ABSTRACT
Letusnowturnfromthebroadhistoricalviewofpastoralasavehicleof utopianismtolookmorecloselyathowpastoralpoetryinthetraditionofVergil helpedtoshapetheinstitutionofthelearnedsociety.Ouranalysiswillproceedas aclosereadingofthreetexts,makingobservationsofasocial,historical, political,ortheoreticalnatureasthetextsthemselvessuggesttheneed.Toafar greaterdegreethansociologyorhistoriography,literaryanalysisisdrivenbya demandforVermittlung'mediation','connection','correlation','interpretation'. AsAdornoinsists,thestructureofthetextsthemselvesdefinesthewayinwhich externalconnectionshavemeaning. 1WeshalltakeNuremberg'sPegnesischer Blumenordeninthedecadeofthe1640sasourcasestudy.
