No description available.

No description available.

Thèse de 3e cycle : Lettres modernes : Paris 7 : 1978. / Bibliogr. p. [131]-136.

Inaug.-diss. Bern, 1995. / Literaturverz.

Northern Rockhopper penguin populations, Eudyptes moseleyi, are declining globally, and at Tristan da Cunha have undergone severe declines (> 90% in the last 130 years), the cause(s)of which are unknown. There is a paucity of data on this species in the South Atlantic Ocean, therefore their trophic ecology at Tristan da Cunha was studied, specifically focusing on diet, using stomach content analysis and stable isotope analysis (SIA), in conjunction with an analysis of diving behaviour, assessed using temperature-depth recorders. In order to evaluate the influence of gender on foraging, a morphometric investigation of sexual dimorphism was confirmed using molecular analysis. Additionally, plasma corticosterone levels were measured to examine breeding stage and presence of blood parasites as potential sources of stress during the breeding season. Northern Rockhopper penguins at Tristan da Cunha displayed a high degree of foraging plasticity, and fed opportunistically on a wide variety of prey, probably reflecting local small-scale changes in prey distribution. Zooplankton dominated (by mass) the diet of guard stage females, whereas small meso-pelagic fish (predominantly Photichthyidae)dominated diet of adults of both sexes in the crèche stage, with cephalopods contributing equally in both stages. Adults consistently fed chicks on lower-trophic level prey (assessed using SIA), probably zooplankton, than they consumed themselves indicating that the increasing demands of growing chicks were not met by adults through provisioning of higher- quality prey. SIA also indicated that adults foraged in different oceanic water masses when feeding for self-maintenance and for chick provisioning, thus temporally segregating the prey consumed for different purposes. It is possible that adults ‘selected’ these higher quality prey for themselves, or this may be a reflection of opportunistic behaviour. At Tristan da Cunha sexual dimorphism was observed in culmen dimensions (length, depth, width), with males having larger beaks and feeding on larger individuals of squid and fish than females. No sexual segregation in terms of foraging habitat (i.e. different water masses, based on ð¹³N or trophic level ð¹⁵N) during the breeding season or pre-moult period was revealed through SIA, and stomach content analysis revealed no sexual differences in prey species targeted. The results of SIA of feathers indicate that during the pre-moult period birds foraged in different water masses than during the breeding period. The fact that throughout the breeding season birds foraged in similar habitats suggests no intra-specific competition, despite both sexes feeding on the same prey.Birds were generally diurnal, daily foragers (12 – 16 hr trips), with extended trips (maximum duration 35.5 hours) and nocturnal diving recorded in a few individuals. Birds dived well within their physiological limits, predominantly utilising the upper 20m of the water column, employing two different strategies to target different prey items. Long, deep (30 – 40 m), energetically costly dives were performed when targeting energy-rich prey (fish), and a greater number of shorter, shallower (5 – 20 m), energy-efficient dives were performed when targeting prey with a lower energy content (zooplankton). More than half of the sampled study population were infected with the intra-cellular blood parasite Babesia, but infection showed no relationship to body mass, corticosterone levels or breeding success. Fasting birds showed no signs of elevated corticosterone levels, suggesting they had acquired sufficient fat reserves prior to breeding. Failed breeders did not exhibit elevated corticosterone levels. Tristan skuas, Catharacta antarctica hamiltoni, were observed to be a significant cause of egg and chick mortality. The absence of sex-based differences in foraging, and the absence of any signs of stress in relation to body mass, presence of Babesia or breeding stage, suggest that there are no obvious signs of high levels of stress or food limitations during breeding at Tristan da Cunha.

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of late-twelfth and early-thirteenth century Tristan verse narratives from the French- and German-speaking worlds, in order to gain a more nuanced picture of how these specific writers reflect contemporary debates on interpretation and fictionality in their own works. While there is a vast body of critical literature on these texts, and a large amount of this scholarship examines the way that interpretation functions in these works, critics have so far not adequately considered how the Tristan texts from this period as a body engage with contemporary medieval debates on the relationship between truth, lies and fiction, particularly in relation to fiction as a new category for vernacular literary culture. Therefore, this thesis analyses how literary practice during this period is reflected in these texts, particularly regarding truth, lies, interpretation and authority. The first part of the thesis thoroughly studies the use of verbal and visual signs in the texts, focusing on the way that characters both construct and interpret those signs. The second part of the thesis examines storytelling in these texts. This focuses firstly on the narrators’ interjections into their works, discussing for example their relationship to their sources. Secondly, this analyses how the characters within the texts tell stories to each other, particularly those relating to their own pasts. Together, these two parts argue that interpretation and authority are key concerns for the writers of these texts. In conclusion, this thesis proposes that the writers of the Tristan verse narratives are participating in a dialogue about literary practice, interpretation and authority as they attempt to engage with the new narrative mode of literary vernacular romance.

No description available.

Inaug.-Diss.--Giessen. / Lebenslauf. "Schriftennachweis": p. [6]-8.

The romance is essentially an account of the lives and adventures of two knight-errants, Ysaie le Triste, and his son, Marcq l'Essilliet. In many instances, the author has been content to reproduce conventional Arthurian adventure motifs. His knights set forth on perilous quests, participate in numerous tournaments, and are occasionally permitted to enter the realm of the Fairies which lies on the fringe of their own Arthurian world. By the end of the romance, both knights have won the love of fair princesses. The author has also included in his story the biography of a hideous dwarf-character, named Troncq, who accompanies each of the knights on his quests and acts as his valet. He has permitted this strange character to play the principal role in the numerous comic episodes with which he has interspersed his narrative. The dwarf's role is, in fact, as lengthy as that of either of his masters. Nevertheless, it is only towards the end of the story that the author reveals his true identity. He is a supernatural being who has been obliged by a curse to appear on earth in a grotesque form, so that he might seek there a mortal hero capable of accomplishing various difficult tasks on his behalf. When the knight, Marcq, eventually proves himself equal to these tasks, Troncq experiences metamorphosis and regains his former beauty. The story then concludes with a description of his triumphant return to Fairyland. That the author should have permitted a hideous dwarf-valet to play such an important role in his tale of chivalry represents a drastic departure from Arthurian tradition. A survey of the dwarfs who appear in other romances reveals that they are almost invariably supernumerary characters. It is possible, however, that the author of this romance has given to the role of his dwarf a significance which is not immediately apparent to the modern reader. A study of Troncq's role reveals that his creator was a master of the difficult art of fusing together themes borrowed from very diverse sources. Troncq resembles other Arthurian dwarfs in so far as he is ugly, and plays the humble role of valet. But his true literary counterparts are not to be found in romance, but rather in certain Celtic folklore tales. Like Ysaie le Triste, these tales relate the experiences of supernatural creatures who have been obliged to appear on earth in the form of grotesque dwarfs. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to determine whether the author of the romance borrowed the theme of the ugly dwarf from the Celtic storytellers or whether they were indebted to him for it. For his description of Troncq's experiences on earth, the author has drawn upon his own observation of everyday reality; he has modelled his character after the dwarf-entertainers who are known to have frequented various medieval courts. Interestingly enough, a study of these dwarf-fools reveals that theirs was, in the eyes of their contemporaries, the most degrading function that a man could possibly exercise in society. The significance of Troncq's role is therefore quite obvious. He is a caricature of the human condition. He is a creature of supernatural origin, just as Everyman is a child of God; and the curse which has obliged him to live in exile on earth is symbolic of the mark of Original Sin which Everyman has borne since the Fall. As for his assumption of the humiliating role of entertainer, it represents the state of degradation that all men must endure while they earn their redemption. Troncq's biography and the romance of Ysaie le Triste end upon a note of optimism. The dwarf's triumphant return to the land of the Fairies is obviously intended to symbolize the happy lot awaiting all good Christians on the Day of Judgement. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

This paper attempts to give a complete musical and dramatic analysis of the character of Isolde, from both the legend and Richard Wagner's opera, Tristan and Isolde, by first comparing the events as related in the two principal sources of the legend and then by an examination of Wagner's version of the story.