Description
Book SynopsisCockaigne: portrayed in legend, oral history, and art, this imaginary land became the most pervasive collective dream of medieval times-an earthly paradise to counter the suffering and frustration of daily existence and to quell anxieties over an ever-more-exclusive heavenly afterlife.
Trade ReviewA very useful study, published with high production values, this book is distinguished by the huge amount of information it contains, clear organization, accessibility (thanks to Webb's fine translation...) and the array of artwork included... The book is an excellent example of the scholarly benefits of concentration on primary sources. Choice A serious and even ponderous scholarly study... [with] rigorous textual, paleographical and stylistic analysis... [and including] such interesting points as that modern-day supermarkets' unlimited abundance and vacation packages promising paradise on earth have succeeded in making this mythical land a reality. Publishers Weekly Following in the footsteps of Huizinga, Pleij makes a daring attempt to provide a complete picture of medieval life in the Netherlands. The result is a rich, at times cinematic, panorama of dreams and reality in the Middle Ages. NRC Handelsblad [A] remarkable book, a scholarly and sumptuous discussion of once-upon-a-time fantasies of the perfect life... rich, learned, witty, and admirably readable. The New Republic [A] compelling account of the experiences and beliefs of the middle ages... Pleij's analyses extract much poignancy from material that may initially seem merely whimsical. The Guardian In this entertaining book [Pleij] trawls the medieval Cockaigne literature, partly to display its riches of fantasy and absurdity, and partly to investigate its purposes... There is an abundance of funny and striking information in Pleij's book, and its broad liberal sensibility rests on solid foundations of scholarship. Financial Times [A]nything Pleij writes in his native Dutch is a joy to read. Diane Webb's exrtemely smooth translation does proper justice to Pleij's prose, and her renditions of the Middle Dutch texts that form the core of this study deserve high praise. In sum, if Huizinga is truly the founder of Dutch cultural studies, then Pleij has demonstrated with this book that he is a worthy successor to the same cause. -- David F. Johnson Speculum
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Part 1. The Forfeiture of Happiness: The Beginning 1. Paradise Lost 2. Contours of a Book 3. The Power of Literature Part 2. Texts as Maps 4. Rhyming Texts L and B, Prose Text G 5. The Two Rhyming Texts on the Land of Cockaigne 6. Recitation and Writing 7. Oral Structures in Writing 8. The Existing Potential 9. The Prose Text on Luilekkerland Part 3. Eating to Forget 10. Eating Habits 11. Hunger and Scarcity 12. The Topos of Hunger 13. The Intoxicating Effect of Fasting 14. Gorging in Self-Defense 15. Food in Motion 16. Literary Refreshment Part 4. Paradise Refurbished 17. The Land of Cockaigne as Paradise 18. Never Say Die 19. Heavenly Rewards 20. Other Paradises 21. Lovely Places, Golden Ages 22. Wonder Gardens and Pleasure Parks 23. Dreams of Immortality Part 5. The Imagination Journeys Forth 24. Geographical Musings 25. Real Dreamworlds 26. Wonders of East and West 27. Fanciful Destinations 28. Virtual Dreamlands Part 6. Heretical Excesses 29. The Thousand-Year Reign of Peace and Prosperity 30. Heresies of the Free Spirit 31. Sex Adam-and-Eve Style 32. Low-Country Heterodoxy Part 7. Learning as a Matter of Survival 33. Didactic Differences 34. Topsy-Turvy Worlds 35. Hard Times 36. Moderation, Ambition, and Decorum 37. Lessons in Pragmatism Part 8. Dreaming of Cockaigne: The End 38. The Name Cockaigne 39. A Depreciated Cultural Asset 40. From Countryside to Town 41. The Necessity of Fiction Appendixes 1. Middle Dutch Rhyming Texts on Cockaigne 2. Dutch Prose Text of 1546 on Luilekkerland 3. Dutch Poems Appearing in English Translation Sources Bibliography Index
