Isidorean perceptions of order : the Exeter book riddles and medieval Latin enigmata / Mercedes Salvador-Bello.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Salvador-Bello, Mercedes, author.

Series:

Medieval European studies ; 17.

Medieval European studies ; xvii

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Riddles, English (Old)--History and criticism.

Riddles, English (Old).

English poetry--Old English, ca. 450-1100--History and criticism.

English poetry.

Riddles, Latin--History and criticism.

Riddles, Latin.

English poetry--Old English.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xiv, 529 pages ; 23 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Morgantown : West Virginia University Press, 2015.

Summary:

This book discusses the considerable influence exerted by Isidore's Etymologiae on the compilation of early medieval enigmata. Either in the form of thematic clusters or pairs, Isidorean encyclopedic patterns are observed not only in major Latin riddle collections in verse but can also be detected in the two vernacular assemblages contained in the Exeter Book. As with encyclopedias, the topic-centered arrangement of riddles was pursued by compilers as a strategy intended to optimize the didactic and instructional possibilities inherent in these texts and favor the readers' assimilation of their contents. This book thus provides a thoroughgoing investigation of medieval riddling, with special attention to the Exeter Book Riddles, demonstrating that this genre constituted an important part of the school curriculum of the early Middle Ages. Book jacket.

Contents:

Early medieval riddling and Isidore's etymologiae

Isidore's etymologiae and the compilation of early medieval Latin riddle collection

The compilation of the Exeter book riddles.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1935978519

9781935978510

9781940425238

1940425239

9781935978916

1935978918

OCLC:

906798122