1st Edition

Vernacular Literature and Current Affairs in the Early Sixteenth Century France, England and Scotland

Edited By Jennifer Britnell Copyright 2000
    238 Pages
    by Routledge

    238 Pages
    by Routledge

    This title was first published in 2000:  The printed writings of the most important authors of the sixteenth century are characterised by frequent references to current affairs. This collection brings together essays by literary scholars and historians of the era to discuss various ways in which those writing in the vernacular during the early sixteenth century responded to contemporary events. The papers in this volume also demonstrate how the spread of literacy was of fundamental significance for the economics of book production, and for ways in which political power was exercised and expressed, as well as for the development of new literary forms of critical and occasional writing.

    Contents: Introduction, Richard Britnell; John Skelton and the royal court, Greg Walker; Patterns of protest and impersonation in the works of Pierre Gringore, Cynthia J. Brown; Antipapal writing in the reign of Louis XII: propaganda and self-promotion, Jennifer Britnell; A defining moment: the Battle of Flodden and English poetry, John Scattergood; Dead man walking: remaniements and recontextualizations of Jean Molinet’s occasional writing, Adrian Armstrong; Representing the chose publicque: royal propaganda in early sixteenth-century France, Martin Gosman; Dunbar, Skelton and the nature of court culture in the early sixteenth century, A.S.G. Edwards; David Lindsay and James V: court literature as current event, Sarah Carpenter; Funereal poetry in France: from Octovien de Saint-Gelais to Clément Marot, Christine Scollen-Jimack; Wynkyn de Worde, Richard Pynson, and the English printing of texts translated from French, Julia Boffey; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    Jennifer Britnell

    'Together, these essays provide a valuable addition to our understanding of late medieval writing.' Sixteenth Century Journal