Owen Glendower and the Welsh Fight for Independence (open access)

Owen Glendower and the Welsh Fight for Independence

Owen Glendower led the last military struggle of the Welsh against the English crown for Welsh independence and nationalism. The failure of the Glendower rebellion established the supremacy of English rule over Wales. For six hundred years the status of Wales as a principality of the crown has not been seriously challenged. This paper will show how widespread the idea of "Welshness" was in 1400 and how much support existed for Wales as an independent nation. Welshmen sought to move from the status of a medieval, tribal principality to a position of an independent nation capable and ready to stand with other national in the world. The role of leadership that Owen Glendower assumed in the final rebellion against the English king, Henry IV, lifted him from a popular Welsh prince to an historical legend.
Date: May 1991
Creator: Beims, Phillip Eric
System: The UNT Digital Library
Rhetorical Figures and Their Uses in I Henry IV (open access)

Rhetorical Figures and Their Uses in I Henry IV

This study is concerned with the artistic use of classical rhetorical figures in Shakespeare's I Henry IV.After the Introduction, Chapter II examines the history of rhetoric, focusing on the use of the rhetorical figures in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and Medieval Europe. Chapter III investigates rhetorical principles and uses of the rhetorical figures during the English Renaissance and examines the probable influence of rhetoric and the figures on William Shakespeare. Chapter IV discusses themes, characterization, structure, and language in I Henry IV and presents the contribution of the rhetorical figures to the drama's action and characterization. Chapter V considers the contribution of the figures to the major themes of I Henry IV and concludes that the figures, when used with other artistic elements, enhance meaning.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Martin, Brenda W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dante, Machiavelli, and Luther: The Evolution of the Modern State (open access)

Dante, Machiavelli, and Luther: The Evolution of the Modern State

The evolution of the State was a process which went through many stages. Analysis of the modern State tends to begin with the Enlightenment; however, Dante Alighieri, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Martin Luther each represented early phases of this evolution. The theories of these men were closely tied to their evaluation of man's nature. Their main objectives were separation of the State from the Church and the definition of the rulers obligations to his subjects. Although humanism influenced all of them to varying degrees, each developed unique views of the State. Elements of these views can be detected in more modern theorists.
Date: May 1991
Creator: Peterson, Rebecca C. (Rebecca Carol)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Humphrey Duke of Gloucester and the Introduction of Italian Humanism in Fifteenth Century England (open access)

Humphrey Duke of Gloucester and the Introduction of Italian Humanism in Fifteenth Century England

Duke Humphrey of Gloucester is often given credit for the renaissance of English learning in the fifteenth century. It is true that the donations of books he made to Oxford, his patronage of English and Italian writers, and his patronage of administrators who had humanist training resulted in the transmittal of humanist values to England. But is it also true that these accomplishments were mainly the by-product of his self-aggrandizing style, rather than a conscious effort on the duke's part to promote learning. The duke, however, does deserve recognition for what he unwittingly may have done.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Doyle, John F. (John Francis)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Priesthood: An Analysis of Official Church Statements Concerning Black Priesthood Denial (open access)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Priesthood: An Analysis of Official Church Statements Concerning Black Priesthood Denial

This study sought to determine whether the change in the LDS Church practice of black Priesthood denial on June 8, 1978, was voluntary or was a result of external and internal pressures against the Church. Four official statements given by the First Presidency of the Church were examined using Karlyn Kohrs Campbell's seven elements of rhetorical action. It was determined that external and internal pressures from the NAACP, civil rights activists, and dissonant LDS believers, against the Church's practice of black Priesthood denial, were the motivations behind the change in Church practice.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Bolen, Ingrid B. (Ingrid Britt)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Luther the Augustinian: Augustine, Pelagianism and Luther's Philosophy of Man (open access)

Luther the Augustinian: Augustine, Pelagianism and Luther's Philosophy of Man

Augustine has had a large influence on the development of western theology, and nowhere is this more obvious that in Martin Luther's understanding of God, humankind and grace. Yet at the same time there are also significant differences in the two churchmen's thought. Sometimes these differences are subtle, such as their views of the state; other times they are not so subtle, such as their positions on free will or their praise of philosophy and its usefulness in sounding the depth of Christianity. In order to best explain these varying views, one must look at Augustine's and Luther's diverging opinions of man's nature where one will see that the dissimilarities are best understood in light of Luther's pessimistic view of humanity.
Date: August 1991
Creator: McGinnis, Jon D. (Jon David)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Heresy vs. Orthodoxy: The Preus/Tietjen Controversy (open access)

Heresy vs. Orthodoxy: The Preus/Tietjen Controversy

Using the framework set up by rhetorical critic Thomas M. Lessl in his article "Heresy, Orthodoxy, And The Politics Of Science", this study examines the ways in which heretical discourse defines community boundaries and shapes perceptions of right belief. Specifically, this study analyzes the historic conflict in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod which produced the doctrinal statement "A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles". Comparison is made between this event and other "heretical" conflicts in other discourse communities. This study concludes that community boundaries must be drawn, and that a doctrinal or policy statement is a useful rhetorical tool to accomplish such a task. Rhetorical critics may assist in this by examining heretical conflicts as historical trends, rather than emotional dissonance.
Date: August 1991
Creator: Barnhart, Melody R. (Melody Ruth)
System: The UNT Digital Library