The volume makes available for the first time in English an edition of the medieval romance Blandin de Cornoalha, accompanied by a translation and introduction to the work. Composed in the second half of the fourteenth century by an anonymous author, the story offers the first recording of the Sleeping Beauty folktale, incorporated into the adventures of two knights. Many elements in the romance are comic, suggesting that Blandin is not simply a tale of knights in battle, but also a parody of medieval romance in general.
"The volume makes available for the first time in English an edition of the medieval romance "Blandin de Cornoalha," accompanied by a translation and introduction to the work. Composed in the second half of the fourteenth century by an anonymous author, the story offers an early recording of the Sleeping Beauty folktale, incorporated into the adventures of two knights. Many elements in the romance are comic, suggesting that "Blandin" is not simply a tale of knights in battle, but also a parody of medieval romance in general"--
The legend of Theophilus is a widely disseminated medieval miracle story. A good man gives in to Vain Glory, sells his soul to the Devil, has a terrible crisis of conscience, and is saved by the Virgin. The story is translated into most European languages and appears in stained glass, sculpture, and manuscripts. Gautier de Coinci writes the longest version of the legend. Its colorful details reveal the medieval period's deep fear of hell and the Devil and its high hopes in the Virgin and the Church.
Although it seemed in the mid-1970s that the study of the troubadours and of Occitan literature had reached a sort of zenith, it has since become apparent that this moment was merely a plateau from which an intensive renewal was being launched. In this new bibliographic guide to Occitan and troubadour literature, Robert Taylor provides a definitive survey of the field of Occitan literary studies - from the earliest enigmatic texts to the fifteenth-century works of Occitano-Catalan poet Jordi de Sant Jordi - and treats over two thousand recent books and articles with full annotations. Taylor includes articles on related topics such as practical approaches to the language of the troubadours and the musicology of select troubadour songs, as well as articles situated within sociology, religious history, critical methodology, and psychoanalytical analysis. Each listing offers descriptive comments on the scholarly contribution of each source to Occitan literature, with remarks on striking or controversial content, and numerous cross-references that identify complementary studies and differing opinions. Taylor's painstaking attention to detail and broad knowledge of the field ensure that this guide will become the essential source for Occitan literary studies worldwide.
This volume offers a new critical edition with facing English translation and a detailed study of the medieval manual of dietetics Occitan Health Advice dating from the 13th century and probably compiled in the milieu of Montpellier’s university. This Advice on health and well-being is a unique example of medical writing: composed in Occitan (formerly called Old Provençal), the vernacular language of southern France; it provided a wealth of medical information and guidance for a literate nonspecialist reader interested in a healthful life. This Advice will interest medical historians, literary scholars, and linguists, as well as readers curious about the Middle Ages, for all of whom it provides invaluable information on medieval daily life, dietary regimen, and healthy habits.
The study of pre-modern anthropology requires the close examination of the relationship between nature and human society, which has been both precarious and threatening as well as productive, soothing, inviting, and pleasurable. Much depends on the specific circumstances, as the works by philosophers, theologians, poets, artists, and medical practitioners have regularly demonstrated. It would not be good enough, as previous scholarship has commonly done, to examine simply what the various writers or artists had to say about nature. While modern scientists consider just the hard-core data of the objective world, cultural historians and literary scholars endeavor to comprehend the deeper meaning of the concept of nature presented by countless writers and artists. Only when we have a good grasp of the interactions between people and their natural environment, are we in a position to identify and interpret mental structures, social and economic relationships, medical and scientific concepts of human health, and the messages about all existence as depicted in major art works. In light of the current conditions threatening to bring upon us a global crisis, it matters centrally to take into consideration pre-modern discourses on nature and its enormous powers to understand the topoi and tropes determining the concepts through which we perceive nature. Nature thus proves to be a force far beyond all human comprehensibility, being both material and spiritual depending on our critical approaches.
This translation, first published in 1992, presents one of the most memorable medieval ballads, largely because it contains a number of surprises and falsified expectations. Jaufre, the hero, arrives at the court of King Arthur with a total and naïve faith in the King and his ability to effect a total transformation in his followers by inducting them into the order of knighthood. As his quest proceeds, he learns the mistake in his idealised view of chivalry and his uncompromising view of pure justice, untempered by mercy. By charting the choices Jaufre makes in military and amorous encounters and the effectiveness of his responses to social trials and temptations, the audience discerns the route to independent adulthood, prestige and virtue, as the poet conceives of them. This fascinating reissue will be of particular value to students and academics researching the concepts typically explored within medieval ballads and romances.
Gerald of Wales was an ecclesiastic, a servant and critic of the Angevin kings, and a prolific and vitriolic writer. Born in Pembrokeshire of mixed Norman and Welsh blood in the middle years of the twelfth century, he was appointed archdeacon of Brecon in 1175, but that was the highest officehe attained, despite his indefatigable efforts in the years 1198-1203 to become not merely bishop, but archbishop, of St Davids. His death was reported in 1223. His Instruction for a Ruler (De principis instructione) is of interest for three main reasons: it provides a detailed and violentlypartisan account of the last days of Henry II of England; it is full of miscellaneous but valuable stories and anecdotes (such as the account of the discovery of the tomb of Arthur and Guinevere, and the legend of the destruction of the Picts); and it is a monument to the literary culture of ahighly educated writer at the heart of the twelfth-century Renaissance.
This book is a reference volume and a digest of more than a century of scholarly work on troubadour poetry. Written by leading scholars, it summarizes the current consensus on the various facets of troubadour studies. Standing at the beginning of the history of modern European verse, the troubadours were the prime poets and composers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the South of France. No study of medieval literature is complete without an examination of the courtly love which is celebrated in the elaborately rhymed stanzas of troubadour verse, creations whose words and melodies were imitated by poets and musicians all over medieval Europe. The words of about 2,500 troubadour songs have survived, along with 250 melodies, and all have come under intense scholarly scrutiny. This Handbook brings together the fruits of this scrutiny, giving teachers and students an overview of the fundamental issues in troubadour scholarship. All quotations are given in the original Old Occitan and in English. The editors provide a list of troubadour editions and an index, and each chapter includes a list of additional readings. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996. This book is a reference volume and a digest of more than a century of scholarly work on troubadour poetry. Written by leading scholars, it summarizes the current consensus on the various facets of troubadour studies. Standing at the beginning
