Image and Imagination

Picturing the Old French Epic

By: Sandra Malicote

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Paperback | 8 December 2009

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220 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.09

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The first in-depth interdisciplinary study of word and image in the Old French chanson de geste, Image and Imagination: Picturing the Old French Epic examines the fascinating relationship between illumination and epic narrative constructed by the medieval understanding of the imagination. The study focuses on the epic cycle known as "the geste of Saint Gille," including Aiol and Elie de Saint Gille. The poems in manuscript were produced in the context of the opulent francophone Flemish courts of the mid-to-late thirteenth century. The manuscript (known as BNF fr 25516) is richly illuminated, and the study includes the popular Beuves de Hanstone, forerunner of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and the poem Robert le Diable, later becoming Meyerbeer's celebrated opera. Concluding with the comparative study of BNF fr 24403's epic treatment of the only illuminated version of Chretien de Troyes' first Arthurian work, Erec et Enide, and the Sancti Bertini version of La Chevalerie Vivien, the first dated collection of epics made for a prominent northern Bishop, this study introduces the hitherto little-explored world of medieval illumination and epic narrative poetics.

Industry Reviews

[Malicote] puts into question the hypothesis of the 19th century editors and proposes another. Focusing especially on the prologue, the scholar demonstrates that the epic was born in the early 13th century in the context of the literary debate concerning the truth or fiction of narratives, 'true story' versus 'fables,' and 'court ministers' versus 'these urban or new singers.' -- Baukje Finet, Lat Tradition ecrite de la chanson d'Aiol: Une Mise au point
[Malicote] has referred to the pairing of Elie de Saint Gille and Aiol as the "geste de Saint Gille,"...they are certainly closely related by virtue of their matiere and characters, and hold potential for expansion and cyclification similar to that of other chansons de geste mentioned above...Indeed, in [Malicote's] view, the meaning produced in some respects forms a striking contrast with the basic concerns of the Old French epic in general. -- Keith Busby, Codex and Context: Reading Old French Verse Narrative in Manuscript

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