Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy Ser.: Medieval Letters : Between Fiction and Document 33 (2015, Hardcover) download book TXT, DJV, EPUB
9782503555201 2503555209 Modern scholarship on medieval letters has often focused on fictionality and historicity. In the attempt to distinguish 'real' letters from stylistic models, i.e. master-letters composed by dictators as didactic examples (or real letters used as such), scholars of both Latin and other European languages have discussed the authentic or faked nature of medieval letters and of their parts and elements, and how to use them as historical sources. The aim of this volume is to explore the many new achievements and discoveries in this field of studies, which in the last years has gained enourmously through editions of medieval treatises on letter-writing and of letter-collections, and through the re-evaluation of the huge and partly still unpublished heritage of letter-models as a reliable source for institutional and social history as well as for literary and legal history. In this process the exploration of the meeting points between different disciplinary approaches has in itself constituted a highly productive research method.This volume therefore contains methodological essays, contributions on Latin literature from the early Middle Ages to the fifteenth century, essays on Byzantine and Romance literature and a final set on Court letters. Furthermore, it documents the proceedings of three precious workshops on unedited texts and celebrated cases of disputed authorship: women's love letters, the Epistolae duorum amantium, and Dante's (?) Epistola to Cangrande., Modern scholarship on medieval letters has often focused on the divide between fictionality and historicity. Attempts have been made to distinguish between 'real' letters and those that were used as stylistic models, and discussion has focused on how to make use of these texts as historical sources. In this volume, which draws on the proceedings of the 'Medieval Letters between Fiction and Document' conference held in Siena in 2013, scholars including Peter Dronke, Ronald Witt, Joan Ferrante, and Sylvie Lefevre analyse the historical value of medieval letters in both Latin and other European languages and explore different disciplinary approaches to the field. Comprising contributions on methodology, Latin literature up to the fifteenth century, Byzantine and Romance literature, and courtly letters, this unique book also documents the debate on unedited texts--including women's love letters--and on celebrated cases of disputed authorship such as the Epistolae duorum amantium and Dante's Epistola to Cangrande. It thus offers a significant re-evaluation of the huge and partly unpublished heritage of medieval letters across Europe, and provides important insights into the use of these unique sources in social, literary, and legal history.
9782503555201 2503555209 Modern scholarship on medieval letters has often focused on fictionality and historicity. In the attempt to distinguish 'real' letters from stylistic models, i.e. master-letters composed by dictators as didactic examples (or real letters used as such), scholars of both Latin and other European languages have discussed the authentic or faked nature of medieval letters and of their parts and elements, and how to use them as historical sources. The aim of this volume is to explore the many new achievements and discoveries in this field of studies, which in the last years has gained enourmously through editions of medieval treatises on letter-writing and of letter-collections, and through the re-evaluation of the huge and partly still unpublished heritage of letter-models as a reliable source for institutional and social history as well as for literary and legal history. In this process the exploration of the meeting points between different disciplinary approaches has in itself constituted a highly productive research method.This volume therefore contains methodological essays, contributions on Latin literature from the early Middle Ages to the fifteenth century, essays on Byzantine and Romance literature and a final set on Court letters. Furthermore, it documents the proceedings of three precious workshops on unedited texts and celebrated cases of disputed authorship: women's love letters, the Epistolae duorum amantium, and Dante's (?) Epistola to Cangrande., Modern scholarship on medieval letters has often focused on the divide between fictionality and historicity. Attempts have been made to distinguish between 'real' letters and those that were used as stylistic models, and discussion has focused on how to make use of these texts as historical sources. In this volume, which draws on the proceedings of the 'Medieval Letters between Fiction and Document' conference held in Siena in 2013, scholars including Peter Dronke, Ronald Witt, Joan Ferrante, and Sylvie Lefevre analyse the historical value of medieval letters in both Latin and other European languages and explore different disciplinary approaches to the field. Comprising contributions on methodology, Latin literature up to the fifteenth century, Byzantine and Romance literature, and courtly letters, this unique book also documents the debate on unedited texts--including women's love letters--and on celebrated cases of disputed authorship such as the Epistolae duorum amantium and Dante's Epistola to Cangrande. It thus offers a significant re-evaluation of the huge and partly unpublished heritage of medieval letters across Europe, and provides important insights into the use of these unique sources in social, literary, and legal history.