A medieval storybook

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Bibliographic Information

A medieval storybook

Selected and edited by Morris Bishop ; Drawings by Alison Mason Kingsbury

Cornell University Press, c1970

Available at  / 2 libraries

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Description and Table of Contents

Description

"Medieval men were great storytellers. In the long dark of winter evenings, there was not much to do but tell stories and sing songs. At country markets, professional narrators and ballad-singers profitably drew clusters of auditors, ready to pay with their farthings. The stories were mostly old and familiar, but each teller altered and localized his material to suit his hearers and his own taste. Thus a great body of oral literature existed. Most of it has disappeared, destroyed by printing and the enormous communications industry. Some remnants of the oral tradition are included in this volume. At the same time a good number of original writers of fiction appeared, composing with conscious art. We can identify some of them, such as Marie de France, Huon Leroi, and of course Boccaccio and Chaucer. But most of them remain anonymous, and only by good luck have their works been preserved."For this collection the compiler has picked examples of stories of various sorts. His essential requirement has been that the chosen tales should excel as stories, that they should progress from an initial state through altering incidents to a conclusion, logical but often unforeseen. While of course the tales illustrate medieval life and thought, the compiler's purpose has been to please the story-reader rather than the social or literary historian. The examples should stand alone as works of art, not illustrations of anything."-from the PrefaceFrom the rich store of medieval tales, Morris Bishop brings together a delightful collection of thirty-five stories. Some are romantic, some religious, some realistic, some even scurrilous. There are merry tales and moral tales, sagas, allegories, and fables. They vary widely in theme and their characters represent every class of medieval society. The tales in A Medieval Storybook vividly illustrate medieval life and thought. Above all they excel as stories, and demonstrate the high level attained by narrative art in the Middle Ages and the great gift the medieval writers had for creating lively and memorable characters. Some of the stories in the book were translated by Bishop; others were translated in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Line drawings by Alison Mason Kingsbury add considerably to the charm of this collection.

Table of Contents

PrefaceI. Romances of King Arthur's CourtThe Story of Merlin The Sword in the Stone, by Sir Thomas Malory Launcelot, Elaine, and Guenever, by Sir Thomas Malory Tristan's EndII. Adventures and EscapadesThe Story of Frithjof and Ingebjorg Amleth's Revenge, by Saxo Grammaticus A Knight Who Made a Bargain with a Merchant A Story of beyond the Sea The Cruelty of Francesco Orsini, by Giovanni Fiorentino A Night in Naples, by Giovanni BoccaccioIII. Lovers' Weal and WoeThe Dapple-Gray Palfrey, by Huon Leroi The Lay of the Nightingale, by Marie de France The Falcon, by Giovanni BoccaccioIV. Wonders and ProdigiesThe Life of Saint Brandon, by Jacobus de Voragine The Famous History of Friar BaconV. Moral TalesThe Execrable Devices of Old Women Of the Cunning of the Devil, and of the Secret Judgments of God Of the Transgressions and Wounds of the Soul Of Extreme Fear The Marvelous Conversion of the Blessed Hildegund, Virgin, by Caesarius of Heisterbach The Cleric Who Deflowered a Jewish Maiden, by Caesarius of Heisterbach How the Novice Theobald Conquered His Pride, by Caesarius of Heisterbach Friar JuniperVI. Merry Tales and Salty FictionsOf the Churl Who Won Paradise A Dean and a Magician, by Juan Manuel King Ben Abit and Queen Romaquia, by Juan Manuel A Profound Judgment The Pear Tree Fra Cipolla, by Giovanni Boccaccio A Father's Wise Counsel, by Franco Sacchetti The Rustic Ambassadors, by Franco Sacchetti The Noble Crest, by Franco Sacchetti Sacchetti and the Astrologer, by Franco Sacchetti The Blind Man of Orvieto, by Franco Sacchetti The Reeve's Tale, by Geoffrey Chaucer

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Details

  • NCID
    BA22376863
  • ISBN
    • 0801405629
  • LCCN
    72109334
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Ithaca
  • Pages/Volumes
    viii, 312 p
  • Size
    22 cm
  • Classification
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