Download or read book Forging Boethius in Medieval Intellectual Fantasies written by Brooke Hunter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-17 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forging Boethius in Medieval Intellectual Fantasies reconsiders the influence of the thirteenth-century Pseudo-Boethian forgery De disciplina scolarium on medieval understandings of Boethius (d. 524). Tracing the medieval popularity of De disciplina’s reimagined vision of Boethius alongside the current scholarly neglect of this forged Boethian persona offers insight into how medieval schoolmen saw themselves and the past, and how modern scholars imagine the medieval past. In exploring this alternate Boethian persona through a variety of different works including texts of translatio studii et imperii, common school texts, the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer, and humanist writings, this book reveals a new vein of medieval Boethianism that is earthy, practical, and even humorous. Forging Boethius is an essential reference book for students and researchers in the fields of medieval literature and philosophy, as well as for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of one the most significant authors of the Middle Ages.

Download or read book Vernacular Verse Histories in Early Medieval England and Francia written by Catalin Taranu and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-08 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a provocative take on Germanic heroic poetry, Taranu reads texts like Beowulf, Maldon, and the Waltharius as participating in alternative modes of history-writing that functioned in a larger ecology of narrative forms, including Latinate Christian history and the biblical epic. These modes employed the conceit of their participating in a tradition of oral verse for a variety of purposes: from political propaganda to constructing origin myths for early medieval nationhood or heroic masculinity, and sometimes for challenging these paradigms. The more complex of these historical visions actively meditated on their own relationship to truthfulness and fictionality while also performing sophisticated (and often subversive) cultural and socio-emotional work for its audiences. By rethinking canonical categories of historiographical discourse from within medieval textual productions, Vernacular Verse Histories in Early Medieval England and Francia: The Bard and the Rag-Picker aims to recover a part of the wide array of narrative poetic forms through which medieval communities made sense of their past and structured their socio-emotional experience.

Download or read book Tracing the Trails in the Medieval World written by Albrecht Classen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-11 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every human being knows that we are walking through life following trails, whether we are aware of them or not. Medieval poets, from the anonymous composer of Beowulf to Marie de France, Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried von Strassburg, and Guillaume de Lorris to Petrarch and Heinrich Kaufringer, predicated their works on the notion of the trail and elaborated on its epistemological function. We can grasp here an essential concept that determines much of medieval and early modern European literature and philosophy, addressing the direction which all protagonists pursue, as powerfully illustrated also by the anonymous poets of Herzog Ernst and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Dante’s Divina Commedia, in fact, proves to be one of the most explicit poetic manifestations of the fundamental idea of the trail, but we find strong parallels also in powerful contemporary works such as Guillaume de Deguileville’s Pèlerinage de la vie humaine and in many mystical tracts.

Download or read book Polyphony and the Modern written by Jonathan Fruoco and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-05-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Polyphony and the Modern asks one fundamental question: what does it mean to be modern in one’s own time? To answer that question, this volume focuses on polyphony as an index of modernity. In The Principle of Hope, Ernst Bloch showed that each moment in time is potentially fractured: people living in the same country can effectively live in different centuries – some making their alliances with the past and others betting on the future – but all of them, at least technically, enclosed in the temporal moment. But can a claim of modernity also mean something more ambitious? Can an artist, by accident or design, escape the limits of his or her own time, and somehow precociously embody the outlook of a subsequent age? This book sees polyphony as a bridge providing a terminology and a stylistic practice by which the period barrier between Medieval and Early Modern can be breached. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003129837

Download or read book The Liminality of Fairies written by Piotr Spyra and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-13 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the fairies of medieval romance as liminal beings, this book draws on anthropological and philosophical studies of liminality to combine folkloristic insights into the nature of fairies with close readings of selected romance texts. Tracing different meanings and manifestations of liminality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Orfeo, Sir Launfal, Thomas of Erceldoune and Robert Henryson’s Orpheus and Eurydice, the volume offers a comprehensive theory of liminality rooted in structuralist anthropology and poststructuralist theory. Arguing that romance fairies both embody and represent the liminal, The Liminality of Fairies posits and answers fundamental theoretical questions about the limits of representation and the relationship between romance hermeneutics and criticism. The interdisciplinary nature of the argument will appeal not just to medievalists and literary critics but also to anthropologists, folklorists as well as scholars working within the fields of cultural history and contemporary literary theory.

Download or read book The Oral Epic written by Karl Reichl and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-07-26 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the performance of oral epics and explores the significance of performance features for the interpretation of epic poetry. The leading question of the book is how the socio-cultural context of performance and the various performance elements contribute to the meaning of oral epics. This is a question which not only concerns epics collected from living oral tradition, but which is also of importance for the understanding of the epics of antiquity and the Middle Ages which originated and flourished in an oral milieu. The book is based on fieldwork in the still vibrant oral traditions of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and Siberia. The discussion combines fieldwork with theory; it is not limited to Turkic epics but branches out into other oral traditions.

Download or read book Barbarians in the Sagas of Icelanders written by William H. Norman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-07-29 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores accounts in the Sagas of Icelanders of encounters with foreign peoples, both abroad and in Iceland, who are portrayed according to stereotypes which vary depending on their origins. Notably, inhabitants of the places identified in the sagas as Írland, Skotland and Vínland are portrayed as being less civilized than the Icelanders themselves. This book explores the ways in which the Íslendingasögur emphasize this relative barbarity through descriptions of diet, material culture, style of warfare and character. These characteristics are discussed in relation to parallel descriptions of Icelandic characters and lifestyle within the Íslendingasögur, and also in the context of a tradition in contemporary European literature, which portrayed the Icelanders themselves as barbaric. Comparisons are made with descriptions of barbarians in classical Roman texts, primarily Sallust, but also Caesar and Tacitus, showing striking similarities between Roman and Icelandic ideas about barbarians.

Download or read book Sanctity and Female Authorship written by Maria H. Oen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-10-10 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Birgitta of Sweden (Birgitta Birgersdotter, 1302/03-1373) and her younger contemporary Catherine of Siena (Caterina Benincasa, 1347-1380) form the most powerful and influential female duo in European history. Both enjoyed saintly reputations in life, while acting as the charismatic leaders of a considerable group of followers consisting of clergy as well as mighty secular men and women. They are also among the very few women of the Trecento to leave a substantial body of written work which was widely disseminated in their original languages and in translations. Copies of Birgitta’s Liber celestis revelacionum (The Heavenly Book of Revelations) and compilations of Catherine's letters (Le lettere), prayers Le orazioni) and her theological work, Il Dialogo della divina Provvidenza (The Dialogue) found their way into monastic, royal, and humanist libraries all over Europe. After their deaths, Birgitta’s and Catherine’s respective groups of supporters sought to have them formally canonized. In both cases, however, their political and theological outspokenness, orally and in text, and their public authority represented obstacles. In this comparative study, leading scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds offer, for the very first time, a comprehensive exploration of the lives and activities of Birgitta and Catherine in tandem. Particular attention is given to their literary works and the complex process of negotiating their sanctity and authorial roles. Above all, what the chapters reveal is the many points of connections between two of the most influential women of the Trecento, and how they were related to one another by their peers and successors.

Download or read book Chaucer s Translation of Boethius s De Consolatione Philosophiae written by Boethius and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2023-09-18 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boethius's 'De Consolatione Philosophiae' holds a special place in the history of western philosophy and literature. The text, written in the 6th century AD, explores themes of fate, free will, and the nature of happiness through a series of dialogues between the imprisoned Boethius and Lady Philosophy. Chaucer's translation of this work in the 14th century offers a glimpse into the medieval reception and interpretation of Boethius's ideas, showcasing the enduring relevance of his philosophical insights. Chaucer's adaptation preserves the essence of Boethius's original work while infusing it with his own poetic style and wit, making it a unique and engaging read for both scholars and general readers alike. The blend of philosophical inquiry and literary craftsmanship in this translation highlights the interconnectedness of philosophy and literature in the medieval period, enriching our understanding of both disciplines. Boethius, a Roman philosopher and statesman, wrote 'De Consolatione Philosophiae' while awaiting execution. His personal circumstances undoubtedly influenced the existential questions and themes present in the text, adding depth and authenticity to his philosophical reflections. The enduring popularity of Boethius's work throughout the centuries speaks to the universal appeal of his ideas and the profound impact they have had on subsequent generations of thinkers and writers. I highly recommend Chaucer's Translation of Boethius's 'De Consolatione Philosophiae' to anyone interested in exploring the intersections of philosophy and literature, the medieval intellectual tradition, or timeless questions about the human experience. This book offers a rich and thought-provoking reading experience that continues to captivate and inspire readers across centuries.

Download or read book The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius written by Boethius and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Note: The University of Adelaide Library eBooks @ Adelaide.

Download or read book A Companion to Boethius in the Middle Ages written by Noel Harold Kaylor and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012-05-03 with total page 685 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The articles in this volume focus upon Boethius's extant works: his De arithmetica and a fragmentary De musica, his translations and commentaries on logic, his five theological texts, and, of course, his Consolation of Philosophy. They examine the effects that Boethian thought has exercised upon the learning of later generations of scholars.

Download or read book The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius written by Boethius and published by . This book was released on 2014-09-09 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius - Boethius - Translated into English Prose and Verse by H. R. James. The Consolation of Philosophy is a philosophical work by Boethius, written around the year 524. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great Western work of the Classical Period. The Consolation of Philosophy was written during a one-year imprisonment Boethius served while awaiting trial - and eventual horrific execution - for the crime of treason under the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. Boethius was at the very heights of power in Rome and was brought down by treachery. This experience inspired the text, which reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God (the problem of theodicy), and how happiness can be attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God. It has been described as "by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen." Even though reference is often made to God, the book is not strictly religious. A link is often assumed, yet there is no reference made to Jesus Christ or Christianity or any other specific religion other than a few oblique references to Pauline scripture, such as the symmetry between the opening lines of Book 4 Chapter 3 and 1 Corinthians 9:24. God is however represented not only as an eternal and all-knowing being, but as the source of all Good. Boethius writes the book as a conversation between himself and Lady Philosophy. She consoles Boethius by discussing the transitory nature of fame and wealth ("no man can ever truly be secure until he has been forsaken by Fortune"), and the ultimate superiority of things of the mind, which she calls the "one true good". She contends that happiness comes from within, and that one's virtue is all that one truly has, because it is not imperilled by the vicissitudes of fortune.

Download or read book Boethius Consolation of Philosophy written by Michael Wiitala and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-05-30 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy was one of the most widely read and influential texts in medieval Europe, considering questions such as How can evil exist in a world governed by God? And how is happiness still attainable despite the vicissitudes of fortune? Written as a dialogue between Boethius and Lady Philosophy, and alternating between poetry and prose, the Consolation is of interest not only to philosophers but to students of classics and literature as well. In this Critical Guide, the first collection of philosophical essays devoted exclusively to the Consolation, thirteen new essays demonstrate its ongoing vitality and break open its riches for a new generation of readers. The essays reflect the diverse array of approaches in contemporary scholarship and attend to both the literary features and the philosophical content of the Consolation. The volume will be invaluable for scholars of medieval philosophy, medieval literature, and the history of ideas.

Download or read book Boethius written by John Marenbon and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-02-13 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a brief, accessible introduction to the thought of Boethius. After a survey of Boethius's life and work, Marenbon explicates his theological method, and devotes separate chapters to his arguments about good and evil, fortune, fate and free will, and the problem of divine foreknowledge. Marenbon also traces Boethius's influence on the work of such thinkers as Aquinas and Duns Scotus.

Download or read book The Prisoner s Philosophy written by Joel C. Relihan and published by University of Notre Dame Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Roman philosopher Boethius (c. 480-524) is best known for the Consolation of Philosophy, one of the most frequently cited texts in medieval literature. In the Consolation, an unnamed Boethius sits in prison awaiting execution when his muse Philosophy appears to him. Her offer to teach him who he truly is and to lead him to his heavenly home becomes a debate about how to come to terms with evil, freedom, and providence. The conventional reading of the Consolation is that it is a defense of pagan philosophy; nevertheless, many readers who accept this basic argument find that the ending is ambiguous and that Philosophy has not, finally, given the prisoner the comfort she had promised. In The Prisoner's Philosophy, Joel C. Relihan delivers a genuinely new reading of the Consolation. He argues that it is a Christian work dramatizing not the truths of philosophy as a whole, but the limits of pagan philosophy in particular. He views it as one of a number of literary experiments of late antiquity, taking its place alongside Augustine's Confessions and Soliloquies as a spiritual meditation, as an attempt by Boethius to speak objectively about the life of the mind and its relation to God. Relihan discerns three fundamental stories intertwined in the Consolation an ironic retelling of Plato's Crito, an adaptation of Lucian's Jupiter Confutatus, and a sober reduction of Job to a quiet dialogue in which the wounded innocent ultimately learns wisdom in silence. Relihan's claim that Boethius's text was written as a Menippean satire does not rest merely on identifying a mixture of disparate literary influences on the text, or on the combination of verse and prose or of fantasy and morality. More important, Relihan argues, Boethius deliberately dramatizes the act of writing about systematic knowledge in a way that calls into question the value of that knowledge. Philosophy's attempt to lead an exile to God's heaven is rejected; the exile comes to accept the value of the phenomenal world, and theology replaces philosophy to explain the place of human beings in the order of the world. Boethius Christianizes the genre of Menippean satire, and his Consolation is a work about humility and prayer. "Acknowledging that the Consolation of Philosophy is 'over-familiar and under-read, ' Joel Relihan puts to the side old bromides about the work and instead pays careful attention to the narrative(s) Boethius constructs, grounding his readings in the contexts the work cultivates, especially its Menippean elements. The result is perhaps the first satisfying reading of the Consolation to be produced, a satisfaction felt also in the ways Relihan mirrors Boethius himself in the thoroughness of his scholarship and the elegance of his exposition. No one who studies Boethius will be able to ignore this book." --Joseph Pucci, Brown University "Anyone who has been fascinated, intrigued, or perhaps puzzled by the meaning, structure, or argument of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy will find Joel Relihan's new book a welcome addition to the study of this core text of the early medieval world whose influence extends to the present time. Relihan's study is a tour de force that belongs in the library of all those who appreciate Boethius's depth and subtlety. Fortune's wheel has indeed turned in the favor of those who wish to explore with Relihan the intricacies and brilliance of the Consolation." --Fr. John Fortin, O.S.B., Saint Anselm College

Download or read book Boethius in the Middle Ages written by Maarten Hoenen and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-11-01 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boethius' Consolatio Philosophiae is one of those exceptional works that circulated widely throughout such diverse medieval cultures as the schools and universities, the court, and religious houses. It spawned a rich tradition of Latin commentaries and was a major force in shaping vernacular literary traditions, including the works of Jean de Meun, Dante, and Chaucer. The changing perceptions of the Consolatio are the subject of this collection of new essays. The first section is devoted to the Latin commentary tradition (William of Conches, Nicholas Trevet, and Pierre d'Ailly). The other sections explore the vernacular traditions (Italian, French, German, English, and Dutch). The book underlines the interactions between the Latin and the vernacular and between literary and scholastic contexts, and the focus throughout is on the intellectual and institutional background of the works discussed.

Download or read book The Legacy of Boethius in Medieval England written by A. Joseph McMullen and published by Acmrs Publications. This book was released on 2018 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The first holistic survey of the reworkings of the 'Consolation' in medieval England, surveying the Old English 'Boethius' together with Chaucer's 'Boece' and a host of understudied interlocutors"--