Chrétien de Troyes's reference to Macrobius on the art of description is indicative of the link between the vernacular literary tradition of rewriting and the Latin tradition of imitation. Crucial to this study are writings that bridge the span between elementary school exercises in imitation and the masterpieces of the art in Latin and French. The book follows the development of the medieval art of imitation through Macrobius and commentaries on Horace's 'Art of Poetry' and then applies it to the interpretation of works on the Trojan War, consent in love and marriage, and lyric and vernacular insertions.
Author(s): Douglas Kelly
Series: Studies in the History of Christian Thought, 97
Publisher: Brill
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 332
City: Leiden
Preface xi
Introduction 1
Chapter One. Macrobius in the High Middle Ages 13
Macrobius’s Contextual Environment in the Middle Ages 15
Manuscripts 16
Library Catalogues 20
Anthologies, Florilegia, and 'libri manuales' 23
References to the 'Saturnalia' 25
Appendix: 'Saturnalia' Manuscripts to the Early Thirteenth Century 33
Chapter Two. Macrobius on the Art and Modes of Description 36
The Description of Erec’s Coronation Robe 36
Ethos and Pathos in Description 38
Description in Latin, with Special Reference to Macrobius 42
The Descriptive Model as Archetype: Imitation and Emulation 49
The 'Saturnalia's' Writing Program 51
A Model for Original Description 55
Author and Writer ('auctor-imitator'): The Agents of Description 56
From 'Mutuatio' to 'Mutatio': The Stages in Description 60
Invention ('inventio') 66
Reordering ('ordo') 67
The Four Species of 'Mutatio' 71
Small Units of Discourse 73
Reception 76
Chapter Three. Bridge Works in and between the Medieval Latin and Vernacular Traditions 79
Description as Rewriting from Macrobius to the High Medieval Commentaries on Horace 81
Medieval Models of Description 87
Description in Classroom Compositions 93
Twelfth-Century Commentaries on Horace's 'Art of Poetry' 97
Bridge Works in Medieval Poetics 102
Description as Topical Invention 105
Imitation and Allusion in the French Tradition 106
French versus Latin Rewriting 114
Chapter Four. Troy in Latin and French: Joseph of Exeter's 'Ylias' and Benoît de Sainte-Maure's 'Roman de Troie' 121
Description in Joseph's 'Ylias' 122
First Author and Rewriter ('auctor-imitator') 128
Selection ('mutuatio') 129
Adaptation ('mutatio') 131
Implied Audiences 144
Description in Benoît's 'Troie' 145
First Author and Rewriter ('auctor-imitator') 150
Selection ('mutuatio') 153
Adaptation ('mutatio') 155
Implied Audiences 169
Chapter Five. The Issue and Topics of Consent in 'Eneas', 'Erec', and the 'Bel Inconnu' 171
Consent as a Moral and Social Issue in 'Gradus amoris' 172
The Description of Consent in 'Gradus amoris' 175
Description of Consent in the 'Eneas' 181
Description of Consent in Chrétien de Troyes's 'Erec et Enide' 195
Description of Consent in Renaut de Beaujeu's 'Bel Inconnu' 202
Chapter Six. New Modes of Description in Romance Narrative 213
Insertions 213
From Lyric Insertion to Narrative Investment 222
Lyric Insertions in the Narrative of Gerbert de Montreuil’s 'Violette' 224
Lyric Insertions and Narrative in Jakames's 'Châtelain de Couci et Dame de Fayel' 228
Narrative Description of Lyric Pieces in Jean Renart's 'Rose' or 'Guillaume de Dole' 242
The New Mode of Writing Romance 254
Conclusion 257
Bibliography 261
Primary works 261
Secondary works 265
Indices
Index of Titles 293
Index of Names 299
Index of Places 306
Index of Subjects 307