|
Showing 1 - 8 of
8 matches in All Departments
The modern concept of passing leisure hours pleasantly would, in
the Middle Ages, have fallen under the rubric of Sloth, a deadly
sin. Yet aristocrats of past centuries were not always absorbed in
affairs of state or warfare. What did they do in moments of peace,
"downtime" as we might call it today? In this collection of essays,
scholars from various disciplines investigate courtly modes of
entertainment ranging from the vigorous to the intellectual:
hunting, jousting, horse racing; physical and verbal games;
reading, writing, and book ownership. Favorite pastimes spanned
differences of gender and age, and crossed geographical and
cultural boundaries. Literary and historical examples come from
England, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Courtly Pastimes
analyzes the underlying rationales for such activities: to display
power and prestige, to acquire cultural capital, to instill a sense
of community, or to build diplomatic alliances. Performativity so
crucial in social rituals could become transgressive if taken to
extremes. Certain chapters explore the spaces of courtliness:
literal or imaginary; man-made, natural, or a hybrid of both. Other
chapters concern materiality and visual elements associated with
courtly pastimes: from humble children's toys and playthings to
elite tournament attire, castle murals, and manuscript
illuminations.
An important medieval and Renaissance prose narrative form, the
novella greatly influenced the modern narrative. This collection of
essays explores the Italian novella's full scope.
Published in 1999, the ten essays in this collection identify and
examine reworkings of identifiable source texts from the medieval
or Renaissance periods. The reasons for the modern adaptations
depend variously on an individual author's personal perspectives,
the worldview of his or her society, and the individual's place in
it. The various chapters therefore address issues such as why a
particular model was chosen and how its retelling depends on the
modern author/auteur's misreading or rereading of medieval
chivalric conventions. This book compliments numerous existing
studies of medievalism in the Enlightenment and Victorian eras by
examining more recent adaptations of the much studied Arthurian
romances, but primarily extends the discussion on the nature of
revivals to other medieval or Renaissance chivalric texts,
especially the Carolingian cycle epic. The collection includes not
only literary retellings of medieval texts, but also some in
different media, such as theatre and cinema.
The novella was an important medieval and Renaissance prose narrative form that developed out of exempla and didactic literature and contributed to modern narrative forms. This is the first collection of essays dedicated to comprehensive scholarship on the Italian novella. The essays range from work on the Decameron, the epitome of the genre, to studies of sixteenth century authors who often utilized transgressive or sexual themes in their novellas.
Published in 1999, the ten essays in this collection identify and
examine reworkings of identifiable source texts from the medieval
or Renaissance periods. The reasons for the modern adaptations
depend variously on an individual author's personal perspectives,
the worldview of his or her society, and the individual's place in
it. The various chapters therefore address issues such as why a
particular model was chosen and how its retelling depends on the
modern author/auteur's misreading or rereading of medieval
chivalric conventions. This book compliments numerous existing
studies of medievalism in the Enlightenment and Victorian eras by
examining more recent adaptations of the much studied Arthurian
romances, but primarily extends the discussion on the nature of
revivals to other medieval or Renaissance chivalric texts,
especially the Carolingian cycle epic. The collection includes not
only literary retellings of medieval texts, but also some in
different media, such as theatre and cinema.
Text and facing English translation of a version of the Tristan
story from north-east Italy. The Tristano Corsiniano is preserved
in a unique manuscript of the Biblioteca Corsiniana housed at the
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome (MS 55.K.5; formerly Rossi
2593). Written in a mixture of northeastern Italian dialects, the
manuscript was probably copied in the third quarter of the
fourteenth century. The contents are a much abbreviated descendent
of the noted French prose Roman de Tristan; opening with Dinadan's
amusing discoursesand misadventures, the majority of the story
concerns the famous three-day Tournament at Loverzep, and concludes
with King Arthur and Lancelot visiting Tristan, Yseut and their
companions. The manuscript, although not luxurious,is heavily
decorated with designs that perfectly reflect the vigorous and
spirited narrative style. This volume presents a new edition of the
text, accompanied by the first ever translation into English,
thereby making this important version of the Tristan story
available more widely. It also includes an introduction, listing of
illuminations, bibliography and explanatory notes. Gloria Allaire
is Assistant Professor of Italian at theUniversity of Kentucky.
This is the first comprehensive book on the Arthurian legend in
medieval and Renaissance Italy since Edmund Gardner's 1930 The
Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature. Arthurian material reached
all levels of Italian society, from princely courts with their
luxury books and frescoed palaces, to the merchant classes and even
popular audiences in the piazza, which enjoyed shorter retellings
in verse and prose. Unique assemblages emerge on Italian soil, such
as the Compilation of Rustichello da Pisa or the innovative Tavola
Ritonda, in versions made for both Tuscany and the Po Valley.
Chapters examine the transmission of the French romances across
Italy; reworkings in various Italian regional dialects; the textual
relations of the prose Tristan; narrative structures employed by
Italian writers; later ottava rima poetic versions in the new
medium of printed books; the Arthurian-themed art of the Middle
Ages and Renaissance; and more. The Arthur of the Italians offers a
rich corpus of new criticism by scholars who have brought the
Italian Arthurian material back into critical conversation.
The Arthurian Archives series of texts and editions in translation,
edited by Norris J. Lacy, makes a start on Italian Arthurian
material, with a 14c Tristan text. This is the first critical
edition with English translation of the prose compilation Tristano
panciatichiano, preserved in a unique manuscript in the Biblioteca
Nazionale of Florence (MS Panc. 33); it is the first time
theItalian text has been published in its entirety in any form.
Assembled by the mid-fourteenth century, the manuscript is an
original compilation in Italian based on several French models: the
Queste del San Graal, Josephd'Arimathie, the Mort Artu, and
notably, the Roman de Tristan en prose. While the edition itself
will be of great interest, the translation into English is a major
opportunity for Arthurians and other medievalists, and furnishes
important new evidence for the study of Arthurian material in
Italy. Apparatus includes a finding list of Arthurian manuscripts
produced, owned or read by Italians; a select bibliography; and an
index of proper names found in the narrative.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|