Mindful Spirit in Late Medieval Literature: Essays in Honor of Elizabeth D. Kirk (The New Middle Ages)

In what varieties of ways is late medieval literature inflected by spiritual insight and desires? What weaves of literary cloth especially suit religious insight? In this collection dedicated to Elizabeth D. Kirk, Emeritus Professor of English at Brown University, several renowned scholars assess those related issues in a range of Medieval texts. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Mindful Spirit....Pages 1-8 “SWEET JESUS”....Pages 9-19 Amazons and Ursulines....Pages 21-30 Misbehaving God: The Case Of The Christ Child In Ms Laud Misc. 108 “Infancy Of Jesus Christ”....Pages 31-43 “Als I Lay in a Winteris NYT” and the Second Death....Pages 45-56 Inscribing Mentalities: Alan of Lille, The De Lisle Psalter Cherub, and Franciscan Meditation....Pages 57-79 The Middle English St. Francis: Text and Context....Pages 81-91 “Wols-Hede And Outhorne”: The Ban, Bare Life, and Power in the Passion Plays....Pages 93-108 The Failure of Emotion and Reason in the York Cycle....Pages 109-120 John Wyclif—All Women’s Friend?....Pages 121-133 St. Erkenwald: Narrative and Narrative Artistry....Pages 135-148 “The Greatest Riddle of the B Text” of Piers Plowman: Why Langland did not Scrap The A Vita ....Pages 149-163 Souls That Matter: The Gendering of the Soul in Piers Plowman ....Pages 165-186 The Necessity Of History: The Example Of Chaucer’s “Clerk’s Tale”....Pages 187-210 Host Desecration, Chaucer’s “Prioress’s Tale,” and Prague 1389....Pages 211-224 “Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters”: A Paradigm From Ecclesiastes in Gower’s “Apollonius of Tyre”....Pages 225-235 Illiterate Memory and Spiritual Experience: Margery Kempe, The Liturgy, and the “Woman in the Crowd”....Pages 237-248 The Family of Origin Versus The Human Family: Universal Love in Literature....Pages 249-261 Back Matter....Pages 263-266 Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Mindful Spirit 10 "Sweet Jesus" 18 Amazons and Ursulines 29 Misbehaving God: The Case of the Christ Child in MS Laud Misc. 108 "Infancy of Jesus Christ" 39 "Als I Lay in a Winteris Nyt" and the Second Death 52 Inscribing Mentalities: Alan ofLille, the De Lisle Psalter Cherub, and Franciscan Meditation 64 The Middle English St. Francis: Text and Context 87 "Wols-hede and outhorne": The Ban, Bare Life, and Power in the Passion Plays 98 The Failure of Emotion and Reason in the York Cycle 114 John Wyclif-All Women's Friend? 126 St. Erkenwald: Narrative and Narrative Artistry 139 "The Greatest Riddle of the B Text" of Piers Plowman: Why Langland Did Not Scrap the A Vita 153 Souls that Matter: The Gendering of the Soul in Piers Plowman 168 The Necessity of History: The Example of Chaucer's "Clerk's Tale" 190 Host Desecration, Chaucer's "Prioress's Tale," and Prague 1389 214 "Cast Thy Bread upon the Waters": A Paradigm from Ecclesiastes in Gower's "Apollonius of Tyre" 228 Illiterate Memory and Spiritual Experience: Margery Kempe, the Liturgy, and the "Woman in the Crowd" 239 The Family of Origin versus the Human Family: Universal Love in Literature 251 About the Contributors 264 "This collection of seventeen new essays by distinguished scholars of medieval literature on subjects of mindfulness and spirituality in later medieval (especially English) literature is gathered to honor Brown University Professor Emerita Elizabeth D. Kirk."--Jacket