Landscape of desire and menace: A literary study of medieval French garden imagery [microform]
- Bib ID:
- 3287473
- Format:
- Book and Microform
- Author:
- Flintoft, Mary Luserna
- Description:
- 319 p.
- Summary:
-
By a philological analysis of garden imagery in a wide cross section of mainly thirteenth century French texts, various types of gardens make their appearance: the Hermit's Garden, the Monastery Garden, the Castle Garden and, most elusive of all, the Garden of Love. Each of these when examined in the light of literary interpretation and historical documentation illustrates part of the complex pattern of the artistry of medieval garden design. More importantly they cast light on the ambivalent attitude towards nature that is variously viewed in an erotic or Christian context. The garden, nature perfected by man, could be assumed to be principally a place of delight, an example of the "locus of amoenus". Instead, as texts are examined, it becomes clear that this is only partly true. Although such a "topos" may be the basis of later description, medieval authors used garden allegory to express the tensions inherent within the human condition.
Gardens were both idealized and described as a reality of everyday life. The former shows the yearning of man for the perfect, the latter illustrates clearly the complexities of individual and social life. The garden of the thirteenth century truly reflects a specific age and environment. More generally it mirrors eternal human conditions or problems. The aspirations of man are shown but also his situation when confronted with the day to day realities of hope, fear, love and other emotions and the specific problems of his time such as brigandry and social unrest. All in all the garden in medieval literature provides an apparently accurate "thermometer" of man in relation to his immediate environment and to God and conversely is used by authors as an image, metaphor or allegory for man himself.
- Notes:
-
- (UnM)AAI8322130
- Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-05, Section: A, page: 1447.
- Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne (Australia), 1982.
- Reproduction:
- Microfiche. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International.
- Subject:
- Literature, Medieval
- Other authors/contributors:
- University of Melbourne (Australia)
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 1982
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