scholarly journals Amour et mort, vie de sainteté dans la littérature et la spiritualité à València au XVème siècle: de saint Vicent Ferrer à Sor Isabel de Villena

Author(s):  
Dominique De Courcelles

Résumé: Le Royaume de València, au XVème siècle, tient une place majeure dans l’histoire de la littérature et de la spiritualité et dans l’histoire religieuse de la péninsule Ibérique, cependant que s’achève la Reconquista et que s’unifient les Espagnes. Une même quête de réforme morale et d’élévation spirituelle s’exprime aussi bien dans les sermons du dominicain Fra Vicent Ferrer que dans les traductions d’auteurs classiques et de la Renaissance effectuées par un autre dominicain, Fra Antoni Canals. La spiritualité valencienne est militante : elle veut convaincre, séduire, donner et parfois imposer ce qu’elle reconnait comme indispensable à la perfection et au salut. Les héros valenciens du XVème siècle sont des chevaliers et des religieux, des saints et des saintes. Ils manient l’épée ou la parole, ou les deux, pour défendre les valeurs du christianisme, l’art d’aimer et de mourir chrétiennement, la vérité, la justice, la paix. C’est ainsi que l’anonyme roman de Curial e Güelfa ou le Cant espiritual du chevalier Ausiàs March témoignent de la jonction entre chevalerie et théologie, cependant que Joanot Martorell, chevalier auteur du roman de Tirant lo Blanc, et Sor Isabel de Villena, abbesse des clarisses de la Trinité, auteur d’une Vita Christi, désignent, chacun à sa mesure, une ouverture spirituelle de l’histoire, une nécessaire conversion intérieure. Des joutes poétiques et théologiques réunissent clercs et chevaliers, entrelaçant sainteté et amour sensible et permettant l’élaboration des goigs, célèbres prières chantées qui prendront toute leur importance dans la vie spirituelle des fidèles après le concile de Trente.  Mots clef: Chevalerie, Joutes, poétiques, Littérature, Spiritualité, Théologie Abstract: The Kingdom of Valencia, in the 15th century, holds a major place in the history of literature and spirituality and in the religious history of the Iberian Peninsula, while the Reconquista is completed and the Spanish are united. The same quest for moral reform and spiritual elevation is expressed in the sermons of the Dominican fra Vicent Ferrer as well as in the translations of classical and Renaissance writers by another Dominican, Fra Antoni Canals. Valencian spirituality is militant: it wants to convince, seduce, give and sometimes impose what it recognizes as indispensable to perfection and salvation. Valencian heroes of the 15th century are knights and religious and saints. They wield the sword or the word, or both, to defend the values of Christianity, the art of loving and dying Christianity, truth, justice, peace. Thus the anonymous novel by Curial e Güelfa or the Cant espiritual of the knight Ausiàs March testify to the junction between chivalry and theology, while Joanot Martorell, knight author of the novel of Tirant lo Blanc, and Sor Isabel de Villena, Abbess of the clares of the Trinity, author of a Vita Christi, designate, each to its own measure, a spiritual opening of history, a necessary interior conversion. Poetic and theological games bring together clergy and knights, intertwining holiness and sensitive love and allowing the development of goigs, famous sung prayers that will take all their importance in the spiritual life of the faithful after the Council of Trent.Keywords: Chivalry ,Poetic, Jousting, Literature, Spirituality, Theology.

2007 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-330
Author(s):  
Steffen Dix

AbstractIn recent years the study of local religious histories, especially in Europe, has gained in prominence. Because of the encounters between different cultural traditions in the Middle Ages and the voyages of discovery, the religious history of the Iberian Peninsula became one of the most complex in Europe. This article focuses on one portion of this history around the turn of the 19th/20th century, and in particular on two attempts to blame the Catholic religion for the general crisis in Spain and Portugal at the start of the modern era. These two forms of critiquing religion are illustrated by the examples of Miguel de Unamuno and Antero de Quental, whose writings were characteristic of the typical relationship between religion and intellectuals in this period. Not only were the Spanish philosopher and the Portuguese poet influential on their own and later generations, but they are also truly representative of a certain tragic ”loss“ of religion in the Iberian Peninsula.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-528
Author(s):  
Olga V. Albrekht

This paper deals with using the Rabelaisian cultural code, which the author of the article suggests to be applied to the reading and interpreting of some novels by E. Zola. From the authors point of view, such an experiment allows us to look at French naturalism from a new point of view, as a variant of a typologically recurring phenomenon in the history of literature. For the French naturalistic novel Rabelaisianism is considered as a kind of meaning-generating model, as appropriated communication or as an element of traditional literary discourse. The latter is actualized in a period when the cultural conditions and the nature of the main ideological and aesthetic conflicts became similar to the time of the French Renaissance. The author attempts to apply the theory of the carnival chronotope, which is developed by M.M. Bakhtin, to the interpretation of some of E. Zolas texts. Meanwhile, the concept of the chronotope is considered more widely than that of M.M. Bakhtin: it is proposed to understand the chronotope as a universal model of space-time relations in the novel. The author also views the poetics of the real in the naturalistic novel through the prism of the carnival (i. e. extremely detailed material world); as examples, the motives of food and wine, as well as the motive of rebellion and war as a variant of the war for food and the carnival battle of Shrovetide (pancake week) and Lent are analyzed in the article. The main material used for the analysis is taken from the novels Le Ventre de Paris , 1873 ( The Belly of Paris ), LAssommoir , 1877 ( The Trap ), and Germinal , 1885, by E. Zola.


2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Nowak

Literature in Britain and Ireland is a survey of literature on the British Isles since the time of the Anglo-Saxons. Despite this wide angle, the linguistic, regional and ethnic differentiations in each particular period are being emphasised. Because of its combination of traditional and innovative components of English Studies, this history of literature is useful as a study book accompanying courses as well as an incentive for discoveries while reading. The chapters are systematically structured to allow profiles along the history of genres. In addition to poetry, drama, short stories and the novel, different forms of non-fictional prose are being highlighted, too. Innovative tendencies in teaching English literature are taken into account beyond the consideration of popular and contemporary literature.


Author(s):  
Samida Toshmukhammedovna Mustafaeva ◽  

The Ming period is recognized as a period that introduced a new genre to Chinese literature, especially Chinese prose. During this period, novels from the masterpieces of Chinese literature saw the light of day. They are a valuable source for the study of Chinese literary language, as well as providing valuable information on the plot, historical facts, and the Darwin. In particular, the novel "Three Kingdoms", created in the Ming period, has a large volume and a plot rich in sharp turns, the events of the novel are based on the collapse of the Eastern Khanate, in general, various contradictions in public administration, political, military and foreign relations. The diversity in the author’s depiction of contradictions and struggles, the uniqueness in the depiction of each event, demonstrates the writer’s unparalleled artistic skill. In contrast to the "Three Kingdoms", the plot of “Water Margins” is based on the peasant uprisings and struggles; the play depicts the emergence, development and decline of the peasant uprising. The play praises a number of rebellious heroes, most of the protagonists of the work are extremely vivid, and their character is clearly described. The influence of the successful creation of the novels “Three Kingdoms” and “Water Margins” on the creation of historical and heroic novels of the next period is incomparable. The first phase of the Ming period was a turning point in the history of literature. With the end of the Yuan Dynasty (元朝 Yuán cháo 1206-1368) and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, no other significant works were created during this period, except for two major novels, the Three Kingdoms (《三国演义》) and the River Basins (《水浒传》). It was not until 1465 that there was a renewal in drama and folk poetry.


2010 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-163
Author(s):  
Marta Sernesi

AbstractText 1359 of the Tucci Tibetan Collection (IsIAO) is a manual on the Six Yogas of Nāropa titled dPal na ro'i chos drug gi khrid yig bde chen gsal ba'i 'od zer stong ldan, authored by the abbot of gDan sa mthil, sPyan snga bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1386–1434). It is a blockprint of 168 folios decorated by 80 beautiful illustrations on the margins, which offers a picture of a unique moment in the political and religious history of Central Tibet. This paper situates the work within the author's oeuvre, and attempts a reconstruction of the context of production of the blockprint. It argues that the latter was prepared in the first half of the 15th century, as part of a wider production of texts and art objects, under the auspices of the Phag mo gru ruling family, the lHa gzigs Rlangs, to which the author belonged.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-250
Author(s):  
Iolanda Vasile ◽  

Essa Dama Bate Bué and the Angolan Literary Canon. A relevant topic for the history of literature, the literary canon has been widely questioned and the Angolan literary canon is no exception, being constantly susceptible to changes. The current paper aims at challenging the Angolan literary canon and defending the necessity of including the novel Essa Dama Bate Bué by Yara Monteiro. Published in 2018, it represents an example of silenced literature about women and guerrilla movements during the war for national independence, the subsequent civil war, and the post-conflict period. The book problematizes the presence of women in national wars, the countless roles they played, but also their integration in the post-colonial society, giving insights into a topic largely ignored in Angolan literature. Keywords: Angola, Angolan women, canon, Yara Monteiro, guerrilla movements


Text Matters ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 92-105
Author(s):  
Marije Altorf

In 1970 the British novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch published both her thirteenth novel, A Fairly Honourable Defeat, and her best known work of philosophy, The Sovereignty of Good. Given the proximity of these publication dates, it does not surprise that there are many points of comparison between these two works. The novel features, for instance, a character writing a work of moral philosophy not unlike Murdoch's own The Sovereignty of Good, while another character exemplifies her moral philosophy in his life. This article proposes a reading of the novel as a critical commentary on the philosophical work, focusing on the tension between creation and authority. While Murdoch considers humans to be first and foremost creative, she is at the same time wary of the misleading nature of any act of creation. For Murdoch, any creator and any creation—a beautiful picture as well as a watertight theory—may transmit a certain authority, and that authority may get in the way of acknowledging reality. It thus hinders the moral life, which for Murdoch should be thought of as a life of attention—to reality and ultimately to the Good—rather than a series of wilful creations and actions. A Fairly Honourable Defeat queries the possibility and danger of creation, through different characters as well as through images of cleanliness and messiness. Thus, the character whose book of moral philosophy is challenged and who is found wanting when putting his ideas to practice, likes ‘to get things clear’ (176). Another character, whose interferences create the novel's drama, has a self-confessed ‘passion for cleanliness and order’ (426). The saint of the story, in contrast, does not interfere unless by necessity, and resides in one of the filthiest kitchens in the history of literature. Yet, none of the main characters exemplifies a solution to the tension between creation and authority found in Murdoch's philosophy. An indication of a solution is found in a minor character, and in his creations of outrageous bunches of flowers, unusual meals, and absurd interiors. Yet, its location in a subplot suggests that this solution is not in any way final. It is concluded that any final solution should not be expected, not in the least because of the pervasive nature of the tension between creation and authority, which goes well beyond Murdoch's own authorship.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Xavier Martin

The novel Les Larmes, by French writer Pascal Quignard, takes place in the ninth century, two twin brothers make totally different choices of life. Hartnid is always on the go. His twin, Nithard, is a pure scholar. His life is devoted to language. It is precisely his involment in language that allows him to write something that was never written before. He writes the Serments de Strasbourg (English: Oaths of Strasbourg, Latin: Sacramenta Argentariae) in 842, first written marks of a language that will become the French language. This novel offers a unique opportunity to sketch a thought on the ability of literature to speak about our relationship to reality.   The first part of the article questions the gesture of the novelist who acts on himself and on reality when writing, he really tries to change the world. The second part of the article studies the notion of realism and shows how Quignard finds a place in the history of literature that, today, stays away from realism, but, maybe, in order to better track down reality. Finally, in order to grasp the specificity of the Works of Quignard, my interest in the aesthetic of Les Larmes is threefold: its complex structure, the fascination for origin that it shows and, the question of identity and splitting with the twin brothers Hartnid and Nithard. The article concludes on the ability of artists to anticipate in their creations and, in advance, to tell about events that will occur in the future. 


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Kozłowski ◽  
Marek Kasprzyk ◽  
Verner Faulstich

Faulstich Werner, Teoria systemu społecznego obiegu literatury [Theory of the Social System of Literature Circulation]. „Przestrzenie Teorii” 32. Poznań 2019, Adam Mickiewicz University Press, pp. 435–451. ISSN 1644-6763. DOI 10.14746/pt.2019.32.24. The main hypothesis of literature circulation in a theory system can be formulated as follows: literature circulation is an inextricable element of literature, while literature constitutes an integral part of literature circulation. To provide evidence to this supposition, it is necessary to draw from the definition of a system proposed by Helmut Wilke in his Systemtheorie (1982). The social circulation of literature demands the emergence of a series of subsystems which, as part of the system, are characterised by their own factors, relations and ways of organisation. The most important category, enabling us to tell the difference between various subsystems of the literature circulation, is the medium. It goes without saying that any kind of literature is passed on via a particular kind of medium, i.e. the novel through the medium of the book, radio drama through the medium of radio, the feature film through the medium of film, stage drama through the medium of theatre, etc. It is impossible to separate “Literature” from “Circulation”. As a consequence, the history of literature is neither a pure history of a particularpiece or utopia (the latter being the approach of the idealistic literary studies), nor pure history of media (technology) as a part of a general history of communication and society (which is the journalism approach). Instead, it clearly separates itself from both, i.e. as a history of a mediated utopia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Katelis Viglas

Among the works of the ancient Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata, well-known for his scathing and obscene irony, there is the novel True History. In this work Lucian, being in an intense satirical mood, intended to undermine the values of the classical world. Through a continuous parade of wonderful events, beings and situations as a substitute for the realistic approach to reality, he parodies the scientific knowledge, creating a literary model for the subsequent writers. Without doubt, nowadays, Lucian’s large influence on the history of literature has been highlighted. What is missing is pointing out the specific characteristics that would lead to the placement of True History at the starting point of Science Fiction. We are going to highlight two of these features: first, the operation of “cognitive estrangement”, which aims at providing the reader with the perception of the difference between the convention and the truth, and second, the use of strange innovations (“novum”) that verify the value of Lucian’s work by connecting it to historicity.


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