Bestsellers and masterpieces: The changing medieval canon (Manchester Medieval Literature and Culture)

by: Heather Blurton (Editor),Dwight F. Reynolds (Editor)

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Publication Date: 2022/8/16

Language: English

Print Length: 288 pages

ISBN-10: 1526147483

ISBN-13: 9781526147486

Book Description

Bestsellers and masterpieces: The changing medieval canon addresses the strange fact that, in both European and Middle Easte medieval studies, those texts that we now study and teach as the most canonical representations of their era were in fact not popular or even widely read in their day. On the other hand, those texts that were popular, as evidenced by the extant manuscript record, are taught and studied with far less frequency. The book provides cross-cultural insight into both the literary tastes of the medieval period and the literary and political forces behind the creation of the ‘mode canon’ of medieval literature.

About the Author

Bestsellers and masterpieces: The changing medieval canon addresses the strange fact that, in both European and Middle Easte medieval studies, those texts that we now study and teach as the most canonical representations of their era were in fact not popular or even widely read in their day. On the other hand, those texts that were popular, as evidenced by the extant manuscript record, are taught and studied with far less frequency. The book provides cross-cultural insight into both the literary tastes of the medieval period and the literary and political forces behind the creation of the ‘mode canon’ of medieval literature.