à cette chanson la place qu’elle mérite au sein de la Geste de Guillaume et qu’elle saura également susciter l’intérêt des chercheurs pour ce texte. / La Prise de Cordres et de Sebille is a chanson that has as well been forgotten and neglected by publishers (the one and only edition dates back to 1896) as by critics. We must admit that the condition in which it came into our hands doesn’t really appeal to us: this chanson from the Narbonne cycle is considered as the continuation of Guibert d’Andrenas, without equalling the qualities of the former; indeed, La Prise… is only available in one manuscript and is furthermore unfinished! Just read the short and highly critical summary written by J. Frappier and you’ll understand that this chanson is considered as a caricature, a debased and comical remake of its model Guibert d’Andrenas or of the more conventional epic Topoï. Therefore, La Prise not only suffers from being compared to Guibert d’Andrenas but also from being part of the Narbonne cycle, long seen as a sub-product of the Guillaume cycle; all of this leads one to consider these chansons as « marginal pieces», according to the opinion expressed by Madeleine Tyssens. Even if it hasn’t the same appeal as the grander texts of the geste, La Prise de Cordres et de Sebille is not uninteresting nor devoid of charm. Far from being merely a pale and insipid copy of Guibert d’Andrenas, La Prise possesses its own aesthetic, ideological assets which reveal the mutation process of the epic genre as well as that of the audience with regard to the chansons de geste in the thirteenth century. Joseph Bedier was referring to this richness and diversity when he talked about « war and adventure novels, but romantic novels at the same time»; halfway between epic and novel, mixing tradition and novelty, La Prise constitutes, according to B. Guidot, « a fitting example of a genre that continues to slowly evolve ». We thus hope that this new edition, along with its literary study and translation, will restore this chanson to the rank it deserves in the geste de Guillaume and that it will also arouse the interest of researchers in this text.

The early twentieth-century avant-garde has cast a long shadow over the popular imagination as producers of manifestos, public scandals, and some of the most enduring art and literature of the last century. In this study, I examine the works of three poets who are not only considered leading avant-gardists, but who are foundational to how both popular consciousness and academic scholarship have understood the avant-garde’s theory and practice: Guillaume Apollinaire, F. T. Marinetti, and Ezra Pound. In particular, this study focuses on the recurring themes of prophecy and apocalypse in their work. These themes occur through reference to prophetic and apocalyptic literary or mythical figures, but also through stylistic innovations such as the use of literary personae or the attempt to synthesise diverse artistic forms. Focusing on these themes allows this study to re-engage the question of how these poets, and the avant-garde more broadly, regarded their practice as a social act. Using a comparative methodology in this thesis, prophecy is viewed not simply as a declamatory literary style that foretells the future, but as a particular kind of social relationship to an audience that is at turns mutually supportive and antagonistic. Similarly, apocalyptic thought is presented not merely as an expectation or belief in the end of the world, but as a specific method of imagining a new world that is, in spite of itself, dependent upon the social world of the present. Apollinaire, Marinetti, and Pound were major figures in the so-called ‘Pre-war Avant-Garde’ having established their reputations in the decade prior to World War I. While they each began formulating and proclaiming their views on aesthetics prior to the war, the experience of war had a profound impact on all three. Accordingly, this thesis examines a number of poems from Apollinaire’s two major collections: Alcools (1913) and Calligrammes (1918), the latter containing significant reflections on avant-gardism and war. Marinetti acted as a journalist in the Italo-Turkish war of 1911-1912, which inspired the work central to this study: his Futurist novel-in-verse Le Monoplan du Pape (1912). Pound, unlike Apollinaire and Marinetti, did not participate in World War I, and this study explores his sequence Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (1920), a long rumination on art, war, and his engagement with Imagism and Vorticism, but also analyses poems from his collections Personae (1908), Ripostes (1912), and Lustra (1916). This study examines how the acute crisis of the war pressed each of these poets to reconsider their view of the poet-as-prophet in society. In doing so it explores the ethical or political implications of avant-garde aesthetics influenced by and as a response to war. This study also closely compares these poets’ works to the biblical literature from which they frequently derived prophetic and apocalyptic themes. Apollinaire, Marinetti, and Pound’s relationship to religion, particularly Christianity, spanned from ambivalence to hostility, but they each engage biblical literature in unique and unorthodox ways. While these poets all sought to be identifiably modern, this study demonstrates the ways in which they attempted to recover values from biblical literature that each felt was necessary to establish the independence and autonomy of contemporary art and literature. Therefore, this study’s comparative framework is intended to engage the conversation over the spiritual, religious, or transcendent values to which avant-garde art aspired. And drawing significantly from the social theories of art, religion, and culture developed by Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu, this thesis contributes to the study of avant-gardism as a social, as well as aesthetic, phenomenon.

Guillaume de Machaut’s motets constitute a cycle. This study focuses upon Machaut’s six Latin texted motets and their influence upon these cyclical contexts. Former research into these motets has uncovered references to contemporary poetry, liturgical texts, literary sources, particular persons, and historical events. Through an examination of recent research into the cyclical nature of the motets it is possible to critically evaluate these hypotheses in the light of the past historical, codicological, liturgical, musical and poetic analysis of these works to create a rounded picture of each motet. In this way it was found that many of the previously researched aspects of the motets follow in line with recent theories surrounding motet grouping structures. In this way when placing these works within a mystical theological literary context their sacred nature, evident within the tenor chant fragments upon which many of them are built, becomes evident and a greater plan apparent. Beyond this, with an examination of Machaut’s life and the events which occurred in his lifetime the context for composition of the remaining motets is unearthed. Within these motets elements have now been identified which link them to Machaut’s canonries at both Saint Quentin and Reims as well as the events of the Hundred Years’ War. In this way the deep connection between Machaut’s motets and all levels of his life is becoming increasingly apparent. Through an examination of these six Latin texted motets it is found that a liturgical context is key to the analysis of all voices. This is apparent in the mere use of vocabulary idiomatic to the liturgy present within these texts. In this way the selection of words within motet 21 points to a Marian allusion and the apocalyptic, drawing motet 21 even closer in context to motets 22-23. This apocalyptic reference is also seen in specific words within in triplum text of motet 22. Furthermore, the Marian allusions discovered throughout these last three motets in their upper voices are apparent only with a close examination of the Salve Regina texts. In this way the influence and importance of liturgical context to the analysis of the motet has been extended to all voices. This study has also uncovered allusions to other fourteenth century works in the analysis of Machaut’s motets. In the case of motet 9 a connection between its chant tenor and another from the Roman de Fauvel reveals a political context which brings an added richness to the interpretation of these texts. Furthermore, as with motets 18-19, it may be gleaned that as Machaut and Vitry were both canons at Saint Quentin that perhaps it was here and with these two motets that Machaut began his tutelage with the older master of the motet. These conclusions may be drawn by the striking similarities between Machaut’s works and those believed to have originated from within the Vitry circle. In the course of this study there have been additions to evidence the necessity of looking to all aspects of Guillaume de Machaut’s motets in their analysis. This includes use of numerical symbolism in varying aspects as shown in motet 9 as well as a thorough exploration of Machaut’s use of vocabulary within his texts to find its literary, historical, motet, and liturgical allusions. The identification of these sources may either serve to reinforce or expand the context of the motet leading to a deeper understanding of its purpose within a group of motets or individually.

Texte remanié de: Th. doct.--Litt. et civilisation françaises--Paris 3, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 331-354.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2000. / Bibliogr. p. 313-324.

Th. doct.--Musicologie--Paris--CNSMDP, 1999. / Liste des oeuvres de G.-G. Nivers p. 565-578. Bibliogr. p. 579-621. Index.

Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Littérature française--Toulouse 2, 2005. / Bibliogr. p. 647-676. Index.

Mémoire de master 2e année : Histoire : Evry Val d' Essonne : 2008. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Notes bibliogr. Bibliogr. p. 283-395.