L’avènement récent des approches littéraires en études bibliques a suscité un regain d’intérêt pour le livre de Daniel, et attiré l’attention autant sur ses qualités littéraires que sur sa véritable fonction sociale. Le livre de Daniel comprend deux sections : six récits (Daniel 1-6) et quatre visions (Daniel 7-12). Les récits racontent la confrontation entre la royauté divine céleste et la royauté humaine terrestre, au travers l’histoire de Daniel et ses amis, jeunes israélites exilés à la cour babylonienne. La méthode narrative explore comment se concrétise la narrativité dans un texte en procédant à l’inventaire des caractéristiques fondamentales d’un récit : l’intrigue, les personnages, le cadre, la temporalité et la voix narrative. Ce mémoire propose une analyse narrative systématique des récits du livre canonique de Daniel afin d’examiner l’évolution narrative du concept théologique de royauté. Cette approche permet d’accéder à un niveau textuel où l’intertextualité, l’ironie, le symbolisme et la polysémie imprègnent fortement ces récits subversifs. / The recent introduction of literary approaches into the field of biblical studies has generated a renewal of interest for the book of Daniel, and has drawn attention both on its literary qualities, and its true social function. The book of Daniel contains two sections: six stories (Daniel 1-6) and four visions (Daniel 7-12). The narratives tell the confrontation between the heavenly divine sovereignty and the earthly human sovereignty, through the story of Daniel and his friends, young Israelites exiled in the Babylonian court. The narrative method explores the narratology of the text by performing an inventory of the fundamental characteristic of a story: plot, characters, setting, temporality, and narrative voice. This study offers a systematic narrative criticism of the stories of the canonical book of Daniel, as a way to examine the narrative evolution of the theological concept of sovereignty. This approach provides access to a textual level where intertextuality, irony, symbolism and polysemy permeate these highly subversive narratives.

L’accession de la reine Hatchepsout à la royauté durant le règne d’un autre roi, Thoutmosis III, dont elle est la régente est en tout point remarquable puisqu’elle aboutit à l’existence de deux co-rois contemporains. L’exceptionnalité de la situation offre un prisme singulier permettant d’identifier des mécanismes iconographiques et phraséologiques liés à l’expression de l’identité royale en Égypte ancienne. Un examen critique des abondants vestiges de cette période et une nouvelle lecture des principales inscriptions à caractère politique de la reine conduiront à formuler une série d’hypothèses relatives au déroulement et aux motivations de cette prise de pouvoir. Une nouvelle datation pour les premières attestations d’hostilité vis-à-vis de la mémoire de la reine sera également proposée à la lumière de découvertes récentes faites dans le temple de Karnak. La question du rapport de la reine à son histoire sera également examinée et les soupçons de manipulations historiques liées à sa « corégence fictive » avec son père, roi défunt, écartées. La confrontation des éléments relatifs à l’expression de l’identité du roi au début de la XVIIIe dynastie issus du corpus phraséologique réuni dans ce travail avec la documentation historique du règne d’Hatchepsout nourrira la réflexion engagée sur la définition des éléments qui fondent la légitimité d’un individu à être roi. / The accession of queen Hatshepsut as king during the reign of another king for whom she was regent, Thutmosis III, is remarkable in all respects since it resulted in co-rulers. This unparalleled situation offers a unique opportunity to identify the iconographic and phraseological mechanisms that could be mobilised in the expression of royal identity. Critical examination of the historical evidence from this period, including new readings of Hatshepsut’s main political inscriptions, leads to a number of new hypotheses for understanding this process and the underlying motivations. The suggested date for the first attested hostility toward the queen’s memory is challenged in light of recent discoveries in the temple of Karnak. Questions relating to how Hatshepsut’s history was presented are discussed, and her “fictitious co-regency” with her father Thutmosis I is dismissed. A corpus of expressions of royal identity from the early eighteenth dynasty is compared with the historical documentation from Hatshepsut’s reign, offering new perspectives on how individual royal legitimacy could be defined.

The purpose of the study is to analyse and to compare the reign of two rulers of Francia Orientalis - Henry II and Henry III. The reason for the author's research is that the conception of the legitimization of kingship is nowadays a highly discussed issue and it is one of the most significant tasks the medieval research is facing. Methods used in this study are analysis and comparison. The study is composed of six chapters, each of them dealing with different aspect of the legitimization of kingship. Chapter One is introductory and defines basic terminology used in the study. Chapter Two examines relevant specialized discursus. Chapter Three deals with the sources of medieval thinking and consists of three parts. Part One explains the terms of sacrality and legitimacy. Part Two focuses on the roots of sacral kingship. Part Three investigates the history of legitimization of kingship in the Frankish Empire. Chapter Four is subdivided into four parts and it mainly provides an outline of Henry's II reign and examines relevant historical sources. Part One discusses the policy of Henry's predecessor Otto III. Part Two is an analysis of relevant historical sources. Part Three examines Henry's policy. Intermediate conclusions are drawn in Part Four. Chapter Five endeavours to explain and analyse the...

Chez les Kabyè du Togo, le cycle de l'initiation masculine occupe une place centrale dans la construction du rapport au territoire. Échelonnée sur dix années et composée de quatre grades, l'initiation est la voie d'accès au statut d'homme adulte. Les rites d'entrée dans les différents grades procèdent conjointement à l'inscription de tous dans le territoire villageois, et à l'identification progressive des jeunes hommes à des créatures de brousse. Le dispositif rituel construit des jeunes gens aptes à pénétrer en brousse ― chaque grade le faisant selon ses propres modalités ― pour pouvoir finalement faire face aux menaces qu'elle recèle. L'articulation de l'initiation au cycle annuel des rites agraires et cynégétiques, et au cycle quinquennal des rites de régénération du territoire est étudiée. Elle permet de mettre en évidence que le lien des initiants à la brousse est réinvesti par le système rituel, de telle sorte que les initiants sont d'importants intervenants dans les rites permettant le maintien des conditions d'existence au village. Leurs actes complètent ceux des responsables du culte aux divinités du territoire : des grands prêtres aux accents de rois sacrés. La façon dont les initiants prennent part aux rites liés à la pluie, au vent et à la terre, et les interdits auxquels ils sont soumis, appuient l'hypothèse qu'ils partagent avec les grands prêtres un pouvoir immédiat sur les éléments naturels. L'initiation masculine peut être comprise comme une initiation à la royauté sacrée qui, pour la majorité des jeunes hommes, n'ira pas jusqu'à son terme. Dans la phase ultime de l'initiation, certains pourront être intronisés grands prêtres. / Among the Kabye of Togo, the male initiation cycle is central to building the relationship to the territory. Completed over a period of ten years and divided into four grades, the initiation cycle is the route to the adult male status. The rites of access to the different grades jointly proceed to the inclusion of all in the village territory, and to the progressive identification of young men to bush creatures. The ritual system makes sure young people are able to penetrate the bush — each grade according to its own terms — and cope with the threats it holds. The link between the initiation and the annual cycle of the agricultural and hunting rites, as well as the quinquennial cycle of regeneration of the territory, is studied hereafter. This highlights that the link between the initiates and the bush is reinvested by the ritual system, in such a way that the initiates are important contributors to the rites, allowing the conditions of existence in the village to be maintained. Their actions complete those of the people in charge of worshipping the territory divinities: great priests resembling sacred kings. The way the initiates take part in rituals linked to rain, wind and earth, in addition to the taboos they face, support the hypothesis that they share with the great priests an immediate power on natural elements. The male initiation cycle can be understood as an initiation to sacred kingship which, for the majority of young men, will not be fully completed. In the ultimate phase of the initiation cycle, some will be enthroned as great priests.

Le dieu égyptien Min a toujours été considéré comme un dieu de la procréation par nombre d’égyptologues. Pourtant, l’analyse de son image et de son culte sur la période allant du début de la 8e dynastie à la fin de la 17e dynastie révèle une toute autre définition. Son iconographie témoigne d’une élaboration cryptique dans l’emploi des divers éléments qui composent son image. La présente étude réanalyse par ailleurs la parèdre coptite du dieu ainsi que la réappropriation de l’image de Min au début du Moyen Empire par la divinité thébaine Amon. Loué lors de fêtes spécifiques aux fonctions agraires et dynastiques, Min fit l’objet d’une vénération certaine au cours de cette large période, aussi bien auprès des souverains que des particuliers. Min est aussi particulièrement vénéré en contexte expéditionnaire. Qu’il s’agisse du ouadi Hammamat ou du Gebel el-Zeit en passant par Mersa Gaouasis et par Konosso, le dieu est mentionné ou figuré pour ses attributions guerrières et minérales. Enfin, au cours du Moyen Empire et de la Deuxième Période intermédiaire, Min semble particulièrement loué en Abydos. Son insertion dans la geste osirienne – avec la création de sa forme Min-Horus-nakht – témoigne du déplacement et de la portée funéraire et dynastique croissante du culte à cette époque. Par ses hymnes et les témoignages archéologiques découverts en Abydos, apparaissent en ce lieu les vestiges d’un sanctuaire propre au dieu. Au regard de l’ensemble de la documentation récolée, Min apparaît alors non pas comme un dieu de procréation, mais comme un « Suivant d’Horus », un dieu de la force aux fonctions dynastiques et régénératrices, agissant tant sur le monde naturel que dans l’inframonde. / The Egyptian god Min has always been considered as a procreation god by many Egyptologists. However, the analysis of his image and his cult on the period from the beginning of the First Intermediate Period to the end of the 17th dynasty reveals a very different definition. His iconography shows a cryptic elaboration in the way of using various details composing his image. This present study reanalyzes the Coptite consort of Min as well as the reappropriation of the god’s image by the Theban deity Amun at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. Revered during specific agrarian and dynastic religious festivals, Min was subject of a great veneration during this period, both from kings and private individuals. Min was also particularly praised in expeditionary contexts. From the wadi Hammamat to the Gebel el-Zeit via Mersa Gawasis and the peninsula of Konosso, this god was mentioned and figured for his warring and mineral abilities. Lastly, during the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period, Min seems particularly revered in Abydos. He was inserted inside the Osirian cult with the creation of the figure of Min-Horus-nakht, the latter testifying the moving of the cult and the funerary and dynastic importance of the god in this city. With Abydenian hymns and the discovery of archeological fragments, the location of a sanctuary dedicated to the god could be brought to light. Regarding all the collected data, Min appears not as a procreation god but as a ‘Follower of Horus’, a god of strength with dynastic powers, a god of regeneration who acts over both the natural world and the underworld.

Cette étude s’occupe des conflits de loyauté entre des évêques et rois en Gaule post-romaine. L’objectif principal de ce travail sont vingt études de cas (= « Teil II »), ayant pour but d’analyser des situations conflictuelles pendant les années entre 466 et 614 (ainsi couvrant les périodes wisigotique et mérovingienne). Les résultats de ces études de cas sont résumés et évalués dans la troisième partie de la thèse présente (« Teil III »). Contrairement à la recherche antérieure sur l’épiscopat tardo-antique et haut-médiéval, l’approche adoptée ici mit en exergue des situations dans lesquelles le pouvoir épiscopal a été challengé et – à l’occasion – rompu. D’un côté, l’examen les constellations spécifiques politiques et sociales qui engendraient les conflits étudiés s’est révélé particulièrement instructive (« Teil III », chapitre 1). De l’autre côté, l’analyse comparative de la manière dont les contemporains ont géré des situations de ce genre (il s’agissait toutefois des phénomènes assez fréquents) promet des perspectives nouvelles quant à la relation entre des rois et leur épiscopat (« Teil III », chapitre 1). / The present study focuses on loyalty conflicts between bishops and kings in post-roman Gaul. The main focus is on twenty case studies (= “Teil II”), aiming to analyze specific conflict situations during the years between 466 and 614 (hence covering the Visigothic and early Merovingian periods). The results of these case studies are summarized and evaluated in the third part (= “Teil III”) of this study. In contrast to previous research on the late antique and early medieval episcopate dealing with different aspects of episcopal authority, the adopted approach consciously looks at situations where episcopal power was challenged and sometimes broken. On the one hand, the question of what kind of political and social constellations did bring about the studied conflicts proved to be instructive (“Teil III”, chapter 1). On the other hand, looking at the way how contemporaries dealt with these situations (that were, after all, quite common phenomena) promises instructive insights into the relation between kings and their episcopate (III, 2).

This thesis examines the memorial meaning attributed to royal power in the Icelandic legal tradition, as it is textually negotiated in sources extant from the period c. 1250-1500. It discusses the significance and functions of the Norwegian king's legal authority as part of the Icelanders' collective remembrance of their country's legal past (spanning the years c. 870-1302), and as a defining element in the creation of the Icelandic identity as a community of law. The scope of analysis covers thirteenth- to fifteenth-century legal sources (sections of law-books and legal texts preserving legal arrangements between Iceland and Norway made in the eleventh century and in the period c. 1260-1302), and a fourteenth-century account of the Norwegian king's involvement in a settlement dispute in ninth-century Iceland. These main sources are analysed against the background of several auxiliary sources (saga narratives, diplomas) from a New Philological perspective and scrutinised using the methods developed in cultural memory studies. This provides a novel perspective on the primary sources, filling a gap in recent scholarship on cultural memory in Old Norse literature and historiography. Both categories of texts, drawing on oral and written traditions of law-making and story-telling, are vehicles for multi-faceted culturally meaningful and often contradictory memories of the Norwegian king. The Icelandic laws preserve provisions bestowed upon the Icelanders by the Norwegian monarchs, whereas the sagas convey semi-mythological images of the monarchs, who act as legislators, negotiators of legal agreements with the Icelanders, and as law-keepers. By analysing the memorial functions of royal power in the primary sources, the thesis argues for the complexity of the Icelanders' self-definition as a kingless community of law, who nevertheless incorporate and actively engage with royal power, which shapes the collective memory of the country's legal tradition.

The early history of Arakan has been generally considered to be that of a province of eastern India, and hence its study has been neglected by both Indian and Southeast Asian historians. This dissertation seeks to examine the dynamics of the history from the beginnings of urbanization until the rise of the Burmese empire which subsequently dominated Arakanese culture. The first chapter deals with the geographical and ethnolinguistic background to the development of the earliest cities. In the second, all the inscriptions of the period, in Sanskrit, Pali and Pyu are catalogued and edited. The inscriptions issued by the kings establish a chronology for the period and illustrate the nature of the cult surrounding the institution of kingship, while copper-plate and votive inscriptions elucidate the nature of state organisation and the popular religion. Chapter Three deals with the coinage which emerged following the development of a centralised economy, and discusses the impetus for this and the role of the king on whom the prosperity of the country depended. A comparison with similar coin types in Southeast Asia is made and the catalogue includes all the coins yet discovered. The sites of the most important monuments are discussed in Chapter Four, which catalogues all the architectural and sculptural remains. A comparative analysis of the Buddhist and Hindu images and of the minor arts reveals, to a greater extent that do the inscriptions, the nature of contact with India and the rest of Southeast Asia. The conclusion deals with the political and cultural history which thus emerges, examining in detail the rationale behind the development of the concept of divine kingship in Arakan.

I begin this thesis with a brief account of my meetings with popular South Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba (1926- ) and very brief a discussion of recent fraud and sexual abuse allegations that have been made against him. I note that one of the key factors involved in this, also accountable for his extraordinary popularity, is his divine persona-especially his self-proclaimed identity as "the avatar"-and I review previous academic studies pertaining to this. In contrast to most previous studies of Sathya Sai Baba, which align him primarily with Śaiva traditions and with the "Sai Baba movement", I note a strong (and long running) affinity in his ideas for Vaiṣṇava traditions (especially the Bhagavad-Gītā and the Bhāgavata-Purāṇa), and I add that his background as a member of a traditionally highly regarded bardic caste may have contributed to his divine persona. I further investigate this persona via a history of potentially parallel traditional and modern avatar ideas. I show something of the manner in which many of the avatar concepts and myths to which Sathya Sai Baba refers originated and developed, especially invoking the episteme of "resemblance", posited by Brian Smith, the idea of "inclusivism"-which I adapt from the work of Paul Hacker and Wilhelm Halbfass-and traditional (Sāṁkhya) processes of "distinction", "categorization", and "enumeration". In addition to these, I much refer to Max Weber's analysis of "pure types" of authority-traditional, charismatic, and rational-showing that Sathya Sai Baba draws upon all of these in legitimating his claim to be "the avatar". I also show that his divine persona draws upon a strong affinity that he exhibits for advaita ("non-dualism"), especially that of Śaṅkara, and that his personal history of intense devotional and ecstatic/yogic spiritual practices was likely important in the formative stages of this persona. I further suggest that the history of his geographic locale, in which there are strong themes of sacred kingship and ecstatic/advaitic/poetic/devotional sainthood, may have contributed to the production and reception of his persona. On top of this, I note that the influence of a number of modern avatar figures, especially Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, and Aurobindo, is patent in his avatar teachings, and I compare and contrast him with a number of other significant modern figures. Based upon all of this, I consider the question of whether Sathya Sai Baba ought to be regarded as a "traditionalist", both vis-à-vis modernity ("Neo-Hinduism", as defined especially by Paul Hacker) and "innovation". I conclude that, in contrast to most previous scholarly characterizations, he is certainly innovative, but that he ought not to be considered a "Neo-Hindu"-most appearances to the contrary being due to his borrowing or extrapolating ideas in a very traditional manner from typical Neo-Hindu thinkers (especially Vivekananda), as if these ideas, and those that framed them, were thoroughly traditional. Finally, I outline a couple of major themes in his avatar teachings: an ambivalent attitude to his role as an exemplar, which I note to accord with earlier and parallel avatar ideas; and strong docetic tendencies, which similarly, in contrast to some scholarly characterizations, find parallels in popular portrayals of other avatar figures.

Ce travail mets à profit la connaissance que nous pouvons avoir des documents épigraphiques et littéraires concernant Chypre pour formuler de nouvelles interprétations à propos de la structure politique, économique et sociale de l’île avant l’âge classique. Dans le corpus de documents sont étudiées les sources primaires, celles qui ont été trouvées sur l’île (inscriptions chypro-syllabiques, phéniciennes, akkadiennes, égyptiennes), et celles qui ont une autre origine, mais qui concernent directement Chypre (inscriptions néo-assyriennes ; inscriptions chypriotes trouvées hors de Chypre ; documents en hébreu et en égyptien), ainsi que les sources sécondaires, (passages bibliques mentionnant Chypre ; passages d’auteurs classiques). Dans la synthèse, les documents sont analysés et interprétés selon des thèmes de recherche privilégiés. Une étude des données rassemblées par ville ou royaume permet d’introduire la problématique de l’origine et des caractères de la royauté chypriote ; à ce propos, une comparaison est proposée avec la royauté mycénienne et avec la structure politique de l’île à l’âge du Bronze Récent. Sont étudiés également les éléments dont on dispose pour la reconstruction de la structure sociale de l’île, et le problème de l’existence de la polis à Chypre. / This work draws informations from the epigraphic and literary documents concerning Cyprus in order to formulate new interpretations about the political, economic and social structure of the island before the Classical age. In the corpus of documents the primary sources are studied, those that have been found on the island (Cypro-syllabic, Phoenician, Akkadian and Egyptian inscriptions), and those that have a different origin, but dealing with Cyprus (Neo-Assyrian inscriptions ; Cypriot inscriptions found outside the island ; documents in Hebrew and Egyptian), as well as the secondary sources (biblical texts mentioning Cyprus ; passages of Classical authors). In the main text the documents are analysed and interpreted according to some main research themes. The study of the evidence collected for each city or kingdom allows to introduce the problem of the origin and characters of Cypriot kingship ; on this subject, a comparison is proposed with Mycenaean kingship, and with the political structure of the island in the Late Bronze Age. The evidence available for the reconstruction of the social structure of the island is also studied, as well as the problem of the existence of the Greek polis in Cyprus.