Printing the Middle Ages

Among the many surprises are two dominant themes of the book that build important new foundations for studies in medievalism: early modern printings of medieval poems have a pervasive role in our encounters with medieval books; and the visual reception of medieval books shape our constructions of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Textual Cultures 2009, Vol.4 (1), p.160-163
Main Author: Fredell, Joel
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Anglo-American Reviews
Middle Ages
Tyrwhitt-Wilson, Gerald Hugh, Baron Berners (1883-1950)
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Summary:Among the many surprises are two dominant themes of the book that build important new foundations for studies in medievalism: early modern printings of medieval poems have a pervasive role in our encounters with medieval books; and the visual reception of medieval books shape our constructions of the period in problematic relationships with the texts we presume to be our ultimate authority. A jolly survey of Chaucer's fate in the hands of Victorian and Edwardian children's books returns to the power of iconic images, in this case the famous portraits of the author, to examine his exemplary role as father and child: that proverbial innocence of "the medieval" that is father to the mature poets later in the canon - at least until a disenchantment starting around 1930. Excellent studies like Alexandra Gillespie's Print Cuhure and the Medieval Author examine the crucial early translations of the medieval book into print, and broad theoretical overviews like Roger Chartier's The Order of Books continue to function as touchstones.
ISSN:1559-2936
1933-7418