La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Au début du dix-huitième siècle, un nouveau genre opératique en « langue napolitaine » se développe à Naples, la commedeja pe ‘mmuseca (« comédie en musique »). Celui-ci intègre peu à peu dans ses intrigues des personnages s’exprimant en toscan et accompagnés d’une musique inspirée du dramma per musica. Cette intégration de la langue littéraire de la Péninsule et d’un style musical serio est interprétée comme une tentative d’ennoblir le genre et a mené à la théorisation d’une dichotomie entre sphère sérieuse toscane et sphère comique napolitaine. Fondée sur une vision réductrice de la situation linguistique napolitaine, associant le toscan aux nobles et le napolitain au peuple, cette conception ne reflète ni la situation linguistique et politique de l’époque, ni la réalité des livrets et de leur mise en musique, comme ce mémoire se propose de le démontrer. En effet, l’étude du contexte politique et linguistique dans lequel la commedeja s’est développé révèle que le napolitain était la langue usuelle du peuple et de l’aristocratie. De plus, Naples était sous domination étrangère et le toscan était la langue employée par les dominateurs: le napolitain devenait donc un symbole de napolétanéité et du désir d’autonomie des habitants du Royaume de Naples. Dans ce mémoire, le dépouillement d’un corpus de soixante-six livrets datant de 1721 à 1749 et l’analyse de l’opéra Lo frate ‘nnamorato (1732) de Gennaro Antonio Federico et Giovanni Battista Pergolesi suggèrent que l’intégration du toscan dans la commedeja incarne une forme de résistance contre la domination étrangère. / The commedeja pe ‘mmuseca, a comic operatic genre in Neapolitan, flourished in early eighteenth-century Naples. Gradually, it began integrating Tuscan-speaking characters into its plots, accompanied by a dramma per musica inspired musical style. This inclusion of the literary language of the Peninsula and of a seria musical style has been interpreted as an attempt to ennoble the genre, and has led to the theorization of a dichotomy between Tuscan serious characters and Neapolitan comic ones. This view of Tuscan is based on the mistaken premise that Neapolitan is the language of the people and Tuscan, that of the aristocracy. I argue that, caused by a misunderstanding of the political and linguistic context of eighteenth-century Naples, it not only overlooks the reality of the music and libretti, but also neglects the political and nationalistic dimensions of the genre’s multilingualism. In fact, Neapolitan was spoken by all Neapolitans, whereas Tuscan was the language of foreigners and of the Austrian ruling power. This leads me to suggest a new interpretation to the commedeja’s multilingualism: accompanied by regional characterization, it is actually a form of local resistance against foreign domination. The analysis of sixty-six libretti, dating from 1721 to 1749, and of Lo frate ‘nnamorato (1732) by Gennaro Antonio Federico and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, confirm this hypothesis.

The dwindling supply of castrati created a crisis in the opera world in the early 19th century. Castrati had dominated opera seria throughout the 18th century, but by the early 1800s their numbers were in decline. Impresarios and composers explored two voice types as substitutes for the castrato in male leading roles in serious operas: the contralto and the tenor. The study includes data from 242 serious operas that premiered in Italy between 1800 and 1840, noting the casting of the male leading role for each opera. At least 67 roles were created for contraltos as male heroes between 1800 and 1834. More roles were created for tenors in that period (at least 105), but until 1825 there is no clear preference for tenors over contraltos except in Naples. The Neapolitan preference for tenors is most likely due to the influence of Bourbon Kings who sought to bring Enlightenment values to Naples. After the last castrato retired in 1830 and the casting of contraltos as male heroic leads falls out of favor by the mid-1830s, the tenor, aided by a new chest-voice dominant style of singing, becomes the inheritor of the castrato's former role as leading man in serious Italian opera.

Circulation des Phlébovirus en Turquie, l'Iran et l'Algérie a été étudiée. L'isolement, la caractérisation génomique, les relations phylogénétiques de six virus ont été présentées: le virus Adana (ADAV), deux souches de virus Toros (TORV), le virus Zerdali (ZERV) de la Turquie; le virus Dashli (DASHV) de l'Iran; le virus Toscana (TOSV) d'Algérie. Cette étude a commencé avec la collection de 38,131 phlébotomes de la nature. La méthode de séquençage de nouvelle génération (NGS) à haut débit nous à été utilisée pour l’analyse des génomes complet des virus isoles. En conclusion, cette étude a d'importantes contributions sur phlébovirus négligées. Voici quelques-unes des contributions significatives; (i) ZERV et TORV qui sont étroitement apparentés au virus Tehran (THEV) et le virus Corfou (CFUV), respectivement, ont été isolés depuis 56 et 30 ans des premiers isolements de THEV et CFUV, respectivement, (ii) Détection du virus ADAV un animal domestique et sur quelques sérums humain par test de neutralisation. Ce virus ADAV constitue avec le virus le virus (SALV), le virus Arbia (ARBV), et le virus (ADRV) le groupe Salehabad. Seul le virus ADRV a été détectée dans le liquide cérébro-spinal auparavant landais que avec les autres, aucune preuve pathogène n’a été détectée, (iii) Nous avons découvert la plus récente circulation phlébovirus en Iran après 56 années, (iv) TOSV a été isolé en Algérie pour la première fois et la circulation a été confirmée par séropositivités dans le sérum humain. / Sandfly-borne phlebovirus circulation in Turkey, Iran, and Algeria was investigated. The isolation, genomic characterization, phylogenetic relationships of 6 viruses was presented: Adana virus (ADAV), two strains of Toros virus (TORV), Zerdali virus (ZERV) from Turkey; Dashli virus (DASHV) from Iran; Toscana virus (TOSV) from Algeria. This study has begun with the collection of 38,131 sandflies from nature. The well established, high-throughput methodology was applied for the discovery of viruses including PCR tools and cell culture methods. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technology facilitated to perform complete genome analysis of the isolated viruses. In conclusion, this study has contributions to the neglected sandfly-borne phlebovirus group and filled some gaps about the circulation of these agents in Turkey, Iran, and Algeria. Following are some significant contributions; (i) ZERV and TORV which are closely related to Tehran virus (THEV) and Corfou virus (CFUV), respectively were isolated after 56 and 30 years of the first isolations of THEV and CFUV, respectively, (ii) There was no evidence of the pathogenicity of Salehabad virus (SALV) and Arbia virus (ARBV) except the detection of Adria virus (ADRV) in CSF until ADAV which belongs to the Salehabad serocomplex was detected in domestic animal and very few human sera by neutralization assay, (iii) We have discovered the most recent sandfly-borne phlebovirus circulation in Iran after 56 years, (iv) TOSV was isolated in Algeria for the first time and circulation was confirmed by seropositivities in human sera.

La these analyse la collection de terre cuite de Raffaele Gargiulo (1785-après 1864), céramiste et restaurateur affirmé, personnage de première importance du Musée de Naples, marchand napolitain d'antiquité des années 20 et 30 du XIXe siècle. La proposition de vente de sa collection au Musée de Naples est faite en décembre 1852. Après deux années de dures négociations le 29 mai 1855 la vente se conclut pour 6000 ducats. Pour comprendre le personnage de Gargiulo en tant que marchand d'oeuvre d'art, 315 documents, conservés dans l'Archive d'État de Naples et la Surintendance de Naples, ont èté analysés. L'étude de 11 arrêtés royaux entrés en vigueur entre 1807 et 1852, ont permis de reconstruire le cadre législatif en vigueur de l'époque. La petite plastique, la classe la plus nombreuse, représente environ les trois quarts de la collection de terre cuite. En ce qui concerne les provenances, les Pouilles et la Campanie sont largement dominantes avec 578 objets (95.54% de la collection entière): dans le détail on note que les localités se trouvant aux premières places sont aussi bien les Pouilles (Gnathia, Ruvo et Canosa) que la Campanie (Capoue et Calès), plus célèbres pour les fabrications coroplastiques. Le matériel architectonique va de la fin du VIe s. av. J.- C. au I Ier s. ap. J.-C., le matériel coroplastique se situe entre la moitié du IVe s. et la fin du IIIe s. av. J.-C., la céramique à décoration plastique et polychrome et celle achrome entre le IVe et le IIIe s. av. J.-C., alors que la chronologie des vases modelés va de la fin du VIe et le IIIe s. av. J.-C. Enfin, les lampes à huile sont toutes datées entre la première moitié et le dernier quart du Ier s. ap. J.-C. / The thesis analyzes the collection of terracottas of Raffaele Gargiulo (1785-after 1864), ceramist and restorer, leading figure of the Museum of Naples, neapolitan merchant of antiquity in the twenties and thirties of the 19th century. The proposed sale to the Museum of Naples of his collection is made in December 1852, but only after more than two years of hard deals it comes to the purchase on May 29th, 1855, for 6000 ducats. In order to understand the figure of Gargiulo as merchant of art 315 documents, kept in the State Archive of Naples and in the Historical Archive of the Archaeological Superintendence of Naples, have been analyzed. By the study of 11 royal decrees dated between 1807 and 1852 the legislative framework in force at the time was rebuilt, as part of the trade and export of archaeological and art objects. In the Gargiulo’s collection of terracottas the little plastic (443 specimens, 73.88%) is the most documented class, accounting for about three-quarters of the collection. About the provenances, Apulia and Campania with 578 items, the 95.54%, prevail. At the top lie the towns, both in Apulia (Gnathia, Ruvo and Canosa) and Campania (Capua and Cales), most famous for the coroplastic products. If the architectural material is dated from the end of the 6th century BC to 1st century AD, the coroplastic material lies mostly between the mid-4th century BC and the end of the 3rd BC. The pottery ranges between the 4th century and 3rd century BC, especially the plastic and polychrome decoration and the achromatic ceramic; the chronology of plastic vessels is more varied, between the late 6th and 3rd centuries BC. The lamps, finally, are dated to 1st century AD. / La tesi analizza la collezione di terrecotte di Raffaele Gargiulo (1785-post 1864), ceramista e restauratore affermato, figura di primo piano del Museo di Napoli, grande mercante napoletano di antichità degli anni Venti e Trenta dell'Ottocento. La proposta di vendita al Museo di Napoli della sua collezione viene fatta nel dicembre del 1852, ma dopo oltre due anni si giunge all'acquisto, il 29 maggio 1855, per seimila ducati. Per inquadrare la figura del Gargiulo come mercante di opere d'arte sono stati analizzati 315 documenti custoditi nell'Archivio di Stato di Napoli e nell'Archivio Storico della Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli. Attraverso lo studio di 11 regi decreti tra il 1807 e il 1852 si è ricostruito il quadro legislativo in vigore all'epoca nell'ambito del commercio e dell'esportazione di reperti archeologici e oggetti d'arte. Nella collezione Gargiulo di terrecotte la piccola plastica (443 esemplari, pari al 73.88%) è la classe più documentata, rappresentando circa i tre quarti della collezione. Tra le provenienze prevalgono la Puglia e la Campania con 578 oggetti, il 95.54%. Ai primi posti si collocano le località, sia pugliesi (Egnazia, Ruvo e Canosa) che campane (Capua e Cales), più celebri per i prodotti coroplastici. Se il materiale architettonico va dalla fine del VI a.C. al I d.C., quello coroplastico si colloca per lo più tra la metà del IV e la fine del III a.C. La ceramica spazia tra il IV e il III secolo a.C., soprattutto per la ceramica a decorazione plastica e policroma e per quella acroma, più varia è la cronologia dei vasi plastici, tra la fine del VI e il III a.C. Le lucerne, infine, si datano nell'ambito del I secolo d.C.

La recherche a analysé la figure éclectique de Raffaele Gargiulo, marchand d'antiquités célèbre en Europe, collectionneur, personnage complexe et controversé de l'histoire du Musée de Naples, dans le monde des Antiquités napolitaines de la première moitié du XIXème siècle. À partir de sa collection d’objets provenant de la Grande-Grèce; l'une des plus riches du Musée de Naples, et en examinant en particulier les vases peints, nous avons analysé ses méthodes de travail ainsi que ses techniques de restauration, les matériaux qu’il a utilisés et les choix qu’il a faits pour reconstruire et comprendre les critères qui ont guidé la pratique de la restauration des vases du musée Royal Bourbon dans la première moitié du XIXème siècle. La recherche a analysé les événements historiques qui ont conduit le Musée Royal à acheter l’intégralité de la collection de Raffaele Gargiulo et, en particulier, sa collection de vases. Le travail effectué est accompagné de documents d'archives qui illustrent les longues négociations concernant l'achat des matériaux, commencé en 1852 et achevé en 1855 et renseignent sur les tendances et les choix effectués par le Musée Royal de Naples en étroite collaboration avec la Commission des Antiquités et des Beaux-Arts. L’enquête a permis d’en savoir plus sur le restaurateur-marchand qu’était R. Gargiulo et sur les relations qu’il entretenait avec les personnes impliquées dans ces affaires. En partant des sources bibliographiques, des anciens inventaires et des documents d’archives, nous avons identifié les vases de la collection Gargiulo (environ 481 vases) et tous les “vases Gargiulo" achetés par le Musée de Naples. Nous avons compilé le catalogue des vases, en les classant par type de céramique et en rédigeant une fiche pour chacun d’eux. À travers le catalogage des vases, qui a permis la reconstruction de la collection, nous avons cherché à identifier et à mettre en évidence les goûts du collectionneur R. Gargiulo mais aussi des personnes impliquées dans les choix (ministre, directeur du Musée, experts), qui ont déterminé un certain style pour les collections du Musée de Naples. / The research focuses on the eclectic figure of Raffaele Gargiulo, who was a dealer, an expert, a restorer, a collector, a controversial figure in the history of the Naples Museum and Neapolitan antiques market in the first half of the nineteenth century. Starting from his collection of antiquites, one of the richest coming from Magna Graecia and which arrived in the Naples Museum, we have primarily examined the vases and have tried to analyze the restoration methods, the materials used and the choices made to reconstruct the criteria that guided the practice of the vases restoration in the Royal Bourbon Museum in the first half of the nineteenth century. The research analyzes the historical events that led to the purchase, by the Museum, of Raffaele Gargiulo’s collection, focusing mainly on the study of the vases collection. The research, enriched by archival documentation aimed at illustrating the long negotiation in the acquisition of the objects, which began in 1852 and ended in 1855, has shown the judgements and the choices made by the Neapolitan Museum in cooperation with the Commissione di Antichità e Belle Arti. Furthermore, it has contributed to define the figure of the restorer-dealer Gargiulo and his relationship with the people interested in the deal. A combination of archival documentation, old inventories and surveys in the Museum’s stores has allowed us to identify the Gargiulo’s vases collection (about 481 vases) and all the "Gargiulo’s vases" in the Museum. The vases catalogue has been created, in order to classify them according to type of ceramic, with an individual file for each vase. Thanks to the catalogue, which has aimed to the reconstruction of the collection, we have been able to highlight the aspects related to the criteria and to the taste of the collector Gargiulo and of the figures involved (Minister, Director of the Museum, experts, etc.). They have all contributed to the enrichment of the collections of the Naples Museum through the variety of artifacts and provenance from different locations in the Naples Kingdom.The research has also investigated the figure of the restorer Gargiulo, his "career" and his activities at the «Officina dei Vasi Italo-greci» of the Naples Museum. The restoration methods have been analyzed on some vases that still preserve the ancient interventions, focusing on a comparative study between old photos and archival documentation. / La ricerca ha analizzato l'eclettica figura di Raffaele Gargiulo, commerciante, abile restauratore, collezionista, figura controversa nella storia del Museo di Napoli e dell’antiquaria napoletana nella prima metà del XIX secolo. Partendo dalla sua collezione, una delle raccolte più ricche di materiali di provenienza magnogreca mai giunte nel Museo di Napoli, esaminando in particolare i vasi, si è cercato poi di analizzare i metodi di restauro, i materiali adoperati e le scelte attuate per ricostruire e comprendere i criteri che guidarono la pratica del restauro dei vasi del Museo Borbonico nella prima metà dell'Ottocento. La ricerca ha analizzato le vicende che hanno portato all’acquisizione da parte del Museo Borbonico della collezione di Gargiulo nella sua totalità e, in particolare, della collezione vascolare. Il lavoro, corredato da documenti archivistici volti ad illustrare la lunga trattativa nell'acquisizione dei materiali, iniziata nel 1852 e conclusa nel 1855, ha messo in evidenza le valutazioni, le tendenze e le scelte operate a Napoli presso il Museo in stretto rapporto con la Commissione di Antichità e Belle Arti e ha contribuito a delineare la figura del restauratore-commerciante Gargiulo e il suo rapporto con le figure che, più o meno appassionatamente, si interessarono alla vicenda.Sono stati individuati, sulla base delle fonti, degli antichi inventari e dei documenti archivistici, i vasi della collezione Gargiulo (481 vasi ca.) e tutti i “vasi Gargiulo” immessi nel Museo. Si è redatto il catalogo dei vasi, diviso per classi ceramiche e con la redazione di singole schede per ogni vaso. Attraverso il catalogo e quindi la ricostituzione della collezione, si sono potute individuare, nella sua varietà di classi ceramiche e di provenienze, gli aspetti relativi ai criteri e al gusto di Gargiulo e delle figure coinvolte (Ministro, Direttore del Museo, esperti, etc.) che hanno determinato anche una scelta di gusto e di rappresentatività per le collezioni del Museo di Napoli. La ricerca ha anche preso in esame la figura del restauratore Gargiulo, la sua “carriera” e la sua attività presso «l’Officina dei Vasi Italo-greci» del Museo di Napoli. Si sono esaminati i metodi di restauro su alcuni vasi che ancora conservano gli interventi antichi, anche attraverso uno studio comparativo tra le foto antiche e i documenti di archivio.

Cette thèse propose de mettre en lumière, à travers l'étude du cas napolitain, certains aspects émergents des dynamiques migratoires en Europe du sud. Naples, loin d'être un simple espace de transit dans des mobilités secondes en direction des régions septentrionales, est le lieu de multiples pratiques de circulation parmi lesquelles un commerce transnational qui met en relation des espaces distants en Méditerranée et en Europe. Ainsi, la ville, qui n'est pas un pôle majeur dans le cadre migratoire italien, apparaît comme un point nodal à forte centralité dans un système de relations liant des lieux dispersés dans l'espace euro-méditerranéen. Basé en premier lieu sur des observations et des entretiens semi-directifs, ce travail propose d'analyser l'organisation socio-spatiale de Naples en tant que place d'achat, ainsi que les trajectoires des commerçants qui la fréquentent. L'étude des circulations commerciales soulève la question de la relation entre mobilité et territoire : faut-il qu'il y ait permanence d'un groupe en un espace pour qu'il y ait identification de ce groupe à cet espace ? Quelle est la particularité des formations socio-spatiales liées à la mobilité ? À différentes échelles, comme celle du quartier, de l'agglomération, ou encore de l'espace international des circulations, la façon dont les migrants donnent du sens aux espaces qu'ils traversent et les transforment a été analysée. La partie la plus approfondie de ce travail concerne l'étude d'un quartier central de la ville de Naples, le quartier de la gare. L'étude des différents usages et représentations du quartier met en évidence l'émergence de nouveaux acteurs dans les espaces publics, les circulants commerciaux, qui ne sont pas nécessairement reconnus au plan politique, mais qui impulsent des transformations « par le bas » sur les espaces. Les pratiques de mobilité des migrants commerçants ont des effets structurants sur les espaces marchands et de circulation : elles génèrent des modes de territorialisation originaux et des formes de cosmopolitisme au quotidien. Par ailleurs, l'étude des trajectoires socio-spatiales des commerçants qui fréquentent la place marchande permet de comprendre la signification sociale de la circulation commerciale : comment vit-on dans la mobilité ? La mobilité est-elle toujours une ressource ? L'analyse des trajectoires de migrants montre que la mobilité est un phénomène socialement transformateur, qui permet de mettre en œuvre des stratégies de promotion socio-économique et de transformation des rapports de genre. Cependant, les réussites sont inégales et tous ne tirent pas le même profit de la circulation commerciale. La circulation commerciale est une réalité socialement stratifiée et différenciée.

Cette recherche est attachée à l'étude des environnements sonores, en prenant l'exemple des Quartiers Espagnols, quartier populaire du centre de Naples. Se voulant une participation à la mise en place d'une anthropologie sonore, elle s'inscrit dans une approche pluridisciplinaire en abordant des aspects relevant de l'anthropologie sociale, la microsociologie, l'anthropologie urbaine, l'anthropologie de la communication, la sociolinguistique, l'anthropologie sensorielle et la prosodie. En observant la vie quotidienne et ses différentes « manières de faire », la mise au jour des pratiques d'habitation à l'œuvre dans la rue révèle une prévalence de la polyvalence des espaces intimes et collectifs. La rue apparaît dans la pluralité de ses usages, des usagers, de son organisation spatiale et temporelle. Devant la diversité des stratégies d'appropriation de l'espace urbain et la porosité dont l'habitat fait preuve sur un plan à la fois social et sensoriel, la dimension sonore se révèle centrale. D'une part, en tant que production sonore mettant en avant la relation à l'autre, la vocalité est au centre de la vie sociale du quartier. En confrontant cris de marchands et communications domestiques à distance, l'observation des actes de voix haute permet de dégager ce que révèlent socialement ces « voix publiques ». D'autre part, en tant qu'elles s'imposent dans l'espace urbain comme un plaisir du bruit, les sonorités des pétards et des feux d'artifice révèlent quant à elles, dans les discours attachés à leurs représentations, une volonté d'investir l'environnement sonore de la ville en même temps qu'elles questionnent des enjeux socioculturels propres à l'espace napolitain. L'analyse révèle enfin que ces deux sonorités peuvent être considérées comme constituant des environnements sonores qui, pour autant qu'ils peuvent diviser à certains égards, rassemblent les habitants qui se sentent en faire partie, et témoignent de la vie sociale qui se joue dans les Quartiers Espagnols. L'exemple d'un quartier populaire napolitain permet d'insister sur un aspect central des environnements sonores, qui est que ces derniers peuvent être vecteurs de lien social. Pointant la pertinence anthropologique de l'observation et la documentation du fait sonore, cette étude met en évidence les corrélations entre les modes d'habitation, les relations sociales et les environnements sonores.

This dissertation examines the practice of embedding devotional objects, such as relics and painted panels, into mural images in Italy between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. Examples can be found as far south as Amalfi, and as far north as Lombardy, and in a variety of ecclesiastical institutions, ranging from urban cathedrals, remote hermitages, and influential monastic centers. Yet despite its widespread application—found even in the Arena Chapel in Padua—the practice has never been systematically studied. Older studies of the sites taken up in this dissertation generally omit mention of their embedded objects altogether, either because the objects were seen as incidental to the larger image in which they were set, or because their inclusion did not follow certain post-medieval parameters of artistic progress. The works of this study elide traditional divisions within the study of medieval art, traversing the categories of icon and narrative, portable and monumental, and “image” and “art.” This study contends that medieval image-makers engaged the aesthetic and symbolic potential of mixing diverse media. The introduction gives an analysis of the notions of “medium” and “mixture” in the Middle Ages in order to elaborate the heuristic concepts that drive the ensuing chapters. Chapters 1-3 each examine a specific type of embedded object, and consider the various modes of combination exhibited therein. Chapter 1, “Assimilation,” examines relics that were embedded within mural images, and focuses on the apse mosaic of San Clemente in Rome, ca. 1120. Chapter 2, “Fragmentation,” analyzes the insertion of circular wooden panels in murals, and centers on the apse fresco of Santa Restituta in Naples, ca. 1175. Chapter 3, “Mediation,” considers the rectangular panel of God in the Arena Chapel in Padua, produced by Giotto between 1303 and 1305. To recuperate the intermedial practice of embedding objects in mural images, I examine the technical and aesthetic features of mixed media murals in relation to coeval understandings of mixture, media, and mediation. It was a practice that involved an understanding of the mural image not just as a flat surface for pictorial elaboration, but as a physical and spatial entity that could be manipulated and thematized within the image itself. By incorporating relic or panel into a mosaic or frescoed mural, medieval image-makers nested objects traditionally viewed as portable and venerable, into one understood as fixed and site-specific. This maneuver gave the mural a stratified quality of assemblage, producing registers of difference and ambiguity between container and contained, image and object, surface and depth. Throughout the dissertation, I explore these dialectics, demonstrating how and to what ends embedded objects establish difference, only to transcend it. The ambivalent understandings of mixture in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries—sometimes a hybrid, at other times, a metamorphosis— inform my analysis of the mixed representational systems of this study. The period may be characterized by a growing intellectual interest in the observation and manipulation of physical substances, the study of which was seen to reveal the connective fabric of God’s cosmic order. The works studied here participate in this broader attention to the processes of the natural world. I therefore consider how medial combinations were seen to signal analogous behavior in the mixtures discussed by theologians, natural philosophers, and artists. Attending to both the constituent parts and the symbolic value of their combination, I show how the act of embedding worked by analogy to figure the theological processes of assimilation, fragmentation, and mediation.

This thesis explores the relationship between the plurality of polyphonic and independent voices and consciousnesses, a Mikhail Bakhtin's concept, in two plays by Lope de Vega. El maestro de Danzar y El bobo del colegio are two of his least known and studied. Both plays present protagonists, simple citizens, which pretend to court two noble ladies. Under these circumstances, they are forced to avoid social rejection, issue guaranteed by their humble lineage. In order to complete their undertaking, they disguise as a dance teacher and a university fool. This process shields them from, the above mentioned, traditional disapproval they are subject to. It also entitles them to become, symbolically and virtually, the main dialogic executors in the play. Bakhtin depicts the process of embracing an alternate identity, different from their own, as a vital part of carnival. It compels the leading characters, El maestro and El bobo being no exception, to undergo two changes. First, they become a new individual, recognizable only to those who are aware of their masks. Second, their voices attract attention to the point of influencing the preeminent nobles of the comedy to follow their lead. Further, their ideas come to matter more than those of any other voice in the comedy. In the beginning they follow an ideal, and are subdued by social hierarchy. At the conclusion, they finish leading and controlling the polyphonic relationship between the independent voices and consciousnesses of the other characters in the play. And rather than a conflict, both comedies depict a harmonic social interaction of all their characters. Although scholarship exists analyzing individual plays, a comprehensive study of the effective association between language and disguise favoring a villano over high-class citizens has never been undertaken. This is Lope's strategy to plainly contrast the traditional social differentiation of classes.

Fifteenth-century diplomatic protocol required the city of Florence to send diplomats to congratulate both new and militarily victorious rulers. Diplomats on such missions poured praise on their triumphant allies and new rulers at friendly locations. However, political realities also meant that these diplomats would sometimes have to praise rulers whose accession or victory opposed Florentine interests. Moreover, different allies and enemies required different levels of praise. Jealous rulers compared the gifts, status, and oratory that they received from Florence to the Florentine entourages sent to their neighbors. Sending diplomats with too little or too much social status and eloquence could spell diplomatic disaster. Diplomats met these challenges by varying the style, structure, and content of their speeches. Far from formulaic pronouncements of goodwill, diplomatic orations varied from one speech to the next in order to meet the demands of the complex diplomatic world into which they fit. Contextualizing these orations reveals the subtle reservations of diplomats praising a hostile ruler, the insertion of specific citations to flatter specific audiences, and the changing intellectual and stylistic interests of humanists throughout the fifteenth century. This essay will examine the different shades of flattery practiced by Florentine diplomats and the contexts that explain these variations.