دانلود کتاب The “Roman de Silence” and the narrative traditions of the thirteenth century

This dissertation provides an analysis of Heldris of Cornwall's Roman de Silence within both Insular (Anglo-Norman) and Continental narrative traditions of the thirteenth century. As this work has never been the subject of a full-length study, I seek to fill this lack by situating it within the secular and religious literature of this period. Especially critical to my narratological analysis of this work is the author's use of non-romance sources, which include Latin hagiographical narratives, proverbs, and exempla as well as historic and folkloric material associated with Celtic, Anglo-Norman and Continental literary traditions. I contend that the Roman de Silence provides an important example of how writers of the thirteenth century balanced the dual aims of docere and delectare, of instruction and entertainment. It is my belief that Heldris, an otherwise unknown poet, writes this romance as a primarily instructional work and that he adapts easily recognizable elements of romance narratives to further this goal of moral instruction. Of central interest to scholars who have examined this work has been the uniqueness of having a woman cross-dressed as a man as the protagonist. It is my contention that this choice reflects his desire to explore the tensions between Good and Evil as well as the rivalry between Nature and Norreture as aspects of every human's existence. By having a cross-dressed woman take on this role, he can explore a variety of topics generally not pursued in traditional chivalric romances while invoking the most common narrative form of the period-the narrative saint's life or vita.