L'Écriture à rebours. Le Roman de Méliadus du XIIIe au XVIIIe siècle

Continuation elleptique du "Tristan en prose", qui s'inscrit dans l'interstice séparant la naissance de Tristan du remariage de Méliadus avec la fille du roi Hoël, le "Roman de Meliadus" (1235-1240) est une oeuvre demeurée ouverte, de par son inachèvement et de par le dialogue constant qu'il instaure avec les autres romans arthuriens. S'il revendique sa filiation et assume son statut de récit puîné, les réminiscences qu'il exhibe masquent aussi les gauchissements, les infléchissements qui lui permettent de faire du neuf avec du vieux. C'est ce jeu - aux deux sens du terme - que Barbara Wahlen étudie et montre à voir, non seulement dans le "Roman de Meliadus" proprement dit, mais également dans trois de ses relectures, qui actualisent et renouvellent la signification du roman en profondeur. La première est une continuation de la toute fin du XIIIe ou du début du XIVe siècle qui est aujourd'hui conservée par le seul manuscrit Ferrell 5. La deuxième actualisation retenue est celle qu'offre "Meliadus de Leonnoys", l'imprimé publié en 1528 par Galliot du Pré, fruit d'un minutieux travail de découpage et de remontage. La dernière enfin est l'extrait paru en 1776 dans la "Bibliothèque Universelle des Romans".

Sulfur isotope analysis of cinnabar from Roman wall paintings by elemental analysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry - tracking the origin of archaeological red pigments and their authenticity

The most valuable pigment of the Roman wall paintings was the red color obtained from powdered cinnabar (Minium Cinnabaris pigment), the red mercury sulfide (HgS), which was brought from mercury (Hg) deposits in the Roman Empire. To address the question of whether sulfur isotope signatures can serve as a rapid method to establish the provenance of the red pigment in Roman frescoes, we have measured the sulfur isotope composition (delta(34) S value in parts per thousand VCDT) in samples of wall painting from the Roman city Aventicum (Avenches, Vaud, Switzerland) and compared them with values from cinnabar from European mercury deposits (Almaden in Spain, Idria in Slovenia, Monte Amiata in Italy, Moschellandsberg in Germany, and Genepy in France). Our study shows that the delta(34) S values of cinnabar from the studied Roman wall paintings fall within or near to the composition of Almaden cinnabar; thus, the provenance of the raw material may be deduced. This approach may provide information on provenance and authenticity in archaeological, restoration and forensic studies of Roman and Greek frescoes. Copyright (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

'Greek' and 'Roman' in Latin Medical Texts. Studies in Cultural Change and Exchange in Ancient Medicine : [Proceedings of the 10th International Conference "Ancient Latin Medical Texts", Lausanne, 2010, November 3rd-6th November]

Latin medical texts transmit medical theories and practices that originated mainly in Greece. This interaction took place through juxtaposition, assimilation and transformation of ideas. 'Greek' and 'Roman' in Latin Medical Texts studies the ways in which this cultural interaction influenced the development of the medical profession and the growth of knowledge of human and animal bodies, and especially how it provided the foundations for innovations in the areas of anatomy, pathology and pharmacology, from the earliest Latin medical texts until well into the medieval world.

Stimulated sweating as a therapy to reduce interdialytic weight gain and improve potassium balance in chronic hemodialysis patients: a pilot study.

Controlling the extracellular volume in hemodialysis patients is a difficult task. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of different methods of stimulated sweating to reduce mean interdialytic weight gain (IWG), to improve blood pressure regulation, and potassium/urea balance. Two center, crossover pilot study. In Lausanne, hemodialysis patients took four hot-water baths a week, 30 minutes each, on nondialysis days during 1 month. In Sfax, patients visited the local Hammam Center four times a week. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded, and weekly laboratory analysis was performed. Results were compared with a preceding 1-month control period. In Lausanne, five patients (all men, median age 55 years) participated. Bathing temperature was (mean ± standard deviation) 41.2 ± 3°C and sweating-induced weight loss 600 ± 500 g. Mean IWG (control vs. intervention period) decreased from 2.3 ± 0.9 to 1.8 ± 1 kg (P = 0.004), Systolic blood pressure from 139 ± 21 to 136 ± 22 mmHg (P = 0.4), and diastolic blood pressure form 79 ± 12 to 75 ± 13 mmHg (P = 0.08); antihypertensive therapy could be reduced from 2.8 ± 0.4 to 1.9 ± 0.5 antihypertensive drugs per patient (P = 0.01). In Sfax (n = 9, median age 46 years), weight loss per Hammam session was 420 ± 100 g. No differences were found in IWG or BP, but predialysis serum potassium level decreased from 5.9 ± 0.8 to 5.5 ± 0.9 mmol/L (P = 0.04) and urea from 26.9 ± 6 to 23.1 ± 6 mmol/L (P = 0.02). Hot-water baths appear to be a safe way to reduce IWG in selected hemodialysis patients. Hammam visits reduce serum potassium and urea levels, but not IWG. More data in larger patient groups are necessary before definite conclusion can be drawn.

Geochemical and geothermal study of springs in the Ossola-Simplon Region

Geological, hydrogeological and geochemical surveys were carried out in the Piedilago area (Ossola-Simplon region) in order to investigate the geothermal resources present in this area. Following these surface exploration efforts an exploratory geothermal well of 248 m was drilled in 1991. It discharges a thermal water with temperatures up to 43 degrees C and calcium (sodium) sulphate composition with a TDS close to 1350 mg/l. Chemical geothermometers suggest a reservoir temperature close to 45 degrees C indicating that the well virtually produces the pure uncooled thermal water. The Piedilago ex-ample is here considered as the departure point to establish both general criteria for further geothermal investigations in young mountains chains and taking into consideration all the available data on geology and fluid geochemistry of thermal systems in the Ossola-Simplon region, to constrain a geothermal model for the Lower Pennine Zone.

Like Man, Like Woman: Roman Women, Gender Qualities and Conjugal Relationships at the Turn of the First Century

Modern scholarship often discusses Roman women in terms of their difference from their male counterparts, frequently defining them as 'other'. This book shows how Roman male writers at the turn of the first century actually described women as not so different from men: the same qualities and abilities pertaining to the domains of parenthood, intellect and morals are ascribed by writers to women as well as to men. There are two voices, however: a traditional, ideal voice and an individual, realistic voice. This creates a duality of representations of women, which recurs across literary genres and reflects a duality of mentality. How can we interpret the paradoxical information about Roman women given by the male-authored texts? How does this duality of mentality inform us about gender roles and gender hierarchy? This work analyses well-known, as well as overlooked, passages from the writings of Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, Suetonius, Quintilian, Statius, Martial and Juvenal and sheds new light on Roman views of women and their abilities, on the notions of private and public and on conjugal relationships. In the process, the famous sixth satire of Juvenal is revisited and its topic reassessed, providing further insights into the complex issues of gender roles, marriage and emotions. By contrasting representations of women across a broad spectrum of literary genres, this book provides consistent findings that have wide significance for the study of Latin literature and the social history of the late first and early second centuries.