DOCSLIB.ORG

Downloaded on 2017-02-12T13:41:05Z “Ladyes, Damesels, and Jantilwomen”

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Downloaded on 2017-02-12T13:41:05Z “Ladyes, Damesels, and Jantilwomen” CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Cork Open Research Archive Title "Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen": female autonomy and authority in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur Author(s) Moloney, Karen Christine Publication date 2014 Original citation Moloney, K. C. 2014. "Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen": female autonomy and authority in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2014, Karen C. Moloney. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Embargo information No embargo required Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1967 from Downloaded on 2017-02-12T13:41:05Z “Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen”: Female Autonomy and Authority in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur by Karen Moloney NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK SCHOOL OF ENGLISH Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. December 2014 Supervisors: Dr. Andrew King and Dr. Kenneth Rooney Head of Department: Prof. Claire Connolly Table of Contents Table of Contents Abstract 3 Declaration 4 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 6 Chapter One Fifteenth-Century Audiences: 23 Reception and Reaction Chapter Two Women in Romance I: 59 Lovers, Victims, and Enchantresses Chapter Three Women in Romance II: 109 Power, Authority, Contexts Chapter Four Women in Malory I: 168 Female Agency in Le Morte Darthur Chapter Five Women in Malory II: 225 Romance, Manipulation, and Magic in Le Morte Darthur Conclusion 279 Bibliography 295 Abstract 3 Abstract Popular medieval English romances were composed and received within the social consciousness of a distinctly patriarchal culture. This study examines the way in which the dynamic of these texts is significantly influenced by the consequences of female endeavour, in the context of an autonomous feminine presence in both the real and imagined worlds of medieval England, and the authority with which this is presented in various narratives, with a particular focus on Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur. Chapter One of this study establishes the social and economic positioning of the female in fifteenth-century England, and her capacity for literary engagement; I will then apply this model of female autonomy and authority to a wider discussion of texts contemporary with Malory in Chapters Two and Three, in anticipation of a more detailed study of Le Morte Darthur in Chapters Four and Five. My research explores the female presence and influence in these texts according to certain types: namely the lover, the victim, the ruler, and the temptress. In the case of Malory, the crux of my observations centres on the paradox of the capacity for power in perceived vulnerability, incorporating the presentation of women in this patriarchal culture as being vulnerable and in need of protection, while simultaneously acting as a significant threat to chivalric society by manipulating this apparent fragility, to the detriment of the chivalric knight. In this sense, women can be perceived as being an architect of the romance world, while simultaneously acting as its saboteur. In essence, this study offers an innovative interpretation of female autonomy and authority in medieval romance, presenting an exploration of the physical, intellectual, and emotional placement of women in both the historical and literary worlds of fifteenth-century England, while examining the implications of female conduct on Malory’s Arthurian society. Declaration 4 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree at University College Cork or elsewhere. Signed: ______________________ Date: ______________________ Acknowledgements 5 Acknowledgements Sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. Andrew King and Dr. Kenneth Rooney, for their generosity with their time, their encouragement, and their hard work. Much love and appreciation to my family and my fiancé for their everlasting supply of support and motivation. I am truly grateful. Introduction 6 Introduction “Mulier est hominis confusio” (line 3164)1; Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest’s translation of this as “Womman is mannes joye and al his blis” (3166) effectively encapsulates the essential juxtaposition of the concept of the female in medieval English romance. From the Latin denunciation that “woman is the ruin of man”, to Chaunticleer’s misrepresentation of this in his declaration that woman is a man’s joy and bliss, the paradoxical nature of the representation of the female in medieval English writing as both good and bad (like the Wife of Bath’s husbands) is clear. In the context of this study, this is most prominently demonstrated in the romance tales, through the powerful influence of the female in both the composition of romance, and the workings of the world of the romance narrative. Fifteenth-century English romance, whether Arthurian or devoted to the worthies of other matters, establishes the male presence as the primary focus of medieval romance. These narratives are often inflected by the consequences of female endeavour within chivalric society.2 In her introduction to A Companion to Romance: From Classical to Contemporary, Corinne Saunders observes: Romance, one might say, is situated in and speaks of timeless moments […] the images of Tristan and Isolde drinking the fateful potion; of the Holy Grail appearing to the Knights of the Round Table; of Guinevere led out to the fire, clad only in her shift; of the hand clothed in white samite, “mystic, wonderful”, taking back the sword Excalibur; of the black-robed queens who weep and shriek as they bear Arthur away in the barge. (1) 1 All quotations and translations from The Canterbury Tales are taken from Larry D. Benson’s edition of The Riverside Chaucer. 2 For a comprehensive summary of critical reception to the Morte Darthur, see Parins, Marylyn Jackson, ed. Malory: The Critical Heritage. Introduction 7 These images are familiar, well-established snapshots of pivotal moments in medieval romance. Notably, many involve the presence of the female, in a visual demonstration of the significance of the feminine influence in courtly society. This study aims to explore the way in which this feminine presence is presented and positioned within depicted chivalric culture, with particular emphasis on Sir Thomas Malory’s fifteenth-century Morte Darthur. If inseparable from the narratives in which they are enmeshed, women are still an autonomous presence in the narrative world, imbued with authority3 and agency, reflective of the social and historical contexts which romance can imitate. Historically, from the courtly cultures of medieval France and England, women have played an integral part in the demand for romance literature, in those texts that originate “between the mid twelfth and mid thirteenth centuries, from the great period of courtly love writing […] early enough to form a tradition of forms and ideas that the later medieval writers in English could draw on” (O’Donoghue vi). The courts of twelfth-century France saw “the fruitful meeting of representatives of different intellectual traditions”, which “occurred most often at the courts of great lords, either because authors met personally in that varied and changing society or because they wrote for an audience which they knew had sophisticated and eclectic tastes” (Benton, Culture, Power and Personality 3). David Staines highlights one such circumstance, as he observes that “[t]he court of Champagne was a center of literary activity”, a point of convergence for writers such as Andreas Capellanus, Gace Brulé, Gautier d’Arras, and Chrétien de Troyes (Introduction to The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes x). 3 Here, the idea of authority refers to a sense of independent agency and a willed power individual to the active figure of the female. Introduction 8 This is but one instance of the manner in which the feminine presence in courtly society has inspired an artistic response in tales of male endeavour driven by female beauty, demonstrated, for example, by Chrétien de Troyes’ “Knight of the Cart” (or “Lancelot”), which opens with Chrétien’s praise of his Lady of Champagne, who “surpasses all living ladies as the south wind blowing in April or May surpasses all winds”; he concludes his dedication with the thought that “her command is more important in this undertaking than any thought or effort I may expend” (170).4 “One of the greatest works of courtly and chivalric literature”, Chrétien dedicates it solely to his lady, Marie de Champagne: “the san and matiere of his story” (O’Donoghue 167). This is a quintessential example of the “extended praise” (Staines, Introduction ix) of women in the courtly literature that they inspired; however, the desire that this feminine beauty elicits is, ironically, the force behind the fall of many a male in the romance narrative, and in the case of Malory’s Arthurian court, the destruction of society as a whole. In this sense, women, and particularly Guinevere in Malory’s case, are the instigators of courtly romance, but also the agents of the demise of the narrative worlds depicted within; woman can be perceived as being an architect of the romance world, while simultaneously acting as its saboteur. This study of Le Morte Darthur is based on the concept of King Arthur and his Round Table Knights as being the definitive symbol of chivalric society and all it represents in terms of nobility, virtue, and courage. The Round Table court is essentially a vehicle for the portrayal of the ultimate embodiment of masculinity and chivalric integrity, yet it is the actions of these men and the consequences of their behaviours which indicate the beginning of the unravelling of this society, and its eventual destruction as it collapses under the weight of its own responsibility. 4 Quotations from Chrétien’s “Lancelot”, or “The Knight of the Cart”, are taken from David Staines’ translation. Introduction 9 This thesis focuses particularly on the role of the female within the primarily masculine character interest of these narratives, with specific regard to the culpability of women in the failure of masculinity, and of society, in the text.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nobility in Middle English Romance
    Nobility in Middle English Romance Marianne A. Fisher A dissertation submitted for the degree of PhD Cardiff University 2013 Summary of Thesis: Postgraduate Research Degrees Student ID Number: 0542351 Title: Miss Surname: Fisher First Names: Marianne Alice School: ENCAP Title of Degree: PhD (English Literature) Full Title of Thesis Nobility in Middle English Romance Student ID Number: 0542351 Summary of Thesis Medieval nobility was a compound and fluid concept, the complexity of which is clearly reflected in the Middle English romances. This dissertation examines fourteen short verse romances, grouped by story-type into three categories. They are: type 1: romances of lost heirs (Degaré, Chevelere Assigne, Sir Perceval of Galles, Lybeaus Desconus, and Octavian); type 2: romances about winning a bride (Floris and Blancheflour, The Erle of Tolous, Sir Eglamour of Artois, Sir Degrevant, and the Amis– Belisaunt plot from Amis and Amiloun); type 3: romances of impoverished knights (Amiloun’s story from Amis and Amiloun, Sir Isumbras, Sir Amadace, Sir Cleges, and Sir Launfal). The analysis is based on contextualized close reading, drawing on the theories of Pierre Bourdieu. The results show that Middle English romance has no standard criteria for defining nobility, but draws on the full range on contemporary opinion; understandings of nobility conflict both between and within texts. Ideological consistency is seldom a priority, and the genre apparently serves neither a single socio-political agenda, nor a single socio-political group. The dominant conception of nobility in each romance is determined by the story-type. Romance type 1 presents nobility as inherent in the blood, type 2 emphasizes prowess and force of will, and type 3 concentrates on virtue.
    [Show full text]
  • Fluid Boundaries in the Awntyrs Off Arthure and Sir Isumbras
    New Approaches to Medieval Water Studies How to Cite: Richmond, A M 2018 Fluid Boundaries in The Awntyrs off Arthure and Sir Isumbras. Open Library of Humanities, 4(1): 24, pp. 1–30, DOI: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.225 Published: 24 April 2018 Peer Review: This article has been peer reviewed through the double-blind process of Open Library of Humanities, which is a journal published by the Open Library of Humanities. Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Open Access: Open Library of Humanities is a peer-reviewed open access journal. Digital Preservation: The Open Library of Humanities and all its journals are digitally preserved in the CLOCKSS scholarly archive service. Andrew Murray Richmond, ‘Fluid Boundaries in The Awntyrs off Arthure and Sir Isumbras’ (2018) 4(1): 24 Open Library of Humanities, DOI: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.225 NEW APPROACHES TO MEDIEVAL WATER STUDIES Fluid Boundaries in The Awntyrs off Arthure and Sir Isumbras Andrew Murray Richmond Southern Connecticut State University, US [email protected] Encounters with water shape the Middle English romances of The Awntyrs off Arthure and Sir Isumbras. In the latter, rivers and the ‘Greek Sea’ serve to distinguish separate sections of the narrative: the river marks the point at which the titular hero’s family unit begins to break down, while the beach of the sea marks the lowest point of his social power.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading Landscapes in Medieval British Romance
    READING LANDSCAPES IN MEDIEVAL BRITISH ROMANCE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Andrew Murray Richmond, M. Phil. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Lisa J. Kiser, Adviser Dr. Richard Firth Green Dr. Ethan Knapp Dr. Karen Winstead Copyright by Andrew Murray Richmond 2015 ABSTRACT My dissertation establishes a new framework with which to interpret the textual landscapes and ecological details that permeate late-medieval British romances from the period of c.1300 – c. 1500, focusing on the ways in which such landscapes reflect the diverse experiences of medieval readers and writers. In particular, I identify and explain fourteenth- and fifteenth-century English and Scottish conceptions of the relationships between literary worlds and “real-world” locations. In my first section, I analyze the role of topography and the management of natural resources in constructing a sense of community in Sir Isumbras, William of Palerne, and Havelok the Dane, and explain how abandoned or ravaged agricultural landscapes in Sir Degrevant and the Tale of Gamelyn betray anxieties about the lack of human control over the English landscape in the wake of population decline caused by civil war, the Black Death, and the Little Ice Age. My next section examines seashores and waterscapes in Sir Amadace, Emaré, Sir Eglamour of Artois, the Awntyrs off Arthure, and the Constance romances of Chaucer and Gower. Specifically, I explain how a number of romances present the seaside as a simultaneously inviting and threatening space whose multifaceted nature as a geographical, political, and social boundary embodies the complex range of meanings embedded in the Middle English concept of “play” – a word that these texts often link with the seashore.
    [Show full text]
  • 159565797.Pdf
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by KnowledgeBank at OSU “GRETE KYNDENES IS IN HOWNDYS”: DOGS AND MEN IN MIDDLE ENGLISH ROMANCE Harriet Hudson At the turning point of the romance Sir Tryamour, True Love the dog remains at his dying master’s side: Hys gode hownde, for weyle nor woo Wolde not fro hys maystyr goo But lay lykyng hys woundys. He wende to have helyd hym agayne; Therto he dyd all hys mayne— Grete kyndenes is in howndys. (382-87) True Love’s is an iconic, archetypal story of canine fidelity, a motif older than the Odyssey that persists in popular media and local legend as well as the ancient adage “a dog is a man’s best friend / dog is man’s best friend,” which neatly captures the gendering and the closeness of the relationship.1 This scene and True Love are often the subjects of such scholarship as exists on Sir Tryamour, but the tag phrase at the end of the stanza has received little attention.2 Whether or not the anonymous author intended a pun on the word “kind,” the comment has an emphatic final position. The word kyndenes, potentially carrying not only the modern meaning of benevolence but also the etymological sense of belonging to the same class or group, draws attention to the close relationship between men and dogs in this romance—they are of the same kind; dogs are men’s doubles, their second selves. According to the Middle English Dictionary, kind denotes “a class of creatures .
    [Show full text]
  • The Function of Rape and Incest in Fourteenth-Century "Popular" Middle English Romance
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2006 From turmoil to discourse | the function of rape and incest in fourteenth-century "popular" Middle English romance Desiree Cromwell The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Cromwell, Desiree, "From turmoil to discourse | the function of rape and incest in fourteenth-century "popular" Middle English romance" (2006). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 2416. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/2416 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission ^ No, I do not grant permission Author's Signatmjër]h?(gA^ f Date;S^/al Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. 8/98 FROM TURMOIL TO DISCOURSE: THE FUNCTION OF RAPE AND INCEST IN FOURTEENTH- CENTURY "POPULAR" MIDDLE ENGLISH ROMANCE BY DÉSIRÉE CROMWELL B. A. UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA - MISSOULA, 2004 PRESENTED IN PARTL\L FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA MAY, 2006 ÎRSON DEAN, GRADUATE SCHOOL S ^ "OCD DATE UMI Number: EP34796 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sociology of Middle English Romance: Three Late Medieval Compilers
    THE SOCIOLOGY OF MIDDLE ENGLISH ROMANCE: THREE LATE MEDIEVAL COMPILERS DISSERTATION Prepared in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Michael Robert Johnston, M.Litt. The Ohio State University 2007 Dissertation Committee: Richard Firth Green, Advisor Frank Coulson Lisa Kiser Ethan Knapp ____________________________________ Advisor English Graduate Program ABSTRACT My dissertation brings a new perspective to the study of Middle English romance by demonstrating how manuscript evidence can both enrich and challenge critical assumptions about the genre. The material form in which romances were encountered in the Middle Ages gives us insight into how its original readers would have encountered the genre. Such evidence should be central to our attempts to place romance within cultural history. My dissertation synthesizes the concerns of cultural history and codicology—disciplines within medieval studies that are not often considered together— by examining four compilations of late medieval romance. In each chapter, I advance an argument about the various textual interpretations suggested by the material form of a single manuscript. In particular, I examine the thematic patterns emerging across the romances within each manuscript. The main line of investigation centers on how the romances in each manuscript are arranged, and how groupings of texts encourage readers of the manuscript to attend to certain issues in the texts. I also take into account how the other (“non-romance”) texts in each manuscript affect the interpretation of each individual romance. Finally, I consider how the romances relate to, reflect and/or refract i the specific interests of their compilers and how the social position of each compiler (e.g., his class identity, his regional identity, his political affiliations) shaped the ways in which he collected and preserved his texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Looking at T'other: Robert Thornton's Yorkshire Oryent, C.1400-1473
    Looking at T’Other: Robert Thornton’s Yorkshire Oryent, c.1400-1473 Jennifer Bartlett, B.A. (hons.) (Dunelm), M.A., PGCert. PhD University of York Centre for Medieval Studies October 2015 2 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the place of the “Oryent” in the socio-cultural milieu of Robert Thornton, a member of the North Riding gentry, circa 1400-1473. Using the figure of Thornton, and his two manuscripts, Lincoln, Lincoln Cathedral Library MS 91 and London, British Library MS Additional 31042, as a way of entering into this cultural landscape, it situates them in their historical and geographical contexts in order to explore the representations, reception of, and attitudes towards the people and material culture of the “Oryent” (employing Thornton’s own orthography and usage to define this region) as found in Thornton’s socio-cultural sphere. By then exploring both the cultural landscape, and the ideas presented by the manuscripts themselves, this thesis argues that, counter to much current critical thinking, those of Thornton’s circle possessed a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the “Oryent,” and its people, the Jews and so-called “Saracens.” Firstly it examines the real contemporary presence and usages of “Oryental” foodstuffs, fabrics and animals throughout Yorkshire. It then explores the remembered presence of the Jews, the evoked presence of the Holy Land in the city of York, and how these cultural memories influenced the experience of reading the alliterative romance Siege of Jerusalem. Finally it investigates the imagined literary figure of the Saracen, as located in Thornton’s manuscripts, how this figure was informed by scholastic ideas, and how these ideas impacted upon thoughts concerning Saracen conversion to Christianity.
    [Show full text]
  • Sir Eglamour of Artois
    Sir Eglamour of Artois anon a fourteenth century Middle English verse romance Translated and retold in Modern English prose by Richard Scott-Robinson This tale has been translated and retold from: Harriet Hudson, 2006. Four Middle English Romances: Sir Isumbras, Octavian, Sir Eglam- our of Artois, Sir Tryamour. Second edition. Medieval Institute Pub- lications. TEAMS Middle English texts. Taken from British Library MS Cotton Caligula A.ii, dated to the early-fifteenth century. Copyright © Richard Scott-Robinson, 2001, 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this document may be repro- duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy- ing, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author. The download of a single copy for personal use, or for teaching purposes, does not require permission. [email protected] Sir Eglamour of Artois anon fourteenth century hesu Crist, of heven Kyng · Graunt us all good endyng · And beld us in Hys bowre · And gef hem joye that Jlove to here · Of eldres that before us were · And lyved in grett antowre – Jesus Christ, heaven’s king, grant us all eternal bliss and give joy to those who love to hear of adventurous times long past. I will tell you of a knight who was both strong in battle and courageous; in fact, on any field of combat he was the very flower. Born in Artois of a well-established family, his name was Sir Eglamour and he served in the household of an earl. The story of Sir Eglamour of Artois was This earl had an only child, a daughter, who was his heir.
    [Show full text]
  • Jennifer Barton Bird Thesis Draft 8
    Thinking through Time in the Middle English Romances Jennifer Reid Barton Bird Doctor of Philosophy University of York English and Related Literature March 2014 3 Abstract This thesis investigates how the Middle English romances use time as a framework for the shaping of individual identity. It uses linguistic and narrative analysis, with a consideration of context, to illuminate the romances’ portrayal of human experience in time, arguing that the romances are attuned to the shaping forces of agency, remembrance, and narrative structure. In this way, these texts stand as examples of reflective thought and identity formation. Via the exemplarity produced through ethical reading, romances equip their gentry and mercantile readership to reflect on their own identities with the romances as models. As its sources, this thesis uses a selection of Middle English romances focusing on the individual lifetime and preserved in manuscripts for household readership. The introduction will position the work within current scholarly interest in temporality, define views on romance audience, and propose a model of ethical reading, or ‘romance exemplarity’, which will shape an understanding of how medieval readers would have applied romance to themselves. Chapter One considers the ‘pastness’ of romance, and argues that the nostalgic effects of romance are crafted to foster a sense of continuity between the past and present, thereby overcoming resistance to change and channelling readers’ desire towards an exemplary model. Chapter Two examines how the romances use temporal models to structure personal remembrances of failure and rupture, and argues that the romances adopt temporalities from religious discourse to interrogate the intersections between spiritual and secular life.
    [Show full text]
  • Uni International 300 N
    INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or “target” for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is “Missing Page(s)”. If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark, it is an indication of either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, duplicate copy, or copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed. For blurred pages, a good image of the page can be found in the adjacent frame. If copyrighted materials were deleted, a target note will appear listing the pages in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photographed, a definite method of “sectioning” the material has been followed. It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand comer of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.
    [Show full text]
  • Late Medieval Literature
    Late Medieval English Literature Ph.D. Reading List I: Middle English Texts and Medieval Literature in Translation Department of English Western Michigan University Based on the Reading List format approved by the English Department Graduate Committee in 2011, the Medieval Studies faculty has created the following reading list of ten required texts and textual corpora. Please note that the following list represents a minimal foundation for graduate study in this field and should be used as a guide for professional development, etc. All selections indicated here are based on sound pedagogical, editorial, and scholarly principles. A) Required Middle English texts: 1) Chaucer & Gower John Gower, Confessio Amantis, Vol.1, ed. Russell A. Peck with Latin translations by Andrew Galloway (2000; second edition 2006) John Gower, Confessio Amantis, Vol. 2, ed. Russell A. Peck with Latin translations by Andrew Galloway (2003) John Gower, Confessio Amantis, Vol. 3, ed. Russell A. Peck with Latin translation by Andrew Galloway (2004) The Riverside Chaucer, gen. ed. Larry D. Benson (1989) ------. The Canterbury Tales ------. Troilus and Criseyde ------. House of Fame ------. Parliament of Fowles ------. Book of the Duchess ------. Legend of Good Women ------. Short poems (selections) 2) Gawain/Pearl-Poet Pearl, ed. Sarah Stanbury (2001) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. J. R. R. Tolkien and E. V. Gordon (1967; reprint 1993) 3) Langland: Piers Plowman Piers Plowman: A Parallel Text Edition of A, B, C and Z Versions, ed. A. V. C. Schmidt (1995) 4) Lydgate & Malory John Lydgate, Troy Book: Selections, ed. Robert R. Edwards (1998) Thomas Malory, Morte Darthur, ed. Eugene Vinaver (1948; second edition, 1977) 5) Medieval Women Writers Julian of Norwich, The Shewings of Julian of Norwich, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Morte Darthur
    UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title "Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen": female autonomy and authority in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur Author(s) Moloney, Karen Christine Publication date 2014 Original citation Moloney, K. C. 2014. "Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen": female autonomy and authority in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2014, Karen C. Moloney. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Embargo information No embargo required Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1967 from Downloaded on 2021-09-24T00:15:48Z “Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen”: Female Autonomy and Authority in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur by Karen Moloney NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK SCHOOL OF ENGLISH Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. December 2014 Supervisors: Dr. Andrew King and Dr. Kenneth Rooney Head of Department: Prof. Claire Connolly Table of Contents Table of Contents Abstract 3 Declaration 4 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 6 Chapter One Fifteenth-Century Audiences: 23 Reception and Reaction Chapter Two Women in Romance I: 59 Lovers, Victims, and Enchantresses Chapter Three Women in Romance II: 109 Power, Authority, Contexts Chapter Four Women in Malory I: 168 Female Agency in Le Morte Darthur Chapter Five Women in Malory II: 225 Romance, Manipulation, and Magic in Le Morte Darthur Conclusion 279 Bibliography 295 Abstract 3 Abstract Popular medieval English romances were composed and received within the social consciousness of a distinctly patriarchal culture. This study examines the way in which the dynamic of these texts is significantly influenced by the consequences of female endeavour, in the context of an autonomous feminine presence in both the real and imagined worlds of medieval England, and the authority with which this is presented in various narratives, with a particular focus on Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur.
    [Show full text]