St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Modern History
  • Modern History Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Modern History
  • Modern History Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Modern History
  • Modern History Theses
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Re-thinking mountains : ascents, aesthetics, and environment in early modern Europe

Thumbnail
View/Open
Thesis-Dawn-Hollis-Complete-version.pdf (7.596Mb)
Date
04/01/2017
Author
Hollis, Dawn L.
Supervisor
Struck, Bernhard
Easterby-Smith, Sarah
Funder
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Abstract
Mountains are among the most visible and culturally loaded landforms of the modern world. From the late eighteenth century onwards they have, in western contexts, acted as sites of nationalism, masculinity, heroism, and environmentalism, shaped largely by the defining activity of modern mountaineering. This thesis will explore the position of mountains in British and European culture before the apparent advent of climbing 'for its own sake'. What did people think, feel, or know about mountains in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries? Did they ever climb mountains, and, if so, for what reasons? What cultural associations - good or bad - were attached to the mountains of the early modern mind? Drawing upon natural philosophical debates, travellers' accounts, and poetry, this thesis will examine the nature and contexts of early modern mountain knowledge, activities, aesthetics, and literary representation. In so doing it will present a picture of varied and often enthusiastic mountain engagement, whether on an intellectual or physical level, which runs contrary to the accepted historiographical perception that mountains were generally feared, disdained, and avoided before the advent of mountaineering. It will therefore also interrogate the origins of the idea of premodern 'mountain gloom', proposing that it is not so much a statement of historical fact as a key tenet of the modern cultural discourse of mountain appreciation.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
  • Modern History Theses
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/16098

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter