| Fictions of Identity in Medieval France Contributor(s): Maddox, Donald (Author) |
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ISBN: 0521781051 ISBN-13: 9780521781053 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $124.45 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: December 2000 Annotation: In this study of vernacular French narrative from the twelfth century through the later Middle Ages, Donald Maddox considers the construction of identity in a wide range of fictions. He focuses on crucial encounters, widespread in medieval literature, in which characters are informed about fundamental aspects of their own circumstances and selfhood. These always arresting and highly significant moments of 'specular' encounter are examined in numerous Old and Middle French romances, hagiographic texts, epics, and brief narratives. Maddox discloses the key role of identity in an original reading of the Lais of Marie de France as a unified collection, as well as in Arthurian literature, fictions of the courtly tryst, genealogies, and medieval family romance. The study offers many new perspectives on the poetic and cultural implications of identity as an imaginary construct during the long formative period of French literature. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Medieval - Literary Criticism | European - French |
| Dewey: NA |
| LCCN: 00027900 |
| Lexile Measure: 1680 |
| Series: Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature |
| Physical Information: 0.88" H x 6" W x 9" (1.40 lbs) 318 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) - Cultural Region - French |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In this study of vernacular French narrative from the twelfth century through the later Middle Ages, Donald Maddox considers the construction of identity in a wide range of fictions. He focuses on crucial encounters, widespread in medieval literature, in which characters are informed about fundamental aspects of their own circumstances and selfhood. The study offers many new perspectives on the poetic and cultural implications of identity as an imaginary construct during the long formative period of French literature. |
Contributor Bio(s): Maddox, Donald: - Donald Maddox, Professor of French and Italian Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is the author of The Arthurian Romances of Chretien de Troyes (1991). |