Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature

753 Pages·2005·4.01 MB·English

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
(cid:2)(cid:3)
Jay Ruud
For Stacey,
My own Beatrice
Encyclopedia ofMedieval Literature
Copyright © 2006 by Jay Ruud
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ruud,Jay.
Encyclopedia ofmedieval literature / Jay Ruud.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8160-5497-5 (hardcover :alk.paper)
1.Literature,Medieval—Encyclopedias.2.Literature,Medieval—Bio-bibliography.I.Title.
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Text design by Rachel L.Berlin
Cover design by Smart Graphics
Quotations from German and Italian Lyrics ofthe Middle Ages,copyright © 1973 by Frederick
Goldin,and The Lyrics ofthe Troubadours and Trouvères,copyright © 1973 by Frederick
Goldin,are used by permission ofDoubleday,a division ofRandom House,Inc.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
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C
ONTENTS
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Preface iv
Introduction v
Authors’Time Line xi
Writers Covered, by
Language of Composition xv
Entries A to Z 1
Selected Bibliography 711
Contributors 716
Index 717
p
REFACE
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I owe an important debt of gratitude to the con- tral Arkansas,chaired by Elaine McNiece,for their
tributors whose expertise helped put this book generous grant that enabled me to hire two ofmy
together. They are listed individually at the end editorial assistants.
of the volume, but I must specifically acknowl- Finally,I want to thank Doubleday,a division
edge the work ofAlbrecht Classen ofthe Univer- of Random House, Inc., for permission to quote
sity of Arizona and Elisa Narin van Court of extensively from German and Italian Lyrics of the
Colby College,who gladly contributed a signifi- Middle Ages and from The Lyrics of the Trouba-
cant number ofentries each.I also want to thank dours and Trouvères, two excellent 1973 antholo-
the three editorial assistants who helped with the gies translated by Frederick Goldin.
editing of the manuscript and contributed a
Jay Ruud
number ofentries themselves:Malene A.Little at
Conway,Arkansas
Northern State University and Leslie Johnston
November 2004
and Michelle Palmer at the University of Central
Arkansas.
I also want to express my gratitude to the Uni-
versity Research Council at the University ofCen-
iv
I
NTRODUCTION
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To compose an encyclopedia of “medieval litera- classical Arabic and Persian literature, as well as
ture”of the world is a daunting prospect,since it Indian, Chinese, and Japanese, and, to a lesser
involves a significant period of time (more than extent,from the literatures ofKorea and ofeastern
1,000 years) and a remarkable number of literary Europe—entries that provide a worldwide context
traditions (European, Middle Eastern, Persian, for the more familiar literature in English.
Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean—and impor- For the most part, the entries included here
tant subcategories of each). Nevertheless, this have been suggested by popular anthologies of
book is intended to make general sense of that world literature,of Western literature,and of En-
dizzying array of texts and traditions for begin- glish literature.I have included entries from texts
ning students ofthe era,by selecting the foremost that are often used in introductory college or
texts and writers from each ofthe major traditions advanced high school classes, since the primary
of Europe and Asia.While there are also African intended reading audience for this book comprises
and American texts based on oral traditions that beginning students in these kinds of classes and
may extend back into medieval times,the written their instructors who seek some background infor-
texts that we have ofthese compositions are mod- mation. Entries concerning English literature are
ern renditions of ancient oral material, and so I expanded to include any number of texts that
have not included them here. might be taught in courses in medieval English lit-
Because this book is written in English for erature or that might shed light on such texts.All
English-speaking students, I have included a entries are followed by a selected bibliography of
greater number of entries from Old English and books and,for more often-studied writers or texts,
Middle English than from other literatures.Because articles intended as a recommended reading list for
English is best understood in the context of Euro- those students who want to look further into the
pean literature, a significant number of texts and topic.A comprehensive bibliography of works on
writers from French, Provençal, German, Italian, the medieval period in general, and on the most
Old Norse,Celtic,Spanish,and Portuguese litera- commonly taught writers in particular,appears at
ture are also included,as well as the most important the end ofthe volume.
writers from late classical and medieval Latin liter- Before delving into the very specific details of
ature that formed the basis ofearly medieval litera- the individual entries that follow,it makes sense to
ture in Europe. The following pages also include consider first what we mean by the phrase
entries concerning the major writers and texts from “medieval literature.”The term medieval, derived
v
vi Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature
from the Latin for “middle period,”was an inven- of texts that proved foundational for European
tion of European scholars of the Renaissance, or culture, and primitive myth had given way to
early modern era,who conceived of themselves as more sophisticated religion, while at the same
returning to the superior cultural tradition ofclas- time the great empire that had united much ofthe
sical Greece and Rome. Their conception of the ancient Mediterranean was crumbling. An old
1,000 years that had intervened between classical world was indeed going through a transition by
antiquity and their own time (between roughly the fifth century. A modern world was coming
500 and 1500 C.E.) is reflected in the epithet by into being 1,000 years later, characterized by a
which they chose to label that span of time— more secular and less universally religious out-
“Middle Ages”—suggesting that the important look, a greater reliance on scientific thought, a
accomplishments in literature,art,science,philos- more widespread use of the vernacular in literary
ophy,and culture took place either in antiquity or and other texts,a more mercantile economy,and
in the contemporary early modern world,and that new and unprecedented connections between and
little of any consequence had taken place during among cultures,including Africa and the Americ-
that intervening millennium.Such a view ignores as, that had not existed before. Many of these
technological accomplishments such as the inven- trends,of course,had begun earlier,but the Mid-
tion ofthe heavy compound plow,the adoption of dle Ages form the long transition from the ancient
the stirrup and the horseshoe,the expanded use of to the modern world.
the water- and windmill,and the creation ofmov- In this same sense, the term medieval has
able type—foundational developments in the his- recently come to be used in referring to other lit-
tory ofhuman civilization (Hollister 1978,65–67). eratures as well, so that roughly the same period
The view also ignores the monumental aesthetic can be seen in China or in India or the Middle
achievements of the great Gothic cathedrals, as East,for instance,when they all were moving from
well as,on a lesser scale,the intricate miniatures of the ancient world and its foundational texts such
illuminated manuscripts. It ignores the primary as the Bible,the Confucian classics,and the Vedas
position ofSaint Augustine in Western thought,as into a new era from which the modern world
well as the complex philosophical arguments of would develop.The rise ofIslam made Arabic the
scholastic thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas and dominant language of the Middle East, and the
William of Ockham,and the invention of the sci- Koran the new chief literary inspiration.Japanese
entific method by Roger Bacon in the 13th centu- culture began to rival that ofChina,and Japanese
ry.And of most immediate concern for purposes literature grew through Chinese models. More
ofthis particular book,that view ignores the liter- vernacular literatures rivaled Sanskrit as the liter-
ary achievements ofDante (the “chiefimagination ary language of India, so that regional classics
of Christendom,” as he has been called), of were composed in Tamil,Bengali,and Kannada.
Chaucer (the acknowledged “father of English lit- There are some ways in which life in many of
erature”), and of such lesser-known figures as these areas of Europe, Asia, or North Africa was
Chrétien de Troyes—apparent inventor of the similar.Clearly the majority ofpeople everywhere
courtly romance,the direct ancestor of the Euro- were peasants,usually working the land owned by
pean novel—and the Provençal troubadours, the members of a powerful aristocratic class. Mon-
first poets in western Europe to write poetry in the archs generally sought support ofpowerful nobles
vernacular,and the inventors ofan attitude toward and gathered the nobility around them,enabling
love (often called the “courtly love”tradition) that them both to keep an eye on their most powerful
pervaded Western thought for centuries. vassals and to augment and display their own
Looking beyond the pejorative connotations of wealth and glory by the quality and number of
the term medieval, however, there is a sense in their courtiers. Thus the royal courts of Europe,
which the medieval world is in fact a “middle” India,China,Japan,Iraq,and Persia were general-
period.The ancient world had established a body ly sites for the display of pomp and grandeur,
Introduction vii
where courtiers might feast and obtain valuable period represents a pinnacle of literary achieve-
gifts and where poets (integral members of the ment for that culture.The classical age of Arabic
court) might write ofthe sovereign’s virtues,com- literature begins with the composition of the
memorate the martial accomplishments of the Koran, received, as Muslims believe, by Muham-
king or his vassals,and celebrate the beauties and mad in the seventh century. The Arabic tribes
the loves of the noble courtly women (“The united under Muhammad’s successors,and with-
Medieval Era”2004,1). in 100 years took Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and
Another aspect of life in medieval times Libya. Under the Umayyad dynasty, the Islamic
through most of the world is the profound influ- caliphate extended from parts of India across the
ence of religion on most aspects of everyday life. Middle East and northern Africa into Spain to the
Christianity survived the fall of the Roman Pyrenees.It was the largest empire the world had
Empire as the one institution that still unified the yet seen.
parts of the defunct empire, and Christianity With its new status as a world power and with
spread throughout all of Europe during the Mid- Arabic as a common language,Islam soon devel-
dle Ages,with the Roman pope dominating west- oped a significant literary culture.The Koran itself
ern European culture in a way that transcended was written in rhymed prose and provided a
national boundaries.In the Middle East,Islam was model for subsequent writers and poets.The life
born and spread rapidly from Arabia east to India of the Prophet (Muhammad) also became an
and west across North Africa to Spain.Although important literary subject,initiated by Ibn Ishaq,
Hinduism,in a variety ofsects,remained the chief Muhammad’s first biographer. The tradition
religion in India, Buddhism spread from India known as adabbecame the dominant literary style
into China,Korea,and Japan.In those countries it among cultured Muslims. It was an aristocratic
rivaled the native Taoism and Confucianism of style that stressed decorum, learning, and ele-
China and Shinto ofJapan,and literature in these gance,and used difficult meters and allusions that
countries often reflects the blending ofBuddhism only the initiated would understand.Among later
with the native traditions.In Europe,the literature writers,love became an important theme,as it is
more often reflects clashes between older pagan in the Dove’s Neckring, an autobiographical
and newer Christian beliefs.Clarifying and defin- description ofthe many manifestations oflove by
ing the dominant religion as against religions it the 11th-century scholar Ibn Hazm. Poetry was
was coming in conflict with became important to also abundant,particularly in the form ofthe qasí-
theological writers across Europe,the Middle East, da,an ode that had developed a standard form by
and southern and eastern Asia, and this close the eighth century and survived for hundreds of
attention to theology influenced,as well,much of years, though already by the ninth century its
the writing ofpoets and storytellers,so that Dante form was being parodied by the remarkable and
Alighieri, the greatest medieval poet of Europe, innovative poet Abu Nuwas. But surely the most
constructs in his Divine Comedya detailed picture popular and influential literary text to come out of
of the medieval Christian view of salvation and medieval Islam is The Thousand and One Nights,a
damnation,while the great Persian poet Jalaloddin huge collection of tales from India,Persia,Egypt,
Rumi writes thousands of mystical verses reflect- Iraq,and elsewhere,framed by the famous story of
ing ascetic Islamic Sufi mysticism,and in the Ben- Scheherazade.Scorned for centuries in the Islam-
gal region ofeastern India the Vaisnava saints (like ic world because of its low style, the text has
Vidy¯apati and Chandida¯sa) were writing allegories become a classic ofworld literature.
of mythic encounters between their god Krishna A number ofthe best-known Islamic writers of
and earthly women (“The Medieval Era”2004,4). the medieval period are philosophers, like Al-
Of course,each regional literature represented Ghazali and Averroës,whose commentaries on the
in this volume has its own unique aspects as well, philosophy of Aristotle became an important
and in many cases the literature of this middle influence on scholastic thought in Europe. But
viii Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature
with the discouragement of philosophic inquiry forms of etiquette, a code of behavior (called
under the caliphs of later medieval Islam,Islamic miyabi) not unlike the expectations ofcourtesy in
learning and culture began to wane by the 14th European courts of the time. Buddhism, which
and 15th centuries, though the most remarkable influenced the Heian aesthetic sensibility (called
world traveler of the period, Ibn Battu¯ta, pub- aware) concerning the transient beauty of the
lished the story ofhis travels at this time. world,was imported from China and modified by
Islam is not the only world culture that reached native Shinto beliefs. During this period, the
its cultural apex in the medieval period. Many Japanese cultivated simplicity and brevity as aes-
scholars consider the Tang (T’ang) dynasty thetic principles and created the short 31-syllable
(618–907) to be the high point ofChinese imperial verse form called the tanka, which in modern
culture.The first half of the period was character- times developed into the haiku. Imperial collec-
ized by political stability and military expansion. tions of poetry,most notably the Kokinsh¯u, were
Governing the vast empire demanded a huge begun during this period, and Japan’s greatest
bureaucracy, which the Tang officials staffed with writers were also active:Murasaki Shikibu,author
bureaucrats who earned their positions through ofJapan’s most acclaimed work,The Tale ofGenji,
civil service examinations,the most prestigious of wrote in the early 11th century, as did Sei
which included the impromptu composition of a Sho¯nagon, whose Pillow Book established a new
poem.With this kind of cultural emphasis on the kind ofautobiographical prose text.Both ofthese
art ofpoetry,every educated Tang bureaucrat was a classical writers were women, an unusual aspect
competent poet, and incidental poems composed of Japanese literature attributable to the fact that
for everyday occasions abound in collections of Japanese men of the time wrote in the “official”
Tang poetry. Thus the major Tang poets reveal a language of Chinese, leaving women to develop
good deal oftheir own personalities in their poems. literature in the vernacular.
The best known ofthem also illustrate the religious The subsequent periods of Japanese culture
diversity of Tang China: Li Bai (Li Po), the high- saw the rise ofthe samurai class that replaced the
spirited Taoist,is perhaps China’s best-known poet; Heian court,creating a society of noble warriors
his friend,Du Fu (Tu Fu),was a Confucian chiefly not unlike the chivalric knights of medieval
concerned with family and with social responsibili- Europe. The classic Tale of the Heike dates from
ty;and their contemporary Wang Wei,a high-rank- this period. The final centuries of the medieval
ing government official, was a devout Buddhist. period in Japan saw the rise of No¯ theater under
Although the last halfofthe Tang dynasty was char- its most important artist, Zeami. These are still
acterized by political instability, great Tang poets considered classical achievements in Japanese lit-
continued to compose memorable poetry,and the erature, but none matches the cherished accom-
period remains the influential central point ofChi- plishments ofthe Heian era.
nese culture,in painting and the other arts as well The literature ofIndia during the middle peri-
as poetry. od reflects a quite different cultural situation.
Medieval Japan was culturally dominated by Though the northern part ofthe Indian subconti-
China until the Heian period (704–1186), when nent was united briefly under the Gupta Empire
Japanese literature and culture came into its own. early in the period,that unity fell apart in the sixth
Still influenced by Tang China, Heian Japan was century,and South Asia returned to a collection of
renowned for its refined court culture,where cer- independent regional kingdoms that fostered
emony and religious ritual dominated the lives of enormous cultural diversity. In this India was
the noble class. As in China, the accomplished somewhat like Europe at the time, and like
Heian gentleman was expected to be able to com- Europe,the subcontinent had a single traditional
pose poetry as well as master other art forms common language,Sanskrit,but a large number of
(such as music,painting,and calligraphy),and to vernacular languages that began developing their
conduct himself according to refined, proper own literary traditions during this middle period.
Introduction ix
Sanskrit was, of course, the traditional lan- In Europe, as well, variety is the chief charac-
guage of Hinduism,which was the religion of the teristic ofthe literature.The medieval literature of
vast majority ofIndians,despite competition from Europe is most immediately influenced by the
Buddhism and Islam (which had reached India by Latin classics of late Roman civilization, by the
the eighth century). But the use of Sanskrit was Christian tradition, and by the pagan Germanic
not limited to religious texts: Sanskrit literature tradition ofthe northern tribes ofEurope early in
from the second to the 16th century includes this period. To some degree, Islamic and Jewish
every literary genre known at the time. The traditions, radiating chiefly from multicultural
fourth-century Brahman Ka¯lida¯sa is generally rec- medieval Spain,exerted some influence on Euro-
ognized as India’s greatest dramatist, and most pean literature as well.From the beginning,Latin
important Sanskrit poet. was the primary medium of literacy,and the the-
But essentially Sanskrit, like Latin in Europe, ological works of such church fathers as Saint
seems not to have been used in everyday situa- Jerome and Saint Augustine dominated the early
tions, and regional vernaculars became increas- centuries of medieval Europe. Latin remained a
ingly important for literary expression.Tamil,the language for theological and philosophical texts,
language of southernmost India, was the first to but in the north and west of Europe, vernacular
develop a vernacular literature. Mystical lyric languages were becoming more common as liter-
poetry in the bhakti (or “devotional”) tradition ary vehicles. Old English literature became the
was first produced among Tamil poet-saints first major vernacular tradition in Europe, best
devoted to the worship of S´iva,such as Campan- known for its treatment ofearlier Germanic hero-
tar,Appar,and Cuntarar.The greatest Tamil poet, ic themes in poems like Beowulf,but just as char-
however, is generally conceded to be Kampan, acteristically producing Christian texts like The
who translated the Sanskrit Ramayanainto Tamil Dream ofthe Rood,a poetic vision ofthe crucifix-
verse in the 12th century. ion ofChrist.This old heroic tradition can be seen
Regional devotionalism was spurred in part by influencing later medieval productions such as the
the influx of Muslim Turks into India in the 12th French Song of Roland, the German Nibelungen-
century,fleeing from the conquests ofCentral Asia lied,and all ofthe literary sagas in Old Norse.
by Genghis Khan.Many of these Muslim refugees More influential throughout Europe was the
were highly educated and formed an elite class that development ofthe vernacular poetic tradition of
ultimately assumed power in India, establishing southern France, or Provençal. Here, poets like
the Delhi Sultanate in 1206. Their religion had a Bernart de Ventadorn and Guillaume IX,duke of
strong appeal among the lower castes of Hindu Aquitaine, developed the poetry of courtly love,
society, since Islam was a classless religion. The perhaps influenced in part by the Arabic poetry of
bhakti movement, which emphasized personal Spain. The courtly love tradition, extolling the
devotion to the Hindu gods (partly inspired by Sufi virtues of sensual love as the highest pleasure of
mysticism in Islam), spread rapidly among the the physical world and the greatest inducement to
Indian people as a reaction to the appeal ofIslam. noble behavior, spread quickly to northern
In the 11th century,in the southern region ofKar- France,to Spain,Italy,Germany,and England.In
nataka, devotees of S´iva (most important, Basa- northern France, the tradition spawned Guil-
vanna and Maha¯de¯viyakka) began writing laume de Lorris and Jean de Meun’s highly influ-
distinctive poems in the Kannada language.Later, ential and complex 13th-century love allegory
in the 14th and 15th centuries, poets in Bengali called the Roman de la Rose. In addition, courtly
dialects of eastern India (notably Vidya¯pati and love became associated with the chivalric
Govindada¯sa) were writing devotional songs to romance, a new literary genre popularized by
Krishna,incarnation of the god Vishnu.The rich Chrétien de Troyes in which he recast old Celtic
variety of Indian literatures is one of the remark- legends of King Arthur. The Arthurian legends
able delights ofthe middle period. spread throughout Europe as well,significantly to