1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910782717803321

Autore

Evans Murray J (Murray James), <1949->

Titolo

Rereading Middle English romance [[electronic resource] ] : manuscript layout, decoration, and the rhetoric of composite structure / / Murray J. Evans

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Montreal ; ; Buffalo, : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1995

ISBN

1-282-85719-3

9786612857195

0-7735-6506-X

Descrizione fisica

xx, 203 p. : ill. ; ; 24 cm

Disciplina

821/.0309

Soggetti

Romances, English - Criticism, Textual

Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval - England

Illumination of books and manuscripts, English

Decoration and ornament, Medieval - England

Romances, English

Romances, English - Manuscripts

Manuscripts, English (Middle)

Rhetoric, Medieval

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front Matter -- Contents -- Tables -- Figures -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Compilatio, Physical Layout, and Decoration: Touchstones -- Romance, Nonromance, and Conventions of Manuscript Layout and Decoration: A Survey of Some Collections -- Romances in Composite Manuscript Contexts I: Sir Isumbras, the Isumbras-Group, and Homiletic Romance -- Romances in Composite Manuscript Contexts II: Sir Degare, Sir Orfeo, and the Middle English Lay -- The Rhetoric of Composite Structure, or Rereading Middle English Romance: Conclusions -- Lists of Data and Contents for Each Manuscript -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

With reference to features of layout and decoration, Evans interprets Guy of Warwick as a composite work, not separate works as some



scholars suggest. Examining Sir Isumbras as a homiletic romance, and Sir Degaré and Sir Orfeo as Middle English lays, he shows how different versions of these romances, in their varied composite manuscript contexts, necessitate different readings of the "same" works and of their subgenres. Evans considers the manuscript structure of groups of works with different authorship and establishes six models of composite literary structure for Middle English literature. Evans argues that manuscript groupings of romances - and of romances with nonromances - enrich our interpretations of individual romances, romance as a genre, and medieval literary structure. This original study will appeal to readers interested in medieval romance and manuscripts, medieval literary structure, and computer applications in the humanities.