A 7000 word chapter on the literary production, chiefly in Occitan, of Toulouse and adjacent regi... more A 7000 word chapter on the literary production, chiefly in Occitan, of Toulouse and adjacent regions (including the Crown of Aragon) in the 14th-15th centuries
This article examines the use of Anglo-Norman genealogical rolls in Fra Paolino Veneto's L... more This article examines the use of Anglo-Norman genealogical rolls in Fra Paolino Veneto's L'Abreujamen de las estorias (Eg. MS. 1500), a diagrammatic world history that was composed in the Occitan vernacular in papal Avignon, circa 1321-1326 (see eBLJ articles by Botana and Ibarz). That such documents were available as a source in an international context raises new questions about the uses to which genealogies of rulers were put. The king list of Britain and England includes passages that were translated from Anglo-Norman French. Its omissions and inaccuracies betray a bias against the Post-Conquest kings of England but in favour of English rule over Ireland. Such evidence supports the idea that a genealogical roll had a political and cross-cultural function outside its insular or dynastic context. In turn, this enquiry leads to further consideration of the intended readership of the Abreujamen.
The encounter of the three living and three dead is one of the most famous traditions in medieval... more The encounter of the three living and three dead is one of the most famous traditions in medieval European art as well as in French and English literature. This article explores a rare image of an encounter between three women and three dead (in manuscript Paris, BNF fr. 378), which illustrates a French poem about masculine protagonists, in order to develop further the debates concerning this meditative tradition and the role of images in the macabre.
A study of the translations of Judges 16-18 into Old French verse and prose from the twelfth to t... more A study of the translations of Judges 16-18 into Old French verse and prose from the twelfth to the thirteenth centuries, as well as a comparison with musical versions on the same narrative. The book examines the interpretations of Samson and of his relationship with Delilah up to the present day, then addresses the visual arts (ch.1), poetry and music (ch.2), prose translation (ch.3) and 14th-c. descriptions and illustrations of the narrative in psalters.
Part of a special issue dedicated to the manuscripts of Reading Abbey. This article examines a tr... more Part of a special issue dedicated to the manuscripts of Reading Abbey. This article examines a translation into Anglo-Norman French prose of part of the Bible (Genesis - Tobit). It reviews the existing hypotheses concerning this manuscript's use of English loan words, its provenance in Reading's monastic community, and its links with a Bible translation commissioned by King John the Good of France.
A stimulating article by E.M.R. Ditmas in the last number of Reading Medie .... al Studies discus... more A stimulating article by E.M.R. Ditmas in the last number of Reading Medie .... al Studies discusses 8&roul'$ allusions to Cornwall, in particular with reference to the Norman background in which 8&roul's poem belongs. 1 The approach is most iliuminotil"G, and much the most fruitful one to toke towards the poem, seeing it as the fictional work of a single author who might manipulate or otherwise alter details of the story to suit his own purposes . The following notes, while disagreeing with one or two details of her discussion, will not challenge her main hypothesis: indeed, in one respect, that of B&roul's topographical realism, her conclusions will actually be strengthened.
... It may be that the song defends the feminised ``Roma'' of Guilhem F... more ... It may be that the song defends the feminised ``Roma'' of Guilhem Figueira's text (see above) by adopting a feminine voice, but again, in a society which discourages the public teaching or preaching of women, this ... 244^72 (p. 262); M. Lever, Le Sceptre et la marotte (Paris, 1983 ...
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204) is one of the most important and well-known figures of the Middl... more Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204) is one of the most important and well-known figures of the Middle Ages; she exercised a huge influence on both the course of history, and on the cultural life, of the time. The essays in this collection use her as a point of entry into wider-...
In Catherine L Glu and Stephen J Milner Editor the Erotics of Consolation Desire and Distance in the Middle Ages New York Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan 2008 P 1 18, 2008
What is consolation? Is it the action of an individual offering solace to another? Is consolation... more What is consolation? Is it the action of an individual offering solace to another? Is consolation a moment of empathy, or an expression of sympathy? Do we console someone in person in silence, through gesture, or through speeches? Or do we console them from a distance by sending words or things: letters, poems, or gifts? Do we imagine that these things are effective? Or can consolation only be experienced and not given? For there is a power relation at stake as I explore the hierarchies of consoler and consoled. If I offer comfort to my friend, my role must be established in advance, my words borrowed from a common fund of expressions. I may invoke the ineffability of the other’s emotions: “I know my words cannot express your pain...” But if mere words can say nothing that counts, then why do we associate consolation with the sounds we make or symbolize, and why do we think a song can console, or a poem? I send my friend a picture in the hope that it may express whatever it is words cannot say. The picture has its own rhetoric, but I cannot control my friend’s reading of it. So, would my wordless presence be more consolatory than my verbose absence? After all, does consolation bring individuals together, or does it remind them that they are apart and do not know each other at all, merely bridging the gap through a fantasy of union and common experience?
The Occitan version of Paolino Veneto's illustrated world history (Avignon, c.1321-26) contai... more The Occitan version of Paolino Veneto's illustrated world history (Avignon, c.1321-26) contains a genealogy of the kings of Egypt that has drawn attention recently in recent years because they are depicted as African rulers. This study compares the Egyptian king list with the Latin version that was produced in Venice and Avignon at the same time, which does not depict these rulers differently to their peers across other regions of Europe and the Middle East. It is suggested that the artists of the vernacular version made choices based on several factors: the political relationship between Venice, Avignon and Egypt in the 1320s ; crusading and anti-Islamic propaganda, and the Old French epic poetry. There is a broader consideration also of what is understood by 'race' in terms of medieval art.
This article examines a translation into a hybrid French-Occitan vernacular of an eighth-century ... more This article examines a translation into a hybrid French-Occitan vernacular of an eighth-century historical narrative of adultery, treason and murder. It compares this to the narrative structures and content of the troubadour vidas and razos, which were created in the same period and regions as the translation. The aim is to uncover a possible dialogue between early medieval narrative historiography and the emergence of Old Occitan narrative in prose. In so doing, this enquiry intends to develop further the question of the importance of translation to medieval vernacular literature and historical writings
A 7000 word chapter on the literary production, chiefly in Occitan, of Toulouse and adjacent regi... more A 7000 word chapter on the literary production, chiefly in Occitan, of Toulouse and adjacent regions (including the Crown of Aragon) in the 14th-15th centuries
This article examines the use of Anglo-Norman genealogical rolls in Fra Paolino Veneto's L... more This article examines the use of Anglo-Norman genealogical rolls in Fra Paolino Veneto's L'Abreujamen de las estorias (Eg. MS. 1500), a diagrammatic world history that was composed in the Occitan vernacular in papal Avignon, circa 1321-1326 (see eBLJ articles by Botana and Ibarz). That such documents were available as a source in an international context raises new questions about the uses to which genealogies of rulers were put. The king list of Britain and England includes passages that were translated from Anglo-Norman French. Its omissions and inaccuracies betray a bias against the Post-Conquest kings of England but in favour of English rule over Ireland. Such evidence supports the idea that a genealogical roll had a political and cross-cultural function outside its insular or dynastic context. In turn, this enquiry leads to further consideration of the intended readership of the Abreujamen.
The encounter of the three living and three dead is one of the most famous traditions in medieval... more The encounter of the three living and three dead is one of the most famous traditions in medieval European art as well as in French and English literature. This article explores a rare image of an encounter between three women and three dead (in manuscript Paris, BNF fr. 378), which illustrates a French poem about masculine protagonists, in order to develop further the debates concerning this meditative tradition and the role of images in the macabre.
A study of the translations of Judges 16-18 into Old French verse and prose from the twelfth to t... more A study of the translations of Judges 16-18 into Old French verse and prose from the twelfth to the thirteenth centuries, as well as a comparison with musical versions on the same narrative. The book examines the interpretations of Samson and of his relationship with Delilah up to the present day, then addresses the visual arts (ch.1), poetry and music (ch.2), prose translation (ch.3) and 14th-c. descriptions and illustrations of the narrative in psalters.
Part of a special issue dedicated to the manuscripts of Reading Abbey. This article examines a tr... more Part of a special issue dedicated to the manuscripts of Reading Abbey. This article examines a translation into Anglo-Norman French prose of part of the Bible (Genesis - Tobit). It reviews the existing hypotheses concerning this manuscript's use of English loan words, its provenance in Reading's monastic community, and its links with a Bible translation commissioned by King John the Good of France.
A stimulating article by E.M.R. Ditmas in the last number of Reading Medie .... al Studies discus... more A stimulating article by E.M.R. Ditmas in the last number of Reading Medie .... al Studies discusses 8&roul'$ allusions to Cornwall, in particular with reference to the Norman background in which 8&roul's poem belongs. 1 The approach is most iliuminotil"G, and much the most fruitful one to toke towards the poem, seeing it as the fictional work of a single author who might manipulate or otherwise alter details of the story to suit his own purposes . The following notes, while disagreeing with one or two details of her discussion, will not challenge her main hypothesis: indeed, in one respect, that of B&roul's topographical realism, her conclusions will actually be strengthened.
... It may be that the song defends the feminised ``Roma'' of Guilhem F... more ... It may be that the song defends the feminised ``Roma'' of Guilhem Figueira's text (see above) by adopting a feminine voice, but again, in a society which discourages the public teaching or preaching of women, this ... 244^72 (p. 262); M. Lever, Le Sceptre et la marotte (Paris, 1983 ...
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204) is one of the most important and well-known figures of the Middl... more Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204) is one of the most important and well-known figures of the Middle Ages; she exercised a huge influence on both the course of history, and on the cultural life, of the time. The essays in this collection use her as a point of entry into wider-...
In Catherine L Glu and Stephen J Milner Editor the Erotics of Consolation Desire and Distance in the Middle Ages New York Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan 2008 P 1 18, 2008
What is consolation? Is it the action of an individual offering solace to another? Is consolation... more What is consolation? Is it the action of an individual offering solace to another? Is consolation a moment of empathy, or an expression of sympathy? Do we console someone in person in silence, through gesture, or through speeches? Or do we console them from a distance by sending words or things: letters, poems, or gifts? Do we imagine that these things are effective? Or can consolation only be experienced and not given? For there is a power relation at stake as I explore the hierarchies of consoler and consoled. If I offer comfort to my friend, my role must be established in advance, my words borrowed from a common fund of expressions. I may invoke the ineffability of the other’s emotions: “I know my words cannot express your pain...” But if mere words can say nothing that counts, then why do we associate consolation with the sounds we make or symbolize, and why do we think a song can console, or a poem? I send my friend a picture in the hope that it may express whatever it is words cannot say. The picture has its own rhetoric, but I cannot control my friend’s reading of it. So, would my wordless presence be more consolatory than my verbose absence? After all, does consolation bring individuals together, or does it remind them that they are apart and do not know each other at all, merely bridging the gap through a fantasy of union and common experience?
The Occitan version of Paolino Veneto's illustrated world history (Avignon, c.1321-26) contai... more The Occitan version of Paolino Veneto's illustrated world history (Avignon, c.1321-26) contains a genealogy of the kings of Egypt that has drawn attention recently in recent years because they are depicted as African rulers. This study compares the Egyptian king list with the Latin version that was produced in Venice and Avignon at the same time, which does not depict these rulers differently to their peers across other regions of Europe and the Middle East. It is suggested that the artists of the vernacular version made choices based on several factors: the political relationship between Venice, Avignon and Egypt in the 1320s ; crusading and anti-Islamic propaganda, and the Old French epic poetry. There is a broader consideration also of what is understood by 'race' in terms of medieval art.
This article examines a translation into a hybrid French-Occitan vernacular of an eighth-century ... more This article examines a translation into a hybrid French-Occitan vernacular of an eighth-century historical narrative of adultery, treason and murder. It compares this to the narrative structures and content of the troubadour vidas and razos, which were created in the same period and regions as the translation. The aim is to uncover a possible dialogue between early medieval narrative historiography and the emergence of Old Occitan narrative in prose. In so doing, this enquiry intends to develop further the question of the importance of translation to medieval vernacular literature and historical writings
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