Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers from British Library MS Harley 585: The Lacnunga : Introduction, Text, Translation, and Appendices 1

Rediscovered in a manuscript of the Roman de la Rose in 1881, the Fiore comprises a cycle of 232 sonnets tracing the adventures, misfortunes, and triumph of the lover in his pursuit of the rose, all this representing a version of the archetypal text of Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, and preserving in full the brilliance of the original in its ample recourse to irony and parody. The 'internal signature' of the poem straightaway gave rise to speculation as to the possibility of the poem s belonging to Dante. The present edition, which reproduces the now received text of Gianfranco Contini, offers in parallel to this a diplomatic transcription of the sole MS in which the poem survives (Montpellier, Bibliotheque universitaire H438), as well as a lively English translation and three sets of critical and historical apparatus (ecdotic, literary and historical, and interpretative). The detailed introduction provides an account of the historical and linguistic aspects of the text as well as a discussion of its meaning and significance responsive to developments in the sphere of Rose criticism proper. There is a full, up-to-date bibliography, glossary, table of references from the Fiore to the canonical Dante, and specialised rhetorical and technical index. Il Fiore is a series of Italian sonnets telling the story of the widespread Medieval Romance of the Rose. It survives in a single manuscript, which was discovered in 1878. Its attribution to Dante (1265-1321) is based on internal and external evidence and stylistic similarities, and seems to have been written in the 1280s. Took (Dante studies, U. College London) presents each sonnet in two versions side-by-side from the manuscript and an early edition, with a translation underneath followed by voluminous textual and critical notes. He also includes a 50-page introduction and a glossary. The design seems shaped more by parameters of a computer program than a sense of aesthetics or readability. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Pettit, a specialist in English language and literature before 1525, assumes that readers have at hand and open the first volume, which contains the texts themselves, and so dives into his line-by-line commentary without introduction or explanation. He refers to the texts by entry number rather than page. His 70-page bibliography of works cited and principal works consulted does not duplicate the list of Abbreviations and Signs (Volume One). He does not provide an index. The text is double spaced. The sewn binding and cloth cover are high quality. c. Book News Inc 2 v. : 24 cm Includes bibliographical references v. 1. Introuction, text, translation and appendices -- v. 2. Commentary and bibliography Sir James Perrot ; Edited With An Introduction By Roger Turvey. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 155-168) And Index.