The Sea and Medieval English Literature

The Sea and Medieval English Literature PDF

Author: Sebastian I. Sobecki

Publisher: DS Brewer

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9781843841371

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A fresh and invigorating survey of the sea as it appears in medieval English literature, from romance to chronicle, hagiography to autobiography. As the first cultural history of the sea in medieval English literature, this book traces premodern myths of insularity from their Old English beginnings to Shakespeare's Tempest. Beginning with a discussion of biblical, classical and pre-Conquest treatments of the sea, it investigates how such works as the Anglo-Norman Voyage of St Brendan, the Tristan romances, the chronicles of Matthew Paris, King Horn, Patience, The Book of Margery Kempe and The Libelle of Englyshe Polycye shape insular ideologies of Englishness. Whether it is Britain's privileged place in the geography of salvation or the political fiction of the idyllic island fortress, medieval English writers' myths of the sea betray their anxieties about their own insular identity; their texts call on maritime motifs to define England geographically and culturally against the presence of the sea. New insights from a range of fields, including jurisprudence, theology, the history of cartography and anthropology, are used to provide fresh readings of a wide range of both insular and continental writings.

Roles of the Sea in Medieval England

Roles of the Sea in Medieval England PDF

Author: Richard Gorski

Publisher: Boydell Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1843837013

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A fresh assessment of seaborne activity around England in the later middle ages, offering a fresh perspective on its rich maritime heritage. England's relationship with the sea in the later Middle Ages has been unjustly neglected, a gap which this volume seeks to fill. The physical fact of the kingdom's insularity made the seas around England fundamentally important toits development within the British Isles and in relation to mainland Europe. At times they acted as barriers; but they also, and more often, served as highways of exchange, transport and communication, and it is this aspect whichthe essays collected here emphasise. Mindful that the exploitation of the sea required specialist technology and personnel, and that England's maritime frontiers raised serious issues of jurisdiction, security, and internationaldiplomacy, the chapters explore several key roles performed by the sea during the period c.1200-c.1500. Foremost among them is war: the infrastructure, logistics, politics, and personnel of English seaborne expeditions are assessed, most notably for the period of the Hundred Years War. What emerges from this is a demonstration of the sophisticated, but not infallible, methods of raising and using ships, men and material for war in a period before England possessed a permanent navy. The second major facet of England's relationship with the sea was the generation of wealth: this is addressed in its own right and as an intrinsic aspect of warfare and piracy. RICHARD GORSKIis Philip Nicholas Memorial Lecturer in Maritime History at the University of Hull. Contributors: Richard Gorski, Richard W. Unger, Susan Rose, Craig Lambert, David Simpkin, Tony K. Moore, Marcus Pitcaithly, Tim Bowly, Ian Friel

A Sea of Languages

A Sea of Languages PDF

Author: Suzanne Conklin Akbari

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2013-12-06

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1442663405

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Medieval European literature was once thought to have been isolationist in its nature, but recent scholarship has revealed the ways in which Spanish and Italian authors – including Cervantes and Marco Polo – were influenced by Arabic poetry, music, and philosophy. A Sea of Languages brings together some of the most influential scholars working in Muslim-Christian-Jewish cultural communications today to discuss the convergence of the literary, social, and economic histories of the medieval Mediterranean. This volume takes as a starting point María Rosa Menocal's groundbreaking work The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, a major catalyst in the reconsideration of prevailing assumptions regarding the insularity of medieval European literature. Reframing ongoing debates within literary studies in dynamic new ways, A Sea of Languages will become a critical resource and reference point for a new generation of scholars and students on the intersection of Arabic and European literature.

Uncertain Refuge

Uncertain Refuge PDF

Author: Elizabeth Allen

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2021-10-22

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0812253442

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"An examination of sanctuary seeking in the literature of medieval England between the twelfth and the seventeenth centuries"--

The Sea in the Literary Imagination

The Sea in the Literary Imagination PDF

Author: Ekaterina V. Kobeleva

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2019-01-03

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 1527524108

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This collection explores nautical themes in a variety of literary contexts from multiple cultures. Including contributors from five continents, it emphasizes the universality of human experience with the sea, while focusing on literature that spans a millennium, stretching from medieval romance to the twenty-first-century reimagining of classic literary texts in film. These fresh essays engage in discussions of literature from the UK, the USA, India, Chile, Turkey, Spain, Japan, Colombia, and the Caribbean. Scholars of maritime literature will find the collection interesting for the unique insights it offers on individual literary texts, while general readers will be intrigued by the interconnectedness that it reveals in human experience with the sea.

Money, Commerce, and Economics in Late Medieval English Literature

Money, Commerce, and Economics in Late Medieval English Literature PDF

Author: Craig E. Bertolet

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-02-07

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 3319719009

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This is the first collection of essays dedicated to the topics of money and economics in the English literature of the late Middle Ages. These essays explore ways that late medieval economic thought informs contemporary English texts and apply modern modes of economic analysis to medieval literature. In so doing, they read the importance and influence of historical records of practices as aids to contextualizing these texts. They also apply recent modes of economic history as a means to understand the questions the texts ask about economics, trade, and money. Collectively, these papers argue that both medieval and modern economic thought are key to valuable historical contextualization of medieval literary texts, but that this criticism can be advanced only if we also recognize the specificity of the economic and social conditions of late-medieval England.

The Routledge Companion to Medieval English Literature

The Routledge Companion to Medieval English Literature PDF

Author: Raluca Radulescu

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-30

Total Pages: 521

ISBN-13: 0429588984

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Routledge Companion to Medieval English Literature offers a new, inclusive, and comprehensive context to the study of medieval literature written in the English language from the Norman Conquest to the end of the Middle Ages. Utilising a Trans-European context, this volume includes essays from leading academics in the field across linguistic and geographic divides. Extending beyond the traditional scholarly discussions of insularity in relation to Middle English literature and ‘isolationism’, this volume: Oversees a variety of genres and topics, including cultural identity, insular borders, linguistic interactions, literary gateways, Middle English texts and traditions, and modern interpretations such as race, gender studies, ecocriticism, and postcolonialism. Draws on the combined extensive experience of teaching and research in medieval English and comparative literature within and outside of anglophone higher education and looks to the future of this fast-paced area of literary culture. Contains an indispensable section on theoretical approaches to the study of literary texts. This Companion provides the reader with practical insights into the methods and approaches that can be applied to medieval literature and serves as an important reference work for upper-level students and researchers working on English literature.