The churches and manuscripts of medieval Europe incessantly juxtapose imagery depicting sacred themes with likenesses of the crudest and basest nature. This book examines such contrasts in six major works of pre-1350 Spanish literature, arguing that medieval writers and artists subscribed to the classical belief that one must introduce the contrary of a concept in order to elucidate it fully. To explain this play of opposites, the author draws on the contrast between Bakhtin's concept of the carnivalesque, which embodies ...
Read More
The churches and manuscripts of medieval Europe incessantly juxtapose imagery depicting sacred themes with likenesses of the crudest and basest nature. This book examines such contrasts in six major works of pre-1350 Spanish literature, arguing that medieval writers and artists subscribed to the classical belief that one must introduce the contrary of a concept in order to elucidate it fully. To explain this play of opposites, the author draws on the contrast between Bakhtin's concept of the carnivalesque, which embodies and portrays the realm of desire, and the domain of the law, which imposes the social and behavioral restraints upon which civilized conduct is based. Four of the works in question-the Poema de Mio Cid, the Raz�n de amor, the Libro de buen amor, and the Libro del Conde Lucanor-clearly display such contrary elements. The remaining works covered-the Auto de los reyes magos and the Milagros of Gonzalo de Berceo-would, on the surface, appear merely to affirm contemporary orthodoxy. The author argues, however, that even these works must be understood intertextually, that elements within them refer to a strongly contrastive other beyond their textual confines. When this theory is applied back to the other four texts, they, too, prove to bear within them allusions to an outside system of supplementary meanings. How, then, can we account for this polar structure in medieval art and letters? The author argues that people of the time tended to understand artistic works in a manner analogous to the layout of a medieval manuscript page. The central part carries the most important message, yet in the periphery (the margin) one finds a commentary that is often essential to a complete understanding of the whole. Moreover, text and commentary oscillate: what is central can become peripheral, and what is "outside" can move to the core of a document's explicitly thematized concerns.
Read Less
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: the Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $10.07, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: the Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $10.08, good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
HARDCOVER Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD Standard-sized.
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: the Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $23.00, very good condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: the Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $40.38, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: The Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $90.59, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: The Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $100.10, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 336 p. Contains: Unspecified. Figurae: Reading Medieval Culture. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Desire Against the Law: The Juxtaposition of Contraries to cart. $109.25, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1998 by Stanford University Press.
