Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- 1 The Problem with Romance
- 2 The Name and the Genre
- 3 Genres, Language, and Literary History
- 4 The Example of Tristram and Isolde
- 5 Making Free with the Truth
- 6 Coda: The Reception of a Genre
- Appendix: Romances and the Male Regular Clergy by Order
- Bibliography
- Index
- Volumes already published
6 - Coda: The Reception of a Genre
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- 1 The Problem with Romance
- 2 The Name and the Genre
- 3 Genres, Language, and Literary History
- 4 The Example of Tristram and Isolde
- 5 Making Free with the Truth
- 6 Coda: The Reception of a Genre
- Appendix: Romances and the Male Regular Clergy by Order
- Bibliography
- Index
- Volumes already published
Summary
Despite Walter Map's aversion to the compulsory telling of tales for moral purposes and his attraction to moral mischief and verbal fun, most commentators in medieval prologues speak with one voice about one aspect of romances. They may disagree ferociously about whether the romance has value, but they agree on the grounds for judging that value: is a romance morally good for its readers? The question turns on the readers and what they are able to derive from the romances. We have a system for judging the match of problematic morality and capable audience that is entirely based on age: nineteen year olds can handle Pulp Fiction, eight year olds are not ready for it. Until 1409, medieval England effectively used education as the criterion instead: attempts to discourage the reading of romances and to substitute explicitly doctrinal morality in their place were directed to lay readers, those without formal training in how to read. After 1409, it became more important to keep lay readers from trying out their skills on biblical and theological texts, and they were turned towards romances, which themselves became more explicitly didactic in the period.
But who were these readers of romances and what ends did they seek in this troubling genre? Clearly, the ends all readers sought were not exclusively didactic. If we are to believe Walter Map, where the author shows his skill is in the aesthetic quality of the story, and success in being witty and entertaining is much more hard won than success in being moral in one's taletelling.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Expectations of RomanceThe Reception of a Genre in Medieval England, pp. 222 - 236Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2009