Romance and history : imagining time from the medieval to the early modern period

340 Pages·2015·2.978 MB·English

by  Whitman, Jon

ROMANCE AND HISTORY
To what extent can imaginative events be situated in time and
history?Fromthemedievaltotheearlymodernperiod,thisquestion
is intriguingly explored in the expansive literary genre of romance.
This collective study, edited by Jon Whitman, is the first systematic
investigation of that formative process during more than four
hundred years. While concentrating on changing configurations of
romance itself, the volume examines a number of important related
reference points, from epic to chronicle to critical theory. Recalling
but qualifying conventional approaches to the three “matters” of
Rome, Britain, and France, the far-reaching inquiry engages major
works in a variety of idioms, including Latin, French, English,
German, Italian, and Spanish. With contributions from a range of
internationally distinguished scholars, this unique volume offers a
carefullycoordinatedframeworkforenrichingnotonlythereadingof
romance, but also the understanding of changing attitudes toward
thetemporal process atlarge.
jon whitman teaches in the Department of English of The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where for many years he also
directed the Center for Literary Studies. He has published a range
ofessaysonapproachestoromanceandhistory,andheistheauthor
of Allegory: The Dynamics of an Ancient and Medieval Technique
(1987) and the editor of Interpretation and Allegory: Antiquity to the
Modern Period (2000).

cambridge studies in medieval literature
General Editor
Alastair Minnis, Yale University
Editorial Board
ZygmuntG. Barański,University ofCambridge
Christopher C.Baswell, Barnard Collegeand Columbia University
John Burrow, University ofBristol
Mary Carruthers, New YorkUniversity
Rita Copeland, University of Pennsylvania
Roberta Frank,YaleUniversity
Simon Gaunt,King’s College, London
Steven Kruger, City University ofNew York
Nigel Palmer,University ofOxford
Winthrop Wetherbee, Cornell University
Jocelyn Wogan-Browne, Fordham University
This series of critical books seeks to cover the whole area of literature written in
the major medieval languages – the main European vernaculars, and medieval
LatinandGreek–duringtheperiodc.1100–1500.Itschiefaimistopublishand
stimulate fresh scholarship and criticism on medieval literature, special emphasis
being placed on understanding major works of poetry, prose, and drama in
relationto thecontemporary cultureand learning which fosteredthem.
Recenttitlesin the series
Lisa H. Cooper Artisans and Narrative Craft in Late Medieval England
AlisonCornishVernacular Translation inDante’sItaly: Illiterate Literature
Jane GilbertLiving Death inMedieval French and English Literature
JessicaRosenfeldEthicsandEnjoymentinLateMedievalPoetry:LoveAfterAristotle
MichaelVanDussenFromEnglandtoBohemia:HeresyandCommunicationinthe
Later Middle Ages
Martin Eisner Boccaccio and the InventionofItalianLiterature: Dante, Petrarch,
Cavalcanti, and the Authority ofthe Vernacular
Emily V. Thornbury Becominga Poet inAnglo-SaxonEngland
LawrenceWarnerTheMythof“PiersPlowman”:ConstructingaMedievalLiterary
Archive
Lee Manion Narrating the Crusades:Loss and Recoveryin Medievaland Early
Modern English Literature
DanielWakelin Scribal Correction and Literary Craft: English Manuscripts
1375–1510
A complete list of titlesin theseries can befound atthe end ofthe volume.

ROMANCE AND HISTORY
Imagining Time from the Medieval
to the Early Modern Period
edited by
JON WHITMAN
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Romanceandhistory:imaginingtimefromthemedievaltotheearlymodernperiod/
editedbyJonWhitman.
pagescm.–(Cambridgestudiesinmedievalliterature;92)
ISBN978-1-107-04278-0(Hardback)
1. Romanticism. 2. Historyinliterature. 3. Timeinliterature. 4. Literatureand
history–Europe. 5. Europeanliterature–Historyandcriticism. I. Whitman,Jon,1949–editor.
II. Title:Imaginingtimefromthemedievaltotheearlymodernperiod.
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To my wife, Ahuva,
and
to my daughter, Naomi Eliora