Deformed Discourse: The Function of the Monster in Medieval Thought and Literature (Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies LUP)

Now published in paperback, this fully-illustrated book explores the concept of the monster in the Middle Ages, examining its philosophical and theological roots and analysing its symbolic function in medieval literature and art. Fascinating and comprehensive, this study of the grotesque in medieval aesthetic expression successfully brings together medieval research and modern criticism. In Part I, David Williams traces the poetics of teratology, the study of monsters, to Christian neoplatonic theology and philosophy, particularly Pseudo-Dionysius's negative theology and his central idea that God cannot be known except by knowing what he is not. Williams argues that the principles of negative theology as applied to epistemology and language made possible a symbolism of negation and paradox whose chief sign was the monster. Part II provides a taxonomy of monstrous forms with a gloss on each. Part III examines the monstrous and the deformed in three heroic sagas - the medieval Oedipus, The Romance of Alexander, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - and three saints' lives - Saint Denis, Saint Christopher, and Saint Wilgeforte. The book is beautifully illustrated with medieval representations of monsters. Dedication 6 Contents 8 Figures 10 Acknowledgments 14 Abbreviations 15 Introduction 18 Part One: Theory 36 1 The Context of the Monstrous 38 2 The Language of the Monstrous 76 Part Two: Taxonomy 120 3 The Body Monstrous 122 4 Nature Monstrous 192 5 Monstrous Concepts 231 Part Three: Texts 244 6 Three Heroes 246 7 Three Saints 300 8 Conclusion 338 Notes 348 Bibliography 384 Index 400