Bibliograph

Old French narrative cycles, heroism between ethics and morality, Luke Sunderland

Type

Label

Old French narrative cycles, heroism between ethics and morality, Luke Sunderland

Language

eng

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Old French narrative cycles

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Oclc number

738478999

Responsibility statement

Luke Sunderland

Series statement

Gallica, volume 15Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

Sub title

heroism between ethics and morality

Summary

This is a study of four colossal medieval works - the Cycle de Guillaume d'Orange, the Vulgate Cycle, the Prose Tristan and the Roman de Renart - which are normally considered separately. By placing them side-by-side for analysis, Luke Sunderland is able to argue for an aesthetic of cyclicity that cuts across genre. He combines detailed readings of the narrative infrastructure of each cycle with attention to the shifts and transformations that come with successive acts of rewriting. Old French Narrative Cycles focuses in particular on revisions and controversies around heroic figures, arguing that competition between alternative heroes within these texts makes them a discourse on heroism. Using a theoretical framework deriving from Lacanian psychoanalysis, the study reveals anxieties surrounding the hero's relationship to the "good": the hero oscillates between support for moral ideals and subversive assertions of freedom that can lead to evil and death. Ultimately, it is contended that the instability of the hero as conduit for morality produces textual confusion and generates the myriad differing versions of these vast and perplexing works. LUKE SUNDERLAND is Lecturer in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Durham.--, Provided by publisher

Creator