Description
Book SynopsisText and translation of comic plays sheds light on a fascinating era of theatrical production. `[Opens] up an entirely new corpus of texts for scholars and readers familar with and interested in European dramatic texts from this period, but who have heretofore not had access to them due to the language barrier.' Professor David F. Johnson, Florida State University, Tallahassee During the Middle Ages and early modern period, a dramatic culture of astonishing vitality developed in the Low Countries. Owing to the activities of organisationsknown as rederijkerskamers, or "chambers of rhetoric", drama became a central aspect of public life in the cities of the Netherlands. The comedies produced by these groups are particularly interesting. Drawing their forms and narratives from folklore and popular ritual, and entertaining in their own right, they also bring together a range of important concerns; they respond directly to some of the key developments in the period, reflecting the political and religious turmoil of the Reformation and Dutch Revolt, the emergence of humanism, and the appearance of an early capitalist economy. This collection brings together the original Middle Dutch text of ten of these comic plays, with facing translation into modern English. The selection is divided evenly between formal stage-plays and monologues, and provides a representation of the full range of rederijker drama, from the sophisticatedFarce of the Fisherman, with its sly undermining of audience expectation, to the hearty scatology of A Mock-Sermon on Saint Nobody, and the grim gallows humour of The Farce of the Beggar. An introduction and notes place the plays in their context and elucidate difficulties of interpretation. Ben Parsons is Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester; Bas Jongenelen is teacher of Dutch Literature at Fontys Lerarenopleidingin Tilburg.
Trade ReviewThis volume is a rich source for getting acquainted with the vast comic literature of the Low Countries, providing material and thought for further study and, in so doing (and who could gainsay the benefit of that?), making us readers laugh. * SPECULUM *
A very welcome addition to the existing literature. * FOLKLORE *
[Makes] an important part of the Dutch literary heritage accessible to scholars from the Anglophone world. * EDITIONEN IN DER KRITIK *
Provides a useful window into the Renaissance theatrical tradition [...] The editors have tapped a rich vein in the vital and diverse tradition of vernacular Dutch comic drama. * COMITATUS *
Table of ContentsTranslators' Note Introduction: The Older the Hollander the More Foolish: Comedy, Foolery and the Chambers of Rhetoric in the Medieval Low Countries Part I: Dramatic Monologues This is the Madness The Guild of the Blue Barge A Mock Sermon on Saint Nobody The Oath of Master Pawnbroker A Wise and Wonderful Prognostication Part II: Farces The Farce of the Beggar A Play of Three Lovers The Farce of the Fisherman Jack Sweet-tooth A Farce of the Barefoot Brothers Bibliography
