On the Usefulness and Use Value of Books : A Medieval and Modern Inquiry
- Author / Editor
- Astell, Ann W.
On the Usefulness and Use Value of Books : A Medieval and Modern Inquiry
- Published
- Scott D. Troyan, ed. Medieval Rhetoric: A Casebook (New York and London: Routledge, 2004), pp. 41-62.
- Description
- Assesses medieval notions of the utility of books, comparing modern and medieval theoretical discussions. Astell's essay focuses on the symbolic exchange value of books and the "antisacrificial rhetorical strategies" for offering books as gifts to God and to others. Includes discussion of GP as an accessus to CT and of Ret as the place where Chaucer "assumes responsibility for the utilitas of his poetry."
- Alternative Title
- Medieval Rhetoric: A Casebook.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Canterbury Tales--General.
- Chaucer's Retraction.