Courtliness and Literature in Medieval England
- Author / Editor
- Burnley, David.
Courtliness and Literature in Medieval England
- Published
- London and New York: Longman, 1998.
- Physical Description
- xiv, 241 pp.
- Description
- Historical survey of the language and actions of courtly behavior as evident in Anglo-Norman and Middle English writings, with some corroboration from Latin. Traces the emergence of aristocratic courtliness in the eleventh century through to its appropriation by the merchant class in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, examining intersections between courtliness and ideals of personal beauty, notions of nobility, individualism, courtly love, and religion.
- Focuses on concepts such as pity, graciousness, largesse, honesty, measure, reverence, service, and (by contrast) villainy. Contains frequent references to Chaucer's works, including Rom, BD, and several lyrics, as well as TC and CT. Also treats several French and English romances, courtesy books, hunting manuals, and didactic works, including the Auchinleck Manuscript and works by Chrłtien de Troyes, Marie de France, John Gower, and others.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Background and General Criticism.
- Canterbury Tales--General.
- Troilus and Criseyde.
- Book of the Duchess.
- Romaunt of the Rose.