دانلود کتاب "Le Mortifiement de Vaine Plaisance" of René d’Anjou: Text, Translation and Commentary (France)

This study of Rene d'Anjou's Le Mortifiement de Vaine Plaisance (c. 1453) comprises a diplomatic edition of MS. Morgan 705, with emendations from MS. Royal Library of Brussels 10308; an English translation; a line-by-line commentary; and an introduction which examines the author, his corpus, the manuscripts of the Mortifiement, and the miniatures of MS. Morgan 705, and which provides a critical and historical analysis of the work.

The Mortifiement is an allegorical religious piece of 2666 lines, in prose, except for occasional verse insets. It commences with the Soul lamenting the tendency of her heart to fall victim to the vain pleasures of this world. The Soul is approached by two ladies, Fear of God and Contrition, who, in a dialogue, encourage the Soul to entrust her heart to them. The interaction of these figures is described by the Acteur, who is also present in the allegory, though chiefly as an observer and commentator. Fear and Contrition accomplish their task by instructing the Soul, mainly through presenting and interpreting three protracted exempla. The Soul then voluntarily commits her heart to the two ladies, who subsequently take it to a paradisaical garden where four additional ladies--Faith, Hope, Love and Divine Grace--nail it to a cross, in imitation of Christ, to purge it of its sin. Following this sacrificial bloodletting, Fear and Contrition return the purified heart to the Soul, who is moved to joyful and ecstatic expression of her love for God.

The Mortifiement synthesizes several central medieval literary traditions. The intent to instruct marks the piece as part of the homiletic tradition which became widespread after the rise of the mendicant orders in the fourteenth century. Rene's allegorical style draws on standard late antique and medieval models, such as Prudentius, Boethius, and the Roman de la Rose. His deployment of characters, action and dialogue reflects qualities present in the drama, and his exegetical impulse reflects the importance of sermons and exempla in later medieval religious literature. Additionally, Rene draws upon the mystical tradition and evinces a personal religious devotion reminiscent of St. Bernard and St. Anselm. As a nobleman and patron of arts and letters whose work encompasses all these traditions, Rene provides an accomplished example of lay piety in the later Middle Ages.