[Truncated abstract] The Ferrars are remembered as exemplars of Anglican piety. The London merchant family quit the city in 1625 and moved to the isolated manor of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire. There they pursued a life of corporate devotion, supervised by the head of the household, Nicholas Ferrar, until he died in December 1637. To date, the life of the pious deacon Nicholas Ferrar has been the focus of histories of Little Gidding, which are conventionally hagiographical and give little consideration to the experiences of other members of the family, not least the many women in the household. Further, customary representations of the Ferrars have tended to remove them from their seventeenth-century context. Countering the biographical trend that has obscured many details of their communal life, this thesis provides a new, critical reading of the family's years at Little Gidding while Nicholas Ferrar was alive. It examines the Ferrars in terms of their own time, as far as possible using contemporary documents instead of later accounts and confessional mythology. It shows that, while certain aspects of life at Little Gidding were unusual, on the whole the family was less exceptional than traditional histories have implied; certainly the family was not so unified and unworldly as the idealised images have suggested. Moreover, the Ferrars were actively engaged in making those images, for immediate effect and for posterity. The Ferrars' identities, corporate and individual, and their largely textual practices of self-fashioning are central to the study. Other key concerns are the Ferrars' moral and religious ideals and practices, gender in the family, and intra-familial relationships. Evidence for the thesis is drawn from family documents dating from the early years of the seventeenth century to the time of Nicholas Ferrar's death. ... The Little Academy is considered first: in this unique dialogue circle, young women discussed morally edifying historical tales, offering them a textually-mediated experience of the world and working to reinforce conventional gender roles and religious values. The final three chapters pertain to the copious and little-studied family correspondence. A chapter that develops a theory of the functions of the family correspondence network is followed by one studying the affective relationships that the celibate sisters Mary and Anna Collet maintained through their letters with their unmarried uncle and spiritual mentor, Nicholas Ferrar. These chapters consider the identities as single people that all three developed through these relationships, within the maritally-focused framework of the Protestant family. The last chapter also concerns the lives of the unmarried, examining the relationships of single male adults and their roles in the family, focusing on the friendship of Nicholas Ferrar and his cousin Arthur Woodnoth. The thesis closes by reflecting on the fact that returning the Ferrars to their seventeenth-century context reveals their multi-faceted nature, comprising ideals and identities sometimes incongruous with one another, and certainly unaccounted for in the traditional narratives. It thus demonstrates the importance of the overall project of reconceiving the Ferrars? history, which forms an original contribution to the study of the social, cultural and religious history of early seventeenth-century England.

<p>In November 1653, a vessel arrived in the harbour town of Gothenburg, on the west coast of the Protestant monarchy of Sweden. Aboard the ship was the newly appointed English Ambassador Extraordinary, Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-1675); jurist, Puritan and avid diary keeper. In his journal, Whitelocke noted down the entirety of what he was to experience during his stay in Sweden. From the heaps of papers he produced over his lifetime, he later edited this particular record under the title <em>Journal of the Swedish Embassy</em>. Spanning between 1653 and 1654, the pages of the journal contains information of the most mundane kind, as well as eye witness accounts of what must be recognised as a very interesting part of European history. More so, it reveals Whitelocke’s views on the political questions of his time, mainly presented through conversations with important actors from Swedish society, such as Queen Christina, Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, and the Archbishop of Uppsala, Johannes Canuti Lenaeus. In the eyes of the Swedes, Whitelocke became a representative not only of the new Commonwealth of England, but of the new ideas that had formed the basis of its government. As such, he was often made to explain the conduct of his country men, as well as defend the recent events in England. Thus, through these recorded exchanges, an image of Whitelocke´s representation and of his views regarding the changes in England emerges from the pages. This Masters Thesis will analyse this image, as well as discuss Whitelocke’s political views, both practical and ideological, at the time of his embassy to Sweden.</p>

In November 1653, a vessel arrived in the harbour town of Gothenburg, on the west coast of the Protestant monarchy of Sweden. Aboard the ship was the newly appointed English Ambassador Extraordinary, Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-1675); jurist, Puritan and avid diary keeper. In his journal, Whitelocke noted down the entirety of what he was to experience during his stay in Sweden. From the heaps of papers he produced over his lifetime, he later edited this particular record under the title Journal of the Swedish Embassy. Spanning between 1653 and 1654, the pages of the journal contains information of the most mundane kind, as well as eye witness accounts of what must be recognised as a very interesting part of European history. More so, it reveals Whitelocke’s views on the political questions of his time, mainly presented through conversations with important actors from Swedish society, such as Queen Christina, Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, and the Archbishop of Uppsala, Johannes Canuti Lenaeus. In the eyes of the Swedes, Whitelocke became a representative not only of the new Commonwealth of England, but of the new ideas that had formed the basis of its government. As such, he was often made to explain the conduct of his country men, as well as defend the recent events in England. Thus, through these recorded exchanges, an image of Whitelocke´s representation and of his views regarding the changes in England emerges from the pages. This Masters Thesis will analyse this image, as well as discuss Whitelocke’s political views, both practical and ideological, at the time of his embassy to Sweden.

La tesi ricostruisce alcuni momenti fondamentali della storia della contea principesca di gradisca, per approfondire i rapporti intercorsi tra 'centro' e 'periferia', tra gli Eggenberg/Asburgo e la nobiltà della contea. / The dissertation reconstructs some fundamental moments of the history of the princely county of Gradisca, in order to study relationships between 'centre' and 'periphery' in depth, between the Eggenberg/Habsburg and the nobility.

Uppsatsen undersöker den konstvetenskapliga diskussionen angående  rimligheten i att läsa in moraliska budskap i holländsk genrekonst från 1600-talet. Detta görs utifrån en diskursanalytisk metod med fokus på textanalys. De texter som behandlas är skrivna av konsthistoriker under 1980- och 1990-talet och belyser tolkningsfrågan ur olika synvinklar. / This thesis investigates the art historical debate about whether or not it is reasonable to assume the presence of moralistic messages in Dutch seventeenth-century genre art. The study is conducted according to a discourse analytical method with emphasis on textual analysis. The texts chosen for analysis were written during the 1980s and 1990s by art historians who advocate different standpoints.

Until recent years, the historical moment of Charles II's return to England was universally accepted as a clear marker of the end of "the Cavalier winter," a welcome victory over theater-hating Puritans. To verify this historical view, literary historians have often glorified the role of King Charles II in the history of the "revival" of drama during the Restoration, whereas they tend to consider the Long Parliament's 1642 closing of the theaters as a decisive manifestation of Puritans' antitheatricalism. This historical perspective based upon what is often known as "the rupture model" has obscured the vibrant development of dramatic forms during the English civil wars and the ways in which the revolutionary energy exploded during this period continued to influence in the Restoration the deployment of dramatic forms and imagination across various social groups. By focusing on the generic development of drama and theatricality during the English civil wars, my dissertation challenges the conventional historiography of the English civil war literature, which has been overemphasizing the discontinuity between the English civil war and the periods before and after it. The first chapter shows how the theatrical energy displaced from traditional cultural domains energized an emerging cheap print market and contributed to the invention of new dramatic forms such as playlets and newsbooks. The second chapter questions the conventional association of Puritanism and antitheatricalism by rehistoricizing antitheatrical writers and their pamphlets and by highlighting the dramatic impulses at work in Puritan iconoclasm during the English civil wars. The final chapter offers the Restoration Milton as a case study to illustrate how the proposed historical perspective replacing "the rupture model" better explains not only the politics of Milton's Paradise Lost but also of Restoration drama.

Le De regione et moribus Canadensium seu Barbarorum Novæ Franciæ a toujours été présenté comme un texte rédigé par le jésuite Joseph de Jouvency. Pourtant, une étude plus approfondie montre que certains éléments ne peuvent provenir ni d'un religieux, ni du XVIIIe siècle. On aurait plutôt à faire avec un auteur laïc du début du XVIIe siècle, qui a des informations de première main, puisqu'il est lui-même à Québec. Ce qui en fait un document précieux et un témoin privilégié de l’histoire du début de la Nouvelle-France, bien que traduit et retravaillé par des Jésuites. Jouvency, en l'insérant dans les Historiæ Societatis Jesu, l'a en effet censuré et a ajouté quelques passages au texte original. Quelle est l'opinion du véritable auteur, ce Français vivant à Québec, sur les « Barbares de Nouvelle-France » qu'il rencontre? Une étude du texte montre qu'il dépeint à la fois les bonnes et les mauvaises coutumes des tribus autochtones, nous renseignant ainsi sur l'état des indigènes peu après l'arrivée des premiers véritables colons de la Nouvelle-France. Une traduction française accompagne l'analyse du texte. / De regione et moribus Canadensium seu Barbarorum Novæ Franciæ is studied as if it has been written by Jesuit Father Joseph de Jouvency. That being said, a more thorough research indicates that this text does not originate from such a pious man, nor from someone that lived during the eighteenth century. Indeed, the real author behind this text would more likely be a French who is laic and lived in Quebec city during the early seventeenth century. This revelation makes the document unique, despite the Jesuit’s adaptation both in language and content. For instance, Father Jouvency, the editor of the De regione who inserted it in the Historiae Societatis Jesu, censured and added some informations to the original text. It now becomes crucial to investigate the real opinion of the French Canadian author about these ‘‘Savages’’ that he met ? Our study shows that he described both good and bad native Americans customs, unveiling their life just after the arrival of the first French settlers in Quebec city. A French translation of the latin text also accompanies our analysis.

This thesis examines French and English trade voyages and trade colonies in North American during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and French and English relations with Native Americans. The colonies of Port Royal, Jamestown, and Sagadahoc included members of previous French and English trade voyages and depended on the experience and information gained during trade voyages to formulate their economic objectives and colonial policies. French and English North American activity was intrinsically connected in this era through a plethora of amiable and competitive associations. National, transnational, and regional frameworks are all necessary in explaining Port Royal, Jamestown, and Sagadahoc. French and English interaction with Native American groups during these voyages and colonies was distinctly similar, and the diverse cultures of the native Mi’kmaq, Eastern Abenaki, Powhatans, and Armouchiquois, rather than the divisions between French and English culture, were central in shaping colonist-Native relations in the seventeenth century.

Dans la France de l’Ancien Régime, si les représentations de la condition féminine légitiment les valeurs d’une traditionnelle phallocratie, on note néanmoins que le dogme chrétien accorde aux femmes une place dans l’économie du salut. Dans un contexte de Contre-Réforme, celle-ci déterminera notamment, sur le plan socio-littéraire, les modalités de l’expérience mystique et de l’héroïsme au féminin : l’éthique chrétienne érige paradoxalement en modèle des figures féminines qui transcendent leur humanité dans le sacrifice et la mort. Mais au XVIIe siècle, l’évolution des notions d’abnégation et d’amour-propre éradique ce triomphe éphémère. En nous intéressant plus particulièrement aux remaniements de l’hypotexte euripidien dans l’Iphygenie de Rotrou (1640) et dans l’Iphigénie de Racine (1674), nous verrons comment les deux pièces traduisent ce déclin. Au premier chapitre de notre mémoire, nous nous intéresserons à l’espace de liberté que le discours chrétien confère aux femmes à travers le culte de la virginité et l’hypothétique transfiguration des corps célestes. Réintégrant ces données théologiques, la mystique marque l’essor d’un charisme féminin que la notion d’amour-propre déconstruira à l’ère classique. Dans un second chapitre, nous explorerons les développements de l’éthique héroïque qui ont servi à l’essor d’un héroïsme au féminin. Le troisième chapitre portera enfin sur l’échec d’une héroïne mythique qui, mettant à profit le dogme chrétien, menace dangereusement l’équilibre d’un ordre patriarcal. La critique littéraire convient généralement de l’irréfutable vertu de l’héroïne de Rotrou et de Racine. Au terme de notre analyse, nous entendons démontrer qu’Iphigénie est, a contrario, tragiquement reconnue coupable d’amour-propre par les deux dramaturges. / In the French Ancien Régime, the representations of the condition of women justify the values of male chauvinism. Nevertheless, in its economy of Salvation, Christianity gives women an important place. In the social context of Counter-Reformation, this situation defines the terms of a mystical experience of God exemplified, in literature, by a model of feminine heroism, as Christian ethics set up a feminine figure transcending her human condition through sacrifice and death. In the seventeenth century, however, the concept of abnegation and pride eradicates the short-lasting triumph of feminine heroism. Through Rotrou and Racine’s theatrical reorganization of Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis, we will see how both authors convey its end. In our first chapter, we will consider the space defered to women by Christianity through the cult of virginity and the transfiguration of celestial bodies. Reinstating these theological data, the mystics will mark the rise of a feminine charisma which will be deconstructed by the notion of pride in the late seventeenth century. In the second chapter, we will see how the development of heroism favours the expansion of a feminine heroic figure. In the last chapter we will analyse the failure of a mythical heroine who, by taking advantage of the Christian dogma, dangerously compromises the patriarcal order. While critics often assert the truthfull virtue of Iphigenia in Rotrou and Racine’s plays, we will intend to prove that she is, on the contrary, tragically convicted of pride by both authors.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal