Manuscript Meanings : The Genres of Adenet le Roi s "Berte as grans pies" in Compilation and Reception

ISBN-13: 9783639158342 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 196 str.

Elizabeth Wright

Opis

Adenet le Roi s late thirteenth-century Berte asgrans pies presents rich evidence of how manuscriptcontext affects readers perception of genre becauseits textual features do not establish a well-definedgenre and it appears in several manuscriptcompilations. Its composition in laisses suggeststhat it is a chanson de geste, while themes point toromance or exemplary tales. However, the sevenmanuscript compilations that contain Berte orientreaders understanding of the relationship betweentexts and encourage readers to pay attention tocertain textual characteristics. In turn, thehighlighted characteristics help readers determinethe genre of the texts, providing a conceptual framethat guides interpretation. Each chapter in thisstudy concerns an aspect of Berte s genre and themeaning that a particular manuscript generated formedieval readers: Adenet s creation of a multi-genretext, readers experience of the text as an epic,romance, or exemplary tale in manuscript context, andgeneric reworkings of the story by later composers.Throughout, the study develops a methodology forreconstructing interpretations of medieval worksappearing in manuscript compilations.

O autorze

Elizabeth Anne Wright received her B.A. in French and
mathematics from UC Berkeley (2002) and her Ph.D. from New York
University (2008). Her primary area of specialization is the
Middle Ages, particularly manuscript culture and reading texts
in the context of the material book. She is currently a faculty
member at George Washington University.