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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. -
The Gendered World of the Chanson De Guillaume
The Gendered World of the Chanson de Guillaume Patricia Black California State University, Chico The Chanson de Guillaume remains a problematic epic when viewed against the influential Oxford Roland, not to mention other chansons de geste. Though it is one of the earliest epics extant, it nevertheless fails to conform to the "early epic" criteria. Doubly double, it not only repeats the same events already narrated, it has a sequel qua repeat known as Aliscans. In the doubled narration of the Chanson de Guillaume itself, the repeated material emphasizes the scenes between William and Guibourc as well as the battles. The prominent role she plays may or may not define the epic norm, according to which critic one follows.1 At any rate, Guibourc has no counterpart in the Oxford Roland. However, in the Chanson de Guillaume, Guibourc is not alone: Blancheflor, the kings wife, also plays a brief but important part in the action. Though Guibourc and Blancheflor never meet, they nevertheless have a relationship which bears on the problematic nature of this epic. A convert to Chris- tianity, Guibourc helps turn the tide against the Saracens and save the city of Orange. Their strategies include William's journeying to King Louis' court for the express purpose of enlisting aid; unfortunately, Guibourc and William will finally not be able to de- pend on their sovereign for more than a token gesture. Louis is influenced by Blancheflor, his wife and 21, 3-4 42 Patricia Black Williams sister. She resists giving help to William out of animosity toward Guibourc. The clash between these two incarnations of medieval women ends by revealing fundamental attitudes toward women in an epic context and makes the Chanson de Guillaume an important work in specifically tracing attitudes to- ward gender in the medieval period. -
1 the Middle Ages
THE MIDDLE AGES 1 1 The Middle Ages Introduction The Middle Ages lasted a thousand years, from the break-up of the Roman Empire in the fifth century to the end of the fifteenth, when there was an awareness that a ‘dark time’ (Rabelais dismissively called it ‘gothic’) separated the present from the classical world. During this medium aevum or ‘Middle Age’, situated between classical antiquity and modern times, the centre of the world moved north as the civil- ization of the Mediterranean joined forces with the vigorous culture of temperate Europe. Rather than an Age, however, it is more appropriate to speak of Ages, for surges of decay and renewal over ten centuries redrew the political, social and cultural map of Europe, by war, marriage and treaty. By the sixth century, Christianity was replacing older gods and the organized fabric of the Roman Empire had been eroded and trading patterns disrupted. Although the Church kept administrative structures and learning alive, barbarian encroachments from the north and Saracen invasions from the south posed a continuing threat. The work of undoing the fragmentation of Rome’s imperial domain was undertaken by Charlemagne (742–814), who created a Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently by his successors over many centuries who, in bursts of military and administrative activity, bought, earned or coerced the loyalty of the rulers of the many duchies and comtés which formed the patchwork of feudal territories that was France. This process of centralization proceeded at variable speeds. After the break-up of Charlemagne’s empire at the end of the tenth century, ‘France’ was a kingdom which occupied the region now known as 2 THE MIDDLE AGES the Île de France. -
UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Marvelous Generations: Lancastrian Genealogies and Translation in Late Medieval and Early M
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Marvelous Generations: Lancastrian Genealogies and Translation in Late Medieval and Early Modern England and Iberia A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in English by Sara Victoria Torres 2014 © Copyright by Sara Victoria Torres 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Marvelous Generations: Lancastrian Genealogies and Translation in Late Medieval and Early Modern England and Iberia by Sara Victoria Torres Doctor of Philosophy in English University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Christine Chism, Co-chair Professor Lowell Gallagher, Co-chair My dissertation, “Marvelous Generations: Lancastrian Genealogies and Translation in Late Medieval and Early Modern England and Iberia,” traces the legacy of dynastic internationalism in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early-seventeenth centuries. I argue that the situated tactics of courtly literature use genealogical and geographical paradigms to redefine national sovereignty. Before the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, before the divorce trials of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s, a rich and complex network of dynastic, economic, and political alliances existed between medieval England and the Iberian kingdoms. The marriages of John of Gaunt’s two daughters to the Castilian and Portuguese kings created a legacy of Anglo-Iberian cultural exchange ii that is evident in the literature and manuscript culture of both England and Iberia. Because England, Castile, and Portugal all saw the rise of new dynastic lines at the end of the fourteenth century, the subsequent literature produced at their courts is preoccupied with issues of genealogy, just rule, and political consent. Dynastic foundation narratives compensate for the uncertainties of succession by evoking the longue durée of national histories—of Trojan diaspora narratives, of Roman rule, of apostolic foundation—and situating them within universalizing historical modes. -
The Middle English Romance of Ipomedon: a Late Medieval 'Mirror' for Princes and Merchants
The Middle English romance of Ipomedon: a late medieval 'mirror' for princes and merchants Article Published Version Meale, C. M. (1984) The Middle English romance of Ipomedon: a late medieval 'mirror' for princes and merchants. Reading Medieval Studies, X. pp. 136-191. ISSN 0950-3129 Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/85100/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher’s version if you intend to cite from the work. See Guidance on citing . Publisher: University of Reading All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading’s research outputs online READING MEDIEVAL STUDIES The Middle Eng1 ish Rom::mce of lpomedon: a late Medieval 'Mirror' for Princes and Merchants * The adventures of lpomedon as he travelled from court to court in seorch of love and fam,~ proved to be one of the best-liked stories to be written in English in the Middle Ages. Although the rom.:mce does not sur vive in as mnny copies as, for example, those of Bevis of Hampton or Guy of Warwick, 1 it is extant in three stylistically distinct versions, each of which is an independent redaction of the Anglo-Norman work by Hue de Rotelonde, written in the late twelfth century, probably for Gilbert Fitzboderon, lord of Monmouth. 2 In so far as critics have attempted to account for the appeal of the tole their explanations hove, a lroost without exception, been coloured by consideration of the style of the individual text under discussion. -
Recent Dissertations Copies of the Complete Text of These Theses Can
Recent Dissertations Copies of the complete text of these theses can be obtained from Uni- versity Microfilms (Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan) in any of three for- mats: hardbound paper, softcover paper, and microfilm positive. We wish to thank the Xerox Corporation for giving Olifant permission to repro- duce these abstracts from Dissertation Abstracts International. A LINGUISTIC: DATING OF THE OXFORD CHANSON DE ROLAND. Susan Elizabeth Farrier, Ph.D. Cornell University, 1985. ANY SCHOLARS state as a truism that the Oxford Chanson de Roland M was written sometime around 1100. This date is misleading not only because it is artificially precise, but also because it suggests that the whole poem was composed all at the same time. Linguistic dating, however, re- veals vestiges of a tenth-century poem, as well as significant portions of eleventh- and twelfth-century redactions. These three linguistic strata are fairly evenly distributed throughout the poem — even in the so-called "Baligant episode." Linguistic dating essentially consists of two steps: (1) identifying the Latin forms of the Old French words found at the assonance and (2) de- termining the stage of development which the stressed vowel in each Old French word must have reached in order to assonate properly with all other verse-final words in the laisse. When the various strata are analyzed for stylistic consistency, the re- sults are surprisingly convincing. The tenth-century poet's work remains only in fragmentary version, so little can be said of his style — except in re- lation to his use of the topos of the prophetic dream. -
PDF (Volume 2)
Durham E-Theses An Investigation of the dierences in ideas and emphases in ve middle English romances (Floris and Blauncheour; King Horn; Havelok the Dane; Amis and Amiloun; Ipomadon) and the old French versions of the same subjects, with special reference to narrative technique, characterisation, tone and background Burnley, J. E. How to cite: Burnley, J. E. (1967) An Investigation of the dierences in ideas and emphases in ve middle English romances (Floris and Blauncheour; King Horn; Havelok the Dane; Amis and Amiloun; Ipomadon) and the old French versions of the same subjects, with special reference to narrative technique, characterisation, tone and background, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9554/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract of a Thesis preae'ted for the ttef-ree of Mae tor of Arte in the University of Durbum, entitled* •An tnvoetiation of the Difference*) in Jdoae and Fjnphaeee in f ive *'i«Jtile J&igliah Tiomance.s (Floria and Blauuchoflour; KinL'. -
Chapter 7, “The Temptation Theme,” in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Sources and Analogues, Ed
Chapter 8 Gawain and the Generic Literary Hunt After reading a few descriptions of hunting in a few different Middle English romances, one cannot fail to notice that they have a surprising sameness of content and style.1 A closer look shows that these similarities are attributable to the fact that there is a specific and well-defined standard template to which all medieval hunting narratives adhere (a template which I will call “the generic literary hunt”), regardless of whether they are embedded in works which are “literary” or didactic, imaginative or factual, sacred or secular. At the same time, these descriptions are not characterized by the same sort of immutability as, say, the description of a standard romance locus amoenus (singing birds, grassy mead, bubbling brook), or that of the resident romance heroine (golden hair, grey eyes, a pleasing slenderness). There is a fair amount of room for authorial maneuvering – nothing is strictly required and although certain elements are standard, they can be dispensed with if the author so chooses – and clever authors find a surprisingly large number of ways to reconfigure and recast the traditional elements. The anonymous alliterative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (later 14th c., hereafter SGGK), the quintessential medieval “hunting poem,” is no exception to the above rule. Although SGGK is the only Middle English romance that uses hunting 1 A few critics have made similar observations, but none have followed up on it. Derek Pearsall suggests that hunting scenes are conventional in Middle English alliterative poetry, but does not give any examples; see "Rhetorical ‘Descriptio’ in ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’," Modern Language Review 50 (1955): 133. -
Sacramental Woes and Theological Anxiety in Medieval Representations of Marriage
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2016 When Two Become One: Sacramental Woes And Theological Anxiety In Medieval Representations Of Marriage Elizabeth Churchill University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Churchill, Elizabeth, "When Two Become One: Sacramental Woes And Theological Anxiety In Medieval Representations Of Marriage" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2229. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2229 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2229 For more information, please contact [email protected]. When Two Become One: Sacramental Woes And Theological Anxiety In Medieval Representations Of Marriage Abstract This dissertation traces the long, winding, and problematic road along which marriage became a sacrament of the Church. In so doing, it identifies several key problems with marriage’s ability to fulfill the sacramental criteria laid out in Peter Lombard’s Sentences: that a sacrament must signify a specific form of divine grace, and that it must directly bring about the grace that it signifies. While, on the basis of Ephesians 5, theologians had no problem identifying the symbolic power of marriage with the spiritual union of Christ and the Church, they never fully succeeded in locating a form of effective grace, placing immense stress upon marriage’s status as a signifier. As a result, theologians and canonists found themselves unable to deal with several social aspects of marriage that threatened this symbolic capacity, namely concubinage and the remarriage of widows and widowers. -
Chapter 1 Introduction: Prologue and Tale Chapter 2 Prologues
Notes Chapter 1 Introduction: Prologue and Tale 1 The 'lost' works include some of the 'hymns', certainly the 'vyrelayes' (normally in French a poem ofthree stanzas in short lines, with a long refrain ofthree or more lines), though this list ofshort poems may be merely conventional in its contents; no Chaucerian translation of Innocent Ill's De miseria condicionishumane is known, though The Man ofLaw's Prologue uses material from it; the reference to Origen is to an attributed homily on Mary Magdalene - another lost translation presumably.The two works included in The Canterbury Tales are The KnightJs Tale ('al the love ofPalamon and Arcite' ) and The Second NunJs Tale ('the lyf ofSeynt Cecile'). 2 J. A. Cuddon, A Dictionary ofLiterary Terms, London, 1977; K. Beckson and A. Ganz, Literary Terms: A Dictionary, London, 1990. 3 See D. S. Brewer (ed.) Chaucer: The Critical Heritage, 1978, Vol. I, pp. 39-42 for the whole poem in which Deschamps praises Chaucer as the modern Socrates, Seneca, Ovid. See also James 1. Wimsatt, Chaucer and his French Contemporaries: Natural Music in the Fourteenth Century, Toronto, 1991, pp. 248-51. 4 R. H. Robbins, 'Geoffroi Chaucier, Peete Francais, father of English poetry', ChauR 13 (1978),93-115. 5 James 1. Wimsatt, Chaucer and the Poemsof'ChJin Univ.ofPennsylvania MS.15, Cambridge, 1982. 6 Distinguished exceptions to this are Burrow RP, and Kean. 7 See Pearsall OE&MEP, pp. 189-91 and The Life ofGeoffrey Chaucer, London, 1992, pp. 63-77, on the use of French at court and the nature ofChaucer's choice in using English. -
État Présent Des Recherches Sur Gormont Et Isembart
JOSETTE BRITTE ASHFORD État présent des recherches sur Gormont et Isembart OMPARÉES AU FLEUVE D'OUVRAGES publiés sur la Chanson de Roland, les études sur Gormont et Isembart ne représentent qu'un mince fi- C let d'eau. Il me semble utile cependant de faire le point sur les re- cherches consacrées à ce fragment de geste à l'aide d'une bibliographie an- notée suivie d'un essai d'explication sur les différentes thèses soutenues. Le Manuscrit A. Il n'existe qu'un seul manuscrit de ce texte, celui de la bi- bliothèque royale de Belgique, portefeuille II, 181. Il a été découvert dans une ancienne reliure par Monseigneur de Ram, en 1837, et déposé à la bibliothèque royale en 1875. Il consiste en deux feuilles de parchemin, donnant quatre feuillets de 209 x 145 mm. qui contiennent chacun deux colonnes par page. Le cou- teau du relieur a coupé le haut de la feuille extérieure enlevant ainsi le premier vers de chaque colonne. Les initiales des laisses sont alternative- ment rouges et vertes. L'écriture du manuscrit est datée du XIIIe siècle. Le texte est en anglo-normand. B. Il faut noter la mention d'une version néerlandaise, aujourd'hui perdue, dans un inventaire de bibliothèque de 1388. 188 Ashford / Recherches sur Gormont et Isembart / 189 Les Éditions 1837 Reiffenberg, baron de. «Notice et extraits du manuscrit de Bruxelles» dans Bulletin de la commission royale d'histoire de Belgique, 1 (1837), pp. 265-269. 1838 Reiffenberg, baron de. «La Mort le roi Gormont» dans Chronique rimée de Philippe Mouskes. -
The Chanson De Geste
Edinburgh Research Explorer The Chanson de geste Citation for published version: Sinclair, F 2011, The Chanson de geste. in W Burgwinkle, N Hammond & E Wilson (eds), The Cambridge History of French Literature. Cambridge University Press, pp. 28–37. Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: The Cambridge History of French Literature General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 25. Sep. 2021 P1: SPK Trim: 228mm × 152mm Top: 10.544mm Gutter: 16.871mm CUUK1244-03 cuuk1244/Burgwinkle ISBN: 978 0 521 89786 0 October 9, 2010 5:31 3 The chanson de geste finn e. sinclair The chanson de geste represents the first manifestation of a French literary tradition, with its oldest extant written text dating from around 1098.Thisis the Chanson de Roland, preserved in the Oxford Manuscript Digby 23.These chansons, and the Chanson de Roland in particular, have been the focus of critical attention from the nineteenth century onwards, as theories of their origins, the means of their composition and dissemination, their relation to history, and their function as ideological and literary models have been repeat- edly constructed and deconstructed.