An examination of if and how medieval romance was performed,
uniquely uniting the perspective of a scholar and practitioner.
Although English medieval minstrels performed gestes, a genre
closely related to romance, often playing the harp or the fiddle,
the question of if, and how, Middle English romance was performed
has been hotly debated. Here,the performance tradition is explored
by combining textual, historical and musicological scholarship with
practical experience from a noted musician. Using previously
unrecognised evidence, the author reconstructs a realistic model of
minstrel performance, showing how a simple melody can interact with
the text, and vice versa. She argues that elements in Middle
English romance which may seem simplistic or repetitive may in fact
be incomplete, as missing an integral musical dimension; metrical
irregularities, for example, may be relics of sophisticated
rhythmic variation that make sense only with music. Overall, the
study offers both a more accurate comprehension of minstrel
performance, and a deeper appreciation of the romances themselves.
Linda Marie Zaerr is Professor of Medieval Studies at Boise State
University.
General
Imprint: |
D.S. Brewer
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Studies in Medieval Romance |
Release date: |
August 2012 |
First published: |
2012 |
Authors: |
Linda Marie Zaerr
(Customer)
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156 x 25mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
296 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-84384-323-8 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-84384-323-4 |
Barcode: |
9781843843238 |
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