Interrupting Augustine: Hermeneutics,Allegory, and Irony in El perro del hortelano

Whatever else El perro del hortelano might be, it is a deeply ironic text about the difficulties of reading. The play not only stages acts of reading and writing where irony disrupts understanding, it is itself an ironic reading of Augustine's moment of conversion that shows the difficulty of allegorical and programmatic readings.     

'Being Martin': Saint and Successor in Sixth-Century Tours

Utilising the poetry of Venantius Fortunatus ( c . 530–600), this article explores the literary fashioning of an idealized episcopal identity for the sixth-century bishops of Tours as successors to Martin, the celebrated fourth-century saint of the city. It is argued that the poet's deployment of the model was of political use to his patron, Bishop Gregory of Tours, both in the establishment of his authority in the town and in dealings with the Frankish kings about matters of taxation. It is suggested that this crafting of an episcopal identity allowed the poet to put pressure on Gregory himself to be Martin and intervene in such matters as a legal case or the affairs of a diocese outside his jurisdiction as metropolitan. The legitimating Martinian model of episcopal behaviour is presented therefore as potentially coercive.     

A Flawed Saint: The Popular Image of William Gladstone in the Australian Colonies

ABSTRACT

This article looks at the popular image of William Gladstone which gradually emerged and evolved in the Australian Colonies throughout the nineteenth century. By using a wide variety of newspaper sources and political speeches, the piece shows how Gladstone was extensively discussed and interpreted on the far side of the ‘British World’. It tracks the ups and downs of the turbulent relationship Gladstone had with the Australian Colonies over his long career, as he influenced Australian history both directly through the policies he implemented and indirectly as an inspiration for local politicians. It concludes that although Gladstone repeatedly aggravated Australian opinion both through his time at the Colonial Office and the ‘soft’ foreign policy he pursued as Prime Minister, his domestic popularity as a successful liberal and democratic figure was enough to make him a hero in colonial eyes. This conclusion shows how ‘British World’ popular sentiment was able to trump nominal local interests. This demonstrates not only the predominance of Britishness in Australian identity during this time period, but also how as a simultaneously separate yet intimately linked part of the Empire, Australians abstracted their own significance and meaning from domestic British politics.     

试论中世纪法国王室的"圣德尼崇拜"

在宗教氛围浓郁的中世纪西欧,几乎每个社会群体都拥有自己的守护神(庇护圣徒),法国王室亦不例外,它也常年沐浴在其守护神圣德尼(Saint Denis)的圣光之下。通过对"圣德尼崇拜"发展历程的考察可以看出,这一崇拜的确立虽非一帆风顺,但在法兰西王权和圣德尼修院的合作经营下,圣徒德尼终究成为法兰西君主的守护神、国家的守护神以及王权象征物的守护神。正是在"圣德尼崇拜"这一官方意识形态的辅佑下,法兰西民族国家开始形成,法兰西王权开始走向绝对化。然而,绝对化的法兰西王权最终灰飞烟灭,隆崇的圣德尼修院最终亦败落凋零。     

论中世纪晚期英国的圣徒崇拜

在中世纪晚期,英国的圣徒崇拜盛行,成为民众宗教信仰的中心。与中世纪早期相比,晚期的圣徒崇拜已发生了一些变化,民众已经开始关注到自己,具有了自我取向与现实取向。这表明在中世纪晚期,英国民众的宗教信仰中出现了“个人主义”倾向,在物质力量增长的同时,英国民众的精神力量也在发展。     

Honouring Saint Louis in a small town

The cult of Saint Louis of France has traditionally been regarded as largely limited to royal shrines and aristocratic patronage, but two documents published here provide some tentative evidence that patronage may have been wider. Evidence of this sort may be rare not because non-aristocratic patronage was rare but because so few records of parish church endowments have survived.     

The Baptistry of Saint John in Florence: The Scientific Dating of the Timber Structure of the Dome

The construction of the Baptistry of Saint John has a debated and uncertain history; the hypothesis on its main construction phases may span from the Roman period to the 13th century, according to different authors. This uncertainty is mainly due to the lack of primary sources and certain dating issues. By combining dendrochronological analysis and radiocarbon dating, some light was shed on the building’s history. Open at least from 897, in 1059 Pope Nicholas II re-consecrated the baptistry after several renovations. Around that period, the octagonal dome was probably built by using chestnut beams to tie the structure together. The dendrochronological analysis dated the silver fir element to 1268. This element possibly represents a replacement coincident with the period, between 1270 and 1300, when a substantial part of the mosaics of the dome was positioned.     

从文物与文本的互证性看《楚辞》的文化写实主义──关于《楚辞》浪漫主义的异议

本文从大量出土的楚国文物和《楚辞》文本的互证性关系出发,对《楚辞》主体性的浪漫主义文学史界说提出异议,并认为《楚辞》文本所体现的中心倾向是一种文化写实主义。