Includes bibliographical references. / This study of selected Old English texts, from the canons of Aelfric and Cynewulf, presents the argument that the primary purpose of the Saints' Lives in question is that of instruments of persuasion. After a description of the rites of Anglo-Saxon paganism, an attempt is made to outline the manner in which the Christian missionaries used certain aspects of pagan belief to promote Christianity. As such, these texts may therefore be viewed as religious propaganda in the Anglo- Saxon Church's attempt to win new converts to Christianity and to strengthen the faith of those already within its fold, firstly by promoting belief in the miraculous and secondly by investing Anglo-Saxon Christianity with the supernatural powers of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic Pagan religions. Although the works of Cynewulf predate those of Aelfric, I have chosen to discuss the prose works of Aelfric first. However, I do not believe that reversing the historical order invalidates the argument.

INTENT: The purpose of the paper is to examine Henryson's collection of Aesopic and Reynardian Fables in the light of whatever instructive intent he may have had in undertaking the work. METHOD: The paper first examines both Henryson's personal history, and the social and legal background against which the fables were composed. There follows a brief discussion of the development of the fable form from its earliest appearances, incorporating an examination of Henryson's possible didactic intentions in selecting this format for his work. The paper then moves on to examine the various methods according to which instruction has been contained in the fables. This includes a discussion of such topics as Henryson's expansion of the originals, political criticism, the introduction of Aesop as a character, the use of humour and the operation of the "Fables" as a single work. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that Henryson does indeed incorporate both the original moral messages, and a full range of deeper messages, in his Fables without compromising their success as literature, or as entertainment.

Includes bibliography. / This study involves an examination of one particular Old French illuminated secular manuscript, nanlely MS Grey 4 c 12, a fourteenth century copy of the poem Le Roman de la Rose. It attempts to understand the relationship between its illumination and the written text and to describe the unique features of its miniatures and marginalia, as well as including a codicological description of the manuscript.

The study examines the character of Margaret Paston through a selective reading of Paston Letters and Papers of the fifteenth century. Consideration is given to the problems posed by the letter form, to the identification of an authentic "voice" in the letters of a woman who was probably unable to write, and to the constraints of an incomplete historical record. Margaret is viewed by means of her own words and her relationships with her immediate and extended family, and in the light of the social and political circumstances of the time. It is concluded that by examining Margaret in this way, there is sufficient material in the epistolary record to make an assessment of her character.

My examination of Malory's work in the light of his times falls into a number of sections which examine his portrayal of government, society, love, religion and chivalry. I have at tempted to identify in each both Malory's own perceptions and those of his society and to show the links between them. I have also considered the proportions of realism and idealism in his work, where appropriate, as well as the accuracy of the physical picture which Malory's work gives of his times. To some extent my choice of topic has been prompted by a desire to justify, though certainly not to apologise for, the study of medieval European literature in the Southern hemisphere, particularly in Africa. I feel that both the internationalism and, if I may coin a term, the 'intertemporalism' promoted by such disciplines have their part to play in the modern world where they are seen as facets of universal human experience. They allow us to approach the stage where the experience of one man in any time may become the experience of any man in any time, and thus intellectually to transcend the bonds of race, or place, or time. The Morte d'Arthur is in this respect a pathway in human experience and the aim of my essay has been to test its reliability. Conclusions are expressed at intervals in the body of the essay, often at the end of a section or subsection, and, more generally, in a separate conclusion at the end. While most references are acknowledged in footnotes I have acknowledged quotations from Malory's work only by page number in the body of the essay. My text for these is Vinaver, E; Malory; Works (London:Oxford University Press, 1981). Since I am to some extent precariously straddling disciplines in this essay I hope that my heavy reliance on historians, particularly social historians, will be viewed with tolerance.

Bibliography: leaf 61. / What is a magical narrative? How can the inconsistencies and strange repetitions in the plots of Malory's Arthurian cycle be explained? What are their purposes and why are they essential to the plot? In this dissertation, I have attempted to answer these questions by applying Anne Wilson's theory of magical narrative (The magical quest) to a selection of tales from the beginning of Malory's Arthurian cycle (The tale of King Arthur) and from the latter half (The book of Sir Launcelot and Queen Quinevere).

This study examines interfaith relationships in Christian, Muslim, and Sephardic songbooks from Medieval Spain in connection with Foucault’s concepts of power and counter-conduct. These interreligious sexual and romantic interactions are addressed in various songs, although at a significantly lower rate in comparison to those which lack religious implications. This disparity points to act of (self) censorship by the poets and reflects the realities of their time. Moreover, there is a notable pattern of different textual mechanisms meant to allude to interfaith relationships as a way to defy established legal and religious codes on the Iberian Peninsula. This thesis analyzes mechanisms like symbolic and evocative poetic language as well as the partial or total absence of such relationships in the lyrics at hand, thereby revising these texts and offering new interpretations that ultimately reinforce the notion of cultural exchange of the Tres culturas. / Spanish

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