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Chapter 30. Ecologies of medieval Latin poetics

  • Ian Cornelius
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Latin Literatures of Medieval and Early Modern Times in Europe and Beyond
This chapter is in the book Latin Literatures of Medieval and Early Modern Times in Europe and Beyond

Abstract

The concept of literary ecology is developed as an instrument for large-scale literary study by Alexander Beecroft (2015), for whom the metaphor emphasizes the great diversity of world literatures and the possibility of organizing this diversity into cultural types, analogous to the biologist’s ecotypes. For a study of Latin poetics, the most important typological distinction is between cosmopolitan and vernacular languages. Latin acquired an articulated body of stylistic norms (“poetics”) in antiquity as a vernacular language; subsequent developments in Latin poetics were conditioned by the language’s acquisition of cosmopolitan characteristics. I explore the consequences of that shift; texts discussed include Donatus’s Ars maior, the twelfth- and thirteenth-century arts of poetry and prose, Óláfr Þórðarson’s treatise on Icelandic poetics, and Dante’s De vulgari eloquentia.

Abstract

The concept of literary ecology is developed as an instrument for large-scale literary study by Alexander Beecroft (2015), for whom the metaphor emphasizes the great diversity of world literatures and the possibility of organizing this diversity into cultural types, analogous to the biologist’s ecotypes. For a study of Latin poetics, the most important typological distinction is between cosmopolitan and vernacular languages. Latin acquired an articulated body of stylistic norms (“poetics”) in antiquity as a vernacular language; subsequent developments in Latin poetics were conditioned by the language’s acquisition of cosmopolitan characteristics. I explore the consequences of that shift; texts discussed include Donatus’s Ars maior, the twelfth- and thirteenth-century arts of poetry and prose, Óláfr Þórðarson’s treatise on Icelandic poetics, and Dante’s De vulgari eloquentia.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword ix
  4. Section I. Instead of an introduction
  5. Chapter 1. Combien de littératures latines médiévales ? 3
  6. Section IA. Regional layers
  7. Chapter 2. Italy 15
  8. Chapter 3. France et Belgique 52
  9. Chapter 4. Germany and Austria 73
  10. Chapter 5. Switzerland 121
  11. Chapter 6. Spain 135
  12. Chapter 7. Portugal (950–1400) 158
  13. Chapter 8. Ireland, Scotland, Wales 168
  14. Chapter 9. England 177
  15. Chapter 10. Czech lands 199
  16. Chapter 11. Chronological and regional layers - Poland 207
  17. Chapter 12. Hungary 214
  18. Chapter 13. Nordic countries 221
  19. Chapter 14. Baltic countries 235
  20. Section IB. Regional Latinities outside Europe in the medieval and early modern times
  21. Chapter 15. Africa (fifth-sixth century) 253
  22. Chapter 16. The Middle East 264
  23. Chapter 17. Latin literature and the Arabic language 284
  24. Chapter 18. Latin orientalism 296
  25. Chapter 19. Central and East Asia 308
  26. Chapter 20. Latin literature on the “discovery” of America 324
  27. Chapter 21. A “postcolonial” approach to medieval Latin literature? 335
  28. Section II. Medieval Latin multimedial communication
  29. Section IIA. Manuscripts and visual communication
  30. Chapter 22. The circulation of Latin texts during the Middle Ages 349
  31. Chapter 23. Latin manuscripts as multimedia communication tools 363
  32. Chapter 24. “Textual images” and “visual texts” 376
  33. Chapter 25. Medieval science in daily life 406
  34. Chapter 26. Latin traditions in medieval cartography 436
  35. Section IIB. Orality and performance
  36. Chapter 27. Liturgy, drama, preaching, and narration 453
  37. Chapter 28. Sung medieval Latin verse as performance 465
  38. Section III. Renewing paradigms
  39. Chapter 29. Gendering authorship 487
  40. Chapter 30. Ecologies of medieval Latin poetics 498
  41. Chapter 31. The art of letter-writing 507
  42. Chapter 32. Between history and fiction 523
  43. Chapter 33. Starting anew 540
  44. Section IV. Interfaces. Latin/vernacular and medieval/modern
  45. Chapter 34. The conquest of literacy 557
  46. Chapter 35. Troilus and Briseida in the Western literature 578
  47. Chapter 36. Fairies from Walter Map to European folklore 588
  48. Chapter 37. Geoffrey of Monmouth and the evolution of Excalibur 596
  49. Chapter 38. The matter of Troy in medieval Latin poetry (ca. 1060 – ca. 1230) 606
  50. Chapter 39. Hamlet 625
  51. Chapter 40. Faust’s medieval origins 639
  52. Biographies 647
  53. Index nominum 655
  54. Index locorum 699
https://doi.org/10.1075/chlel.xxxiv.30cor

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword ix
  4. Section I. Instead of an introduction
  5. Chapter 1. Combien de littératures latines médiévales ? 3
  6. Section IA. Regional layers
  7. Chapter 2. Italy 15
  8. Chapter 3. France et Belgique 52
  9. Chapter 4. Germany and Austria 73
  10. Chapter 5. Switzerland 121
  11. Chapter 6. Spain 135
  12. Chapter 7. Portugal (950–1400) 158
  13. Chapter 8. Ireland, Scotland, Wales 168
  14. Chapter 9. England 177
  15. Chapter 10. Czech lands 199
  16. Chapter 11. Chronological and regional layers - Poland 207
  17. Chapter 12. Hungary 214
  18. Chapter 13. Nordic countries 221
  19. Chapter 14. Baltic countries 235
  20. Section IB. Regional Latinities outside Europe in the medieval and early modern times
  21. Chapter 15. Africa (fifth-sixth century) 253
  22. Chapter 16. The Middle East 264
  23. Chapter 17. Latin literature and the Arabic language 284
  24. Chapter 18. Latin orientalism 296
  25. Chapter 19. Central and East Asia 308
  26. Chapter 20. Latin literature on the “discovery” of America 324
  27. Chapter 21. A “postcolonial” approach to medieval Latin literature? 335
  28. Section II. Medieval Latin multimedial communication
  29. Section IIA. Manuscripts and visual communication
  30. Chapter 22. The circulation of Latin texts during the Middle Ages 349
  31. Chapter 23. Latin manuscripts as multimedia communication tools 363
  32. Chapter 24. “Textual images” and “visual texts” 376
  33. Chapter 25. Medieval science in daily life 406
  34. Chapter 26. Latin traditions in medieval cartography 436
  35. Section IIB. Orality and performance
  36. Chapter 27. Liturgy, drama, preaching, and narration 453
  37. Chapter 28. Sung medieval Latin verse as performance 465
  38. Section III. Renewing paradigms
  39. Chapter 29. Gendering authorship 487
  40. Chapter 30. Ecologies of medieval Latin poetics 498
  41. Chapter 31. The art of letter-writing 507
  42. Chapter 32. Between history and fiction 523
  43. Chapter 33. Starting anew 540
  44. Section IV. Interfaces. Latin/vernacular and medieval/modern
  45. Chapter 34. The conquest of literacy 557
  46. Chapter 35. Troilus and Briseida in the Western literature 578
  47. Chapter 36. Fairies from Walter Map to European folklore 588
  48. Chapter 37. Geoffrey of Monmouth and the evolution of Excalibur 596
  49. Chapter 38. The matter of Troy in medieval Latin poetry (ca. 1060 – ca. 1230) 606
  50. Chapter 39. Hamlet 625
  51. Chapter 40. Faust’s medieval origins 639
  52. Biographies 647
  53. Index nominum 655
  54. Index locorum 699
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