03332oam 22005894a 450 991036763380332120230621140506.01-5017-4674-X1-5017-4675-810.7591/9781501746758(CKB)4100000010105081(OCoLC)1122607066(MdBmJHUP)muse77952(DE-B1597)535323(OCoLC)1127110026(DE-B1597)9781501746758(oapen)https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/89153(EXLCZ)99410000001010508119820302d1982 uy 0engur|||||||nn|ntxtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierLiterature as Recreation in the Later Middle AgesGlending OlsonCornell University Press2019Ithaca :Cornell University Press,1982.©1982.1 online resource (245 p. )1-5017-4676-6 0-8014-1494-6 9781501746741 Includes bibliographical references and indexes.Frontmatter --Contents --Preface --Abbreviations --1. Medieval Attitudes toward Literary Pleasure --2. The Hygienic Justification --3. The Recreational Justification --4. Some Literature for Solace --5. From Plague to Pleasure --6. The Decameron and Its Early Critics --Index of Sources --IndexThis book studies attitudes toward secular literature during the later Middle Ages. Exploring two related medieval justifications of literary pleasure-one finding hygienic or therapeutic value in entertainment, and another stressing the psychological and ethical rewards of taking time out from work in order to refresh oneself-Glending Olson reveals that, contrary to much recent opinion, many medieval writers and thinkers accepted delight and enjoyment as valid goals of literature without always demanding moral profit as well.Drawing on a vast amount of primary material, including contemporary medical manuscripts and printed texts, Olson discusses theatrics, humanist literary criticism, prologues to romances and fabliaux, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. He offers an extended examination of the framing story of Boccaccio's Decameron. Although intended principally as a contribution to the history of medieval literary theory and criticism, Literature as Recreation in the Later Middle Ages makes use of medical, psychological, and sociological insights that lead to a fuller understanding of late medieval secular culture.Books and readingEuropeHistoryTo 1500Literature, MedievalHistory and criticismAmusementsEuropeHistoryTo 1500Literature and societyEuropeHistoryTo 1500Electronic books. Books and readingHistoryLiterature, MedievalHistory and criticism.AmusementsHistoryLiterature and societyHistory809/.02Olson Glending1024355MdBmJHUPMdBmJHUPBOOK9910367633803321Literature as Recreation in the Later Middle Ages2434379UNINA