UID:
almafu_9960119517602883
Format:
1 online resource (x, 170 pages) :
,
digital, PDF file(s).
ISBN:
0-511-55133-9
Content:
The works of the seventh-century writer Virgilius Maro Grammaticus are among the most puzzling medieval texts to survive. Ostensibly a pair of grammars, they swarm with hymns, riddles, invented words and imaginary writers. Conventionally interpreted either as a benighted barbarian's unfortunate attempt to write a 'proper' grammar, or as a parody of the pedantic excesses of the ancient grammatical tradition, these texts have long been in need of an alternative reading. Why should a grammarian attack the very notion of authority, thereby destabilizing his own position? The search for an answer leads us via patristic exegesis and medieval wisdom literature to the tantalizingly ill-documented reaches of heterodox initiatory traditions. Vivien Law's book opens important new perspectives on the intellectual life of the early Middle Ages and on the decoding of medieval literature in general.
Note:
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
,
1. The outer layers: parody and word-play -- 2. The wisdom tradition -- 3. Avarice and the four keys to wisdom -- 4. The multifarious nature of wisdom -- 5. Heretical knowledge? The constitution of man -- 6. The Epistolae: Virgilius' Retractatio? -- 7. Concealment of mysteries: the techniques of secrecy -- 8. Virgilius and the seventh century -- 9. Conclusion -- Appendix 1: Epistola II 14-93: The vocative of ego -- Appendix 2: Epitome XV: The catalogue of grammarians.
,
English
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0-521-02769-1
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0-521-47113-3
Language:
English
Subjects:
Ancient Studies
URL:
Volltext
(URL des Erstveröffentlichers)
URL:
Volltext
(lizenzpflichtig)
URL:
Volltext
(URL des Erstveröffentlichers)
URL:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511551338
Bookmarklink