The Conspiracy of Allusion: Description, Rewriting, and Authorship from Macrobius to Medieval Romance

Description

Chrétien de Troyes's reference to Macrobius on the art of description is indicative of the link between the vernacular literary tradition of rewriting and the Latin tradition of imitation. Crucial to this study are writings that bridge the span between elementary school exercises in imitation and the masterpieces of the art in Latin and French. The book follows the development of the medieval art of imitation through Macrobius and commentaries on Horace's 'Art of Poetry' and then applies it to the interpretation of works on the Trojan War, consent in love and marriage, and lyric and vernacular insertions. Preface xi Introduction 1 Chapter One. Macrobius in the High Middle Ages 13 Macrobius’s Contextual Environment in the Middle Ages 15 Manuscripts 16 Library Catalogues 20 Anthologies, Florilegia, and 'libri manuales' 23 References to the 'Saturnalia' 25 Appendix: 'Saturnalia' Manuscripts to the Early Thirteenth Century 33 Chapter Two. Macrobius on the Art and Modes of Description 36 The Description of Erec’s Coronation Robe 36 Ethos and Pathos in Description 38 Description in Latin, with Special Reference to Macrobius 42 The Descriptive Model as Archetype: Imitation and Emulation 49 The 'Saturnalia's' Writing Program 51 A Model for Original Description 55 Author and Writer ('auctor-imitator'): The Agents of Description 56 From 'Mutuatio' to 'Mutatio': The Stages in Description 60 Invention ('inventio') 66 Reordering ('ordo') 67 The Four Species of 'Mutatio' 71 Small Units of Discourse 73 Reception 76 Chapter Three. Bridge Works in and between the Medieval Latin and Vernacular Traditions 79 Description as Rewriting from Macrobius to the High Medieval Commentaries on Horace 81 Medieval Models of Description 87 Description in Classroom Compositions 93 Twelfth-Century Commentaries on Horace's 'Art of Poetry' 97 Bridge Works in Medieval Poetics 102 Description as Topical Invention 105 Imitation and Allusion in the French Tradition 106 French versus Latin Rewriting 114 Chapter Four. Troy in Latin and French: Joseph of Exeter's 'Ylias' and Benoît de Sainte-Maure's 'Roman de Troie' 121 Description in Joseph's 'Ylias' 122 First Author and Rewriter ('auctor-imitator') 128 Selection ('mutuatio') 129 Adaptation ('mutatio') 131 Implied Audiences 144 Description in Benoît's 'Troie' 145 First Author and Rewriter ('auctor-imitator') 150 Selection ('mutuatio') 153 Adaptation ('mutatio') 155 Implied Audiences 169 Chapter Five. The Issue and Topics of Consent in 'Eneas', 'Erec', and the 'Bel Inconnu' 171 Consent as a Moral and Social Issue in 'Gradus amoris' 172 The Description of Consent in 'Gradus amoris' 175 Description of Consent in the 'Eneas' 181 Description of Consent in Chrétien de Troyes's 'Erec et Enide' 195 Description of Consent in Renaut de Beaujeu's 'Bel Inconnu' 202 Chapter Six. New Modes of Description in Romance Narrative 213 Insertions 213 From Lyric Insertion to Narrative Investment 222 Lyric Insertions in the Narrative of Gerbert de Montreuil’s 'Violette' 224 Lyric Insertions and Narrative in Jakames's 'Châtelain de Couci et Dame de Fayel' 228 Narrative Description of Lyric Pieces in Jean Renart's 'Rose' or 'Guillaume de Dole' 242 The New Mode of Writing Romance 254 Conclusion 257 Bibliography 261 Primary works 261 Secondary works 265 Indices Index of Titles 293 Index of Names 299 Index of Places 306 Index of Subjects 307