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Proverbs in
Medieval Occitan Literature
by Wendy Pfeffer
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Proverbs in Medieval Occitan Literature is the first
analysis in English of the use of proverbial materials in the
literature of southern France from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Wendy Pfeffer argues that proverbs are important in troubadour
literature for what they tell us about troubadour training,
troubadour audiences, and the mentality of southern France during
this period.
Pfeffer shows that the proverbial material of troubadour
literature indicates a different level of literacy in its
audience than has been previously assumed. She also demonstrates
the hitherto unappreciated formal aspects of troubadour works and
the surprisingly broad range of source material incorporated in
them.
No careful analysis of the proverbial material in this literature
has been carried out since the late 19th century, and that work
was incomplete, marred by flawed texts, and never available in
English. Pfeffer provides a meticulous survey of this literature,
establishing historical and stylistic periods and offering astute
and insightful analyses of major poets to illustrate the
characteristics of each period.
Wendy Pfeffer is chair and professor of French
in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages at the
University of Louisville. She is also coauthor of Three
Medieval Views of Women (1989).
1997. 200 pp. 6 X 9.
11 b&w photographs,
notes, bibliography, index.
ISBN 0-8130-1480-8
Cloth, $59.95
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"The most
insightful study of the functioning of proverbs in any medieval
literature. . . . Demonstrates the importance of proverbs in the
troubadour lyric. . . . A significant contribution to the current
debate on medieval literacy and medieval mind-sets . . . ,
interdisciplinary in its impact."--William Calin, University
of Florida
"An excellent survey of the use of proverbs in
troubadours’ poetry. . . . Persuasively establishes a link
between the use of proverbs and a higher degree of literacy in
medieval Occitania than previously assumed."--Eliza Miruna Ghil, University of New Orleans
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