Etymology and wordplay in medieval literature

edited by Mikael Males
Bok · Engelsk · 2018

Omfang	vi, 272 sider : illustrasjoner
Opplysninger	Introduction / Mikael Males -- Etymology, wordplay, and the truth value of the linguistic sign from antiquity to the middle ages / Mikael Males -- Discretionis libra (with the scales of discernment): allegorical writing and the concealment of etymologia / Wim Verbaal -- the terminal paronomasia of Gautier de Coinci / Keith Busby -- Soteriological macaronics: ambiguum and paronomasia in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival / Stephen Carey -- "Scuro saccio che par lo meo detto" (i know that my word seems obscure): wordplay and obscurity in thirteenth-century Italian poetry / Paolo Borsa -- Etymology, wordplay, and allegorical reading in some medieval Irish texts / Jan Erik Rekdal -- Puns and poetic style in old English / Eric Weiskott -- Etymological interpretation of dreams in old Icelandic literature / Mikael Males -- Language as artefact : the practice of etymologia in the narratives about the origin of the Slavs / Julia Verkholantsev. - Presents case studies of the uses of etymology and wordplay in a number of medieval literatures. In modern scholarship, etymology and wordplay are rarely studied in tandem. In the Middle Ages, however, they were intrinsically related, and both feature prominently in medieval literature. Their functions are often at variance with the expectations of the modern reader, in particular when wordplay is used to arrive at crucial answers or to convey theological insights. The studies in this book therefore carry important implications for our understanding of the reception of medieval texts. The authors show how etymology and wordplay in the Middle Ages often served as an impetus for meditation and as a route to truth, but that they could also be put to more mundane uses, such as the bolstering of national pride. In a narrative context, the functions of etymology and wordplay could range from underlining the sexual bravado of the protagonist to being the key indicator of whether the hero would live or die. Opening with a background chapter describing classical and medieval developments of etymology and wordplay, this book presents case studies of the uses of etymology and wordplay in a number of medieval literatures (Latin, Old French, Middle High German, Italian, Old Irish, Old English, Old Norse, Old Czech and Old Polish).
ISBN	978-2-503-57575-9