ENGLISH

Boccaccio and Exemplary Literature: Ethics and Mischief in the Decameron

By Olivia Holmes

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2023
ISBN
1009224336, 9781009224338
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (1670692 bytes)
Series
Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, 120
Pages
286\287
Topic
Literature
Time added
2023-02-20 00:31:46

Description

This is the first monograph to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the Decameron's response to classical and medieval didactic traditions. Olivia Holmes unearths the rich variety of Boccaccio's sources, ranging across Aesopic fables, narrative collections of Islamicate origin, sermon-stories and saints' lives, and compilations of historical anecdotes. Examining the Decameron's sceptical and sexually permissive contents in relation to medieval notions of narrative exemplarity, the study also considers how they intersect with current critical assertions of fiction's power to develop empathy and emotional intelligence. Holmes argues that Boccaccio provides readers with the opportunity to exercise both what the ancients called 'Ethics,' and our contemporaries call 'Theory of Mind.' This account of a vast tradition of tale collections and its provocative analysis of their workings will appeal to scholars of Italian literature and medieval studies, as well as to readers interested in evolutionary understandings of storytelling.

Similar books

Session C11: Ancient Cultural Landscapes in South Europe – their Ecological Setting and Evolution, Session C22: Gardeners from South America, Session S04: Agro-Pastoralism and Early Metallurgy Sessions, Session WS29: The Idea of Enclosure in Recent Iberian Prehistory, Session C88: Rhytmes et causalites des dynamiques de l'anthropisation en Europe entre 6500 ET 500 BC: Hypotheses socio-culturelles et/ou climatiques: Proceedings of the XV UISPP World Congress (Lisbon 4-9 September 2006) / Actes du XV Congrès Mondial (Lisbonne 4-9 Septembre 2006) Vol.36

Session C11: Ancient Cultural Landscapes in South Europe – their Ecological Setting and Evolution, Session C22: Gardeners from South America, Session S04: Agro-Pastoralism and Early Metallurgy Sessions, Session WS29: The Idea of Enclosure in Recent Iberian Prehistory, Session C88: Rhytmes et causalites des dynamiques de l'anthropisation en Europe entre 6500 ET 500 BC: Hypotheses socio-culturelles et/ou climatiques: Proceedings of the XV UISPP World Congress (Lisbon 4-9 September 2006) / Actes du XV Congrès Mondial (Lisbonne 4-9 Septembre 2006) Vol.36

2010 · PDF