The Liminality of Fairies Readings in Late Medieval English and Scottish Romance Routledge Studies in Medieval Literature and Culture Series
Auteur : Spyra Piotr
Examining the fairies of medieval romance as liminal beings, this book draws on anthropological and philosophical studies of liminality to combine folkloristic insights into the nature of fairies with close readings of selected romance texts. Tracing different meanings and manifestations of liminality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Orfeo, Sir Launfal, Thomas of Erceldoune and Robert Henryson?s Orpheus and Eurydice, the volume offers a comprehensive theory of liminality rooted in structuralist anthropology and poststructuralist theory. Arguing that romance fairies both embody and represent the liminal, The Liminality of Fairies posits and answers fundamental theoretical questions about the limits of representation and the relationship between romance hermeneutics and criticism. The interdisciplinary nature of the argument will appeal not just to medievalists and literary critics but also to anthropologists, folklorists as well as scholars working within the fields of cultural history and contemporary literary theory.
Introduction
Chapter 1
Liminal Fairies: the Anthropological Paradigm
Chapter 2
Modes of Liminality in Medieval Romance
Chapter 3
The Philosophical Paradigm
Chapter 4
The Khoratic Nature of Fairies
Chapter 5
The Gift and the Promise: Ambiguity in Khoratic Contracts
Chapter 6
Games, Gifts and Taboos: the Art of Rule-Bound Interactions
Conclusion
Piotr Spyra is Assistant Professor in the Institute of English Studies, University of Łódź (Poland), where he teaches medieval and early modern English literature. He is the author of The Epistemological Perspective of the Pearl-Poet (2014) and a number of articles on medieval English poetry and Renaissance drama.
Date de parution : 05-2023
15.2x22.9 cm
Date de parution : 07-2020
15.2x22.9 cm
Thèmes de The Liminality of Fairies :
Mots-clés :
Liminal Beings; Scottish Romance; Sir Orfeo; medieval english; Fairy Lore; romance fairies; Non-binary Nature; liminality; Sir Launfal; Fairy Belief; Green Knight; Gawain; Sir Gawain; Fairy King; Fairy Creatures; Breton Lay; Young Men; De Nooy; Wild Man; Fairy Gifts; Fairy Lovers; Green Chapel; Fairy Realm; Semiotic Chora; Van Gennep; Fairy Castle; Dualistic Grid; Pearl Maiden; Neck Riddles