The Testament of Love (Paperback)

Thomas Usk

ISBN 10: 1580440010 / ISBN 13: 9781580440011

Verlag: Medieval Institute Publications, Michegan, 1998

Paperback. Thomas Usk, a fourteenth-century bureaucrat and scrivener, is known primarily for his Testament of Love. Likely composed between 13851386 after the author was imprisoned for his political alliances, the Testament follows a personified Love descending into Usks prison cell and engaging him in an extensive theological discussion. Chief among the protagonists complaints is his longing for Margarite, his lady love, though other topics include a quasi-feminist defense of women, the functions of the law, his political discontent, and the nature of free will. In his dream-vision, Usk draws inspiration from Boethiuss Consolation of Philosophy, as well as Chaucer and Gower, in his prolific exploration of Christian sentimentality. R. Allen Shoaf presents the first edition since the nineteenth century, provides glosses and notes to render the Middle English text accessible, and rethinks the relationship between Usk and his more famous literary contemporariesnamely, William Langland and Geoffrey Chaucer. First edition of the text to be published since W. W. Skeat undertook the task in 1897. . . . [I]n this edition, a diplomatic transcription of Thynne [1532 edition] is printed with, contrapuntally, a pointed version of the text which represents the efforts of R. Allen Shoaf, the editor, to construe it. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9781580440011

Inhaltsangabe:

Shoaf here presents a hitherto neglected Middle English text for both undergraduate and graduate classrooms: Thomas Usk's The Testament of Love. Left unpublished since the nineteenth century, Usk's modern edition includes glosses, notes, and a contextualizing introduction to assist students of all levels in approaching Usk's Middle English poem. The fourteenth century work describes Love descending to Usk's prison cell, and the two engaging in a long, theological conversation reminiscent of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. Notable for its idiosyncratic imagery, wide variety of themes, and Christian sentimentality, The Testament of Love is a fascinating text to be studied in any Middle English classroom.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor: R. Allen Shoaf is Professor of English at the University of Florida. He co-founded and edited Exemplaria: A Journal of Theory in Medieval and Renaissance Studies between 1987 and 2008 and currently is a member of the Advisory Boards of The Chaucer Review and Advances in Literary Study.

Bibliografische Details

Titel: The Testament of Love (Paperback)
Verlag: Medieval Institute Publications, Michegan
Erscheinungsdatum: 1998
Einband: Paperback
Zustand: new