Description
This essay discusses the relationship between the development of parliament and the practice of English poetry in the later fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. During this period, the bureaucratic political culture of parliamentarians, clerks, and scribes overlapped with the artistic practice of major poets like Chaucer, Gower, and Langland. Matthew Giancarlo investigates these poets together in the specific context of parliamentary events and controversies, as well as in the broader environment of changing constitutional ideas. Two chapters provide fresh analyses of the parliamentary ideologies that developed from the thirteenth century onward, and four chapters investigate the parliamentary aspects of each poet, as well as the later Lancastrian imitators of Langland. This study demonstrates the importance of the changing parliamentary environs of late medieval England and their centrality to the early growth of English narrative and lyric forms.
Parliament and Literature in Late Medieval England investigates the relationship between the development of parliament and the practice of English poetry in the later fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. During this period, the bureaucratic political culture of parliamentarians, clerks, and scribes overlapped with the artistic practice of major poets like Chaucer, Gower, and Langland, all of whom had strong ties to parliament. Matthew Giancarlo investigates these poets together in the specific context of parliamentary events and controversies, as well as in the broader environment of changing constitutional ideas. Two chapters provide fresh analyses of the parliamentary ideologies that developed from the thirteenth century onward, and four chapters investigate the parliamentary aspects of each poet, as well as the later Lancastrian imitators of Langland. This study demonstrates the importance of the changing parliamentary environs of late medieval England and their centrality to the early growth of English narrative and lyric forms. Review: Review of the hardback: 'Parliament and Literature makes a compelling argument ... Giancarlo is doing something much more sophisticated ...' Marion Turner, Jesus College, Oxford Review of the hardback: 'Given the obvious relevance of an evolving parliamentary system to a literature which often comments on its collective concerns, it is surprising that no one has attempted such a detailed study of the relationship between them and reassuring that Giancarlo's is so well executed. His understanding of what constitutes influence in these terms is complex and carefully articulated ... All in all, this is an engaging and thought-provoking study which should be of interest to both literary critics and historians.' Elizabeth Evershed, Medium 'vum Review of the hardback: 'Parliament and Literature makes a compelling argument about the relationship between two changing aspects of society, reminding us of the centrality of parliament in the textual culture of the era, and making clear the extent of the interpenetration between political and poetic forms. An exploration of parliament in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries produces a portrait of a changing political world, tracing major social, bureaucratic, textual, legal, and political upheavals through this combative and controversial institution. Giancarlo is doing something much more sophisticated than merely claiming that literature reflects political and institutional changes; he goes some way towards demonstrating a mutual dependence and influence in terms both of form and of concerns.' Marion Turner, Review of English Studies Review of the hardback: 'Poetry vis-a-vis politics makes a good, substantial subject, especially between the reigns of Henry III and Henry V. This volume has the thoroughness and weight we might expect of the theme ... Matthew Giancarlo has written a serious, professional work. It will be an essential guide to the no man's land between the legislative assemblies and poetry of late medieval England. It offers varied insights on how parliament was viewed and what ideologies its members possessed ... [in] an age when courtiers, MPs, and civil servants read political poetry, and sometimes even wrote it.' Andrew Breeze, Modern Language Review Review of the hardback: '[T]his book builds its case through a detailed and thorough investigation of the entanglements of parliamentary controversies and literary endeavors. Giancarlo convincingly demonstrates that parliament provided an inspiration for late medieval English writers engaged in the ambitious task of writing a uniquely public poetry. This book will be of interest to historians and literary scholars alike and makes an important contribution to recent explorations of voice and authorship, the development of a public sphere, and the growth of documentary culture in fourteenth-century London.' Claire Sponsler, Journal of British Studies Review of the hardback: 'In sum, this study offers a new and persuasive way of thinking about parliament's centrality to the devel
Related Products
