I'd like to thank you for mentioning the article by Ad Putter -- I have
recently acquired it, and I think it is going to save me a lot of research.
Although my thesis is founded on the desire to reclaim an authentically
12th century understanding of the romance, I had been avoiding thinking
about how I would be able to argue that the reading I am proposing of
Chretien's Perceval is one that could have been expected of Chretien's
original audience. Putter's article (I've also got the Benton article he
refers to) has done a great deal to reassure me that I am not being
unreasonable in suggesting that a courtly audience would have been familiar
with some ideas that might otherwise have been confined to a monastic (or
at least clerical) environment.
On a somewhat different subject -- I note with interest your forthcoming
book on monastic education, and wonder if you could suggest any sources
that might shed light on the extent to which secular clerics would have
been trained in meditation and spiritual theology? I am interested
particularly, of course, in Chretien de Troyes -- his period and general
region -- but what I am trying to pin down is whether, and to what extent,
general theories of spirituality could be identified *independent of*
monastic meditational practice. If there is anything you can suggest along
these lines, I will be very grateful.
--
Lisa Nicholas
At 08:56 AM 1/5/2001 +0000, you wrote:
>Following Lisa's requests and Dennis's many helpful suggestions, I can only
>add a tiny but useful article on the context of Chretien's compositions,
>written from a different angle:
>
>Ad PUTTER, 'Knights and clerics at the court of Champagne: Chretien de
>Troyes's romances in context'. *Medieval Knighthood, V. Papers from the
>Sixth Strawberry Hill Conference 1994*, eds. Stephen Church and Ruth Harvey
>(Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 1995), 243-266.
>
>Ad discusses the court of Henri le LIberal, count of Champagne from 1152
>until his death in 1181, which was frequented by Chretien, Nicolas de
>Clairvaux and numerous other literati.
>
>Georges le Cheap :-)
>
>* * * * *
>George Ferzoco
>University of Leicester
|