The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages / Ann W. Astell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Astell, Ann W., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Song of Solomon--Criticism, interpretation, etc--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Bible.

Bible--In literature.

Literature, Medieval--History and criticism.

Literature, Medieval.

Medieval & Renaissance Studies.

Religious Studies.

Local Subjects:

Medieval & Renaissance Studies.

Religious Studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Included among the sacred books of Judaism and Christianity alike, the Song of Songs does not mention God at all; on the surface it is a lyrical exchange between unnamed lovers who articulate the range of emotions associated with sexual love. Ann W. Astell here examines medieval reader response, both interpretive and imitative, to the Song. Disputing the common view that the literal meaning of Canticles had no value for medieval readers, Astell points to twelfth-century commentaries on the Song, as well as an array of Middle English works, as evidence that the Song's sensuous imagery played an essential part in its tropological appeal.Emphasizing the ways in which a complex fusion of the Song's carnal and spiritual meanings appealed rhetorically to a variety of audiences, Astell first considers interpretive responses to Canticles, contrasting Origen's dialectical exposition with the affective commentaries of the twelfth century-ecclesiastical, Marian, and mystical. According to Astell, these commentaries present Canticles as a marriage song that mirrors a series of analogous marriages, both within the individual and between human and divine persons. Astell describes interpretations of the Song of Songs in terms of the various feminine archetypes that the expositors emphasize-the Virgin, Mother, Hetaira, or Medium. She maintains that the commentat5ors encourage the auditor's identification with the figure of the Bride so as to evoke and direct the feminine, affective powers of the soul. Turning to literature influenced by the Song, she then discusses how the reading process is reinscribed in selected works in Middle English, including Richard Rolle's autobiographical writings, Pearl, religious love lyrics, and cycle dramas.The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages provides an innovative model of reader response that opens the way for a deeper understanding of the literary influence of biblical texts.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Song of Songs Ad Litteram

2. The Exemplary Bride: Ecclesia and Mary

3. Personal Brideship: The Mystical Treatments

4. Middle English Transitions: The Case of Richard Rolle

5. Mourning and Marriage in Saint Bernard's Sermones and in Pearl

6. Religious Love Lyric and the Feminine "I"

7. Biblical Drama, Devotional Response, and the Feminine "We"

Epilogue

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Sep 2019)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780801423475

0801423473

9781501720697

1501720694

OCLC:

1083599319