Defining Medievalism(S) [Hardcover]

Medievalism has been attracting considerable scholarly attention in recent years. But it is also suffering from something of an identity crisis. Where are its chronological and geographical boundaries? How does it relate to the Middle Ages? Does it comprise neomedievalism, pseudomedievalism, and other medievalisms ? Studies in Medievalism XVII directly addresses these and related questions via a series of specially-commissioned essays from some of the most well-known scholars in the field; they explore its origins, survey the growth of the subject, and attempt various definitions. The volume then presents seven articles that often test the boundaries of medievalism: they look at echoes of medieval bestiaries in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, the influence of the Niebelungenlied on Wagner's Ring cycle, representations of King Alfred in two works by Dickens, medieval tropes in John Bale's Reformist plays, authenticity in Sigrid Undset's novel Kristin Lavransdatter, incidental medievalism in Handel's opera Rodelinda, and editing in the audio version of Seamus Heaney's Beowulf. CONTRIBUTORS: KATHLEEN VERDUIN, CLARE A. SIMMONS, NILS HOLGER PETERSEN, TOM SHIPPEY, GWENDOLYN A. MORGAN, M. J. TOSWELL, ELIZABETH EMERY, KARL FUGELSO, EMILY WALKER HEADY, MARK B. SPENCER, GAIL ORGELFINGER, DOUGLAS RYAN VAN BENTHUYSEN, THEA CERVONE, WERNER WUNDERLICH, EDWARD R. HAYMESNew essays attempt to survey and map out the increasingly significant discipline of medievalism.Editorial Note - The Founding and the Founder: Medievalism and the Legacy of Leslie J. Workman - Kathleen VerduinMedievalism: Its Linguistic History in Nineteenth-Century Britain - Clare A SimmonsMedievalism and Medieval Reception: A Terminological Question - Nils Holger PetersenMedievalisms and Why They Matter - Tom ShippeyMedievalism, Authority, and the Academy - Gwendolyn MorganThe Tropes of Medievalism - M J ToswellMedievalism and the Middle Ages - Elizabeth EmeryMedievalism from Here - A Steam-Whistle Modernist?lÓg