The purpose of this study is to examine how English natural philosophers of the seventeenth century—in particular, Robert Boyle (1627-1691) considered and assessed the personal traits of skill and experience and the significance of these characteristics to the practice of seventeenth-century science. Boyle's writings reveal that skill and experience impacted various aspects of his seventeenth-century experimental natural philosophy, including the credibility assessment of tradesmen and eyewitnesses to natural phenomena, the contingencies involved in the making of experiments, and Boyle's statements about the requisite skills of experimental philosophy in contrast to other traditions. Subtopics explored include the popularization of science and Boyle's expectations concerning the future improvement of natural philosophy.

This thesis examines the influence of Galen (b. 129 AD) on medicine in England between 1618 and 1794, approaching the study of his authority and the use of his work through three case-studies: histories of medicine, pharmacology, and surgery. The histories of medicine illustrate the variety of ways in which Galen is referred to, both as a historical figure, and as an ongoing contemporary influence. His importance in terms of accessing the knowledge of the ancients, and as a fixed point in time around which to discuss the history of medicine, and to situate other practitioners over a broad time period, underlines the significance of his role within medicine. Similarly, the pharmacological texts examined provide a more tangible sense of the influence of Galen, and their varied, but formulaic structures enable specific remedies to be traced over time and their corresponding associations and details compared between different editions. Identifying the role of Galen within surgical treatises also allows for a more theoretical aspect of surgery to be explored, providing a different perspective on an area more frequently portrayed as a manual art. The use of Galenic texts within each case-study, in particular the histories of medicine, demonstrates a significant and nuanced engagement with the content of his works, reiterating the importance of his contribution, and showing the value ascribed to the simplicity offered by past approaches. It is evident that a shift had occurred from the acceptance of ancient authority based on convention, to evaluating the simplicity and utility of information on an individual basis. The value ascribed to utility in the assessment of medical knowledge is evident throughout these texts, which also demonstrate the importance of the experience and observations of the practitioner in facilitating the ongoing and significant use of the influence of Galen.

Modern critical works on the seventeenth-century Extremaduran author Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán are sparse, with the exception of recent interest manifested by a small group of feminist scholars in the United States. Apart from intermittent mentions of her poetry, she is virtually unknown among British Hispanists. This thesis seeks to fill many existing gaps in knowledge on her by providing a broader critical assessment of her surviving poetry than has been available thus far, particularly by situating it and its author within their historical, literary and social contexts and drawing thematic and stylistic analogies with works by other authors, male and female. Part I will concentrate primarily on historical aspects. It will establish the reputation enjoyed by the poet in her day and review references to her work in modern critical literature. It will also provide a detailed reconstruction of the poet's family antecedents and discuss the evidence of a literary community in her home city during the period in which she was active as a writer. Part II will focus on the poetry itself, specifically a consideration of the thematic content of a broad representative selection of Ramírez de Guzmán's verses, which were not published until nearly two centuries after her death, and an examination of her interaction with the genres of occasional verse, verse portraiture and burlesque and satirical poetry, all of which will be discussed against the background of their respective traditions.

Cette thèse doctorale prétend contribuer, premièrement, à soumettre à discussioncette interprétation dominante de la pensée philosophique et scientifique du PèreMinime Marin Mersenne (1588-1648), étant portée et structurée par la question duscepticisme, et deuxièmement, à mettre en avant la manière dont cette philosophieincarne l’esprit de la révolution scientifique du XVIIe siècle par sa capacité de se mettreen question dans sa recherche insatiable de la vérité; une recherche accompagnée d’unsouci de conservation de l’ordre politique et religieux. L’hypothèse principale de notretravail consiste à affirmer une profonde transformation dans la conception de la musique: transformation qui mène d’une science quadriviale et subalterne aux mathématiques,exigeant la soumission au jugement de la raison dans la pratique, à une science physiqueet mathématique, dont la recherche se fonde sur de nombreuses expériences,reconnaissant l’individualité de l’expérience esthétique, la liberté de l’imagination descompositeurs et le caractère ineffable du sublime musical. Il s’agit d’une transformationqui n’est pas exempte de difficultés, car elle ne conduit pas simplement à affirmerl’existence de deux périodes dans la pensée de Mersenne. En effet, il exprime ses doutessur la pertinence de l’approche spéculative lorsqu’il discute avec ses correspondants surla réforme musicale proposée à l’imitation des anciens et ne cesse de rappeler laperfection des rapports numériques des consonances lorsqu’il est prêt à les mettre enquestion en acceptant et en cherchant les fondements de la pratique de l’accordage desinstruments. Or, malgré cette complexité (voire ces contradictions) nous jugeons et nousprétendons montrer que cette transformation est indéniable et que l’épistémologie duMinime doit être analysée à la lumière des problématiques et de nouvelles expériencesscientifiques auxquelles il est confronté et non comme une manière de donner réponseaux arguments du scepticisme. / This PhD dissertation provides a critical perspective of the dominantinterpretation of the scientific and philosophical works of Father Marin Mersenne(1588-1648) entirely structured by the sceptical question. The development of his ideasabout music embodies the spirit of the scientific revolution which emerges in theseventeenth-century. His investigation has the capacity to put his methods into questionwith an insatiable quest for the truth; a quest that involves political and religiousconcerns. The aim of this study is to show a profound transformation in the conceptionof music. This transformation that leads from a science of the quadrivium (subordinateto mathematics and claiming superiority of the judgement of reason) to a physical andmathematical science grounded on experience that recognizes the individuality of theesthetic experience, the liberty of the imagination of the composers and the ineffabilityof the sublime. It is quite difficult however to identify the existence of two differentstages in Mersenne’s thought. It is surprising how he expresses doubts about therelevance of the speculative approach to music whereas a musical reform is proposed inhis apologetic writings, having as a model the perfection of proportions of consonancesand rhythmic combinations well known by the ancients. And also, when he accepts thepractice of musical temperament, challenging the observation of the mathematicalperfection, he will continue to remind the proportions underlying the consonances.Despite this complexity (even these contradictions) we consider and pretend to showthat this transformation is undeniable and that the Mersenne epistemology must beanalysed according to the scientific questions and experiences which he faces in hisinvestigations and not as a response to a sceptical crisis.

Orientador: Carlos Eduardo Mendes de Moraes / Banca: Jarbas Vargas Nascimento / Banca: Sandra A. Ferreira / Resumo: Esta dissertação é fruto de uma pesquisa que tem como proposta principal o estudo da metáfora seiscentista em cento e quatro romances atribuídos ao poeta português Antônio da Fonseca Soares. Por se tratar de fonte manuscrita, em primeiro lugar fizemos um trabalho de Crítica Textual, por meio do qual efetuamos a transcrição e a atualização linguística dos poemas analisados de acordo com os critérios de uma edição modernizada. Em seguida, nosso foco centrou-se nos usos, escolhas e construção da metáfora seiscentista no gênero poemático em questão. Para tal, consideramos os manuais de retórica e poética da Antiguidade, especialmente os escritos de Aristóteles e Horácio; a preceptiva poética seiscentista debatida por Emanuele Tesauro e Baltazar Gracián, e os estudos contemporâneos no campo da historiografia literária que versam sobre retórica, as letras do século XVII, e assuntos a ela relacionados. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstram o papel expressivo da mais louvada figura dentre os usos da expressão arguta na retórica seiscentista, aplicada a uma das formas poemáticas mais cultuadas por poetas que praticavam a poesia vulgar desse período / Abstract: This dissertation results from a master's degree research that has as the main proposal the study of the metaphor of seventeenth century in the one hundred and four romances attributed to the Portuguese poet Antônio da Fonseca Soares. To deal with a manuscript source, we started with a work of Textual Criticism, with which we made the transcription and the ortographic updating of the analyzed poems in agreement with a modernized edition. After that, the focus was centered in the uses, choices and construction of the metaphor of the 17th century in the poems. To analyze the romances, we considered the rhetoric manuals and poetics of Antiquity, especially Aristotle and Horace‟s writings; the poetic rules of seventeenth century debated by Emanuele Tesauro and Baltazar Gracián, and the contemporary studies in the field of the literary historiography about rhetoric, the seventeenth century literature and subjects related. The results of the research demonstrate the expressive function of the most praised rhetoric figure of the seventeenth century in one of the most important poematic form to the vulgar poetry of that period / Mestre

Esta dissertação tem como proposta a edição semidiplomática justalinear de testamentos do século XVII (1651-1700), conservados no Arquivo Histórico Municipal de Taubaté, Felix Guisard Filho. O trabalho visa a oferecer a publicação de uma edição fidedigna de 37 testamentos, para os estudos filológicos, linguísticos, históricos e culturais do período colonial brasileiro. Apresenta-se o estudo histórico da vila de São Francisco das Chagas de Taubaté no século XVII, época em que foram escritos os testamentos, e o estudo filológico, que contempla a análise diplomática, codicológica e paleográfica dos manuscritos. Segue-se a edição semidiplomática e constam no fim do trabalho dois Apêndices com os índices de topônimos e antropônimos. A análise paleográfica apresenta-se em quadros dos 37 diferentes punhos que lavraram os testamentos. O exame paleográfico tem o objetivo de identificar as variações gráficas do período, buscando oferecer subsídios para o estudo da escrita seiscentista do Brasil colonial, visto que a bibliografia a respeito é muito escassa. A edição semidiplomática, acompanhada do fac-símile, será o resultado do trabalho. O corpus estudado é relevante para o estudo representativo do estado da língua portuguesa na segunda metade do século XVII / This dissertation proposes the justalinear semidiplomatic edition of testaments dated from 17th century (1651-1700), conserved at the Arquivo Histórico Municipal de Taubaté, Felix Guisard Filho. The work aims to offer a reliable publication of an edition of 37 testaments to philological, linguistic, historical and cultural studies of Brazilian colonial period. Presents the historical study of the Village of São Francisco das Chagas de Taubaté during 17th century, period that testaments were written, and a philological study, that include diplomatic, codicological and paleographic analysis of the manuscripts. It follows the semidiplomatic editing and listed at the end of work two appendices with Toponyms and Anthroponyms index. The paleographic analysis presents in tables with 37 different handwriting who wrote the wills. The paleographical examination aims to identify the graphics variation during the period, seeking to provide subsidies to the writing study in colonial Brazil during the 17th century, as literature about this subject is very uncommon. The semidiplomatic edition, followed by facsimile will be the result of the work. The corpus studied is relevant to representative study of the state of the Portuguese language in the second half of the 17th century

O presente trabalho propõe uma nova perspectiva ao debate sobre bailes e danças na Espanha do século XVII. Diante das variadas classificações que a bibliografia intenta formular, observa-se uma preocupação em distinguir os dois conceitos. Nesse sentido, os bailes são colocados como descompostos em seus gestos e exercitados por subalternos, enquanto as danças apresentam compostura e são realizadas pelas elites. Entretanto, há divergências entre os autores e contradições em uma mesma classificação, as quais se manifestam de acordo com as fontes utilizadas. Ao analisar as fontes, nota-se que suas formulações sobre tais práticas corporais são construídas a partir de uma moral gestual e por um ideal cortesão. Logo, trata-se de representações elaboradas pela articulação daqueles valores e ideais, e não de uma realidade. Partindo dessas constatações, coloca-se a hipótese de que a maior repressão e depreciação aos bailes, ou a tal conceito, seria uma forma mais eficaz da Igreja controlar e reformar tais práticas, pois os bailes eram realizados pelas distintas ordens sociais e em diversos ambientes, como na própria igreja, além de terem sido os mais representados nos palcos durante o processo da teatralização. / This dissertation thesis proposes to develop a new perspective to the debate on balls and dances in seventeenth-century Spain. Given the various attempts to classify, there is in the up-to-date bibliography a need to distinguish both concepts from each other. Thus, balls are said to be decomposed in its gestures and performed by lower social classes, while dances preserve their composure and is performed by the elites. However, there is a disagreement between authors that contradicts the same classification, as can be seen in different sources used by them. By analyzing the sources, it´s evident that its foundation lies on bodily practices built under a moral gesture and an ideal courtier. Thus, these are representations wrought out from values and ideals, not from a reality. Based on these findings, our hypothesis is that the greater repression and depreciation of balls or similar concepts would be a more effective way that the Church used to control and reform these practices, for the balls were performed by different social orders, to an extent, the church in itself, besides being the first mostly depicted on stage during the process of dramatization.

This dissertation argues that the Williams Harvey's novel conceptualization of the circulation developed from a set of concerns and sensitivities that Harvey shared with merchants and courtiers, and that it emerged at the courts of King James and King Charles, alongside a new conceptualizations of commercial circulation. As a brother to merchants and a physician to kings during the commercial crises of the 1620s, Harvey was exposed to ways of thinking about circulation that he used to make sense of the disparate observations he made about the motion of the heart and blood. Harvey's famous quantitative argument, the thought experiment at the center of his conceptualization of the blood, was an exercise in accounting. Through a process of "reckoning," and "by laying of account," Harvey balanced blood like a merchant balances books, conceptualizing arterial and venous blood as fungible. Harvey showed that there was a recirculation of blood through the heart. Over time, these aspects of Harvey's circulation became easier to overlook; the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed the most tangible artifacts of Harvey's mercantile sociability, such as his fine Persian rugs or the collection of marvels contained in the library and museum that Harvey established at the College of Physicians of London. By situating Harvey among courtiers and royal patrons who were concerned with the circulation of cloths, dyestuffs, coin, and bullion, this dissertation aims to add to the burgeoning literature on the scientific revolution that posits a multitude of different scientific practitioners with diverse philosophical commitments and varied connections to other facets of early modern life, while stressing key conceptual changes in Harvey's thought.

This dissertation focuses on a seventeenth-century (so-called) Malwa manuscript that illustrates the story of Krishna, and the copy manuscripts that were produced after it. It explores how the story is transformed in its incarnations as the vernacular text inscribed on the manuscript, the cycle of illustrations depicting that text, and then the copies made from what appear to be the initial illustrations. The claim is that narrative variations which find their way into these different embodiments should almost never be considered "mistakes," even when an act of misunderstanding seems to be clearly implied. Rather they are moments when the artist's or author's engagement with contemporary sectarian concerns, literary trends, artistic strategies and popular culture is manifest. The first three chapters of the dissertation are devoted to an analysis of text, illustration and copy illustration respectively, while the fourth presents the broader context in which such Krishna manuscripts were circulating.The underlying objective is to re-evaluate the conventional narrative of North Indian illustrated manuscripts. This is cast as the teleology of court styles where political history is used to decide important and influential ateliers. Visually compelling and historically important illustrated manuscripts such as the ones I study, but whose patronizing court is undecided, are largely ignored. This dissertation showcases an alternative, interdisciplinary approach that undertakes thorough visual and textual analyses alongside an examination of the broader socio-religious trends that impacted artistic production. It advocates that every illustrated manuscript should be studied individually, rather than as just a member of a predetermined stylistic group.

"Drawing as a Way of Knowing: Architectural Survey in the Late Renaissance" explores a group of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century architectural manuscripts that are each part of a network of copies. Made by French and Italian draftsmen studying ancient and modern Roman monuments from the 1560s to the 1640s, the drawings contain information about the buildings--which include the Pantheon and Saint Peter's--that is not known from any other sources. Yet the information that the drawings preserve is only part of their value: the drawings also show how that information was recorded, transferred, and valued by other draftsmen. With a special focus on chronological complications, "Drawing as a Way of Knowing" examines the singularities that are produced when draftsmen try to repeat pictorial statements exactly. These chronological complications include the representation of elements that no longer exist, that never existed, or that collapse several distinct chronological moments into a single image. All these complications can be found in the network of drawings now found in the Goldschmidt and Scholz Scrapbooks in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ms XII. D. 74 in the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli, the Cronstedt Collection of the Stockholm Nationalmuseum, the album known as Architectura Civile in the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo at Windsor Castle, codex Destailleur D at the Berlin Kunstbibliothek, the Album François Derand at the Louvre, and Ms B 2. 3 at the Worcester College Library at Oxford. This dissertation examines this web of manuscripts to consider how drawing was used as a way of knowing after the invention of print.