Palimpsests and the Literary Imagination of Medieval England: Collected Essays (The New Middle Ages)

Witnesses to the disappearance of a text, palimpsest manuscripts bear the marks of their own genesis, with their original inscription rubbed out and written over on the same parchment. This collection explores analogies of erasure and rewriting observed in editorial and literary practices underlying the production of texts from medieval England. "These eleven original essays scrutinize the subject of the palimpsest, both literal and metaphorical, from a series of different angles and generate a rich and thought-provoking array of examples of different types of recycling and layering in verbal and visual texts from the Old English period to the present, from early medieval manuscripts to contemporary film. The range and depth of treatments of the palimpsest as both a concrete and a conceptual phenomenon are exemplary.” --Laura Kendrick, Professor of Medieval Studies, Université de Versailles “Altogether a fine tribute to, and celebration of, the life and work of a great scholar, André Crépin, on his eightieth birthday. 'Palimpsest' is given a broad definition in this collection of essays to cover both the material and the literary, that is, any alteration, abridgement, or translation of earlier texts. The contributions range from a discussion of palimpsests in manuscripts such as Beowulf, on wax tablets and vernacular engravings in the late medieval period, and how new digital technology can enhance our knowledge of palimpsests, to a broader interpretation of the word to cover the retelling, adaptation, or translation of earlier works in particular in the romance tradition, culminating in modern film adaptation of medieval literary works.” --Graham Caie, Vice Principal, University of Glasgow “Covering palimpsests both literal and literary, and ranging in subject matter from Beowulf to John Boorman’s Excalibur via Bede, the matière de Bretagne, Chaucer, and more, the contributions to this volume honor André Crépin with a sparkling series of investigations into the materiality, the composition, and the transmission of Old and Middle English texts.” --Timothy Graham, Associate Professor, University of New Mexico Cover 1 Title 8 Copyright 9 Contents 10 List of Illustrations 13 Acknowledgments 14 Homage to André Crépin, membre de l’Institut, Honorary OBE 15 List of Abbreviations 17 Introduction: Palimpsests and “Palimpsestuous” Reinscriptions 19 Part I 36 1 An Anglo- Saxon Palimpsest from Fleury: Orléans, Bibliothèque Municipale MS 342 (290) 37 2 Recovering Anglo- Saxon Erasures: Some Questions, Tools, and Techniques 50 3 Some Psalter Glosses in Their Immediate Context 76 4 The Palimpsest and Old English Homiletic Composition 95 5 “Ic Beda” . . . “Cwæð Beda”: Reinscribing Bede in the Old English Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum 109 6 Vernacular Engravings in Late Medieval England 128 Part II 150 7 Rewriting Genres: Beowulf as Epic Romance 151 8 Palimpsestic Philomela: Reinscription in Chaucer’s “Legend of Philomela” 168 9 The Middle English Breton Lays and the Mists of Origin 185 10 Enquiries into the Textual History of the Seventeenth-Century Sir Lambewell (London, British Library, Additional 27897) 202 11 Elucidations: Bringing to Light the Aesthetic Underwriting of the Matière de Bretagne in John Boorman’s Excalibur 214 Bibliography 236 Notes on Contributors 260 Index of Manuscripts Cited 264 Index 268 Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction: Palimpsests and “Palimpsestuous” Reinscriptions....Pages 1-17 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 An Anglo-Saxon Palimpsest From Fleury: Orléans, Bibliothèque Municipale Ms 342 (290)....Pages 21-33 Recovering Anglo-Saxon Erasures: Some Questions, Tools, and Techniques....Pages 35-60 Some Psalter Glosses in Their Immediate Context....Pages 61-79 The Palimpsest and Old English Homiletic Composition....Pages 81-94 “Ic Beda” ... “Cwæđ Beda”: Reinscribing Bede in the Old English Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum ....Pages 95-113 Vernacular Engravings in Late Medieval England....Pages 115-136 Front Matter....Pages 137-137 Rewriting Genres: Beowulf as Epic Romance....Pages 139-155 Palimpsestic Philomela: Reinscription in Chaucer’s “Legend of Philomela”....Pages 157-173 The Middle English Breton Lays and the Mists of Origin....Pages 175-191 Enquiries Into the Textual History of the Seventeenth-Century Sir Lambewell (London, British Library, Additional 27897)....Pages 193-204 Elucidations: Bringing to Light the Aesthetic Underwriting of the Matière de Bretagne in John Boorman’s Excalibur ....Pages 205-226 Back Matter....Pages 227-267 "Witnesses to the disappearance of a text, palimpsest manuscripts bear the marks of their own genesis, for their original inscription was rubbed out and written over on the same parchment. Erasure is a prerequisite of reinscription; destruction paves the way for renewal. Thus the palimpsest is an image of the processes of revision and accretion which shape medieval literary production. This collection explores analogies of erasure and rewriting observed in editorial and literary practices underlying the production of texts from medieval England. Whether palimpsests are the primary focus of study or serve as a metaphor for various phenomena of loss and accumulation, all the essays investigate the process of reinscription."-- Provided by publisher