The Braggart in Italian Renaissance Comedy

PMLA ◽  
1943 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-83
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Boughner
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Italian Renaissance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Elizabethan Drama ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Conventional Type

The chief purpose of this paper is to describe one phase of the domestication of Latin drama on the Renaissance stage, specifically to show how a conventional type made famous by the Roman comedians, the miles gloriosus, was fashioned by the academic playwrights of sixteenth-century Italy into an instrument of contemporary satire. A secondary aim is to provide a fuller literary background for the study of the braggart in Elizabethan drama. Such analysis requires a summary of themes, situations, and attitudes that have enriched the comic tradition of Europe, and demands also a definition of the comic spirit that exposes and derides the vainglorious folly of the alazon or boaster who struts and brags of his merits in utter disregard of truth. Menander and his disciples in Latin comedy developed a satiric method which the Italians borrowed for the ridicule of modern representatives of the alazon. Any consideration of the commedia erudita must also be prefaced by a review of the political conditions in Italy that brought to prominence such hated types as the Spaniard and other mercenary soldiers. This paper describes the rôle of the Spaniard and traces the evolution of the braggart from the imitations of Plautus and Terence, through the modifications of conventional themes, and finally to the new elements inspired by the changed domestic conditions of the peninsula.

Presidential Address: Tudor Government: The Points of Contact III. The Court

1976 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 211-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Elton
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Presidential Address ◽  
The Political ◽  
Henry Viii ◽  
Interesting Topic ◽  
History Books

WHEN on the previous two occasions I discussed Parliament and Council as political centres, as institutions capable of assisting or undermining stability in the nation, I had to draw attention to quite a few unanswered questions. However, I also found a large amount of well established knowledge on which to rely. Now, in considering the role of the King's or Queen's Court, I stand more baffled than ever, more deserted. We all know that there was a Court, and we all use the term with frequent ease, but we seem to have taken it so much for granted that we have done almost nothing to investigate it seriously. Lavish descriptions abound of lavish occasions, both in the journalism of the sixteenth century and in the history books, but the sort of study which could really tell us what it was, what part it played in affairs, and even how things went there for this or that person, seems to be confined to a few important articles. At times it has all the appearance of a fully fledged institution; at others it seems to be no more than a convenient conceptual piece of shorthand, covering certain people, certain behaviour, certain attitudes. As so often, the shadows of the seventeenth century stretch back into the sixteenth, to obscure our vision. Analysts of the reigns of the first two Stuarts, endeavouring to explain the political troubles of that age, increasingly concentrate upon an alleged conflict between the Court and the Country; and so we are tempted, once again, to seek the prehistory of the ever interesting topic in the age of Elizabeth or even Henry VIII.

An “Epistolary Reformation”

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Greengrass
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Protestant Reformation ◽  
The Political ◽  
John Foxe ◽  
Political Evolution ◽  
Letter Exchange

Letter exchange occupies a significant and growing role in the activities of the Protestant Reformers. This chapter offers explanations for its growing significance in the evolution of the Protestant Reformation. It analyses what over a century of investment in editing the correspondence of the magisterial Reformers has achieved. It offers a yearly profile of the surviving editorial correspondence. At the same time, it underlines the limitations of our concentration on the letters of magisterial Reformers by examining the role of letter exchange in the political evolution of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, and especially in the context of the coalitions at a distance that sustained it. It ends by evoking martyr letters, as found in the martyrologies of John Foxe and Jean Crespin, but also in a devotional context in Hutterite and Anabaptist dissenting traditions.

Tyranny and Usurpation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doyeeta Majumder
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Plays ◽  
Elizabethan Drama ◽  
Political Drama ◽  
English Stage ◽  
The One ◽  
Tragic Drama ◽  
Law Making

This book examines the fraught relationship between the sixteenth-century formulations of the theories of sovereign violence, tyranny and usurpation and the manifestations of these ideas on the contemporary English stage. It will attempt to trace an evolution of the poetics of English and Scottish political drama through the early, middle, and late decades of the sixteenth-century in conjunction with developments in the political thought of the century, linking theatre and politics through the representations of the problematic figure of the usurper or, in Machiavellian terms, the ‘New Prince’. While the early Tudor morality plays are concerned with the legitimate monarch who becomes a tyrant, the later historical and tragic drama of the century foregrounds the figure of the illegitimate monarch who is a tyrant by default. On the one hand the sudden proliferation of usurpation plots in Elizabethan drama and the transition from the legitimate tyrant to the usurper tyrant is linked to the dramaturgical shift from the allegorical morality play tradition to later history plays and tragedies, and on the other it is reflective of a poetic turn in political thought which impelled political writers to conceive of the state and sovereignty as a product of human ‘poiesis’, independent of transcendental legitimization. The poetics of political drama and the emergence of the idea of ‘poiesis’ in the political context merge in the figure of the nuove principe: the prince without dynastic claims who creates his sovereignty by dint of his own ‘virtu’ and through an act of law-making violence.

Honouring the Prophet's Family: A Comparison of the Approaches to Political Legitimacy of Abū’lḤasan ʿAlī al-Marīnī and Aḥmad al-Manṣūr al-Saʿdī

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Cory
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Relative Power ◽  
Political Propaganda ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Political Legitimation

Although the fourteenth century Marīnids openly acknowledged their Berber identity, by the end of the sixteenth century, sharīfian descent had become a requirement for Moroccan rule. This chapter examines the political propaganda of the Marīnid sultan Abū’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī (r. 731–752/1331–1351) and the Saʿdī sultan Aḥmad al-Manṣūr al-Dhahabī (r. 986–1012/1578–1603). It considers similarities and differences between their political propaganda in light of their differing historical circumstances, particularly the relative power of sharīfian movements during their respective reigns, as well as the importance of holy lineages, monarchical treatment of the shurafāʾ, and the role of ceremonies in political legitimation. It argues that the Saʿdī ability to convince Moroccans of their sharīfian lineage connected with a larger trend to equate political power with descent from the Prophet and reinforced their authority. In contrast, the Marīnids contributed to their own downfall through their inconsistent policies towards honouring the shurafāʾ.

Parliamentary Life in the Crown of Aragon: Cortes, Juntas De Brazos, and Other Corporate Bodies

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-395
Author(s):  
Xavier Gil
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Crown Of Aragon ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
Political Scene

AbstractThe Cortes of Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia were well known in Renaissance times for their mature institutional development and their capacity to counterbalance the tendency of monarchs towards authoritarianism. But, from the mid sixteenth century onwards, they were summoned by kings at increasingly long intervals, thus losing part of their visibility in the political scene. But this did not exactly mean parliamentary decline. As Cortes became rarer, lesser corporate bodies, ultimately deriving from the Cortes themselves, acquired an enhanced political status. Different sorts of meetings of estates (brazos) and small committees of members of the estates, while already known in previous times, won a more active role by the late sixteenth century and were a major, if not crucial, factor in the different political crises of the seventeenth century. This article contributes to the current reassessment of the Cortes by emphasizing the role of these bodies, focusing on their interplay with the Cortes, with some comparative remarks on other such bodies in Europe.

scholarly journals The Duke of Albany's Invasion of England in 1523 and Military Mobilisation in Sixteenth-century Scotland

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Neil Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
The Political ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
French And English ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
First Time

In November 1523 a Scottish army, led by John Stewart, duke of Albany, invaded England for the first time since the battle of Flodden. While this was a major campaign, it has largely been ignored in the extensive literature on Anglo-Scottish warfare. Drawing on Scottish, French and English records, this article provides a systematic analysis of the campaign. Although the campaign of 1523 was ultimately unsuccessful, it is the most comprehensively documented Scottish offensive against England before the seventeenth century and the extensive records detailing the expedition advances broader understanding of military mobilisation in medieval and early modern Scotland. While the national mobilisation drive which sought to gather men from across the kingdom was ultimately unsuccessful, the expedition witnessed the most extensive number of French soldiers yet sent to Scotland. Finally, the article considers how an examination of the expedition enhances understanding of regency rule and the political conditions in Scotland in the years after Flodden.

The Role of Music in the Venetian Home in the Cinquecento

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEBORAH HOWARD
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Domestic Space ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Size Function ◽  
Theatrical Performance ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter considers the role of music and dance in the definition of identity by families and individuals in Renaissance Venice, with particular reference to the use of domestic space for music-making. The integration of music into its social and architectural context is discussed in terms of the class identity of different groups. The contexts range from domestic entertainment to family festivities such as marriages. The chapter goes on to explore the kinds of music-making in different spaces in the Venetian dwelling, in terms of the size and loudness of the instrument; the type of music performed; and the size, function and decoration of the room. During the sixteenth century, increasingly specialised rooms were created for music-making, often linked to theatrical performance and/or dance. In parallel, the employment of professional musicians by elite families began to supersede amateur participation on important festive occasions.

scholarly journals PEMIMPIN YANG MENGHAMBA, BUKAN DIPERHAMBA

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Harun Y. Natonis, S.Pd, M.Si
Keyword(s):  
Church Leaders ◽  
The Political ◽  
Servant Leaders ◽  
Political World ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
The Church ◽  
Personal Interests

The church and politics in Indonesia are two opposing institutions, but live side by side. On the one hand, the church is prohibited from engaging in various political contexts. But on the other hand, the church also has an obligation to voice the truth in a political context. The church is not involved in the political world, it does not mean that the church turns a blind eye to the political conditions that occur in Indonesia. The church have to give voice its prophethood, so that the political conditions in Indonesia continue to provide a temperature of comfort and justice for all the interests of society.The church is like a small candle which despite its small flame, gives enough light in dark conditions. The Church through its leaders can provide encouragement in actualizing services that are more real amid the development of the nation in competition in the global world.What kind of leader does the church need to survive amid the current political turmoil in Indonesia? This question is the core goal of writing this article in order to address the extent of the role of the church in the midst of a political vortex.The church needs servant leaders, not leaders who are enslaved. Church leaders who are servants are church leaders who want to serve with love, humility and sincere sacrifice. While church leaders who are worshiped are church leaders who are only concerned with personal interests and self-comfort. Church leaders who are able to survive in the midst of political turmoil are church leaders who are servants, not non-worshiped church leaders.Keywords: Church leader who slaves, Jesus Prototype Leader who slaves

Pernambuco's Political Elite and the Recife Law School

1981 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-313
Author(s):  
Craig Hendricks ◽  
Robert M. Levine
Keyword(s):  
Law School ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Definition Of

This study explores the convergent ground of two separate research projects: an analysis of the role of the state of Pernambuco in the Brazilian federation between 1889 and 1937, and a forthcoming study of the Recife Law School. The first part of this presentation will discuss the definition of the political elite, describe its composition, and examine the theme of continuity and change over the period of study. The second part will focus on the Law School per se, the principal vehicle for the training of the political elite.Pernambuco's political elite constitutes less a model for other Brazilian states than a phenomenon specific to Pernambuco's own historical role. This elite may be examined systematically, although only in the broadest sense. For one thing, its membership never remained static, but changed constantly according to the ebb and flow of political life. Relative power within an elite is not easily measurable; nor does there exist a single elite; rather, one observes a fluid set of power relationships, arrayed vertically according to levels of influence and authority, and horizontally from small urban interest nuclei through local elites to subgrous scattered across regional, economic, and social networks.

‘Cet universel naufrage du monde’

2019 ◽  
pp. 101-140
Author(s):  
Jennifer H. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Michel De Montaigne ◽  
Safe Distance ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Pierre De Ronsard ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Spectator

This chapter marks the transition from portent to actuality, addressing the prospect of political shipwreck in the troubled latter part of the sixteenth century by considering not only incarnations and reconfigurations of the suave mari magno commonplace but also shipwrecks that are narrated from the inside. It explores the distinction between the struggling ship in Lucretius and the eagerly spectated shipwreck of a political enemy in Cicero’s letters, taking account of the model of the ship of state as elaborated in Plato, Cicero, and medieval sources. It argues that the role of the spectator is most often not at a safe distance, and that the ethical relationship between the spectator and those on board is significantly developed from that in Lucretius. Through the work of three writers (Michel de L’Hospital, Pierre de Ronsard and Michel de Montaigne), it shows that the powerful metaphor of the ship of state struggling on troubled waters is itself articulated in a variety of ways during the political storm of the late sixteenth century—ways that, ethically speaking, variously implicate or exonerate the politician, poet or author. This chapter poses a series of questions concerning the difference between public and private spheres, the unique moral implications of civil war, and the author or poet’s own position, be it personal, political, or philosophical—or all three—with relation to what Montaigne calls ‘cet universel naufrage du monde’.

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